The leopard-spotted woman had had time to rest after her ordeal. Medusa had given her space to recover and occasionally watched the tiny child for the new, younger mother to give her time to herself. Medusa didn't mind it at all considering she only had three herself, what was one more itty bitty mouth to feed? Besides, Medusa adored children and loved spending time with the little shits. And although the former Habari members were restricted to the tar pits, for the time being, Medusa had allowed Widow and Morte to den in the nicer Plains. A show of good faith, and also because she adored the pretty little baby and didn't know if she'd get sicker if she was made to stay in the Pits until further notice. But as it was, the child was innocent. And she wasn't going to separate the mother and child nor place Widow's burdens on the little girl. So they had both been granted accommodation in the Plains. Now, however, Medusa wanted to speak to Widow regarding their futures. She wanted to know if Widow wanted to earn her freedom like she was sure the other Habari members planned (other than Eraithus), or if she had other plans. Sure, Medusa had made the captive members of Habari her prisoners, but half of them ran and hid while the others just assumed she'd do them dirty. But no, she had planned on giving each and every one of them the opportunity to undo the burden of their mother's transgressions against her, and Widow would be the first. She approached the young mother's den, leaving Morte to play with her other kids for the time being. The little girl was fragile, Medusa had noticed something was wrong, but she wasn't sure what she could do about it. They didn't yet have a healer to look into it, and she did worry for the girl. She had told her own kids to be careful and to not play roughly with her like they usually did with each other. At least, not until it was certain Morte could handle rougher play. Leaving the kids to play amongst themselves. Medusa near Widow's den and softly called for her, requesting her presence so they could speak. "Medusa"

reference to the pelt and where it came from

Widow had been spared from child rearing today, giving her the afternoon to focus on the feathered bracelets she'd been crafting. The first bracelet took some time to figure out, but this one was coming along faster. Especially without her child or guests interrupting her work. Though perhaps she spoke too soon, because it wasn't but a moment later that she heard the once-Habari-slave call for her. Widow still wasn't entirely certain of the woman, but she chose to rely on her own experiences than that of her mothers. Medusa hadn't done anything to the young Klein besides spare hers and her child's life. Even if she had spared Morte, Widow hadn't expected the woman to spare her. If anything to leave her as bait for Recluse, but really the woman had been kind. She'd given Widow time to heal without Morte sucking the life out of her every moment and even trusted her to look after her children from time to time.

If she weren't so recognizable by her coat, then she would be unrecognizable. Her bulk had left her body, any fat she once had wasting from her face and girth. She was hardly anything but bones and weakening muscles, forcing her to wonder if she would ever be herself again. Had the pregnancy altered her life? Would she always be out of breath from a slow stroll or too weak to do anything but make trinkets? Widow hoped to one day have her strength back, but she was in no hurry. Despite staying in a much nicer den than her siblings and other Habari members, she was still nothing more than a curse. She was probably only staying closer to Medusa since she had a child, and for the convenience of a close babysitter. She really wouldn't doubt the woman to move her to the pits the moment her and Morte were strong enough to handle it and her kids were old enough to need less supervision.

Widow took a deep breath as she rose from her crafting place inside the den, and started to make her way towards the entrance before she remembered the black wolf pelt blanket she had made for Medusa and her children. "One moment," she hoarsely called out, clearing her throat a moment later as she collected the blanket and carried it to the entrance. She expected Morte and perhaps even the other kids to be with her, though it wouldn't take her but a second to notice that Medusa had come alone, and seemed to have something she wanted to talk about. Widow approached Medusa and slowly sat, placing the blanket down between them. "I made this for you and your pups, from that dead rogue with the pretty pelt," she mentioned, wondering if Medusa had noticed the pelt missing before now.

"Speech!"

Art © Ulfeid3 & Code © Skelle 2022

Her ears flicked at the sound of Widow's hoarse voice. Hm. Did she always sound like that? She had no idea what Widow was like prior to having found her the day they had both had their pups, but so far, she wasn't a Recluse 2.0. At least, not yet. Although Medusa was highly suspicious of Recluse's kids as a whole, even Ghoul. Though Ghoul a little less so than the others. And of course, she hadn't met the youngest of Recluse's litter...though it was strange that Recluse seemed to pop out babies every chance she got. After all, she was sure that this girl and Ghoul were (are?) still yearlings when the last litter was born. She clucked her tongue when she thought about it, but hey, to each their own! Recluse popped out babies, and Medusa well, Medusa liked to steal literal body parts. She had no qualms about it. After all, dead guys didn't need their body parts anymore once they were dead. They were far more useful with her. She didn't have to wait very long before Widow came out. And with her, she had the pretty pelt that Medusa has collected from some unfortunate rogue. It had been prepared to be used, though Medusa had been busy lately so she had stored it away and had not noticed it was missing from her stores, and it seemed Widow had used it to make a blanket. "I made this for you and your pups, from that dead rogue with the pretty pelt," She blinked a couple of times as she looked from Widow, to the blanket, and back again. "Widow made this for Medusa??" Okay, so maybe she wasn't that bad. "Thank you, Medusa and the pups will like it very much!" She grinned, tail wagging as she couldn't wait to sleep with it later. The coat had been soft to begin with, and now that it was a blanket, she was sure it would be much more comfortable. Hell, she wasn't even mad that the pelt had been taken. Though she was surprised that someone else that wasn't Havoc or her siblings had opted to make something out of another wolf. She was appreciative of the Klein girls efforts. Ah, but she was here for other reasons too hm? "Medusa knows Widow is still sick. She can see that you are still skinny and weak." Always one to state the obvious. "Morte has been doing well, but Medusa has noticed she is weak too, sometimes. Medusa has come to find out if Widow and Morte want to stay with Medusa in Insomnia, or if she wants to leave when she is strong enough to fight like Medusa is sure others plan to, or if Widow doesn't want to fight, there are other ways. Unless Recluse comes for you, but Medusa doesn't believe she will." She dropped onto her haunches and shrugged before looking thoughtful for a moment. "Widow is Cursed now, and should be in the Pits with the others that are here. But because Widow and Morte are sick, and Medusa likes having Morte around, that is why both of you are here instead of there. Also, Medusa doesn't trust Rue, Phantasm, or Morticia in the Pits with Morte." She drummed her paws lightly on the ground after stating that. Yep. She didn't trust her own kids sometimes, just as others probably didn't trust her with certain things. Also, they were kids, and kids did things without thinking. She just didn't want to give them the opportunity to even think about throwing Morte into the tar to see if she could "swim" in it or something. "Medusa"

As she brought the blanket out and passed it onto the older woman, she was nervous of what she would think. Would she be angry that the pelt had been taken and used without her permission? She certainly hoped not, though she hadn't considered whether or not Medusa had plans for it prior to her idea. She wasn't sure at first if Medusa liked it by the way she was glancing back and forth between her and the blanket. After a few moments, Widow sighed a gentle breath of relief when Medusa thanked her and confirmed that it was appreciated. She smiled in return, her own tail thumping on the ground a bit where she sat. "I'm glad, I was worried you'd be mad but I wanted to do it as a surprise and as a thank you for saving mine and Morte's life that day," she said with a smile, very aware of every single alternative option the woman had to pick from.

It was down to business next however and soon Medusa was asking whether or not it was her intention to stay or earn her way out, unless of course her mother decided she was worthy enough of some of her attention and rescued her. Like Medusa, though, she also doubted it and scoffed softly as she mentioned it with a smirk. She was about to answer during the slight pause Medusa gave, but once the woman started speaking again she waited. At least she wasn't alone in not trusting her three to not hurt Morte, either intentionally or unintentionally, but Widow had grown fond of the three regardless and as long as she kept her eyes on them she didn't mind Morte playing with them. It would be good for her to grow with the Wraith's children, if anything for Morte's own benefit in the future.

"Morte may not understand, but we appreciate everything that you've done for us. We would like to stay. I'm interested to see what you have to offer, as you seem to care about me more than my own mother," she said with a matter-of-fact tone. It was obvious to her who she should trust.

"Speech!"

Art & Code © Skelle 2023

"Medusa will never be mad for gifts like this! Medusa really likes it, and will use it!" She reassured. She appreciated it, honestly. Nobody had done something like this before, so sit was definitely something she'd treasure. At least until it started to fall apart, but hopefully that wouldn't be for a long time! "Morte may not understand, but we appreciate everything that you've done for us. We would like to stay. I'm interested to see what you have to offer, as you seem to care about me more than my own mother," She had to admit, she was surprised that Widow said she wanted to stay. Her brows shot up and her head tilted to the side, though her tail slowly began to wag and a grin began to spread. "Medusa is glad to hear that Widow and Morte will stay!" It seemed Widow's feelings about her mother weren't the best. But hey, Medusa didn't blame her! While Medusa didn't really have a mom growing up, she couldn't imagine what it was like devoting love to your mother just for her to straight up abandon you! Good thing Medusa was far too young to remember her mother in any sense. "Medusa is...sorry that Recluse doesn't care. But Medusa does! She didn't have a mom at all! So Medusa doesn't know how Widow feels, but Medusa cares and is glad Widow and Morte want to live with Medusa." Hell, if she had the sense she'd probably adopt the Recluse throwaways as her own, but they weren't exactly kids and she didn't have the sense to offer. Then again, who needed parents anyway? "Medusa"