It didn’t take long before the three of them arrived in Moonwood Mill. Moonwood Mill itself was a small town, sparsely populated mostly by werewolves, but it was in a much more populous area than Willow had ever lived in. People traveled to and from neighboring towns regularly for all sorts of things, including school, which excited Flora, who would be going to a much bigger school now.
Willow, meanwhile, was desperate to see Conor, but responsible enough that she wouldn’t try to do so until Flora had been successfully enrolled and sent off to school.
“You’re excited for school?”
Flora grinned up at her. “Yeah! It’s a brand new school, so I can make new friends!”
“Alright, off you go!”
And with that, Flora was sent off to school, and Willow and Skye set off to visit Conor.
-------
The pack alpha, a friendly man named Kristopher Volkov, met them at the door and led them to the back garden. He, like Willow, was holding a baby. The babies stared curiously at each other.
Kristopher told the story of his pack as they walked through the large house. “This is a place for the lost and unwanted. We take them in and try to teach them to control their inner wolves.”
He smiled sadly down at the baby in his arms. “Some, like little Anna, come younger than others.”
He looked back at Willow. “Others, like your partner, are referred to us by their former packs. We take all sorts, although not all decide to stay. I’m glad you’re supportive of your partner’s journey.”
Willow nodded, eager to see Conor now that they had finally made it through the house.
Once they’d reached the shed, she finally saw him. She barely noticed when Kristopher made a tactful retreat.
“Conor!”
He smiled at her. “It’s so good to see you. Everything’s been so strange here… seeing you is something familiar.”
Willow nodded, then held up the infant in her arms. “This is Skye. Our daughter.”
Conor walked over, reached out, then hesitated. “Can I hold her?”
“Of course! Just be careful with her.”
“I will.”
True to his word, Conor held Skye like she was made of glass. “Nice to meet you, Skye,” he whispered.
He looked back at Willow. “I like her name. It goes with Flora, too. I’m guessing she came with you.”
Willow nodded. “She’s at school right now.”
She smiled. “Flora loves Skye. She’s been incredibly helpful with her.”
He looked down at Skye with a complicated expression. “She’s beautiful. I never thought…”
“How have you been?”
“It’s hard. Exploring the world was always my dream, but I always thought I would have my pack to come back to every time I returned. Now that they’re gone, I feel like I’ve been set adrift. My anchor is gone.”
Willow took his hand. “I’m still here.”
“I know, and I’m so grateful, but it’s not the same. The Moonwood Collective has been lovely, but… I still feel so lost. I guess that’s what the mandatory adjustment period is for.”
“Adjustment period?”
He nodded. “I have to stay here for a while with minimal contact with the outside world. This… is so I can see you once before I go into seclusion.”
He looked down at the baby. “And so I can meet Skye.”
“We’ll still be here when it’s over.”
He smiled. “I know. I’m sorry for asking you to wait for me again.”
“I’m used to waiting.” She smiled. “But this is the last time, got it?”
“Got it.”
--------
Flora was more nervous than she let on to go to a new school. She hadn’t really had any friends at her old school, and this one was even bigger, and all the other kids had been going to school together for years.
She introduced herself to her classmates, she did her best in class - took notes, answered questions, and was generally alert and attentive.
She was expecting to eat lunch alone, but to her surprise, she was approached by two girls at the beginning of the lunch period.
“Your name’s Flora, right?” The blonde girl sat down in front of her.
“That’s right. Sorry, I don’t remember your names.”
The blonde girl smiled. “I’m Elsa.”
The other girl spoke immediately after. “I’m Nanami.”
The two girls looked at each other, and then Elsa said, “We want to be friends with you.”
Flora was skeptical. “Why?”
“You seem smart and hard-working! Too many of the kids here don’t even try at school.”
Nanami shrugged. “My mom says I can’t be friends with delinquents.”
“How do you know I’m not a delinquent?”
Elsa answered. “You knew the answers to all of the math questions this morning, so even if you’re a delinquent, you’re a smart delinquent. I’m okay with smart delinquents.”
Nanami smirked. “Like Max?”
Elsa turned bright red. “Shut up!”
Flora leaned forward. “We can be friends. So who’s Max?”
Nanami pointed him out. “Elsa has a crush on him.”
“I do not!” Elsa looked at Flora. “But… he’s cute, right? Don’t you think he’s cute?”
Flora looked at him. “He’s kind of short, isn’t he?”
“He is not short! It’s normal for boys to be shorter than girls at this age!”
“But you don’t have a crush on him, right?”
Elsa blushed again, and Nanami laughed. They were friends from there on out.
Author's Note: And that's the chapter! First chapter back with pictures, although it's definitely more text-heavy. I'm still getting back into the swing of things with screenshots and such, so picture volume might be inconsistent for the next few chapters (or, you know, the rest of the generation... who knows?). Anyway, I've got a couple of chapters still waiting for me to format them, so expect to see those in the not too distant future. Willow's (abridged) plotline will wrap up in the next few chapters so we can focus more on the kids - sadly, not everything I had planned for Willow is feasible with the game switch, but the kids will get very fleshed out storylines before the heir poll! I'm excited, none of the kids got as much attention as they deserved last generation (the curse of the 5 kids roll) so you guys should really be able to form your opinion on who you want as heir this generation. Next time: Skye is adorable and Flora totally has her trauma under control!
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