Sex: Male<i>"I am the one who was there when you were not,"</i> he had seethed and Borden stared hard into his opponent's face. <i>"I am the man who held your shit together when you had failed. I am the man who would not let her fall, and you did."</i> A growl slipped from Borden's muzzle but he allowed him to add anything else while he tried to recover from the blow. Another strand of encouragement filtered into his ears and jumbled with the rest of the white noise he had been ignoring all this time.
<i>"Be that man,"</i> Kade barked at him. <i>"...the past does not have to define the path of your future"</i> The flame that had been burning viciously within Borden lessened, sending fewer and fewer sparks into the dark. Within a matter of moments the flame itself simmered down into a light as tame as the burning wick of a candle. The twisted mask upon the Lyall's face relaxed and as Kade's tail lowered and his head rose, Borden mirrored his actions with the addition of tilting his head. His own tail slowly arched over his lower back, and again he readied himself for an attack, a scolding or warning for brandishing the gesture.
Kade was right and this had all been his doing. Everything, he realized, had also been rendered complicated by his greed, lust, and envy. His eyes sought the ground beneath his feet until he glanced up with the words he had been looking for in the folds of his mind, <b>"Thank you."</b> He offered a pained smile. This man - Elettra's favored leader, Grizzly Hollow's <i>chosen</i> patriarch, the bold hunter he had seen in the Willows - had kept everything he held dear <i>safe</i> when everything had fallen apart in his absence. <b>"Thank you..."</b>
His eyes, now glossy and no longer blindfolded by his wrath, glanced back into the Attaya's face tentatively. His brows furrowed then rose, rather unsure if he was hearing or deciphering everything correctly. He tensed, acknowledging now the sliver of fear that had sparked at the back of his mind from Kade's outburst. For him to provide an answer or react would probably help clue Borden in on his possible intentions. <i>"What do you want from me?"</i> he had wanted to ask, but he bit back the query; he had called this meeting, after all. <b>"What are... your terms?"</b> he asked solemnly, his voice free of suspicion and crossness.</blockquote>
