A Birth day

Ruby smiled to Angus as he thanked her for the soup and she nodded " yeah definatly is the type of day for it" she said as she sat and ate her own listening as he spoke to Victor and the girls. she looekd wrried at Anise who smiled to her and placed her hand on top of Rubys.

"not been in a white out before?" Aria asked and saw her shake her head " nothing to worry about, been in many myself" she said and Ruby relaxed at her words. Listening more Ruby was glad that Anise was a seer and had seen how bad it was going to become. One thing she was not happy about was going to be the high winds she never liked them and the distruction they caused. Hearing Angus talk about Jack she nodded hoping he could get the word to the pack to get inside and batten down for the night.

Jack had seen the skys and smelt the cold shift in the air, He grabbed his thick coat and snow boots and slipped them on. Porting to the long house he saw piles of wood outside and several young men sat beside it " might want to get that inside" he told them but they didn't move and he growled at them making them jump to their fet and start moving the wood inside. Stepping in he looked to find Fenrir and he did sat by the fire " snows coming, bad one might want to make sure the pack are stocked up" he said and dropped a burlap sak he had been carrying " dry goods and meat for the pack, should se you threw the night but make sure your young'ns bring the wood inside as gonna be a white out" he told him as he looked from Fenrir to the others sat around the fire.

"We'll be fine, Ru," Angus said. "Consider it a good excuse to stay inside by the fire and assemble jigsaw puzzles or read."

"Muggles watch movies, I'm told," Edward said. "If the wind allows, I bet we could apparate over to the main house and go down to the home theater, but I certainly wouldn't try it when the wind is strong. It mucks with apparating and porting both. It wouldn't do to have bits of you blown clear to Scotland, would it?"

"Hardly," Angus laughed. "You'd just send me to go fetch everyone's missing bits and bring them back. If we get enough snow, we might be able to go have a proper snowball fight when the weather clears."

"I've always wanted to do that, with a proper snow fort."

"You've never?"

"Not much measurable snow in Tuscany, Mate, you know that," Evan said.

"There is if you go up in the mountains," Angus replied.

"Why would I do that?" Evan frowned.

"The boy has never understood that you can't stay down on the southern coast and expect to make snowballs in 27 degrees," Edward laughed.

"Robert is perhaps half a notch ahead of you," Fenrir told Jack. "There is a store room at the far end of each longhouse. They were the first things equipped when the longhouses went up. I think we could be snowed in here nigh onto Spring and might still have provisions. The storeroom in this longhouse has a large refrigerator and a freezer filled with food, and there are shelves of pantry goods, blankets, medical supplies, candles, lanterns, clothes, and all sorts of things. It is making me think. Perhaps, as much as we want to be living the nonhuman life that we believe we are entitled to live, perhaps we do need to reconsider the tent life in favor of some longhouses of our own, if only for the winter months. Let's be honest. Werewolves have not ever lived to become elderly, until perhaps now, and largely with the assistance of supporters like Lupin. Now that we do have some who are ageing, I need to consider some elements of compromise. Our pack would not have survived if not for the alliance between your people and my pack. Once again, we are in your debt."

Ruby smiled to Angus and nodded as he spoke to her saying they would be safe during the white out. Aria chuckled and nodded as they spoke of a snow fort " oh that would be perfect" she said " hay, if theres enough we could make two, then it would be boys against girls" she said and chukled.

Jack gave a soft chukle as Fenrir said Robert was one step ahead of him and he nodded setting the bag down next to an elderly woman who took it nd put it in the back " he usualy is , think of it as an added extra to make sure your pack will be fine until the snow storm ends." he added as he warmed himself by the large fire " your looking better by the way" he added looking at Fenrir as he stood. " if you need any help send a message and Jessie or I will be here no questions asked " he told him before placing his hands in his pocket and porting back to the main house, more so the barn to start bringing in the animals ready for the snow that he could see hitting the mountains.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll have enough for that," Angus said. "Besides, what use is one fort anyway? Unless you girls need us to spot you thirty or forty points?"

"The only ones who will need spotted any points will be the guys," Anise said. "Oh, and nobody putting rocks in the snowballs."

"Absolutely not," Angus agreed. "No safety risks. However, this really will need to be after the snow stops falling."

"We'd better go back," Ginger told Anise quietly, "or we won't get back to work on time." The girls excused themselves to pack before their lunch hours ended and went down to their room. Angus got up and cleared the table and as he was setting leftovers on the counter to be stored for the fridge when he saw the supplier arriving with a massive load of supplies. A crew of four men got out, and two began unloading supplies for the main house, and two more started unloading things that they were bringing to the duplex. Angus put on a suede jacket and went out to help them carry things in.

"I'm feeling better, and, from what I hear, so are most of the pack members. Pack members have a theory about this, and I can't dismiss it. They're feeling that James' boss--that nutbag you lot are trying to catch might well have done this to try to eliminate us so that we could no longer be any sort of a threat to James. That sort of behavior--allowing humans to fight your battles for you--is as shameful a move as any of us could think of, but then again, James never shows himself to be a man of any sort of honor anyway--not that I have room to talk about honor."

Ruby listened to the others talk and chuckled but nodded when they said no rocks in snowballs " who does that" she said and looked to Angus " never heard of any one putting roks in snowballs thats just barbaric" she said as she stood and picked up the empty remaining bowls and plates to take them to the washer in the kitchen.

Jack stood and listened to Fenrir and chukled " well they have it right , it was her , but don't fear she and her husband are currently in the hands of the minstry for tampering with potions and assault on Angus Donohue." he said then he sighed and looked at Fenrir." I cant say i am a fan of your past miss doings but, recently your doing good by your pack and thats what matters, you'll be remebered as some one who thought of others before them selves , I know your thinking of the pack and keeping it strong, its how we think and your doing that by doing whats best, James isn't and will never have what you have." he added he walked over to the large doors and paused " its why I will never call him brother, but you gladly" he said turning to look at him.

"There was always one bully who needed to try it," Angus shrugged, "especially when they got competitive."

"Was that where you got that big shiner that one winter?" Edward asked.

"Nah," Angus said. "The snowball with the gravel in it hit me in the side of the head, and I wasn't having it. So, I started a fistfight with him, and the shiner came from him hitting me. Believe me, though, he got the worst of it. And--I was seven and he was eleven."

"You beat an eleven year old when you were seven?" Marcus laughed.

"He did," Edward laughed. "That part I remember. His dad came over to complain to me because Angus gave the lad a broken nose and two broken fingers. I put it to rest pretty quickly, when I brought Angus into the room and his dad saw that Angus was only seven and was half his son's size. That shut the boys dad up pretty darned quick."

"And it was the end of packing gravel in the snowballs for that kid," Angus laughed.

"Where'd you learn to brawl like that as a little kid?" Marcus asked.

"The men in my village," Sergio said. "They believed that if Angus was going to go out werewolf hunting with Edward, Angus at least needed to know how to defend himself, so they started teaching him to brawl really, really early."

"Thank you," Fenrir said. "As we grow older, our priorities see to change, especially when your kind rarely lived, in those days to even reach thirty. In fact, I'm not far from living over three times that long. I can't afford to live by the same code I did then. I wasn't a saint then, and I'm not now either, not by human standards, but I'm not looking to pick a fight with a human either."

Ruby chuckled then looked to Caprice wondering if she would end up in any fights just like her father. " so if Caprice gets into fights I can say she got it from her father then?" she said with a chuckle waiting to see what Angus would say about his daughter in fights " or would you teach her the right way to fight."

Jack smiled as he listened to Fenrir and nodded to him as he walked back to him. " afraid none of our kind can, and I am no saint either before I met Robert and Jess, I did things I'm not proud of but I put that behind me with the help of good friends and a strong pack." he chuckled and as he looked at his watch " I should return the snow will hit once it gets dark, please make sure the pups get everyone inside and warm." he said and gave a short bow to Fenrir in respect as he then left threw the doors to port back to the main house just as he felt the snow start and the wind dramatically pick up. Walking in he smiled seeing Jess start a fire in the fireplace.

"Entirely," Angus said, unashamed. "I'll be teaching her how to brawl at the same time I'm hoping she never has to use it."

Fenrir nodded, watching Jack leave. After Jack left, he mustered up his strength and got to his feet and went through both longhouses, doing a check of who was inside, to see if anyone was missing. He counted two young boys missing, and he sent out two men to get them and bring them back inside. He himself told every pack member they were not permitted to go outside now til the storm passed. He stationed men at the longhouse doors to make sure no one left. Some of the younger members of the pack had not weathered such a storm, and he was not about to lose them because of their ignorance.

Outside, Angus was finishing helping the delivery crew unload their provisions, as the storm hit hours earlier than the forecast had predicted. The temperature was getting butterly cold, and the wind was starting to increase, as big flakes of snow started to fall. Angus was glad to see the provisions crew head for home. Angus came in and shook snow off his jacket as the girls came upstairs, their bags packed.

"It's here," Angus looked at Evan seriously.

"It's not supposed to be here for another five hours," Evan jumped to his feet.

"I'll get our bags," Tara said, running full speed over to Edwards to get their bags from the guest room upstairs. Ana ran with her to go get her bag and Sergio's knowing they had to get back home to their kids.

"None of you are going back to work this afternoon," Angus said, to the kids. "Forget it. The snowstorm is already here. It's not going to be long before it's too dangerous for you to be outside. Sam, Victor, say your goodbyes to Anise and Ginger. They have go--right now before they can't port."

Not having any privacy here, Sam and Victor spoke in near whispers to Anise and Ginger and gave them kisses, as Tara came back with her bag and Evan's.

"Grab your bags, Girls," Evan said. "We've got to go." They obeyed, now looking frightened.

"Hold on tight," Tara told them as the girls grabbed hold of Tara and Evan.

"I'll message you by floo when we get there," Evan said, knowing Angus was going to worry about them porting in these kinds of conditions.

"You'd better because if you don't, I'm coming to find you," Angus said. Evan nodded, understanding. "That goes for you too, Sergio. You let me know you and Ana are safe at home when you get there."

"Of course," Sergio said, as Ana arrived back with their bags and tucked herself tightly to Sergio.

"We'll talk to you in a moment," Evan said, drawing his portkey, and then they ported out.

"Travel safe," Angus told Sergio. Sergio nodded, and he and Ana ported out.

"I'll go tell the main house that our kids are safe inside," Edward said. He went over to his own living room and opened the floo and got Kate.

"You all safe?" Kate asked.

"Yes," Edward said. "Angus saw the storm coming and decided not to let the kids try to go back to work after lunch. The girls just left with Evan for Tuscany, but the rest of us are all present and accounted for."

"That's a relief. Robert just asked me about the kids. I was just going to try to call you to make sure you were all safe," Kate said. "And the provision suppliers got out in time?"

"They did, with not a minute to spare. Angus helped them unload, but we're all good now."

"Keep us posted if you need anything," Kate said.

"Certainly," Edward said. The floo snapped shut again.

"So, this is how you clear an entire house in under a minute," Marcus laughed.

Ruby laughed and smiled looking at Caprice " good , becuse I would not want our daughter to not know how to defend herself." she said then watched as Angus walked out only to return with snow on his coat and shoes. She heard him talk to the girls and sighed , walking over to Tara she gave her a hug " send me a message when you can and your both welcome here any time" she said then went to Sergio and Anna and did the same " be safe " when she saw the girls return with coats and bags she gave each a hug and smiled " write often okay" she said softly to them " and remeber Evens word is our word , okay" she spoke softly as she stepped back and watched them leave now hearing the house a bit quieter than it had. " its going to be quiet with out the girls" she said softly a she went to put the kettle on for any one who wanted a cup of tea or coffee.

Jack heard the floo and walked to whre he ehard voices. " I checked on Fenrir's pack there all set and inside he said they would not go out until it was over" he said threw it before Kate closed the floo. " he's looking his age" he said to Kate " but still has Alpha status" he added with a smile.

Angus tossed a couple logs on the fire, as the house quieted. He could hear the force of the wind now hammering against the glass in the floor to ceiling windows by his chair, and he knew it hadn't even gotten started good yet.

"She'll definitely know how to defend herself," Angus said.

"If I know Angus, that girl will be a force to be reckoned with before she goes to Hogwarts," Marcus laughed.

"Of course she will," Angus said. "Why would ever I let her go to live someplace out of my eyesight for seven years and not know how to protect herself? One thing I never really understood about Harry's years is why would all these presumably omnipotent adults who believed they needed to know what was going on in every inch of that school at all times never bloody bothered to show up when the worst villains in the wizarding world were trying to take over the wizarding world? Where the hell were all these wizards that supposedly were some of the most powerful wizards in the last century? Nowhere to be seen. What was up with that? They just left three little kids try to find a way to save the world. Arsehats, all of them. I realize James and Lily weren't around but if that ever happens to any of our kids, I'll take the school apart stone by stone if I have to in order to get to the kids."

"Of that, I have absolutely no doubt, but if that happens, you can count of me being right with you," Marcus said.

"You're a glutton for punishment," Angus laughed.

"Haven't you heard? The job description for anyone who would put themselves in harm's way for someone else actually is a glutton for punishment," Marcus laughed. "That's the real job title, Mate." That made Angus laugh. Edward returned.

"Kate says everyone is all secure in the main house, and they're glad you didn't try to send the kids back to work," Edward said.

"He has a good excuse for showing his age. If my math is correct, Fenrir will be 79 this year," Kate told him. "You do realize that there are almost no other werewolves on record who have lived anywhere near that long. Prior to the discovery of wolfsbane by Damocles Belby, a werewolf had no choice. They transformed every full moon, and the fact is that, as Robert tells it, the physical wear and tear on the body at changing the entire shape and physiology of anyone's anatomy, and doing it every month, causes horrendous damage over the years. If a werewolf wasn't hunted and murdered because of his curse, he died relatively early because his body just couldn't handle the curse anymore.

"Robert has immense respect for Fenrir these days," she continued, "because by rights he should have died around the same time as the second wizarding war. Don't mistake that he still has a bit of bitterness for biting Remus, but that was many years ago, and Robert has discovered that holding onto bitterness quite literally can become toxic. He's worked hard to stay in the present and not to let his anger at what happened to Remus all those years ago cloud his judgement about what happens today. Besides, if he doesn't stay focused, he could lose the chance to observe perhaps some important medical information that might, someday be of benefit to you or Jessie or the kids or some other werewolf. And that just isn't who he is. Besides, Fenrir does seem to have mellowed, and, even so, he still is fierce enough to cause some true terror in your brother's heart, and for that, I will always be grateful."