noun ~ casual or idle conversation or rumour about other people

NOVA

"Polly!" I squealed. "It's so nice to hear from you!"

His soft laughter warmed my heart and settled my mind. "Well, I couldn't leave my sister hanging, could I?"

I was so happy he called! He had been gone for three mornings! Three! It was so hard not ringing him, but him ringing me definitely made my day!

"Oh, Polly! I have so much to tell you!" I squeaked.

"Oh, yeah? Anything juicy?"

"Uh! Just the juiciest thing of all!" I laughed.

Phoenix gave me a strange look as I rose from the sofa and entered the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of water, taking a large sip before inhaling deeply. Gossip around here spread like wildfire, and now Pollux was back in the loop.

"Charlie and Calida slept together!" I rushed, rooting through the fruit bowl.

Pollux gasped, a silence vibrating the line before he bellowed a laugh. "No fucking way!"

"Yes! Last night!" I grinned, gazing out of my kitchen window. "They had their date thing yesterday and skipped breakfast this morning. Charlie was supposed to be working with Phoenix, so Phe went to the pack house to find him. They were still in his room! He turned it into some kind of sanctuary!"

"You better get all the details." He groaned. "What a thing to do when I am not there to tease him about it."

I laughed, agreeing. "I know! Calida kept this so secret. The last I spoke to one of them was Charlie, and he said it was slow and steady. I wonder what changed..."

"You going to speak to him today?" Pollux wondered.

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Phoenix is with him again for training, but I'm going to find Calida after lunch. She won't be far, I'm sure."

"You better ring me with those details," He warned.

"Of course! Also, Leo and Molly are friends again."

"That's good. Has he forgiven Phoenix?"

I eyed my mate from over my shoulder, finding him intensely watching me. I grinned, taking a bite from an apple.

"I think Leo has no choice." I mused.

Phoenix rolled his eyes, adjusting his position on the sofa so he was facing me more. I couldn't help but drop my eyes to the tightness of his t-shirt, admiring how it rippled with his movements and clung to his shoulders. His long, strong thighs spread so perfectly...

"No-ova!"

I blinked, shaking my head as Phoenix chuckled. "Polly?"

"Where'd you go?" My brother laughed. "Did you fall down a rabbit hole again, Alice?"

Tutting, I nibbled on the apple. "Maybe."

"Was it a Phoenix sized one?"

Grumbling, I ignored my teasing brother, and turned the tables on him. "How are you doing, anyway?"

"I'm okay." He chuckled at my topic change. "I'm near a human village down south."

"How far away from me?" I wondered.

"My phone says three hundred miles."

"Already?" I gasped. "Jeez, did you fly?"

"Let's just say I was not myself yesterday."

"Dion got over-excited?" I mused. "Are you enjoying it?"

"I have never felt so free, Nova." He sighed, happily. "I have hunted, I have bathed in a lake. Nature is amazing. And it's warmer here already."

We were pretty middle ground of our continent, my family living high in the northern mountains. Humans inhabited most of the southern land. They preferred the warmer climate to the cold. Like me, they couldn't warm up. But also, warmer climate gave them better sources of food and plants. My ancestors moving to the mountains was meant to be the safest place for them.

Yet, my childhood home was ashes.

My hands twitched, the sharp image of grandmother's worn book in my mind.

Shaking my head, I took my apple back to the sofas and sat beside Phoenix. "Have you come across anyone yet?"

"Nobody but my shadow." Pollux sighed into the phone. "Tomorrow I will go to a human village. I need human food and I will charge my phone in a hotel."

"You have enough money?" I wondered.

"Yes, mother."

I could picture him rolling his eyes and scowled in return.

"Good boy."

He grumbled, and a wide grin stretched my cheeks. We continued to talk about animals and places he saw. What he was going to do next. What I was going to talk to Calida about... Normal things. It wasn't until Pollux sighed and I heard the distinct shuffling of his clothes.

"I'm going to go, Sis." He mumbled. "I've been in this spot for over twelve hours now."

"Okay." I grimaced. "I love you, Polly."

He returned the gesture with a soft chuckle, and the call ended. I pulled the phone away from my ear with a pout, staring at the blank home screen.

"He will call you later for more gossip." Phoenix breathed, shifting his weight. "Now come here."

Turning my pout to my mate, he chuckled at my expense. Crawling into his embrace, my head fell to his chest. His arms encased me, curling me into his chest. His tight grip immediately caused me to melt into his body, comforted in his hold. I would blame the bond, but I think this was purely Phoenix.

To our disappointment, a faint gurgling cry came from one bassinet. I lifted my head, eyeing which baby it came from. Of course, I already knew, and with a soft grunt, I rose from the sofa.

Annabelle's soft cries alerted Freddy, and with an eye roll, I picked up my daughter. Her cries quietened, drifting off into soft grunts of hunger. She was getting so big now. In just a sleep suit today, her chunky little legs filled the entire footed bottoms. It felt like only yesterday that her legs were too short to fit and constantly came out of the individual leg hole.

Freddy was slimmer than Belle, but he was gaining as we expected him to. Being smaller than her was a concern, but his weekly doctor appointments proved he was consistent.

Shifting Belle to one arm, I felt her slip out of my grip. With alarm, my eyes snapped to the side but instead of falling down, she was going side-ways in a pair of tanned hands. My heart immediately calmed when I noticed Phoenix taking her. Smiling softly, I grabbed Freddy and pulled him to my throat.

His nose searched for food, and with a soft sigh, I settled into the armchair. My dedicated feeding chair with nursing and back pillows galore. Preparing myself, I latched Freddy before Phoenix passed me Belle.

I was just glad my boobs no longer hurt and my nipples were no longer cracked.

Both twins fed casually, and Phoenix busied himself with tidying up after lunch. My fingers fell into the soft hair on their heads, curling it between my fingers. Another difference in growth was their hair. Where Annabelle had been born with a decent head of dark hair, most had thinned away and has only just grown to a similar length. Freddy, however, had seemed to take a liking to Uncle Polly. His white-blonde hair was long and curled at the nape of his neck.

"You seem to have the hang of it now, my love." Phoenix charmed from across the room.

I grinned, tilting my head in replace of a shrug. "What can I say? I am a master of tandem feeding."

Once the twins were happy, clean and fed, I loaded them into the tandem pushchair out on the porch. The weather was glorious today, and with a pep to my step, I left the house. Phoenix wandered behind me, a shadow in the bright sun.

"You should wear sun cream." He stated.

I scoffed. "It is barely may."

"It is eighteen degrees."

"I will not burn in eighteen degrees! Talk to me again when it's twenty-one." I laughed.

"I will hold you to that," Phoenix murmured.

I felt his hand snake around my waist, gripping onto my side. I looked at him in surprise, but he pulled me into him, bending down to capture my mouth. My hands left the pushchair, melting into him as he kissed me.

When he pulled away, he kept his hand around my waist. I breathed heavily, staring at him with a suspicious, yet confused, look.

"What was that for?"

"I find it extremely attractive watching you be a mum." He admitted.

"Phoenix!" I laughed.

Although, when Phoenix was in dad mode... I can see what he meant.

Shaking my head, we casually strolled the way to the packhouse. In the main hallway, Phoenix departed from me with a softer kiss and a promise of seeing me at bedtime.

It was pleasant today. For Phoenix, today was just pack things, so he wasn't that busy. It was just me and the twins this morning, so it was a nice surprise when he appeared at lunchtime.

I was grateful the packhouse was so wide, because pushchairs were something I may need a driving licence for. Why did the front wheels turn so much? What was that about? Going up a curb? Nah, they'll just bend in half instead. And let's not forget the amount of times I thought I could fit past something and end up scuffing the frame.

The twins lay beside each other, blissfully unaware of their mother's inability to steer them. Pollux always laughed at me before insisting he pushed them, and I let him. But with him gone, it was my turn to learn.

My nostrils flared as I stepped deeper into the pack house, searching for Calida. She better still be outside, because there was no way I was getting this pushchair to her... Charlie's? Was she staying with him now? Was it a one off?

Luckily for me, I found Calida straight away. Her scent mingled with Charlie's, floating through the hallways as she wandered past me. With a grin, I called her name.

"Oh, Calida!" I sang.

She froze, her back to me. Her shoulders were tense, the rest of her bathed in a shirt too large. My grin widened as I grew closer to her frozen body, noticing that it was not hers. It was Charlie's.

Calida slowly turned to me, eyes wide as she spotted me a mere two metres away. My lips curled into a grin, coming to a stop right behind her. Her lips parted, and right away I knew what she was going to hint at.

"Oh, yeah, you should've run away." I mused.

She cursed, standing up straight with a soft groan. "I avoided Molly successfully."

"Oh, you did?" I grinned. "Want me to go get her? I'm sure she would love to hear this."

Calida groaned, her hands covering her eyes as she shook her head. I laughed, nudging her calf with the pushchair.

"We won't be that bad." I shrugged. "Just want to ask you a couple... things."

The look Calida gave me was one I should've believed, because the moment we sat down in the garden room, it made sense.

Even I sat, wide-eyed, as both Molly and Rose drilled her with questions. My mouth agape, I continued to bounce Belle on my knee as they didn't stop. They must've had an entire list of questions and exclamations because neither stopped for a solid minute.

Through the midst of their excited squeals, Calida dropped her sharp gaze to me. I grinned innocently as she glared at me. I was glad she was taking the high road, not speaking a word since we all sat down. I knew I had to step in, though, because this was getting out of hand.

"Alright!" I commanded.

Like the snap of an elastic band, the two females stopped. Rose's lips snapped shut, and she immediately scooted back onto the sofa. Her head dropped to stare at her hands as her cheeks coloured the same pink as her name. Molly, however, huffed, dramatically falling into the cushions with a pout, and crossed her arms.

"Okay, I think you have scared Calida into the next room." I mused.

Belle gurgled in response, and Molly's eyes snapped down to her. She seemed to break out of her daze, remembering her own child that lay on the ground. Reya was mindlessly playing, the infant on her tummy as she shook a teddy in the air. Rose's eyes flickered to the baby too, a smile lifting her features.

Reya was around two months older than the twins, her eyes wide and expressive as she rolled around on the ground. At fourteen weeks, she had grown so much. It was like I blinked, and my niece was suddenly grinning at me.

My eyes drifted to my seven-week-old twins, my heart filling with an odd emotion. The past seven weeks had passed so quickly, it made me fear how quickly the years would go. A heaviness filled my chest, and I cleared my throat to be rid of the emotion.

"So..." I began, and they all looked at me. "Calida, we need all the details. From the moment you woke up."

"I didn't wake up. I was forced awake." She huffed.

I grinned, knowing this was already going to be an amazing story.

***
QOTD:
super random, do you have a favourite candle scent?? I love anything berries