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Nero’s eyes wander just as Caden calls their attention to look at something else. They prance over to look before they smile. “I like it!” They chirp. Nero doesn’t feel any shame when it comes to how much Caden spoils them, full basking in the pleasure of not having to worry about the cost of anything.

“Ich fange an zu glauben, dass ich als Mensch arm gewesen sein könnte.” They muse out loud to their love.

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Kiki nods. “I think so at least.” She says before tentatively reaching out a hand to pick up one of the weights. “If not, I’m sure someone will call me out on my technique.” She shoots Avery a wink.

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Nic doesn’t need to be told twice, he happily sits down on Cass’ floor, letting Wayland talk to him and scratching Calypso as well. He smiles and nods along with each mew and meow from Wayland, sometimes adding some thing like “Uh huh?” in response. He thoroughly enjoys himself as the two cats hog his attention while he waits for Cass.

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Caden beamed when Nero agreed to the ring choice. Caden pointed to the ring for the salesperson to box up in Nero's size. Caden handed the salesperson his black card to run, and waited with Nero.

”Es ist möglich. Fast jeder war in dieser Zeit,” Caden agreed.

Once the items were ready, the couple was escorted back to the door before Caden was handed the bag of items he'd purchased for Nero. The security guard held the door open for them, and on the other side stood the driver from last night.

Caden knew walking around with this much money in jewelry was a robbery waiting to happen. And although he could fight anyone off, that wasn't what he wanted to do.

Caden set the item's in the back seat of the car and the driver got back in, locking the doors after Caden closed the back.

”One more store, and then we will return to the hotel to get ready for this evening,” Caden said, and walked down the street with Nero into another jewelry store.

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Avery laughed and nodded. ”Alright. Take it slow to start. I'll correct you if I need to,” Avery said before he went to one of the weight machines, and started working the muscles in his leg

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Cassi gathered everything she needed and hauled it back into her house. Max appeared out of nowhere to watch her. She set the item's by the front door and scratched Max's head before she looked at Nic sitting on the floor with her cats.

”Clearly you need to come round more often,” she observed.

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Nero blushes from Caden’s bright smile, loving just how happy their dragon seems. They skip along with Caden as they leave with their loot, putting it in the back of the car that’s suddenly appeared. Nero wonders briefly if the driver had been nearby the whole time just waiting. They head into the last store and Nero senses more of a gothic theme with this jewelry. Wide-eyed and curious, they let go of Caden and start looking in the glass cases at the different things the shop had to offer.

“Ich wünschte, ich könnte mich an mehr erinnern.” Nero says offhandedly to Caden

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Kiki goes through the sets as best she can, watching Avery work out every so often. Once she’s finished, she starts to wipe down everything she’s used.

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Nic grins lopsidedly up at Cass. “Maybe I’ll have the time to do that once everything is settled.” He says brightly. “These two make an awfully good argument to visit more.” He scratches Calypso and Wayland some more before setting them gently off of his lap to stand up.

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”Why is that?” Caden asked, following alongside Nero to look over the items they had on display. Caden spotted a ring he quite liked and pointed to it. The salesperson brought it out for him, and Caden slipped it onto his left pointer finger.

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Avery goes through his weight routine, aware of Kimiko's eyes on him, but he doesn’t pause to think about it. He started off slowly, with lighter weights, but by the end, Avery was doing his usual deadlifts with an inhuman amount of weight on either side of the bar. His muscles rippled every time Avery picked up the bar of weights to lift and then pushed it over his head before doing the reverse back down. He did this a handful of times before stopping. Avery finished off his water, feeling a comfortable burn in his muscles from a hard workout.

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”Hmm, they do, not the fact that I live alone?” Cassi said, her eyes shifting with mischief. She gestured to her box of gardening items. ”Help me carry these out to the SUV. You can visit more with your cats later.”

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Nero points to some earrings with green jewels cascading down. They try them on in front of a little mirror, liking how they sort of look like wings. “Natürlich hat mein Leben kein angenehmes Ende genommen, aber ich würde trotzdem gerne wissen, wer ich vor allem war.” They pull the earrings out and hand them back to the salesperson, asking them to add it to their purchase.

“Ich weiß nicht, ob diese Persönlichkeit, die ich jetzt habe, von meiner Zeit dort unten herrührt oder ob es die Überreste dessen sind, was ich als Mensch war... Ergibt das einen Sinn?” Nero joins Caden where he is. “I like that one, you should get it.” They tell him with a smile, noticing the subtle dragon in its design.

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Kiki can’t tell if he’s doing it on purpose or not, but Avery’s muscles are on fully display during the agonizing twenty minute workout. The agonizing part being that Kiki really wanted to hold his muscles as they moved and rippled. “Have I mentioned how attractive you are?” Kimiko asks with a small smirk. She’s not eager to go on this run, in fact she debates silently with herself and just letting Avery do his thing and she can stay holed in and locked up in her room.

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Nic sends a wink at Cass. “Can’t it be both?” He quips. When she gestures to the gardening tools and items she’s gathered, Nic doesn’t hesitate to pick up the box. “As you wish.” He says as he flashes a smile at her before heading out the door.

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Caden agreed with the ring decision and added it to Nero’s purchase. Caden slipped his hand into Nero’s, and they continued to walk along. ”Gefällt dir, wer du jetzt bist?” Caden asked them curiously.

He stopped in front of a unit of necklaces. The thing that caught his attention was the fact that there was a flying dragon with emeralds and black and white diamonds highlighting the wings. Caden pointed to it and waited for the necklace to be handed over before he looked at Nero.

”May I?” His eyes glanced at Nero’s neck, wanting to place the necklace on them himself.

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Avery grinned, running a towel over his face and neck. ”You’ve mentioned it once or twice,” he said. He walked over to Kimiko and rested his hand on a piece of her equipment, looking at her with a searching look in his eyes.

”I think you should at least try before you run away,” he said, seeming to read Kimiko’s thoughts. ”It’s like ripping off a bandaid. Just let yourself go. If you don’t want to enter the woods, that’s fine. Just tell me if you want me to hunt something down for you.”

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Cassi shook her head, smirking at the man she was dating. ”Goodbye for now, kittens,” Cassi crooned to them before following Nic out the door. She locked up behind her and headed for the SUV.

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Nero ponders his question for a moment, thinking about it seriously. Even with all the trouble the two have gone through so far, Nero likes the person they are around Caden. They look up and tilt their head at Caden. “I think I do.” They reply finally in English. Their eyes catch the necklace that Caden takes out of the case and nods with a smile, noticing the particular design that must have caught Caden’s eye. Nero turns their back to Caden and stands a little taller so Caden doesn’t have to stoop too low.

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Kimiko’s smile falters when Avery is able to discern her thoughts. It’s stupidly frustrating that going into the woods causes her to cold sweat and her heart to beat faster. “You’ll stay by me the whole time?” She asks Avery with a pleading look. He’s absolutely right that she needs to do this, to rip the bandaid off, but she feels stuck between so many different emotions that it’s near impossible for her to move her feet.

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“Maybe I could come over once a week so we can make sure we have some time to just ourselves.” Nic offers while he sticks the gardening supplies in the back before heading to the driver’s seat.

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Caden laid the necklace around Nero’s neck, brushing stray hairs aside before he joined the two ends of the necklace together. The salesperson set a mirror on the counter and angled it for Nero and Caden to see.

Caden beamed, enjoying the look of the dragon on Nero’s throat and how the emeralds sparkled along their white skin.

”Was denkst du, mein kleiner Kobold?”

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Avery nodded, his eyes flashing yellow. ”The entire time,” Avery said and brushed his fingers along her cheek. He would never leave her side again. Not unless she asked him to, and even then he would protest.

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Cassiopeia nodded her assent. ”I would like that. A lot,” she declared. Even if it was just the two of them curled up on her couch, watching old movies or just talking. They deserved that little slice of happiness. Of quiet.

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A shiver runs up Nero’s spine from Caden’s touch and they suppress a shudder. My neck is too damn sensitive. They grumble in their head before raising their chin to look at their reflection in the mirror. A wide grin spreads across their face - it was perfectly in line with Nero’s alternative fashion sense but also nice enough that they could possibly wear it with some of the formal attire Caden had them try today.

“Ich mag es sehr.” Nero looks at Caden through the mirror before turning around and hopping to give him a peck on the lips. “Can we get that one too?” Nero asks as they point to a similar necklace that was more or less the same concept, but the necklace’s shape is different.

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Kiki lets her eyes close for a moment at Avery’s touch and takes a deep, steadying breath before she nods. “Let’s go rip this bandage off.” She says, opening her eyes.

“I’m excited to see your wolf up close this time.”

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Nic nods. “I’d like it too. So then it’s settled. We can take it week by week one what day works best, but I think it’ll be good for us.” Nic grabs Cass’ hand and kisses it before pulling it into his lap as he drives. It doesn’t take very long to get to his childhood home and unload the car. Nic carries the gardening supplies to the backyard for Cass.

“Okay, you have to tell me if you need any help, okay? I’ll just be inside cleaning the downstairs.”

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Caden smiled at the quick Peck from Nero. He looked down at the necklace sitting on their neck and he felt the vibrations of a happy hum from the dragon within. There was some primal satisfaction of seeing that type of necklace around Nero's neck, especially since they liked it and wanted a second.

Caden glanced at the other similar necklace and nodded. ”Yes we can.”

“Would you like that necklace boxed up or do you wish to wear it out of the store?” The salesman gestured to the necklace Nero wore. Caden smiled at Nero, leaving the decision up to them.

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Avery chuckled and took Kimiko's hand. He walked them through the house and into the backyard while they talked.

”It'll take me some time to shift. I'd keep your distance while I shift. It isn't pleasant and while I do, the wolf and I are unstable. I don't think I would hurt you, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.”

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Cassi smiled and rested her hand on Nic’s leg happily while they drove to Ren's old house. Once Nic helped her get the supplies to the backyard, she gave him a kiss.

”I'll let you know, but take your time cleaning. I have fun with this kind of work,” Cassi said and glanced around the garden. Her eyes flicked from plant to plant, a happy little wiggle in her feet as the sleepy plants seemed to wake and greet Cassiopeia. A breeze blew through the garden and a grin split across Cassi's face.

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Nero happily wiggles that Caden agreed. The necklaces would probably end up being pieces they wore anytime they left the house. When the salesman asks if Nero would like to wear it out of the store, Nero grins before looking up at Caden. “Yes please.” They chirp, not taking their eyes off of their mate.

“Jetzt brauchen wir noch einen kleinen Kobold, den du tragen kannst.” Nero says, grabbing Caden’s hand and holding it with both of their own.

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Kiki frowns, not liking the idea that Avery has to feel pain while shifting. She’d never experience issues like that while shifting herself, her body just kind of… did it. “Is there anything that helps?” She asks as a gust of wind breezes by.

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Nic could just stand there and watch Cass in her element, she looked like a child about to open their Christmas presents. It’s adorable… “Don’t have too much fun without me, okay?” He teases, giving her cheek a kiss in return before heading into the house. He decides to start cleaning in the room by the glass doors to the backyard first, wanting to watch Cass at work.

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Caden leaned down and kissed Nero softly before they continued through the store.

”Hmm, I'm not sure it'll make the same statement your necklace will,” Caden declared, a grin on his face.

Caden brought Nero to the watch cases, the real reason he was here and Caden selected a fine watch he had his eye on. They then passed a case full of rings.

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”The pack bond. I don't usually pull on the magic unless there is an emergency situation. The pack bond also helps me heal faster if I need it,” Avery added.

He stopped in the middle of the yard. A breeze running around the two of them. Avery tucked loose hairs behind Kimiko's ear.

”I can go into the trees first to undress and shift, if you want to wait for me.”

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Cassiopeia turned around and started laying out her tools as soon as Nic let her. ”Halò a charaid,” Cassi greeted her new friends.

She walked around, examining all of the plants and determined which ones were the strongest ones to handle a transplant. Some were eager to leave their confines, others were more reluctant. Cassi took her time with the shy plants, wondering if they were nervous or truly wished to remain as they were.

She talked to them and held them before making cuttings and adding them to the small pots she had before moving on to the next.

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“It’ll make a statement to me.” Nero mumbles in a pout. Their eyes land on the watch Caden selects and they make a face, liking how sleek the design is. They keep looking into the glass cases to see if there was anything that might work as representation of Nero on Caden. Nothing seems to be in his style though which Nero finds disheartening. Maybe they will find someone who can make something custom.

When they walk by another case of rings, Nero can’t help but peer in to look at the rings. The collection is right up their alley of aesthetics. They don’t realize these are wedding and engagement rings though when they ask to try a particular gothic looking one. They slide off their right hand’s glove for the salesperson, who’s gives them a curious look before glancing at Caden.

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“I’m guessing a mate bond doesn’t help though.” Kiki responds with a sad smile before nodding. “I’ll be here waiting.” She assures him. There’s a slight tremor in her limbs, but she’s determined to see this through, even if it’s only just to see Avery’s wolf close up.

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Whenever Nic gets the chance, he takes a moment to peek at Cass. She’s even talking to the plants as she goes about her work. How adorable… He doesn’t mean it in a demeaning way though - it’s just like watching her do spell work. It’s enchanting to watch someone be fully in a moment. When Nic’s done with the back room, he moves on to the kitchen since it has a large window facing the backyard.

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Caden stopped to look over the rings with Nero. He admired them as much as they did. Caden had been thinking of getting Nero an engagement or wedding ring. When they finally bonded, that link would be stronger than any marriage. Still, Caden had this idea that they might wear a ring, just as he would. A statement for anyone else who saw. Just like the necklace Nero wore was a statement.

Nero took the glove off their right hand, and Caden looked at the salesperson. He nodded, telling the salesperson to continue, but tapped his own ring finger on the right hand. Nero was dainty, which told Caden the ring would likely fit on either hand. It just had to be the correct finger.

”This style comes in white, rose, or yellow gold,” the salesperson informed the couple before sliding the ring onto Nero’s right ring finger.

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Avery grinned but shrugged. ”Who knows, maybe. It isn’t common but our mate bond isn’t traditional. However, someone has to accept it first,” Avery said and kissed Kimiko’s cheek before he jogged over to the forest.

It took Avery fifteen minutes to fully shift. He tried to move it along as best as he could, knowing Kimiko might grow worried, but he could only push himself so quickly. The pain of shifting and breaking bones to form a new body could only be pushed so quickly.

Avery stretched out his four-legged body, shaking out his coat, which had already started to thicken with the coming winter season. Once he felt stable, the wolf sauntered out of the woods to greet the sun and his mate across the yard.

Avery’s yellow eyes picked out Kimiko quickly before they scanned the house behind her, and the one on the side pushed back into the trees. Avery could see movement in the house, but he knew they were safe in the field. There was nothing here but prey and pack.

Avery walked across the yard, eating the distance with his long stride. He walked right up to Kimiko and scented the air around her. He huffed in contentment before he sat down. Avery’s yellow eyes watched Kimiko intently, waiting.

A slight breeze ruffled his white and grey hair. The underside and base of Avery’s coat were white, while the grey peppered along his back and ears. Grey and white mixed together to give his face a mask, while his nose almost looked red. The tri-colours were representative of where Avery haled from in the United States. That also contributed to his size. If Kimiko remembered the Chicago pack at all, she would be able to easily see Avery was bigger than them. Not only because he was a wolf from the West, but because he was an alpha.

Avery huffed again before pawing the ground, his way of indicating his impatience. The wolf wanted to go for a run.

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Cassiopeia hummed to herself and spoke tender Gaelic words as she worked. For the plants who wished to remain, she did her best to prepare them for the coming cold months. They would either come back in the spring or they would not. Cassi could hardly blame them. They had grown fond of Nic’s parents tending to them.

Once Cassi was done, she gathered everything back up and started to bring the plants around to the front of the house, resting them on the front step until it was time to leave.

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Nero thinks about the two necklaces they got for them and taps their chin. “White gold is like silver, right?” They glance at the sales person before looking over at Caden. “I think I would want the ring to match anything I wear.” Nero finds the nearby mirror and holds their right hand up to their neck to see how they look together.

“Hm… I don’t know.” Nero likes it but can’t quite decide, especially when they’re usually wearing gloves. Chewing on their bottom lip, they hand the ring back to the salesperson. “Thank you,” They hand the ring back to the salesperson and almost instinctively reach up to pat their cheek before they remember they’re not in Hell and this isn’t some poor demon they were patronizing. Ears red, Nero kind of wobbles over to another case, leaving their glove by the sales attendant.

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Kiki turns to look at Avery when she feels the warm giant next to her and hesitantly reaches out a hand to touch his ears. She couldn’t help but tilt her head as she stared in a little bit of wonder at this wolf before her.

When he impatiently huffs, Kiki laughs. “Sorry, sorry. I meant to already be shifted once you got here but I started overthinking stripping in the middle of the yard.” Her laugh turns sheepish before she stands up. She runs a hand down Avery’s back before she heads towards where Avery had come out of the woods. As daunting as it is to see the woods again, she reminds herself that Avery’s here with her.

“Don’t look.” Kiki tells the wolf before dashing behind some large bushes and a tree. Taking deep breaths, she removes her clothes and sets them in a tree before she begins her own shift. This process is much different than what werewolves experience - as a shifter, her bones are flexible and practically reshape themselves instead of breaking them. This process takes about five minutes for her. When she’s done, she runs around the bush to make sure Avery is still there, her nerves all over the place.

The fox peeks around the bush, pale ears twitching back and forth as she keeps an ear out for any sounds that meant danger. Her pink nose stays close to the ground and the great bushy tails stays relatively tucked as she approaches Avery again.

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At some point, Nic had to leave the rooms that gave him a view of Cass to clean them. He might not be able to get everything to look brand new like Cass had been able to do at his apartment, but he was able to get everything clean. When he looks out to the back, he notices Cass is no longer in the garden… or the backyard. He starts looking through the rooms downstairs before he hears some shuffling by the front door. He opens it to find Cass setting things down.

“How was it?” He asks of her, noticing the good layer of soil that covered his girlfriend’s limbs. Definitely not for the last time, he smiles to himself about just how adorable Cass is. Nic leans against the doorframe as he waits for her response.

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Caden nodded, affirming Nero’s question. He admired the ring on their finger, finding it suited them very well. However, Caden was happy when Nero declined. He watched Nero reach then hesitate before walking away, the look of embarrassment present. Caden chuckled and picked up Nero’s glove. He glanced at the salesperson and pointed at the white gold ring and nodded before joining his mate. He handed Nero back their glove and kissed their head.

”Oh, I like these,” Caden mused and looked at the bracelets.

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Avery hummed when Kimiko ran a comforting hand down his back. It doesn’t irritate him but comforts him. He stood when Kimiko started to walk away, moving to follow her, but she reminded him not to look. Right. Avery sat back down to wait for his mate to finish their shift.

Avery waited patiently, staring at the bush and tree Kimiko had hidden behind. Slowly, a white fox pokes their head around the bush to look at Avery. Avery tilted his head to the side, tongue lolling out before he stood and met Kimiko halfway.

She looked at Avery timidly. The wolf in Avery wanted to growl their frustration, but Avery managed to coax a different reaction. He walked forward, lowering his head, so he was level with Kimiko, he was probably five times the fox's size, and booped her nose with his before he laid down in the grass and looked up at her.

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Cassi was startled when she heard Nic’s voice. She looked up at him and grinned. ”It went well. I got most of them. Some of them wanted to remain here, a sort of offering,” Cassi loosely explained. ”How’d the cleaning go?”

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Nero looks up at Caden in a sheepish surprise. ”Oh, thank you.” They say as they pull their glove back on before looking at what Caden pointed out.

“It very much suits your style.” Nero observes with a nod. “Do you think that’s really wood? Could get it engraved with my likeness.” Nero uses a pointer finger to pull down their eye and sticks their tongue out.

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Kiki’s limbs shake as the giant makes his way to her. Her fox might not be a big presence in her head like Avery’s wolf can, but it very much wanted to run for the trees. Kiki resists long enough for Avery to boop her nose. A weird whine noise leaves her snout and if she were a human right now, she’d be blushing.

This noise was typically made by baby foxes as a call to their mother and sometimes their father to care for them, typically not something an adult fox makes. In one of her deep dives in researching foxes, she knew that some domesticated foxes will make this sound for excitement, but also submission in the presence of their owner.

Kiki tilts her head back and forth, starting a shake from the tip of her nose to her bushy tail in an attempt to shake the nerves out before looking at Avery again. Another whines leave her snout and she paws at her nose, trying to figure out what what was wrong with her right now.

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Nic tries not to laugh when he watches Cass jump, but he does smirk a little. When she mentions that some of the plants had wanted to remain at the house, Nic’s expression turns to some sort of mixture between awe and sadness. “I-” He can’t find the right words as his eyes gloss over. Instead, he closes the distance between him and Cass, pulling her into a tight embrace once again.

“Cleaning went well.” Nic mumbles into her shoulder and hair.

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Caden looked at Nero and laughed. It was a deep and full laugh. He wrapped an arm around Nero, pulling them in to whisper in their ear.

”Das Bild von dir, das ich mir wünschen würde, ist nur für meine Augen geeignet,” he whispered into Nero’s ear before releasing them to look back at the bracelet. ”We could see if they could engrave something if you want me to have something from you,” Caden suggested. His tone was even, but his eyes sparkled with mischief when he looked back at Nero.

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Avery cocked his head to the side, ears twitching from the noise Kimiko made. He could tell she was trying to fight her nature, but he didn’t know how to communicate with her. If the mate bond had fully formed it would have been easier.

Avery crawled forward a bit and sniffed Kimiko’s paws, memorizing her scent before he looked up at Kimiko. He nudged her paws and his then looked at her again. He was trying to get her to take her time as a fox and look him over, take him in. Avery wasn’t going to hurt his fox, but the fox needed to feel comfortable around him first.

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Cassiopeia smiled sadly when Nic struggled for words. She lifted her arms when he approached her, and immediately wrapped him into a hug. She rubbed his back in an effort to soothe and comfort him.

”That’s good. It’s a good start,” she whispered, her words holding more weight than the simple meaning. Cleaning was always a way to start fresh, anew. Today was the beginning of something new for him and his dad.

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Nero loves the sound of Caden’s laugh and beams at him before being pulled to him. Nero has to concentrate in order to avoid squirming and scrunching when Caden whispers into their ear and they blush deeply at his words. They barely register what he’s said, standing a little frozen in place. That wasn’t fair of him to say that in German. They think to themselves while chewing on their lip.

When Nero realizes that Caden is looking at them, they lick their suddenly dry lips before swallowing and looking at Caden. “Hm?” They say, trying to appear normal.

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Kiki can see how much patience Avery is using as she tries to come to terms with him and her heart swells as he stays low to the ground to ‘appear’ smaller. She does some sort of hop over to the wolf and sniffs him in return before mirroring his pose. She scoots forward and boops his nose in return before she finally relaxes and gets up to do some more little hops in a kind of circle around the big wolf.

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Nic nods, a couple of tears falling down his face as he nods along to Cass’ words. “Thank you.” He whispers before pulling back enough to kiss her cheek. He rests his chin on her head and breaths in her scent, much of her smelling like earth right now.

When he finally pulls away, he smiles gently down at her. “Okay, let’s get these loaded and to their new home.” Nic says, bending down to grab all he could without hurting any of the plants.

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Caden grinned from the effect he had on Nero at that moment. ”Do you want to see if they can inscribe something on the bracelet? Caden asked again. His arm remained around Nero, and he ran his fingers along their arm.

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Avery snorted when Kimiko started to hop around after booping his nose. He watched her for a while before he decided she was fine. At least for right now. Avery stood up and stretched before walking closer to the tree line. He stopped mere inches from crossing the tree line and glanced back at Kimiko with a look that seemed to say: ‘Are you coming?’

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”Do you want me to keep them for a while until they are strong enough? It would be best to keep them indoors and then transplant them in the spring,” Cassi added. She could handle having a house — or a shop — full of plants, but she wasn’t sure that would work for Ren and Nic right now.