Heart to Heart ( plot specfic )

Amaria leaned against the fence for a few moments glancing at the field before her. It was somewhat idyllic, a good sized barn surrounded by fields of long grass and a wooded area further back. It seemed like the perfect place for any kid to grow up. She smiled softly as she imagined kids running through the grass as a soft wind blew behind her. But then it faded as her usual detached look crossed her face. She had come here for a reason and she wasn't about to get swept up in daydreams.

She opened the small wooden gate that needed it's hinges fixing and made her way towards the barn where she could see Hunter sorting out boxes. To her right were a few more boxes that he had either forgotten about or just hadn't got round to moving yet. The top one was slightly open and she could see a soft teddy sticking out of the top. She sighed as she spotted it knowing that her and Zella never had such luxuries growing up. She picked it up and once again made her way towards Hunter. He would of probably been aware of her presence by now but she wasn't all that concerned.

She kept a few feet between them as the box hovered in the air before gently landing beside Hunter. If anything it was a good will gesture. She was hoping to avoid another physical confrontation with him, as things with her and Zella were still shaky. Looking away from the box and at Hunter now she crossed her arms in front of her. " Nice place you got here. " she said genuinely " Do you have time for a quick chat? " she asked out of courtesy but she was going to say what she had to say regardless of how busy or not he was.

Things ha been more then a little rough as of late, hell Hunter didnt really know what else could go next though he wasnt going to risk thinking on it.

It had been at least a month since he had moved home after rehab, clean right up to his appearance since ditching the habit had brought back the crisp olive complexion and tone since hunter had taken up a steady training routine. Even he had to admit he had felt a shitload better. He didnt speak about any of it when asked, nor did he ever stay in a room when others spoke of katriona, the only evidence of a dark place that remained. Instead developers had bought out the entire length of warehouses and the two heads of house scrambled everything together to try and find somewhere big enough for the family.

The farm wasnt too big but it wasnt small either, just enough acreage to get lost in the wildeness and enough existing structures that Hunter decided was perfect for the kids. hed had enough stashed away in a seperate budget account to take care of the purchase while they awaited the cash from the developers and so after a couple of weeks it was official.

*
his brow furrowed slightly as he hefted a large box over, no doubt full of Gina's study manuals. he was tired, working on minimal sleep but more energised then he had been in a very long time. his side had almost healed though occasionally he pulled too far, wincing slightly until the thud of the box next to him caught his attention. Whirling about he relaxed when he spotted Amaria though he listened and gave a small sigh. He wasnt sure if Zella had talked to her sister lately and he knew very well he wasnt in her good graces
'Only if you keep to talking and not yelling, i dont need your shit again" he answered very honestly as hunter often had when speaking his own mind

She noticed the tinge of pain that ran through him although it was never hard for her to know what kind of mental state people were in, admittly Zella was always better with emotions and people in general. She held her hands up in a surrendering manner. " I'll play nice. I promised Zella. " the one thing Hunter would learn about her was that family was everything to her, but most importantly Zella was all she had left. She saw some of those same ideals in Hunter, and thus far they had been his one saving grace.

She moved closer now confident this was going to be a somewhat civil conversation. She went around him, going a little wide so he didn't think she was trying to attack which she wouldn't blame him for. She bent down and picked up the heavier box leaving him with the two lighter ones, if anything it was a good will gesture on her part. " Now first things first just because I have to play nice now, don't think I have forgotten what I said at that party. " she didn't want him thinking she had gone soft because once she made a promise she kept it. " Now I have that out of the way where do you want this box? " she made no indication of how heavy the box actually was, it was in her nature to act strong and never let anyone see her true nature.

the sides of his mouth twitched some instance of a smile as she mentioned promising Zella to play nice, he was sure it might have been under one of Zella's increasingly infamous glares. Though the thought faded when he looked back down at what he was doing. Suprisingly enough he was relaxed with Amaria being present, in alot of ways having wanted to clear the air for sometime since first meeting her. at least these days his head wasnt so clouded.

'Yeah i havent forgotten either" Hunter admitted in reply as she moved around him and gestured to a small cornered section where a small pine wooded bed had been assembled. "just over there is good" he directed her. Clearing his throat he seemed more distracted as he fought away a barrage of things to say though the most clear thought was to give Amaria the information he figured she would be most pleased with
"you can relax, I told your sister we arent going to be anything" he announced as he moved the boxes over to another section, sliding another along with him with his right foot as he moved.


"dont get me wrong, your both welcome to stay though as Zella keeps mentioning, she's just hanging round till im okay and then shes heading out of here" he added matter of factly. he pulled every piece of his emotion awyay from the words and he'd had a damn good lot of practice. so far he had denied the possibility from arising whenever questioned, including the spanish inquisition from DJ. He'd managed to convince himself to detach and stay that way even though he struggled to do it

She moved in the direction of the bed with great ease despite her heeled boots and soft ground beneath her. She placed the box down with great care knowing that some childs most treasured possessions were probably in there. A small chuckle left her chest as he explained that him and Zella were nothing. She turned and smirked finding what he said genuinely funny. " You don't know my sister very well Hunter. She has a tendency to get what she wants. " it only occurred to her after this statement that she could be the reason that he had decided to not make things serious with Zella. She cursed herself for having such a short temper and couldn't help but think of what Zella had said about her being like Alex.

She stopped thinking about it knowing it would only agrivate her and turned her attention back to Hunter. " I have no intention of staying here if Zella doesn't. I didn't spend two years hunting her down to then let her walk away again and although I should be relieved that you aren't interested in my sister, I have to wonder why the hell not? You two seemed pretty into each other at that party. " she knew she was throwing off mixed messages but she needed to know if she was the cause of his change of heart. Deep down all she ever wanted was for her sister to be happy.

He listened to her sister, she was right indeed that he hardly knew a thing about Zella, minus the way she walked, the way she fiddled with things when she was nervous or the several types of glares she could give him in one conversation. Jesus Christ he was a stalker…

“yeah we were weren’t we” Hunter trailed off before he shrugged. “I get the whole sister thing, she’s lucky to have you hunting her down and making sure she’s okay” he complimented her. He wandered back to the pile and tugged a few boxes out from the group, opening each individually. The kids had stacked the boxes so randomly but he had been glad that they all wanted to help. Stopping after a moment he shook his head

“Zella is something im not used to, she can call my bluff very easily and she can sense things…that no one else has had the privilege to share with me…but seeing her so comfortable, and putting her through the last few months of utter bullshit I know she deserves a hell of a lot better.” He laid it out. Hell he didn’t give a shit if Amaria were to laugh or poke fun at the sensitivity he laid upon the table but he had to be honest about it. Even if he denied his feelings.

She sighed as the thoughts of Zella ran through his head. He liked her sister more then he was letting on. She allowed him to talk as she was somewhat surprised at his compliment. ' ugh don't tell me I am gonna like this guy after all ' she thought to herself. As much as she wanted her sister to be happy there was always a fear within Mar that once Zella was independent and no longer needed that she would be alone. That scared her more then any wolf or hunter could.

" You can thank our brothers for Zella's nervousness. " she blurted out without thinking that Hunter didn't know the full extent of her abilities. " and you're right she can. She's empathic. She can feel everything you feel as well as manipulate it. " she spoke rather matter of factually about it. She had grown up with Zella's struggle to control her abilities.

She sat on one of the kids beds as she looked at Hunter. " Look I think it's Zella's decision as to who is and isn't good enough for her even if she isn't always right. But you shouldn't dismiss yourself just because you think you aren't good enough. Don't get me wrong I agree with you but like I said it's up to Zella and you don't need to be an empath to know that you like my sister. " she teased him and had a slight smile which is more then most saw.

"your brother?" Hunter raised a brow. He sighed as she told him what he knew, not disagreeing at all.
"Yeah I do...hell i really do like your sister, I dont know" he sighed in frustration. he hadnt been used to having someone close other then the turbulent relationship with Kationa and even then it had never been a conventional relationship.

"ey!!"Gigi shouted as Molly followed behind with her teddy stuffedin the bright jumper Zella had bought her. She waved as she trudged along with matching pink slippers, looking as though she had just woken up. Hunter hadnt realised the time though was greatful the kids appearing had saved him from having to confront his own thoughts
"Hey..."

Zella took a deep breath in as she walked slowly beside D.J, laughing softly at something he said she pushed his shoulder playfully. Her eyes were firmly on Molly however as she never let the little girl far out of her sight these days. She could feel her sisters presence and her smile brightened some as she reached out her mind and whispered a hello. Still far enough away that she couldn't hear their conversation but close enough to be seen. Reaching out and tapping D.J on the nose with her nail she chuckled softly " shouldn't you be helping Hunter unpack ... or are you wimping out of it."


Reaching up she tied her hair up into a high ponytail and bent to pick a wild daisy she twirled it between her fingers and moved closer to Molly tucking the wild flower into her hair and plucking her up to sit the little girl on her hip kissing her cheek playfully .

She nodded " Brothers. " she reiterated " We have six, all older. I am the eldest girl, Zella is the youngest and the two other girls are in between but they don't share our gifts. " she said sounding rather proud. Although they had always been singled out because of their gifts, it had no doubt given them the edge over their siblings. " Zella would be quite at home here. " she said looking around the barn. " She's great with kids and she loves people. " she sounded somewhat envious of Zella's charismatic attitude. She had always been stand offish and defensive when it came to strangers, even coming here today was difficult and opening up as she did with Hunter was a huge step but she had gone through great lengths to have Zella back in her life and she wasn't about to lose her again because she couldn't learn to play nice.

She felt Zella almost immediately and gave Hunter a smirk. " Speak of the devil. " she wasn;t sure whether he had picked up on her yet or not but she had heard Zella's hello clearly. " Hey sis. " But then her attention was caught by the kids coming towards the barn. Mar's features instantly softened and a gentle smile graced her face. She stood up and moved closer to Hunter in case she happened to be sitting on one of their beds. Secretly she was excited to meet these kids that Zella had grown so fond of which was evident from the way she carried the smaller one in her arms.

Hunter listened as Amaria spoke about the members that made up the sister's family, surprised Zella hadnt told him any of it before. He figured from the times they had done it was a sore subject. he wasnt prepared for her to show up though and as Amaria spoke the phrase Hunter turned about quickly to watch her with Dj, a spike of jelously crawling through him as he it his tongue from saying something stupid.

Dj chuckled when Zella nudged his shoulder, playfully pushing her though not too hard. it was good having her around more so for the girls. sometimes there were things the girls needed to talk about that Hunter and Dj just couldnt make heads or tails out of. that or the boys grossed the girls out with inappropriate comments.

"I am, its called keeping the kids occupied" he laughed as he walked in beside her, giving Hunter a wave.

She took her eyes off the kids for a moment to look at Hunter. She wondered if her sister was intentionally making Hunter jealous but regardless it seemed to be working. She hadn't got the chance to meet many of the people that Zella had spoke so eagerly about since they had started catching up, making up for last time. But intelligent assumptions could be made as who she was flirting with. Pj? JJ? No it was Dj, that was his name.

Part of Mar beamed with pride as Zella spoke about doing the job right and teasing the men about what they should and shouldn't be doing. It seems that something did rub off on her. But nothing made her heart warm more then the sight of the young child making her way towards her and calling out her name. She dropped to her knees and held her arms out as the small girl ran into her arms. She scooped her up into the air and smiled like she hadn't smiled in some time. " Well you must be Molly. Zella told me you were cute but I didn't think it was possible for someone to be this cute. " she smiled as the little girl giggled. It had been a long time since Mar had been so relaxed and carefree, it was a rare sight indeed even for Zella who Mar smiled warmly too.

Seeing the sudden change in Amaria's demeanour made Hunter smile despite his sudden want to give Dj another job, well away from Zella. Dj couldnt help but laugh at the comment, pretending to flail undr the strain of his 'hard' work.
"Good timing you two, Hey Dj i need the beds put together upstairs, here....catch" he tossed Dj a screwdriver, Dj managing a catch as he walked passed and headed for the stairs. There...at least that would put some end to the bumps and laughter. Hunter nodded back at Zella with a "Hey.." watching Amaria speak to Molly. The little girl was a few days shy of her fifth birthday,Hunter hoping to get things sorted at the farm in time for a party.
"you has pretty hair" Molly told Amaria with a grin

Smiling at Hunter she watched D.J head upstairs the her attention was oyr and Molly . Zella loved the change kids brought over her sister, she could feel the spike in emotions but one confused her , slight sense of jealousy shaking her head she blocked off the others emotions , really she should have left but Molly got upset everytime she brought it up and that broke her heart to see the kid upset so she stayed , secretly she didn't want to go. If only Hunter would wake up and see it was up to her who she spent her life with..


Growling softly to herself she focused in on Man's conversation with Molly , the kid was going on about the Jacket Zella bought her and how much Zella talked about her sister and how brave she was when the two girls were pups and how she always looked out for Zella , stories of their childhood was a favourite of Molly's before bed at night. Silently she listened standing off to Hunters right hand side tears feeling her eyes with the memories but she would not let them fall.

Mar listened intently to Molly making faces of joy or surprise depending on the story she was recalling. It was the most animated Mar had been in some time and it felt good for her to forget about her tough shell for a little while. It also reminded her of her childhood and some of the fonder memories that her and Zella shared. " Well you must know my whole life story by now. " she smiled jokingly. Mar then looked to the ground and spotted a patch of blue forget-me-nots. Mar stared at it for a moment and then the flower suddenly became uprooted and floated towards her into her hand. Mar then tucked the delicate flower into her hair.

" Did you know Zella was once as small as you were and every night I would have to tell her a bedtime story. Her favourite one was called the Blind Man. It was about a man who, although he could see he was cursed by an evil witch to never see the beauty that the world had to offer. The man then walked the world lonely unable to see how beautiful the flowers were. But one day, a beautiful maiden entered the kingdom and found him. She could see how lonely the man was and she took pity on him and granted him one kiss to try and free him from his curse. " Molly practically jumped out of her arms in excitement " oh oh and what happened? " she asked excitedly. Mar smiled at Molly but couldn't help but notice Zella's sadness. " Well we will have to wait and see to find out the ending. " she whispered to Molly and smiled. She gently put Molly on her feet again and smiled at the rest of the kids. " How about we have a race? First kid on their new bed wins. " she said excitdely. " Hunter and Zella will stay here to mark the start line and be and DJ are going to go into the barn to see who wins, aren't we DJ. " the look she gave DJ along with the tone of the last part would tell DJ that it wasn't a question and he better play along.

hunter had passed constant glances to his right as Zella stood beside him, listening to the story that Amaria told Molly as the kid devoted her attention solely to her. he had forgotten in most ways of why he was telling himself no, instead wondering why he hadnt just asked her out some place or spoken to her..shit hed even stopped having a human conversation. since when had he lost his ability to be an easy puller?

"nawh but they live happily ever after dont they!? Molly asked as she nodded in agreement to the game and tugged excitedly on amaria's hand, Beckoning gigi and the twins to follow "yous can race!" she demanded as the three gave a small groan of protest but stood none the less, Dj putting the hammer down and heading back down to Molly and Amaria
"yeah...sure why not" he commented a little confused

Smiling at her sister she blinked away the tears turning to Hunter " we'll make the line shall we " stretching slightly she moved past him. Making enough room for the kids to all line up she chuckled at D.J's confusion " lets see who's better girls verses boys, my bet is the girls win , aint that right Mar ??" kneeling down she wrinkled her nose as memories of her brothers chasing her as a pup, but is wasnt a game back then , if she wasnt fast enough they would catch her and punch her till she coughed up blood. Shaking the memory away, she looked at Mar , her sister had always been there to distract them and to save her when she could, but Zella had learned then that speed was everything.

Mar chose not to respond to Molly's remark about them leaving happily ever after. She didn't believe in happily ever after. Instead she began to run towards the barn seeing that DJ was following. One way or another Hunter and Zella needed to sort out their shit so Mar and Zella could decide what they were going to do. " Oh yeah girls beat the boys every time. " she chuckled. She knew what was going through her sisters mind and she gave her a reassuring smile. Nothing like that would ever happen to her sister again, she would die first. " Get in your positions everyone. " she shouted as she entered the barn with DJ following soon after.

"yeah gurls wock!" Molly exclaimed as she ran through the long grass behind Amaria, tuffs of long grass curling as he small figure ran through. Dj chuckled as he ran behind, catching her and lifting her up as he ran while Hunter gave a look to Zella
"Never seen you run" he joked, wandering over to make up the start line with her. He gave the kids ample time to line up and for Dj to join Amaria at the other end, still wondering why he was denying himself the possibility that maybe for once things might have a chance of going right...and staying that way.

Justin and james shoved eachother roughly as the brothers often did in sibling rivalry, Gigi lining up with Keira and another lad who carried no name since he hadnt spoken since Hunter had taken him in. With them all set he raised his hand...
"alright.....set........GO!" he shouted, watching the kids scramble from the start line like they were on a mission, and in the moment of dust flying and kids shouting at one another Hunter turned, striding over to Zella as his mind murmured 'bugger it...', his hand sliding across her waist and against the small of her back, pulling her away from view from the door and against a hay bale, kissing her in a sudden blind rush of hurried thoughts
*
"hey amaria...whats your sisters favourite take out?" Dj asked politely as he watched the kids compete across the field towards them

Mar waited patiently as DJ started asking questions about Zella. She could see that he could clearly had a crush on her sister. It was cute but it would clearly only end in heartbreak for him. " Take out? " she had to think for a moment. She much preferred to catch her own food then eat from those ghastly places. " I suppose Chinese if you must know. " Her hard and cold facade had returned somewhat now the children were out of sight. Looking out towards the field she saw the children running and then Hunter dragging her behind a hay bale. " Could you be any classier Zella? I mean there are children around. " the message was for Zella only and that's why it was sent to her mind only. She resisted the urge to have a " private word " with Hunter also.

She looked back at DJ, the kids were a little slower then she imagined so she turned back to DJ. " Isn't my sister a little old for you anyway? You have barely lost your puppy fat by the looks of it. " she didn't mean it in a harsh way like it had come out. It was simply an observation on her part.

"yeah well you know, i the dumb guy remember" Hunter murmured as he kissed her, hands wrapping around her as he walked further away from the door
"You know we'll have company again soon, there is a small house further up, what say we duck away for a bit" he suggested, already carrying her towards the other barn door. his hesitance and self disciplne had gone competely outof the window, and knowing he no longer had Kat hanging around maybe things were actually right. He was finally clean and she was still there putting up with his ass.

*
"cool, i was thinking of taking her out, since she's done so much for everyone lately" he replied casually, watching justin take the lead in the race. He glance at her and smiled "what do you think?"

Mar rolled her eyes at DJ but keep it out of his sight. ' Love sick pup ' she thought to herself. " I think that you should leave Zella alone before you get hurt. " she never implied whether she meant her and Hunter would hurt him or whether it was concern for his feelings but she figured if something happened it would be all three. But no sooner had she said this she got Zella's plee. Her look instantly turned angry for what would appear to be no reason at all. " You have got to be kidding me Zella! " She had never intended on becoming a babysitter. She had wanted them to reconciliate not procreate, there was enough kids around here as it was. Although part of Mar was jealous of what Zella had but her happiness for her never let it affect her.