#the fox and the hounds

[we-were-beautiful]

The Fox and The Hounds pt.5

A/N: At long last we finally have part 5 for The Fox and The Hounds. I do apologize for those who have waited so long for this part but here it is and I got to give a huge thanks to @loving-and-dreaming for Beta reading this for me. That being said we are all still human and there may be some errors and I apologize in advance. Hope y’all enjoy  

Up next on my writing schedule is Unraveled ends and I already have about 2000 words already written for that so stay tuned.

Summary: Its autumn court tradition to give your mate a fox kit before your ceremony. after years of knowing the Vanserra’s a mating bond snaps between the Autumn Heir and a well known smoke hound breeder

Warning: none that I know of but if you see something please reach out and let me know.

 WC: 4k

As the door shut, I placed my back to it and gently slid down to the floor. I truly had no idea how to interact with this male. The last two months had been a whirlwind and all of Eris' current behaviors contradicts the information that my cousins in the night court have given me.  Gods I can only imagine the fuss that Rhys and Mor are going to kick up when they hear that my parents allowed this little unchaperoned weekend getaway, but in all reality there is not much they could do without inducing the High Lord of Nights anger. We had been invited to a formal dinner at the night court once word of the engagement and mating bond reached my uncles; the High Lord of Night and Keir, the Steward of the Court of Nightmares(who happens to be Mors father), had been overjoyed that The Night Court would now have ties with the Autumn Court. What the two of them had attempted with Mor they would have with me.

While the High Lord of Night doted on his older sister and her husband for the excellent match between Eris and myself; across the table Rhysand and Mor looked horrified. Rhys had pulled me aside after his father bid the residents of the Hewn city to go play. My dearest cousin begged me to call off the whole thing. Told me what had happened to Mor, and he was so worried that I would become the Vanserras next victim. The heartbreak on his face when I told him it was inevitable, this marriage was happening whether we wanted it to or not. There would have been no place for me to run. Uncle would not have sheltered me in the Night Court, and Beron would have me hunted down. The marriage was far too advantageous for him. He hugged me tight afterwards and seemed reluctant to hand me over to Eris when my mate wanted to steal me away to dance. 

That seemed like so long ago but in reality it was three weeks ago. I move over to the bed and take a seat. This weekend was going to be awkward between the two of us. Eris for the most part is trying; he’s gentle with me in a way that I have only seen him be with his mother. Every morning if we don’t have an event together, he sends me a small sweet note and flowers. He sends them often enough that the ones I have in vases barely have had time to wilt. He’s a good male; it's just awkward since we barely know each other. I had always thought that he was attractive, but with him as Beron’s heir I didn’t stand a chance when there were more political matches to be made. I had figured If I were to end up with any of the Vanserra boys it would have been with Ashton, the second brother. Ashton was a carbon copy of his father always aiming to please the male even if it pushed him to act monstrously. But I guess I have to thank Mor for fucking the Illyrian Bastard, it had saved me from potentially being married off to an abusive male and instead with my mate, even if we did not know it at the time.    

I don’t know how long I sat on the bed going over the events of the last two months absentmindedly stroking Paprikas soft fur but a swift knock pulls me out of my thoughts. 

“Excuse me, Lady Y/N.” A melodic voice flows through the door. “I’m here to help you get ready for dinner.” 

Ah so Eris had already secured a ladies maid for me. I let out a soft groan as I moved to stand. That at least saves me the trouble of having to find one myself. I open the door to see a high Fae standing there. She is pretty if not a bit plain. Her brown hair is swept up into a neat bun at the nape of her neck hiding her pointed ears; the simple oxblood dress is a touch big for her frame. The uniforms I have seen on the servants and slaves at the forest house have been expertly tailored to the Fae that wear them, so she must be new.

“Oh” she squeaks before dropping into a curtsy. “Lady Y/N, I am Melonie, Lord Vanserra has hired me to be your ladies maid.” 

“It's a pleasure Melonie, and please it’s just Y/N. If you are to be my ladies maid then we shall be spending quite a significant amount of time together; so we may as well be on a first name basis.” I move aside to let her in.

“Only while we are in private though at the Forest House we need to remain as formal as we can be.” I tack on. There is a rigid hierarchy in the Autumn Court and while we are in a private residence, such as here, we can act as we please; the moment we step into Beron’s halls everything has to be as formal as possible.

“Understood Ma’am.” She nods her head and steps into the room. “Now we must get you ready for dinner.” 

“Of course. Did my mate say what dress is needed.” I’m certain my family's servants packed everything from casual wear to a ball gown for this trip. I honestly don’t know why, as this is an informal trip for me to get to know my mate better. I’m sure he told my father that there wouldn’t be any major formal events that the two of us would need to attend.

“Yes Ma’am, Lord Vanserra said that it was to be a casual dinner.” She tilts her head a bit “I do believe his words to his attendance were that it is just a simple dinner between my mate and I there is no reason for us to don finery.” I let out a small laugh, that does sound like Eris. There had been a few times when we had been in the forest house after dinner that we had gone on an evening stroll and he had expressed his distaste for the show that we had to put on. Having to put on our finest to awkwardly sit at a table under the scrutiny of our families. 

“So a simple dress it is.” I let out a soft sigh. Thank the Mother, I’m so glad he doesn’t want to stand on formalities. I move through the room to the wooden armoire and shift through the dresses my family's servants had picked, settling in on a simple green dress trimmed with a delicate cream lace.

“That will look lovely Y/N” I smile at her statement and take a step back and allow her to help me get ready.

It takes us about 45 minutes to get me ready for dinner. The dress had been easy enough, I Honestly could have gotten myself into it but help is always appreciated. My hair had taken a bit more time, but soon enough I was headed down the stairs to the dining room. We had passed the room briefly on our tour but now I had the time to take it in. It was large enough that we could easily entertain a party of 18 people, but I had a feeling that would be an extremely rare occasion. The table was a smooth walnut wood polished to a near mirror finish. It was large with many elegantly carved chairs pushed under; it is nearly too large for just the two of us. While I haven’t gotten to explore the house I can only hope that there is a smaller informal dining room for us to use. Eris is there when I arrive, dressed in a simple cream colored tunic and brown breeches tucked into dark brown boots. Upon hearing my arrival he jumps to his feet giving me a short bow. 

“My mate you look lovely this evening.” He moves and pulls out a chair next to the head of the table for me. “I apologize for this. The staff had already set this table before I could tell them that it wouldn’t be necessary.” 

“Thank you.” I say as I gently take a seat in the chair that he had pulled out. “There is no need to apologize. There is an informal dining room?” the question hangs in the air.

“Yes, there is a smaller dining room that I use when It’s just me here; I figured that we would use it while we reside here unless we are forced to entertain.” He responds, giving a nod to one of his staff standing beside a door that I think leads to the kitchen. 

“Oh good. This is a lovely dining room but it feels like it might be a bit much if it’s just the two of us.” A plate is soon placed in front of me, I mutter a thanks, and begin to pick up my silverware. 

“It really is.” Eris laughs as he picks up his own silverware and digs in. 

Conversation flows freely between the two of us as we talk about everything and nothing. I take this time to figure out more about the male that I am bound to for the rest of our immortal lives. I find that he adores his mothers baking. He insisted that I should get her apple strudel recipe from her and that I would love it. He likes the spicy foods that are common in the Summer Court, but he cannot stand the Summer Court's tendency for sour things. I also learn that his father has him acting as an emissary for a few courts including Spring, Winter, and Dawn. It is an eye opening conversation as the two of us go back and forth. We sit at the table telling each other our likes and dislikes long past when we finish our meals. At one point after the table had long since been cleared, save for a few bottles of wine and our glasses, Eris dismissed the staff while we continued talking. It takes one of the hounds whining for attention for us to actually leave the table taking our glasses to the living room. Eventually we have to let the hounds and Paprika out one last time before bed. Sadly the rain hadn’t stopped. It seemed to have gotten worse over the last few hours and what once was a nice steady rain is now a downpour. Ever the gentleman, Eris offers to take them out and wait for them to be done. 

I knew that there would be some paw wiping that needed to be done, but what I didn’t expect was for all of the hounds to come back into the house covered in mud.

“Oh no.” I exclaim as Eris carries in a mud covered Paprika, setting her on the floor only after the door is shut and locked.

“I think we are going to have to give them emergency baths.” Eris sighed, running a hand through his damp red hair.

“What happened?” I swear my eyebrows have probably reached my hairline as the hounds continue to play with each other getting mud all over the living room floor. 

“Well I thought that they would do their business, be done, and come back into the house. Apparently I was wrong and they decided that they wanted to play.” I can see the steam rising off of Eris as he uses his powers to dry off. “Paprika on the other hand accidentally landed in a mud puddle. And I already dismissed the staff for the night.” 

“Shit.” It's always nice to have an extra hand on deck when bathing the hounds “Well looks like we are on bath duty then.” 

We had relocated from the living room up to the bedrooms; the click of nails on the floor followed behind us as the dogs followed along behind us. I let him lead me through the halls my arm laced through his taking in the warmth that radiated through his shirt. The Vanserra’s were known for their fire wielding abilities, but it was like fire ran through his blood heating him from the inside out. I didn’t quite want the evening to end. 

“We probably should have kept some of the staff here when we saw that it was going to rain.” Eris laughs. 

“Probably, I’m sure your housekeeper will skin both of us tomorrow when she sees the mess.” I chuckle glancing behind me to see the whisper of smoke hounds trailing along behind us leaving muddy tracks along the wooden floor.

“Our housekeeper.” Eris’ gently corrects “I hate to say that she is almost used to it. She’s not a fan of bathing the hounds though.” 

“I don’t blame her, it’s a task and a half, and with the lot that we have it’s going to take us at least a few hours.” I try not to pay too much attention to the way Eris uses joint ownership. I should be grateful that he has already gotten used to us being a pair although it is a bit harder for me. 

Since the engagement Eris has always referred to us as a unit. It was “our plans for the mating ceremony” and “Of course we will be attending tonight.” It seemed to come easy to him; however, I am still trying to wrap my head around things. For me this is still just Eris’s home and his belongings and employees, not mine. Although in two weeks, I guess it will partially be mine. I need to get used to the fact that we are now a unit and respond as such. This will be our home that we fill with our hounds and if we are lucky enough down the road maybe a few messy haired faelings that we created. 

We make our way to Eris’s room. The room is not what I had thought it would be and vastly different from his rooms in the forest house. His living quarters in the high lords ancestral halls were cold. Deep emerald fabrics were selected and paired with polished dark wood furniture. We had had tea in his sitting room a few days after the bond had snapped and the whole room just felt impersonal. This room however felt warm. The large bed that dominated the middle of the room facing the window, looked like it was crafted with smooth unfinished red wood and decorated with large antlers. The crimson duvet looks soft and inviting and for a male there is a surprising amount of pillows strewn across the top of the bed  A smaller bookshelf resided along the one wall and much like the massive wall of books in the living room this one is packed with books, but these seemed to be much more loved, with signs of wear along the spines. Next to the window there is a small table that appears to just be a log that someone placed a glass top on and called it good and an arm chair that honestly looked like it had seen better days, if the patches on the arms of the chair were anything to go off of. More dog beds were spread along the floor but I had a feeling quite a few of them slept in the actual bed. Smoke hounds while they don’t shed a ton of fur, still shed, and if the short white hairs clinging to the crimson duvet say anything it is that the dogs are on the bed. Which is fine with me since I typically have one or two with me in my bed on any given night and since Paprika came into the picture she’s always cuddling in bed with me. 

“Come on, the bathroom is through here.” He opens the door on the furthest wall to reveal the massive bathing chambers with a large tub.  

“We might want to shut the bedroom door so that they can’t run off.” I quietly mention once I noticed that all of them were in the room. 

“Good idea.“ Eris sidesteps me quickly making his way to the door. Nineteen sets of ears pop up at the sound of the door clicking close. I move to quickly scoop up Paprika before she has the chance to dart under Eris’s Bed. 

“We need to do Paprika first; she’s still getting used to bath time.” Hearing the word ‘bath’ the fox kit starts to squirm. I quickly manure her in my arms and hold her under her front legs; her bottom and tail dangling limply in the air.

 “You are covered in mud, no amount of wiggling will get you out of it.” I speak to the little kit as if she were a naughty child. Her ears flop as if resigning herself to her fate. 

Bath time is eventful to say the least, Paprika gave us hell once we set her in the warm water. She just about screamed the entire time and only calmed down once she was wrapped in one of Eris fluffy towels. Having Eris around for bath time had its perks. Using his fire magic he was able to dry the hounds and Paprika rather faster than having to let them air dry. The hounds were bathed without complaint; but there were some trouble makers. Once we had shut the bathroom door to bathe Paprika, one of Eris’s hounds jumped up onto his bed and proceeded to cover not only the duvet in mud but Eris’s pillows and sheets. Then one of my hounds decided that I needed a bath as well and grabbed my dress and tugged just hard enough to send me sprawling into the tub. By the time the all nineteen of the canines are bathed Eris and I are drenched; the bathroom is soaked and quite frankly there is pathways of muddy paw prints throughout the house. 

“I know I said we don’t need a kennel, but I would like to retract my statement. We need one if only to prevent things like this from happening again.” I slump alongside Eris resting against the side of the tub. 

“Agreed.” Eris runs his hands through his hair. “We still have to get cleaned up ourselves.” 

“And remake your bed; one of the hounds got on it.” Eris lets out a groan at that statement. 

“Let’s get cleaned up first and then we can deal with that later. Worse comes to worse; I can sleep in one of our spare rooms or the couch.” 

“Please don’t sleep on the couch.” I laugh “Especially when there are perfectly good beds in the spare rooms. 

“I will have you know Dear Mate that the couch is one of the best places to sleep in this house. I have spent many nights on it.” 

“Now that's just sad Eris.” We both end up laughing. 

“Come now let's get cleaned up and off to bed. Eris moves to stand offering me one of his hands to help me off the floor. I end up stumbling into Eris’s chest as I am pulled up; he steadies me, one hand on my hip the other not letting go of my hand. I had noticed in the time we have been courting how much bigger his hands are then mine, they almost completely engulf mine whenever we dance, and they are so very warm. My heart races in my chest, being so close to this male without anyone else around. There is an awkward silence that fills the space between the two of us.

“Well I will leave you to it.” He moves to open the door to the room. Immediately dogs start tripping over one another in their attempt to escape the bedroom. Eris meets my gaze and we burst out laughing at the scene. We laugh for a solid few minutes; we would slow down and when we would look at each other we would start laughing again. An endless loop of pulling ourselves together only to fall apart again and again.

“I don’t know why that was so funny.” I hold my side as a wait out the stitch that I had gotten from laughing so hard.    

“Neither do I” Eris places a hand on my lower back as he leads me towards my room “Here is where I leave you.” 

“Thank you Eris.” I laugh as he takes my hand and places a kiss on the back of it. 

“You are quite welcome.” He releases my hand and steps back.

 “Please let me know if you need anything.” With one last look he walks down the hall presumably towards one of the spare rooms to clean up. 

I turn into my room and see several of my hounds lounging around as if they didn’t just turn bath time into a whole event. I give them a glare before heading into the bathroom to take a bath of my own before getting ready for bed. The Lady of Autumn truly tried to make this suite as comfortable as she could. Various soaps and oils lined the counter and a few small candles decorated the edge of the bathtub. It was a place that one could easily find solace. Maybe tomorrow I will take full advantage and soak in the large tub, but tonight I feel drained. While it wasn’t a super physically taxing day, mentally it was draining. This trip is giving me a golden opportunity to learn just who my mate is. Already had got to see a completely different side of him. 

When we are out on an official engagement or in the forest house Eris has always seemed so cold despite the fire that flows through his veins. He has always seemed closed off to everybody except for his mother and me. I got to hear him laugh for the first time in the 60 or some odd years that I had known him. I move through the motions of bathing and getting ready for bed. By the time I am turning down the bed I am ready to simply relax. Paprika paws at the bed, her way of asking to be picked up and placed on the bed. I grab her and set her down on the sheets. Ramiel and Rosie hop up on the bed unprompted ready to make themselves comfortable on the large bed. My ears twitch as I hear scratching at the door. I quickly glance around the room taking a head count of Hounds that are lazing around the room. All seven of mine are accounted for plus Ichabod who also decided that he wanted to sleep on the bed as well. So one of Eris’s lot wants to stay in here tonight. I move to open the door to let the pup in; my eyes widen once I open the door because not only is there a smoke hound begging to be let in but Eris is standing there with two steaming mugs. The hound darts past me, with the speed that they are famed for, as I continue to stare at Eris. 

“I figured we could have a cup of tea before bed.” I smile widely at him. He had listened when I was rambling shortly after our engagement. I had offhandedly mentioned that I liked to have a nice cup of Herbal tea before bed. And here he stands holding two cups of tea. 

“I would love that,” I step aside and let him walk into the room. He walks towards the bed and takes a seat holding out one of the cups for me to take; I sit down beside him taking the cup from his hand. 

We sit and talk for a long time. Eventually we have drunk our tea, cups sit forgotten on the nightstand, but Eris stayed. We eventually moved from sitting on the edge of the bed to sitting propped up with pillows against the headboard. The last thing I recall before I go to sleep is looking over at Eris who had fallen asleep not ten minutes ago. I don’t have the heart to wake him since he looks so peaceful. I roll over and wrap my arms around Ramiel before letting sleep take over me.  

Tag List @b0xerdancer @imma-too-many-fandoms @judig92 @fall-myriad @j-brielmalfoy @highlady-ofillyria @percyjacksonspeen @nyctophiliiiiaaa @marigold-morelli @azzydaddy @isa1b2h3

[we-were-beautiful]

This is giving me autumn court vibes

[secretly-a-trekkie]

gimme 5 seasons of murder mysteries in coruscant rn Disney. or else.

[ghostymarni]

-a daily within the coruscant guard

[kokosnusslos]

[boggsart]

nice lil rainy day on coruscant All 3 are up on Patreon in high res ✨

[bellamysgriffin]

Yeah, forever.

[motherofoompaloompas]

yet another set of memes from the corrie group chat pt 6

Pt 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4, Pt 5

[1-800-crscnt]

a silly hc i have is that all the ARF Scouts in the Coruscant Guard tend to run everywhere no matter the distance of their destination, and after non-Guard clones see that, it becomes a running joke that you can tell who a Guardsman spends the most time under by the way they get somewhere (i.e., Stone's men will find a vehicle-- including strange things that shouldn't be one-- no matter what, Thorn's men, which includes Commander Thire, will skate there like it's a perfect day, Hound's men will run like their lives depend on it, Fox's men will use everything but a main street and seem to teleport).

[we-were-beautiful]

The Fox and The Hounds pt. 4

A/N: As I live and breath I have finally finished up chapter 4. Sorry that it took so long to get it done. I love these two awkward dog parents. Up next will be my newest Poly!Feysand fic and then the next portion of love and shadows. There is some mention of violence in this one. I will also accept people who want to beta read this for me to help me find silly mistakes that I know I miss. Also all of the photos in the moodboard came from pintertest 

Summary: Its autumn court tradition to give your mate a fox kit before your ceremony. after years of knowing the Vanserra’s a mating bond snaps between the Autumn Heir and a well known smoke hound breeder

Warning: Mentions of violence and Beron being the father of the year  

 WC: 2.6k 

We had winnowed to a cabin deep in the forest of Autumn. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but the beautiful home in front of us was not it. When I had been told of this trip Eris had mentioned that it was his personal hunting cabin not elaborating further than that. Maybe I had been expecting the single room open floor concept cabins that my brothers had for hunting, but this fairy tale cottage nestled in the trees is anything but. The two story cabin is made of stone and dark wood and a porch wraps the whole way around the home. The barking of dogs draws my attention away from the home. All around the small clearing our hounds run freely with one another. I let out a small sigh of relief. We had shared concerns that the hounds wouldn’t get along with each other; however, it seems like they were unfounded. It is endearing to watch them run and play with one another; to watch Ramiel be reunited with one of her pups. Paprika wiggles in my arms to put her down. I gently put her on the forest floor still keeping a tight hold on her leash. I didn’t quite trust that she wouldn't just sprint off into the woods 

“This is my private home.” Eris’ voice pulls my attention back to him. “ I spend my free time here when my presence is not required at the forest house.” 

“It is beautiful, Eris.” and it's the truth, this is the kinda place that mothers tell their babes about when reading bedtime stories. A cottage like this is where a princess would live before being swept away by her prince charming. Eris holds out his arm for me to take. I gently thread my arm through his as he leads me up the walkway. 

“So will this be our main residence after the wedding?” After our mating ceremony. It seemed like a safe question to ask, in all honesty I would rather be here than trapped in the massive forest house and bound to court decorum. The jewels and finery were lovely, but I would much rather be comfortable in working clothes surrounded by my hounds

“Yes, I try to keep out of the forest house as much as possible. I’m there when Father demands it but I want to keep my private life private.” His voice did not waiver. It was no secret that Beron was cruel; he kept a tight hold on the court and an even tighter one on his family. I had unfortunately witnessed this on several occasions when my family had  been summoned to the forest house. One memory had burned into my mind and it was hard to forget it. The high lord had pitted his second born against the youngest, and I think the only thing that stopped them from killing each other had been their mother desperately begging her husband to make them stop. We had only been children at the time. I remember watching in horror, clinging to my own mothers skirts. Eris had stood beside his fathers throne, the vision of the perfect heir. He had been the one to rip the second oldest off of the youngest, but only on his fathers command. 

“I would never subject you to more of that place than absolutely necessary.” His voice pulls me out of my memories. The tension had become so thick between the two of us the silence deafening and uncomfortable. 

“Are there kennels for the hounds?” I asked desperate to break this uncomfortable feeling. 

“I am looking into having some constructed, but honestly I tend to just keep them in the house.” He seemed almost sheepish with his answer, red tinting his cheeks  “But with 20 it may not be the most manageable.” 

“I only ask because I imagine that feeding time is going to be tricky. Not to mention night time routines” I respond unconsciously, taking a step closer to the fiery haired male. “ I honestly would rather keep them in the house, but…” I trailed off. Most families kept their hounds in kennels overnight. They let the beautiful creatures roam the house during the day but come nightfall they put them into kennels. I honestly felt safer having one or two of my hounds in the house with me at night but it wasn't normal.

“It is whatever you wish my mate. If you want kennels built I will have some built; if you are fine with the dogs having free range of the house that is what we will do. This is to be your home and I would have you comfortable. If there is something that needs to be changed, then I will seek to remedy whatever it is.” He seems so much softer now that it is just the two of us. I have seen him be so cruel in our lives, but here and now when it's just the two of us he's a different person. 

“I would rather keep them in the house.” I pause “I feel safer when they are close, and if you get called away I would rather them be here with me.” to keep me safe they were the unspoken words. My hounds could be vicious when threatened, but Eris’ were on a whole different level. I had been grateful when he introduced me to his hounds that they had taken to me. It had been tense at first but by the time I was to leave the forest house I always had one or two of them trailing after me. The thought of having all of them when inevitably I am alone here put my mind at ease. 

“Then in the house they will stay.” I swear that I could see just a hint of a smile forming on his lips as we entered the home. The inside was surprisingly homey, it was a stark contrast to the cold formality of the Forest house. The main living room had two large comfortable looking sofas facing each other; a large overstuffed armchair in a worn brown leather sat facing the  massive stone fireplace. Massive windows lined one wall giving a breathtaking view of the forest behind it, another wall hosted massive bookshelves filled with books.  The coffee table between the two couches was a rustic affair carved of an old massive oak. Dog beds were scattered around the room along with various toys. For this being Eris’ private retreat it looks very well lived in. The whole space was very masculine, but I had a feeling that I could bring my own touch to the place and it would be perfect. I take a seat on one of the couches gathering paprika in lap unclipping her leash as she settles in for cuddles. 

“After the ceremony I figured that you could go through and make any changes to the place that you wish. Or we could travel to town tomorrow?” as he takes a seat on the sofa across from me. 

“I wouldn’t mind going to town. It is very homey here, but we might need to make some adjustments to make it our place.” compromise is what makes a marriage work. We have to work together and make decisions as a team. 

It settled into an awkward silence between the two of us. Neither one of us really knew what to say. It really hit home that this was our first time alone with no chaperones. No  strict parents, no nosy brothers, no courtiers in our business. I feel like I couldn’t move under his gaze; I knew Eris’ reputation. He had been nothing but polite and respectful while we were in public and surrounded by people. That could all change now that we are in private.  A loud crack of thunder broke the silence and I jumped in my seat. 

“We should probably bring in the hounds.” I break the silence and an uneasy laugh escapes me as I turn my eyes to the windows storm clouds rolling in. 

Eris stands up from his chair moving to the double doors, he opens both doors and lets out a long whistle. Within seconds all of the hounds come running into the house; suddenly the house becomes alive with noise with the jingle of tags and the clicks of nails on the hardwood and barking. It is a laughable situation as all 18 trip over one another as they run into the living room.  I feel the cushion next to me dip as one of the 18 dogs hops up next to me; I grimace as I feel a wet tongue lick at my face, I run a hand down the hounds back relishing in the warmth radiating off of its silky fur. 

“The pride of the Autumn court, vicious killers, the lot of you,  tracking down your enemies  with lethal accuracy and ripping them to shreds. And yet you act like puppies.” I laugh as the dog attempts to sit in my lap on top of poor Paprika. The fox kit scurries out of my lap with an indignant yip as the fully grown smoke hound attempts to fit on my lap.  

“Ichabod! Down.” Eris snaps at the dog who had crawled into my lap. Ichabod on the other hand showed absolutely no signs of moving. I laugh and wrap my arms around the hound.

“He’s fine Eris.” I rest my chin on Ichabod, giving him scratches “He’s just a big baby” 

“Yes, a big baby whom I have seen rip a male  to shreds.” Eris sigs before taking a seat on the opposing couch again shooing away one of the hounds that decided he needed the whole couch. Paprika perks up at the sight of Eris sitting down darting over to take up a seat in his lap since hers was so rudely stolen. He laughs long fingers gently scratching at her soft ears. 

“I’m just glad that your dogs get along with mine and they seem to like me. I would hate to imagine what would have happened if we couldn’t integrate them.” to say that the smoke hounds were territorial was putting it mildly. It wasn’t uncommon for smoke hounds to attack unfamiliar hounds, I had heard horror stories around the court of what could happen when trying to integrate two kennels. It was why Eris and I had taken major precautions after the bond had snapped. We would introduce one or two dogs at a time supervised and on leads at all times. We had finally got to the point last week where we  let all of them out together at the forest house.  

“I would rather not think about that. While I have no doubt in your skills as a breeder, that you could breed a wonderful replacement. I would hate to lose any of our hounds. Yours for their sheer pedigree alone and mine…” he pauses for a second “I raised all of mine, trained them. They work so well together. I can’t fathom what I would do If I lost one” 

Eris loved his hounds just like I love mine. We had bonded over it years ago but to hear him say it was enlightening. It was deeper than I knew before and it warmed me to my core the amount of love this male has for his hounds. I smile at the scene in front of me as Eris is surrounded by three hounds begging for attention as Paprika gets in his face demanding that he pay attention to her. I let out a laugh which caused him to look up at me. Cinnamon eyes met mine. I feel a slight tug on the bond from his end, my eyes widen as a smile grows on his face. The two of us had not really explored the bond since it snapped, there were a few times that I could feel some intense emotion from his end while we were separated and a few times where he had used it to check in on me when we were forced to attend public events. But a solid pull like this neither of us had been brave enough to try. 

“I guess I should give you a tour of the house, not just sit around playing with the hounds.” Eris moved to stand up gently placing Paprika on the floor. 

“A tour would be nice” I nudged Ichabod off my lap. He jumps down to the floor quickly running off to play with another one of the hounds. Eris had moved to stand in front of me offering his hand. I take it and stand. I had never noticed before how warm his hands are; it was almost as if fire  he wielded was coursing through his veins. He moved my hand to rest in the crook of his arm as he led me through the house.

I found myself enjoying this time with him, watching him show off his home…or rather our home. For the most part the cottage was not decorated, a clear sign that a single male had resided here.  One room stuck out to me on the tour; Eris kept an office here. Papers were scattered all over the large oak desk that dominated the room. 

“I apologize for the mess in here.” He seemed almost sheepish. “ I wanted to make sure that I had all of my work done before I came to get you so that I could focus on getting to know you and not  work.”  

It warmed me to hear that he had wanted to make sure that he was able to spend this weekend getting to know me rather than finishing up work. I knew first hand what it was like, my father depending on the workload from the forest house would sometimes end up sequestered in his office for days on end.

“Thank you, I know this whole engagement has been rather hectic. So for you to make the time to get to know me means a lot.” I gently squeezed his arm. 

 “We need all the time we can get because in two weeks we will be bound together.” he solemnly responds “I’d rather know you and at the bare minimum be your friend. We can learn to love each other later.”

He leads me away from the office showing the many guest rooms. They are spartanly decorated with just a bed and nightstand. “You can change these rooms however you please. I had no true need for them and didn’t feel that it was necessary to decorate.

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh at that. It had been such a male answer, something that I had heard before when Mother and I had visited the Illyrian camps years ago. Seems like males will have similar responses to decorating no matter what court. He stops in front of two closed doors. 

“This will be your room during your stay here.” He opens the door to reveal a cozy looking room. The room is dominated by a large bed centered on the right wall, covered in a deep maroon duvet and cream colored accent pillows. The chest of drawers and night stands were carved out of a rich walnut. Dog beds were scattered across the floor. Some one had put the time in to decorating this room “My mother decorated it for you. If you don't like it we can change it.” 

“No, no. It is perfect Eris.” I am quick to cut him off “I love it” 

“Mother will be glad to hear that. My room is across the hall.” he points to the closed door. He runs a hand through his hair. “I will leave you to get settled. The servants should have dinner ready in a few hours so I will let you rest.” 

I nod and take a step into my room “Thank you Eris.” what I am thanking him for I don’t know  after I close the door I lean against it letting my head fall back. This is going to be an awkward weekend.

[cc1010fox]

Cody, watching a toddler wave around a piece of flimsi: Uh...Where did the tubie come from? Thire: Fox. Cody: What'd he say he brought them to the office for? Thire: He didn't. Cody: Then how do you know--? Thire: If it's a tooka, Thorn brought it here. If it's a massiff, Hound brought it here. If it's a tubie, Fox brought it here. Cody: One of those things is not like the others... Thire: One of those vode is not like the others. Fox is an entity consisting entirely of caffeine and buir instincts. Cody: So why isn't he watching the tubie? Thire: Meetings. He knows I'll keep the tubie safe while he's gone. Soon enough, he'll be back to do what he does best, take responsibility for another person.

[risingmoonyue]

AU in which the chancellor dies in a freak (probably Zillo-beast related) accident. Everyone is attending his funeral and really, the Jedi are trying really hard to mourn but it’s incredibly difficult to when the entirety of the coruscant guard is apparently throwing a mental and spiritual party so loud in the Force Dathomir can feel it.

[jashtackarts]

Copper warmup

[scurviesdisneyblog]

𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚗𝚎𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚊𝚛𝚝Ｉᴛʜᴇ ʙʀᴏɴᴢᴇ [ᴅᴀʀᴋ] ᴀɢᴇ (1970 - 1988)

[monkeyart]

Happy Star Wars Day ✨

Fox and Temple Guard/Sith apprentice Feemor and the others for @blackkatmagic 's fic I have lived with shades so long.