"You are welcome." Léan decided to stay put, for now. He would wait for his brother to seek him out...he wouldn't go to him. That would probably mean the two pairs would not see each other for a few days...

Archie glanced out towards the direction of the settlement, and then looked down again. "...I don't want to think about being attacked..." he murmured, softly. "Can we do something else...?"

Emy soon fell asleep, nuzzled against Lean. She felt comfortable, but made little movements in her sleep, as if she thought he wasn't.

Monty nodded slightly, then moved away from the border, taking Archie with him. "I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable."

Léan stayed put, curling up closely with her. He wouldn't be comfortable until he knew his brother was safe in Monty's care.

Archie instinctively rested his head on Monty's shoulder, closing his eyes. Compared to his brother, Archie seemed much weaker and more helpless...he was probably the most helpless of their group and a prime target for any attacks.

Emy slept for such a long time, almost like she hadn't in days.

Monty smiled softly and held him gently to himself. "I want you to know something."

Léan didn't sleep...instead, he rested. He let go of his stress, and ignored the world.

"Hm...?" Archie lifted his head up to regard Monty with soft, curious blue eyes. Even the way the twins looked at other people was different.

Monty didn't look too comfortable for a moment. "Well...when I met you...I was busy chasing after Emy. I know that was wrong...but I hadn't seen a woman in a while....but that's no excuse for how I acted." He shook his head. "Anyway...when I met you, you looked like someone who needed to be consoled and taught to have a backbone. That's why I bothered you at first. But....after a little while, I started to like you..." He didn't know how to continue after that.

"...Oh."

For a while, Archie didn't say anything. Even he knew that it was a little soon after his previous mate's death to begin anything. There was a chance bad memories could plague him and cause difficulties. But it was worth a shot, right?

He made no moves to be negative about what Monty had said--he instead encouraged him with a small smile.

Monty felt better that he only smiled instead of rejected him. "I know...I shouldn't be saying this...but I just wanted you to know."

"...Well...you know I just lost a mate, recently," Archie explained, slowly. "It's not going to be easy if we decide to pursue this. I might not be a hundred percent for a long while. Are you ready to accept that?"

Monty smiled kindly at Archie. "I won't do anything if you're not ready for it...I'll go as slow as you'd like. I know it'd be hard, but I'm willing to go through it."

"Okay. I guess that settles it, then..." Archie revealed, quietly. He really didn't know what else to say about the matter, except that he had accepted Monty's subtle offer to start something together.

Monty just smiled a little, then gently hugged him. He didn't say anything, but he liked that Archie had even thought of the idea. He did feel bad about bringing it up so soon after his former mate's death.

Archie immediately curled into the embrace, accepting the offered affection. He was a timid, shy person. But once he got to know people, he had no problem cuddling and hugging them.

Monty was feeling a little better from the returned affection. He held the embrace for awhile, slowly pulling back enough to look at Archie with a small smile. "What would you like to do?"

Archie shifted slightly, smiling at him. "...Well...we could try to work on winning my brother's trust. I know he doesn't trust you, or even me..."

Monty blinked slightly, then looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure how I could do that."

"...Well...maybe the four of us should spend some time together. Find something fun to do," Archie suggested, hopefully.

Monty thought for a moment, then sighed softly. "What would we do?"

Archie shifted slightly. "...Well...maybe we could all curl up together somewhere and talk for a while," he offered, seemingly out of ideas.

Monty smiled a little and nodded. "That sounds like fun to me."

"Maybe we could play that human game if we get bored, too...I think they call it something along the lines of truth or dare?" Archie recalled, hesitantly.

Monty chuckled softly. "I don't think that would be a bad idea."

Archie nodded, cheerfully. "...Now...all that's left to do is to appeal to my brother about the idea..."

Monty smiled and thought. "Well, I'm sure Emy could help."

Archie nodded, tilting his head slightly. "She could...but how do we get them apart, so we can talk to her?"