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Something stirred in the tent, more sluggishly than it had some hours previous. As was her wont, dark Einsol rose with the dawn. ...And promptly snuggled back into the sleep-furs with the two warm bodies beside her. The sun would be there when she was ready to meet him. Last night had gone very well, especially for her first time. She'd been told it could hurt, even when your lover was gentle. It had a bit, but not for long, as she'd had to gentle herself.

Someone had hurt the male of their trio. The marks on his skin were old, smooth and long healed, but the memory of their maker remained. Worse, he flinched from marks she could not see, a hand (for no paw had done this) that had been careful with its pain. Made him skittish, ready to flee at the wrong sound. Variel had been fine, met her directness with enthusiasm, and she'd helped to keep her Leafling calm, close. Perhaps this arrangement was a temporary thing, but for the night at least, he and she had been Einsol's mates. Even if they did not remain so, she had been and remained very fond of the pair sharing her bed. And someone had caused hurt to her mate, her pack.

Sometimes she heard doubts that she was called to healing when so many of her impulses and instincts drove her to the hunt. The young healer couldn't see the point of them. Sometimes you mended wounds and kept the patient safe. Sometimes you went out and took steps to see that the cause didn't do it again. Both, as she knew it, were healer's work. For now, she held tan and brown bodies close, shared her warmth with them...

By contrast, the Taleian in the tent continued to doze. The others waking stirred his awareness fom deeper slumber, but he remained partially anchored to sleep. Much of his work, as his partner thought it, had been keeping up with them once things had got rolling. Einsol's rise saw him slip his arms about one of hers and attempt to pull her back down. "Mmn. Warm pillows don't move away." His brain slwly and quietly reviewed a few things while most of the rest remained restful.

Einsol had all but stalked into their tent, confident and utterly assured of herself. I swear her eyes were glowing at first. Still unsure how I feel about a lot of things, but somehow that's made it on the list. With Variel, she'd been hungry, and clearly got something out of pinning the warrior down. But when she turned her eye on him... There'd been a moment where something she saw startled her. It wasn't that she became less intense so much as shifted to another sort of intensity. Where the blue maiden had growled with the Oban, impressed her dominance, she chirruped and purred at him. Waited, kept her touch and approach soft. At once insistent and patient.

For his own part, he still didn't really get why Variel spent so much attention on him. Pleasing her was itself pleasant, and had the satisfaction of a job well done. That was enough, right? Apparently not, to her mind. There was a sort of helpless frustration there sometimes. She'd decided his wants and preferences were important, and that had led to a long, involved stretch of trying to find out what those even were. Still going on, in fact. So when Einsol approached like he was... afraid? Like he'd break if she was too harsh? The slender man didn't know how to process it. Especially not both sentiments at once.

In the immediate sense he didn't consciously process much of anything but the tangled pile of them...

She hummed happily as Einsol pulled Vil closer to them making a Variel sandwhich. She had had the best night and she still felt a bit love drunk and reluctance to move. One of the many things she liked about Viltre was his penchant for cuddling and warmth especially on cold mornings. She liked it very much, made her feel loved and wanted, which was the whole point and it was warm.

She had been mildly concerned that the dynamic between Ein and Vil might not mesh well but with her as an added ingredient in the love potion all had gone really well. She was sore all over and gave a slow predatory grin as all of the memories started to flood in. She snuggled deeper down between the hard back in front of her and the solid but softer woman behind her. She was content just to be.

A thought occurred to her, "You know if we keep this up we might get pregnant. I would be happy if it happened, if not then we get more time together as adults only. It not a bad time in my career for it to happen." She kept her arms tight around the other two. They were not going anywhere just yet, Ushi could start the coffee over the damn fire before Var was getting up.

Einsol 3

Something between a deep hum and a purr came from the healer. "Got a spell hung, keeps cubs from happening. Need a den for my own before that. Be nice if I had a mate or two around in it, too." The arm curled, came up enough that her salt-scarred palm rested on Viltre's collarbone. The blue thumb made small circles just inside the dip there. Her cheek rubbed forward 'til Einsol's nose touched the other woman's earlobe.

This was about as subtle as the hybrid got. "Think anyone'd be interested?" Handfasting was an old tradition in these parts. One her brothers made a habit of skipping. Effectively a mariage that lasted a year and a day. If it worked out, so much the better, and a proper marriage might follow. If not, the couple (or in this case, trio) went their own ways. "I'm fine with cubs, if I'm welcome to stay." Not like it was any of her business if she were unwelcome. She liked these two already, but who knew if that would last? Better to take it one step at a time. Such as taking a moment to enjoy both lean bodies in reach, for one.

Comfortable as he was, the quiet back and forth had stirred their scribe. Back to the world of the living for him. They'd been sharing a bed for weeks, the warrior and he. New people typically resulted from that sort of thing. If that was how she felt, Viltre hadn't seen much need to quesion it. Now that it was out in the open, he began to think, in his own half-groggy way, if the delay itself had been a mistake. "Knew it would happen eventually. Never really considered being a father, but the first thought is what measures to take to keep a child safe. Same sort of thought as when Terr got with hers, I think." He paused, collecting his thoughts and attempting to rearrange them alongside his emotions. Still as much trouble as ever, so his low voice came slowly. "Happiness is supposed to be the first consideration, isn't it?"

On a related note, there were reasons to consider another partner. Some practical; a healer would be a significant boon by presence alone. Another trustworthy set of eyes and hands never hurt, either. Others emotional; as he had only a poor baseline for normality, additional perspective might tell him if he did something off. In this case, perhaps it was curiosity. He trusted Variel, who knew this woman better, and his sister, who'd never sent a hard word about her adopted clan. "I... Yes. I'l like to get to know you better, too." The mussed red head pressed against blue upper arm caught in his grip. She might take some getting used to,but as said, it seemed worth a shot.

Variel purred too. She hadnt realized how nice cuddling was. She hadnt had any of it before Viltre, now she had two people to cuddle with.

“I would welcome your help most ardently. Besides my two brothers I havent much experience with cubs.”

She pressed her lips into Viltre’s back. “We have options for protection and safety. My family and Ein’s would do. If they kept the triplets safe they would be able to do ours as well if we could no long keep them on the road. Maybe after they are weaned, I wouldnt be able to do jobs too far away.” Mother’s instincts and all that. She had no doubt she would be just as protective of her cubs as she was her mate, through she felt like Ein needed somewhat different preotection then her leafling.

Einsol 5

If Variel could feel the smile widen behind her... well that was natural. Soft blue lips at her ear, why wouldn't she feel them shift? But you could almost see the tent's insides brighten, which may have had something to do with it. "Don't worry too hard. They're no real trouble 'til they start crawlin' around. It's then things get fun." And by that point you were a light sleeper whether you liked it or not. So nighttime escapes would seldom escape your notice long...

Talk of calling on pack and kin followed, only natural, and Einsol nodded with firm agreement. That was how it worked. You looked after your own, and their loved ones in the bargain, no matter your personal fit with them. Kin and theirs showing false were a different issue, simply solved with several swift boots. Then her ear twitched, caught the mumble, felt the tension down her arm. I'm gonna have to catch up on so much here. His head's boilin' over, maybe by way of his heart. No wonder he saddled up with Variel, out without his pack. Fightin' with secrets for knives? Only works on familiar ground. Frowning thoughtfully, the hybrid nodded anyhow. "S'okay. Can tell ya as often as ya like."

A hand unwound from the blue and found the dark arm, holding gently to the other redhead's wrist. Still groggy thoughts struggled against warmth and softness, trying for coherence. Something either woman might understand, however divorced from reality it was. What he called 'business' and Variel so often saw as just talking, Merle and others in similar circles called 'politics'. As Oban nobility, she was at least somewhat aware of it, if not details or necessity. "Isn't about power. There's a balance to things when you involve enough people, a flow. It's what moves and what doesn't move.

Know you can put main force on the table. It's a comfort." Meant other things had failed, though, and committing to that single course. You did not show force halfheartedly if it were to work. It was a terribly Variel solution, and there was an appeal in its simplicity. ...Am I overcomplicating things again? It doesn't need to be perfect. We can keep them safe. That's all that matters. Another way Einsol came in, actually. Between hers and the Oban family, there was an alliance to be deepened in these parts of the world. Certainly helped that he was already becoming attatched to the Matoran hybrid as well...