Red and Bridget: Preserving the Clans

Red clenched his jaw, looking for a subject change before he told her. "W-well before that, Bridget, maybe you should paint your face. I'll help. You know it's not good for you to let it go that long... Can you even see?" He knew he had to tell her but he put off the inevitable for now in real concern for her.

With a pout at the diversion tactic, Bridget decided to roll with it anyway. She really did need to do a touch up.

"Uhmmm... kind of?" She giggled and tried to sound light-hearted, even though Red wouldn't find it funny in the slightest. "Everything's really blurry, but I can still see shapes and colours and stuff." She waved her hand in front of her own face to demonstrate, before touching her own cheek and tracing over where her freckles should be. "I guess I just... let it get away from me..." She trailed off and scootched sideways on her bed, until she could slide her legs out from under the covers and put her feet on the floor.

Unsteadily, she stood up, and put one of her hands on Red's shoulder to prevent herself from wobbling or falling over.

"You said you'd help, right?" She grinned.

Red's eyebrows tilted upwards and his ears drooped. He nodded and stood up to steady her, walking her to where she normally did her colors. He sat her down gently and grabbed the chair from the desk to situate it next to her.

He tried to make sense of the work area, to no avail. "I'm afraid I don't know what any o' this stuff is, Princess. Mind directin'?"

Following her instructions, he started on her eyes, carefully steadying his arm to make sure they looked how he remembered them looking and working on them how he remembered her doing it all those mornings he lied in bed as she started getting ready. After it was easier for her to see she was able to do most of the rest on her own, but Red did help at times.



After Red was done fussing and Bridget was done insisting that she felt a lot better, he took her over to the bed again before heaving a great sigh as he joined her. The look on her face insisted he tell her what he was trying to avoid, and he knew he needed to.

"Ethne's funeral is in a couple days," he said quietly, watching her closely for any change in emotion on her face.

Bridget cringed, her eyebrows pinching together and her jaw dropping open. She sat there like a fish out of water for a second, blinking and mouth open, before she slowly closed her mouth again and tried to think about what to say.

"I'm so sorry." She found at last, and held one of Red's bigger hands with both of her's. She sniffled and wiped her face on her shoulder. "Is it okay to ask, what happened...?"

Red frowned and furrowed his brow while he stroked one of her hands with his thumb. He placed his other hand on top of both of her tiny hands, carefully. He thought a moment before answering.

His eyebrows somehow formed even deeper wrinkles on his forehead as he spoke. "Have you ever been told about Ailis? My..." he swallowed hard. "My younger sister?"

Bridget flattened down her ears, remembering the time she sat looking off into the forest with Ethne, no less, and she had told Bridget about Red's youngest sibling.

"Y-yes." She stammered, "It was actually Ethne who told me..."

Red nodded. "I think she told you because she knew what might--..." He closed his eyes for a moment and started again, "They tried to do that to Nollaig because she's small. Ethne got in the way and--..." He was silent for a long time before he wrapped his arms around Bridget carefully.

"I can't entirely blame Keallach this time. He was pressured. He still had a hand in it though and that's unforgiveable." He suddenly sounded very proper, like he was trying to separate his feelings from what needed to be done.

"Keallach is under 24-hour surveillance and if anyone tries to lay one paw on Nollaig, they understand the consequences. And now..." He sucked in a breath. "Now I'm worried for my mom. She's... she's gotten worse."

"I can't lose her, Princess. I'm not--... I'm not strong enough."

The chocolate collie held the large green wolf tightly, stroking the back of his head.

"I'm so sorry."

She didn't know what else to say. She never had to even think about things like this before previously in her life. While it was always a part of reality that she could potentially lose her loved ones, she didn't have to worry about it the same way Red did. She couldn't fathom how he could remain so strong in the face of it. Halloween, if she was in his shoes right now, she doubted she'd even be able to stand up under all the pressure on her shoulders.

"I'm so, so sorry."

It was all she could say. She didn't know how she could help - if he'd even let her offer. He didn't think he was strong enough? Yet he was somehow still keeping his eyes open right now through all of this? Bridget would have clenched her eyes shut and found the smallest, darkest corner to crawl inside of and hide for as long as she could.

But here was Redmond, holding her close and retaining the ability to continue speaking despite every reason he had to be breaking down instead.

"You're amazing." Bridget told him firmly, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're stronger than anything I've ever even heard about in my life." She paused to nuzzle the side of his face, and rested like that for a moment with her eyes closed. "And if there's anything I can do to help you, I'll do it. I know you think I'm too delicate to do a lot... but I'm here. And I'll give everything I've got, if it'll help you. Okay?"

She moved her head to press it against his forehead instead, still with her eyes closed.

"You won't be alone, no matter what happens."

Red allowed tears to fall down his cheeks this time, but he smiled.

"Thank you, Princess. I know."

At some point they fell asleep in each others' arms, Red still fully clothed including shoes and Bridget still in one of Red's shirts that hung off her figure in bunches.



Red blinked the sleep out of his eyes to see light pouring in the window. He counted off the days in his mind and decided it was a Saturday so they shouldn't be hurrying anywhere. He began debating on whether or not he should try to enjoy the day with his friends (not to mention checking on Mint) or if he should close his eyes and try to get more of the sleep he hadn't gotten any of in the past week. He would go home tomorrow, but for today, one of those would be his option.

Bridget squirmed on top of him, stretching a tiny bit with a yawn but not opening her eyes yet.

"Can we keep pretending it's not morning yet, or should we get up?" She asked quietly, her voice much steadier than it had been the previous night.

She made no more movement to indicate whether or not she thought it was a better idea to keep sleeping or get up, content instead to stay there with her head on Red's chest and listen to his steady heartbeat. It was entirely too soothing for such a simple thing.

Eyes still closed, he smiled. "We should prob'ly go show Mint that I'm alive and I don't have a scratch on me." He paused. "Well, no scratches I didn't already have."

And so they did just that. Mint clung to him and asked for updates and Bridget helped fill in pieces he was leaving out or stumbled over (They left out how Ethne died, knowing Mint would try to take Keallach on herself judging by last time) and then Red mentioned he had to go back the next day. He thought he might have to get a crowbar to pry the little elf off of him, but in the end, after convincing them both he would really, truly only be gone a couple days this time, they retreated for bed, content that their friend would be alive to see summer vacation. Not before Mint made him pinky promise to deliver a gift to Nollaig though, wary about what happened last time. Red couldn't blame her and promised he would.

He never did make a promise about not looking in the box though. He did. He saw it was a puzzle and wondered how that would work in the forest but didn't look any closer than that.

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The next day came too quickly for Red. He decided he'd stick around for Lunch and then go try to find Miss O'Connor to apologize about his current situation, but then he'd hit the road. He couldn't find his teacher, in the end, and went to Mr. Kandi instead, who was apparently already very well-informed and had already taken care of it. With a smile he told Red to do what needed to be done and come back to school as soon as he could. Red agreed.

He said goodbye to Mint and Bridget, who weren't too eager to see him go, and made his way across the courtyard to the circle of trees, eyes set on the door shaped like a large clover. Stepping over the mushroom steps, he fell down into the tree and landed in a crouch in the familiar fairy ring a good mile or two away from the forest. Heaving a sigh, he began to make his way down the hill and across the valley.

The sight that awaited him was unpleasant to say the least.

His pack was crowded around his mother's tent, all except for Nollaig, Keallach and his two guards. He ran to Nollaig and demanded a status report before shoving Mint's gift into her hands and informing her who it was from. Nollaig could only be excited for a moment.

"It's Queen Teagan, Red. She's--" she stopped because Red was already making his way to the tent.

He shoved his pack aside until they parted the way for him, realizing it was him who could help her. His mother was weak, frail, and in a much worse condition than when he left. His brow furrowed as he jerked his head around toward Keallach, who was looking away. Nollaig shook her head, though, and Red put the suspicion that he had poisoned her further out of his mind. He had to move quickly.

"Mum?" he asked quietly. Teagan, with some effort, opened her eyes and turned her head so she could see him. She smiled weakly.

"Mum, I'm gonna take ya ta someone who can help." Teagan closed her eyes and Red took that as an invitation. He scooped her up in his arms and the pack cleared the way for him. He didn't know where he was going to go or what he was going to do, and before he could decide, Keallach pushed his way through the guards and attacked him.

Handing off his mother to one of the more gentle men of the pack, he screamed at Keallach, raising his voice as loudly as he could.

"I'M GOING TO GO SAVE OUR MOTHER! IF YOU TRY TO STOP ME, I WILL KILL YOU, KEALLACH!"

Panting, he kicked Keallach hard in the gut, to no avail. Keallach was on top of him in no time, rage in his eyes. Red knew those eyes. They were the eyes of a power-hungry murderer. The eyes of their father.

Keallach and Red fought hard until Red had had it no more, picking him up and throwing him aside. He kicked him while he was down, causing Keallach to grunt in pain. Red yelled for people to keep him down, daring them to try to disobey. They knew though. They saw. Red would be the new leader. He was the next in line. He had asserted his dominance and they had to do what he said.

"Killing you would be sinking to your level," he decided aloud. "And his." It was clear by Keallach's wide eyes that he knew who Red was referring to.

The younger brother turned to his pack, who was watching on in awe. They knew better to interfere in a fight for dominance, and now they saw who had won. Red cleared his throat and tried to muster every ounce of authority to ring loudly as he announced his first change in the rules.

"There will be an end to killing in this clan. We're brothers and sisters and will, from now on, treat each other as such. We are not our ancestors. Anyone I find disobeying these orders will be banished, never to return, forced to live with their guilt until they die of either hunger, sickness or old age."

Picking up his mother gently out of the other cu sith's arms, he made his way slowly toward town, silence hanging over his pack.

After all that, he still wasn't sure of where to go or what to do.

Think, Red. Who has the most healing magic? Who can help her and who won't turn a cu sith away? It was hopeless. There wasn't anyone. There had never been-- wait. That wasn't entirely true. There had been someone.

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The Finnigans' manor stood tall on a hill just outside of town. The landscaping was beautiful and the home was large enough to even accommodate a cu sith family of moderate size. There were at least three stories, and he was sure there was gold in some of the archways. It was probably leprechaun gold, but he didn't really know how that worked anyway and it was impressive nonetheless. Flowers surrounded the walk to their house and he knew there was a family inside, probably enjoying dinner or getting ready for it, unaware that trouble was about to arrive on their doorstep. Lily might have been inside as well-- she had been going home more and more lately.

He looked down at his mother's, now sleeping, face and, clenching his jaw, raised one large, green hand to knock on the door. He rapped hard with the knocker and heard some movement inside after a moment. Backing down a step, he knelt, ready to apologize for whatever his pack had done, and ready to atone to make up for a bond that hadn't been cared for properly over the years. For the first time, he realized that maybe his pack had done something to deserve their treatment in the town and dreaded who would open the door.

Cathal Finnigan sat in the living room, going over some very boring reports about businesses and economics. There were times that he wished for the life he'd heard about in his father's stories, where the fae lived free and wild and the most organized they ever were was when they would gather in court for festivals or decrees from the Queen. Still, this was the new life they'd chosen for themselves, with a Council and government and... economy.

There was a knock at the door. He looked up, unsure who would be visiting at this time. He teleported the reports to his study and rose to answer it, knowing that Molly would be preparing dinner, or possibly chasing the twins. He walked into the foyer and looked up the long wooden staircase with intricately carved banisters. He wondered when, of if, Lily would come down. He had been growing increasingly worried about his daughter over the past month, but with her away at school so often it was difficult to keep track of what was going on.

He shook his head and went to the door, opening it. He was shocked at what he found there. He looked at the kneeling cu sith boy, who was barely below his eye level. He recognized him as Redmond, the second son of the Montague family. He also recognized who was in his arms.

The young cu sith looked up at who appeared to be the head of the Finnigan household, Lily's father. He could see family resemblances and vaguely wondered if he had enough family left to have anything one could describe as a family resemblance as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Mr. Finnigan, I'm here with a request, but before I ask anything of you, I would like to apologize on bended knee for the behavior of my pack the last... couple hundred or so years." He took a deep breath as he looked into the man's eyes, pouring every ounce of maturity, responsibility and regret he could into his voice, making sure to speak formally so he would hear him as a person, rather than as an animal who left a trail of wreckage that he had to clean up.

Shaking, Red hung his head, beginning to feel the weight of all he was about to promise.

"I promise in the future that, under my rule, my pack will treat each other like family and the residents as friends. The Montagues will strive to become more of a family to the Finnigans and help them with their problems, rather than being the cause of it, because once, that was how it was." He paused to swallow hard. He had much more to say, but looking at his mother, he knew he was wasting time, and he didn't know where to begin. It didn't matter much though, because he was interrupted.

Cathal cut the young boy off. He could visibly see the queen growing paler, and knew that they had to act quickly.

"We don't have time for a jumble of unnecessary words. Get your mother in here, she doesn't have much time." He hustled the cu siths inside, calling out as he did, "Molly! We have an injury! Get the guest room ready!" He guided them up the stairs. A woman with a curly ponytail and a baby in each arm rushed into the main room. She stopped and stared at the two cu sith, then forced her way up the stairs as well. She placed the babies on the floor and hurried into a room to the left. She stacked some pillows and put a blanket on top of the thick fluffy comforter. Cathal helped Red ease his mother onto the bed.

"What's wrong with her?" Molly asked, wiping her hands on her apron, approaching the bed and laying her hand on the queen's forehead. She checked her pulse as well and leaned closer, listening to her breathing as she waited for an answer.

The babies toddled in after their mother, eyes wide in wonder at the large puppies in their house.

Lily slowly left her room, curious what was causing the ruckus. She made her way down the hall, wondering if there was anything she could do to help.

Red, surprised at his instantaneous willingness to help, followed him in and gently placed his mother on the bed, trying not to step on any stray children. He furrowed his brow as he replied.

"I think she was poisoned." He stopped himself from saying who was responsible, determined to at least not worsen their view of the cu siths. "I don't know by what, but... it was probably something in the western forest, if I had to guess."

His eyes flickered over to the movement of red hair by the door and sucked in a breath when he saw Lily. What would she think of him now? He bowed his head and knelt by his mother's bed, hoping he wasn't in the way.

Quietly, he said, "I'm sorry that I leapt our need for hospitality on you, but... Thank you so much for giving it to us."

Lily's mother listened to him, then nodded and stretched her arms out. She raised them above her head and began chanting something in ancient Gaelic. A mass of golden energy flowed from her hands down to envelope Red's mother. Her chanting grew louder as the magic flared brighter. She continued on for a few minutes, the magic throbbing and fluctuating as she continued speaking. Finally she suddenly cut off, dropping her hands. The magic shifted and settled around the queen, sinking into her until nothing was left but a light golden shimmer coating her body.

Lily's father caught her mother's eye. She nodded, panting lightly and moving her hair off of her forehead. He turned and went quickly to the door where Lily and her little brother had congregated.

"Brian!" he exclaimed, putting his hand on the eight year old boy's shoulder and turning him around, "Go get the doctor! Bring him back as fast as you can!" He gave him a light little push and the boy took off running. Lily's mother walked slowly over to the door and took her daughter's hand.

"Come on, let's get her some things. She'll be stable for now." She directed this comment back towards Red, obviously trying to sooth his nerves somewhat.

"Is there anything I can get for you-" her father turned and stopped as he saw that the twins had claimed their new jungle gym. The little girl had approached from the front, her hands planted firmly on Red's chest and staring intensely up into his eyes.

"Doggy!" she said accusingly, barely pronouncing the g's. "Doggy!" Her brother, meanwhile, had managed to climb up on Red's legs behind him and had currently reached up and just managed to get a grasp on one of Red's ears. He let out a squeal of triumph, squeezing his conquest victoriously.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Cathal said, approaching to help distangle the cu sith boy and the baby leprechauns.

Red turned his head as one of the (very tiny) leprechaun toddlers grabbed his ear and Lily's father rushed over to him. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat (which was tight from holding back emotion) and said, "It's okay."

He waited a moment and stood up, trailing leprechaun children before helping the man get them off. He watched somberly as he released them into the entry way. Guessing they must have found something else to keep them properly distracted for a few minutes, Red remained standing and silently turned to his mother. He couldn't bring himself to speak, instead choosing to wipe some hair from his mother's face with one hand and take his mother's hand with his other.

He wanted to thank them for everything and continue saying what he began to say on their doorstep, but he could feel the lump in his throat and thought about how grand it would be if Lily caught him shedding even a single tear. With this image in mind, he didn't trust himself to open his mouth.