Sun Mote Copse Won't you take my cane and hold my hand

She couldn't help but beam at Bronco when his enthusiasm got the better of him, and he detailed the fight to her. It sounded as though he'd nearly lost the upper hand, when his muzzle had been grabbed- but there was no doubting that a throat-hold would generally spell the end of a fight. He didn't mention anything about bloodshed, so she assumed, then- especially given the fact that he quickly volunteered the fact that he'd let the male go- that her son had sought to strangle the loner rather than kill him, and she was proud of him for it. Her facial expressions showed how impressed she was- and when he bared his teeth, she did too, showing just how invested she was in his story. And at the end of it, he looked up to her, with those sweet, beautiful whiskey-gold eyes...

And her heart hurt. Her little boy was defending his packmates, getting in fights and getting scars. And while yes, she- as a mercenary- could admire how badass his new wounds looked, knowing they'd give him a menacing but aesthetically pleasing look as they healed into scars, she couldn't help but see past those scars and gaze into the bourbon hue of his eyes...And there, she saw his father looking back at her. She remembered the way Colt looked when he'd been injured by Kiwi- but those scars hadn't simply been flesh wounds. She remembered the scent of infection...And she remembered the way his unseeing eyes had lost their gleam. She felt herself choke up a little, but she forced herself to swallow the lump her her throat, fight back the tears, and give her son a smile and a nod. "Pretty badass," She said quietly. 

In the stillness that followed, she wasn't sure what to say, given the painful memory that had just fought its way back into the forefront of her mind. She was sure Bronco picked up on it, so she tried to single out the positive elements of his story. "I'm glad you were there to protect Sugar. We're lucky to have a guardian like you in the pack," She said softly. She let the topic rest, and cleared her throat. 

"So I know you prolly don't wanna talk about this, but...I need to let you know that...I'm seeing Phox," She said. "I'm not...Replacing your father; I...I still love him...But I...We...Phox and I want to also be together." She said, waiting for the hammer to fall.