She stepped back into Fiori lands after visiting the North, her recent conversation with Vereux still fresh on her mind. She still had yet to sort out all of her emotions and she wasn't entirely sure she would for quite a while still. But there was one thing she was sure of. She had to talk to Amalia. She needed her little woman and she needed to tell her what had happened... and ask what had happened on her end as well. Athena made a beeline through the territory, following her wife's scent closely till she finally spotted her small white and russet form. She sighed heavily with relief. Just seeing her mate make her calm down somewhat. Amalia really was her rock and her sanity at times. She didn't realize it, but tears still glittered in her eyes as she hurried up to Amalia, quickly burying her face in the fur on Amalia's scruff, breathing in her wife's scent. She would sigh again, sinking to her haunches and paying no mind to the water and steam around them nor moving any father away from Amalia, keeping her self pressed close to her wife's small form. "Amalia, I ran into Vereux," she said quietly, her voice hushed and pained, her split tone gaze moving to find Amalia's. "Talk" "You" Think

She had finally found a spot that she could really think at. She was close to the warm ocean, its constant flow was calming to her ears. To her left was one of the heated pools, its steam a further comfort to the woman. She was glancing out at the water when she heard the shuffle of paws, her ears twitching as she slowly turned to face her wife. She felt the air rush out of her lungs as she eyed her beautiful form, the sight of her still took her breath away every time. She grinned up at the woman, her shortened tail wiggling behind her. But that is when she saw the tears, and her body froze. She was going to stand up and rush to her, when Athena beat her. The taller woman rushed to her side and buried her face into her coat, and Amalia let out a confused whine. She said nothing else though, just started to groom whatever part of Athena that she could reach from his position. She looked up when she pulled away, letting out a sigh and glancing down at her coloured face. She tilted her head to the side, brows knitting together as she glanced at her with a worried look. Athena was not looking at her still, and she moved her front white paw to rest it on top of Athena's left paw, still glancing up at her wonderful wife. The words that then spilled from her maw at the tiny woman freezing again, her mind reeling. "Oh," was all she could manage, finally meeting her gaze. Amalia's was pained as well, and she bit her lower lip to stop the tears. "Talk" "You" Think

Athena settled onto the ground next to Amalia and pressed her side into Amalia's smaller form. She nuzzled her face into the side of Amalia's neck, needing as much of her wife's touch as she could get. It wasn't until she finally let herself sit still and think about her emotions that she realized how much seeing Vereux had really bothered her. Having her wife at her side eased her pain greatly and she was so grateful that she had Amalia there to lean on. "I appreciate you trying to protect me and the boys," she said softly as she pulled her face away so that she could bring her muzzle to Amalia's ear and gently lick over it tenderly. She knew Amalia would understand that she was referring to keeping Vereux away from Fiori. "But we can't keep him away from his sons," she said sadly, her voice little more than a whisper. "I told him to stay away from Fiori to keep from pushing your mother any more than we have to and to give us some time to process everything... but I agreed to take the boys to see him soon." She sighed and kissed her wife's cheek, letting her presence relax her and bring her back down to earth. Her red and green gaze found Amalia's perfect blue eyes and she smiled giving her wife's cheek a small, loving lick. This too would pass and at the end of the day they would still have each other and they would still have their sons. That's what was really important. Speech Thought

She tried to relax into her lover's touch as much as she could, but her body was still tense. She didn't know if she was going to be scolded or if Athena would be mad at her for what she had done. She knew that it was going to come back to bite her in the ass sooner or later, and she should have told her as soon as it happened. But no, she had insisted to keep it to herself. When Athena licked her ear she smiled a little, but her body was still tense. Until she thanked her for trying to protect her and the boys, and it was at that that Amalia's ears pulled back to her skull and she looked away from her wife. Trying to protect them? That was all she did, wasn't it? She wasn't strong like Athena or like her boys, she was a weak healer that couldn't even protect them from a past threat. Her body grew even more stiff, lower lip quivering as she fought back tears. Swallowing hard she kept her eyes away from Athena, trying not to let her love see her cry. "I'm too weak to do even that, aren't I?" she asked quietly, trying to keep the quiver from her voice. Would she ever be strong enough to protect them? What if a real fight happened? She shuttered at the thought, keeping her red face turned away. Athena kept speaking, saying that they couldn't keep him away from his sons. "They are NOT his sons!" she wailed, quickly turning to face the silver woman, a single tear leaving her blue gaze. "He gave up that right when he left you! I hardly saw you Athena, you were out looking for him. I lost so many days with you, often having no one to turn to while trying to raise those boys. I am more a mother to them than he will ever be a father to them. How can you take the boys to him? What if they grow attached to him and he leaves again? What then Athena? I cannot watch you guys go through that all over again, it will break my heart. I can't..." Amalia trembled. It was fear and sadness in her voice, not anger. Her head shook her head back and forth, placing it on the ground and covering her muzzle with her paws. She sniffled, her whole form shaking. Because of her moved position Athena's licks fell on her ear once more, and her coloured head moved towards the touch. She wouldn't survive seeing them hurt again. ""

Athena's eyes widened with shock at Amalia's outburst, completely surprised by it. She wasn't used to such a thing from her little Ama, but unlike the time she had spoken up against Epiphron, these words weren't touched by anger. All she heard from her wife was sorrow and fear. Athena's gaze softened and tears welled up in them as Amalia's head dropped down to lay on the ground, her mismatched paws covering her russet muzzle. "Shhhh," Athena whispered gently, slipping the foreleg closest to Amalia over the smaller girl's shoulders and pulling her pale form tighter to her. She curled around Amalia protectively, her muzzle dipping toward Amalia's face to tenderly lick away the tears that stained her wife's face. "I'm so sorry," she whispered after a few moments, still holding tight to her Ama while the tears squeezed at her throat and threatened to choke her completely. "I never meant to... I mean I..." She sighed defeatedly and let her gaze find Amalia's.  "I'm so sorry I took those days from you and I'm so sorry you had to be on your own... I never meant to do that to you. I was just so afraid that... that if I didn't look for him who would?" Her ears flicked back, her gaze begging Amalia for forgiveness or maybe just for understanding. "But Ama... Whether we like it or not he is their father. I can't cut him off completely... You really have been more of a parent to our sons than anyone else. I know that, the boys know that... hell, Vereux knows that. That's not going to change. Because of the love and the care you've given them... They've turned into fine young men." Tears spilled onto her cheeks and she gently nuzzled Amalia's cheek. "Thank you for that, lovely... I'll never be able to repay you for that." "Talk" "You" Think

She felt her wife's leg wrap around her shoulders, her tiny body being dragged along the earth as she was pulled closer into Athena. She stifled a sob, pretty much proving her point that she was weak. But when Athena started to speak, her head poked out of her forelegs at her words, shock written clearly on her features. Oh, oh no! She hadn't meant to blame Athena for that! Oh dear... she had really messed it up now. Letting out a whine she leaned into her tender kisses, damp eyes searching her black marked face. "Oh my darling, no, no. I wasn't -- I cannot blame you for that. That is not what I was trying to say. I'm just..." she paused, mind reeling as she tried to think of the right word, "frustrated," Ama said with a sigh, leaning up to press her nose against her cheek. "I know that he is the boys father, and its unfair to not let them see him. But I just... I just don't trust him Athena. I cannot trust that he will just disappear again." She watched as Athena's face twisted, ears pulling back as she begged to be forgiven. "I do not blame you my love, not a bit. He had been there your whole life, I cannot fault you for searching for him. It came out all wrong." She whispered, offering the silver woman a weak smile. When Athena started too speak again about her being a huge part in making the boys who they were today, her lower lip quivered as she bit down on it, tears streaming down her face at Athena's kind words. Her gaze flickered between each of her wife's two-toned eyes, leaning up to lap up the salty tears on her silver face. "I've been so afraid that they would think of my different with him here now," she said with a sob, burying her face into Athena's neck. "But your words could not have been any sweeter. You have to know that I did it all for you -- all for our family. I would do anything for them my love, and anything for you. You have saved my life time and time again, and now you offer me more love than I can possibly imagine. For that, I thank you," Amalia lifted up her gray fore paw and tried to boop it against Athena's nose, that sweet smile of hers shining through the tears. "I love you with all that I am, with all that I ever could be." "Talk" "You" Think

It was a huge relief to hear that Amalia didn't actually blame her for leaving her during all of her searches for Vereux. She sighed, this time from relief and a weak smile touched her muzzle. She listened to everything Amalia said, wanting to hear and take note of every word. No matter how much Amalia assured her that she was not to blame for all of this, she couldn't help but feel at least a little responsible for all of this. She wanted to hear everything from Amalia's side before she said anything else. She wanted to be more attentive to Ama's feelings, realizing with a jab of guilt that she had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't taken them into consideration. All of Amalia's sweet words warmed her heart and she couldn't help but tear up again as she listened to her wife. She nuzzled Ama as she burried her face into her neck, peering down at her with a smile when she pulled back again. She giggled softly and leaned forward to place a kiss on Amalia's nose after Ama bopped her on the nose. Athena was sure that Amalia's smile could brighten even the darkest of days, even ones like this that were subdued by tears. "I love you that much and more, my Amalia," she replied softly, gently pressing her nose to Amalia's. She chuckled softly to herself after a few moments and added, "You've made me such a softie. One little tear from you and I completely fall apart. I just can't stand to see you sad." "Talk" "You" Think

She let out a soft giggle when Athena's lips tickled her damp nose, her own coloured paw still resting on top of her wife's own nose. She was glad that she could push them passed the tears, to no longer linger on the sadness that took away from their adoration. When her wife's nose pressed against her own, she let out a shuttering sigh and closed to blue eyes, the tears ceasing to flow as she relaxed against her lover. Her sweet words of love had her lashes fluttering open, her smile growing across her face. But when Athena made the comment about making her soft, she let out another peel of laughter, nuzzling fiercely against her again. "Maybe I should be sad more often, I like seeing the tender side of my loving wife," she teased, pulling back to playfully nibble on Athena's silver cheek. She no longer wished to talk about sad subjects or anything that dampened their mood, she wanted to spend this down time with her wife. Plus, it wasn't very often that they got some time alone together. Usually there was at least one boy hovering around. Hopefully that meant that they were exploring, and getting used to their new home. With that thought on her mind, Ama pulled back and looked up at her darlings face. Her smile was still there, but her tone was a tad bit serious. And after all that talk about not being depressed! "Do you think we made the right choice, bringing the boys down here? I know it was hard for all of you to leave you home, and the North was my home as well for the most part," she asked, blinking slowly as she studied Athena's features. She loved that she was around her family again, that her brother and mother were here. She had even ran into two more of her brothers, and Arian was back as well! "Perhaps we can bring the boys to meet their uncle Leo some time? He's a very adorable man, and he's so great with kids. I know that Arian has been having a hard time settling in, but I think she is making her own rounds in meeting them. Would that make them feel better?" "Talk" "You" Think

Athena grinned happily when Amalia laughed, that sound bringing her so much joy. When Amalia was sad she was sad, when Amalia was happy she was happy. She was forever linked to her sweet, wonderful wife and she wouldn't want to live her life in any other way. She mentioned being sad more often and she chuckled, giving a jokingly horrified look. "My dear, a day without your smiling face would be torture! Why would you wound me so?" Her tone was completely over dramatic and silly, more than happy to move onto this light banter and away from the other sad topics. She chuckled and grinned again, returning the playful nibbles that Amalia gave her back to Ama's own russet cheek. Her gaze found Ama's curiously when she pulled back a bit, listening to the question her wife presented. Had they made a good choice? It was honestly something she had asked herself quite a bit even though she didn't often like to voice it aloud. She had been trying her best to give it time and let them all settle in before she made any decisions on that. "I think we did," she answered honestly. "It has been hard, but I really think it's been harder on me than it has been on them. They're still so young. Yes, the North was their home, but they're still young enough to not be as attached to it as I am... they don't have as many memories tied to that place." She smiled sadly as she thought about it, about all the things that had happened in the Sparse Pines, the Red Forest, the Marble Wash. It was her whole childhood. She fell in love there twice, ruled a pack there, gave birth there. So much had happened in such a short span for her and it had all happened in the North. That had really been the hardest part of it all, giving up those attachments. She focused back on her wife when she mentioned introducing the boys to their Uncle Leo and that Arain was slowly meeting them all as well. She smiled, cheered up again by the thought of their sons getting to know Amalia's half of their family better. "I'm sure they would love that. I'm glad they're getting to know your family. I think they're probably going to be a far better influence than my family ever was." "Talk" "You" Think