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"Yeah, sure, and I bet *your* mother's a reeeeal peach, buddy!" Vi patted the shutter of the motorvan, already slick with the clammy grime of the drizzle that had started falling on the Undercity, like the flank of a reliable working horse. The thin metal made a satisfying rattle as she rounded the rear of the vehicle. She could still faintly hear the tirade against her character and that of her entire lineage as a muffled mass of hostility coming from the man she had cuffed less than ten minutes ago. Caught literally red handed dying a vat of rare pelts amidst an eclectic collection of other very illegal contraband, he had kept up an impressively foul mouthed tirade down six procarious flights of old warehouse stairs, along a windowless corridor and out onto the ill lit backstreet where a van emblazoned with the Twin Cities Police Department's emblem waited. With a considerable amount of squirming, grunting and cursing, Vi had eventually wrangled the wiry beanpole of a man onto the long bench at the back and secured his restraints to the brackets in the wall.
She shook her mane of firey hair, chuckling to herself at the more outlandish insults that had been levelled at her and the other accompanying officer as she drew level with the cab. Despite the weather, Darren had the window wound down, leaning an elbow out of it, eyebrow raised.
"How's our...creative friend back there?"
"None too happy with the accomodation but can't please everyone. Do you know if Evidence are on their way?"
"Radio trace pinged about 10 seconds ago." Darren tapped the device clipped to the dashboard.
"Good stuff! Let's get this one to lock up and get on with our night, then. Finish up patrols, then home to dry off. How's that sound?"
"Sounds like a plan, Boss!" Darren said cheerfully, turning the ignition key and eliciting a gutteral rumble that smoothed out into a kind of purr. Vi crossed over to the passenger side, greatful to be out of the rain for the thirty minutes it would take to get to the local lockup in Zaun and log it's latest arrival. As soon as her door was closed, Darren pulled the vehicle away, trundling down the street to the rulebook's exact speed specifications. Vi noticed the steady gauge needle with amusement.
"You could probably get out of patrols if you wanted, Boss. You *are* the deputy."
Vi leaned casually on the fingers of one hand, steepled against her temple, shooting her longtime junior colleague and friend a lopsided smirk. "And miss out on this glorious weather?" She faced forward, sincerity blooming into her voice "besides...I don't forget where I came from. I'm not above honest work, getting stuck in, never will be." She turned back to him, the smirk broadening once more "Why, you lot trying to get rid of me or something? Boss cramping your style?"
"I would never say that in a million years." Darren's smile was aimable as he turned his focus back to the road.
//
"Sure you don't want a lift?" Darren called from the cab, squinting into the rain. The drizzle had thickened considerably, droplets kicking up miniature mercurial fountains in the swelling puddles at Vi's feet.
"Nah" she replied, yanking her hood fluidly over her forehead "Gotta call in at Kodi's bar for a follow up check in the next few days anyway. Might as well get it done tonight." Kodi was a gruff but kindly Vastaya man who had had his nose bashed in and the entire contents of his bar till and safe cleaned out barely a month ago. The TCPD had retrieved it all but he had still been considerably shaken. She thought she'd swing by and grab a drink for ten minutes before heading home to see how the business and it's proprietor was doing. She knew enough about Zaunite bars to know how rare a relaxing, calm little spot like Kodi's was.
"Sure thing. See you tomorrow, Boss." Darren raised his hand off the steering wheel by way of a wave before tilting it towards the center of the road and his own way home via Headquarters, kicking up curtains of water.
Vi, hands shoved deep into her pockets, marched down the street at a brisk pace, boots slapping into the film of water. A building sense of satisfaction at the approach of the end of the day bloomed in her belly, keeping out the mounting chill of the deepening evening. Her thoughts turned to Cait, as they did whenever they worked apart for the day, and the kids. Had she got home from Headquarters yet? What did Connie have to tell her about school today? Had the twins tired Tobias out?
Her warm thoughts of hearth and home were knocked off piste by the sound of yelping. A whimpering sort of yelp that spoke of fear and of pain laced with anger. A concoction she was familiar with.
Then an utterly mirthless laugh.
A sharp thread wrapped itself around her, pulling her into a sprint. Arms swiftly freed from her jacket, they pumped, propelling her towards the source of the sound.
She found herself at the entrance to an alleyway. Overflowing bins, tumbledown crates, a stack of spent barrels from a bar nowhere near as cozy as Kodi's. A quintessential obstacle course near obscured by the tall, patchwork buildings either side.
In it's center were a pair of boys. Severely shaved hair making them look for a moment older than they probably were. One of them already sported a tattoo on the back of his neck. Between them, a poor bedraggled creature sprawled.
Vi's hackles raised. She knew a beating when she saw it.
"Hey!" She called, her voice a sharp clap against the steady hiss of rainfall. She marched forward, her legs moving of their own accord. A burning, protective instinct, carved as deep into her nature and her memory as the fissures themselves, driving her into the fray.
The boy's heads snapped around, an odd mixture of expressions flicking like film reel across their features as they took in her uniform, her stance, her build.
"What's it to ya?" The taller of the two asked, an irritated sneer on his face.
Before they could shift the rest of their bodies, Vi had her fists curled around the collar of their jackets. Focused on all players in the ring at once, making sure her opponents couldn't make a foolish attempt at divide and conquer. Although she was pretty sure she could take these kids with one arm beind her back, she needed this over quickly.
There was a victim to attend to.
They wriggled in her grasp. One of them, this time the shorter one, aimed a stomp at her boot, missing by a good inch.
Enough was enough. Pressing her lips together in a thin line and with a grunt of mediocre effort, Vi flung the boys back, pivoting on her heel to position herself between them and the poor little thing on the ground, scraping a swirl in the dirt under her boot.
Her fists curled in ingrained muscle memory.
"Get lost, kids. Head off home, yeah?" She told them, inclining her head pointedly as they barely staggered back to equilibrium.
With an exchange of glances with each other and a roll of the shoulders, the pair shuffled, kissing their teeth. Appriciation for her clear strength fought against their clear contempt for the uniform they gave a filthy look to.
"Fucking bluebelly scum" they said in unison, not far enough under their breath.
Vi stiffened. Her eyes narrowed, the grey in the blue darkening "Back when I was your age that language would have been enough to get you a kick in the stomach. Wanna know how I know?" She arched her eyebrow, emphasising the rough scar bisecting it. A beat of silence passed between them. "Go home. Stay out of shit if at all possible for you. And maybe next time pick on someone your own size. You might learn something." She watched their sullen, retreating backs for a few moments before turning back towards the reason for her intervention.
The creature, revealing itself to be a dog as she approached it, inching with gentle footfalls, had begun licking the latest in a ledger's worth of wounds. Vi's eyes widened at the state of him. Hoops of ribs stood out starkly around a chest that was clearly supposed to be stocky and barrel like. Whatever colour the patchy fur was had been obscured by dirt. A thin whine issued from his nose as he cleaned the cut.
Vi knelt, streatching her hand towards him slowly.
She somewhat more quickly drew it back with an intake of breath, frowning as blood bloomed in two thin lines across the stark white of her hand wraps. "Hey, steady!" Vi muttered, a dash of irritation outweighed by admiration. The dog, who looked like he shouldn't even have the strength to stand had growled, swiping overgrown claws across the back of her hand defensively. A long, thin whip of a tail, bent to one side was raised to attention as he stared up at her.
He wasn't running or backing away though. Sky blue eyes stared straight at her, measuring. She didn't have his trust yet but he seemed to be taking her under careful consideration.
"Easy little guy. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm not like those two rocks-for-skulls over there." Vi dropped her voice to a low, soothing murmer, quirking her lips, trying not to let her distaste at the wanton cruelty of the boys show. She sat on the filthy floor cross legged "I'm actually pretty chill if you give me a chance."
Eventually, the little guy tilted his head, two velvet triangles flopping endearingly on either side.
"You're sussing me out, aren't ya?" Vi reached into the pouch clipped to her belt. The remaining biscuits that Dora packed were certainly not strictly intended for canine consumption but given the state of him, Vi doubted he'd be picky.
And she was right. After barely a moment's hesitation at her movement and half a sniff, the biscuit had disappeared into the dogs mouth. He chewed with enthusiasm, smacking broad lips together.
Vi, barely noticing the rivulets seeping through her hood, chuckled warmly and it grew into a laugh when the dog got unstedily to its feet again. His crooked tail, no longer rigid with vigilance had even begun to sway a little.
"Liked that, huh? Plenty more where that came from. What you say. You gonna let me get ya checked out?"
The skinny creature took a step forward and immediately faceplanted into the floor with a yelp.
"Woah, there, easy!" Vi peeled off the outer jacket of her Twin Cities Police uniform, laying it on the floor. With motions that felt tortutously slow to her, she coaxed the animal into her arms, wrapping the jacket like a flatbread around him and drawing him into her torso.
Another pang of sympathy registered in her chest as she felt how very little he weighed and how much he was shaking with the cold, his little form rattling as he leaned into her for warmth. For safety.
Resting her chin between his soft ears, Vi gently rose to her feet. He nuzzled into her sternum, muttering and squeaking softly.
"Let's get you home, little guy. Lucky for you, we've got a doctor on site!" She emerged from the alleyway, her new passenger's shivering calming by degrees. Kodi's would have to wait for tomorrow.
Vi grinned at the thought of her wife's face when she showed up at their door. Certainly a surprise for her!
//
Caitlyn, fresh from work and from the elements, hung her broad navy blue umbrella, it's golden mechanism still dripping, and her damp coat in the long, closet next to the front door. She once again had reason to thank her dedicated staff for their quick thinking and attention to detail. Anticipating the fact the driving rain would leave the family's outerwear cold and wet, coals were already burning in the small cast iron stove at the rear of the closet, adding to the sensation of warmth and coziness that welcomed her home. Her things would be bone dry by morning.
She took a quick glance towards the closest window. Droplets formed steady, fast flowing streams that merged and pulsed their way down the glass, eliciting a slight frown of distaste on her face. What an awful evening this was turning into, the bright morning a distant memory! Poor Vi was still out in all this after all. Cait had hoped her wife would have used her own umbrella for once today but a glance into the heated closet revealed it was still hanging on it's usual place on the rack.
With a fond, yet exasperated shake of her head she closed the door, ready to make her homecoming known to her children.
She needed to make no effort. Barely had she turned around when the boisterous, delighted shriek of three year old Matilda rang through the atrium of the house "Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!". A shock of red hair attached itself to Cait's leg like her father's blood pressure cuff. "Mummy's home!". Tills was followed shortly by her younger twin. Vanessa reached up her arms with a hopeful squeak. As usual no words were needed. Cait swung her up into her arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek before fluidly dipping down to Matilda's level and giving her an identical peck.
"Hello my darlings! How are you today?" She smiled fondly.
"Balls of energy as always!" Her father appeared in a doorway to the living space with the affectionate, tired air particular to a worn out but very attached caregiver. Cait glanced up warmly at him.
"I hope they've been very good for Grandpa." Still smiling, she cocked an eyebrow, glancing between them.
"Oh yes. Very, haven't you girls?"
"I'm a good girl! Ness too!" Agreed Tills enthusiastically.
Cait chuckled from ground level "where's Connie got to?"
"Helping Dora in the kitchens." Her father considered "well by 'helping' I mean bending her ear about her day at school. Apparently there's some sort of school wide geography project involving making and bringing dishes from across Runeterra. I think Connie's after some ideas."
"Wanna see our pictures, Mummy?" Tills piped up.
"Of course, darling! I'll just get myself changed and be right with you." Cait rose and rested one hand on each twin.
"Lets go get it. Come on Nessa!" Till's headed for the smaller sitting room, her sister in tow like a tiny floatilla that vanished around the corner.
"Good day?" Her father asked.
"I'm...not sure how to answer that if I'm honest. I think I'll be able to tell you tomorrow."
A bushy eyebrow quirked quizzically. "Oh?"
Before the elder Kiramman could tease further details of his daughter's cryptic response, there came a rattling, irregular hard tapping at the door. Both father and daughter frowned at each other, weighing up who would be banging on the door rather than knocking or pulling the bell. Cait could tell it came from the base of the door too. A kick rather than a fist.
With slight caution, she crossed over, peering through the small glazed cutout in the elegantly carved wood.
When she saw a a familiar mane of red hair, barely tamed by the rain plastering it to her head, Cait swung the door wide. Vi stood on the step, absolutely dripping from head to foot, the thin jumper she wore and her uniform trousers clinging to the contours of her skin. Her jacket was not on her back but wrapped, no, cradled, in a tight bundle in her arms.
What struck Cait just as much was the purposeful look in her powder blue eyes, the deep rhythm of her chest speaking of haste.
"Cait, he's hurt! I need..." Vi's voice was husky with urgency and the damp conditions outside "ah, Tobi, just the man I need!"
"Vi? What's going on? Are you alright? What's in that jacket? Why are you so wet?" Cait asked, puzzled.
"Hey! Sorry! Here!" Vi turned to Cait, dropping a peck on her cheek and pulling away, tilting the jacket she had been clutching close to her chest like a brooding hen towards her wife.
A small but stocky snout poked out, a pair of bright blue eyes blinked lethargically in a way that spoke of the extreme drowsiness that comes from a sleep interrupted too soon. A few paw pads poked out from the wrappings which produced a thin whine, deepening into a gutteral muttering sound.
"Is that a-?" Cait began incredulously.
"A dog? Yeah. Well, a pup, really. Caught two morons knocking him around on the way back home. He's hurt. Not to mention near starved. I couldn’t leave him there."
"Of course not." Cait nodded. She knew that to abandon a defenceless innocent creature of any kind would be anathema to her wife. What an awful image the hurried account conjured! She herself had been raised to regard animals in a rather utilitarian way like her mother before her. They were to be respected and treated well for the role that they fulfilled within the household or family be it for hunting, riding or the production of food and textiles. Still, though she didn't have a great deal of sentimentality in that regard, she did have staunch principles about inflicting suffering as she knew her mother had. Such pointless, senseless cruelty against a small, unthreatening animal rankled and utterly bewildered her. "Vicious creatures" she mused.
Vi had turned back to Cait's father "I think the little guy might have a broken leg and tail. Or at least a sprain. He's also covered in cuts-"
"Speaking of" Cait chipped in, glancing at the bloodied tears in Vi's right hand wrappings "you need to get that examined and cleaned, darling. Did this little one do that?"
"He...he was scared, Cait. It's not his fault." Vi was quick to tell her before resuming her consultation with her physician father in law. "Can you take a look at him?"
"Humm" Cait's father considered, peering at Vi's skinny little passenger "I may be a doctor, not a veterinarian but a bone is a bone. I'll see what I can do. I'll go fetch my bag and analgesia. Find a place for him in one of the kitchens."
Cait couldn't imagine Dora would be too happy at her well ordered, meticulously clean kitchen being turned into a makeshift examination room for injured fauna but the marble surfaces could always be thouroughly disinfected. No matter. It was clear the creature needed fairly urgent care if he was to recover as quickly as possible.
Tobias having despatched himself to fetch supplies, the other two of the adult Kirammans made their way down to the kitchens. Suddenly, Cait and Vi's eldest emerged, walking the other way, in a school uniform peppered with flour at the edges an apron had clearly been unable to cover. She immediately stopped in her tracks when she noticed her parents striding with such purpose down the corridor.
"Hey Mum, Ma, you're home! How was it? You'll never g-" she frowned, blue eyes an identical shade to Cait's and just as sharp narrowing in on Vi's sodden appearance and the bundle she carried. Curiosity, tinged with a puzzled sort of delight, illuminated her features. "You found a dog?" She asked.
"Yeah Con. On the way home from patrol. He's hurt so Grandpa's gonna take a look at him. Can you make sure the twins don't come down here. It...might not be very nice for them to see. He's in rough shape."
"Oh, I wanna help!" Connie made to turn on her heel back the way she'd come but Cait placed a gentle, steadying hand on her shoulder. She thought it might not be that pleasant for her oldest daughter either.
"It’s ok, Connie darling. Just see to your sisters and we'll fetch you all to say hello once Grandpa's treated him. Then we can hear all about your day too."
Connie still looked torn but nodded, padding her way back towards the living quarters in the mansion.
Cait and Vi crossed the threshold of the door that was always kept open whenever Dora was working at one of her delicious creations. The kindly cook looked up from kneeding tomorrow’s bread to greet them with a smile.
"Miss Caity, Miss Vi. Lovely to see you ho-oh!" She frowned, peering at the dog twitching in Vi's arms "what's all this?"
"Sorry Dora!" Vi told her "we gotta borrow your worktop for a bit. This little guy needs Tobias to look at him."
It was well known that Dora loved dogs but clearly was rather nonplussed at the idea of putting one on her worktops. A quick glance at the state of the poor thing though, banished all considerations of cleanliness from her mind.
"Oh dear Janna, the poor mite!"
"Yeah. Couple of kids thought it would be fun to kick him around."
"And you put a stop to it, Miss Vi?"
A grim sort of satisfaction flitted over Vi's features at the recent memory "yeah. Wasn't having any of that crap."
"Good" Dora nodded briskly "I take it youll be wanting some water boiled for the wounds?" She glanced between them, then made her way over to the gleaming rack of copper saucepans.
"Yes please, Dora." Cait told her greatfully, turning at the sound of another set of purposeful footsteps entering the kitchen. Her father, old but well cared for leather medical bag in hand, strode across the room to examine his disheveled little patient.
"Let's see about this, then, shall we?" He said, the picture of caring efficency. Turning to Vi, he glanced at the scratches fraying two thin jagged strips in the fabric of her wraps abd the skin beneath "and, yes Vi, Cait is right. Clean those properly and I will give you some antiseptic ointment momentarily. Cait, can you assist?"
Cait nodded, never afraid of getting stuck in to the task, the Twin Cities Sherrif reporting to her father. This was his expertise and domain after all.
The dog gave a long whine, reaching bony little legs out across the table towards his rescuer.
"It’s ok, little buddy" Vi threw over her shoulder, shooting him a smile she clearly intended to bring comfort "I'm still here. These guys are friends. The best. Promise! I'm coming back in just a second. Your safe now, ok?"
Cait allowed herself a moment of tenderness for her big hearted wife, shooting her a small smile of her own before turning back to the task at hand.
//
"MA FOUND A PUPPY?! CAN WE PLAY?!" Matilda yelped, her little freckled face positively alight with excitement. She vibrated with the bottomless well of energy she seemed to possess at any given time of day. Cait took a deep breath as she prepared to hold back the tidal wave of the enthusiasm that her middle child was capable of. Thanks to her father's ministrations, the poor little creature had been patched up. Wounds cleaned and stitched, bones set and bound like a four legged ragdoll tended to by a careful artisan. The colour of the fur beneath the brown grime had been revealed, a warm midpoint between tan and grey, excavated carefully by Dora wielding a soft cheesecloth repurposed for his treatment.
"Hold on, Tills darling!" She knelt, placing a steadying hand on the shoulders of both her assembled twins "Nessa. He's not very well so we are going to have to be very gentle with him for a while until he gets better, yes?"
Both girls nodded, Tills slightly more despondently. Nessa looked up at her taller mother, crossing her arms over her chest, little fists balled, a questioning look in her eyes.
Cait smiled "Yes we can hold him, when he wakes up in the morning." In order to minimise the poor dog's distress and spare the rest of them the scratches that had been dug into Vi's hand, her father had carefully administered an analgesic sedative. He had only just begun to come around from it's effects when Cait and Vi had left the makeshift surgery in the kitchen. "Now, I think it's time you girls went to bed as well."
"We wanna stay up!" Tills frowned, folding her arms, her eyebrows inclined downward in a clear statement of protest.
Vi sauntered over to the rescue, sporting a dressing her father in law had insisted on applying once the worst of the pup's injuries had been seen to. She smirked, cocking an eyebrow "Oooh, right. If we don't go to bed, we're gonna be a bit too tired for the show tomorrow night, aren't we, Mummy?"
Cait picked up the baton deftly, a smile of her own trying to tug at the corners of her mouth "Oh yes, very much so!" She nodded seriously.
"No!" Tills was aghast, turning to her twin.
Nessa nodded and tapped her hand over her mouth earnestly before slapping it atop the other.
Cait couldn't help a small chuckle at the shift in her youngest two children's opinion. The gchildren's show at Connie's school for the littler ones was a family institution. Of course none of them would miss it for the world.
"Can we have a story, Mama?" Tills turned to Vi, reaching up to punctuate the endearing question.
"Iiii think we can do that, sure! Ohmph, up we go!" Vi nodded with a slight, contented grunt of effort at swinging her daughter into her arms. She reached down, ruffling Nessa's dark hair before Cait lifted her onto her own hip.
"Let's say goodnight to Connie and Grandpa!" Vi called.
"And Dora!" Tills piped up adamantly.
"Yeah and Dora. 'Course!" Vi nuzzled her forehead. She exchainged a wordless signal with her wife and they set about commencing the near nightly ritual of farewells until the morning and weaving tales.
//
"Goodnight sweethearts!" Cait repeated for the seventh time in as many minutes before shutting the warmly panelled door of the twins' shared bedroom with a soft but resolute click.
She glanced at Vi. She bore the signs of the tiredness that a day of productivity will bring, mirrors of Cait's own. There was also something else there, though, a smile rounding out her freckled cheeks. A glint of something like amusement in her blue-grey eyes.
"I know that look! What is it?" Cait probed, her functioning eye scanning up and down Vi's face as they walked back towards the stairs to join their elder daughter and the vet-for-the-evening, her father. Not to mention finally waveing Dora off home with the promise of overtime pay for her help this evening that she would flatly refuse to accept. Cait would sneak it in. One way or another.
"You realise you're committed now, right? You told them they would have to wait until he's better to play with him..."
Cait shook her head, knowing what her wife was driving at "Well...yeees. He needs to gather some strength before anything too strenuous, that's true..."
"Sooo...that means we're keeping him?" Vi turned the full effect of her charming, beautiful yet ever so slightly infuriating smirk on Cait. There was something else in it, though. A sense of steely satisfaction.
"Of course!" Cait said, mock offended "What *do* you take me for Violet? I'm not about to toss him back out onto the streets!"
Vi's eyebrow quirked as she gave Cait a gentle nudge "I knew it...you've always had a soft spot for injured Zaunite strays, haven't you?"
As they rounded the corner to the sweeping staircase, Cait chuckled, shaking her head "Especially the endearing ones."
"Oh?" Vi's eyes sparkled with mischief, her face drawing closer to Cait's neck "Endearing, was I?"
"It...didn't take too long, no! As well you know." Now it was Cait's turn to flash a teasing, glittering smile which broadened as Vi fulfilled her proximity's promise, a press of her lips against Cait's cheek. She allowed her smile to drop slightly. "That little dog is very lucky you were there tonight."
A brooding shadow flickered across Vi's face like the dappling of trees blocking sunlight as they landed in the atrium. "And the little shitheads who did it are lucky they didn't meet me when I was their age."
"Indeed." Cait nodded. They crossed through the comfortingly familiar path into the smaller of their family rooms. Hung with green, lined with books and more than adequately stocked with cushions richly but tastefully embroidered with long leaves gently weaving in and out of each other. One of these was being utilised by Connie. Both her father and Dora, still here despite wearing her coat, stood over her, chuckling.
"The poor little scrap!" Dora cooed.
As Cait strode further in, she was immediately confronted with the sight of her daughter holding the skinny creature and the cushion in her arms, her blue eyes dancing with a tender sort of amusement as she dropped tiny strips of tender boiled chicken from a saucer into the dog's eagerly waiting maw. He smacked his lips appriciatively.
"Looks like Little Champ's got a healthy appetite!" Vi strode into the little circle as if it were the most normal thing in the world to be hand feeding an animal off of crockery usually used by humans.
Cait decided to let the incongruity of this definate break with convention slide with only a slight double take. This was clearly needed and a rather exceptional circumstance, after all.
"He's so cute Ma! And so hungry!" Connie looked up at Vi, then frowned with concern.
"Yeah. We'll soon see to that, Con, don't you worry."
"So he's staying?" She asked, a broad smile on her face as her little charge wolfed down another scrap of meat.
"Yep." Vi nodded "we're gonna take very good care of him."
Dora piped up "That's probably enough chicken, Miss Connie." She took the saucer from the low table in front of the pleasantly crackling fire.
"Yes." Tobias nodded "We don't want to make him sick. Little and often. He's got to get used to it."
"Dora, I'll take care of that." Cait told her, relieving the cook of the half full saucer. "Please do go home and enjoy a relaxing evening. Thankyou for all your help tonight."
"No trouble at all Miss Caity. I'll see you all in the morning. Yes, you too!" She waved at the dog who was issuing a low complaint at being separated from the meat. Connie scratched his head placatingly and he settled back into her lap with a halting stretch. Within moments of Dora taking her leave and the rest of the family settling down into their respective chairs, he had fallen asleep, his rear left leg twitching slightly every so often.
//
The nightly rhythm in the Kiramman household resumed. After a quick dinner of hearty cold meats, chutneys and fresh bread left for them by Dora, Cait and Vi rejoined Tobias and Connie. Everyone sat in the family room reading or smiling over at the latest addition to the family ensconced on the cushion. One by one, they all drifted up to their respective rooms. First Connie, who deposited the dog onto Vi's lap after the usual round of goodnight kisses, eliciting a low growl of protest at the shift in position, then, after a deep yawn and heavy blink, Tobias. Finally, Cait and Vi sat in the comfort of a few private moments discussing the nuances of their jobs that could only be shared and understood by each other. Cait shared the ongoing frustrations of assembling and submitting the department's yearly budget and Vi regaled Cait with an account of her day patrolling with Darren and the intervention she had felt compelled to make on the way home. Her storytelling was significantly less animated than usual, mindful as she was of her lap's furry occupant.
"Honestly, Cait, given the state of him and what those fucking idiots were doing I'm floored that he was still standing! He's a real fighter that's for sure!"
"A kindred spirit?" Cait's lip quirked as she ran her fingers tenderly down the tattoos on Vi's left forearm.
Vi's lips responded in kind "I guess. I'm just glad I got there in time." She looked down at his delicate form, shaped sharply by deep hardship "That this little mutt's safe now."
"As am I. Such senseless cruelty...I really can't fathom it." Cait frowned with a slight shake of her head and set to her jaw.
Vi gave a mirthless yet tender huff. Cait's years running the Twin Cities Police Department had given her a lot of understanding but raw lived experience of the environment that could produce such behaviour was woven into Vi's mettle and had shaped much of her younger life in a way that had, mercifully, not been true of Cait. Her understanding of where Zaun's darker facets could spring from had always been an asset according to her wife and Vi, for one, was always glad that Cait's road to adulthood had been, by her own admission, less rocky. "These kids don't get taught any better. It's just a cycle."
A beat of silence reigned as both women contemplated how far they had come in the goals they had for their beloved Twin Cities as they became more enmeshed, more symbiotic and also the road still to travel. They were, as ever, united in determination and dedication to their life's work. That took many forms. Including, apparently, adopting strays.
They were also united in their need for sleep in the near future. With their frequently wordless signal both of them rose, Vi slightly more ponderously under the creature sleeping on her lap. With the grumble-growl that was fast becoming his signature, the dog shifted onto Vi's chest, claws that had earlier this evening taken a swipe at her curling like the fingers of a child into her soft dark tank top.
Vi grinned at the gesture. He was so at home already!
Cait, standing across the sitting area, took up the slim iron rake kept for this purpose and ran it's tines gently over the already dimming fire with a soft crunch of near spent fuel. What remained of the flames abruptly flickered out. She closed the damper over what remained of the embers like a blanket that soothed them to sleep for the night. Safety measures completed, Cait fell into step beside her wife.
Vi and Cait walked towards the sweeping staircase, a pathway as familiar as their heartbeats. Still, when she noticed Vi continuing towards the richly carpeted steps rather than to the kitchens to deposit the dog in his new designated space, Cait paused. "Vi?" She punctuated her enquiry with a nod down at the slightly shifting bundle of bones and fur in her wife's arms.
Vi pressed her lips together, glancing directly at Cait "I was thinking-"
"Not upstairs, Vi. We agreed. There have to be some boundaries. He's got a lovely space in the kitchens." Cait had participated in assembling the cozy area herself.
A complicated flurry passed across Vi's expression. Fondness, concern, a dash of her beautiful stubborness. Eventually it slackened into the clear, open sincerity that Cait knew was her privilege to see. Her eyes took on a searching clarity in those blue-grey depths, a look she had cherished since the first time she had seen it, a moment curled up on the very bed they were bound for now. Two young women forging a tender new understanding and connection. A bridge built of a tender touch.
Some part of Cait knew it signalled a shift in her own resolve. How could she refuse anything of those eyes?
"I know we talked about it but...I just..." Vi glanced down at the pup "I don't wanna just leave him alone again, you know? Let's just keep an eye on him while he settles in, yeah?poor guy's still hurt after all."
Cait glanced between that damn tender look in Vi's eyes and the dog and felt her resolve crumble entirely. Vi wouldn't rest peacefully otherwise. Besides it was just for a few nights to soothe him as he began the healing process. Then they could start acclimating him to some house rules.
"I suppose you're right. Let's fetch the cushion you and Connie were using earlier for a bed."
A bright look of relief and gratitude flowed across Vi's auburn features as they made a small detour back to the room hung with green and Cait felt she had made the right choice. Part of her also suspected it was a somewhat more binding one than she had planned.
//
Teeth and faces cleaned and casual trousers having been swapped for soft but close fitting shorts, both woman set about negotiating and arranging the position of the cushion that would be their new arrival's bed for the night. It was decided the best place would be just inside the bathroom door. Any accidents would be easier to clear up that way.
Switching off the multicoloured glow of their bedside lamps, the product of Zaunite artistry, Cait and Vi climbed into their respective sides. Sinking between the lilac sheets and into the comfort of their mattress as smoothly as butter, the remains of the day seeped out of their weary frames.
"Sweet dreams Vi." Cait murmered, curling herself around Vi's intricately decorated back.
"Night Cupcake." Vi tilted her head back, planting a short but tender kiss on Cait's lips. She turned back to the third occupant of the room "Night night - hold on he doesn't have a name!" Vi suddenly realised with a frown.
Cait's body gave a slight shudder behind her that spoke of a deep yawn "we can settle on one in the morning, my love. Now we all need sleep."
That was easier said than done.
First a swishing scraping sound that did not bode well for the cusion's embroidery commenced. Then a thin little whine. Then the low yet small gutteral sound they were becoming familiar with.
"It's definitely like the mutt's muttering at us." Vi mused aloud, then shifted "hey...mutter. Mutter."
"Humm-umm?" Cait hummed quizzically, by now very tired.
"That's his name. Mutter. How's that sound?"
Cait let out the barest of sighs against Vi's broad shoulder, her elegant nose pressing against her warm skin. "Sounds perfect for him. Especially at this precise moment it has to be said."
A few more minutes and it became apparent that something needed to change for sleep to successfully find them. "Hey Cait?" Vi cast over her shoulder.
"Yes darling?" Cait responded, very evenly.
"Can I move him closer? I think it might go some to settling him."
Another sigh. "Yes I suppose."
Once the newly named Mutter had been moved next to Vi's squat bedside cabinet, she nestled back into the graceful cacoon of her wife's embrace, an arm hanging over the side of the mattress. Her fingers and mouth twitched as Mutter began thoroughly licking her hand with soft sandpaper strokes. She closed her eyes contentedly.
Another grumble-whine drifted up from below.
"Aw, you want a cuddle little guy?" Vi opened her eyes, shooting an amused look down at Mutter.
"Violet Kiramman, that dog is *not* coming in the bed." A firm declaration issued from Cait, her eyes still closed. The line would move no further.
"Don't worry, Mutter." Vi shot a conspiritorial stage whisper down at the dog "I'll work on her."
"You may try" Cait mumbled dryly.
Vi huffed with amusement, shifting her form further back towards Cait. Her wife instinctively curled her arms tighter under Vi's ribs. Eventually their breaths synchronised as both women and dog drifted off to sleep.
It had been a hell of a day.
//
Cait was halfway through buttering her morning seeded toast when she caught sight of Vi plucking a strip of fat from a piece of bacon on her plate to deposit into the waiting maw of the family's new dog. It would have been fairly subtle if not for the smacking of lips it elicited and Vi's chuckle in response.
"Vi don't train him to eat from-" Cait was cut off by the sight of Tills, Vi's seating neighbour this morning, lobbing her entire piece of soft cooked toast on the cushion that was already becoming pretty irredeemable for it's original purpose. "Matilda! Please don't throw your food! It makes a mess!" She instructed their middle daughter. Vi wordlessly knelt down to pick up the scattered remains of the already demolished slice from the floor around the dog to deposit onto her now empty plate. The creature's headbutts were rather an impediment to the task.
"I was feeding Mutter too!" The girl said brightly, pointing down at the dog who seemed really quite delighted with this arrangement.
"Mutter?" Cait frowned quizzically, her butter knife again freezing mid stroke.
"Yeah. Thats his name. We talked about it last night." Vi looked up at her, tilting her head as she rose from the floor, patting the dog once more between the velvet ears.
"Oh...you were serious?" Cait raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. What's wrong with that?" Vi shifted around in her seat, arching a brow of her own.
"I was thinking perhaps Rex or Maximus. Or Bruno." Cait peered down at Mutter, currently giving his cushion a thorough clean to extract any crumbs.
"I like Mutter. It's cute and scrappy. Just like him!" Connie piped up from the end of the table. Nessa raised her hand with a fervent nod. Tobias had left early to receive a delivery at his practice but would no doubt have backed his grandchildren.
Cait blinked "It appears I am overruled. Mutter it is, then!" Cait shot a slight shake of the head and an indulgent half smile at Vi, before finally taking a bite of her now lukewarm toast.
She wondered how many more times she would find herself in this position when it came to that dog. Still, even injured and slightly lethargic, Cait could see the joy her family were getting from him already. For that reason alone she couldn't bring herself to rethink last night's decision. They had plenty of space here after all. The children could chase with him around the garden to their heart's content.
"So Cait. I was thinking" Vi took a gulp of juice "We're doing paperwork today right?"
Cait's eyebrow hoisted itself back into a higher position in anticipation of what her wife was getting at"yeees?"
"I was thinking why don't we bring him? Rather than leaving him in the house all day. Not as if he's gonna get into mischief with that leg of his. He seems quite...attached is all and-"
"He will have Dora around..." Even as Cait said it she knew she was fighting an uphill battle and was already resigning herself to a workday accompanied by a puppy. Mind you, given his injuries and state of relative weakness, Cait conceded he couldn't be too much trouble as Vi had pointed out. "Very well. But he can't come into my office. I need no distractions today."
"Looks like you're my partner for the day, Mutter boy." Vi smiled, patting him on the head.
"I can't wait to tell Caleb at school today. He loves dogs!" Connie chimed in.
"Another member of his growing fan club, I imagine!" Cait smiled. She glanced at the filigree gold carriage clock on the breakfast room's mantle. "Speaking of school and work all of us had best get a move on!"
Soon the room was bereft of Kirammans as they set about their respective days.