LIONHEART

“Was it too vague?” Chronos asked tilting his head. Chronos wanted to open his mouth and say who she was gravely mistaken. However belief  is one of the few affairs Chronos can’t change-even if decided in that moment to show the future to Jules, she could easily say I don’t believ you. He forced a small laugh. “I wouldn’t call worship for the weak minded more than a need for stability. I think most people rely on one thing or another” He said remembering a fortune teller he passed by earlier.“I’m going to guess you don’t?” He asked in case this was the thing called sarcasm.

she  let  out  a  sigh,  she  wasn’t  sure  she  knew  what  she  believed  any  more.  at  one  point  and  time  she  believed  in  herself  above  all.  believed  that  every  choice  she  made  ;  no  matter  how  hard  was  the  right  one .  now...  she  was  floundering  but  she  didn’t  see  how  believing  in  a  god  or  gods  would  change  it.  “  i  believe  what  i  see,  what  i  know  to  be  true.  facts,  figures,  proof.  faith  is  something  of  a  luxury  and  too  flimsy  to  put  your  full  trust  in.”  she  looked  over  to  him  with  a  said  smile.  “  i  take  it  you  are  a  man  of  faith  then?”    

Alright so of all people that he could have orbed to, Jale wasn’t the worst. Hell, she wasn’t even on that list. Amusement flickers in his eyes as she puts a hand on her hip, then holds up a finger at him as she carries on. There was no room for him to say anything, so he let her finish her spiel and when it appeared she was done Mason nods once. “So that’s the kind of welcoming I get, huh?” He teases, smile on lips as he looks to the woman before him. The last time he saw her was in Florida, then he was killed. He wasn’t sure what happened after that for obvious reasons, but now he was back for the first time ever, sent down by the Elders.

“when  you are  playing  a  peeping-whitelighter-tom  ,  bet  your  ass.”  she  grinned.  it  had  been  good  to  see  tyler  but  she  hadn’t  realized  just  how  much  she  missed  mason  till  he  was  standing  there  in  the  flesh.  it  had  been  too  long  since  the  last  time  they  saw  each  other  and  her  heart  broke  with  news  of  his  death.  it  seemed  death  followed  her  no  matter  where  she  went  but  he  wasn’t  dead  ?  she  didn’t  know  how  the  whitelighter  thing  work,  was  he  back  for  good  could  he  stay  forever?  she  wasn’t  sure.  but    her  heart  swelled  at  the  sight  of  him.  moving  away  from  her  closet  she  eyed  him,  “  you  aren’t  going  to  puff  into  a  white  cloud  if  i  hug  you  right?” 

“probably not.” nick admitted, a frown coming to his face. “i’ve just…” how did he describe growing up always fearful of the worst thing to come along? expecting it naturally? preparing for the very worst always. “the other shoe is going to drop sometime right? what if it only grows if it doesn’t drop. if that makes sense….” he added softly. “chaos– it stinks. i just, i know it’s coming no matter what so i don’t really know how to enjoy the non-chaos times.” what were they called? was it really peace?

“aww,  youre  worried  about  the  trouble  growing    during  the  calm.”  she  offered,  because  it  wasn’t  really  peace.  she  learned  that  a  long  time  a  go.  there  were  times  when  war  ebbed,  waters  become  still  and  tranquil  on  the  surfaces  as  the  tempets  rage  beneath.  waiting  for  the  right  time  to  unleash  its  unrelenting  torrent.  she  placed  a  gentle  hand  on  his  shoulder,  “but  you  have  to  enjoy  it,  you  ready  yourself  for  whats  coming  and  you  pray  that  when  it  hits    you’re  strong  enough  to  face  it.  but    you  can’t  stop  living  your  life  because  trouble  is  looming.   you’ll  miss  out  on  the  good  things  that  come  even  in  limbo.”  

“results change depending on variables, which are always changing.” people, practice, shape, size, energy, it all totaled into what became of you and nothing would ever be certain. “no, i’m not.” an easy smile came upon his features. “i’m probably the last person to speak of keeping to the rules, but i’ll give credit where it’s due. everyone has their own way, and what works for them works. one shouldn’t— whats the saying? mess with success?” 

      “’mess  with  success?’,  you  sound  like  my  father.”  she  scoffed  lightly  a  smile  on  her  face  as  she  gave  the  bag  another  hit  .  it  was  a  nice  distraction  either  way,  the  full  moon  came  and  went  and  she  was  left  with  a  bit  more  energy  .  her  goal  was  to  stop  running  to  face  her  past;  not  that  she  knew  how  to  do  this  mind  you.  and  when  she  couldn’t  figure  out  what  to  do  she  did  the  next  best  thing...  she  hit  something.  she  hadn’t  known  she  get  a  free  motivational  speech  with  the  purchase  of  her  membership.  jale  grunted  as  she  continued  her  drills.  “  so  do  you  coach  here?  or  do  you  usually  give   well  meaning  advice  to  strangers  at  the  gym?”  

“Ten minutes or ten hours doesn’t much matter when the answer is the same.” he knew why she was there. why she had sought him out. He couldn’t believe it when he first heard about what had happened to her pack. He’d gotten to know some of them- the merge would have increased their strength 5 times. But trust was something that Kadir demanded. The loyalty he could earn he would work to garner is how he became alpha; he proved his loyalty to them, and in return, they gave their loyalty to him. But trust was non-negotiable. Not trust of them in him, but rather him in them. There wasn’t a pack member he didn’t trust with his life. At one point, maybe Jale could have been part of that. But as it stood, he didn’t know if he could. No one did. reaching for a napkin and wiping at the corners of his mouth.  “ You gonna tell me what happened that night? The night your pack died?” 

she didn’t but she had no answers to give anyone. few still even now, all she knew was what she’d waken too. a blaze in front of her and covered in blood. who’s blood she didn’t know all she knew was she couldn’t feel any of them. it was the kind of emptiness that reminded her of when she had first been turned. scared, alone full of questions no one seemed to have answers to. not till she met brady and then things started to click . now he was gone, they all were and those feelings were creeping in and she hated it. kadir had a right to be worried, had a right to be suspicious. if the shoe was on the other foot... if he’d come to her his pack mysteriously dead and he, the only survivor she wouldn’t trust him either. but her gut told her she wasn’t at fault she could feel it. and the only way to find out was to make sure someone had her back. why not him and his pack.

the auction went by quickly and no one had thrown in a worthwhile bid for him. so she did... better that they were all distracted anyway. at least then she could plead her case. she held up the ticket as she approached him, a smirk on her face . she would wear him down or die trying. “ guess you are stuck with me for the rest of the evening. want to go for a walk?” her smile almost pleading before she quickly snapped a cuff on his hand and quickly on to her own. “ you asked me if i was going to tell you what happened, tonight is the night. you’ll hear me out to the end. and don’t try to break the cuffs... you won’t be able too.”

It took him a second to completely recognize her, but the moment that he did there was no force in this world that was going to hold Tyler back from wrapping his arms as tightly as possible around her. Jules hadn’t exactly been a hugger during the time that he had known her, and Tyler hadn’t been until recently either but things changed and he was too full of joy to worry about how the action might have looked. “I can’t believe you’re here,” he whispered into her hair. He knew that Jules had done some terrible things during her time here; he could still see the disappointed look on Caroline’s face the day that she had been taken by Jules and Brady and he had chosen his pack over her safety. But she was the person that had taught Tyler about this life, shown him how to be part of a pack, guided him through those first transitions. He loved her, there was no doubt. Pulling back, his grin was wide as he checked her over, still amazed she was in one piece. “I missed you so much, Jules.” 

Jinora smirked and nodded. “Of course anything for a pretty gal like you.” She said pointing the finger guns. “I have some Kesha, Lmfao, and Destiny’s Child. How hard do you want to dance!” SHe said twirling the microphone. “And trust me none of this elevator music crap is coming back.” 

she laughed at the compliment pretending to think very seriously for a moment. “ i do love kesha but how can you go wrong with destiny’s child.  let’s start with destiny then move towards kesha. i need something to do.” the bidding had been over for a while and it would seem her prize was avoiding her. “ anything with a beat that you can dance to would be an improvement.”

“I might be a little bit nervous.” He confessed. “I’ve never been the hottest guy around and thought it was for charity but then someone said taking shirts off and I got nervous.”  He shrugged. “Myself is kinda lame. Maybe a bit dorky in coparison to most these guys.” He said with a sigh. “I wouldnt mind juggling or something of that nature.I’m just not boytoy you know. I’m dorktoy” 

“ i couldn’t tell,” she chuckled “ i wouldn’t be too worried about it. for the most part the night has been pretty tamed i don’t think you have much to worry about.” though now that she said something she was sure that things would change and for the worse no doubt about it. “ i don’t know, you look like boytoy material to me.  might be a welcome change from all the broody cocky vampires in the mix.”