Ouroboros Spine team rocket

set for tomorrow!

upon leaving the Fen, Casmir considered doubling back and going home, but decided a trip home was probably necessary. after all, it had been a few weeks since he'd gone -- they might need him. but only briefly. he had to get back to Laika and the kids.

the kids -- he chortled. it was sorta like they were his, huh? Cas traveled until he could no longer, settling in the lee of a cliff with a kill for the night. 

in the morning he left again, pondering the wide mouth of circular stone teeth. the place seemed odd, so naturally the boy lingered, poking around the base and chasing rabbits here and there, happy to let his duties go ignored for the time being.

Suddenly the forest she had come to love had shifted violently into a suffocating force. Without Lasher it was not the same - the family felt changed and her emotions railed frequently from one to the next. Her head wouldn't clear and she felt the tension so greatly that it threatened to swallow her whole. She had to get out. Get away from Aria and her anger, escape the judgment of the few wolves who knew of her pregnancy. 

Clearing her head would be good for her, she decided, and so her paws carried her far and wide and she let them. The dark male was frequently in her line of sight, but he did not remain. His whispers lead her, directed her, until she at last came upon an unfamiliar figure. Her silver eyes trailed him, curious of his antics, the grounds themselves were almost unnerving. He seemed happy enough, and Rowan did give a faint smile at that, settling herself to sit down and watch for a moment. 

"gotcha!" Cas crowed, stomping down on the back of the hapless hare. it screamed before its spine broke and he swung it high against the backdrop of azurite skies, crowing low in his throat. the boy then growled lowly, crouched, and shook the limp carcass vigorously, prancing as he did so, until a tailspin brought him face to face with a watching wolf.

"oh--" he began, but then a coughing fit racked his body as a tuft of fur torn from the belly of the rabbit escaped down his throat. legs splayed, Cas hacked until he could breathe again, and then looked up again at the wolf, who looked kinda fat from here. how could anyone be fat right after a famine?  "sorry," he mumbled.

The pale woman watched his mirth, her spirits lifted a bit by the antics of the dark male before her. He threw his catch, he moved with high spirits - Rowan couldn't help the smile that grew on his face. He spotted her watching and she shook her head, taking to her feet to come closer to him. "No, please - it was nice to see." She admitted. Her silver eyes were brighter than they had been, her stomach looking full - not too plush, yet. "I'm Rowan." She offered her name, holding back her last name. For now, she was just Rowan. 

Her thoughts had pushed far from Donnelaith, she did not want to be miserable the entire time she was gone. The only conclusion she could come to would be Aria forcing her out. Her anger had been so sharp, equal parts disappointment and betrayal. It wasn't like that though. Her actions hadn't been for anyone but for herself and the dark druid. Rowan sighed softy, head tilting a bit. "I didn't mean to interrupt your play."

the woman assured him, drawing closer with an elegant grace, and her silver eyes -- which reminded him of Aria -- met his own. she was pretty, and so Casmir preened a bit beneath Rowan's dulcet tones. never mind he had a mate and kids at home -- the rogue was a bonafide flirt, and made a leg of it to the pale woman, dipping his muzzle in a bow.

"Casmir Mayfair," he rejoined, taking in her scent. Donnelaith. he hadn't expected that, but went with it all the same. "i see you're from my former neck of the woods. my old man used to run the place, before ... he passed," Cas faltered, falling silent.

he didn't quite know why he was pouring it all out to a perfect stranger, and so snapped his mouth shut. there was a milky scent beneath her own aroma and he knew it to be puppies, for Saena had worn this scent when he met her. but he held his tongue; Cas'd said enough.

Rowan felt her heart stammer; no wonder she had been lead there. The dark druid had lead her there - he had to know what she would find. Of course, Lasher's son - and she found in his voice the sort of qualities she expected of his kind. "Casmir," She repeated his name, soft and a little awestruck. "Let me begin again. I'm Rowan Mayfair." She felt almost bashful, holding back the nature of her relationship with Lasher - or what might have begun, had they more time together. Perhaps it was a flash of some youthful whim, to pursue an older man. Perhaps just sweet affection and the promise of her season as well. She didn't argue it. 

"I'm sorry I did not meet you before he passed. I'm sorry for your loss." She offered softly. For a moment she was at a loss for words, what she had offered was all she could think of for a moment. Suddenly she felt nervous - near one of his children, to know she carried others of his. With Aria's outburst she couldn't trust in the nature of Lasher's wolves - she was terrified. 

Mayfair. this woman too was a Mayfair, and Cas' plume rose behind him with a wave, to greet yet another member of his family. what was Rowan, he wondered. a cousin? a distant sister? she seemed reserved in the way of his father and twin brother, but very unlike the piping deirdre. and the scent of children in her belly made him wonder. maybe she had fled to Donnelaith. anyone who had known Lasher knew that the druid meant the redwood forest to be succor for anyone needing a place to stay.

"i'm sorry i wasn't there. i've been with my cousin, Saena, in Silver Creek. she needed my help and ... i couldn't stay at Donnelaith, so." his voice trailed off and he smiled sheepishly at Rowan. "what brought you here?"

He wagged his tail upon hearing her last name, her own smile growing cautiously. Rowan was not usually one to cower, she held little thoughts to the judgement of others but it was her children she had to protect. Hers and the last of Lasher's - and was that not something more precious? A shiver ran the length of her spine and she felt the breeze kick up, pressing over her in a little dance that she felt was the druid himself, if nothing more than a soft kiss of reassurance. Could she trust this male, though, and give him the truth of things? 

"You did what was good for you, then, and for others too - he was surrounded by his family up until the end." Rowan soothed, and if they were closer she might have brushed her muzzle against his, as it was she leaned over to nudge his shoulder gently. "I'm sorry you couldn't stay in your home." She said gently. How terrible it must be - but it felt like she was quickly facing the same issues, though she had not been given any ultimatums. "I...needed to get some fresh air. Since his passing, the forest has not been as inviting as it once was to me." It was a partial truth - there was so much more to the story though.

a breeze rose and ruffled through the boy's dark fur, and he lifted his face to the skies for a moment, golden eyes holding the sunlight before he returned them to Rowan. there was an unexplainable energy about her, but the boy barely had the words to speak coherently half the time, let alone with the eloquence her aura commanded. and yet, he was drawn to her, not in a romantic sense but ... words evaded him.

her touch was comforting, and he reached out to return it, brushing across her own shoulder. "my dad was quite a character," he joked gently, wanting to lift their mood. "Donnelaith is empty without him, i bet. hell, i'm pretty far away from you all and i feel it."

he gestured at her sides, which he now knew to be rounded with pregnancy, and his mouth curved in his usual open, charismatic smile. "what are those, then? more cousins for our clan?" it didn't occur to Casmir that he was being rude as fuck. par for the course.

Rowan we soothed by the touch in turn, taking with it the liberty of a balm to her recent wounds. He was not Lasher, but, he was clearly his father's son - he had a kindness to him, a willingness for good. They were still very different at their cores but Rowan could see him and know him as he was. She offered him a gentle smile, her silver eyes closing for a moment. "So empty," Rowan lamented. "Your sister - Emaleth - has wandered off as well. The Magick seems broken." She had not seen the other little witch in quite some time, but, what was she to do about that? 

The sudden question made her squirm - she hadn't realized she was showing - but the famine had done much to give away her condition. It felt like the sun was a spotlight on her, all of her worries exposed for the young boy. She bit her lip, and if she could have, she would have blushed. "Not... Not exactly. I am only a few weeks along." She was evading the question, but, it still brought to light a fact. She had to tell Lasher's other children - she owed it to the ones she carried. Would it tarnish their thoughts on their father, would it make them hate her - she had not known their mother, nor heard her name.

It was an endless cycle, to guess and ponder and worry over details. She couldn't do anything but face facts though. She wasn't ashamed of her children. The season overcame them all and the spirits that served their family had lead her there before she had come into her heat. It was all on purpose. She had never considered it before, and it reflected in the sudden ease to her body where nervousness had taken root earlier. "They are your siblings, Casmir."  She said, her tones even. She hoped that he would not be upset - but if he was, she would understand it. 

there was a deep wellspring of pain in Rowan, something even the wildly immature Casmir could feel. she wore it like a veil, graceful beneath her burden, and he admired her for it. an older wolf would have questioned the depth of her grief when it came to Lasher, but Casmir did not. he was not one to question when beauty was before him, and less so when they had a connection, he and this pale extended relative from Donnelaith.

the subject of her children seemed to make her uncomfortable, and Cas' ear fell back. oops. he'd blundered again. but ... "Em is gone? for how long?" he asked in the brief space that followed. where had his sister run off to? he hurt for her, at the realization that her gentle mind would have broken after their father's death and she would have blamed herself. he had to find her, he decided.

Rowan spoke again and the blood drained from Casmir's face; he stared at her, openly aghast, shock brimming in his eyes. "what?" he breathed, gaze falling to her belly. m-my sib ... you mean ... what about?" what about his mom? and what the hell? had his dad cheated on his mom???

anger flitted across Casmir's face, but it passed and he lifted his eyes to Rowan's silver gaze again, the fight gone out of him. "wow," he marveled aloud, glancing at her sides again. "uh ... what are you gonna do? what does Dante say? and Aria?" his lips pursed and he stared hard at her. "so, i think i should know; was this some sort of ... one night stand? or ... like ... did you love him? did he love you?" 

what the fuck what the fuck

Rowan frowned as Casmir responded to the news of Emaleth. The young child was so fresh to the world, there was still so much out there - and Rowan only hoped that wherever she was that she was safe. She did not know the girl at all, hell, she barely knew any of her packmates and it only made her more aware of her circumstances. Perhaps if she had been more social she would feel more welcome - but it wasn't her nature. Her nature was quiet and reserved, stoic at times, but strong. Resilient. She had seen herself through worse after all. "She departed shortly after your father passed. I do believe she spoke with Deirdre before hand, though." She said softly. 

As predicted, the news was received just as roughly as it had been with Aria but for a whole other set of reasons. She had complicated the lives of his children by the very existence of his other children, and they had not even arrived earth-side yet. Rowan frowned, her gaze dropping from the young male's face to the ground for a moment as he processed and worked things through on his own. He had few questions for her and Rowan finally met his eyes again, the gold of his eyes softening the silver of hers. 

"Aria....was livid. No one else knows." She said openly. Rowan would not betray Lasher by relaying what Aria had said - that she had been promised children. "It was never the plan, there never was a plan." She said quietly. "I do not know what I will do yet. I want them to know their family - to know the lands their family come from." She said softly. "I only know the history of my side of the family and I had wanted to learn more of our roots, I....well. I doubt that will happen now." And that was the saddest part. It wasn't that she would be punished - she didn't care what happened to her, quite honestly. It was that her children would suffer, be ill-received, and Rowan could not change that. "I believe he was caught in my season...but I did hold a blossoming affection for him. I did not intend to betray your mother, you, or your siblings." Rowan was quiet for a few moments, her lip worried between her teeth. "I'm sorry, Casmir. I feel like I'm just going to keep finding things to apologize for - we've only just met and I've ruined it, hm?" 

the news that Em had spoken with Dee before departing the land was better received than Rowan's gentle, shamed explanations of what had transpired between herself and his dad ... bleh. Casmir had rocked back onto his haunches and there he sat, listening to her speak while struggling with a blend of emotions he had never tasted before. anger, because how could his dad even fucking do that? grief for Lasher, regret he hadn't been there in his father's final moments. and curiosity. and shock. and a good bit of bald interest thrown in there just to fuck with his mind.

"no," Cas muttered after a long series of moments. he didn't quite know what Rowan meant about being 'caught in her season,' but he found himself comforted by the fact that her and his dad had at least felt more for each other than just base lust. maybe his dad had even meant to stick around and raise them ... as messed up as that was. 

Aria .... "why is she so mad?" he inquired, more to himself than anything. "these ... these kids could be good for Donnelaith. my dad was ... well everyone sorta loved him. why couldn't they love these kids too?" he whispered, eyeing her belly again. he simply couldn't help himself. it hadn't been weird when his little sisters were born because his mom had been around. Rowan wasn't Blue Willow -- she was a stranger. 

but also not really? those were his baby brothers and sisters she was carrying, after all. Casmir felt no anger toward her, just a mild curiosity. his emotions were reserved for a dead man, someone from whom he could never demand answers. "maybe you should tell Dee. she will be stoked, i'm sure. she loves babies. and you ... should probably have someone isn't angry around?" he didn't even know. 

"do they kick a lot?" he blurted abruptly.

Casmir was surprising. She couldn't expect anything from him other than his natural reaction and he was offering it up readily. He didn't hold it against her directly, though he may have been upset, but, he hid it well if he was truly angry with her. Rowan couldn't answer why Aria was so upset - not without giving away how the dark male and been involved with the pale Alpha. That was a whole other can of worms she did not intend to open. God help her if it came to it, too, for Casmir's involvement with the female. 

"Because they aren't legitimate." Rowan supplied simply, watching his golden gaze as it looked her over. She was still fresh into her pregnancy, and though she felt like she knew the voices she could not be certain who would stay and who would go. Maybe it was all for not, maybe none would make it, but the witch did not see that as her fate. She saw Lasher's heirs, his last children, the final generation of witches. "I'm nervous to tell anyone else." She admitted. She hadn't know Lasher's reputation, she hadn't bothered to find out from others of his wayward mate - she was destroying him to his children, all by bringing the new ones about. Maybe it owuld have been easier if she had lied. Claimed another male, some random beast, was their father. 

That sounded too close to shame though. Rowan gave a laugh as abrupt as Casmir's question and she shook her head. "I'm not that far along. They move, but, I don't think I can feel it yet." In the coming weeks she would, but for now, her sides had just begun to noticeably swell. She could still hide her condition, for the most part.

Casmir was confused, and almost wanted to cut short their meeting so he could flee and sort out his feelings, but Rowan was gentle ... magnetic. open to him, to revealing her fears and admitting freely her misgivings. it was sort of a fucked spot to be in, pregnant, with your leader mad at you and with no true place of her own. but Donnelaith was her home, and would be such for her children.

"illegitimate," he murmured to himself, trying to make sense of the word. it meant their father was dead; it meant they had no claim to ... anything, really. his brow furrowed. "if you had a mate before they were born, would that make them legitimate?" Cas inquired carefully, his golden eyes meeting the moonlit ones of the Mayfair woman.

a smile came to him as he looked at her belly again. "that's super cool. i want to be a dad one day. i mean, i kinda am. my mate and i adopted my baby cousins because they are orphans. but i want more." he lifted his gaze to hers again. "i only knew that you were pregnant because Saena -- my cousin -- she was carrying when i met her. your scent ... " 

he trailed off -- he was babbling.

"Possibly. But in truth - I'm a bit of a recluse. Deirdre, Lasher, Osprey, and Renoir are the only ones I was relatively close with." She admitted. There was no further damage that she could do being honest with him - being utterly frank. His reaction was one that could not affect her or the children too much. Of course, she wanted his approval - she longed for someone's support - but she could not worry too much over things right then. "If I had a mate, I think things might be better. As it is, when they are born and shortly after, I will need help." It would make her a burden, and her children a burden, and possibly make them even more resented. 

Rowan's smile grew as Casmir spoke of the children he had taken in. She wondered what it meant - that his cousin was gone, what were the details there? "I could see you being a good father." She hummed out. "Tell me about them?" She asked, hopeful, a little nervous though. She was asking for a look into his life, and though they shared distant blood, she had no rights to details about him. 

This time she was a bit more bold, leaning over to nudge his shoulder again to soothe him. She didn't fret over the details of how he knew; he was the first to recognize the situation for what it was. He noticed changes in her she hadn't realized yet. 

he moved to bump his nose against hers, reveling in the comfortable familarity that had cropped up between he and Rowan. "well, we should find you one then." me, he boldly offered in his mind. because why not? it wasn't even a sexual thing; she needed a mate and someone to help her raise her kids. and more children for him! except not, because these were his dad's kids, his bros and sisters. but he could help raise them, like he, Eilidh, and Constantine had helped to rear Emaleth and Deirdre.

he didn't know Renoir, but he knew the others. Osprey was gentle and he had always liked Dante. "well Dee would support you, and maybe Dante too. Osprey isn't a dick, so I imagine she would also. i mean, like i said, these are Lasher's kids." it occurred to him that Aria was the final boss, so to speak -- would she kick Rowan out? maybe he would go talk to her.

"okay, well Saena had this husband who cheated on her, right? real piece of shit. i guess she caught him with their beta? anyway she kicked them both out and then he threatened to bring war to her and  take the kids back, so right after they were born we had to travel across the fuckin' -- oops, sorry -- across the entire world, it felt like."

he sighed. "three little kids and a few of us, but we made it. but this was during the famine. we lost one of her kids," Cas murmured softly, his gaze shuttering with pain for a moment. "the boy, Milo. but his sisters Indra and Laurel are still alive and well. Indra has this really red fur and Laurel has this earthy tone to her. Laurel is louder and Indra is quiet but they both have these adorable little voices. they're only like ... not even quite four months old yet." 

wow sorry for the ramble, Cas laughed to himself.

It was easy, sitting with him and talking to him - he asked her the hard questions but he did so in a way that still put her at ease and she felt relaxed near him. She smiled gently at his suggestion, a little laugh leaving her lips. "You make it sound so easy, Casmir." She hummed out, thinking it over. It wasn't so easy - thoughts of love seemed far away, and she was not someone who thought herself made for love. "My love will go to my children. They are my priority." She had to be reserved in that way - every choice had to be for the children now. 

"It's not his pack anymore, though. I think...perhaps Aria takes it as a challenge. That she isn't bringing the next litter into the pack." Rowan was trying to give a reason that wasn't the one she had been given - that Aria's jealousy consumed her because Rowan carried Lasher's children. Rowan settled to listen, her brows knotting as Casmir spoke. That a man who betray his mate for another, and then threaten them? It was abhorrent. 

Like static her mood shifted the energy of her powers; her aura itself prickled and she frowned. "I am sorry you lost the boy - but the girls, they are lucky to have you." She said softly as she tried to soothe herself. After a few moments the anger passed, eyes closing for a spell. "I hope at some point that my children can meet and play with yours." 

maybe it wasn't easy for her, being pregnant and all. "but you're pretty!" he exclaimed, the mind-brain connection again bypassed by his youthful enthusiasm (read: stupidity). "it won't be that hard." yet he nodded as Rowan spoke, agreeing that her kids should be the focus. as far as Aria went; Cas frowned again. that made sense, but it also didn't. "she sounds jealous, which i don't understand. you know we had a thing? i could have been her mate, but she wanted to play around. plus i was in love with someone else too." he sighed and kicked a pebble across the ground.

"anyway all that doesn't matter. she is being a jerk." Cas winked at Rowan then. "yeah, that would be awesome. playdates already organized. Laur and Indy would love that." a thought occurred to him and he paused before speaking: "do you think Aria will kick you out? i don't. but what if she does?" it was a horrifying thought.

"Oh but you are your father's son." Rowan said with a little laugh, feeling a bit more upbeat although the threat still loomed over her. She at least could find some sort of comfort in the presence of the young male, even if he was talking like he'd sell her off to find someone to support her. She'd have to find someone soon or else she'd be leaning on others. Who would she even approach? She sighed softly, biting her lip before her attention returned to the young male. "I...had no idea." That made it more awkward. She wouldn't betray Lasher, but, she wanted to put it in Aria's face - to make it more obvious that she was just as bad as Aria made her sound. To flip between father and son....well. That was something else. 

"You made the right choice, clearly. Your family is lucky." She mused, ears curving towards him as she listened to his speculation. If Aria dismissed her from the pack, what could she possibly do? She would have to go somewhere - she'd have to find somewhere to take her in. She sighed softly, shrugging her shoulders. "She was so upset. She promised she wouldn't, but, I think.....I think there is a definite possibility." Rowan said sadly. "I don't want to leave Donnelaith....It's...it's home. I want the children to know their family. That's all I want for them." Rowan wanted nothing for herself. Hell, if Aria wanted her as the Omega, to submit permanently, she would. Whatever it took for her children. 

"I'd do whatever it took to protect them."

Casmir was still blissfully unaware that Aria had been messing about with Lasher. the news, knowing the volcanic nature of the Mayfair boy, would not have been well received. however, Rowan revealed none of this, and so the darkfurred boy was free to flush beneath his pelt when she complimented him so well. but the subject of where she would go was at hand.

the boy gestured in the direction of the hinterlands, where the distant chain of mountains could be seen rearing against the skyline. "i live in those lands," he murmured. "Silver Creek." he turned back to Rowan, his gilded eyes soft. "but i don't think you have anything to worry about, Rowan, honestly."

She was soothed by the notion - after all, who would know Aria's mind better than someone whom she used to be involved with? Or perhaps it was why they used to be involved. Rowan wasn't going to ask too much on the nature of their relationship or what had soured it, now Casmir had another and they had children. It was good for him, she felt. "Well I hope that you're right." She said honestly. 

She would hate to lose the familiar trees, the tall reaches that protected them so. She would hate losing the family, too, because surely there was no way that they could reach out to one another with her time and energy focused on the children. She leaned over, nudging him gently. "Do you need to get back to them?" She asked - though she hoped that he could spare just a little more time. "Silver Creek." She echoed it, remembered it, she'd know where to go if she needed to. 

"i should, but not right away. you wanna go for a walk?" he asked, feeling restless after their long conversation. the boy stood to his paws and stretched, yawning widely. "uhum, maybe i could hunt some grub for ya?" he offered, trying to be gallant but also knowing that preggos were known for being extremely hungry. she'd probably been starving this whole time. plus she probably couldn't hunt that well, having a bellyful of kids, he imagined.

he turned his eyes toward distant Donnelaith. he'd visit one day. for now, he was content to be in Rowan's company. he wanted to know more about her -- where had she come from? what was she gonna name her kids?

Rowan nodded and stood, her movements a little slower than his. He was more than she had ever anticipated, without fail she'd never anticipated that the man would be so kind to her. "You're too sweet," She hummed out, nudging him gently as they started to move. It was a welcome change from sitting for so long, and she hadn't realized just how tight her muscles had become. 

"We could take more while we ate, if you wanted. Maybe you can tell me about your lovely wife too." She mused with a faint grin. 

Wanna fade us here? we'll get a new one soon :D