VULPINE: Her Second Chance

The Good Idea

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Western Carnelian Union - Imperial Topaz Court House, 13 Years Later

The Good Idea

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She stood, in her most stunning ivory gown, waiting impatiently for her mate to join her in the foyer of the ceremonial hall. The bodice's cut was low, both in the front and the back, showing off the curves of her body and contrasting beautifully with her smooth sepia skin.

The heavy fabric was inlaid with crushed diamonds, which shimmered like stars with every little movement of her body. A thigh-high slit above either leg made the dress more sensual, while the champagne-hued lace long sleeves and overlaid Queen Anne style collar projected modesty.

Her usually waist-length strawberry blonde curls had been painstakingly straightened, and fell below her hips with an intricately braided half updo, studded with naturally cut hair gems. Her left foot, clad in a simple stiletto pump trimmed with matching lace, tapped an anxious rhythm on the floor.

She was made up much more than usual, with lightweight foundation, blush, concealer, and highlighter all working together to hide her tawny freckles. Her eye makeup was a soft, smoky taupe to highlight her lavender-flecked grey eyes, and her mauve-tinted lips were slightly over lined, accentuating her natural pout.

A delicate orange sunstone pendant hung in the flat space between her collarbone and cleavage, the only visible jewelry, as her hair hid her lightly pointed ears. The omega hairdressers and cosmetologists had done their best, dressing her up in her mate's preferred styles, but she still wasn't happy.

She wouldn't be happy until she entered the room in front of her.

She eyed the intricate carvings of different humanoids and their gods on the large wooden door into the main room. Werewolves, -foxes, -bears, -cats, and even the bird and snake forms of witches adorned every inch of the giant portal. It was probably almost three times her height, ostensibly to inspire the service attendees' more humble thoughts.

She certainly felt humbled. With her standing at a petite 150 centimetres, even in heels the door handle hit around chest-height. It was made for all shifters, not just 'foxes, and so that was probably the average comfortable height. Being that her Spirit was a member of the smallest subspecies of the smallest species, the handle was most definitely not at a comfortable height for her.

Despite her shoes usually giving her an extra decimetre, the "average" size accommodating architecture in common buildings usually left her feeling somewhat waif-ish. Luckily she wouldn't be the one to open the giant and likely extremely heavy show of craftsmanship. She sighed for what was probably the ninth time in a very short while.

Her wandering thoughts had no true point, but they did have a purpose. A purpose they were failing, unfortunately. She stilled her tapping foot. She had been mentally rambling, cataloguing the neutral humanoids milling about the large foyer, judging the ostentatious decor - trying anything to distract herself into calming down, but it wasn't working.

Her hands shook with anticipation, and she clenched them into fists to stop them. Only a few minutes, and her new life would begin. Only a few moments, and she would be free. Bound, but free. She just had to get through these last gestures. She just had to play this game one final time.

The clattering sound of opening doors behind her stole her attention from the closed ones to her front. With a bang, Scott finally strode through, straight and tall and confident in his looks, as he should be. His charcoal three-piece suit fit nicely to his lean stature, the burnt orange tie standing out against the gray collared shirt.

He ran his fingers over perfectly-coiffured sandy-blonde hair, a nervous gesture, and came to stand beside her in front of the door. He turned amber-flecked brown eyes to her and held out his hand. Time to perform. She didn't take it, knowing that that was not what he wanted, yet.

She kept her eyes to the floor, but turned herself to face him.

He was 10 minutes behind schedule, and she hated both the delay and him, but still stood quietly waiting for him to speak. Patience was one of her few virtues.

"Are you ready, Thalia?"

She looked into his eyes, as he had silently given his permission, as well as an order, to do so. He smiled at her, a baring of the teeth cleverly hidden from onlookers. She hesitated, expecting him to show his dominance one last time, which he of course did.

He flashed bright violet eyes, causing her vixen to respond with a pale pink, almost fully white, aura.

She knew he would want this last submissive display, but couldn't help "showing a little teeth", herself. His smile dropped and she banished the pink from her aura. No need to ruffle his fur any farther than she had already. It was the little victories, though, truly.

"Of course, my Lord" She had been ready almost since the day they'd met. She placed her fingers lightly on his outstretched palm. He hadn't touched her in years, and she was glad for it. The tingle she felt from their joined palms made her skin rise with gooseflesh, and she shivered the tiniest bit.

She dropped her eyes, blushing so that he would take it as desire instead of disgust. She couldn't wait to make it down the aisle and finally be done with him and his need to be over her.

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The doors opened, as if by magic, before he could say anything foul to her. The tiniest of victories, but another win nonetheless. She took a quick and surreptitious glance around the room, noting the shifters in attendance. While her and her mate's people were there standing in the appropriate area, the other party to this ceremony had yet to arrive.

Scott faltered at her side, a brief hesitation that none but Thalia noticed.

"Skulklord Scott Kane and Skulk Luna Thalia Kane, nee Weiß, have arrived," the omega 'cat usher announced to absolutely no one who didn't already know who they were.

Thalia was almost unable to smother her amusement, blinking slowly and showing no change to her face otherwise. All that work to seem like the most important shifter in the room - coming late, everyone wearing his Lord's Colours, tying his name to hers more firmly - and it was all for nothing. There was no one here to show off for.

Other than the round-eared human behind the dais, every other occupant already in the room sat or stood in "their" section and wore various shades of orange, showing clearly whom they belonged with. Her friends, Helena and Claire, stood in a loose line with Beau - Claire's twin brother - closest to the center aisle.

All three of them were dressed to impress, but not overshadow.

Helena wore a strapless crimson gown with a pointed sweetheart bust which hugged her lithe body until it flared at the knees. It was sprinkled liberally with tiny orange crystals that deepened in colour and quantity until the hem was fully coated in deep blood orange jewels.

Her night-dark hair fell in waves from a braided crown down between her lightly tanned, olive hued shoulders, and her full lips sported a wine red lip stain. She stood tall and deceptively strong, with her weight slightly on her right hip.

Thalia's best friend was a popular model for mating gown catalogues, and it showed in the way she presented herself, always poised and aloof. But to Helena, beauty was a weapon, and the acrobatic Delta delighted in taking down the more muscular sparring partners - male and female - who underestimated her.

Claire, skulk Gamma and ever the pragmatist, wore a simple grey tweed skirtsuit that closely matched her brother's pantsuit, both wearing an orange collared shirt underneath and tan loafers.

Her thick, chocolate brown locks were swept back in a voluminous french braid, which hid the undercut Thalia had done for her at the beginning of the summer, while her brother's shaved nape was displayed with a short ponytailed bun. Thalia felt orange was not the colour for their bright sienna skin, but it was the colour they had to wear, and so they did.

Claire never wore any makeup other than a tinted lip balm, but it seemed Scott had gotten his way today, and Helena had leant her some makeup, the same wine stain appearing more subtly on her darker skin.

Claire and her bookish brother Beau, their Beta, had many other interests beyond fashion, which was to say they barely bothered to match, most days. They had apparently left outfit planning until the last minute, and then scrambled to put together something appropriate with the Court tailor. Thalia wondered if the twin fit was their idea, or the harried old gentlefox's retaliation.

Helena, the dear angel, pressed her lips together in irritation as she mind- linked Thalia.

-That prick can't even let you have your name?! It's Weiß-Kane, motherf-!-

-Maybe he's anti-hyphen-, Claire chimed in, having been included as always in Helena's initial snit.

That's how The Chatroom, as they called the mental link between them, was usually set up, with the three females having been close since diaperdom, and thus always on each other's minds.

-You know he hates that I insisted on keeping my last name and attaching his. He feels it diminishes his authority, somehow.- Which was why she'd done it.

Hyphenation was a Progressive thing, according to Thalia's parents, and only "modern 'foxes" did it. The more traditional werefoxes took the stronger mate's last name, losing the old appellation entirely. They left their old families along with the name, and became a part of a different one. But Thalia hadn't wanted to be part of Scott's family.

Thalia stared accusingly at the floral-patterned floor between her and her companions. She wanted to go forth and join them, but Scott had not yet released her hand, and so she couldn't. He seemed determined to wait for the central kingdom's group right there in the doorway, but the seconds stretched into minutes and he was forced to start down the carpeted aisle towards the dais.

They'd not made it more than halfway when she heard the outer doors open. The carved wooden doors were meant to be soundproof, but her ears were better than most others' - a gift from her shifted spirit - and so she knew that no one else had heard.

She thought about alerting Scott to their arrival, but didn't feel like saving him from any tiny humiliation. He would never do the same for her, and in fact often did quite the opposite.

It took a long moment for the new arrivals to cross the foyer. They were 15 minutes late but still walking slowly, and she huffed very slightly as the heavy ceremonial doors opened and Scott ground to a halt in the center of the well-travelled path. His eyes snapped to Thalia, but she was already looking innocently downward, passing off her impatience as surprise at the others' arrival.

"The Moon Kingdom's Alpha, Daniel Sky Jackson, and his noble retinue have arrived!"

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