Flurry stated blankly into the fire she'd started, watching the flames flicker and willing herself into relaxing even just a little bit. Then realizing that wasn't working gave in and uncorked a bottle. Only a few minutes prior she'd sent the cat to find her mother, see if she was willing to come speak with her eldest daughter. (Or well the one who wasn't off who knew where doing who knew what.) Flurry's mind was a whirlwind. She was one part frustrated that once again she had been kept in the dark, one part hurt that she'd been kept in the dark even after her father had implied he wouldn't do so again, one part terrified by what she was going to say and do if her mother did show up and three parts exhausted, mentally and physically. Flurry wished she had someone, anyone, she could lean on right now. But she didn't so a bottle would have to do. When in doubt...

Besides if Flurry was going to disappoint her parents again this time she wanted to be drunk for it. That was what this was about. Her mother had taken on a position that meant Flurry couldn't keep the event she masked with shame (and in reality she still felt a level of indignation, she still thought she'd acted with rationality and hadn't said or done anything to jeopardize her family or pack) to herself. So she'd made a small camp on the beach for herself and her mother, a fire to warm them if needed and a few scattered bottles being kept cool by the tide that lapped at them, jammed into the sand so they wouldn't float away. And so Flurry drank, because it was all she had when she was going to be inevitably (to her mind) pushing her other parent away too.

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code by Cloudy

Updated 01/13/23: I am currently on indefinite scarcity, please be patient and don't remind me of missing tags right now.

Modesty took a moment to consider the cat that began to wind between her legs, meowing insistently. Her head canted for a moment and then she grabbed her small pouch of herbs, a unique blend of fungi, lavender and valerian that did a wonderful job of taking the edge off when needed. She gathered a small bowl and filled it with fresh water, and two cups, if it was just going to be the two of them. It was long overdue that they spent time together, just the two of them. She was sure all the uncertainty had her daughter in a spin.

She could see the flames dancing as she made her way to the beach. She took a moment to set her bowl in the coals to heat the water and dumped in her little satchel of herbs. She offered Flurry a smile, and a kiss to the top of her head before settling herself by the fire, arching a brow at the bottle already clutched in the girl's paws. “This'll spare you the hangover tomorrow, if you'd like to give it a try... It can be an... enlightening experience, as long as you don't overindulge.” The latter was delivered with a pinch between her brows like she was remembering something unpleasant.

She wouldn't force any conversation if the girl didn't want it. Flurry would stew in it or spit it out. Her mother wouldn't pressure her one way or another. It was a pleasant enough evening to take their time.

“Speech.”

Flurry had managed to get a pleasant buzz started by the time her mother had arrived. She leaned into her mother's kiss before turning a curious eye to the offering. Maybe in a bit, she wanted to know she could get through saying what she needed to say first. Then she could kiss sobriety goodbye for the day.

"He never told me, not about what he was planning." Flurry started. "I brought up that being Scion while being left in the dark about important pack decisions wasn't exactly making me feel secure that I was valued in the position." Flurry took another swig of her bottle before setting it down, her gaze fixed on the horizon beyond the waters. "Guess that kinda got lost in how much I'd fucked up." There was a bitter edge to her tone but the pain was more obvious and raw. Her father had claimed that she was the golden child... Flurry certainly didn't feel like one. "A whole shift in leadership and a new role for you. Not even a heads up."

Flurry sighed, silent for a moment before she turned her attention to her mother, seeking to meet the taller woman's eyes. "How much do you know about my trip to the Armada?" Flurry was certain her father would have at least mentioned it. He could be trusted to make sure Modesty knew things... If her mother was going to be the face other packs talked to she had to make sure her mother at least heard what had happened from her perspective. Flurry loved her father but neither of them had really walked away from their argument understanding each other... Her father was determined to assume the worst apparently, about her and the warlord, or at least that's how it had felt when all was said and done.

- | movement | speech  -

code by Cloudy

Updated 01/13/23: I am currently on indefinite scarcity, please be patient and don't remind me of missing tags right now.

   

Modesty gave her daughter a secret smile, “Your father doesn't plan, I'm pretty sure whatever braincells he once possessed were transferred to you lot,” she confided with a smirk, “and clearly Deluge missed out in that allocation.” The latter was added more deadpan than the first. That girl had caused no end of headaches, and they would only continue she was sure.

When discussion turned to Flurry's trip to the Armada, Modesty stretched and then poured out her tea with the special mushroom chunks, really more a soup but lacking the thickness. “I know that it happened, your father feels Sirius fed you lies, but I know no more than that.” She sipped her drink and paused for a moment. “My opinion, differs from your fathers, he knows the Armada from the position of Sparrow's subordinate, I used to play with the leaders daughter as a child. Nothing is so black and white.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It's part of the reason I insisted on leading alongside him. I have relations, connections. Some things need more subtlety. I'm sick of my children getting maimed for the actions of others.” She hoped they could at least be on the same page in that regard.

“So why don't you tell me, so I know what I'm up against when next I visit?”

“Speech.”

Despite or maybe because of her nerves Flurry couldn't help but laugh as her mother took a jab at Gilgamesh, and poor Deluge catching strays. She'd apologize to her father in her head later. As Modestly spoke Flurry's demeanour shifted, from slightly on edge to a more relaxed posture. Maybe she shouldn't have assumed her parents would be of one mind and it seemed her mother at least was seeing things similarly to how Flurry did.

"I'd talked to dad, asked him what the story was there." Flurry started hesitantly, she didn't want to throw him under the bus so she was picking her words carefully. "I understand why things happened as they did but I was struggling to piece it all together, I felt like something was missing. And I uh... Wasn't handling Deluge and Scald leaving very well..." She was still unpacking all that mess, what Rexx's sudden leaving had done to her and how that had affected how she saw the rest of her litter mates bouncing. "So I kinda decided to get the information I felt I was missing for myself, and if that meant spending time away from home for a bit... All the better." Flurry grimaced, she still had nothing but guilt for the way she'd yelled at Scald like that. "I was met with Sirius at his border, I introduced myself and told him I was looking to get a fuller picture of our pack's relations. He asked for news on Dread in return."

Flurry fell silent for a moment. Her memories of her talk with the warlord were fraught, jumbled up in her emotions from the argument upon her return and the guilt she now felt for the whole ordeal. "He told me his side of the story, about how Azure and Sparrow had kept sniping at each other but things had eventually started to escalate. About how his children had started getting dragged into it. I told him my view on that day on the beach and what Azure did to Deluge." There was a hard edge to her voice as she remembered the puppy kicking bastard. "Dad thinks he played me but... I don't know. He seemed genuinely disappointment to hear what Azure had done." Flurry turned her gaze downwards. "I probably did overstep my boundaries a bit, I said that I was sad to hear his kids had gotten involved and that if it were up to me it would have stopped the moment innocent children had been dragged into this mess , and he seemed to agree that none of us should have become involved and he said that as long as Dread was with us he would seek peace first." Never mind that technically Dread wasn't with them but the point was it seemed he'd come to a similar conclusion she had... That things had gone too far. "I clarified that I had come out of personal curiosity and not any sort of diplomatic mission. And I don't know... He only found out what my rank meant before I left, I struggle to understand what he'd have gotten out of lying to me." Flurry shook her head. "Maybe he did make a fool of me, I don't know." Doubt. The seed that had been planted before she'd left had sprouted and blossomed, but it was choking the life out of her own confidence.


- | movement | speech  -

code by Cloudy

Updated 01/13/23: I am currently on indefinite scarcity, please be patient and don't remind me of missing tags right now.

   

Modesty nodded along as Flurry spoke her part, adding a nod here and murmur there to show she was paying attention. “There are deep currents at play, and I will need your sister to come back, at least for a time. She is a thorn in my side, but she sows a certain sort of chaos that can be put to use.” She hoped that Flurry would take the news well.  “She is better suited to take over from your father if the worst should happen, it's my hope, that you will succeed me, when the time comes. It's one thing to brute force your way into getting what you want. It's another to have a political mind. I don't see any harm in what you did, and it's not your fault you didn't have the full picture.”

A small cough escaped the back of her throat and she turned her head to the side to cover it as best she could, before taking another sip of her drink. “Azure and Sparrow have been at each other, I imagine, for longer than the Pirates had ever existed. Sparrow took his wife, you might have been too young to remember her being cooped up in the captain's quarters.” As much context as possible never hurt. “Still, he attacked her while she was giving birth, and half the pack along with her, your sister included... Foolish girl.” The comment certainly wasn't aimed at the daughter that sat with her. “She also put a bounty on the woman's head once she went home, one your father tried to claim. Is it any wonder the man was so antagonistic towards us?” Men, making life complicated since forever.

She sighed, feeling the effects of her tincture creep over her. “I imagine Sirius's involvement came about due to a need to protect his daughter in law, I can't say I wouldn't have done the same. But I'm sure, with time, we can mend bridges that need mending. I plan to take Jael to the markets there, to look at what livestock is on offer. Who knows what might eventuate while we are there,” She gave a shrug of her shoulders. Context, reassurance that something was being done, a glimpse of the future, perhaps. Would this put her daughter at ease?

“Speech.”