evening
first floor; the office.



The evening Phillip’s news had been to the rest of their family, Rick and Shona lingered in heavy silence—Rick at the desk with the mirror in hand, Shona by the window, tapping a finger listlessly against the pane. It was raining– well, storming, actually –which didn’t help at all, but as the silence settled in like a damn cat getting ready for a snooze, Rick supposed nothing would at this point. All anyone could do was wait.

“Sooo...” Shona started, and Rick tensed.

There was a number of things that one, single word in particular could lead up to, inspiring both dread, terror and resignation all over the world in ways few could hope to match, but the wizard– the werewolf– doubted there were even less who could achieve the same effect as his sister did when she wanted to talk, or thought there was a need to; once she got an idea into her head, she never let go of it. Ever. She pursued threads of conversation the same way one might pick at a scab.

And that said a lot about her as a person—mostly good things, if he were honest. If anything it showed that she had the will to see things through, which wasn’t something you could say about just anyone. But now it was just really fucking inconvenient, because Rick was the opposite. He was perfectly content to just never discuss some stuff, least of all with his sister. never mind he maybe owed it to her the most  And there were a lot things he didn’t want to talk about. Business. The trip. The vacancies opening at the castle—as if Rick didn’t already have his hands full running his own damn business. Leon–

“She’s going to want to visit, you know.”

Rick exhaled.

“I know,” he said, setting the mirror on the desk, and looked at her. Well, leveled her a look—one that probably wasn’t the most friendly, but it was more resigned than anything else. The topic of their mother was hardly a welcome one, but compared to others… “You thought I didn’t?”

“I thought you could bear some reminding,” she shot back, and before Rick can even make a retort she immediately looked chastened, huffing out a sigh noisier than his had been. “Sorry,” she said, rubbing her forehead. “Sorry, it’s just–”

“It’s fine,” said Rick coldly, folding his arms. “You want to say something, so—go ahead.”

“Rick,” she sighed.

And that—just like that, Rick gave up. “Shona,” he mocked, but it was halfhearted. Uncrossing his legs, he set his elbows on the desk, scrubbing his face with both hands.

He heard footsteps move away from the window, heading towards him. Until a weight settled against the edge of the desk – close to his arm – and a hand rested on top of his head—drawing back to card through his hair, gentle and reassuring.

The tension bled from his shoulders.

There was comfort to be drawn from the presence of pack – Shona’s, of course, more so than most – but only so much could be done with touch alone.

The topic of their mother was still a touchy one. Though she had remained supportive after things had gone to shit, there was still the weight of shame on Rick’s part to be accounted for – a fact all too clear despite his efforts to hide it – and as such, one that appeared to keep him away. After all, his actions hadn’t been anything to owl home about. If she’d been disappointed, or at least angry… that would have been easier to deal with.

But she hadn’t been. Instead, she wanted him close, where she could keep an eye on him—and not even out of distrust, as some parents might have; she blamed herself for not being around enough. Maybe even for bringing him away. Maybe that was why he had shut himself off when he had…

C.C., of course, knew better—and after she’d seen fit to share, Shona did, too. But their mother… Rick tried to spare her, they all wanted to spare her, but in doing so there was only a lack of understanding that, perhaps, did more harm than good; for every measure Talia wanted him home, Rick pulled back a little farther until she relented, waited for him to draw close on his own terms.

And then there was their father, who Rick was maybe too much alike. Both stubborn, immovable when they wanted to be and heartlessly sarcastic at times, they frequently butted heads, muttering gruff, pointed comments in passing to throwing themselves into full blown arguments. Over Talia they fought over disappointing her and sticking noses where they shouldn’t be; one snapped at the slightest show of temper, the other smirked when he was told off. Whether it was for the purpose of putting up a united front or out of his own guilt, Raul Donovan hardly knew what to do with the one son he had always had the most trouble understanding; Rick, in turn, never thought very much of his father since the separation. And now that Rick was a werewolf – an unregistered one, who got up to only god-knew-what–

Things were better now, even before Rick had met Leon, but the shift had been slow, ungainly, awkward and painful; even clearing the air some hadn’t been without its hurts.

“She can stay with me,” Shona offered casually, still staring ahead, running her fingers through his hair. It wasn’t quite an apology, but nor was it a small thing either; of them all, Shona was probably the most possessive of her personal space, more so than Rick. She didn’t even have the excuse of it being a ‘wolf thing’. “I’ve got another room, and the couch if Marco and Meg are with her…” It wouldn’t be a hardship. After all, she wasn’t the one shacking up with a significant other.

A muffled laugh. “No, don’t,” said Rick, looking up to grin tiredly at her. “It’s fine. She…”

He trailed off, but Shona understood. Brows rose, surprised—but pleasantly so. “She knows?”

Ears pinkened, but Rick leaned back in his chair, mouth tugged in a faint smile. “Yeah.”

Shone whistled, leaning back on the desk with both hands. She had known they were serious – been rooting for them, in fact – but not this serious. She had assumed Rick would keep it to himself a bit longer. Though it was over three months now… “Will Leon be meeting them, then?” She could see it going well. Leon was a likable guy–

Plus, it’d be inevitable, if their mom was staying with him. Talia would ask even if Leon wouldn’t, and there was little chance Rick would ask him to stay away.

But Rick stilled then, suddenly uncomfortable. There was a swift pang of regret… until a thought occurred to her. Incredulously she stared. “He doesn’t know?”

Guilty silence. She punched his arm. “Rick!”