lupei
What the truth is, I can't say anymore
Though her quip about a lonesome pregnancy is meant to be taken lightly, it strikes like flint against his steely heart. If he had known … But that was a cop out. He should’ve been there, Should’ve helped her when she struggled the most. A shocking realization snaps with clarity into his mind as her nose brushes near to where the lion roars - Zojja could have died. He assumes this is her first (a little presumptuous, but Zojja does not seem to be a mare who spreads her affections so carelessly as he) and the first time for any challenge is never easy, nor straightforward. While he’d been out recklessly ruining a quarter of Beqanna, she’d been privately waging her own battle. He sees her anew now, blue eyes widening with a respect he’s never given. Zojja was as powerful as they came.
And out of all the suitable matches she could have made, she’d chosen him.
Her eyes flicker warily to the ground and Lupei notices that without even trying, almost on reflex, she’s made her own adjustments too. Having to keep up with these two certainly didn’t seem like an easy task, much less on one’s own. There’s a moment of unabashed humility, Lupei’s own pride diminished by his selfish absence. His mate shifts also, completing the change as effortlessly as breathing. The boys are rambunctious, and her divided attention is understood. Yet, it doesn’t keep her from trying to make up for lost time. Her nose traces small paths against his skin, the flame bending to his will and away from her without much effort on his part.
“You think so?” He murmurs, eyes wagging roguishly. Her compliment eases the initial hesitation he’d had about showing her, causing the brightly-colored male to lean slightly into the pressure of her touch. It’s only in this moment that her words waft gently up to his waiting ears. A half-smile pulls at his lips, head turning to the side so that he can bump her gently against the cheek. “I’ve missed you more.” He states, bold in his affection. There was no sense in trying to cover up what they were both well-aware of. Zojja deserved that, at least. He settles then, happy to enjoy the general moment of solitude between the four of them. The boys have grown tired of the two cooing doves, straying away to pick at each other and any other living thing that was dumb enough to allow them to wander close.
“I’ve been thinking.” Lupei begins, after the moment has passed. “Not a very safe thing for me to do, I know, but I’ve been thinking all the same.” He chuckles, letting the sound vibrate through his chest. “I don’t see enough of you as it is, and with our sons in tow something tells me you’ll need another pair of eyes to keep them in check as they grow.” He sees so much of them between the two colts. Wyrm would be a handful at the least, and Kudu would need someone as clever and adept as his mother, not reckless like himself. “I want us to have some semblance of home. Somewhere that we know is ours. I don’t care if it’s the Chamber - if the kingdom life makes you uncomfortable, I won’t push you. We could have a herdland, there’s plenty that have gone untouched for years now.” He rambles, his ideas running away with him.
But he breathes, deeply, gauging her face for any sort of negative reaction. Perhaps she’d enjoyed the solidarity, maybe she could only handle him in small doses. But for Lupei, only seeing her on occasion was almost never enough to satisfy him. He smirks, ears turning aside from one another in a ridiculous fashion. “Who knows? If you please me enough I could be persuaded into making you lead mare.” The blue-green brute laughs. Of course, he’d never tell her, but she probably already knew the conclusion that he’d come to himself some time ago. His bachelor days were through. It was hard to even think of another creature that could come close to the one that stood before him now.
