Rhyme was 100% alone. He felt weird, Imperia and Solitude had left him that morning with almost no warning and hadn't returned yet. He wasn't sure how to feel about it either, more jumpy mostly. Not having the extra two pairs of eyes made him all the more alert as he patrolled the border. Maybe it was better that way, Rhyme felt like he was paying even more attention to the blustery day.

He was keeping his mind more keenly focused on the task at hand instead of drifting to Shaye. He had seen her appear when Vlad made himself known, but he hadn't been in any kind of position to speak to her since..

That night seemed to flash through his mind more frequently the longer he was away from her. What he regretted most at that moment was the potential damage to the relationship they had before. The shame the memories brought hurt the most. Why did something that felt so perfect in the moment have to be so wrong? Rhyme shook his head as he tried to empty it of that train of thought, which plagued him so frequently. He needed to be thinking about Tana, and the family he was creating with her. If they survived.

That thought hurt too much as well. He groaned as he came to a stop, the turmoil tight in his chest. His ravens needed to hurry back, he was much too uncomfortable in his thoughts.

She wouldn’t say she was ready yet to talk to Rhyme, yet, considering that fact that she was running a patrol of the Rapids, perhaps some part of her must have wanted it. Patrols where the best time to find Rhyme, a time she often ran into him. They were also a natural part of her responsibilities, and she been running them with the hopes of keeping her thoughts clear. That the burning of muscles as she ran would drown out the thoughts. By the time she caught the scent of him, it was too late to stop. Prepared or not, the two where on a collision course, and she managed to slow her pace, coming to a stop not far from her Alpha partner. Was she prepared for this? No, absolutely not “Rhyme.” she said in greeting, a little neutral, no real emotions on her face just yet. She was testing the waters, not knowing yet the full extend of his own emotions. Was he ashamed as well? Did he blame her? It had been her idea to get drunk. The point had been to let him drown his worries for a time, perhaps even think of a solution that would help Tana. instead, the two of them had opened themselves to a world of hurt. Was their feelings between them? Absolutely. Where they appropriate? Absolutely not. "speech"

If he hadn't been uncomfortable before he really was now. Blue and lavender eyes caught sight of her moments before she uttered his name. Rhyme couldn't help the flutter in his heart, but sober he was able to hide it better. Mostly he felt pain when he looked at her, pain because he knew what couldn't be. She looked at him blankly, and he tried to mirror the emotion. Rhyme was an expert at hiding pain.

"Shaye," the last time he had spoken her name he had followed with drunken kisses, now he couldn't be near as sure in his actions as he had been then. "I was worried about you," He managed to say, sure that those words might be safe as he spoke slowly. He wished he could decipher how she felt. Shaye held no clue in her facial features, but he could tell from the imperfections in her fur that she felt just as stressed as he did.

How unprepared she was, became quickly apparent to her as he spoke her name. It wasn’t lost to her, how they had been positioned the last time he had spoken it. Of course, then it had been a breathy whisper, and it had meant so much that it should not have. “I’m.. fine. I just needed some fresh air outside of the pack.” she tried to banish the image of herself, fleeing his side as she awoke in the morning and realised the full extent of their folly. Had he been awake then? Had he seen her form as she fled Abaven like hellhounds had been on her tail? “Are you.. Well?” shit this was awkward, the air between them of everything unspoken. Of memories and emotions. Things had been easy between her and Rhyme, they made a fantastic pair. They had proved it time and time again, taking on threats like crocodiles, facing the world together. How had they let it become so complicated? She didn’t want to lose them. The mere thought of it had air hissing between her teeth. If he wanted to drop his position and leave the pack, it would break her. "speech"

He wanted to curse. How could being in her presence hurt so bad? They shouldn't have to be like this together, they were the perfect partnership and here he was avoiding her gaze. The tension was palpable, like lightning was going to strike the space in between them. "I'm fine." her words brought his eyes back towards her as she explained, and he could see her running from him all over again.

He closed his eyes to try and avoid the image but it only made them more clear. What had they done? Their night had seemed so perfect, but they had ruined everything.

Rhyme took a deep breath as she returned the question to him. He forced himself to find her eyes, but hated himself for it as his heart ripped quietly in his chest. "Better, now that you're here." His attempt at humor was flat, but he felt it convincing enough to hide the storm within. Regret almost stronger than the regret he had for letting himself and Rhythm get captured ate at him. But he didn't want Shaye to see. Everything was alright. he repeated to himself. "Have you seen Tana yet?" Had she already been told about the accidental pups?

They needed a new topic, though talking about the woman was what led him into the messes he'd created. Ruined his relationship with his best friend and he'd gone and knocked Tana up.

His answer surprised her, especially considering the tension between them. She knew he could feel it too, could see it in the way he avoided her gaze, the awkwardness of his stance. When he met her eyes, at last, she could see the pain that was there, within. She knew he was trying to joke, but that fact that he tried at all warmed her. he didn’t hate her there was nothing in his manner that said he wished to leave. He was feeling all the same emotions as her, and funnily enough, it actually made her feel better. “You know what? Me, too.” she admitted, a slight, wry smile lighting up what had before been a completely blank expression. It wasn’t much, but it was something. “Actually… yes. Hmm... “ it wasn’t exactly the best topic changer, and she looked at him a moment, before, somehow, her heart let both herself, and him, off the hook. It was seeing him like this, a regretful mess, and trying to hide it that changed something inside of her. “I can see that you figured out what to do there. Makes a lot more sense then.. Some things.” she let out a soft breath. “Can you forgive me, Rhyme?” she wanted to know “Your my best friend, and I don’t want to do this without you.” she waved a paw vaguely at the pack, indicating Alpha-related things. "speech"

The last thing he expected her to do was agree with his inappropriate joke, but the small smile it gave him was worth it. She cleared up some of the storm clouds, but he knew a lot more time had to pass before he stopped hurting. He managed to let out the breath he'd been holding and Rhyme felt himself start to relax. Maybe they hadn't ruined everything.

She went on after a long pause where the two of them just stared at each other. He didn't know what to think as he swam in the dark blue oceans of her eyes, but recovered enough to listen to her eventual words. He barely held in a self depreciating laugh. Figured things out? Hardly, surely he and Tana's
Relationship would be more complicated with the addition of their spawn. However, it was easier than what he was dealing with here.

Can you forgive me? He felt his jaw drop open as he fell back into her eyes. If anyone should have asked forgiveness it was him. He should have been more responsible, or drank less or.. Kissed her less. His heart broke again. "Only if you will forgive me." He muttered back, not trusting his voice or actions in that moment. "I told you I'd always be here for you." He added as she gestured to their duties. Rhyme meant his words, those and how much he loved her. He would go through this aching pain a million times over to stand next to her.

He didn’t say much, making no further comment on Tana and her pregnancy, he would show his obvious surprise as she asked him for forgiveness, and his voice would soften when he replied, almost a mutter than anything else. “Thank you.” she said, her own voice softening. She wasn’t sure where to take this from here. He had started, with a light joke, to turn things around, but then when she had responded he seemed so cursed awkward again. She wouldn’t realise the emotions he was feeling, that he felt the love between them so much more keenly then she could ever let herself feel them. She scuffed a paw in the dirt, the awkwardness growing again as she let the silence grow between them. “Er, so, did you decide to settle down with her, or was it just a once off thing?” she asked, finding it much more preferable to have the conversation on Tana’s encounter with him, then her own. "speech"

Everything seemed to fall into place for him in those few moments of silence. Realization took hold of him but it hurt much worse than the relief of her words. She didn't hate him, but he hated himself. He hated how strongly he felt for her even now completely sober. Rhyme had opened pandora's box and he had broken himself because of it. He vowed to withstand it though, and keep it a secret. Shaye and Abaven needed him, and he wasn't about to let them down.

She brought up Tana again, and delved deeper into the subject, she was easier to talk about than anything else that occupied his mind. Maybe she could help him see those worries more clearly. "No, maybe, I don't know." He had gotten no where in his quest to decide how he felt about Tana. He knew he didn't feel as strongly for her as he did Shaye, he ached knowing what couldn't be. However he still cared deeply for the freed slave girl, and he would love and adore their unplanned children. "They were a surprise. I'm.. Really worried about them." Some of his swirling emotions shone through, he felt strongly that Tana and their unborn pup's lives were in mortal danger because of their size difference. He might have never agreed to having them if they had attempted to plan.

Her ideals of right and wrong where too firmly in her mind well sober, barriers that her drunk mind could get past, she could never let herself forget now. She felt things for Rhyme, she knew that, but she could also chalk it down to love and support. Of their bond of teamwork, and alpha partnership. She loved him and wanted him by her side, always. But a relationship? Her mind could never let such an idea grow. No, she compartmentalized her emotions for him as something else. She shoved her love for him into categories rather then let it live free. Perhaps that was why she couldn’t understand the pain in his eyes as he looked at her, a pain that wasn’t entirely distracted as she questioned him about Tana. She tried for a teasing smile “You sound about as assured of things now as you did then.” she commented. “A surprise? How did that happen?” she would be curious enough to ask. She was still blocking out the picture of them actually.. Doing anything. One thing at a time, baby steps, and all that. "speech"

he was glad that he couldn't see the same pain in her eyes that he felt. Rhyme didn't want to place on her that kind of burden, he could pursue his feelings for her again. He'd tarnished their relationship enough. She was supposed to be easy to be with, like before. Practically his other half. He'd felt so complete that night.

He let her tease him, even brining out an amused smile of his own as he continued to smother the emotions that wanted to rule him. "The only thing I'm certain of is how uncertain I am." He joked back, finding their easy rhythm making a return as she expressed surprise in knowing his offspring were a surprise.

He peered at her curiously. She had been a healer, and she was a woman. How was she asking that? How had she managed to make their conversation even more uncomfortable for him. She obviously knew the theory behind making babies, he had personal experience to back that knowledge. "We.. Practiced.. before she went into heat, she shouldn't have conceived." He chose a less vulgar word to describe their actions, wondering slightly how Shaye felt about knowing he hadn't wasted much time in getting to know Tana's body.

She could never let the knowledge that Rhyme was her first get to her. He was not for her, he never could be, never should have been. Attempting to get on with her life wasn’t easy, but it was a path she took with a bull headed determination. She was already shoving him into classifications in her mind, explaining away any emotions she had for him, and pretending that everything was okay.

She was grateful for the change of topic, more than happy to push Rhyme into discomfort with the talk of Tana. “Well at least you're certain about that.” she smirked at him, “Conceiving out of season hasn’t been that uncommon in our family Rhyme.” she raised a brow at him, studying him curiously. “But you didn’t know that, did you?” he hadn’t been raised as a healer, through he took an interest in it in relation to healing his battle wounds. She could have saved him some trouble if he had asked, but of course, once drunk, they had been far too occupied with other thoughts.

She closed her eyes, trying to banish the image, but found that that was no help. She opened them again, blinking at her Alpha partner, taking in the deep blues of his eyes, with the hint of pink that bloomed within them. “Males.” she shook her head at him, covering her feelings with a smirk. When had he gone to Tana to ‘practice’? Shortly after their own experience, no doubt.

He didn't want to just get on with his life, what he wanted was to kidnap Shaye abandon their post and live on some remote island alone the rest of their days. Rhyme wanted to completely focus on her and not worry about who was going to think what about him the next day. He could admit any of it was fair, he couldn't help who he fell in love with.

The Imperialis knew that could never be, Shaye had much more dignity and pride. They had too many responsibilities they'd acquired to just drop everything to soothe their happiness. He would have to swallow the all too strong emotions and live with the choices they had made. Remembering that night would hurt, but he would also cling to the memories.

He focused back on Shaye present instead of past as she spoke, mentioning a bit of family history. She raised her brow at him. Tana hadn't been born into the Destruction family though. He returned her quizzical brow. "No, I didn't." However there was a sudden ice cold feeling in his chest. He tried to cover it with a quick chuckle at her teasing. "Females." He returned, keeping his fears to himself.

How much of her reservations would be knocked away if he told her what he was thinking? It was a good thing she wouldn’t have to find out today just how strong were the walls she was trying to build around her heart. She needed time to distance herself from them, and forget how it had felt to be held by him.

When she talked to him about conceiving out of season, he would raise a quizzical brow at her, admitting that he did not know. She gave a noncommittal grunt in response to that “Males.” she returned once again, a slight smile peeking out from behind the cloud that seemed to follow them around.

She didn’t even consider the implications of what she had said - only that he should have known it was possible, with examples from his own family to draw upon. Therefore, it was possible that Tana might fall pregnant if they decided to ‘practice’ without preventive measures.

“So… your going to be a father. I shall try not to laugh to hard when I see you covered in puppies and overwhelmed.” if only she knew exactly what the future had in store for her.

She didn't seem to show any concern for the same thoughts Rhyme conjured. If Tana could so easily get knocked up by himself how much more likely was Shaye to conceive out of season? He hoped her calm demeanor meant she was confident she wouldn't get pregnant. Hopefully it was due to her being on some kind of contraceptive. Rhyme tried to push his many convoluted thoughts about her away, he needed to focus on Tana and the little family they were starting.

She teased him hard, but he took it gratefully. If Rhyme couldn't seek out his heart's desire he would be content with returning to where he and Shaye had been before. He wanted to be comfortable and easy in her presence. He sighed internally, strengthening his resolve.

"I'm going to be a father." He mimicked. So odd those words sounded coming out of his mouth when a year ago he wouldn't have imagined bringing new life into the world. He'd been to focused on escape and returning to a life of freedom. "Rhys isn't around for them so I'm going to have to send them to 'auntie Shaye' when they act up. And how big do you think Tana is? She can't fit enough pups for me to be covered." He mused. She didn't think she was getting out of being in his kids lives he hoped. Though he was terrified something would happen during their arrival Rhyme did feel himself growing more excited for them.

That certainly did the trick in distracting him, as he mimicked her words back to her, looking more then a little stunned. The idea of being a father surprised him, but it didn’t surprise her. He might not be the sort to settle down with a girl, as he was… proving.
But he was a good person, with a strong sense of right and wrong, and what he wanted from the world. He would raise brilliant wolves, the kind that would change the lands of Alacritis. She wondered if one of his would end up being the heir to Abaven. She couldn’t imagine having her own any time soon.

“Don’t worry, i’ll load them up with fast energy foods, tell them how to make mischief, and send them back to you.” she promised him with a sly grin, finding this conversation both easier and harder as she thought of Rhyme as a father.