[PRP] Good boy? [ Bastion x Yhe ]

[Krysin]

The famine had been hard on the delicate thrall, and she had wasted away to a point where her daughters had risked losing their mother. It seemed as if some will of the spirits (she refused to believe in these Storm Lords) had kept her alive in time for the famine to abate. Over the weeks since its disappearance, her strength had begun to return to her. Yhe was not entirely well, but she wasn't dead yet.

Inside the family's den, two voices could be heard chatting softly. A mother comforting one of her children, tender and loving. Na'ani had... boy troubles, though not exactly the typical sort of trouble that would actually worry a mother over her daughter's well being. She had raised her daughters better than to indulge in dalliances with others. It was clear that Yhe was no Stormborn, and Na'ani was turning out to take too much after her mother. They acted like foreign creatures in a strange land. It was a luxury, Yhe believed, afforded to her by Bast'ion to let her raise her children how she saw fit.

Bast'ion's voice disturbed the conversation, and a moment later Na'ani appeared at the entrance of the den. "Hello, father," she greeted him politely before making her way off into the distance.

In the wake of her daughter's absence, Yhe stepped out of the den. Her ribs were no longer showing, but she still fatigued easily. The expression upon her face was apprehensive - news from Bast'ion was not always... good. He was familiar to her just as much as he was unfamiliar. The male had made an effort to be a good parent for their daughters, and it was more than Yhe would have ever expected of him. Sometimes, however, his judgement was just... poor.

"No, Bast'ion. I am fine - we can talk where ever you please." She couldn't shake off a feeling of foreboding. What male would ever start off a conversation skipping the 'hello' and going straight to 'well I have news'?  

[Krysin]

(posting for Chobi since Gaia is being r00d <3 )

Quote:

The presence of one of the twins, Na'ani' , was an actual surprise to the kirin lion. He blinked as she emerged from the den and greeted him politely which got a kind smile many did not see from Bast'ion.

"Good to see you princess," His voice was hushed and he watched for a moment as she went about her business. His daughters would have to find out they were getting more 'siblings' (though unclaimed) soon and he hadn't thought about that when Rana had been talking about what was to be. Would they be okay knowing they had relation to thralls or would they be mad. Surely, if he was honest there could be no anger.

His attention turned back to Yhe and he felt the sudden need to tell her was evaporating in to thin air now that he was eye to eye with his mate. There was a mental scramble to grasp at the confidence that was once there and keep it from completely deflating but it was hard and now the words were twisted inside of his heart on their death bed now that her eyes were with his.

The look of horrified guilt on his features may have been an indication what ever he had to tell her he was having second thoughts on and that it may not be favorable news. For some reason the words in his heart had taken root of his entire nervous system and he found, at least in this fleeting moment, that he could not move but only look on in to Yhe's eyes in engulfed terror that had not quite been there before.

 

[Krysin]

It was not good news.

She could see the expression upon his face, that muted horror at having to reveal something that was better off as a secret. He had done something, though what it was she could not fathom. During their time together he had been more loyal to her than she imagined he had ever been to anyone else. But, he was a broken creature. Yhe was no fool, she knew this and even tried to understand it. Her patience with him had been unwavering despite all that he had put her through. She was sure he still did not understand the gravity of his actions... and a part of her knew that he likely never would.

Yhe knew that the life she lived here was relatively good only because of Bast'ion. He could be cruel, but it was rarely intentional. He provided her security and sanctuary, and had claimed their children during a time when it was still possible so they would not have to grow up as thralls. They were free to make whatever they wanted out of their lives, and it was the only thing she could truly ask for. The moment her daughters had been born, they had been her priority.

They were everything.

"Bast'ion," her voice rung out, "what is this news you must share with me?" The words were clear, and left him little option of backing down now. Cowardice was not something Yhe would accept from him. She had never accepted his bad behavior, had always tried to push him to be a better lion. Not for her, she had convinced herself she did not need him to be good.

Their daughters did.  

[Krysin]

His words seemed to, for a moment, complete stop the lioness in her tracks. She stared at him, dumbfounded by the proposal. The thrall could not fathom why he would even want to marry her - yes, she was sure he liked her and all, but to want to marry her was an entirely different thing. It was a commitment, in her mind at least, that she did not think he would understand. The customs here were so different from what she had grown up with, and marriage meant something entirely different to her than what it meant to a lot of the Stormborn.

What was worse, though, was when the shock of his words wore off and she realized that this... couldn't be what he had wanted to tell her. Nerves could account for most of his hesitation if he actually understood the commitment. But, he did not, and he could not from Yhe's knowledge of him. She wanted to believe his proposal to be true, because if it was she could allow herself to indulge in that fantasy.

But, he was terribly broken, and she could not spend her entire life fixing him. It was evident that would be exactly what she pulled herself into by emotionally committing to him. He was already trying to deflect her from something else weighing on his mind - how could she trust him?

The lioness sighed, "That isn't what you came here to tell me, though." There was no question, no doubt in her mind that there was more to this. She would not answer his proposal, she was no fool to dive headfirst into a relationship built upon deceit.  

[Krysin]

The curse he muttered under his breath only made Yhe's brows furrow deeper. If her children had been around to hear that language she would have said something, but in this moment it only revealed that he truly had tried to hide something from her. It wasn't a curse uttered out of guilt, but rather out of frustration that he had been caught.

Yhe stood there, waiting with a patience he did not deserve as he explained himself. Her expression was neutral despite the turmoil she felt when he revealed he had fathered cubs on another thrall, Rana. She wanted to feel betrayed, but he had never been her's. The thrall had thought that the entire family was with her on this stupid, foolish mission to turn Bast'ion into a better lion. She had been wrong, if Rana had been inclined to sleep with him and lead him astray.

Ah, hateful, spiteful thoughts. She hated herself for thinking that way, and hated him just as much for giving her the chance to.

Yhe had been the biggest fool of them all for thinking she could teach Bast'ion to be better. She had been fully committed to helping him for the sake of their children. Her patience with him, however, was not limitless. She could not sacrifice her well being for his betterment. She would not. He was the father of her cubs, and he did not have to be anything more than that to her.

"I do not want to be your wife," she told him, the words cold, a reflection of the lioness that Bast'ion had first captured.

No longer would she plunge headfirst into a foolhardy mission to help a lion who did not deserve her aid. Her daughters were old enough, strong enough, to survive in the world they had been born into. She would not play the happily married wife to Bast'ion. It was a game she had no interest in when his loyalty was uncertain. "I will not be a wife to a lion who puts his own desires before his family's well being." The words were scathing, unsympathetic.

She had tried to gently guide him down the proper path, but the training wheels had been taken off and she was done.

"I know many would jump at the chance to escape thralldom, but I will not sacrifice my morals to please you." She was hurt, angry, even sad, but all that was overshadowed by the fact that Yhe had finally given up on him. He had found an act to commit that was beyond the scope of her forgiveness.

"So, go. Tend to Rana, she will need your protection now more than ever, and your cubs with her will need you more. You know how the pride looks down on hybrids. I do not need you, and so that we are clear, and that you do not mistake my words for concern over Rana.

I do not want you." She knew, if he wanted to be near her, she had little choice. But, she also knew she held some fragile power over him, and if there was any time to use it... it was now.  

[Krysin]

She did not care about the hurt expression on his face, even though she knew it was herself that inflicted that pain upon him. Yhe had been too gentle, too patient, and it had been of little benefit to them both. She had been a fool to think that he would display some loyalty to her. Their daughters were barely into their adolescent years and he was already giving into the temptations of another. Yhe had been betrayed - she had been under no illusion that life was supposed to be good here, but she had been under the impression that Bast'ion would try to be better.

"Of course." The words were spoken as if she was miles away, and no matter how hard Bast'ion ran towards her the distance would not close. His protection mattered little now to her. Her body was safe, yes, but what of her mind? What of her heart?

"You are not." He had tried to muster up the strength to apologize to her, but couldn't even manage that. It wasn't as if Yhe would accept it now. Forgiveness was not something easily earned from her, especially when she had never fully forgiven him from stealing her away from the life she had led. But he had never cared for much else but his own selfish desires. She had thought that with the girls he had changed, had learned from them and grown because of them.

Again, she had been proven wrong.

With a sigh, she turned back into her den, allowing Bast'ion to leave to tend to his other, now pregnant, thrall.