Dead Empress Backwater maybe i'll get drunk again [m]

Vayko had smelled it first, the changes in her and for the first time he had felt some measure of feeling towards that smell. Where he had once referred to the women as floozies and failed to understand where his cousin was coming from when he had acted upon it all… now he merely understood. He knew what would cause a man to step forward. So much had happened. They mourned Seraphina’s death… that part scared him, the idea of becoming a father and opening himself up to experiencing that kind of loss.

He saw how the loss of those he loved had fundamentally changed Viorel… did he want to feel that? Did he want that kind of loss to slowly creep into his life and consume him? He wasn’t sure, and yet still, he sought her out by her intoxicating scent, letting it guide him to her. “Clo?: He would call out, almost nervous in his stature… they had spoken briefly about it… but to have this coming out between them? That was something else entirely.

Vayko Valle

She had been lost in her own mind, thoughts swirling around with no apparent logic or way to order them like she normally did. Sephrina's burial had affected her more than she thought it would have, or perhaps it had been due to Viorel's reaction to it all. While two of her own children had left to return to her home and so she knew they were safe and alive, Clover could still empathise with the pain he was feeling. She missed her children dearly, but unlike him she knew she could always see them again in the future.

Vayko's voice brought her back to the outside world, and she blinked a couple times to orient herself before finally turning her head to look at him. A soft smile graced her features upon seeing his face. This may have been her third heat year and so she was somewhat used to the feeling of the burning and itching beneath her skin, but this time it felt a little different.

Sensing the nervousness coming from him Clover moved closer to silently embrace him, gently pressing her cheek into the soft fur at the base of his throat. A soft sigh left her lips, feeling more calm than she had been since the news of Sephrina's death.

"I'm glad you're here," she murmured into his fur, inhaling the scent that was just intrinsically Vayko. She was not sure if she would have been able to keep it all together as well as she had been doing if Vayko hadn't returned when he had.

He could handle the crisis of whether or not he would be a good father later… it was a road for him to walk down a different day. She would move forward, and he would feel the heat flush through his features when he caught that intoxicating scent, and when her body pressed against his. In that moment, he was both relieved and regretful of his return… perhaps if he had stayed gone, all of the bad in their lives might not have happened… and yet he didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world at this moment other than by her side.

“I’ll always be here for you.” No more extended trips outside of the territory; no more wandering off or throwing fits about whether or not he should be a leader. There was her, and right now there was only her.

The hardest pill there was to swallow was this: he hadn’t returned for the Backwater. He hadn’t even returned for Vi or his children… nor his father nor aunts or uncles or sister… no, he had returned for her. He had come back to her… no one else. He might never admit it out loud, but deep in his heart he knew it to be true.

Vayko Valle

His words comforted her; she was trusting him to stick to them. The emotional turmoil of him leaving for longer than expected, not knowing if he would return, was too much to handle for her. She wanted to know there was stability in their future. Seeing Viorel's reaction to Vana's disappearance was enough for her - she didn't want to be the one on the receiving end of that.

Clover pulled back just enough to look up into his golden eyes.. "You promise? I don't think I could bear raising pups without you by my side." It had been different back then with what had happened between her, Viorel, and Vana, but looking back she realised she had missed the comfort of a dedicated partner. While Viorel had been there for her, it was different between her and Vana, and Clover wanted more.

She nuzzled up against Vayko's face, breathing in his scent and softly kissing the furred skin of his cheek and muzzle. Without warning Clover darted backwards, dropping down into a play bow with her tail swishing behind her. Lips pulled back in a grin as she invited him closer with a series of soft yips. She was ready for the next step in their relationship, but a partnership involved both agreeing to the terms, and if he accepted she would gladly go the distance with him, wherever it ended up taking them.

He meant every word that he said. He would be there for her; it would take an act of fate or god to pull him from her side. He had made that decision the moment he had chosen to cease his search and return home… home, it was truly where the heart was. And in that moment, and for quite some time, his heart had been with her.

She pulled back to meet his eye, a soft smile on his features as he offered a comforting nuzzle. “I promise. I will be here every step of the way.” He hoped to be a good father; he hoped that his children would like him, that he would not be too harsh or too strict, or the opposite… but only time would turn tell.

He could not resist the smirk on his features as she darted backwards, lowing his front half as he prepared for a playful pounce in return. They had come so far from when they first met… largely due to the angelic grace she had faced the entire situation of the Backwater’s first year… and he was relieved that their lives had taken them down this path. He would gladly close the distance.

Fade

Vayko Valle

(This post was last modified: Mar 27, 2023, 01:02 AM by Vayko.)