Claymore and Dagger (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Fiona let him hold her as long and as tightly as possible, knowing that her father needed the reassurance that she was there and wasn't going anywhere. She kissed his cheek and held him just as tightly for a long moment.

"I have something for you. For the Solstice. I wanted to wait to give it to you tomorrow, but I thought that you might like to use it." She murmured, pulling away for a moment to go to her room to retrieve what she had gotten for him.

In a wooden box that was marked with his name, Fiona had gotten him a well made grooming kit. He had always taken pride in his appearance and she was sure that he would like to be neat again. It had been made by a local smith, one of the best in the region and she was sure that it would serve him for a long time to come.

"Happy Solstice, Da." Fiona said softly as she sat back down and handed him the box.

 

[KieranSoares]

As Owen opened up the box, he couldn't help a smile and a chuckle. "Your mother always used to get after me if I let my fur get too out of hand... She said no mate of hers was going to look like a stray dog." He drew Fiona close to kiss her cheek. "Thank you, little kit. I have something for you too, but that's for tomorrow."

 

[heartofcourage]

"That seems to be everyone's answer." Fiona said with a grin as her Da told her that he had a gift for her as well, but it would have to wait until tomorrow. "Ma always took pride in her white fur. It always seemed to glow, even when she was too ill to get out of bed."

 

[KieranSoares]

"When we knew she wasn't going to make it, she told me I had to help her stay groomed so she'd look beautiful even to the moment I buried her," Owen murmured, and though it hurt to remember, he managed a smile. "Those were some of the last good moments we had, sitting up late brushing out her fur."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I never knew you did that." Fiona said softly as he talked about tending to her Ma's fur, even when she got too sick to do it herself. "I remember hearing the both of you talking late into the night from my room, but I didn't know that you were tending to her fur."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She insisted, and it was all I could do for her towards the end. She wanted to be remembered as beautiful if nothing else." Owen sighed and stood. "Actually... I changed my mind. I want you to have the gift tonight." He went to his own room and came back with something very familiar that had disappeared with Owen when he'd left Fiona. It was Tatiana's favorite blanket, a quilted comforter with mountain and forest designs stitched across with differently colored leaves. She had often wrapped Fiona in it as a little girl, and had apparently used it often along with Fiona's baby blanket. It had a few patches now as it was so old, but it was still in good condition.

"This is one of the few things I managed to hold onto over the years. I kept it to remember her by... but I think she would've wanted to you have it. And now that I'm back... Scotland will be all I need to remember her by," he murmured, placing the blanket in her arms.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona was nearly in tears as her Da reappeared with the blanket that had meant so much to her Ma. It had been a gift from Ephriam for their mating. Her Ma had told her the story so many times that she practically knew it by heart. He insisted that she keep it, but she shook her head and pushed it back into his hands.

"Da, I can't take this from you. It means too much to you." She insisted, knowing that she would lose that argument with him in the end. "Besides, grandpa gave it to her. It was meant to stay with you, no matter what."

 

[KieranSoares]

"All your Ma ever wanted to do was hold you and never let you grow up. This is the closest I can get to granting her wish," Owen insisted, wrapping the blanket around Fiona's shoulders and kissing her forehead like Tatiana once had when she was little and scared or upset.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona couldn't help the tears as her father draped the blanket around her shoulders and kissed her forehead like her Ma had done once upon a time. She was a sobbing mess as he held her tightly and she cried like a little kit against his chest. She missed her Ma horribly sometimes, so much so that it was hard to breathe. Having her Da there was nice, but she desperately wanted her Ma again...if even for a few brief moments.

 

[KieranSoares]

"She loved you more than anything in the world," Owen murmured, letting his head rest against her own.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I wished I could have made her better." Fiona murmured as her Da promised that she was the most important thing in Tatiana's life. "You have no idea how many times I wish I had been in her place."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You're far too much like her, Fiona... She always said it was best that she was the one to be sick, rather than you or me."

 

[heartofcourage]

When Fiona's tears finally slowed, she was left with a dull ache in her head. "Thank you, Da." She murmured, finally pulling back from his chest to dry her eyes.

 

[KieranSoares]

Owen brushed a lock of her hair back, a look of concern in his eyes that she'd never known when she was small. "I love you, little kit. I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Did you love me back then?" Fiona asked softly as he told her that he loved her and he was sorry that it had taken so long for him to say those words. "I was never sure if you did or not."

 

[KieranSoares]

"My head told me not to... but you were still my child. I couldn't help but love you. I wouldn't stand for anyone else to treat you badly... And if nothing else, I loved you because your mother did. Anything precious to her was important to me too, even if I didn't want to accept you..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I never really felt like a kit." Fiona admitted to him softly as he told her that part of him had always loved her simply because she was his. "It took me a very long time to realize that I really did have a fox inside of me. She is lovely too."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You simply a Fox in a human form. That doesn't make you any less a Blackstone or less a Voya. And I'm sorry I never told you that before." Owen touched her cheek gently. "You know you fulfilled one of your mother's dreams. She was afraid to bring you here... but she always hoped Oleg would get to meet you."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm happy that I came. I was so lost after Grandpa died. Knowing that I have a family here that loves me just as much as he did brings everything full circle." She said, giving him a soft smile as he touched her cheek.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You've got even more than that now. Speaking of which, you and your man both look exhausted. Make him go to bed before he tires himself out even more," Owen chuckled, glancing over to Sam as he helped Rhett out with a few chores.

 

[heartofcourage]

"If you haven't learned by now, Samuel Ghis only does what Samuel Ghis wants." Fiona said, turning to look at Sam as he helped her uncle with a few chores before bedtime. "But I'll make sure that the both of us get enough rest."

Kissing her father's cheek, she soon gathered Sam and they retreated to her bedroom. Still wrapped up in her mother's blanket, she relaxed beneath the warmth of the covers and yawned, content with the day but very tired.

"I'll be 22 tomorrow. I don't know why, but that number makes me feel incredibly old." Fiona said as she snuggled against Sam's side.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam could only chuckle. "Don' start makin' me feel old too. We're jus' gettin' started." He let an arm drape over her.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're not old. Just me." Fiona chuckled as Sam wrapped his arm around her, a sigh issuing from her lips. "And I'm glad that you love me."

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's 'ard not to," Sam murmured. "We migh' still be chasin' each other, but th'few minutes one of us lets the other catch us... It's nice." He didn't know any other word to describe it, those moments where they settled together just to talk or when they lay in bed.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're always on the go. Too stubborn to simply sit and enjoy the moment." She said softly as Sam admitted that he enjoyed just sitting there and talking to her.