all the fear of the fire at the end of the world
06-09-2019, 11:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-10-2019, 12:14 AM by Cannival.)
Cannival The lioness observed with carefully contained sadness as the male studied her paws. Flowing from the wolf was a certain air of.. not fear, but anticipation. She could taste it. Trepidation. As if he waited to be punished, but with no intent to duck from or return the blow. There was nothing left to this wolf, he was merely an empty husk. Cannival didn't know what had happened to him, but she was very mindful of how she might further break him if she acted or spoke poorly. He then called himself that word... and suddenly it all made sense. She closed the distance between them with small, slow strides. Bracing herself upon her good leg, she lifted her left paw from her side to gently place under the wolf's muzzle- glad that felines possessed such flexibility in their limbs -and applied pressure upwards to force him to meet her gaze. Warm, golden eyes bore deeply into his own as she tried hard to convey the multitude of emotions she felt at seeing the broken male cower before her. "I am a slave to my species, and in this I feel your pain." Her voice crossed the gap towards him with as much warmth as she could muster, though there was a measure of hardness within her words. "We cannot dwell on this, our fear. Motif looks up to you- she loves you so much." Mentioning the pup, Cannival's heart clenched within her chest. "You are her uncle. She may accept you and love you even as broken as you are, but you are obligated to be the role model she needs." She searched his gaze for any sign of understanding, and if he were to try in small motions to pull away she would do her best to continue to force the eye contact without doing him harm. This was necessary, she had to know that she had done everything she could. "Think to yourself how you would feel if she stood before you the way you are before me. If she were to see herself the way you see yourself. Think on it hard, because I guarantee you she will find conflict in life someday... and she needs someone to take strength from." The pain in her injured leg became too much, and Cannival dropped it from beneath the wolf's chin. Whether he'd take the opportunity to once again duck his gaze from her own, the lioness wasn't sure. She could only hope that he'd take the word of a stranger who loved Motif fiercely and work to better himself- if only for his niece. |