Quaking Vale while wilted roses filled the stage and the thrill is gone

Castel went on to explain that her sickness had been passed down from her mother, and that her mother had perished from it. This set a lump in Niles' throat. Did this mean...? No... He mentally shook the menacing thought away. He never even wanted to think about a world without his Cassie. They were going to grow old together, like his own mother and father, and he was supposed to be the one who passed into the next life first.

She told him about cages, describing it as the most terrible of prisons that Niles had not even comprehended before. A hole was manageable, brambles a challenge, and caves doable if only one waited for the daytime and relied on the natural sharpness of their own vision. Human beings managed these cages, fur-less and bearish and selfish if they sold Castel's siblings to others for what Niles could only assume was personal gain. The idea that Castel had not been sold Niles considered a blessing; if she hadn't, she might not have been given the idea to escape. But, then again...

"...I dug from underneath the cage and got out," how she managed to pull her mate out from inside his own head would always be a mystery. Niles' eyes focused back on her in the present. "Then I found the Lore and you and everything is better now." Her tail wagged and he returned the expression, his own plume half-waving in the air before settling back down. {i}"It's not a fun story, I know."

"No, it's not," he agreed, his voice hushed under his breath. "But, I'm glad you got out." He trailed his tongue over one of her ears. "I just feel so bad that you hurt." A grimace pinched and pulled at his face. "How can i make you feel better?"

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!