VULPINE: Her Second Chance

The Trek Continues On

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En Route to the Northern Sky Castle - Eastbound MsKH 53 - 11,362km Remaining

The Trek Continues On

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When Thalia woke up for the final time, it was morning and there were several missed calls from Scott on her silenced phone. He'd also sent some messages she didn't bother to open, as she was pretty sure what they'd consist of.

After making sure there weren't any pertinent notifications on her phone, Thalia finally looked up to find that she wasn't the only one awake. Still across from her, King Jackson sat piddling on his phone next to a sleeping Thaddeus and Beau.

They had pragmatically turned slightly away from each other and were leaning against each other's inner shoulder and back. It was very cute up top - with Beau's peaceful chainsaw resting on Thad's shoulder - but Thaddeus' long legs were encroaching on the king's space.

Rather than wake the sleeping couple and insist that his beta move, King Daniel had folded up his large frame and was sitting cross legged in the seat. It looked uncomfortable.

Thalia brushed against his awareness - he was a knocker, after all - and linked with him as he looked up at her.

-What's the plan, King Dan?-

- - -

Shortly after the surge of power that meant they'd entered Daniel's lands, Claude had messaged the king and told him that Fionna had renounced the skulk. They'd wasted no time trying to wake Thalia, which she was totally not bitter about, and the king had been set to go on his own to initiate Fionna into the Northern Star Sapphire Pack. Fortunately, Thalia's superior hearing had roused her before he could do so.

After convincing King Jackson of her usefulness as well as her ire should he not allow her to go, Thalia had joined him in his trek to the parked SUV.

Claude, still unseen to the adults but not unheard, had apparently exited to do a quick patrol, the king had told her with some amusement.

Fio had moved to the farthest row of seats in the back, and both girls had a strange-but-comfortable looking cot attachment on which to sleep. Thalia assumed she'd either clambered over Sasha's deeply sleeping form, or opened the back hatch in order to get out, but either way, Fionna was waiting for them when they made it across the short distance between vehicles.

She'd remained in her outfit from the ceremony, having had no private space in which to change, but the fluorescent orange parka was doing wonders to protect the thin girl from the early autumn night. Thalia was honestly somewhat envious, as she had dressed for the late summer day, not expecting to have to deal with the desert-like temperature difference.

Almost as soon as she'd had that thought, a bunch of warm cloth was draped over her shoulders. Thalia turned, expecting the king, but found no one. Seeing her incredulous expression, the king brushed against her awareness and spoke: -I asked Claude to find a blanket for you before truly beginning his patrol. I hope you don't mind.-

Thalia was torn between gratitude and annoyance with them for speaking about her over her own head. She chose annoyance, since she was still a little miffed about King Jackson trying to leave her on the bus. She ignored him, but did pull the blanket into a more dignified draping before speaking to her ward, who had been politely waiting for them to finish whatever thoughtful conversation they'd been having.

"Hey, Fio. How'd he take it?" Thalia figured she'd get any comforting that needed done out of the way, but she didn't expect the bright grin that spread across the teen's face. Apparently, she'd only been sad because she had to leave her mother.

"Extremely poorly, Miss T. I bet he's just mad he probably can't kill me now, though." Fionna's smile turned sardonic, but she still radiated quiet rebellion.

"How about we make that 'probably' into a 'definitely', young Lady?" The king surprised them both a bit as he spoke up. Thalia was honestly somewhat impressed that his voice was never hoarse from disuse, as he seemed to only speak aloud a few times a day.

"King Jackson has a point there," Thalia said, semi-begrudgingly. "Let's get you pledged, and then you can go back to sleep in safety."

Fionna nodded, not sparing anymore words but promptly turning to the king to begin her swearing in. "I, Fionna Carter, vow loyalty to the North Star Sapphire Pack and its Alpha Court, and will serve the Moonstone Kingdom to the end of my days. If you would accept this insignificant vessel, the Spirit within would also follow, my king." She tensed after ceasing her speech, likely anticipating some response akin to the disdain she'd seen in the Sardonyx Skulk.

Neither responded to her change of appellation, but Thalia did raise a brow at the indicator that Fionna had already come into her Spirit, since Thalia had assumed she still had time. Sadly, that meant that Fionna's Spirit was too weak to do much more than let her know it was there. Such a Spirit could not even be named. But Thalia felt the king wouldn't be the type to show fang to an Omega, much less a kit.

"I, Daniel Sky Jackson, accept this child as an Alpha as well as a king. Under the protection of the Allfather and the eyes of Fenrir, I vow that this child and the Spirit within will see no harm that I can prevent." He finally made eye contact with Fionna, somewhat avoiding Thalia's shocked gaze, and flashed royal purple eyes at her, prompting the pure white aura to flare up in Fio's simularly wide stare. He then finished the tiny ceremony, "Welcome to the North Star Sapphire Pack, young Fionna. The god's will and speed to your fortunate future."

By invoking Odin, the Allfather, the king was accepting Fionna not just into his pack, but into his family. The females stared for a short moment, silently prompting him to explain. "Children should be protected as much as possible, and the safest place for you is directly under the king's wing." Ah, thought Thalia, a succinct explanation as usual. King Daniel's words made sense, she supposed, but she also felt there was more to it than he was allowing Fionna and Thalia to know.

Regardless, that explanation was enough for Fionna, who said her goodbyes and quietly opened the back of the SUV, answering Thalia's earlier suppositions while returning to her comfy seat-cot. Sasha's loud snoring was abruptly muffled as the king gently closed the hatch.

On the walk back, Daniel had had the time to apologise for assuming she'd prefer to have slept, as Thalia walked at a more sedate pace than before.

- - -

The king's low chuckle brought her out of her musings. -Your Claire has convinced her new "friend" Mirella to allow her to drive, and they are searching for a breakfast place together.- Thalia appreciated that he didn't say "my Mirella". For some reason, she felt like that would've soured the relationship Claire was attempting to foster. -Since Claire's driving, though, we're not too much farther into the Kingdom.-

They had decided to park just off the road once they'd passed into the first of several territories last night, as most packs preferred to be disturbed during the daytime. With someone other than the kings' people driving, they topped out at around 150kph, rather than 300ish.

-We've actually found a place already, we'll reach it in about 10 more kilometres.-, came Claire's response once Thalia asked for an update. She relayed this information to Daniel, and soon they had roused everyone in both vehicles in time to pull up semi-refreshed.

The diner the two females had chosen resembled a kitschy ranch home on the exterior, with only the antiquated marquee out front indicating it's actual status. Thalia had high hopes for the food, considering the comfortable atmosphere, but she didn't expect that Claire would hit her with an indulgence so early. The sign stated that the building was meant to house an assortment of international waffles, but Thalia could smell the cooked fats of her three favourite crustaceans: shrimp, crab, and lobster. The beautiful scent of the ocean's endeavours made her mouth water and her stomach growl. Quietly, thank the gods.

Alpha Kane had restricted Thalia's diet not only in terms of quantity, but also in quality of the food she was allowed to eat. He thought, semi-correctly for once, that eating bland food would suppress her appetite. While it didn't change her desire to eat the tasty things she'd missed in the nine years she'd been wed to the tyrant, it certainly meant she'd had no enthusiasm for her daily oatmeal with fruit, boiled eggs, and salad with a minimal amount of olive oil as dressing. She'd eaten like a monk for almost a decade, and she was absolutely tired if it.

Whenever she'd eaten with the others, she was allowed a little more, and she'd always ordered the same thing: soft whitefish with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. But her chosen family knew nothing about her if they didn't know this: Thalia loved crab more than she loved any other food and most other people. Though she didn't know which side of the family she got it from, Thalia's love for seafood was deeply rooted, and it felt like forever had passed since the last time she'd been allowed to eat shellfish.

Even before her doomed marriage, the opportunity to eat it was rare, as Isla suffered from a severe shellfish allergy and Erik hated all seafood. She'd had it a total of eight times in her life, at the beginning and ending parties when she was away for university. Now, she planned to eat it until she was sick of it.

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