Re: The Wolf and the Cat

[Cedahlia]

"Just first of many," Hex replied with an answering grin.

"Better start getting used to him," Pande said casually.

"Why? He's not staying for long," Hex said

[Cedahlia]

"Aren't I? Everyone else likes me." Wolf pointed out she was the only one actively acting out against him now.

[Cedahlia]

"I'm not everyone else," Hex said with her sweetest fake smile. "And I don't care if they're easily bought by promises of belly rubs, cuddles, and sex," she hissed.

[Cedahlia]

"Now now," Wolf laughed, he didn't care for her hissing. She'd rebel all she'd like. "It's not like you're not going to get spoiled as well."

[Cedahlia]

"Hmph," Hex said, like she didn't believe him. They'd all been spoiled and he'd forced cuddles on her but that wasn't the same thing at all.

"Now, now," Pande said. "Play nice."

"Why?" Hex asked. She felt like she was missing something. "What the fuck?! You've all decided we're going to go with him, haven't you?!"

[Cedahlia]

"Come here," Wolf said, because he didn't like that she was mad. She didn't need to be. "Come on," he added and waved her over.

[Cedahlia]

Hex set her mostly eaten food down and reluctantly went over to him. She stood there in front of him, not saying a word. She only pouted, her arms crossed over her chest defensively.

[Cedahlia]

"Sweetie," Wolf said and pulled her into his lap gently. "I know people hurt you, I know you have reason to be like this, I don't expect you to trust me right away, I really don't. All I want to do is take care of you, I'm trying to give you a better life. A better understanding. All I'm asking is you try to like it."

[Cedahlia]

"Why do you care?" Hex asked. She didn't push out of his arms or off his lap. She just accepted that he was going to do what he wanted to do and she could rebel and protest but he wasn't put off yet. "I mean didn't you do what you came here to do? You found out we apparently weren't worth killing, we'll leave your precious hunters alone, just go back to your life."

[Cedahlia]

"Because I look at you and Wisp and all I see are little lost girls. I'm a lost boy, too." Wolf said truthfully. All hunters were like that. Lost. "I never wanted kids, I'm not really sure this is the type of place I'd want to raise little ones in, okay? I'm not perfect. Far from it. But, I look at you two, with these wonderful men who are trying to guide you, but they're lost boys too. We are all lost. Aya too, but we are finding ourselves. It's okay to need help sometimes with that. It doesn't make you weak."

Wolf paused and took a breath. He wasn't good with words usually, but he was trying. Alex was better at this stuff. "I don't want to be your master, your tamer, I don't want to control you. Any of you. I actually kind of want to adopt you both. That doesn't mean I expect you to say yes right now. Or call me daddy. I think that would come with time. But I also think I'm your master for a reason. Maybe this is that reason. I don't want to walk away from you, knowing that Pande isn't being fed properly and when he does get to eat bedlam is too tired to watch over you. I don't want to leave, knowing you don't know that you have somewhere safe to sleep if you tire of exploring, or someone to protect you when bedlam is too tired. I want you all to feel safe, loved and above all else... Happy. I want to see smiles on your adorable faces. All of you."

[Cedahlia]

For the very first time in her life, Hex was speechless. She looked at him with an expression of confusion and shock. She didn't know what to say to that. Of all the things he could have said, that was not even sort of one of them that she'd have imagined would come out of his mouth. She thought this must be some kind of weird prank the boys had cooked up to throw her off or get her to shut up. She just slowly looked at them.

Bedlam was just as surprised. He'd not been around when Pande had spoken about this with Wolf earlier.

Pande did not look surprised in the least, which gave away that he had known that this was coming.

Wisp, like Hex, had been asleep. She was just as quiet and surprised that Wolf wanted to adopt her and take care of her. She wasn't even a dark type fiend. He didn't have to show any interest at all in her like he did in Hex and Bedlam.

[Cedahlia]

"Is that bad?" Wolf asked pande, of their silence. He didn't want to have said something bad at all.

[Cedahlia]

"Not necessarily," Pande said. "You've just put them in a mild state of shock. It'll wear off."

"You knew?" Bedlam asked while the girls just continued to stare wordlessly.

"He'd discussed his intentions with me while you were hunting," Pande said.

"What does this mean for the two of us?" Bedlam asked while the girls were processing things.

[Cedahlia]

"I wouldn't dream of cutting you out. As I said to Pande, I've never had siblings. Brothers would be cool. I'm not that sort of Master where I want to control everything. I really just can't do that." Wolf shrugged. It wasn't who he was, he couldn't be that guy.

[Cedahlia]

"Brothers..." Bedlam repeated. "That is very unorthodox."

"So is a master that's a fiend," Pande pointed out.

"Hm...I'm going to need to think about this," Bedlam said.

"I...I need to go for a walk," Hex said and jumped right out of Wolf's lap and away from the camp.

Wisp could only sit there. She didn't know what to say or what to do. She was just used to going along with what the boys wanted.

[Cedahlia]

"See? Hex they haven't made a decision without you." Wolf said as he walked off, because otherwise bedlam would be immediately on board. "I'm not a normal master or tamer, I guess. I don't know." He looked at wisp though. She looked... He didn't know. "What's wrong?"

[Cedahlia]

Hex didn't reply. She needed to get away. From all of them. She had too much going on in her head and she didn't want their input clouding what was already jumbled in there.

Wisp just shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not a dark fiend. You don't have to worry about me..." Not like Hex and Bedlam. She had her own master and princess. It wasn't the same.

[Cedahlia]

"I know I don't have too but I want too. I guess that's weird for you, but you're important too. And so little. You need a daddy." Wolf said to her quietly and stroked her hair.

[Cedahlia]

"My kind don't really have parents though..." Wisp said quietly. Ghosts tended to not. But she was protected by other spirits. If she got hurt, they would come to her aid. Think little sister/big brother from bioshock kind of deal. Mess with Wisp, and you would be hurt for it.

Hex didn't have that. She'd been ostracized from her kind for what she'd done to the master of dark. She only had Pande and Bedlam to protect her.

[Cedahlia]

"Who says you have to follow the norm? You can be your own spirit and do what you want if you don't like me, I understand. But I think you do." Wolf said and booped her nose softly.

[Cedahlia]

"I don't dislike you," Wisp admitted. The boys didn't seem to dislike him either. Hex...well she was being Hex. "What does it mean, that you want to be our dad?"

[Cedahlia]

"What do you mean?" Wolf said, unsure of how she meant that. What did it mean? It meant he wanted to adopt them.

[Cedahlia]

"I don't know what parents do..." Wisp admitted. It was nice that he wanted to adopt her and be her daddy but she didn't really know what that entailed for her. She assumed that meant they had to go live with him and stop traveling only he'd said that wasn't the case fully.

[Cedahlia]

"You'd have a permanent home when you don't travel, you'd have a huge family. I'd spoil you and hex constantly, you'd be princesses, basically. I'd read stories to you, tuck you in at night. All that nice stuff." Wolf said with a smile.

[Cedahlia]

Wisp thought about all of that. "Having a dad doesn't sound so bad..."

"That's because he's leaving out that he basically becomes your boss and you have to answer to him," Hex said, having returned from her walk.

[Sponsored content]