Everything had happened so suddenly it seemed. Aesire's death, then Aponi suddenly leaving, and now here she was. Being thrown into a position that more or less seemed cursed. She should have been happy, hell, she should have been well beyond happy. Instead she found herself rather nervous and unfocused. Still concerned with the lack of talking or socialization @Wren was doing also happened to talk a toll on the pale viper. While she couldn't blame him she had the slightest hope he would say something. Do something. Being cooped up all day alone wasn't going to fix anything for the boy or his sister.


Yet it seemed the pale woman wasn't any better herself. Truly the Lieris should be out getting to know everyone better but instead she sulked around the lands only stealing glances at those in passing. Her mind often drifted to Erebos and wondered how he was fairing. Their first meeting had been rather nice, almost a bit flirty too. While the man was handsome in every aspect she didn't know how he felt about her. Nor was Vitani sure about trying to have any sort of romantic affairs at this moment. But if she could have at least someone close. Someone to replace the hole that Aesire had made with her death. Perhaps that's why she found herself thinking about him in so many parts of her day.


Figuring she should at least talk to him about the new ranking situations if nothing else the woman set out in the light rain to find him. Going around the borders first she hoped to find him somewhere out here. She hadn't exactly learned where she could find the older Argyris male but she had ideas of where to look. Perhaps calling out his name lightly into the rain might lure him to seek her out too. "Erebos?"

The weather was miserable, but that couldn't keep him from continuing his duties. It hadn't necessarily been asked of him to be so thorough, yet he felt an obligation to his brother, and by now the fulfilment of finally finding purpose had dug its hooks too deeply within him for a little rain to shake them out. He walked the borders tirelessly, marking the terrain with his scent and his claws to ensure that even as the weather wore away at the invisible fence, it could not be ignored by rivals and foreigners alike.




As he worked, his mind drifted to the most recent shifting in the female ranks. It seemed their numbers were constantly changing, made fluid by constant abandonment. It hadn't been a surprise really, to know that Aponi was less than faithful to Phineas and his land. Truly the only shock to be considered was that she would relinquish her crown. Now, that title lay upon Vitani's shoulders, and Erebos found himself speculating about the pale woman. Their first meeting had been an odd sort of pleasant, but he still didn't know much of anything about her, and when it came to his brother and the children, Erebos would not trust so easily.



When her voice called out to him, he willingly changed his direction to meet with her. It was an opportunity he had been considering seeking out. The man was done allowing his brother to be consistently fucked over by the woman who took residence beside him in the rankings. If Phineas was truly so unable to stop such transgressions, then Erebos would have no problem stepping in and doing it for him.



"Vitani," he greeted when she came into view. "I need ta talk to you about that crown of yers."

The Argyris male she had been dying to see appeared rather timely. Part of her wished to settle down when he spoke her name in those deeply rugged tones. Yet his next sentence brought her to draw in a deep breath and nod softly. "I understand. The change was rather sudden." Ears dared to tip backwards briefly meeting her skull. Partially concerned that one of her only, if not only, friend might be displeased with a crown sitting upon her head.




"What exactly is it about my new spot you wish to speak about?" Maybe there was something specific they could start with. Perhaps her first action, how she was taking the change. Although she also hoped that maybe she would just be getting a simple congratulations and they'd be on their way again. She liked, might even go as far to say she loved, Erebos' company but she wasn't sure she could handle him having a serious conversation with her due to his seemingly stoic and emotionless face sometimes. Surely this was all her nerves just getting to her. @Erebos wouldn't try to scare her or scold her, would he? Half of her was crawling with anxiety while the other half was battling for her to stay calm, regal, and composed.

Her reaction to his demand was not at all what was expected from the vixen. She seemed to be taken aback before stiffening, something being clearly feigned within her demeanor, but he could not place quite what it was. Erebos had expected her to be abrasive, self righteous, something akin to the Aponi she had replaced, and this surprise helped ease the bitter taste from his tongue. Already, without having yet exchanged the words, he was beginning to allow himself to hope that she would break the spell of whores that had paraded up and down the mountainside.

"I'm done watchin' the female leads take advantage of my brother," he stated flatly, inferno eyes carefully measuring the reactions within Vitani's teal pools. "I need to know that I can trust ya, Vitani. That you won't be like them."

It was a different approach than what he had been aiming for, than the one he had been reciting over and over in his head. It was less harsh, but the urgency was there all the same. She had to know, by the tone of his voice and the look of his eyes that this was utterly important to him. Part of him urged him to continue speaking, to further elaborate why he would approach her in this way, but he held it back, choosing instead to wait and see what she would say to that alone. Perhaps it was a test of sorts, though he couldn't even begin to consider what the parameters would be. All that he knew was that her next words meant everything.

A soft sight left her lips. How did she answer this without being too soft or being too bitchy? Taking a second to compose her thoughts the pale woman softly spoke to the Argyris. "I want you to trust me, Erebos. I need you to trust me." Somewhere deep in her mind she knew she would be killing herself mentally for letting soft a softly exposed side to be showing. Yet with @Erebos things seemed to always be different. No matter the rank difference they were on the same level - or so Vitani liked to think so.



Daring to take just two steps closer, closing enough distance for possible contact (if needed) to be made. "If I really had wanted to take advantage of your brother, of the Plateau, I would have done something by now." and you all would know the real me. Her last little, unspoken, sentence ringing somewhere in the depths of her mind. The Lieris was becoming worried now. Concerned that the angry viper in her would show and everyone would disapprove of the real her. It was starting to make her think that things with her would need to change. Alas she felt that she would be disgusted with herself if she allowed a position of power to make her softer and not harder.

Erebos was slowly realizing that he was becoming tired. Tired of living under an umbrella of constant paranoia. He wanted to be able to trust the woman before him, to accept that things were finally turning around for Phineas and his pack, yet fear forced him to maintain his grip on his skepticism. If he let down his guard, and Phineas or his children were the ones to pay for it, it would be the end of Erebos. So many times in his life had he burned up his chances, spitting back into the face of those who had lent them to him. This was his final lease, his last opportunity at salvation, and he knew it. The Argyris brother could not afford to to tire.

Still, her response struck him as peculiar, though he resisted to accept that she was singling him out. After all, why would she? He'd been nothing special to her, merely a friend of sorts. It was dangerous to think otherwise, to consider that he may becoming important to the Plateau's new leader; to consider that she had the possibility of becoming important to him. The thoughts were shoved far away from his conscious mind, disallowed by his drive for self preservation, for already he knew that getting close to Vitani Lieris was to tread dangerous waters.

She stepped closer to him, and he was unable to help but to stiffen, trying his best to keep this from being visible to her. She could not know that she was beginning to unnerve him.

"I can't know that," he murmured lowly, pausing for a moment to mull over his thoughts before pressing onward. "Aesire and Ace, they went behind his back, spat in 'is face so that they could have their lil' family. Aponi used 'im, created that lil' girl to be a tool of guilt, jus' because she wanted the crown. What d'you want? What're you in this for?"

She was embittered by his persistence, but he could not allow that to stand in the way of his quest for the truth. His ears cupped forward nonetheless, allowing her reasons to pool within them. As she claimed ownership of his brother's pack and the land beneath their paws he felt anger begin to simmer within him, and he was forced to grit his fangs so as not to bark back at her and tell her exactly how he felt about that; that this was not hers regardless of the crown she wore, that this was Phineas' and no one else's because Borlla wasn't here. The thought echoed within his own head, clearly and painfully, and the subtle aggression that had begun to seep through his coat melted away. When her teal eyes next found his, they would see that the fires within them had been dampened.

Borlla wasn't coming back. Even if she did, he'd heard enough from Phineas to know that she would never be allowed back within the ranks. She could not reclaim her throne, and so it must be passed to someone else. Erebos could not continue to try and stifle the women that rose to power within the pack, for his nieces clearly were not ready for the responsibility. They needed a female lead. They needed someone to take ownership, not over Phineas but with Phineas, to help ease the burden that rested so heavily upon his shoulders. Vitani claimed to already have everything she wanted. If this was true, then she was the queen they needed.

"I've been a bad brother," he admitted suddenly, tail hanging limply at his back as his ears lowered against his skull. Determination still burned within his features, but there was a softness to his eyes that hadn't been there before this moment. "I wanted ta destroy 'em all, pin 'em against each other, watch 'em knock one another down. I was pissed 'cause of somethin' in the past, and I turned it into one hell of an excuse m'whole life. I could've really done some damage to Phineas. Tried really hard to, and that matters just as much as if I'd been successful. I don' think he knows most of it, but he still let me back in, let me come home to somethin'."

Perhaps she would wonder why he was sharing this with her, and so abruptly, but he felt an impulsive need for her to know why he was this way. To know that it wasn't her fault.

"I'm terrified I'm never gonna be able to pay that back. So that's what I'm doin' here, interrogatin' ya. I'm tryin' to prove myself. I'm not sure if it ever ends, but effort can't be ignored. I believe in ya, Vitani."