Hope Falls

"Those two are animals, Raffetry is like anyone else; he's got morals." Florence whispered, changing the subject with a quiet; "How have you been? Kael's gotten a lot taller."

---

"It feels no more off than you and I have been feeling with each other since yesterday," Sarika frowned. "We are walking on egg shells around each other, maybe it is making you as anxious as it is making me."

“He’s growing every day.” Isolde nodded proudly. “He’s learning a lot. Though without a seer around it’s been worrying.”

---

“I haven’t walked on eggshells. You were the one borderline accusing me of having an affair.”

((Night))

"You didn't have me for a long time, and then you haven't been satisfied with much of what I have told you since you got me." Florence shrugged. "I had no doubts that you were doing just fine."

---

"I was being irrational." She admitted in embarrasment. "You threw your punishment in my face when you know I already hate myself for it. You insisted that I did what I had to do and then say that." Letting out a breath, she moved one of her hands up to wipe at her face. "I've not slept. I have this sickening feeling in my stomach that everything has shifted out of my control."

(( Night night ))

“Since the attack on Kael we don’t take chances.”

---

“Everything is in your control.”

"No it isn't, it's in yours. Always will be now that you can dangle that over my head whenever you need it." Sarika mumbled. "Congratulations."

---

"It wasn't long after that when I - Did he recover well from it? Is he okay now?" She questioned quickly, letting out a breath as she leant back more comfortably in the saddle; reaching a hand out to touch the bark of one of the trees when they became familiar. A smile tugging at her lips, surprised by her own ease at being home. " I gave them an earful, well not them but wolves in general... I told them how awful it was; that all of them had been targeting children. I was met with excuses, of course, that their little ones had also suffered but... I couldn't see you or Aodhän giving the order to target children like they did."

“Fine, let’s divorce then. If you’re so convinced the power imbalance has flipped the other way and you’re not happy with it. Have a priestess break the mating bond, Izsak is back now, mm?”

---

“He’s still nervous but… as is with boys his age the cockiness is growing in. He’s doing well.”

"Confidence is what he needs," Florence nodded, before repeating quietly; "And how are you? Really; how are you? I - I need more than just fine."

---

Sarika swallowed thickly, hands tightening on the reigns. "Is that what you want?"

“Let’s not pretend you care, my dear. You’ve never enjoyed my company.”

---

“You’re the one unhappy with our relationship as a whole now.”

"I met a bigger bitch than you and realised that I've been unfair," Florence answered, offering a light-hearted smile.

---

"No I'm not. I love you, you bastard.. it's myself I hate." Sarika sighed. "You told me you understood. Told me I did what I had to do, and then you threw it at me. So, what I need to know, is if you dislike me now... even a little after what I allowed them - told them to do to you."

“I do understand. And I don’t hate you. I hate what you implied about me and Matilda. I hate that you tried to shut me out from this meeting.”

---

“Ah, you and Ms Adair didn’t get on well?”

"I was never trying to shut you out, I was trying to keep you safe. If anything went wrong; you aren't healed yet, Draven."

---

"I barely interacted with her, she was unwell for a lot of the time I was there; with their Seer. Him though..." Florence shook her head. "Horrible man. A tyrant with no self-control. He..." She lifted her hand up to bring her attention to where her cheek had been broken though now all that was left was a shadow of a bruise. "It doesn't look like much now, but it hurt like a bitch. I have a cut on my shoulder too. He slammed me into a wall, hit my face against it because I wouldn't tell him about a vision I had."

“They’re a feral, filthy breed. Disgusting. No control. The worst thing to come out of our mating with Witches.”

---

“And you are all I have left.”

"Not all of them," Florence assured quietly. "They have banned them from going back and forth to the human realm, the Adair's. Yet they treat the people who are the children of wolves and humans like lesser. Raffetry he... if I vouch for him.. could we find a way to bring him here? Where he is safe?"

---

"You are all I have."

“No. I will not allow them in our realm. They are dangerous, uncontrolled. Our pet dogs are better.”

---

“Then don’t shut me out Sarika.”

"Raffetry is half human, raised in the human world too." Florence assured quietly. "He was kind to me, and they are going to punish him for it. I promise you I will behave, I promise you I won't ask you for a thing again if you just agree to look for a way to bring him here."

---

"I was trying to protect you."

“I don’t care, Florence. No.”

---

“Don’t.”

"You never do a thing for me, none of you." Florence mumbled quietly in irritation, jaw tensing up in anger. "To be thrown into a war and used as a pawn,. To be assured that I had friends who have done nothing to search for me. To be spoken to, with love, for him to walk away when you and Aodhän sunk your nails into him. You must have - he wouldn't have just left me after so many whispered promises. I just want a damn friend and if you did not want my friend to be a wolf than maybe you should have given a shit and found me before I found one!"

"It was almost getting too quiet back here." Aodhän grimaced, slowing his horse to match strides with Isolde and Florence's. "I was starting to think they'd given us a doppelganger."

"Make her do something nice for once in her damn life and maybe you'll see me start complying to things." Florence growled, the sound coming from the bottom of her throat.

---

"I will only stop, if you do too."

“You shut me out. I haven’t done anything like that so what is it I need to stop?!”

---

“She’s spent too much time with the flea bitten mongrels.”

"A mirror." Aodhän hummed with a bemused smile. "We believed you ran away Seer, with our old representative. We went to his village, they hadn't seen him in months; he had gone up the mountains but my point is we did look for you. I understand things have been.. turbulent; I understand in the winding down time we have had after our victory you have been used as a prisoner and I have no doubt you must have been scared but it is done now, Florence. If you calm your temper, I am sure you will finally find your place."

Florence rolled her eyes, encouraging her horse forward to walk with the centre of the group.

"We should give her one more month of being able to behave like a child." Aodhän advised quietly, glancing across to Isolde. "Grant her one month of calm, of little expectation. You need to build a relationship with her, Sol. No matter how infuriating it may seem right now, otherwise she will be of no use as a Seer long term."

---

"I meant protecting each other so fiercely; instead of just trusting." Sarika answered calmly, doing her best not to flinch at his snap.

“She behaves more like a child than Kael does. It is utterly ridiculous.”

---

“You do not trust me though. Or else you wouldn’t have accused me of being with Matilda.”

"A terrified woman, that's all she is."

---

"I thought it made sense; I hurt you... it would be a way for you to hurt me back. I'd deserve it."

“And you think I’d do that… you think I’d deliberately hurt you.” Draven murmured quietly, nodding to himself before steering his horse away from her.

---

“She’s rather irritating.”

"Please stop trying to walk away from me." Sarika whispered. "I feel fragile, I have since we terminated. Please..."

---

Aodhän gave a nod of agreement, before repeating; "We must start making more of an effort."

“You believe this to be my fault?”

---

“You hate me because I told you I wasn’t ready. And now you’ve got it in your head that I’m a bastard who’d cheat and deliberately hurt you. Got it. Understood.”