Havermouth, Present TimeAislen was aware of the civilian speculation as her mates joined the huddle with Meguitte, Connery, Leighton, and Sigrid. The nine of them standing by the bridge, overlooking the river, stood out, especially after the dragons’ comings and goings, and she could feel the speculations of those working on emptying the buildings. Most viewed the arrival of Aislen and her mates and the gathering with Sigrid, Meguitte, Connery, and Leighton as ill-tidings. They weren’t wrong.“Meguitte, Connery, and Leighton - ” Talen started to explain the efforts to fix the river.“It’s a good idea,” Aislen said to Meguitte, preventing Talen from having to repeat what she already knew. “And you’re right. It’s better to be doing something, rather than nothing.”“It is,” Meguitte replied, blushing. (After the cuffs, I was being overly cautious. I had lost some confidence in my abilities. Indecision and fear of doing the wrong thing was paralytic. This may not work, but that’s okay. N
Havermouth, Present TimeIt was decided that Aislen would fly to the river house on Samuel. Her mates would extend the invitations to their guests and then follow either on foot or in vehicles. She knew from Talen and Heath’s thoughts that this was partially planned in order to speak with Sigrid alone, sheltering Aislen from the information. She had her own plans, and so pretended not to have caught their subterfuge, and climbed on board Samuel without protest.As Samuel took off, Aislen caught a glimpse of Meguitte, Leighton, and Connery along the riverbank further down from the bridge. They had quickly made themselves scarce, but obviously continued the conversation away from the rest of the group, in the privacy of the riverbank’s undergrowth, as they were huddled together in an intense conversation from their body language. The trio looked up as the dragon’s shadow passed over them.What was she going to do about them? She asked herself in bitter despair. Stella was right in so
Havermouth, Present TimeNiarthen shifted on the mat, his eyes going out over the camp. He wanted the end of the war as much as Aislen did. He felt responsible for starting it. It had been his report of what he had seen and experienced in the river that had set the war into motion, and at the time he had believed it was the right thing to do, and entirely necessary. He had even been a little excited to be part of implementing the event that generations of Mer had carefully planned and that had been spoken of almost reverently his entire life.He had served his people over the years to the best of his ability, and at times that service had involved bloodshed. He was known and respected for taking violent action when it was needed, but always only when it was absolutely necessary, and with efficiency.It was why he was trusted with the coastal patrols. The hierarchy of the Mer trusted his judgment and that he would take the necessary action if there was a human encounter. He had taken t
Havermouth, Present TimeSamuel landed in the paddock next to the river house, scattering the sheep. Aislen slid off his back and stood regarding the sheep speculatively as he shifted. “What do sheep taste like?” She asked him. “Are they watery like rabbit?”“They’re not bad, actually,” Samuel considered the flock who pressed against the far fence. “Your mate might take exception to us eating his livelihood, however.”“Well, he might have been the one who put this in me,” she shoved her belly out. “And this baby is saying it wants sheep blood. So, I say, fair is fair. Let’s hunt, Samuel.” If Cameron was home and saw, and had something to say about it, she was sure he’d come out before either of them managed to catch one of the sheep.She leaned down and tore a handful of weeds from the ground. “Here, sheep-sheep…”The sheep were skittish due to just having had a dragon land in their field, but they were also accustomed to being fed by hand, so curiosity gradually drew them away from t
Havermouth, Present TimeTalen took his time shampooing and then conditioning Aislen’s hair, using his fingers to comb the conditioner through and picking out little bits of debris, lining them up on the edge of the vanity like a record of Aislen’s travels.“There’s a ladybug somewhere,” Aislen was lulled almost to sleep. “You can add it to your hair trophies if you find it.”“You’re just randomly keeping bugs in your hair now?” Rhett asked from the bathroom door. His arms were filled with products, and he emptied them out onto the vanity. “Or are you practicing for when the kids bring home headlice?”“Oh my gawd,” Aislen gaped at him. “Headlice.”“Yeah, it’s totally a thing,” he told her. “I get a lot of mummies in for tattoos, and they tend to do it in pairs or small groups. It’s like a bonding thing. They sit, I tattoo them, they talk to each other. Stuff like little Jenny Junior brought home headlice for the fifth time this year and now the mummy-getting-Jenny’s name tattooed with
Havermouth, Present Time“Truth,” he reminded her. “No secrets amongst mates.” (Kept this between the two of us because both Cameron and Aislen are delicate at the moment, and no one needs a blow-up.)“It’s not a secret,” she told him defensively. “I was picking my time. We only have tonight, and everyone needs a bath, some food, and some time out. Telling everyone what I know now would just mean that no one get to do that.”“Okay, I buy it,” he shrugged one shoulder as he finished her fingernails. “So, what is it?”“Do you really want to know right now?” Aislen asked him seriously. “When everyone’s settled, fed, showered, we’re all going to get together and have a big talk about everything, anyway. Will it really hurt to wait another half an hour to an hour?”“Well,” he started collecting together his things. “I know now, so I’m going to have that at the back of my head anyway.”“It’s a lot, Rhett. If I start talking about it now, we won’t stop until everyone’s together.”“Aislen’s r
Havermouth, Present Time"I am very sorry for your loss," Sigrid said solemnly. "And it is right that we discuss Bianca and the events leading up to her death.""A human woman June Barnham and Bianca were behind a coup of humans and werewolves to return August Mason to control of the pack and Havermouth," Sigrid explained in a matter-of-fact manner. "There was unrest after you left for Rideten, and this group of dissidents believed that August would provide strong leadership in the ongoing war against the Van Helsings. When Samuel removed August from the bunker they attempted to track him, but Samuel discovered the bug and disposed of it. August was taken to Tony and Fatima. However, the coup did not know that. They searched here -""That would explain the broken front door," Cameron commented."The front door is broken?" Aislen was surprised."Kicked in, lock busted. Not a big deal," Cameron replied. "I guess they searched the house. Smashed open some drawers in Heath's office, kicke
Havermouth, Present time“I was with her,” Samuel said defensively. “And ensured that no harm came to the Emissary, as is my duty.”“No harm would have come to the Emissary if she’d been sensible and come straight home,” Heath retorted. “I thought we’d agreed to do things together,” he pointed with the whiteboard marker at Aislen. “And to not keep secrets from each other.”“I did not keep it secret. I was waiting for everyone to be in one place,” Aislen replied. “And if we had all gone together, it would have looked more aggressive. Samuel is scary as fuck on his own, so they knew not to mess around, but with just one pregnant woman on his back, they didn’t find our presence a threat, and so I was able to have a nice picnic with Niarthen one on one, rather than everyone being all in each other’s face.”“You had a picnic,” Rhett said under his breath. “Why am I not surprised?”“Technically he had the picnic,” Aislen corrected. “Fish pieces and little bulbs of purified water.”“We’re no