#sof elizabeth

Tori sighed with a small smile as she watched Effy and Malia run down the dock towards the shore where Effy and Tori’s mother was waiting for them. The older woman smiled and hugged her youngest daughter before being introduced to the young werecoyote, pulling her into a hug as well. Tori pulled out her phone to call Alex and let him know they made it alright, she had tried to get him and the other’s to join them on their little vacation but the timing wasn’t right, no one could come but Malia. After everything that had gone down, with Meg and her pack, Tori had just wanted to get out of Beacon Hills for a while. Things had been tense for the Tanner pack but they’d slowly started to come together again, Alex had encouraged them to go back home and see their mother. Tori suspected part of the reason Alex hadn’t come was that he wasn’t ready to face the woman who’d gave birth to him, but she wasn’t one to push. She hung up with her older brother right as she hit the end of the dock. She waited for her mother to say something, anything, about the mistakes she’d made but the woman just smiled at her, said her name softly and pulled her into a tight hug. “So this is your home?” Malia asked in awe as she took in the small, beautiful island as they walked to the Tanner farm. “Pretty isn’t it?” Tori asked with a smile. She gave both girls a small nudge and a grin and watched as they took off running, Effy leading the way. “How are things? In Beacon Hills?” Tori sighed at her mother’s question, keeping one eye on the two girls before she finally answered her mother. “Tense. They’re getting better, but they’re still a little tense.” She replied softly. Both of their heads snapped up when they heard Malia shrieking and light laughter escaped them when they realized Effy had shoved the other girl into water. Malia was yelling retaliation and chasing the English wolf down as they laughed. “It’s good she found a friend like Malia.” Tori grinned at her mother's words. “You have no idea. I’m pretty sure they’re intent on giving me as many worry lines as Aristea and I gave you.” She said, her mother laughed at her, and wrapped an arm around her daughter’s waist. She’d been disappointed to find out that her son wouldn’t be coming but she understood his hesitation. “What are you girls planning on doing while you’re here?” Her mother asked, Tori gave a small smile and a shrug. “I dunno. Just relax for a while. Hopefully we can find … whatever it is that we’ve lost.” Tori whispered softly. She closed her eyes against the tears she felt pricking the back of her eyes as her mother kissed her forehead. “Take however long you need, my sweet. However long you need.” She murmured against her daughter’s forehead. Tori knew they couldn’t stay long, they still had responsibilities to their pack in Beacon Hills, and Malia’s father wouldn’t allow her to be gone forever. They sent their days helping out on the farm, swimming at the beach, and occasionally taking a boat over to the mainland when the small island didn’t entertain them enough. Tori wasn’t sure about Malia or Effy, but she could slowly feel some part of her, a part that she lost, slowly coming back to her. She felt settled, at peace, once more. She knew that she had changed over the course of her time in Beacon Hills, knew that she was no longer the same girl that had once lived on this island. On their last night on the island Tori took the girls to a cliff on the beach, she thought it was time to pass on a little tradition that had been hers and Aristea’s. “What are we doing?” Effy asked her sister curiously, watching as her older sister stood on the edge of the cliff, they were wearing the bathing suits, though Tori’d had a secret smile on her face when she’d told them to change into them. “Aristea and I … we used to cliff dive on occasion.” Tori said, looking over her shoulder at them. Both younger girls shared a startled look, but then started to grin at one another. “I would convince her to strip down to her underwear with me, we would hold hands and make some sort of promise and then … we’d jump.” She explained. “So … why are we here?” Malia asked curiously. “I … just thought that some traditions that friends should keep up.” She said softly, and then she held out her hand as if she was holding someone else’s hand. She murmured something to herself that they politely didn’t listen in on and then, she threw herself off of the cliff. Both girls darted forward and peered down, smiling in relief when they saw her head pop up out of the water. “You want to?” Effy asked Malia. “If you want to.” Malia replied. They took each other, then reached out to hold hands tightly, their promises to each other were stolen from their lips by the wind and with a squeeze of their hands their jumped from the cliff screaming in glee and fear before hitting the water. Tori was waiting a few feet away in the water, a smile on her face as they swam towards her. “That was crazy.” Malia laughed, though her eyes were bright, Effy laughed and splashed her best friend playfully; Tori chuckled and avoided the water fight, leisurely swimming towards the shore.

        Tori’s nose wrinkled and she covered her ears as her baby sister began to wail over her diaper once more. It had been eight months since her parents had brought the baby home; Tori had thought she’d been ready to be a sister. She’d had nine months to prepare and she’d been excited about it. Obviously she hadn’t thought about how noisy and smelly and time consuming babies were. Her parents never had time to run with her now except on full moons and even then they stuck close to Elizabeth. Tori bared her teeth in annoyance, flushing red when she saw Aristea’s look of disapproval. The other girl was only five years older than Tori but Tori usually held her in the same regard she held her parents despite the fact that they were friends. Tori’s mother swooped in and took Elizabeth out of the room to change her, cooing nonsense at her the entire time.      “What’s wrong, Little Wolf?” Aristea asked, pulling Tori down onto the couch next to her.      “They like that … smelly noisemaker more than they like me.” Tori growled, Aristea snorted and pinched Tori’s leg lightly.      “Victoria Idalia Tanner, that is not true and you know that. Your parents love you very much. And that "smelly noisemaker" is your baby sister and you love her as well. You’re just not used to sharing your parents yet.” Aristea said sternly, Tori felt a whine building up in the back her throat and squashed it down. She huffed lightly and curled up with her head in Aristea’s lap, she would sulk there until her mother came to tell her she could go running.