Ghis (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"Oh no." Julia said softly, hugging her husband tightly as he told her what had happened. "Emma and Boar will be devastated. He was a good man."

Julia gently kissed her husband's cheek knowing that he was feeling the loss greatly not only as an uncle but as a king. "You'll have to send a letter to Kayla. She'll be heartbroken."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'll send 'er one in the morning, an' Ashien too." He sat down on the edge of their bed and ran a hand back through his hair. "Emma'll never be the same... More so'n Boar..." He looked up at Julia for a moment, murmuring, "Fer a moment... I couldn' help but imagine Kate in Eli's place... But she did so well. She cleared everyone else away an' kept calmer than anyone else."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Kate has a good head on her shoulders thanks to you, love." Julia said softly, taking his hand in her and squeeze it after she had placed Heather on their bed to sleep. "And Emma will get through this. We have to be a strong family for her. She loved Eli fiercely, but she still has Leon and Kayla to think about."

 

[KieranSoares]

"An' Lucy... Leon took charge o' her immediately, even though 'e was lost 'imself. She 'as plenty o' people t'take care of 'er, but she'll never stop missin' 'er Da." He shook his head slowly, murmuring, "I never thought people would hate each other enough t'kill over this... How can they hate something so simple an' meaningless?" Humans were the cause of it, but the werefolk had finally retaliated after being oppressed and afraid of hunters so long, and it would cause nothing but civil war. The humans who got involved would expect the Ghis to join them and blame the werefolk, even split from the Maliar and the Numeor families.

 

[heartofcourage]

"We have to remember that Ghell and Ruben have also lost someone close to them." Julia said softly. "And we can't turn our backs on our friends and allies. We need to love them as much as they love us. Things like this will happen and it's a sad reality."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I 'aven't forgotten them... I'll invite Selena an' all 'er family here t'stay a while."

Meanwhile, Kell sat in his room with Kate, her silent listener after they'd left to be alone so she could process everything. Kell hadn't really known Norr or Eli, but his heart went out to Kate who'd held her ground and her sense amid the chaos for the sake of her family.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Do you think I could talk to my Da about my real father?" Kate asked softly, looking up at Kell as she tried to process her way through her thoughts. "I know it might be strange to ask him, but I want to know about him."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He wouldn't deny you," Kell nodded slowly. "You might talk to my grandfather if you ever want to speak to someone who knew him well." He'd never known his own grandfather well, but he knew the assassin was still in the employ of Sarah whom he'd followed to Ireland after Brogan let her escape.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't understand how people can hate each other so much. What have the were ever done to the humans to make them hate one another?" Kate asked, still so innocent when it came to certain things in the world.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Nothing," Kell told her quietly. "Werefolk have been around since before humans, and of course had their own problems and a few conflicts, but... Humans have always been warlike, wanting the land, the resources, and the power, and willing to kill anyone and anything to get it. Not all humans are so greedy, nor are all werefolk so virtuous, but humans have always been more aggressive. That's why there are so few werefolk compared to humans now. And though werewolves are the most common, we're also the ones most humans hate most. All those terrible stories about wolves, wild or werefolk, were constructed out of fear of the unknown. Even humans like Selena, who live among werefolk and married in and have children, still don't completely understand the ways of werefolk because they aren't werefolk themselves."

Kell met her gaze and murmured, "And what humans fear above all else is the unknown. But instead of understanding or communicating, you'll find most humans in power on the mainland, and half the common folk would rather kill what they don't understand than risk any danger despite the chance for learning." There was no malice in his voice, only sorrow. "Some werefolk can last under the fear and oppression forever. Others, like Norr, lose what matters most to them and won't allow it to happen to anyone else while they still live if they can help it. His heartbreak made him just as bad as a hunter, making him turn against his own family. He's the last person anyone expected to do that, considering who his father is, but no one can really blame him for crumbling under that kind of sorrow."

 

[heartofcourage]

"What can we do to stop it?" Kate asked him, looking for a simple answer to a complicated question. "There has to be a way to make everyone happy in this situation. I know it seems impossible, but I'm stubborn enough to want to make this work."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Hatred can't be solved. It has to die out," Kell sighed. "Not that the answer is killing, but... the only thing that will keep the intolerance and hatred away are strict laws and precautions, until generation by generation, it dissipates. You can't tell a man not to hate, it'll only make him hate more."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We can't make them get along, I know. We can change how things are treated around here. Punishment should be harsher for those that insist on hunting a were and the same for a were hurting a human." Kate insisted, looking at Kell.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You have to be careful with laws like that," Kell told her with a hint of warning in his voice. "Or you could alienate either side, even both. What you have to make sure of is that no one is favored and that the laws aren't race-specific. Punishing a man more harshly for killing a were or vice versa isn't fair. Murder is murder. Equal punishment will reinforce equal views, especially for the younger people in your lands."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate let out a long sigh and rested her head against her hands, running her fingers back through her thick red hair. It was all so complicated that it made her head hurt.

"I wish it could be easy." She murmured, looking up at him finally. "I know I don't know how it feels to be a were and I never will. However, I can't help that I love a were and that my family is were as well."

 

[KieranSoares]

"If anything were easy, nothing would be worth the trouble." He drew her close against his side and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "But as long as there are understanding and loving people on both sides, and pairs like us, there's always hope for the future."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We can only hope." Kate said softly as she leaned her head against his shoulder and let out a long sigh. "We can also hope that it gets better in the future. It would be sad if we all had to live in fear and anger for the rest of our lives."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Knowing Inverness... we won't ever meet the same sort of violence as on the mainland. But maybe within our lifetimes, slavery of werefolk will fail for the sake of all people. It's already been long since outlawed in the northernmost countries, in fact it's recently come under fire in Spain where Ghell was held. Things will get better, but it will take a long, long time.

 

[heartofcourage]

"What happens when we go to Edinburgh?" Kate asked him as he assured her that in Inverness they would be safe. "What if people don't like me being with you? I'm not going to give you up just because someone else thinks it's wrong."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Edinburgh is a bright but dangerous city for most... my kind are fairly secure during the day, but not at night. Regardless, I'm not going anywhere. I have you, and I have the request of the late King to fulfill."

 

[heartofcourage]

Kate laughed softly as Kell promised that he wasn't going anywhere. "You sound like my Da when you talk like that. He's stubborn enough to never give up on anything either."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm not stubborn, I'm dedicated," he chuckled and rose before her, taking her hands. "And even if King Gale hadn't asked me to join you, you'd be hard-pressed to get rid of me now. You have a way of taking a man's heart and never letting it go."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, there is one man's heart that I'm certainly never letting go." Kate said with a smile as she tilted her head towards his and kissed him gently. "I can't imagine my life without you in it."

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell chuckled softly, gladly kissing her in return. It was good to see she wasn't letting the recent events effect her time with him. He drew her up to her feet to wrap her in his sure arms before stealing another soft kiss. "I love you, Kate," he murmured.

 

[heartofcourage]

"And I love you, Khelt." She rarely called him by his real name, but there were times that it felt right. "It'll be a hard time for be family and Inverness but I know we will get through it all together."