Her siblings should have been used to her wanderings by now. Though she cared for them, the small fae was very independent. She didn't need to be around her family constantly. If she stayed close, how would she have made the discoveries that she'd made? How would she have learned everything that she knew? It was no secret that her brothers and sister were all about the chase of the party. They all wanted fun and celebration and excitement. Cicero wanted knowledge. She was made of different stuff. Perhaps the closest to her in that sense was Stjarna, but there were still great differences there. Having followed her senses far, far away, Cicero had only planned to locate strange, new hallucinogens. She hadn't expected, nor ever imagined, that she would be returning with a man in tow. Having met Straton, Cicero was immediately smitten. He was rough and worldly, handsome, huge and much, much older than she was. If anyone knew anything about the black hole of a fae, it was that she had a weakness for older men. As it turned out, Straton wasn't just a pretty, salt and pepper face. He had been just what she didn't know she'd always wanted. The pair had begun traveling together immediately and, as the days and nights passed, they became rather close. One might think to immediately introduce a lover to their family, but Cicero wasn't of that mindset. She was content with the way things were and knew that the Aracari bunch would do whatever they could to embarrass her the moment that they met Straton. Her sister and a brother or two might even try to flirt with the man. That sent Cicero's internal hackles to rising. No... she would hold off on taking her lover home to the family for as long as she could manage. A gentle summer thunderstorm was slowly rolling in. The evening had become dark with storm clouds and, magically right before them, the opening of a hollow in one of the giant trees appeared. The small, obsidian and snow fae led the hulking brute inside, shifting out of her pack and turning so that they could look out the doorway to watch the storm. No sooner had they settled down, the clouds opened and the rain began to hammer into the ground where they'd just walked. Cicero gave a soft huff of amusement. "Perfect timing." "Speech"

When Straton had been trying to decide how he'd spend his twilight years, traveling the world had been on the bucket list. But traveling with a gorgeous young thing like Cicero? That had been an unexpected twist of fate that he hadn't seen coming, nor did he rebuke the gift the universe had given him. The old bounty hunter had found her when the pretty obsidian and snow fae had come rushing into the cave he'd claimed as shelter during a tropical storm in some warm lands many, many miles away. She was a lone traveler as well, seeking herbs and mushrooms for her experiments and sciences. A clever girl, sharp as a tack and witty to boot. He appreciated her keeping an old man company through the storm. They'd shared some stories, shared a meal, and as the hours passed, acquaintanceship had turned to something akin to friendship. Straton had always had a soft spot in his hardened heart for small ladies, and Cicero was no exception.

They'd spent the next few weeks traveling together, seeking out the foreign ingredients she desired. The more time they spent together, the more they learned of one another. She was from a far off land called Boreas, a member of a family called the Aracari, and a lover of the pharmaceutical sciences, particularly hallucinogenics. He told her about his history as a bounty hunter, sparing her many of the sordid details in the beginning, but Cicero was down to earth and worldly, and nothing he said seemed to faze the fae ravenous for more stories and experiences. It was like her thirst for knowledge was unquenchable, and her drive reminded the old hunter of himself. Tenacious, relentless, passionate. She didn't treat him like he was beyond his prime. If anything, she looked at him as if he were the most desirable thing in the world.

Their time together, while meant to be brief, ended up becoming a permanent fixture when the two fell into an easy romance. Cicero made him feel things he hadn't felt in a long time, and he in turn poured his charm on for her. Sweet whispers in her midnight ears before they fell asleep, little trinkets and gifts, doting on her like a lovestruck pup. Straton had always had a weakness for smaller women, and their age difference did nothing to deter him from finding this attachment and passion with Cicero. Wherever she wanted to go, he was happy to go, content to simply be with her and see parts of the world his paws hadn't taken him to yet. So when she said she wished to return to her homeland, he was more than happy to oblige.

Arriving in the southern continent of Auster, Straton could immediately smell the approaching storm. Heavy thunderclouds began to roll over the evening sky, and before he knew it the world was mostly dark. Cicero led him into the hollow of one of the gigantic oaks and the hulking shadowed brute slunk inside just as the deluge began, pelting the earth in a torrential downpour. He glanced back with a victorious smirk. Cicero spoke his thoughts aloud and he chuckled, a low grumble of laughter from within his chest. "Reminds me of the night we met," he remarked while he slid down alongside Cicero, draping a thick foreleg across her side to pull her slender body closer to his. Together they watched the thunderstorm outside, lightning illuminating the world every so often like bursts of sunlight. "Do your family know where you've been off to, or is this a surprise homecoming we're walking into?" While he spoke, he leaned his muzzle closer to go to kiss and nibble across the back of Cicero's neck, grooming her fur and just enjoying little affections with his lover.

"Straton"

Thunder, lightning, rain and wind. It all swirled about outside, though inside the hollow tree the pair was dry and warm. The opening just large enough to allow them to see out, but small enough to shield them from the elements. Cicero couldn't have asked for a more perfect shelter to share with her man. The inside of the tree even smelled nice. A little earthy, but not rotten or damp. Quite satisfactory, as though the world had placed it here just for them.

Straton wrapped a big leg around her, drawing the petite fae into his embrace. There was no way that she'd ever deny him, so she went along gladly, curling into his much larger frame. His words brought a soft chuckle from her and she leaned into him. "It was a good night, that's for sure." The best night. The night that led to every other night after, including this one. The connection between them was definitely there. Cicero was content. It had been a long time since she'd felt complete and she had the big man beside her to thank for that.

The dark man's question pulled her ears back even as he began to nibble at her neck. Her family didn't know much. Nor had they ever. Cicero came and went, meeting with her siblings here and there. When they did meet, everyone seemed happy together. They laughed and played and teased. Mostly she was tossed around and asked to provide a plethora of hallucinogens for the ragtag group. She always did, but rarely did she imbibe while they were. Always the babysitter. The last time they'd all been together, it seemed as though Cicero had been a different wolf. She'd been free, flighty, nothing holding her down. Well... now she had Straton holding her down. There was a serious to her now that she hadn't had before. Would that change the relationship with her siblings? Would she even be able to find them? Would they be interested in seeing her? Who knew?

"My family doesn't know much," she admitted aloud. "We may not even see them." That was also a possibility. "We've always just drifted on the wind. Wherever the breeze takes an Aracari, that's where they go." Cicero pressed herself against the older wolf's body as though seeking some sort of comfort against her thoughts. "I'm not even sure if they're happy to see me most of the time. They get excited about my supply though." The dark fae's brow furrowed for a moment and she raised her gaze to meet that of the man beside her. "I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to seeing them again either. Strange, isn't it?"

"Speech"

She molded herself easily against his body at his insistence, and Straton gave a pleased rumble deep in his chest. Not once had Cicero ever denied his affection, nor did he anticipate she would this time, but it still amazed the grizzled old brute at just how much she enjoyed his presence, his touches, his licks and nibbles and kisses. What had he done in life to deserve the luxury of spending his twilight years in the company of a rare gem such as Cicero? Any wolf would have killed to have a fae as gorgeous as she was on their arm, and that wasn't even accounting for the chemistry they'd found together. Straton could recount a number of times he felt like he'd truly gotten lucky. Cicero was by far his greatest use of luck in his entire damned existence in this world.

At some point between his grooming of her fur, Cicero began to admit that her family didn't know much about where she'd been or what she'd been up to. Straton hummed in response, a husky vibrating of his vocal cords while he focused on running sharp teeth over delicate skin along the side of his lover's neck. Though not ashamed or unwilling to talk about her family, Straton had noticed that Cicero seldom volunteered information about them. Over their time together, he began to understand why. She felt like the black sheep of the family—always on the outside of the group, never excluded nor was she treated the same. His lips pursed together into a tight line when she admitted that she wasn't sure her family was happy to see her, that they were only happy for her stock of hallucinogenics.

Slowly, Straton began to pull his muzzle from her scruff so he could meet her gray gaze, slate eyes peering into the depths of her soul with a devotion for her so strong it ached. When he'd retired, the old hunter had been afraid he'd lose all purpose in life. When he found Cicero, he realized the purpose he'd been looking for was having someone to love, to dote on, to smother in affection and pleasure and passion. She gave him goals, objectives, and ambitions again. He wanted to keep her happy, because she made him happy. It really was that simple. Cicero pressed herself further into him, looking to him for comfort that he would provide eagerly. The thickly corded foreleg around her side wound tighter, keeping her svelte form tucked snugly against his side, savoring her warmth and the way her soft fur mingled with his where their bodies met.

"Not as strange as you'd think," he remarked with a half-smirk, bringing his free paw up to gently caress Cicero's cheek while he held her gaze, drinking her in while listening to the roils of thunder and rain outside. "I'm sure your family loves you, Cissy. They might have a fucked up way of showing it, but they're supporting your passion. Least they aren't ignoring you completely." Bringing his muzzle slowly down to hers, Straton nudged her tiny nose with his own large one, then caught her lips in a slow, tender kiss that lasted for a few seconds. When he pulled back again, it was only an inch or two so he could speak again. "I hope we find them. I'd like them to see how amazing you are." A roguish grin crept across the old hunter's lips and he chuckled beneath his breath. "Plus I promised we'd do all the normal couplesy shit when we got here, and I'll be damned if they make a liar outta me." Seeing her home and meeting her family had been something they'd both discussed and agreed on. With his own homelands continents away and all of his family dead, Cicero was the only one of them with any ties to this world still. Straton lived almost exclusively for his beautiful little galaxy.

"Straton"