Plans

speech

Mercury would add his voice to hers, weaving together to form a song that was theirs. Canta herself wasn’t totally sure what they were, she cared for him but she wasn’t sure she could say she loved him… call it pessimism but little in her life had suggested to her that it was even real… after all hadn’t her father claimed to love them? Hadn’t her mother? They would allow their call to end, echoing off the trees of Canta’s childhood. Lowering her head again, the woman looked at Mercury a tiny smile pulling at her lips as she did so.

It wouldn’t take long for their family to arrive, Novel being the first and accompanied by a young male that could only be her nephew. She had never taken much time to visit them but she could remember the tiny bundles of energy… Time really had passed. She didn’t fail to notice the slight flinch from Novel and she resisted the urge to drop her head. Still the girl stopped short and Canta had to resist the urge to frown, the Novel she had known would have been pushing right up into her fur.

Her sister’s soft call was all it took and took a step forwards, stopping with her toes on the border. She craned her neck forwards, just able to nose at her sister’s muzzle.  A big smile would split across her face as Psalm spoke and Canta stepped back in line with Mercury. It wasn’t long before the rest of the family arrived, Ara bypassing Novel all together to make contact with her brother.

Canta awkwardly side stepped, not wanting to interrupt the sibling’s reunion, a question leapt from her sister-in-law’s lips and Canta was about to speak when the final missing member joined them, though he remained silent.

“I’m sorry it took so long.” She ducked her head this time, feeling the shame of her own inability to face her sister. “After what happened- After Jupiter I was bitter,” her thoughts briefly flashed to her aunt… to the woman who had sat by and not used her resources, her pack to save her own family, “in some ways I still am.” She lifted her head again and looked at Novel, fixing her with one eyed gaze.

“I was there… I saw Dhiren walk away, I heard mother saying Jupiter was free to take the pack lands… I was there when Jupiter vowed to take the pack prisoner.” There was a strain in her voice, all the raw emotion of that moment weaving in her tone. “I couldn’t- I couldn’t let that happen Novel… I fought; I was the only one who fought!” She had to pause, try to reign in her breathing… try to stop the rage from spilling out on her sister.

“The only reward I got for being the only one to fight for this family was losing my eye.” Then it was pain… the memory of her loss, of needing comfort and finding none. “Maybe the worst part was sitting there… staring at the ground and expecting to hear something… anything from mom… to feel her come to comfort her daughter after all she had gone through. Then looking up to see she wasn’t there…” Lids slid shut and Canta had to lock her jaw, bite down on the tears threatening to spill forth.

Maybe Novel didn’t need to know this… but it would never sit right with her to keep this from her. She needed to know the sorry state of their family. “I ran.” Her gaze finally shifted to Mercury, this part was as much his story as hers… hell he probably remembered more of it than she did. “At some point I must have passed out, I have no idea how long I was out. For all I know it could have been a few days. The next thing I remember was waking up to find Mercury… or rather to find he had found me.”

Her forest gaze searched his violet one, willing him to jump in if he felt the need. “We’ve been lurking near the border ever since… but we’ve finally come up with a plan.” She smiled again, having only eyes for him in this moment. They would finally have a life free of the shadow of her parents, or Jupiter’s terror. They would have a life together.