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How to Care for Your Human [Gambuiness x Degu]

Leta woke up from Charles, who was covering her neck in kisses. ''Keep going please, I missed that so much.'' She felt, that he wouldn't stop at her neck when she smelled, that someone started to prepare coffee. It was like a sixth sense of her. When somewhere near her started to make coffee, she would smell it right away. Letting a tender moan escape her lips, when Charles tickled her with his lips on her neck, she took his face into his hands. ''Good morning.'' She gave him a long kiss and let her fingertips wander around his big chest. ''I would love to go on with what you just started but someone is preparing a coffee, so they are already awake. This wonderful time with you will have to wait for it's continuation until later.'' Another kiss and then she left the bed and put some clothes back on her naked body. Charles followed her example and a moment later, they both left the bedroom and found Serenity in the kitchen.

Since Leta and Charles didn't tried to be quiet in any way, Matthew woke up when he heard them leaving the bedroom. Serenity was no longer lying next to him and by now he was so used to wake up before she did and find her lying next to him, that he couldn't deny, that he was missing the feeling of having her next to him. He carefully sat up and saw Leta approaching Serenity.

Leta saw Serenity placing a few mugs in front of her and filling them with coffee. She approached her from behind, threw her arms around her and whispered into her ear. ''Would it be okay for you, if we let the boys prepare something to eat and we both take a cup of this wonderful coffee you prepared and walk a few steps?'' Leta grabbed the first mug that was filled with her favorite black liquid, before she turned towards the door of the house and opened it.
 
"Oh, god!" Jumping at the feeling of Leta's arms wrapping around her, it took a second for Serenity to relax. "I didn't even hear you." Shifting to allow Leta to get a cup, she took her own and blew at the steam. Despite it coming across as a request, it didn't sound like she had much of a choice. That, and she wanted to spend some time with Leta after all of the drama and their time spent apart. "Yeah, we can do that." Glancing back towards Matthew and seeing that he was awake, she nodded briefly before following after Leta.

"I'm glad you seem to be recovering well." Speaking softly as they stepped outside of the house, Serenity sipped on her coffee before yawning. "I was worried about you.. When we found out you were being held there. I'm glad that you're back with us, and safe."
 
Together Serenity and Leta left the house and started to walk side by side towards the lake. ''You know, I lived at the underground for quite some time before I started to live with Matthew, I was hoping to get help from them to find Charles. Never would have thought, that they were the ones, who were responsible for all the shit that happened.'' She looked over to Serenity while they walked. ''But we are together again and safe, that is all that matters.'' Leta sipped carefully from her coffee, trying not to spill anything. ''Where is your father? Haven't seen him today.''

After a short walk, they reached a stump of a tree near the forest and Leta sat down on it. ''It feels as if months or even years have passed since the time, when you first came to us. You have changed Serenity and if I may add, I like it.'' She turned to Serenity with a smile on her face. ''So tell me, what I have missed while I was gone and I don't want to hear anything about these San ... something or about, that you now can throw fireballs, although I am curious about that too. But you know what I mean ... you and Matthew. I saw that you were holding hands and you both seem to be really close. And don't you start telling me, that it is nothing.'' Leta finished her sentence with a warm smile on her lips and sipped once again from her coffee.
 
"Really?" Giving Leta a surprised look, she sipped at the coffee again and sighed. The cool air of the morning was relaxing, the grass beneath her bare feet. "I haven't been outside until just now, I just woke up. I don't know where my.. Where he is." Had she even gotten a name from the man, or just the sudden declaration of relation? "Maybe he left. I don't know." It wasn't as if he would have been easy to miss, had he been close by. Perhaps he was following through on seeing about housing options. Whatever the case, there was no sense in dwelling on it.

"There's not really much to say." Her cheeks turned a bit pink as she turned away, leaving Leta with the stump while she walked around a bit. "It just happened." She shrugged. "I guess I just grabbed his hand without realizing it. It's really not a big deal." The last thing she needed was Leta trying to push them together because she knew something, and so she only gave the woman a smile and drank more of her coffee. "It's been a long few days."
 
Leta looked after Serenity as she turned away from her, before she said why she and Matthew were holding hands. She couldn't help but to smile. It just happened. No big deal. This young woman really is no good liar. But it warmed her heart to see Serenity this way. The girl, that came to them and demanded that no one would ever touch here, now gave in when Charles hugged her and just grabbed Matthews hand because ... it happened. ''Yes, it definetly were a long few days.''

Emptying her coffee mug, Leta placed it next to her on the stump and looked back to Serenity. She didn't wanted to push further on this topic, Serenity made it clear that she doesn't want to talk about it. But she couldn't help but to be worried a bit about her. It was possible, that this was her first experience, to be touched by someone who had no bad intentions. She stood up and went over to Serenity. ''I don't want to bug you about what happened between you and Matthew. Just know, that if you ever want to talk to someone about it, you can come to me sweetheart. Whatever it is, that is no big deal, take care that you enjoy it, you deserve it.'' Leta gave Serenity a warm smile before she turned around and started to walk. ''Let's go back to the boys, I could really use a breakfast.''
 
Turning red at Leta's words, she nodded shyly and followed after the other woman. Food sounded wonderful, she hadn't eaten much the previous day after all of the drama, too exhausted to think about it. There was no telling what the new day would bring, especially with her newly discovered father gone. Where was he, and would he be back? When would he be back, if he returned, and with what news? There were so many variables it almost made her head spin, and she pushed the thoughts aside as they went back inside. All she had to do was get through breakfast, and they could go from there, deal with any further obstacles.
 
Ragnar
Together with Tyrath they showed up at the leaders house, and informed them about everything that happened. They knew already, what happened to Lu but aside from that, they didn't knew any details. Ragnar told them, how they planned to get to the underground, about the fights that happened there and even about the end, when Lu got shot and he let out all of his rage. He wasn't proud of what he did there but there was no regret either, they all had chosen their side.

After they finished their report, it was quiet for a moment before Felix started to speak. ''Lu's death hit us all hard. Thank you for your report but with Lu's death, I think that your idea to bring them here is no longer an option. There is no way that we could explain to all the Santfei who are living here, why we allow them to live here too. Especially since they are somehow responsible for Lu's death. That would only cause resentment within our village.''
Samantha nod with her head when Felix was talking. ''I was against that idea from the very beginning and with all that happened now, it is absolutely impossible for us, to allow them to come here.''
Celina remained quiet most of the time and looked to Ragnar and Tyrath. She had a little grin on her face during the whole time, as if she knew more about the current situation than anyone else in the room. ''Before we make a decision, I would like to know a few things. Ragnar, you came to us with the request, to allow them to come here. What do you think about your request now? Lu was a dear friend to you right?''
Ragnar nod with his head, ''Yes, he was a very close friend of mine and since he had the idea first, to bring them here, I haven't changed my opinion. I still think that it would be best for us all, to bring them here and I am sure, that was what Lu wanted as well.''
Celina nod with her head. ''Okay, what about you Tyrath? Felix send you after them, to check what kind of human they are. What is your opinion? Would it be a mistake to let them in here?''
 
Never before had he known such nervousness speaking like this, and he hadn't even spoken yet! He allowed Ragnar to do most of the speaking, occasionally chiming in but otherwise staying quiet. His involvement had been minimal, and merely on orders to observe the situation. He had almost refused the mission, having no interest in such a thing. Had he not gone.. Well, that was a thought better left to fade away.

Glancing up as he spotted the grin on Celina's face, Tyrath quirked an eyebrow curiously. She seemed to be in rather good spirits, despite the attitude of the others. What was going on in her head? He opened his mouth and grunted quietly, crossing his arms over his chest. Damn the nervousness, it was completely unlike him. That fact alone only made it worse, made the situation harder.

"If we deny them shelter, things will only get messier. Lu's death will have been in vain. We will allow the half breed to be open for attack, to fall into the hands of someone else. What could someone else do, with a magician like that? It would be unwise to leave that uncertain. The humans are no threat to us," He paused, almost chuckling as he remembered the old woman's threat. She was a sturdy one, in more ways than one. "The boy is not the only one with Santfei blood in his veins. The girl," His throat suddenly felt dry, and he swallowed hard. It was now or never.

"The girl is mine, my flesh and blood. If you deny them sanctuary, and therefore her sanctuary, then I leave." He held up a hand to stop any potential outbursts or interruptions. "I have done my duty to our people for decades. I have done things most people would shudder to think about, for our people. I left my beloved, my soulmate, never to see her again. I won't do the same here."
 
The room became very quiet after the revelation of Tyrath. Felix was the first who started to talk again. ''It is true Tyrath, we could never express enough gratitude for what you have done for this village in the past. But ... are you sure? You have a kid, that is half human? Oh man. This never happened before ... it changes everything.''
''No, that changes nothing.'' said Samantha. ''If they are three human and a halfbreed or two humans and two halfbreeds. They all grew up with humans, as long as I am the leader of this village, I will not allow that to happen. Even if that means, that you Tyrath, will leave us.''
Felix remained quiet but Ragnar didn't had the impression, that he would change his opinion. But Celina still had this grin on her face, he even got the impression, that it had grown a bit.

''You are right Samantha...'' said Celina before she inhaled and made a short pause. Ragnar couldn't believe what he heard. He knew that it would be difficult to get Samantha to agree, Felix would be difficult as well but by far not as difficult as Samantha. But he always thought, that Celina would appreciate their suggestion. Of the three leader, she was the one who had the biggest drive to finally break up with their old traditions and lead the Santfei into the future. And now she even agreed with Samantha?
The grin on Celinas face grew into a smile when she exhaled and continued. ''... as long as you are the leader, nothing will change ... ever. But we need to change, we need to adapt ourselfes, if we want to have a future. And to think that it would be okay to let Tyrath go, just shows how short sighted you think.''
Samantha looked to Celina and the shock on her face was visible for everyone. ''Are you telling me to step back from my position? How dare you. Felix would never agree to that and even if he would, who should take my place? Do you think that there is someone who could lead this village better than me?''

''Not just do I have someone in mind who definetly could lead the village better than you, but he would even be the solution for the situation we are currently in. If we agree on a new leader, he would have the right of the first decision. He could make one decision without of the approval of Felix or me. That would solve all the problems. If our new leader and Tyrath, two of the most respected Santfei in this village, would welcome the four, that would take care that our guests at least will be accepted by the rest of our community.'' With a satisfied smile she turned her face to Ragnar. ''I already thought for a while, that you Ragnar, would be an excellent leader.''

Ragnar couldn't belive what he heard. He never was interested in becoming a leader, he hasn't even thought about that. But before he was able to say anything, Celina continued.
Turning her face back to Felix and Samantha, Celina said. ''So I officially suggest, to replace our current leader, that represents the fraction of the Kol. Should we vote right away or does someone want to add something first?''
 
"Consider me gone, then." Growling out the words as he stared down the others, Tyrath's hands flexed even as his arms were again crossed over his chest. It shouldn't have surprised him, but a part of him had been hoping for them to see reason. That clearly wasn't going to happen, even with Ragnar's help. Leaving wasn't something he had wanted to do, but he was a man of his word, and he wouldn't abandon his daughter even though she clearly distrusted him. He couldn't blame her, of course, but he also couldn't allow her to be without protection past the three she was staying with.

Celina was still grinning, and that almost concerned him. The surprise on his face was clearly displayed at her words, lips quirking into a smile. So she valued him enough to mention it in such a conversation? It was a nice sentiment, but he doubted it would change anything. A replacement leader, though? That sounded interesting. Shifting his attention between the group, his eyebrows shot up as Celina finally made her point known. It wasn't where he had expected the conversation to end up, not at all, but after a short moment he began to laugh.

"Aye, I vote for Ragnar. I would trust him with my life, one of the only that I would trust with it." Uncrossing his arms, he reached over and clapped a hand on Ragnar's shoulder. "He would be a worthy leader, and I would follow him."
 
Samantha sat in shock when she realised, that Celina really did what she did. To top it of, her arguments regarding the situation with the halfbreeds and that they could get introduced by Tyrath and Ragnar was good and Samantha knew, that the well being of the village always was Felix top priority. In addition, her suggestion to put Ragnar into this position was really good, she couldn't deny that she also had thought about, that Ragnar should be the next who sits in this chair, when the day comes that she would leave. But she struggled with the thought, that this day was already today.

Looking over to Felix, she saw the struggle on his face. She was sure, that he agreed with Celina but that the friendship she shared with him for so many years, would keep her in her position. Felix, her friend would make a decision, based on their friendship... ''No need to vote.'' said Samantha and stood up. She went over to Tyrath. ''I hope you know, that my decision was only based on what I thought would be best for the village, it had nothing to do with you.''
She walked to the door of the room, turned around and kept her eyes on Felix when she started to talk. ''I was a leader of this village for more than fifteen years and I loved every second of it. But everything has come to an end. I retire from my position, as the leader of this vilage and suggest that Ragnar takes my position over. Take care.'' Without of waiting for a reply, she left the room, knowing that this was the best decision for everyone.

Ragnar couldn't believe what was happening. Out of the blue, Samantha gave up on her position and wanted him to take over. He never wanted this and never asked for it. ''I don't know.'' he said to all of them, shaking his head slowly. Looking to Tyrath he asked himself, if Ty would take the lead of this village to save one of Ragnar's daughters... but Ragnar instantly realised, that this was the completely wrong question. The real question was, would he do everything he could, for this village?

''Sascha will kill me ... for sure. I accept Samanthas wish, to follow her on the position of the leader of the Santfei. Since I have the right of the first decision ... '' he looked over to Tyrath and nodded ''... I decide that we welcome the four humans and half humans into our village. They will be treated just as we treat each other and can stay for as long as they like. Tyrath will bring them here and together with him, I will introduce them to the villagers.''
 
"I'm sure if Sascha wanted to kill you, she could come up with another reason, this just gives her a legitimate one." Grinning at the other man, he yawned before stepping back towards the doorway. "I need to clean up from last night. I will be back later today with our new guests, so you should prepare for the chaos it may cause." Not just with the villagers, but with his other daughter, as well. Both could be dealt with after he had returned to the humans to discuss their new living arrangements. First he had to wash the blood away and redress, make sure he could hold up his partially human form long enough for his newly found daughter to adjust to him.. It was going to be a very, very complicated situation to handle.

Some time later he had cleaned up, gotten into fresh clothing and opened a portal back to where the humans were. That same feeling of nervousness accompanied him as he stepped through, smoothing out the shirt he'd put on before approaching the house. Raising a clawed hand and pausing, he knocked firmly on the door before stepping back with a groan. It seemed like forever before it was finally opened, and he stared a bit awkwardly before stepping inside.

"You will come back to the village with me, it has been decided."
 
Ragnar just shook his head, as he saw Tyrath attempting to leave the room. Celina had a mischievous smile on her face and quickly reminded him, about her plan before he left.''Don't forget, you both will introduce them to the other villagers. Ragnar as the one who made this as his first decision and you as the father of the girl. The only way the other villagers could accept that, is if both of you, two of the most respected Santfei, introduce them.'' She had just finished her sentence when Tyrath already left the room to do what he had to do. She turned to Ragnar who still was a bit shocked. ''Go home Ragnar and talk to Sascha. She wiill surely appreciate the fact, that you will be able to spend more time at home and no longer have to go on missions.'' Ragnar just looked to Celina and couldn't fight the feeling that grew inside of him, that he would have to be careful when it comes to her. She just took care, that Samantha steps back from her position. But not right now, at first he should really talk to Sascha. Turning around, he left the room quietly and walked home.

Matthew
Serenity, Leta, Charles and Matthew all were sitting at the dining table and had spent the last hours bringing Leta up to date. Leta on the other hand opened up to them about her past for the first time and told them about the time, she had spend at the underground. They talked about what they should do and what options they have, when they heard a knock at the door. Charles stood up, opened the door and saw Tyrath standing at the porch. Gesturing him to come inside, everyone turned his face towards the Santfei when he told them, that they would come with him to the village.

Matthew wasn't sure how he thought about the idea, to live with the Santfei, especially after what had happened to Lu. But it was the best ... maybe even the only option they had. In addition it would give Serenity the chance, to find out more about her father. He looked to the others and no one seemed to be against the idea of going to the Santfei. They had talked long enough and weren't able to come up with a solution by themselves. ''Okay, give us a moment, we don't have much to take with us.'' He quickly packed the few belongings of them together and returned to the others, that were waiting for him. Looking to Tyrath he said, ''Just one question before we leave. Does Ragnar know, that we will show up there? I could understand if he doesn't want to see us again.''
 
Properly cleaned and dressed, thankfully, Serenity glanced up at the sound of the knock on the door. While shorts and a T-shirt had become normal attire, she had chosen a shirt with thinner material this time so as to cover her tattoo without overheating. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the tall man, taking him in before nodding her head. She knew nothing about the place they were going to, just that it was supposed to be safer than where they were at now. Considering how he and Ragnar had fought, they seemed to be strong enough to help protect them, at the very least.

Joining Matthew to make sure everything was packed up properly, especially with his injured arm, she stayed at his side as they prepared to leave. Tyrath looked a bit amused at Matthew's question, nodding his head as his large tail swayed behind him. He was more at ease now, not much, but enough that he could function properly. He wasn't unwise enough to bring them to his village without speaking to at least someone first.

"He wanted to bring you there before I even set eyes on you." He paused, brow creasing before he placed a hand flat on his chest. "Tyrath. My name is Tyrath. I don't think I introduced myself." He made no effort to apologize, only chose to solve the dilemma with a proper introduction. His eyes focused on Matthew's arm after a short moment before he frowned, pointing at it. "Someone will have to heal that, when we arrive. Come, come." Keeping himself a fair distance from the group as not to alarm anyone, he grunted before opening a large enough portal that even Charles and himself, big as they were, could step through. "This will take us to Ragnar, we will meet up with him before you go anywhere else in the village."
 
Matthew looked surprised to Tyrath when he heard, that Ragnar had the idea even before they met Tyrath. But that also meant, that he had the idea while Lu was still alive ... but he refrained to ask Tyrath any more questions, that guy didn't seemed to be one, that likes to answer questions ... or to talk in general. ''Well then, lets go.'' He was the first who stepped through the portal and when he went through it, he found himself in front of a house, where Ragnar stood and looked at him.

It was difficult to read Ragnar or to find out what he thought when he saw Matthew stepping through the portal, from which a moment later the others also came. Matthew remembered the rampage of Ragnar, after Lu died and was satisfied to see Ragnar seemingly being calm. Behind him stood a female Kul. She was even larger than Ragnar and he had to look up a bit, to see her face. She looked directly at Matthew and the others that arrived and didn't seemed to be surprised, that humans showed up here. Her expression was full of kindness when she nod her head to the new arrivals. He made a step towards Ragnar when he realised, that a little crowd was in front of the house. All of them were Santfei, mostly Barn and Fley, only a few Kul. He looked to Ragnar before he said in a quiet voice. ''Thank you.''

Ragnar saw them coming through the portal, one after another and he heard the murmur coming from the crowd, when they saw humans coming through the portal. Tyrath came at the end and the murmur instantly got quieter when the crowd saw him. He heard Matthew's words and looked to him. He had to remember, that it wasn't him who pulled the trigger of the gun, that killed Lu, but he couldn't fight the feeling, that was building up inside of him. When a hand from behind was placed on his shoulder, he loked back and saw Sascha smiling at him, before she gave him a small push towards the humans. I love you my dear wife. thought Ragnar as he stepped towards Matthew and greeted him. He looked to each and everyone of the new arrivals before he started to speak. ''Welcome to Kattegat, our village.'' In front of the crowd, he shook the hand of every single one of them.

The crowd looked at him in disbelief when he welcomed the humans to their hideout. ''I have an anouncment to make.'' said Ragnar towards the crowd. ''Our leader made the decision today, that I will be one of the leader for this village from now on. Samantha gave up on her position and from now on, I will take place on the chair, that represents the Kul.'' The murmur in the crowd got louder again but faded quickly, when he kept on talking. ''My first decision is the one, that I can make without of asking the other leaders and I hereby do that. My decision will be, to welcome these humans to our vilagge as guests which can stay as long as they like. These are Leta, Serenity, Charles and Matthew. Some of you surely already recognized the eyes of Matthew and yes, he is the twin brother of Max. Just like Max, he is half Santfei which gives him every right, to live here with us. They all are currently chased by the organisation and I decided, that we will give them shelter. Please welcome them all and treat them kindly and with respect.''
From somewhere in the crowd he heard someone calling. ''Aren't those the ones, who are responsible for Lu's death?'' When the words were out, everyone was quiet and looked to Ragnar. ''No, they are not responsible for what happened to my dear friend. And let me add, that it was Lu, who had the idea first, to bring them here.'' The crowd was silent again. Some looked towards them with curiosity, some didn't seemed to care and a few, showed their disgust towards them. ''In addition I have to tell you, that Matthew is not the only one of them, who is half Santfei.'' Ragnar took a step back and looked to Tyrath.
 
If it had been strange to see a handful of Santfei before, then this was overwhelming. Serenity had barely adjusted to going through another portal when she spotted them, many in number and all staring in their direction. Of course they would stare, and she had expected it, but now she felt like a deer caught in headlights. Thankfully Ragnar spoke up and eased her discomfort, announcing what had happened, and what would be happening. The way that the crowd got quieter when Tyrath arrived didn't go unnoticed, but she all but ignored him and kept herself at Matthew's side.

The woman with Ragnar was enormous, but the expression on her face reminded Serenity quite a bit of Leta. Kindness, understanding, a comforting presence in itself. It allowed her shoulders to relax, heartbeat evening out from the fast pace it had picked up when they first stepped through the portal. A snort sounded from behind her courtesy of Tyrath as he cracked his neck, stepping forward to stand at Ragnar's side. He glanced between Serenity and Ragnar, then nodded before facing the crowd.

"My flesh and blood, my daughter." He gestured towards Serenity, a brief flicker of emotion passing over his face before he regained his neutral expression. "From my time spent with the humans, the product of my time with my soulmate." His mouth twitched as he fought back a noise of frustration, dropping his hands to his sides. "You all know the lengths I'm willing to go to, when I stand by my convictions, when I support something. I support Ragnar's decision, and I protect all of them, not just her." Satisfied with what he'd said, he huffed out a quiet breath and went silent.
 
The crowd was silent when Tyrath finished his speech. Ragnar still saw some skeptical faces in the crowd and some who didn't even tried to hide their disgust. But he didn't cared too much about them, they would see as well, that the guests are not here to do someone any harm. ''And that was it. If anyone wants to talk about it, then you can come to me any time, but don't expect from me, to change my opinion.'' The crowd began to split up and everyone walked their way.

Sascha walked over to the guests and greeted everyone with a smile on her face, trying to give them a feeling of being welcomed. ''Let me show you, where you will live, it is right over there.'' She gestured them to follow her towards a huge tree. When Matthew looked up towards the tree, he saw that a house was build inside of it. At the side of the tree was a lift, that seemed to function by using counter weights. Sascha walked ahead and showed them how to use the lift. One after another they reached the house and Sascha showed them around. The house was build high up in the tree, where the branches wouldn't destroy the house by growing into the walls but were still strong enough to build a foundation on them.

In the middle were some stairs, that would lead to the three bedrooms above and the stairs would even go on further to a plattform, that was build on the top of the tree. Sascha turned around explained to them, that they could live here but they only got three bedrooms here. Before anyone could say something, Charles pushed Leta into her side and Leta started to speak. ''Thank you for welcoming us here. Charles and I will take one bedroom, we don't need a second.'' Charles smile got brighter when Leta mentioned, that they wouldn't need a second bedroom for themselves. Leta turned to Serenity and Matthew before she kept on talking. ''Charles and me wanted to propose for quite some time, that we share a room. Now is a good time to try that out. So each of you can have their own bedroom.''
 
Both Serenity and Tyrath smiled at Ragnar's words, although Serenity's immediately disappeared upon spotting her father. She still needed to learn more about him, to understand his thought process and if he could be trusted. To his credit, he was making an effort even though he wasn't obligated to. Santfei were not fond of humans, and yet he was taking on the responsibility of telling the entire village her and the others were under his protection. He seemed to have a reputation that people took note of, which spoke volumes.

"Thank you." Murmuring her thanks to Sascha, she nearly took Matthew's hand before realizing how many people around them--Including Leta and Charles. Leta would immediately latch onto it, and so with a sense of disappointment she kept her hands to herself and followed along. The house they were let to was beautiful, nearly taking her breath away as she went up the lift with the others and entered.

"Oh, you two are finally just going public, huh?" She gave Leta a sly smile, unable to resist teasing the other woman before she turned her attention to Matthew. "We need to have your arm treated before it gets worse." Glancing down at his arm with a frown, she reached out to touch his shoulder gently. "I'm sure someone here can help you, right?"
 
Leta and Charles smirked both when Serenity mentioned, that they would finally go public with their relationship. ''We took our sweet time to keep it to ourselves, but you and Matthew know it now, so there is no more reason to hide our feelings.'' Leta gave Charles a kiss on his cheek, for which she had to stretch herself to reach it before they both walked around through their new home and looked at everything.

Sascha moved her head in Serenitys and Matthews direction when she heard Serenity talking about Matthew's arm. ''Are you wounded?'' Matthew looked to her and replied, ''My left arm got a bit affected during the last fight.'' Sascha looked at his arm and saw the branch, that was tied around his arm. ''You all get accustomed to your new home and I will leave and get someone who can take care of your arm.'' Matthew looked to Serenity first and then to Sascha, ''Thank you, that would be very kind.''

Sascha walked towards the lift, that would bring her down again but stopped next to Tyrath, who was still standing at the entrance of the house. In a hushed voice she spoke to him. ''Hey, I wanted to invite them over this afternoon, to eat with us. Would you like to join in or would you rather ask your daughter to spend some time with you alone? So you can get to know each other a bit. And if I recall correctly, she has a half sister.'' Sascha smirked to Tyrath when she mentioned his first daughter. ''Don't wait too long with introducing them to each other.'' With a smile Sascha entered the lift and left the house.

Together with Serenity, Matthew explored the floor of the house, they were currently in. The rooms were only a few but rather big. There was no real separation between the rooms with doors, it was rather, that one room led right to the other. When they reached the living room, he walked to one of the windows and looked outside. The view was amazing, they could nearly see the whole village with a few houses made out of wood, standing on the ground and another few that were build in a tree, like their new home. But Matthews' attention was elsewhere right now too and not just in the discovering of their new home. Something was nagging on his mind since Tyrath told the people in the village, that Serenity is his daughter. But he wasn't able to really put his finger on it. It was something about what he said that was bugging him since. But what?

When they returned to the entry of the house and he saw Tyrath again, he realised what it was when his gaze wandered from Serenity to Tyrath and back. He said, that she was the result of his time, that he spend with his soulmate. It wasn't the first time, he heard someone mentioning the word soulmate. When Serenity and he met Ragnar, Lu and the others for the first time, Lu said something similar about Serenity. That she would be his soulmate. He was nearly obsessed with her. And later at their house in the woods, he mentioned that Ragnar was lucky enough to already have found his soulmate...
Did they just used the word soulmate as an word like humans said, that they found their partner?
Maybe he would have a bit more of time later to ask someone about that. Turning to Serenity he said, ''I will go upstairs and check the bedrooms. Do you want to spend a moment with your father?''
 
"Yes, she has a half sister." Wearing a bit of a sour expression, Tyrath nodded to Sascha as the others explored. It was going to be an interesting introduction, one he was already beginning to dread now that Sascha had given him that look. He stood there silently until the others returned, arms crossed over his chest as always when Matthew finally spoke.

"What?" Both Tyrath and Serenity spoke in unison, heads whipping to stare at Matthew. In that instant it became a bit easier to see their relation, and they both turned to stare at each other. There was a flicker of panic on Tyrath's face before he wiped away the expression, face neutral before he cocked an eyebrow. "That is up to you. I would introduce you to your half sister, if you would allow me." Serenity's face showed her indecisiveness before she glanced at Matthew, nodding and moving closer to Tyrath.

"Alright. I don't think she's going to like me, but we can do that." Peering back at Matthew once more before leaving the house with her father, she exhaled a slow breath and looked around. "Is she like me?" He shook his head, arms finally at his side as they started through the village.

"No, she is full Santfei. Do not expect her to look quite like me, her legs will not be like yours, or mine. I hold this form out of habit more than anything." Letting his tail sway behind his back, he ignored most of the looks directed their way until one in particular lingered. Turning his head, he bared his sharp teeth at the other man before giving a satisfied grin and continuing to lead Serenity towards his home.

"Let's get this over with."
 
Matthew couldn't supress the grin that formed on his face when Serenity and Tyrath reacted exactly the same to his words. He looked to Serenity and saw her expression when she received the information, that she has a half sister. When she looked to him one more time before she left, he said to her, ''I will be here when you return. Take care.'' A moment later they both were out and he was standing alone in the hallway of the house.

Leta and Charles returned from their exploration a short moment later and looked to Matthew. ''Where is everyone? Where is Serenity? asked Leta. ''She is gone with her father, he wants to introduce her to her half sister.'' Leta and Charles both looked to him. ''Are you ok?'' Matthew smiled at them before he replied. ''Yes, I am. And more importantly we are finally save again. Let us explore our rooms.'' Grabbing their belongings, they went up the stairs and found their bedrooms. Everyone disappeared into his bedroom and prepared it. When Matthew was done with his room, he brought Serenitys things into her room as he heard a voice calling him.

Walking down the stairs again, he saw Sascha and a woman standing next to her. She introduced herself as Celina and was one of the leaders of the city. Sascha told Matthew about her plan for the late afternoon and asked him to come over to lunch together with his friends before she excused herself and left the house again. Celina approached Matthew and started to talk. ''I was really looking forward to meet you. If you don't mind, I would like to talk with you for a little while, it's been so long since I met a human ... or half human in your case.'' She said with a smirk on her face. ''But first, let me take care of your arm and then we can talk.'' Matthew looked at her and was surprised about how open she seemed to be. There was no sign of disgust or something like that towards him. ''Can you get rid of your shirt or do you need my help for that?'' asked Celina. Matthew couldn't help but to feel, that she was a little bit too much looking forward to see him without of a shirt but as long as she would help him, he wouldn't care too much. ''I can do that, just give me a moment.''
 
"About bloody time you're back, I've been hearing rumors all morning that you have--" The door had barely opened when the female's voice stopped, eyes matching Tyrath's widening in shock. She stared at Serenity with her mouth open, white hair shrouding her face before she groaned and pushed it back behind her horns. "You have got to be kidding me. It's true?" The woman stared at Tyrath, stomping her hooves before letting out a snort of displeasure. "Of course you would have a bastard child--"

"Hold your tongue, Alira." His tone was cold as he pushed the door open the rest of the way, shoving past her and motioning for Serenity to come inside. "This is your sister, and you will respect her. I've made my decision, as has Ragnar, it would not do you well to speak against our new leader." A growl left her mouth even as she stepped back, stomping across the room to a small kitchen.

"I figured this would happen." Standing awkwardly in the doorway, Serenity picked at the bottom of her shirt before entering. The woman seemed hostile, the displeasure clear on her face as the door closed and Serenity cleared her throat. "Nice to meet you, uh, Alira." A grunt was her answer as the Santfei moved around, filling a glass with a dark liquid before sipping at it. Her tail matched Tyrath's, swinging behind her back before it beat loudly against the wall and she frowned.

"You're not one of us."

"Alira." Tyrath's tone was exasperated as he slammed down the cup he was holding, turning to stare down at his other daughter. "Contain your hostility, or leave. Daughter of mine or not, I will throw you out of here by your horns and go about my day like nothing happened. Don't test me." That seemed to settle her down some, pointed ears pinning back before she huffed and grumbled. Some ten minutes later they all sat outside with cups in hand, the tension slowly fading away as they worked through proper introductions.
 
Matthew walked towards the living room and tried to get rid of his shirt. Celina didn't even attempted to look away, instead she openly showed interest in seeing him without of his shirt. When Matthew struggled to get out of his shirt, since he couldn't use or move his left arm, Celina walked closer to him until she was right in front of him. With a friendly voice she said to him, as she loked into his eyes. ''Let me help you.''

She grabbed his shirt at the bottom and slowly moved it upwards. The claws of her hand scratched over his skin when she moved it up until it was right under his head. With Matthews help, she freed his healthy arm first and pushed the shirt then carefully over his head, so that it was hanging on his left arm, held by the tied up branch. Celina checked his body out and didn't even tried to hold back her curiosity. ''Sit down, it might hurt when I remove the branch.'' Matthew did as she told him and sat down. Celina opened the tie and removed the branch before she also removed the rest of the shirt.

''I think you now how this works, so please hold still.'' said Celina before she felt with her fingers around the area where his arm was broken. ''Yeah I know how this works and am surprised, to feel your fingers on my skin, shouldn't you use your magic to look for the wound?'' asked Matt when he got the impression, that she only used his wound as an excuse to touch him. ''Maybe humans do it that way, but we Santfei have our own ways how to handle such things. And now please allow me to concentrate.''

Matthew knew that she just used that as an excuse. He saw how Lu had treated Charles and Lu did it exactly like he would do it. But he remained silent and let Celina do her thing. As long as she helps him, he wouldn't care too much. A few moments later he felt Celinas magic entering his body and starting to treat his wound.
 
"I still don't understand why you didn't bring her here all those years ago." Staring at Tyrath as she sulked, Alira's face betrayed little emotion as she finally turned back to Serenity. "Now she's here after never knowing you, both worlds thrown into chaos." Tyrath rolled his eyes, cracking his neck before smacking the woman's arm with his tail.

"The past is the past, we have bigger things to deal with in the future. The other halfbreed." Alira nodded as Serenity sighed, irritation flickering across her face at the term. After taking a slow, deep breath to calm herself, she exhaled and focused on Tyrath.

"His name is Matthew, not halfbreed. Stop calling him that." Watching her half sister snicker at the shock on Tyrath's face, Serenity burst into quiet laughter as well. It was nice to have some of the tension melting away, relaxing in the warm air with people she never would have thought to know. The conversation picked up slowly, and although it was clear that Alira wasn't fond of her, Serenity could feel the hostility fading away as the time passed. Her own hostility to her father was gone, replaced by caution and curiosity more than anything else.

"It is time to eat. Come, daughters." She made a face at the words but stood, stretching out and keeping her distance from the other two. Even with Tyrath keeping more human legs for his appearance, it was still a bit unnerving to see two people with horns and tails that close to her. In the end though, it was no stranger than the others she saw on their walk to their next destination, and she looked around for Matthew upon arriving.

"Go on, it's alright." Nudging her gently into the house, Tyrath grunted as small arms wrapped around his legs from one of the children. "Sascha, these children are going to bring me to the floor one of these days.."
 
When Celina healed him, he felt her magic taking care of his bone and for a while, she finally stopped her advances towards him and concentrated on her magic. It took nearly one hour until she was done and leaned back on the couch. Her exhaustion was visible on her face when Matthew put his shirt back on and turned to her. ''Thank you, you helped me quite a lot.'' She smiled to him. ''Sure, that was no problem. Though if you want to make up for it, you could come to my house for dinner.'' Matt smiled politely back and thought about a way to reject her, without of giving her the impression, that he was ungrateful for what she did.

''I'm sorry but you heard Sascha earlier, we are invited to them for this evening.'' Celina made a overly disappointed face. ''Is it because, I am a Barn or do you already have someone?'' she asked him directly. He felt the uncomfort coming back up. Aside from the fact, that he didn't know anything about this woman, he couldn't handle it well, when someone so openly shows, what she wants from him.

Before he had a chance to answer, Leta and Charles showed up and looked towards Celina and Matthew. ''Matthew, could you go alone to the others? Charles and I would like to have a bit of time to ourselves and explore our house and the village a bit.'' Standing up, Matthew walked over to them. ''Sure, I will give Sascha your regards.'' Turning to Celina he continued. ''I don't want to be rude but I want to put on some new clothes before I walk to Sascha and Ragnar.'' Celina stood up and walked towards the exit of the house. ''Sure, I did what I came for. You know, if you want to visit me, just come over. My house is not far from here.'' With a waving hand she left the house and disappeared out of Matthews sight. Sighing he turned to Leta and Charles, ''You just saved me.'' he said to them before he want upstairs, washed himself and put on some new clothes before he went downstairs again and started to walk towards Sascha and Ragnar's house.

Upon arrival, Matthew couldn't believe his eyes when he saw two kids running around Tyrath, a third one just hugging his leg and he seemingly was having a good time. This silent grumpy guy allowed the kids to have fun with him and it even seemed, that he enjoyed it. Seeing Serenity helping Sascha to put the dishes on the table, he walked over to the two woman and saw Ragnar behind them, standing in the kitchen. Walking over to Serenity, he told her and Sascha first that Leta and Charles wouldn't come. ''They wanted to explore the house and our surroundings a bit by themselves tonight. How was the family reunion?'' he asked Serenity after he made sure, that Tyrath was still occupied with the kids.

A moment later Ragnar came out of the kitchen and placed the food on the table. The smell that filled the room was delicious, even more so after the food, they had eaten during the last days. Right away Matthew felt water inside of his mouth gathering up. ''Kids, leave Tyrath alone and sit down on the table. Dinner is served.'' said Ragnar as he sat down at the head of the table. The kids hadn't recognised, that Matthew arrived and looked over to Serenity and him when they sat down at the table.
 
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