A Birth day

Ruby listened to Fath and Edward " Edwards right we all have our on strengths and weaknesses, I'm not that good a fighting but can cook , Angus can cook up a fantastic meal and can fight " she said then looked at Edward " Kate is good with animals and is a seer , jess is a healer and seer , were all diferent in our own ways but we all pull together and make a full team" she said " you'll find your place when the time is right , Robert told me that when I joined." she said and smiled.

Jack nodded to Kate " yeah, I could carstrte my brother twice" he said and glanced back at her as they walked . Reatching the area he stopped " this is where the cub was" he said motioning to the ground that still had some blood on it." he turned and whistled to Pip to gather the high up tokens catching three that pip dropped into his hands.

"She's right," Marcus told the girls. "And its perfectly okay to know how to do several things. Most of us know how to do several things. Some of us have learned one skill and then changed jobs. My own belief is that as long as you're alive and breathing you should be learning something."

"I really don't want to go to school forever, though."

"Doesn't have to be school," Edward said. "You can learn to do a lot of things by reading books or by having a friend or a family member teach you."

"I guess that's true," Faith said.

"Like how we've always wanted to know how Ruby makes those huge cinnamon rolls," Evie grinned. "Those are amazing."

"I can't say as I disagree with you," Kate said. "I'd have done it a long time ago if I thought it would stop him, but I don't think he'd quit being stupid." Kate looked around and saw no signs of any other cub or of the mother. "I can only guess that the cub strayed from the litter or that the mother ran off when the cub was trapped. Poor little bloke. And look at how many tracking coins he's planted. He clearly want to get in any time he wants. You know, I'm wondering something.Jack, what would you think would happen if we set a variation of an age line around the estate. One that would allow everyone who is currently in to stay in, but would keep any other werewolves from being able to enter the estate grounds during the full moon? That would foil any thoughts he had of bringing that sort of brute force in. Suppose it might work?"

Ruby heard Evie and chuckled " well I learned that from Angus, but I'm sure can teach you, I always think the point of living is to learn and teach others." she said smiling glancing over at Angus and Caprice together. Jack listen to Kate nd nodded as she spoke.

" looks it and could work just to stop him for now" he said taking out his wand " you think the two of us could cast such a spell?" he asked looking around and up into the sky at the already cast charms and slell dome above them.

Robert finished the last of the surgery, and he sighed unhappily. He looked at Jess.

"I hate having to do things like this," he told her. "I've done about all I can for right now, but he's going to need some very close care for a bit. He's in serious condition, and he's really weak. I think he'll probably live but this sort of cruelty is something that James does just for amusement because he has no compassion at all. I've cast a strong pain relief spell on him and a strong sleep spell. For now, I don't want him donig anything but sleeping. He lost an almost fatal amount of blood, and I have a replacement spell in place to help him with that. I'd prefer we not overlaod his system with food for now. When we do feed him, I've got a recipe that will be gentle on his stomach but will give him some high nutrition. I'll give that recipe to you in case he just gets entirely too restless without food, but if you do feed him, I'd rather you give him a bit, let him rest a little, and then give him more if he's still not satisfied. For his age and size, he's probably needing a couple of cups of food for the entire day. He'll need to be carried outside to relieve himself, and he'll definitely need a soft pillow or bed to lay on. I can help with his care, but I presume you and Jack will want to do most of that yourselves. If you need me or Kate to help, just speak up."

"I think its definitely worth a try," Kate told Jack. "Let's go get the hippogriffs. We'll take to the air, fly, start at one point on the property line, go separate directions casting the spell, and we'll meet in the middl at the other side. You comfortable with flying, I presume?"

Jess stayed with teh cub abd helped Robert with the surgery " its not a problem I can stay and look after him" she said monetering his vitals as if she would if he ws a human."Okay , I can fetch one" she sid and accioed a large soft cushion with a light blanket to place over the pup. " James has a lot to awnser for " she said gently stroking the pups head " harming something so young and depriving it of a mother."

Jack looked at Kate and nodded " yeah couldn't harm" he said and whistled for the birds to follow him back to the barn. He sadled two hypogriffs and handed the rains to one to Kate and lead another out . " yeah I can fly" he said and chuckled " not as good as Angus but yeh" he said climbing up on its back. " lets get thsi done" he said and moved out into the yard so it could head into the air. Taking out his wand he glanced back to wait for Kate " when your ready just say and I'll add to the spell" he said to her.

"You're welcome to take him up to your room if you like," Robert told Jess.  You really don't have to keep him down here unless you prefer to. Take him wherever you and Jack are comfortable.
Since he's sedated he isn't going to want much of anything. When we can start letting him wake, I have a calming potion I can give to him for a little to help him to not be so frightened around humans at first. But he's little enough that I think he'll adjust pretty quickly. I'll order a prosthetic leg for him, but hes not going to be able to wear it for a couple weeks anyway. If he's on a flat surface and he's indoors, he will be able to walk and run as a three legged wolf, without his leg, but I would suggest that you have him wear it outside since the surfaces are not promised to be smooth and steady. When an animal has this sort of an injury in early life, they very often adapt pretty readily, as if they had always been that way. So we'll just see how he does."

"Thanks," Kate said. She bowed to the hippogriff and greeted it with a warm petting and some kind words before she got on. "Alright. When we get in the air, I'll cast the spell, and then we'll have to continue it while we draw the line all the way around the property lines. We'll have to make sure they connnect here and then on the other side, to make one uninterrupted line. And then we'll just have to wait and see, I suppose," she said to Jack. She nudged her hippogriff twho rose up high in the air. She focused, created the wording of the spell carefully, and then cast it and waited for Jack to join his energies wth her spell so they could draw the line around the estate.

Angus walked outside after lunch, letting the women talk, and Evan went with him. They took a look at the sites where Angus was thinking of planting his fruit and nut trees, and Evan saw Kate and Jack, flying in opposite directions, with sparks coming from their wands.

"What are they doing?" Evan asked. "Do you know?"  Angus looked and watched them for a moment.

"Spellcasting. Protective spell of some sort. Doesn't look like a grid. Looks more like an age line or something," Angus said. "They're drawing a spell line around the perimeter of the estate."

"Continuing a spell that's already been laid ,or some new spell? More security?"

"Looks like an extra layer for some reason," Angus said. "I'm sure we'll find out why."

"Suppose we need to be at the ready?"

"I don't know," Angus said. "To a certain extent, we're always at the ready, I suppose."

"How do you have any normal life at all, then?"

"It isn't as complicated as all that. Not normally," Angus said. "Most days, its just work, kids, repeat. And then every now and then there's a little thing to take care of so it's all routine again for awhile. You'll get the gist of it."

"I hope so," he replied. "You know something? I learn so much when I'm with you. I have my nice, little peaceful routine in Tuscany, and then I come here, and it's not just more alive, its electric. It's vibrant."

"A good reason to come here, then."

"No," he said. "All of that, it's incredible. It really is, but I don't come here for that. I come here for you." Angus didn't reply for a moment.

"I'm glad," he said quietly.

"Me too."

Jess smiled and nodded as she held the wolf cub in her arms " thank you and I'll make sure he wears it while out side" she said softly " I have just the place he can rest ." smiling she headed to their room and found a nice soft small bed for him and lay him down in it and smiled seeing him snugle into the blanket. Jack watched as Kate introduced herself to the hypogriff and then mounted it flying up to be next to him.

" got it" he said and cast the same spell moving his hand so the arch would join hers in strengthening the spell as thy flew. " I do hope this will work Im tired of that twerp geting onto our land" he said to Kate as they flew making sure th spell was in place.

Ruby watched as Angus and Evan walked out onto the porch outside to talk " hes a good fighter Evan" she said to Tara ," you okay with him fighting like he is?" she asked "its going to be hard when he comes home battered and bruised both pysicaly and mentaly" she said and looked towards Angus " but I guess with a good suport they will get threw." she added and looked to Tara.

Kate nodded. She was tired of everything that had anything to do with James. In fact, she was tired of 40 years of the Geldings, and she was far more tired of Suzanne than words could express.

"I've got half a mind to go another lap around and change the spell to keep everyone off the estate that doesn't already live here," Kate told Jack. "Some of the people here just need a little peace."

Tara listened to Ruby talking about the realistic consequences of being married to a fighter.

"Well, I've seen how battered Edward's been over the years," Tara said. "I saw him one summer between our fifth and sixth years at Hogwarts. Angus, I think, had just graduated  and had only been home a couple days, and he had gotten word that Edward was coming home from a mission in Germany, in the Black Forest. The problem with it was that Edward hadn't even been gone twelve hours. Evan and I were at the main house when Edward arrived in the middle of the night. Must have been 2 or 3 in the morning or something. He had brawled with a werewolf, and the werewolf had chucked him off the edge of a ravine down onto the rocks below. He was, literally, a bloody mess. Barely crawling, he was. Axe was dripping, and he couldn't tell us whether the blood was his or the werewolf's. I dont' know how he wasn't clawed or bitten either one. But, he had a lot of open wounds from getting cut on the rocks, several broken ribs, and a broken wrist too, I believe.

"Rosaria and Carlo patched him up as best they could till daylight and they summoned a healer from someplace or another. Edward was laid up for a few weeks, and Angus went back alone to finish the mission. Evan offered to go, but Angus refused to take him because he was only fifteen, I think.  So, I've seen all sorts of these Donohue messes, enough to know exactly what I'm getting myself and the girls into. If this had been back when he and I first got married? No way. I wouldn't be ready for it. Now, though, I'm a lot stronger than I was. And the girls are learning so much by being around your kids and around the rest of the people here. They're getting stronger by the day. It's good for them, I think. Edward said Angus believes that your kids need a very realistic view of how dangerous our world is and how to face it head on. After what I've seen, I think he's right. I don't need to see the worst of it to know that."

Jack chuckled and nodded " I agree they all need a break from gelding and suzzane and my brother" he said as they flew to complete the spell " we could do a temp spell just for a night?" he sugested with a cheeky grin.

Ruby looked and listened to Tara and smiled as she spoke of the boys and girls " yes, yes they do, there strong and will be great fighters, even this little one" she said and motioned to Caprice " shes hit her mile stones early, every one of them" she said as Caprce sang hr one and only word over and over again. " I guess we love our men and are strong enough to fight at their side so we acept what they do and how they return to us, no matter the state." she said hrn smiled " guess we do love them til death us do part."

"I might just do it," Kate said. "The team that went to New Orleans is tired, Jack. They saw things and fought things that are not in the sort of magic we see here in this country. They could use one full moon with no sounds other than crickets."

They were close to completing the spell, and as Kate flew to join her spell with Jack to complete it, she saw, in her half of the estate, the silhouette of a smaller wolf, and it was standing alone in a clearing, and Kate heard it giving a mournful cry. She made a mental note of where she'd seen it, and when she joined the two spell lines together to make a complete loop, she looked at Jack.

"Jack, I need you to go check, on a smaller wolf. Its two or three acres almost straight west of where you found the cub. This wolf is standing out there alone, but it's whining, Crying. Makes me wonder if it's perhaps the mother of the cub we rescue. We can't take the cub back to her. If we do, the cub won't survive. Do you know any way to reassure her or something? It certainly sounds like a mother's grief to me, but I could be entirely wrong."

"You know," Tara frowned. "you just reminded me of something, Ruby. When I got pregnant with Evie, I wanted to do a baby book, but I had no idea how to do it. Edward loaned me Angus's old baby book that Caprice kept because she had done such a spectacular job with it. It just occured to me that I still have it. I completely forgot. Its tucked away at home with a few of the girls' baby things that I kept. I should get it out and give it to you and Angus. You mgiht like seeing it. She did just a superb job with it. Pictures and memories, and little stories, all sorts of things. You can see he was certainly the joy of her life in those years."