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Part Four: Meeting The Ambrogio's

Nora and Angelus; accompanied by Ignazio, entered the kitchen where Celestina Guido was hard at work. Upon hearing the kitchen door open, Celestina looked behind her and smiled when she saw them enter.

"Buon giorno" She said in the same language that Ignazio; and his family so far, had spoken in.

Celestina Guido is a twenty seven year old female husky, she has the common gray and white fur that most of her breed have along with stunning crystal blue eyes; eyes that looked for perfection and detail in what she did for she was an artist. She was wearing the typical white clothing that chief's wore; complete with the chiefs hat and a cooking apron to keep her clean of splattering food as it cooked.

"Buon giorno to you too Celestina." Ignazio said as he took a seat at the kitchen table.

"What can I prepare for you sir?" Celestina asked.

"Well you can just warm up what you made for breakfast for the others since I missed it due to business, but her" Ignazio said and pointed at Angelus "She will need specially prepared meals for a little while, right Nora?"

As Ignazio said this Nora walked up to Celestina with a smile and handed her the instructions that Elio had written down for her to add to Angelus' food. She said "Aye that's right sir." as Celestina looked through what Elio had written down and nodded before looking at young Angelus.

"So what would you like to eat then?" She asked Angelus in a friendly tone with a smile.

Angelus had the 'deer in the headlights' look on her face after being asked what she wanted to eat. After all the closest she came to eating something she wanted was when her and her friends had stolen food on that shuttle craft. She had no idea what to say; she didn't think she should be asking for anything after being kindly brought into this home.

Seeing the indecisive look with uncertainty on Angelus' face, Nora made a suggestion for her "How about homemade pancakes with butter and syrup and a side of bacon, does that sound good Angelus?"

When Nora spoke up and suggested pancakes, Angelus' stomach started growling and her mouth started salivating. Angelus looked up at Nora and quickly nodded her head; which made the adults laugh. Celestina then started pulling out the needed materials and turned on a stove. While it warmed up she quickly went to a special cabinet and pulled out a few things like vitamins and nutrients that were on Elio's list and when she started making the food she added them to it while at the same time she warmed up the breakfast that Ignazio missed.

A little while later had Angelus eating fresh homemade pancakes. There wasn't too much because if she ate more then she could handle she'd end up sick and possibly throw up; causing her even more harm. She surprised the adults however, they had stopped looking at her for just a few moments and when they looked at her again she was already finished.

With a smile Celestina gathered the dirty dishes and started to wash them right away. Ignazio was finishing what he was eating while Nora switched on the news on the kitchens vid-screen; similar to a holo-screen only it showed televised events. Again Angelus was captivated by the technology present here in Vento. Though; while Angelus was captivated by the actual vid-screen itself, the adults attention was on the news that what was being shown on the vid-screen

"... Cold front came through last night bringing with it over six inches of snow. Current temperatures are at a record breaking thirty one degrees Fahrenheit dropping the record nine degrees from forty degrees Fahrenheit set back in August of 217 A.E." A young Doberman who was the weather man said as he showed the weather movements on the screen behind him.

"It's predicted that there will be another three inches of snow by tomorrow morning and then a warm front will come through and melt some of the snow away, so try to have some fun while it sticks around... oh... now over to Alyssa with the latest breaking news..." The Doberman said as the screen switched to a mostly black image.

The image was mostly black except for a large free floating structure. The structure itself looked like a large circle; almost like the front end of a bike, it even rotated on an axis like a wheel. And like a bike, it had two forks that attached to both sides in the center of the circular structure and ran parallel with it until joining a little distance from where the circle ended and formed a tower of sorts. On the bottom of the screen there was a message saying 'SPACE COLONY MX#467-5' and in the top right corner was the word 'LIVE'.

Just a few seconds later there was a large bright light emanating from the side of the colony just before a large hole formed in the side of the structure. The screen then switched to a view inside the colony. There was plant life everywhere along with buildings and other structures built on the 'floor' of the structure. The floor was really just the side of the wheel part of the colony which showed easily by the way this part of the structure curved.

Smoke was rising from several buildings as the camera switched to other camera views in the colony showing several large fires and destroyed buildings. One camera even showed a whole section of the colony being sealed off to prevent the air and anyone inside from venting into space. People could easily be seen moving about, some that looked like civilians and others holding weapons and firing at one another. Just then the screen changed to a view where a newswoman; a mare; Alyssa who the Doberman mentioned, was sitting comfortably behind a desk and in the corner of the screen was the shot they had just seen.

"And now for an update on space colony MX#467-5; or more commonly known as the space colony 'Lilium', it seems that a mafia war has started up between two rival mafia factions that were present on the colony. We are unsure as to which mafia families are involved in this war at this point but... hang on... I'm getting confirmation from my boss... yes one of the families; which seem to be the ones who started the fighting, are the Giraldo's.

"Many people know of the Giraldo's; who originated from Bellum, as a fierce, cruel and unforgiving mafia family. They have started several mafia wars in the last fifty years. Law Enforcement and government agencies have been unsuccessful in halting the advancement of the Giraldo's; with their superior firepower and numbers.

"It is reported that their latest movements have placed them in Dormio, it is unclear how the two top mafia families are viewing these actions..."

The vid-screen was turned off and Nora, Angelus and Celestina looked at Ignazio who held the remote to it. He looked at them before saying "It's such a nice day, why spoil it... we don't need to be watching that right now."

Just as Ignazio said that a person stepped into the kitchen dressed in a suit and had salt and pepper colored fur and hair. He was a mink and was up there in years; about sixty or so. He was just a butler and was delivering news.

"Master Ambrogio, I have news from Damiano. He says that he will not be able to attend the formal dinner tonight due to complications between interests of yours and problems concerning those interests and the..." the butler was saying before he saw Angelus "New members of the community" he changed what he was going to say.

"Ah... thank you Franco." Ignazio said; for more than one reason, then sighed in frustration.

"Also, Ghiaccio Cuore is here to see the young master." Franco added.

"Oh, go ahead and let him in." Ignazio said in his usual calm voice.

Franco exited the room after bowing, once he had left Angelus looked up to Nora who was sitting next to her. "Um... Nora, w-who are the people he talked about?"

"Well Ghiaccio, or Ghia as he sometimes goes by, is Durante's friend." Nora said with a smile.

"Damiano is my brother and a... business partner as well." Ignazio said.

"Oh... what do y-you and y-your brother do?" Angelus asked.

Already having answered the question before for official records, Ignazio said in minor detail and practiced ease "We invest in other businesses and gain profit by helping them grow and expand, do you understand?"

"Uh-huh" Angelus nodded to his question then asked one of her own "Your b-brother is the gray wolf standing n-next to you in that painting in the hall right?"

"Ah I see you saw the family portrait. Si that was him a couple years ago. Hmm speaking of the family how would you like to meet them?"

Angelus looked up at him and nodded her head slightly; a little nervously, at him to which he chuckled. Nora then asked "Would you like me to go and get your family sir?"

"No that's okay Nora, I'll lead Angelus around for a while and show her the manor and the manor grounds and introduce her to the family as we come across them." Ignazio said before he finished the last bite of the food he was eating.

"Well sir if you're going to watch her for a little while, there are a few things I could go take care of and get done now." Nora said to which Ignazio nodded as he took his dishes over to where Celestina was washing them.

"Go ahead; I'll summon you when we're done." Ignazio said to Nora as Celestina quickly grabbed the plate in his hand and started washing it "Ah Grazie Celestina." He said to her to which she just smiled and nodded.

"Well Angelus, Shall we?" Ignazio asked in a polite tone of voice to which Angelus nodded and followed him out of the kitchen.

****************************

Durante had finished playing the violin for the day and had gone back to his room. His room was large and circular. It was located in the west wing of the manor and had a great view of the manor grounds. It was on the third floor; above the library on the second. There were large curtains and drapes on all the windows but were currently open and letting in the sight of the manor grounds covered in snow.

On one side of the room; the southern side, were several stands with the violin he was using, cellos and saxophones on them. On another side of the room; towards the north facing the back yard, was a large desk with papers and pencils spread across it from Durante's private school. On the west end of the room sat a large comfortable bed against one of the few spots in the room where there was solid wall just as the east end of the room was solid wall where the door was.

Durante sat on one of the window sills facing the back yard; behind his desk with school work on it. The window he was at was open and was letting in ice cold air; which Durante loved as long as heated air was behind him. He was leaning against part of the window while reading a book. He took in a deep breath and sighed as a gust of cold wind blew through the window.

He tried again to read the book he had but his mind kept thinking about the young girl he saved the night before... and what he did to the rat that had raped her. He sat the book down and brought his knees up in front of him before crossing his arms and resting them on his knees before resting his head against his arms. He and his family were religious and the fact that he killed another person was weighing on him; even though he killed that person because of what he did... even if he didn't mean to kill him. Durante was still in that position going over that night over and over again and didn't notice his door open.

A small figure made his way into and across Durante's room; he stood at four feet five inches tall and had yellow eyes with vertical-slit pupils. It was his brother like friend Ghiaccio. He was a silver fox; having black fur all over his body that shined a slivery color in the light, but he had one unique physical characteristic in his fur.

He had several rustic red furred stripes that started up on his right shoulder and crossed his chest, stomach and back down to his left. These stripes also followed the direction on his arms as well. These unique stripes are due to a crossbreeding further up his family tree that just happened to present themselves in him.

He was wearing black steel toed boots, black cargo pants, a gray long sleeve shirt and a black jacket. His short black hair was simply combed and primarily looked like a short ruff of fur on his head but was indeed hair. He came from a more militant family and all the members of the family kept their hair short.

Ghiaccio walked up to Durante's side and leaned against the wall next to him and waited for Durante to notice him. A couple minuets went by and Durante still didn't acknowledge Ghiaccio being there. He even sighed and still Durante didn't hear him; he was wrapped up so much in his thoughts that the outside world had been drowned out.

"Man, what's wrong with you Dante?" Ghiaccio asked, snapping Durante into the real world.

"Ghia? When did you get here?" Durante asked in surprise.

Ghiaccio chuckled and said "Magic"

Durante laughed at what his friend said and shortly Ghiaccio joined in. After a few moments Ghiaccio asked "So really, I've been here for a few minutes standing here. What's up?"

"Oh... well... I was just thinking about what happened after I left your house last night." Durante answered with a sorrowful look on his face.

"Oh... what happened? Anything good... maybe, perhaps, possibly?" Ghiaccio said with a smile and humor in his voice.

Durante didn't respond the way Ghiaccio thought he would, the look on his face became worse as Durante said "Last night I... killed someone."

Ghiaccio's smile disappeared and he blinked a couple times before saying "You... killed someone?"

Durante curled back up into the position he was in before Ghiaccio entered his room and said "Yeah... I killed him because he raped a little girl... I didn't mean to kill him though."

Ghiaccio listened intently to what his friend said and asked "What happened to the girl?"

"Nicolai and I brought her home... we had a conversation with my dad then I helped one of the maids carry her into a spare room." Durante answered.

"Was your dad angry?" Ghiaccio asked.

"Thankfully no but... I learned something about him I didn't know before." Durante said on a positive note.

"Oh, what's that?" Ghiaccio asked as he sat down in the chair by Durante's desk.

"How he met my mother... she was being mugged and Nicolai suggested that she would have been... raped. He charged in headfirst and killed them for what they did." Durante told him from the position he was in on the window sill.

"That's kinda cool actually." Ghiaccio said.

"Yeah... I guess. Then again you think of killing as sport." Durante said with a slight smile.

Ghiaccio laughed as his tail flipped from side to side "What can I say, it's in the blood. You know how my family is." He said and laughed some more.

"Yeah, a bunch of cut throat mercenaries... or solders... or federal agents, depending on the generation as you've told... pretty much anything dealing with war." Durante recalled.

"Cut throat mercenaries!? ...Why thank you for the complement." Ghiaccio said; at first sounding as if he was offended then sounding happy.

"I swear you're one of the strangest friends I have." Durante said with a smile and shaking his head.

"What ever do you mean? I'm just a normal twelve year old fox and a student at Saint Vincenzo's Private School with my friend Durante Ambrogio." Ghiaccio sarcastically said.

"I guess... thanks Ghia." Durante said.

"No problem bro." Ghiaccio said as someone knocked on Durante's door.

"Come in." Durante yelled.

His door opened and a little female wolf entered his room. She skipped up to where Durante and Ghiaccio were sitting and placed her little paws on the edge of Durante's desk and stared at both of them. She didn't say anything; she just continued to stare at them.

This was Isabella Carmina Ambrogio; Durante's little sister. She had gray and white fur all around her body and had light brown colored hair. She was about to turn ten years old and her eyes were brown and they looked down on others as if she thought she was a goddess; thinking everyone was below her and that she could tell them what to do.

She was currently wearing one of her more expensive dresses; already getting prepared for the formal dinner that would be taking place in the evening after Durante and Isabella's Aunt Elena and cousin Liliana showed up as well as other guests that their father had invited.

"Why hello there Isabella." Ghiaccio said in a seemingly polite tone of voice.

She scowled at him and said in almost a hateful tone of voice "Why are you here Ghiaccio?"

"Isa please, he's my friend and can come over anytime he likes." Durante said to her.

"Shut up Durante, I asked him the question." She yelled at Durante who just held up his paws as if giving up but had a smile on his face.

"Oh so refined you are your elegance. Hey Dante, isn't she just a little princess." Ghiaccio said in a mock tone of voice and was joined in laughing by Durante.

"Hmph" Isabella just crossed her arms, closed her eyes and looked away.

Ghiaccio looked over to Durante quickly and signaled him with a look. Durante quickly nodded his head and smiled as Ghiaccio stood up from the chair and walked in front of Isabella's face so silently even Durante; who was watching Ghiaccio, didn't even hear him move. Ghiaccio got within centimeters of touching his nose to Isabella's and then loudly yelled "Boo!"

Isabella's eyes snapped open and she jumped back; nearly falling over in the process. After regaining her posture she said "Ghiaccio you're such an ass."

"Isa!" Durante said in a raised voice, then smiled and added "That's not the proper language a little princess uses."

"You're an ass too Durante." She said as they laughed.

"Watch your language Isabella!" Ignazio said from the open door as he watched what was going on "Durante, Ghiaccio... I've told you two before not to egg her on."

"Yes father." Both Durante and Isabella said followed by Ghiaccio saying "Yes sir."

"Good... now I think it's time to introduce you all to someone." Ignazio said as he stepped into the room followed by the little arctic vixen.

"Oh... she's up." Durante said in a relived voice.

"Who's she daddy?" Isabella asked in a pleasant tone, but her eyes said different.

"Well, go ahead." Ignazio said in a calm and reassuring voice

"I-I'm Angelus." Angelus said.

"Buon giorno. Nice to meet you Angelus, I'm Ghiaccio Acciaio Cuore... you can call me Ghia."

Ghiaccio then looked at Isabella and bumped her in the side to get her to talk. She gave him an angry look before politely saying "I'm Isabella Carmina Ambrogio." Though the look in her eye said she was looking down on Angelus as if she were a lesser person before she decided to leave the room with her nose raised in a snobbish manner.

Angelus watched the way Isabella acted and grew a sorrowful look; feeling sad that Isabella didn't care at all who are what she was. She then looked at Durante and said in a shy voice "You m-must be D-Durante?"

He smiled and nodded his head as he said "Si, my full name is Durante Raffaele Ambrogio. It's good to know you're alright... I've been worried since last night when you passed out."

"I'm doing b-better since the visit with t-the doctor; E-Elio I think his n-name was." Angelus said after remembering his name as a relived look come over Durante's face.

"Well I take it you'll be fine here? You've yet to meet my brother, his wife Elena and their daughter Liliana. Though Elena and Liliana will be here tonight even if my brother isn't." Ignazio said with a smile.

"Uncle Damiano won't be coming tonight?" Durante asked with a little surprise in his voice.

"No business called him away... will you be alright Angelus?" Ignazio said in his calm voice.

She looked up at him and with a small smile said "I'll be a-alright."

"Okay then, I'll take my leave. Boys... Angelus." Ignazio said and waved as he left the room.

Once Ignazio left Ghiaccio and Durante quickly looked Angelus over from where they were and Ghiaccio said to Durante "You didn't tell me that you saved a beautiful vixen!"

"I didn't save her because she was beautiful; I saved her because she needed help." Durante said.

"Now that's something rare in this city." Ghiaccio said and laughed before adding "If you'll excuse me."

Ghiaccio then started heading towards the door with his paws in the pockets of his cargo pants. Angelus watched him as he headed out of the room and Durante asked "You're not leaving yet are you?"

"Bathroom!" Ghiaccio called out as he exited the room. Both Angelus and Durante watched as he exited the room and turned the corner before looking at each other.