and the reason is you

At one time she had wholeheartedly thought the letting of tears to be a weakness. She thought that still and thus she only did so in private. Before she had bottled them up, storing grief and despair in little jars to be kept for death. Now, she had no other choice but to expel it, otherwise, she might implode or do something else that she would later regret. What happened then was an example of that. She tried to resist, of course, but the harder she fought, the less she seemed to be able to hold back. Nox raised a paw, futilely clamping it over her mouth to dampen her own whimpers. She thought to make a quick exit, turn back before she was noticed. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late for that. Much to her surprise, however, it was not the woman that noticed her first, but a… fox?

The creature moved swiftly, immediately placing itself between her and its master. Admittedly, she was a bit startled at its sudden appearance. Companionships between two different species were altogether unfamiliar and might have been amusing if not for the current circumstances. Nox quickly attempted to recompose herself, and with the same paw that she’d clamped over her mouth, she used then to messily wipe away the tears that had pooled. She sniffled, eyes darting briefly to the twitch of movement that came from below. Nox paid no mind to it, she knew not what it meant nor did she care to focus on it. Her sole focus now was on the question and the process of gaining enough composure to speak. I must look pathetic…“I... Nothing. I’m sorry." That was all she could manage at first. She did not give an answer to the question. What was she expected to say? How could she explain this sort of pain to a stranger? Rather, she fumbled with an apology. “Forgive me, I’ve disturbed you. I-it wasn’t my intent, I stumbled across you and--” Nox took a deep breath in the hopes of steadying her voice. How low she had sunk. This was not the fitting face of the Queen she aspired to be.

Nox dared not make eye-contact. She instead decided to tackle the awkward scenario by changing the subject. Her amber irises darted down to the two-bundles before flickering away. “They are beautiful… Have you named them yet?” The question rolled softly off her tongue, as she tried to mask her discomfort with an inquiry. She did not expect a straight-forward answer, or really any at all. If the follow-up was that she should leave, then Nox would do so willingly.