[Becca]

Vetinari's breath had caught when she had fallen on top of him, but he regained his composure. "Um... Yeah..." he mumbled. He peered into the darkness. It was a pretty big cave, as caves went. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, and stalagmites grew up from the ground in various parts of the cave. "So this is one of the caves." he said. He turned to face Fleur, catching the last bit of the blush in is gaze before it faded away. "What do we do know?" he asked, chiding himself for seeming so lost and clueless.

[SpringsSong]

Fleur shrugged.  "Apparently that there are three or four other ones that are empty like this and one that has been furnished by my mother in what little spare time she had between training, a family reunion, and going off to the war." She said, looking around again.  "I thought she said something about all of them being connected somehow..." She took a few steps to the right, and then, walking in deeper, seemed to find some sort of a tunnel.  She sniffed the air carefully, and then said, "This cave to the right of this one would be the one my mother claimed.  I know her scent and my stepfather's as well." She said.

{55}

[Becca]

Vetinari sniffed at the tunnel as well. "I do believe I've smelled this before..." he said. "Its from a big black, grey, and red guy named Sethor right?" Vet continued. "I've passed him on the streets before. Never really took much notice of it before." He poked his head around a bend in the tunnel. "Yeah, there's furnishings down there." he said, turning back to Fleur. She seemed to be intent on something.

[SpringsSong]

Fleur nodded.  "Yes... yes, that's him.  He's my stepfather.  I don't know why he and my mother were always playing the game of 'I'm-gonna-clear-my-list-before-making-a-decision' before he finally asked her.  I've never met him personally..." She said, and then, walking back to the cave that they had fallen into, she sniffed the air again.  Why was their another familiar scent on the air if Fleur was the only one that Tali?±a had spoken to of these caves?  "Why do I recognize this scent as well?  I know this scent solely from my one or two meetings with... with my cousin, Areia... When did she come out here?" She asked, clearly unnerved.  Hadn't her mother said she would only tell those of her direct blood about the caves?

{56}

[Becca]

Vetinari saw her uneasiness. "And its a bad thing that her scent is here?" he asked tentatively. "Is she a family member that you don't get along with or something?" Vet could smell it to. A nice smell, but not as nice as Fleur's. He flushed ever so slightly. He felt awkward talking about family, seeing as he didn't get along with his. Changing the subject was going to be hard so he went down mostly the same tract. "I've only ever met my stepfather once." he said. "I was here recently looking for my mother, and I found both of them... He doesn't seem to like me much..." Vet felt even more awkward, having said this aloud...

((OOC: Geh, my muse is missing. I can't find it...XP))

[SpringsSong]

Fleur's ears didn't quite flatten as she replied, "It's not that I don't get along with her, she doesn't get along with anyone from her family because she's... oh, how do I put this...?  She's a Kyuukai-blood and a Yin-Dios-blood.  Because she is a Kai-blood, she... well, she doesn't take the fact that she has such a large family very well." She shook her head.  "Said she hated her family because almost every Lucain in the Lands is related to her infamous grandmother, Kyuukai." She sighed.  "Such a young beauty, too..." Sniffing the air, she said, "I think my mother might have... 'assigned' these caves to four of us... I can detect my brother's scent and my nephew, Marcello's, scent..." She walked on a ways, ears tentatively perked.  "Maybe a little further in?" She asked, seeing that there was another cave beyond the one that they fell into.

{57}

[[Odd.  Mine can't seem to stop working... xD]]

[Becca]

"Yeah, Kyuukai does have a lot of relations..." said Vetinari. And one of them lives at home... He thought, thinking of the striped malamute. He hoped that his mother would not turn out to be like Kyuukai and that she would drop a few of her other breedings. "So, yeah. Lets check a bit further in..." He followed her in.

[SpringsSong]

"As does my mother, unfortunately.  But, thankfully, her lines do not extend beyond grandchildren... yet, at least." She said, recalling her own shock when Alexa had come home the mother of four pups and then herself, the mother of one.  One son, and he was turning out to be the exact opposite of her.  Walking into the next cave, she breathed a sigh of relief.  "I smell no scent on the air here... this must be the one Mother 'assigned' to me." She said, looking around the large cave.  She'd always thought about moving here to Idalani, but hadn't wanted to yet because she had no one to live with yet.  Suddenly, she asked, "Have you... have you met any other females?" She did not mean mere acquaintences, she meant as far as breeding partners.

{58}

[Becca]

Vetinari stumbled, flushing brightly. "Um... No not really... I mean... Becca has set up some breedings for me, but I haven't met any of them..." he said. He really hadn't expected her to bring up this subject. "Becca was hoping that one of them would like me enough to be um... Well... But I've heard of them, and I don't really think that I'd like them much..." he stammered.

[SpringsSong]

Fleur's head inclined.  "I see." She said.  "I myself have met only one male in that Facility, and I have one son to show for it.  He... he was enamoured with another Lucain from his own home, and I had..." Here, she chuckled sarcastically.  "I had believed that he would love me.  I have two more breedings on my list; and hopefully, either between now and the end of the second breeding, I will have met the one male that I can... that I can relate to, that I could see myself being with until the end of time." She said, her paw moving from side to side aimlessly in the sand after she had seated herself.  "I know that one of them was originally going to breed with my mother, but our trainers came to an agreement, per se.  The other one is just... another one of Kyuukai's relations.  I've seen pictures of both, and I am wholly unimpressed with both of them." She said, sighing.  "Sometimes I wonder why I bother with love..." She whispered.

{59}

[Becca]

Vet sat as well, keeping his eyes on Fleur. "I know what you mean. Becca is very enthusiastic on finding me a lifemate..." he said slowly. "She says that maybe I'll start to calm down and be more like Fellipe... He's one of her favorites because he doesn't cause much trouble..." He laughed, a slight bitterness in his tone. "Unlike me. I don't think any of the females that she chose would like my wildness. They'd think I was mad or dangerous." he said. "I'm sure that she's trying her hardest... But I don't think she'll find someone who will just listen to what I have to say. Thats why I get to angry and violent... I don't have anyone to talk to..." He smiled at Fleur. "I've never opened up this much to anyone. Not even Mom." he said, a laugh returning to his voice. A little voice in the back of his head said, You like her don't you? You think she is pretty, and she listens... What is holding you back? Vet showed no emotion, but inside his feelings raged. I like her... But... What if she doesn't...

[SpringsSong]

Fleur tilted her head and said, "I could understand that.  After all, I went into a slight withdrawal after I..." Here, she stopped for a moment.  "I have seen so much bloodshed and killing, it is not funny.  I mean..." Here, she took in a breath, and then, said, "I was almost killed by a Ssendrek when I was a pup because I went to Lambastia when a bloodthirsty Khimera was trying to take over the Lands." She sighed, shaking her head.  She sighed again, looking to Vet.  "I have never opened up to anyone this much before either.  My mom doesn't know quite the full extent of what I went through in Lambastia." She said, her mind taunting her that she liked Vet and she ought to admit it... except that her "mind" was a Ballama that bore the name Charmante.

{60 -- Level-up}

[Becca]

Vetinari's eyes widened. "I didn't hear about that..." he said. "I've never had my life threatened, but I can imagine how terrifying it would be." His emotions continued to rage around in his mind. He felt an urge to nuzzle and comfort her, and at the same time, a fear that she would reject him. Your mother took a chance... She took it and it went alright. Yes, but mother isn't me... She knew she could take it if it went wrong! Vet was finding it increasingly difficult to contain himself. Anytime now, he knew he would loose control of his tongue. Suddenly, he found himself speaking. "Fleur. I..." he tripped over his own words. He cleared his throat and started again. "I've been thinking... And I need to ask you something..." Again Vet paused. Taking a deep breath he continued. "Would you be my lifemate?" he whispered. His heart pounded in his chest, drowning out almost all other noise.

[SpringsSong]

Fleur's eyes widened for a moment as she heard the question spoken.  Charmante, who was floating from side to side, whispered inside her head, At last, your chance! Fleur blinked again as she thought, I-- I never thought that this... She looked up into his eyes, her own heart pounding as she said, "I... Yes, I will be your lifemate." She moved closer to him, not hesitating as she leaned against him, nuzzling him.

{61}

[Becca]

Vetinari's heart soared. He nuzzled Fleur back, happy murrs rumbling from his throat. He couldn't ever remember being this happy. "I love you..." he whispered. Warm fuzz filled his brain, blocking out everything buy the beautiful female beside him. His new lifemate.