VULPINE: Her Second Chance

The Small Request

- - - -6- - - -

The Small Request

She was almost fully out.

- - - - -

The change of alliance took no time at all, and they were soon ready to leave for the Moon Kingdom. Thalia's things, as well as her friends', had been packed and sent ahead earlier that morning.

Scott had to stay behind to finish confirming the new Court with the priest, but Thalia was free to go. The two males had absconded through a door tucked away behind the dais, likely headed to the priest's rectory office. Beau and the king's beta left to gather Thalia's fourth "chaperone", and Helena and Claire had gone with the witch to do a last look-through of their rooms in the skulkhouse. Only King Jackson waited, holding the heavy door open for her with ease.

Finally, she thought as she squared her shoulders and walked through the ornamental doors for the final time. Just as she was about to cross the outer threshold, a meek, but measured voice called out to her.

"Luna Thalia, wait!" She stiffened as she recognised the smooth alto. Ashleigh. Of course. Thalia turned slowly, as though she didn't feel like sprinting out the doors and away from her previous skulk.

Scott's favourite paramour was a gorgeous female werewolf with long auburn hair and hazel green eyes. She had clear tanned skin, and was a model along with Helena, but often dressed in muted colours and casual tunics. Ashleigh was taller than Thalia, as most were, but she was thin and willowy, just like Scott liked. Or, at least, she usually was. Currently, her normally trim waistline had expanded significantly to fit the little hybrid male sleeping within.

The desperate look on her face had Thalia worried. The two had never truly trusted each other, but seemed to get along well enough with a functioning sense of mutual respect and commiseration. Ashleigh was quite clever, and Thalia was sure she would become the Skulk Luna in Thalia's absence, whether officially or not.

Now, though, her perfectly lined red lips were bowed, and she clasped her hands together in a gesture reminiscent of prayer. Her fresh floral scent, snapdragon and pennyroyal, was thick in the air, as she was unable to practice suppression so close to the birth. When Ashleigh spoke again, her tone echoed her slightly pleading hands.

"I have something of a favour to ask of you. I was thinking about it just now, and I'm sure you will need someone to look after Sassy, when you and your friends are busy." She glanced back at the king, still stood in the inner doorway, and then further, to a quiet teen standing awkwardly by the last row of pews. "I'd love it if you could add Fionna to your list of retainers. I feel she needs to see more of the world before her first shift occurs."

Thalia took the pregnant female's hands into her own and squeezed them slightly, trying to reassure her that Thalia understood what Ashleigh was asking.

"Of course, Ash. I'm sure Beau would really appreciate having someone familiar there to take care of Sass." She gestured with her chin to Fionna, beckoning her forward.

"Thank you so much! I'll let Scott know later; I'm sure he won't mind."

Ashleigh would likely only tell Scott of Fionna's departure once she'd crossed the borderlines of the Union and renounced the skulk. That way, in the unlikely event that Scott wanted her to stay, it would be too late to do so while still saving face. Thalia was equally sure that the Skulklord "wouldn't mind". In fact, if he'd thought about her as anything but a stain on his precious reputation, he'd have sent Fionna away himself.

Ashleigh put an arm around her daughter's shoulder and clutched both arms in a strange side-hug. Fionna tentatively placed her crossed hands on Ashleigh's and closed her eyes for a quick moment. They were clearly not used to physical contact, but they were also about to be parted for a long while, possibly for the rest of their lives.

Fionna Carter-Kane was a shy, sometimes clumsy, sixteen year old kit who was a perfect blend of her two parents. She had Scott's sandy blonde hair and Ashleigh's lovely eyes, with slate grey flecks where Ash's were a deep blue. She was naturally thin like her mother, and wore a dayglow orange hoodie, zippered open to display a white tunic over black leggings.

"Thalia is going to take you with her, sweetheart, to look after Sassy. Go ahead and wait by the car, and I'll let your father know when you've arrived safely." Ashleigh nodded towards the door, and Fionna bit her lip slightly, eyes welling up before she caught herself and nodded affirmatively.

Fionna walked past the three other shifters and towards the car-dotted parking lot, smiling slightly at Thalia as she passed by. Her mellow, watermint and summer cilantro scent trailed behind her, indicating that her wolf or vixen spirit was soon to show herself.

Thalia smiled at her shrinking back. She liked Fionna. She was a lovely child who would grow into striking young woman, but only if Thalia brought her out of the Western Union and away from Scott.

Ashleigh had been speaking in code, somewhat. Thalia didn't know why, but Scott was likely to try and have Fionna killed after she shifted at seventeen. Ash had largely ignored her daughter, on the Skulklord's orders, but she did love her very much. Thalia had heard her whisper it to Fionna every hidden chance she got.

"Thanks again, Thalia, you're a lifesaver!" Her tone was light, but her words were serious, and Thalia reached out and squeezed Ashleigh's hands once more before letting go. "I'll send Fionna her things overnighted, but she has a credit card for anything else she needs in the meantime."

The she-wolf took a last, longing look at her daughter, and then turned and walked back into the ceremonial space. Her gait was sure, her posture ramrod straight, and her eyes were determinedly dry. Only her clenched fists betrayed her heartbreak.

Thalia looked at King Jackson, who she'd been ignoring in favour of her pregnant frenemy. He raised a brow, then walked past her and onto the porch of the large building. Once there, he looked back at where she still stood, in the propped open doorway of the civic building. The gentle mental tap came again and Thalia opened up.

-Coming?- He grinned, showing off his straight teeth, and this time she smiled back.

-You don't have to ask me twice-, She quipped in his direction, and finally left the foyer of the Imperial Topaz Court house.

- - -

Thalia caught up with Fionna rather quickly, given the taller teen's longer legs. As they neared the two vehicles - one a large black van and the other a mid-sized SUV in the same colour - Fionna slowed to a stop. She stayed facing the cars, her head tucked down between her narrow shoulders. She glanced at Thalia, worrying her lip again as she tried not to cry.

"Finnleigh's an Alpha," was all she said, in a low murmur, but Thalia understood immediately. Ashleigh and Scott's unborn child would apparently be a strong Alpha, if Ash had already felt the Spirit's aura.

Fionna was likely to be an omega when she shifted - if she shifted, what with her budding aura being so weak. Scott, for all his love of power, was old-fashioned in many ways, and treated omegas as the dirt he and their ancestors felt they were. If he had an Alpha heir, he would never keep an omega "spare" alive. If Fionna stayed, she would be dead by the new year, or if Scott found out about Finnleigh beforehand, whichever came first.

"Oh, doll," Thalia quietly sympathised, patting the troubled teen's shoulder.

King Jackson, who had been keeping the sedate pace he'd probably come in with, neared the two and nodded at Fionna in greeting.

"Kids in the SUV, adults in the bus," he intoned quietly.

"I should wait in the car," Fionna gestured to her brightly coloured jacket and matching shoes, "since Skulklord Kane will absolutely spot me if he comes out before we leave."

The adults nodded at her, and Thalia saw the relief behind the teens eyes. Fionna would need a little time to privately grieve, and the darkly tinted windows of the SUV could provide that seclusion. She opened the back door and sequestered herself away. Thalia immediately heard a quiet whimper, and wished she could close her ears and give Fionna more space. She sighed silently. Thalia would just have to pretend she couldn't hear the teen's muffled sobs.

The king requested to "speak" with her again. She raised a brow, then opened her mind a bit further than usual.

-I just wanted to assure you that the girl will have a place to stay. We made rooms ready for 5.-

-Thanks, but Fionna will probably want to room with Sassy, since they know each other pretty well.- Thalia felt his curiosity, but disregarded it in favour of continuing casually, -Also, you can just barge in, if you want to mind-link. I'm used to it and I prefer to save time, anyways.-

He gave her an unreadable expression, but nodded in response to her request.

As she turned back towards the Court House, she fell into her habit and began cataloguing the impressive building. Seven spires and one large steeple, eight stained glass windows and one large round portal over the large entrance. Two gargoyles shaped like natural foxes, with four eyes made from high quality imperial topaz, the building's namesake gem. It was more like a cathedral than a house, with its open footprint and tall, imposing stone façade.

The building, which belonged to Claire and Beau's parents, had stood strong through the years, and seen its fair share of shifters come and go. Though the Imperial Topaz Skulk was not always in power, no ruling shifter had ever tried to change the name or ownership of the house. It still belonged to their Lord's Court, and only clergymen and government officials were free to enter and exit as they pleased.

Leader of the Imperial Topaz Skulk, the Montfort family was one of the most prominent and long-lived 'fox bloodlines. Several of the 'foxes in the Global Group - the international shifter's council - came from the Montfort branch families. Almost every kit born of them was alpha- or beta-blooded, and so they were one of the rare 'fox skulks that practised succession by blood and birth order.

Sometimes, Thalia wondered what her life would have been like if Yves, the eldest Montfort daughter, had survived and taken the role of the Union Skulklord. Perhaps, if the triplets had held the top three positions in the Carnelian Lord's Court, she wouldn't have moved to the central city.

Perhaps she would never have mated with Scott at all.

- - -