COLOURS || Seth Clearwater

SIX

June, 1304

It was safe to say, that in a short time span of two months, Lucinda had fallen irrevocably in love with Kane Floyde and everything he was. When her hand was clasped between his, she loved the way their hearts raced in sync. The way he held her as they slept, meant the absolute world to her.

Kane was by far the kindest man that Lucinda had met in her hundred of thousands of years in existence. He was the only one she had found in decades that made her heart race the same way it did when she was given her favourite branded bottle of Rum.

She had grown comfortable with telling him things that she had never told anyone else, such as the details of her previous partners, her children, grand children, and descendants all across the globe, or rather, the parts of the planet that had been discovered.

In turn, Kane had told her the history of his family, which mostly consisted of his mother sleeping with many different people, leaving her in a situation much like Lucinda's. He even told her of his brothers — the only pair that he had met in his brief time of existence — and how they were almost always in some form of trouble.

Kane had spoken fondly about his half brothers, Leon and Dorian, though she had yet to meet them. He had told her that it would be highly unlikely that she would meet Dorian, considering that he spent his days traveling, having grown bored in his immortal life, though she was excited to meet Leon.

Kane had received a letter from his eldest brother that he would be visiting some time in June, leaving them to anxiously wait for the snow to melt under the warmth of the summer sun.

"Lou!" Kane called, and she hurriedly pulled on a somewhat decent looking —  as well as clean, most importantly — blue dress while stumbling around barefoot in the cottage. "Leon just arrived!" Lucinda couldn't help the nerves the filled her stomach, but she was beyond excited.

She had been waiting impatiently for many days and nights to meet Leon Adams, almost three months, and now it was time for it to finally happen. She ran a hand through her red hair that now reached just above her hips, and tilted her head as she looked in the fogged up and dirty mirror.

"I'll be out in a moment!" she yelled back, yelping when Rowena dropped a handful of different coloured roses at her feet. "Thank you darling," she mused, earning a squawk in return before the raven flew out the window. Olenna, Rowena, and Andromeda had a tendency to come and go as they pleased, as well as her big cats, though the land animals tended to stay a lot closer to home.

She looked through the flowers — a pile of wild roses that Rowena must have spent her time picking — before finally pulling one from the bunch and spinning the stem between her fingers. She carefully pulled the thorns off and cut the stem fractionally shorter.

"Leon, this is Lucinda Emrey," Kane introduced, her as she stepped out of the house, a beautifully coloured blue rose tucked behind the shell of her ear. As she grew closer, she couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Lovely to meet you," she smiled sweetly, staring up at the man. Leon was by no means small. If she had judged correctly, his bicep was roughly the size of her head. She barely reached his shoulder, his rich sandy coloured hair grown out to his shoulder, and a short beard covered his jaw and chin.

"You are a lot smaller than I pictured you to be, Miss Emrey," Leon chuckled, and Lucinda silently raised her brow, crossing her arms over her chest with a small smile on her lips.

"I could say the same for you, Darling," she replied with her signature wicked smirk, and Leon let out a loud laugh, slapping a hand on her back.

"Oh dear Lord what have I done," Kane groaned softly with a quiet sigh, already able to picture the trouble the newly introduced pair would get into; it was not a pretty sigh

"I like you already," he chuckled, and Lucinda's smirk melted into a wide smile. She leaned into Kane's side, gently taking his hand within her own and gripping onto it tightly, smiling faintly up at him as the three walked back into the cottage. As Leon entered, Olenna swooped down from the ceiling and snatched his bag from his hands.

"What the bloody —"

"— Language, brother," Kane sighed through his interruption, holding an arm out for Lucinda to take as balance. Once the eagle had made her rounds and dropped Leon's bag on the single bed, she landed on Lucinda's back, a set of talons on each shoulder.

"Is that your bird?" Leon asked while running a hand through his hair, and Lucinda nodded with a cheeky smile. She carefully reached up to gently stroke Olenna's feathers, earning a coo as a reply.

"They are mine as well," she smiled happily, gesturing to where her four cheetahs — with Zara standing directly behind him — were laid on the floor next to the kitchen corner.

"You interest me, Dear Lucinda," Leon told her while pointing with squinted eyes. Lucinda let out a loud snort, her heart fluttering when Kane grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together. He shot her a small smile when she looked up at him, and Lucinda found it impossible to fight off her smile.

"I find you somewhat less interesting, now knowing that I know you are scared of birds," she chuckled when she finally looked away from the man she loved. Leon shot her a look of mock annoyance before he hesitantly side stepped Zara — who had come to greet her witch with a series of growls and purs — and wandered towards his bag.

"Forgive me for having human fears," Leon grumbled, pulling a somewhat long sheet of parchment from his bag. "Kane, would you mind taking a quick trip into town for me?" he asked, and Lucinda looked up at Kane in mild confusion. "I require some extra things for my spell to send to Dorian, and would like get it done now rather than later."

"Of course," Kane nodded, taking the parchment from his brothers hand. "I'll be back before sunset, Lou," he called. He paused in the doorway, shooting cage two a warning look. "Behave yourselves please," and with that he was gone from sight.

"So," Leon said with a clap of his large hands, staring down at Lucinda with a small smile. "What sort of trouble shall we get into before he gets back?"