Salene and Ryan's Sitting Room:Salene and Mouse (and a sleeping Ryan)

[_salene_]

Salene walked away from Moon's Room, shaking her head. It had rubbed her the wrong way that Danni was insistent on being voted back in, sure she'd once been a leader here in the Mall, and of course she was always headstrong and about doing what was "right" by others, but they had a system, it was one both Salene and Amber, the leaders of the Tribe

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[_salene_]

Salene's heart broke, but it was still pounding in her ears, something that always happened when she was nervous or confronted by something she didn't want to deal with, confrontation. It made the throbbing behind her eye hurt more, and she put the book down and pressed her palm against her eyeball, as if holding it in place would make the hurt less painful. She sighed softly and pulled Mouse into her lap sideways, hugging her tight and rocking a bit. "She's not my daughter, you're right, and I'm not her Mommy, but she thinks of Ryan as a father," she tried to explain, it was just so confusing. "I don't know how to explain why she calls me Mommy, it threw me for a loop yesterday, honestly," she continued to rock a bit.

"My little Mouse," she said softly, closing her eyes and remembering the day she found her, sick with a fever leaning against that wall outside, and then once she'd gotten better and settled in, the fights to get her and Charlie to tell her their names, to put on clean clothes and wash their faces, to even eat! Now she was so much bigger, rambunctious, and so much more dependent on Salene. She wouldn't have cried back then, she wouldn't have cared, she didn't even mind sharing Salene with Sammy, but now, it was different, wasn't it? Things were different. "You are never going to be replaced, not ever, you have grown in my heart, you are mine as long as you'll let me keep you," she promised, kissing the side of her head gently and hugging her again. "I know you miss Pride, I'm really sorry he hasn't come to visit, or written a note, and I know he misses you too, I'm sure he's thinking of you every day," she promised, though she couldn't promise that it was true, she knew in her own heart that it was. Pride and Salene had played at Mother's and Father's with Mouse and Charlie and Sammy...he had to be aching in his heart, missing them as much as they missed him, she just knew it, even if he didn't miss Salene at all.

[tribal_mouse]

Mouse listened to the explination. It was similar to what both Willow and Anna had told her. Flower considered Ryan her father, Ryan and Salene were married, so Salene should be the mother. Mouse understood this, she just didn't want to. It meant that she would have to share Salene, and she wasn't sure she wanted to share her with six other kids. Mouse wiped at her tears. Salene had always taken good care of her, when she was sick and when she wasn't. Maybe Flower needed someone to help take care of her too. Mouse frowned and felt worse. She really was being selfish.
It did make Mouse feel good to hear that she wasn't going to be replaced, it put her a little at ease with everything that was going on around her. Everything was changing, quickly. She was finding it hard to keep up with everything. The kidnapping. Pride left. Ryan came. Ryan's kids all showed up. So many changes. They left her head spinning. Mouse gave a huge sigh, and smiled when Salene kissed the side of her head. Things were going to be ok, she was sure of it. If only things would calm down a bit... She thought tiredly. Mouse rubbed at her eyes tiredly. Reaching up, she gave Salene a hug around the neck and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry for being selfish Salene. I just..." She ran out of words. Mouse had no idea how to explain everything she had just thought through. "I understand." She finished lamely.

[_salene_]

Salene closed her eyes and smiled, "No, you're not selfish, Mouse, you're just, just, a kid, it's normal, I'm sorry you've felt like you'd be replaced. We've talked about it but I know how you feel, believe me I know," she'd been the youngest of 3, and nothing she'd ever done had ever gotten her the affection she'd needed, nothign she did was good enough, and she often felt replaced by her sisters accomplishments, their ribbons and trophies. It would feel different to be replaced by someone and not just something, Salene just felt horrible. "Well at any rate, you're my Mouse, and yeah we've got a Flower now, and I guess she's kind of like my daughter, but I don't really know her do I? I've still got to get to know her, no amount of names will change that, just because she calls me Mommy doesn't take away from the fact that you...you're like a daughter to me," she hugged her again, reaching over and picking up the book. "Here, let's read," she began, trying to change the subject quickly, beginning to read, making sure to change the voices with each character, yawning the more she read, why was she suddenly just so very tired? Wake up! she commanded mentally, shaking her head and reading some more.

[tribal_mouse]

Mouse leaned back against Salene, her head resting on Salene's shoulder. While Salene read, Mouse could feel the vibrations. It made her giggle a little. She thought over what Salene had said. She was just a kid, and these feelings were normal? It wasn't selfish? So, why did Mouse feel bad about it... Salene had called her her daughter, except this time Salene wasn't stuck down in a big pit, just sitting here reading Mouse a story. The grin widened. As Salene read, Mouse continued to think about it. Fiddling with her necklace, she finally found her voice, "So..." Mouse paused, took a deep breath and said it in a rush, "If I'm like your daughter... does that mean..." Mouse got very quiet... "that your kinda my mother...?" Cause I consider you one... Mouse thought but did not say.

[_salene_]

""Not I," said the pig." Salene said in a deeper voice than usual. ""Then I will do it myself," said the little red--" Salene paused, blinking, but her smile spread, and she didn't know what to say. Should she make a big deal out of it or just be cool and keep reading?

"Well, sure, I mean, I mother you anyway," she gently tapped the end of her nose, winking. "If you want, I don't mind," she added, shifting the book and clearing her throat, continuing to read in her normal voice.

"The little red hen worked from morning to night cutting the golden wheat with a scythe in her beak and threshing it with her wings. When she finished harvesting all of the wheat, she put the wheat carefully into her bag and loaded it onto her wagon.

The little red hen looked at the wagon filled with wheat and asked, "Who will help me take the wheat to the miller so that he can grind the wheat into flour?""

[tribal_mouse]

Mouse grinned to herself. That wasn't so bad. With a smile, she listened to a bit more story. "Then, if Flower can call you mommy..." Mouse let the rest hang in the air. She just couldn't get it out.

[_salene_]

""Yes, surely," said the miller. "This wheat will make enough good flour for bread for all your chickens."

The miller ground the wheat into fine flour and put it in a sack. Happily the little red hen set out for home in her wagon, for now she had a large sack of flour to make bread."

Salene stopped reading again, her smile hadn't left her face, "Then you certainly could call me Mommy if you wanted to, mhmm," she agreed to her silent question. "Whatever you're comfortable with Mouse, though," she nervously fiddled with the edge of the book, shrugging, "I'd kinda like it, if you wanted to, I mean," and with that she pressed her lips together nervously, continuing with the story.

[tribal_mouse]

"I would like to!" Mouse all but screeched. Though this sort of thing didn't really warrent loud screeching, Mouse thought it should be a more quiet conversation. But she couldn't help it, she was just too excited. " I just didn't know if you wanted me to." She said, regaining control of her voice pitch. "Because you said that when Flower called you that... it... um...." She couldn't remember the word. But Salene would understand, or so Mouse hoped. "So, I didn't know if you would want me too." Mouse breathed out in one sentence. She was so excited. Her grin was wide and it made all the earlier problems of the day seem small and insignificant. Then Mouse realized that she'd interuppted the story again. "Sorry. You can finish the story. I'll be quiet." She said and with a smile, leaned her head back onto Salene's shoulder.

[_salene_]

Salene giggled as Mouse excitedly explained how she was feeling, it was hard not to feel happy at her happy outburst, she didn't even interrupt her because she didn't want it to end, to see her so exuberant after everything. But she had to put a finger to her lips, "Shh," she giggled out, "Ryan's sleeping, remember?" She didn't really care, he needed to get up, and he was surely used to kids being loud and rambunctious, but she didn't want to be rude either. "Well I don't mind that Flower does it, I understand why, but it doesn't feel as real as...as having you say it would," she added with a shrug.

Salene had been a mother to two other little girls, now grown and old enough to care for children of their own (heaven forbid), but they had never called her Mommy or Mom, it just wasn't like that with Cloe and Patsy, they were too old for that. Salene knew that Mouse was special, you didn't find a lot of kids her age around, people had to take care of them when all of the adults died, and though she knew that Mouse and Charlie had been the prisoners of a Tribe that had kept them as slaves at some point, she liked to believe that before that, before they could remember, someone like Salene had taken care of them and kept them alive through everything. But now that was Salene's job, at least for Mouse, and she refused to let herself think of Charlie right now.

""I am quite sure you would, but listen to this: I found the wheat. I planted the wheat. I tended the wheat. I harvested the wheat. I took the wheat to be ground into flour. And I made the bread.

All these things I did by myself. Now my chickens and I will eat the bread all by ourselves!"

And that was exactly what she did. "Cluck! Cluck!" She called her chickens to help her. They came and eagerly ate the bread with her. There was nothing left for the others."

Salene finished the story, she'd been pretty much done with it before the Mommy talk reached it's end, and she closed the book, leaning forward to put it on the coffee table. "What'll we do now? I'm kind of tired, actually," she said with a yawn, snuggling her head against Mouse's.

[tribal_mouse]

Mouse smiled at the end of story and stifled a yawn. The day had been filled with too much already, and it wasn't even lunch. Mouse looked around the room. Ryan was still sleepy quietly on the bed. Salene and her had the story, and there was still time before lunch. Mouse tried to hide another yawn. She didn't usually get tired during the day, nor did she usually take naps. But it seemed like a right good idea to take one. Giving Salene a sleepy smile she said, "Maybe we should all take naps." She said it as a joke, but Mouse was serisouly considering asking Salene if she could take one.

[_salene_]

Salene smiled back and yawned again, why was she so tired? Groaning at the end of it and rubbing at her eye she nodded, if Mouse was suggesting a nap, maybe they should take one. Mouse hardly ever took naps, every once in a while, so Salene knew if she was suggesting it that maybe they needed it. She poked the end of her nose, however, "What're you so tired for? You had lots of sleep last night didn't you? I put you to bed after dinner," she leaned back more into the couch, resting there, hugging Mouse to her. "Maybe we can go crawl in bed with Ryan for a bit," she said it almost as a question, well it was a thought, the bed was more than big enough for the three of them, and cuddling up next to his warm body sounded really nice right about now.

[tribal_mouse]

Why am I so tired? Mouse wondered to herself. "Just so much going on, I guess. Know what? I helped Tatty, Anna, and Willow with the laundry this morning. Well. I tried to help. I wasn't much help." She smiled, "But they were really nice to me because I was feeling down." Mouse looked over at Ryan at the suggest and shrugged. "Wouldn't he mind?" Napping was sound more and more appealing to Mouse. Another big yawn that had her eyes watering. "I'm just so tired." She mumbled, starting to drift where she was.

[_salene_]

"That was good of them, I'm proud of you for helping and for them being so nice," she said softly, stifling another yawn herself. "No, he won't mind, I told you he'd be fine with you coming to sleep with us if you're scared or need me or something," Salene couldn't even think straight, she was mumbling and drifting off herself, something about holding Mouse was comforting, the weight of her against her body there on the couch. "Come on then, let's go take a nap," she agreed, finding the strength within herself to sit up and place Mouse on the couch next to her instead. She pulled off some of her jewelry, and her choker, and left them on the coffee table, slipping out of her shoes. She stood up and held out her hand, leading Mouse to the bed. Pulling the covers down, she sat Mouse on the edge on the otherside from Ryan and pulled her whale shoes off before crawling in next to her, beside Ryan. She pulled the covers back up and turned on her hip, facing Mouse, pulling her close in a hug, "Sweet dreams," she whispered, her feet searching behind her for Ryan, entwining with his legs, glad to feel the warmth of his body behind her, his weight in the bed, and Mouse in her arms. She was safe now, no one could hurt her as long as she was here with them, and no one could take her Mouse, either. Salene drifted into a light sleep, dozing easily, relaxing into the pillows.