Kristoff liked the way she clung to him, the way she made him feel needed. He gently rubbed her back as she hugged him. "Sure, we'll do it then." He said to her softly. His ears perked at Siloh's comment, but he didn't comment on it. He looked up at the two infront of them and smiled. "We're off to gather Hannah and Wriley and then take them back to the house for breakfast. If you want, you can join us." Kristoff said, watching them for a moment.

Contessa smiled softly to Siloh as he whispered to her. She eyed him at his last comment and then ignored it, figuring he'll tell her later anyways. "That sounds wonderful Kristoff, bring along Wryn for me. We'll jsut stay at the house after I take Siloh there to shower." Contessa said to them. After a moment, she waved them off and continued to lead Siloh towards her and her brother's house. She knew they had spent the night together, Krist had even went into her room to grab some of her clothes for Solaire. Contessa didn't mind at all, she would've done the same, in fact she was going to. She doubted any of Krist's clothes would fit Siloh.

Solaire finally turned back around to look at her brother and Contessa but her arms did not leave Kristoff, only loosened so she could turn. She nodded her agreement at the invitation, smiling at Contessa now and looking at her brother before snuggling into Kristoff's side, "I'm cooking breakfast. If there's anything you won't eat let me know so I can be sure to keep it out."

Siloh was quiet until they were away enough that Solaire wouldn't hear and he sighed, "I asked her if she'd seen our older brother's body when she was out looking yesterday. They were quite close and she's certain he's dead." he explained looking at her to see her reaction before explaining his other statement, "Remember the small fight we had yesterday night? We'd been fighting for weeks because she rejected the male our parents chose for her. She needed to be bonded to a male, proper mate or not so we've been discussing it. It was more important now than ever for her to find a mate so I'd been on her about it and she was starting to resent me some." he said, hugging her closer, "But your brother is perfect for her."

Kristoff kissed the top of Solaire's head again after his sister and Siloh left. " Don't worry, Tessa will eat anything you cook. She's a lot like me in that way. But she doesn't like meat that much." He said, as he began to lead her away from the spot they were standing in. Soon they stood infront of the fox building, he went and opened the door for her. He noted that they would have to soon set up a little area for the foxes to build housing that would suit them better. He'd bring it up to his Uncle once Siloh got better, they both would talk about it. "Hey, Solaire, is your brother going to be the leader of your tribe now?" He asked out of the blue.

Contessa looked up at him as he explained things to her. "Well, hopfully he's not. Who knows, he could turn up soon." She said softly. "I'm glad she found someone who makes her happy. And I'm glad it's my brother. They both need each other, I think." She said thoughtfully. She smiled up at him as they reached her house. Contessa wondered what would happen wen a certain someone found out about her brother finding a mate. She bit her lip wondering if Kris had even thought about her. "Well, here we are." Contessa said, bringing herself out of her brother's past love life and into her present. She pushed opened the door and help Siloh's inside.

Solaire listened and thought more about the kinds of things she could make before looking back up at him at his question. She shook her head in answer as she slipped in the door, "No, he is the leader of our tribe now. It's not official until we can have our father's collar but the tribe already looks to him for direction." she said, patting his cheek as she went in and waited inside the door for him. At least, she was going to until she saw the blood gourd Siloh had brought home the night before and moved over to it, looking in and smiling as she found it still had the juices in it and smiled at Kristoff, waving him over and holding the fruit in her hands as she moved to wake the three kits they were bringing to breakfast.

Siloh nodded, "We thought we saw him killed but when we went back we couldn't find his body." he said softly, not looking at her as he said it. but listening more he smiled and nodded, "And what about you?" he asked wryly. moving in when she helped him inside, "Thank you." and looked around, "This is a nice home." he said, seeming impressed.

Kristoff nodded at the answer he got. It was what he had already figured out for himself, but he wanted to be sure. He followed her inside, a happy smile plastered on his face. He saw her pick up a strange fruit, he wondered what that was. Crossing the room to her in a few easy strides, he touched the strange fruit. "What's this? I never seen this kind of fruit before. " He asked to her, as she woke the children. Kristoff dipped his pinky into the red liquid and tasted it. It made a sour face when he found that it tasted like wine. He wiped his hand on his jeans and picked Hannah up in his arms. "Hey kid, how are you?" He asked her.

Contessa had kicked the front door shut because she didn't really want to leave Siloh for even a mintue. She looked coyly up at him. "I have never needed anyone as much as I need you." She said, her voice husky and her eye lids droopy slightly. She licked her lips as she snuggled up next to him. "Hmm..yes it was our parents." She said. "What do you want to do first? Shower?" She asked.

Solaire looked over with a happy smile at his question, "It's just a fruit only our tribe has..." she stopped in the middle of lifting Wriley up from the bed and sighed, "Or had. It was all destroyed." she said and held Wriley against her hip when the infant sized five year old child wouldn't wake. She grinned as Wryn took the fruit from her and kissed his head before looking back at him, "Don't like it?" she asked, looking curious and frowning at Wryn as he looked like he was going to drink some of the juice, "No! Don't drink that. You're not old enough." she said quickly, popping his hand. Hannah grinned at Kristoff and hugged him but made a face, "Kinda hungry." she told him.

Siloh was so happy to hear her say that and grinned widely, hugging her again before thinking a moment and looking to her, "Yes, I think showering first would be best. I feel pretty grungy and," he scratched his chin and chuckled, "Well, you know, my face is getting pretty itchy."

Kristoff shook his head at Solaire. He didn`t care too much for the juice. "At least not the juice. Tastes too much like wine." He said. He looked to Wryn and gave the boy a wink then looked back to Hannah. "Good, Solaire is making us breakfast. Are you hungry too, Wryn? Contessa will be there." Krist said to Hannah then to Wryn. He wanted to try to make the boy feel welcome, like he has a family, because he does even if it's not by blood. He had seen the way his sister had taken to Wryn, and knew that if given the chance, Contessa would adopt the boy and raise him as her own. He smiled softly at the sight of Solaire with her younger sister at her hip. She looked good with children around her. He could almost picture her with their cubs perched on her hip, the thought making his smile grow.


Contessa smiled at him, loving the way he felt against her skin. She led him to the upstairs bathroom. "Do you need me to get you some clean clothes? My brother has some old clothes that could fit you." She said to him as she slipped her arms from his waist. He didn't really need her to shower, but she felt antsy without him so close to her. "I'll go get you some fresh towels and clothes. Do you need anything else?" She asked him.

Solaire blinked and smiled at him as she shook her head a little, "That's interesting. You don't like wine?" she asked slowly almost like a statement and looking down at Wryn as his hand tightened on her hand and he stepped a little closer to her, afraid of Kristoff, or at least male panthers. The little kit looked up at Solaire then to Kristoff and nodded, "Yeah." the boy said, staring up at him still. Solaire smiled at Kristoff when she saw him looking at her and Wriley and that smile turned sly, "What're you thinking about?" she asked, as she watched his smile widen. She thought she could figure what he was thinking and her mind wasn't far off, thinking more along the line of how good he was with children and how adorable he looked holding Hannah.

Siloh nodded at her first question, thanking her for offering to get him towels and looking a little off as she slipped from him. When she asked if he needed anything else he smiled and shrugged, "maybe a new razor so I don't have to use Kristoff's I'm not sure he'd be happy with me if I used his." he said and started to turn to go further into the shower before turning back and pulling her close again, "Oh and this." he said, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek after which he let her go.

Kristoff smiled at her when she caught him. "Just thinking how great you look with kids around you." He said with a casual shrug. He looked down at Wryn and smiled at him. He could tell that the kis was uneasy about him. Kristoff knew he was a large man and can look somewhat scary. "Shall we head out?" He asked them.

Contessa smiled when he hugged her. She just wanted curl up in his arms. "Its no problem. I`ll get you one of my disposalable razors." Contessa said as she reached up and kissed his nose. She went into the bathroom and rummaged around under the sink. She pulled out a new pink razor and handed it to him. "I`ll go get some fresh clothes for you." She said as she let him be to shower.

Solaire smiled back at him and blushed lightly, "No one's ever thought that before." she said softly and nodded when he asked if they should go, moving her hand forward and putting Wryn's hand in Kristoff's, "I want him to walk with you so he get's used to you." she bent to the boy as they walked, "I don't want anyone being afraid of anyone else, you hear me?" she asked and stood when she got the nod she'd wanted.

Siloh watched her and took the razor thankfully and smiled as she headed off before getting to showering. It didn't take long for him to shower, not long to shave either and soon he was leaning on the wall with a towel around his waist, watching a burn on his hand ooze clear liquid and blowing on it to make it scab back over faster. He couldn't do anything about helping the ones on his feet so didn't mess with them but he needed his hands so had to fix that first.

Kristoff took the small boy's hand in his and smiled softly at him. "I'm not that scary am I?" He asked, looking at Hannah and Wryn with a pout. He was trying his best to not look scary or mean, so he started making funny faces at them. He laughed as they walked, feeling silly. "How was that? Was that scary?" He asked as they walked over to the general store.

Contessa had found some old clothes that her brother had put in the give away pile. They looked as if they were fit Siloh well enough. She took them and a belt back to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Siloh? I got clothes for you." She called to him. She didn't hear the shower going so she figured he was done. She leaned against the wall waiting for him to open up the door.

Wryn looked up at Kristoff's question and had to think a moment before shaking his head slowly, as if he wasn't sure. He laughed though at the funny faces as well as Hanna and as he asked again both answered brightly, "Nope!" Solaire smiled at the three and watched Kristoff making the faces, thinking how cute he looked with the two kits and how well he'd gotten Wryn to relax. When they got to the store she looked around and then to Kristoff, "What do you normally have for breakfast?" she asked him as she grabbed a basket.

Siloh looked up from his hand when he heard her and opened the door with a smile and a nodded as he shook his hand in the air to stop the stinging and looked at her, "Hey, hang on a sec." he said, still waving his hand to dry it more. he knew from past experience that the type of burn he had took a long time to heal and longer than usual to scab.

Kristoff smiled at the kids as they relaxed around him. He shifted Hannah in his arms slightly and looked at Solaire. "I usually eat bacon, sausage, ham, eggs, pancakes, waffles. You know whatever." He said. He did eat a lot, Contessa usually made fun of him. But he was a panther male, they burn lots of energy when in panther form. He watched her for a moment, enjoying the way she moved. He wondered how she would move under him, but quickly pushed those thoughts aside. It felt weird to him to think of her that way while there were so many kits around. "What about you guys? What do you normally eat?" He asked, wanting to know her more.

Contessa stayed leaned against the wall next to the door when he called out. "Alright, is everything ok in there?" She caleld back, hoping that he didn't hurt himself. She nibbled her bottom lip, wondering what will become of them. She wanted to live with him, start a family with him. She didn't know if she would live with him here or at their lands, she didn't feel right leaving her home, but she would if that's what he wanted.

Solaire smiled at him as she listened and patted the kits' heads then looked back at him, "Pretty much anything but meat. Mostly fruit. We usually have several families get together for one breakfast unless it was a bigger family like Siloh and I had. I can only cook big meals." she said, smiling and chuckling softly, thinking how it was a little funny how most of what he had named was stuff she had never tired so didn't know how to cook. She looked down for a second before smiling back up at him cutely, her fox ears going sideways, "If we got some meat would you teach me to cook it so I could try some? I've never had actual meat that I can think of." She said starting down one aisle and going along each one, grabbing things she'd need eventually, not necessarily for breakfast but she planned on making dinner too and was thinking of eating out for lunch.

Siloh came out of the bathroom when she asked if everything was okay and showed her his hand, "More or less." he answered calmly as he hugged her, not caring that he had nothing but a towel on. He smiled at her and kissed her head as he took the clothes and moved into the bathroom but left the door open as he began to dress, "I had a thought. I don't know if I'm over stepping my bounds here but I thought that maybe the foxes could stay near the panthers maybe, for safety and all, you know. The lynxes are too afraid to attack them.. but anyway, our former lands could be used as farmland maybe and our grave could still be used by us so you wouldn't have to worry about our dead filling your space." he said, seeming to really have thought it through and finding ti beneficial to both sides. The foxes could stay with in the safety of the panther's protection, even by mere location, yet keep their customs and values alive and the panthers would have a few more miles in which to plant their crops and expand if they wished. "What do you think?" He asked, coming out of the bathroom and looking at her as he pulled on his shirt.

"Oh yeah, I can teach ya." Kristoff said. He was so relaxed around her and the kits he forgot about his slight accent on his voice. It was somewhat of a country twang, he was always embarassed by it. He and his sister used to speak with it, but when their parents took them to live in the human world for a couple of years, they were made fun of so they both learned to cover it up. It had been easy for his sister to hide hers, she was younger than he was when they lived in the human cities. But for him it was harder, and ever so often it slips out. He didn't even notice it when he spoke. "I can teach ya'll anything about cooking meat." He said, smilling at her.

Contessa blushed slightly when he hugged her. She wiggled her nose a little against his wet skin. "You're getting me wet!" She giggled at him as he hugged her. She took a step back and eyed him with the clean clothes on. "Very nice. I bet they feel real good about now." She said. Then she looked at him, giving him her sweet smile. "I think that's a lovely idea. And don't worry about the graveyard. It's big enough for all the panthers and foxes together." She said. "I think Uncle and Kristoff had been talking about that since you guys got here." Contessa said. She knew her family and knew that taking the foxes in and gaining their land was a very wise idea. "In fact I think Uncle would like to talk to you about that since you're head of the clan now." She said thoughtfully.

Solaire was looking at a can, trying to figure out what exactly was inside when she heard him but her gaze shot up when she heard his accent and she was momentarily distracted by it before she smiled, "That's great." and looked down as she covered her smile, thinking it a bit too wide. Accents weren't something foreign to the fox's tribe, all the fennec's seemed to have an odd Aussie-ness to their speech but country was something she'd never heard before in anyone else but her grandfather and she found it adorable and comforting. Hannah giggled at his accent and Solaire ignored that but she shot a look at Wryn as he laughed though and tapped his head, "Oh, shush. Elder Quinn would be putting you to work if he knew you were laughing at that." She said sharply and shook her head mumbling about her grandfather a bit for a moment as she started randomly at the can but soon looked back up at Kristoff and smiled, "You sound kinda like my grandfather." she said, still not quite comfortable enough for her own mixed up accent, some country, Aussie, something else, to come out. She decided to get the can after all and set it in her basket before she took a few more steps down the aisle.

Siloh nodded enthusiastically, "Oh, more than you can imagine." all but rubbing the fabric of the shirt against his chest as he breathed in the scent of the soap on his skin and enjoying the smell of clean more than anything, "I want to just burn those clothes." he said motioning to his dirty clothes, folded neatly and set on the floor by the door. Siloh listened to her and smiled back before sighing, "Well then we'll give my people the choice of where they want to be buried. We have religious reasons as to why we bury our dead where we do." he said simply and shrugged as he leaned against the wall, his leg, previously relaxed and soothed by the warm water, started bothering him once again.

Kristoff frowned, not so much at the kids but at himself. He cursed himself for forgetting about his accent. He pretended that nothing had changed in his voice and smiled at them. "Do I?" He asked, regaining control over his accent. "What was he like? Your Grandfather? I never got to know mine." He said, teasing Hannah's red curls. He gave each kit their own produce bag so they could go and pick out some fruits they wanted for themselves. He sent them off to pick out what they wanted. He followed her closely, wanting to feel her heat against him.

Contessa smiled at him. Her smile soon turned to a slight frown when she saw him leaning against the wall. "Would you like to go downstairs and wait for the others to return? I can get you some juice or something." She said, smiling as she looked up from his leg. She moved closer to him, she always felt as if he drew her in with some strange magic she didn't know. She reached out for him, her mind hazy and her body humming. She slipped her arms around him in a hug, trying not to lean against him too much.

Solaire looked at him as his accent went away, looking a little surprised before looking down and watching the two kits scurry off, "Yeah, Elder Grave was my maternal grandfather. He had the best accent and if anyone dared to even think about making fun of it he'd put them to work. The Fennec troop had Aussie accents for whatever reason and if you can get Wriley to talk she has it too, from our mother. I used to too but I don't know if I can anymore." she said, looking down still and glancing up at him for a split second here and a split second there. "Before he died I wouldn't let our father tell me bed time stories. It was always 'Gumpa, Gumpa.'" She smiled at the memory and looked up at him, "Why? What happened to your grandfather?" she asked, looking back down and grabbing another can, some sort of meat, Vienna sausages, and she showed him, asking by that if he liked them.

Siloh looked at his leg when she spoke and shrugged, shaking his head, "I don't care, whatever's good for you." he said and wrapped his arms around her as she hugged him, inhaling deeply and smiling. "I've got two legs for a reason." he said, meaning that even though he couldn't walk very well he could stand just fine with a wall.

Kristoff shrugged. He couldn't remember him all that well, his father and mother had told him that their grandfather was a strong and powerful panther. "I guess he died in the great battle with the wolves a long time ago. My mother was pregnant with me when he passed." He said softly, looking at the can and smiling at her. "I like those sometimes." He said. He followed her around, keeping close to her and keeping an eye on the little kits.

Contessa let out a low purr, then blushed. "I..yes. Let's head downstairs." She said, smiling shyly at him. She helped him downstairs, enjoying the closeness they shared. She never had such close feelings before with other male panthers, they never wanted to be close to a female. After making it down the stairs safely, Contessa lead him to the couch helping him sit. She propped his leg up on the coffee table, putting pillows under his leg to give him comfort. "How's that?" She asked him, sitting beside him.

Solaire added the can to the basket as he explained, "That's terrible." She murmured, her face falling a bit while looking through her basket. After a moment with the realization she hadn't been paying close attention to what she picked up. She didn't feel like putting things back though so kept what she had, saying, "I guess it's better to not have known him than to feel the pain of losing him though." She shifted the basket from the arm she held her little sister with to the other when Wriley began to fuss and wake, setting it down after several seconds to calm her. Once sucessfully calming the girl, she set the infant sized toddler down and told her to stay close, not to wander. It wasn't long before she decided she had enough food to cook a good sized breakfast and dinner, the basket heavy, and turned to Kristoff, "I think I have enough for now." she said, stepping closer to him. Her hand pressed against the hollow of her neck as if searching for something there a moment, her ears flattening. Only another fox would realize the motion, the hand questing for her missing collar. "Hannah, Wryn!" She called and the kits made their way back with bags full of fruit.

Siloh went with her down he stairs and when questioned he nodded, "Perfect." He said, laying an arm around her shoulders and settling in the couch a little more.

Kristoff had caught the sad look in her eyes as she touched the hallow of her neck and her ears flatten. It was similar to when a panther was sadden by something. Before he could think of what he was doing, Kristoff slipped his hand against her cheek, rubbing it gently. He wanted to comfort her greatly, but this wasn't the place for such an intimate action. "Alright, then let's return back home." He said, holding his hand against her cheek until the kits returned. He dropped his hand from her face to pick up Hannah. "What did you two pick out?" He asked her and Wryn.

Contessa snuggled up close to him, his earthy scent filling her nose. She laid her head on his shoulder, happy to sit there like this for a long time. She closed her eyes, a smiling curling her lips up, she let out a soft and low purr. She wanted to be as close to him as she could, she wanted to be his mate more than anything else in the world.

Feeling the hand on her cheek, her eyes rose to Kristoff's staring sadly into his eyes for a moment before they closed, her hand dropping from her neck after a heavy sigh. She was happy she found her mate, she loved him and just being near him comforted her but her heart still weighed heavily with the loss of her parents and brother, the loss of two troops and so many of her tribe. For the following moment she turned her face into his hand until she felt the warm fingers fall away and she pulled on her smile for the kits. She picked up Wriley as she waited for Kristoff to take the lead. Hanna grinned up at him as did Wryn when he asked and the girl chirped that she had grapes and some pears and peaches, naming several other fruits. Wryn liked the berries more than Hannah though when he named off what he'd grabbed, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and a mango.

The man happily inhaled once again as she snuggled up to him, chuckling as she purred. A hand found her panther ear and rubbed it absently, his whistle jingling softly from his collar as he readjusted his posture to suit her better, "We've discussed differences in becoming pairs, mates, but how does your... government system work in the panther tribe?" He was coming to find that subjects that had bothered him with other foxes was catching and holding his attention when he spoke with his beautiful panther.

Kristoff smiled at the kits as the listed off the fruits they had picked out. He lead them towards the checkout, where a young panther girl was stationed. Their village worked a lot like a modern city, they paid for their food and helped each other out. A lot of them worked with the outside world, making money to keep their private village alive. A lot of them had made a lot of money investing in the mundane world, building mass foruntes. Kristoff's parents had been some of those smart panthers. "Those all sound wonderful." He said to them as he paid for all the food they had gathered. The girl behind the counter smiled gently at the kits and at Soliare, then smiling at him. He took the bags, still holding Hannah in his arms and lead them out. "I don't know about you guys, but I am starved." He said, smiling at them.

Contessa purred louder as he rubbed her ear, her long black tail swishing happily behind her. "Hmm? What do you mean?" She asked, slightly hazy with desire. "Oh..mainly our tribe's leader makes most of the decisions, with the conult of the concil of elders." She explained, nuzzling her head against him.

Solaire followed quickly after him as he left, hurrying to step in stride with him, reaching with her free hand to take some of the bags, "Kris! Lemme help!" She protested him carrying all the groceries. She knew she about had her hands full with her little sister and now Wryn but she didn't want to make him carry everything. He treated her so well so far and she was almost certain he'd keep treating her so kindly but she didn't want to be thought of as weak.

Siloh continued watching her face, taking in her features readily as she spoke. He nodded when she finished, "Similar to ours." He commented, hie eyes taking on an intensity as he took the hand from her ear to gently guide her face up to his, "You know..." He took a deep breath, holding in that intoxicating scent and closing his eyes for a second before the green orbs opened to stare into her eyes again, "You're scent. It's very distracting."

Kristoff smiled at her as she took a few of the bags. "Alright then, if they get to be too much, let me know." He said as he walked close to her. He knew she was far from weak, but he didn't want her to worry about the bags and the kits. His ears twtiched slightly as they walked back to the house. He lead them back to the house, opening the door for them easily. "Let's get that food made." He smiled at them.

Contessa's tail twitched as his hand slipped from her ear to her face. She pressed her cheek against his palm, closing her eyes briefly. "Is it now?" She purred at him. She could say the same about his own scent. "Yours is rather intoxicating." She whisperedm her voice husky. She wanted to kiss him badly, to feel his lips against hers again. She stared up at him with large golden amber eyes, her ears perked straight up. Her ears twitched when she heard the front door opened and her brother's scent and voice drifted in.


Brenda paced from her hidden spot near Kristoff's house. She had been watching him since those stupid foxes came to stay at their village. She spat at the thought of them. SHe hated foxes and now a female fox was moving in on her mate! She was going to tear that little fox up the moment Kristoff leaves her alone. How dare she sleep in his house, with him! Anger fueled her, her body burned and itched. She wanted to shred the little girl to pieces and take back what she thought was hers. She would get rid of that little bitch of a sister of his while she was at it.