Ike was absolutely ashamed of herself, first not taking up Ashen’s mantle after her mother was forced to step down and then secondly allowing Ashen to fall when Chimera was no longer able to lead. Her family was homeless now and it was all her fault. She just couldn’t step up and take her rightful place as leader. Despite training and readying herself her whole life, Kiyohime couldn’t make the cut even when everything rest on her shoulders.

She had gone into hiding, she didn’t want to look anyone in the eye that she had let down. Her mother, her siblings, her younger siblings. She even had trouble with her dearest love Remus. However, he had remained faithful to her no matter what. Despite not having their grand wedding, Ike would consider him her husband just by the sheer fact of time they had been together. She couldn't have been rid of him if she wanted. And she certainly did not want to be without him. He was the only reason she had gotten out of bed in the days and weeks following the pack’s fall.

She looked up to him now, finding all her strength lay in him. Her past her future, he was everything. Ike had to be better and do better, if only for him. "I’m so sorry.” She whispered softly that night as the moon’s light filtered through the leaves of the palms above them. Shame and guilt ate at her as the feeling of being useless had totally overcome the once princess.

"Kiyohime Shuriken Oritsu Klein"

In the weeks and months that followed the dissolution of Ashen, Remus had fallen back into the role that ha brought him to Ashen from the very beginning–a supporter and lover of his Ike. As much as he was looking forward to ruling at her side and no matter all of the time that he had put into trying to boost her confidence and assure her that she was every bit as capable as any of the rulers that had come before her, he was still far more interested in Ike's well being than he was any bit of notoriety or power. The shame Ike felt at the closure of her family's pack had been palpable so when she fled to hide away from the rest of Ashen's former members he had chased after her and had refused to leave her side. They had found a home away from home in the secluded oasis and it was enough for him to just have Ike with him. No matter how things had gone she was still the love of his life and his whole heart. His wife.

He laid with her next to the water under the leaves of the palms, the moonlight casting various patterns across their forms, and when she spoke her apology he turned his ruby and emerald gaze down to meet hers. He gave her a little smile and tipped his head down to rest his forehead against her own, their horns lightly tapping together. "How many times do I have to tell you that you have nothing to apologize for?" He held like that for a moment before lifting his head to press a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "You are with me. You love me. Anything more than that is extra." It had almost become a mantra at this point and he hoped that one day she might actually believe it.

"Remus Armada"

She didn’t know where she would be without Remus. His tenacity and determination to stay by her side saved her when her whole world was pulled out from beneath her. Shuriken had never been on her own before, she had always lived under Ashen’s protection. She had planned on one day ruling that pack, but it always seemed so distant. Venom was going to rule until she was old and gray, Ike only had to provide an heir, maybe rule for a couple of years.. But then it was all gone.

She had cried so much in the weeks following, she had been so lost. But Remus was there for her, able to guide her when she didn’t know what the future would look like. He was her everything, and that couldn’t have been more obvious than now. She was dwelling again, and even though he couldn’t read her mind it felt like it sometimes as she apologized again. Ike wasn’t just saying sorry to him though, she had let her whole family down.

His loving presence was all the medicine she needed as he assured her, for the one hundredth time, that he was completely content with just her. He kissed the top of her head and Ike whined happily, her white marked tail wagging against his hip as she smiled. He was a balm to the turmoil within her.

"What would I do without you?” She asked softly, timidly kissing his chin. "What are we going to do…?” She trailed off softly. What did their future look like, what was life going to be like going forward? What paths were even open to them? Ike needed Remus to be her stability as her life spiraled in uncertainty.

"Kiyohime Shuriken Oritsu Klein"

Remus chuckled softly as Ike kissed his chin and he tipped his muzzle to nuzzle against her cheek. He liked to believe that she was strong enough and resilient enough to find her own way if he hadn't been a part of her life, but it was hard to say if that was true. He understood her reaction to the falling of her family's pack and how difficult it had been for her to realize she wasn't ready for the responsibility that had been set out for her and it was impossible to say what she might have done if he hadn't kept by her side. Luckily neither of them had to worry about that possibility and they could simply enjoy their lives together and figure out what their next steps would be from here.

As if reading his mind, Ike questioned what they were going to do. It was a question that had come up many times before in the time since they disappeared to recover on their own, but before now he had been too worried about Ike's mental state to suggest anything more than just loving and caring for one another. Just putting one paw in front of the other had been his whole goal as of late. But now that their heads were above water, now that Ike could see the light at the end of the tunnel, he wondered if they should be striving for more.

"I suppose that depends on what you want our future to look like," he mused thoughtfully as he shifted to slip his foreleg around her shoulders, pulling her slender frame into his chest. "We could find somewhere quiet to settle down on our own and continue to live quietly like this for the rest of our lives. We could try to find some of your family here in Boreas and reunite with them to pick back up where we left off. We could pick an entirely different pack to settle into and start fresh. We could even leave Boreas entirely and try to find some of my family back in my homeland." He gave her a little smile and dipped his head to catch her lips with his. "Whatever path feels right to you I'll be right there beside you."

"Remus Armada"

Remus had become her constant, it felt like both yesterday and a lifetime ago that they had met and fallen in love. So much had changed over the time they had been together, and now they were working on overcoming the largest obstacle yet. Her failure to take the throne. She hated thinking about the fact that she had fallen so far. Ike basked in his sweet affection, but they couldn’t stay here forever. She still felt like there was so much more for her to do. Shuriken had missed her birthright, but surely she could make up for that fact somehow.

Her.. husband.. Talked to her softly and supportively. He told her all the words he’d said all over. She knew that the real solution was just making a decision. They could find others of their family… Ike didn’t want to face them again, she was a failure and didn’t want to see that reflected in their faces. There was one that hadn’t learned of her failure. Though he could guess, he wouldn’t have any room to talk.

"What if we go south? What if I want to stay with my…” She didn’t dare call him father, not after he had abandoned her and her siblings without a word. "My mother’s ex–husband in Tojo-kai.”

"Kiyohime Shuriken Oritsu Klein"