The Scarred and The Royal

Question me? All of your doubt feeds my desire.

There was no end to the travesty that spilled from his lips. Every time he opened his mouth more self-intitled, know-it-all bullshit poured forth. She had never met someone like that. One of the things she liked about Lupa was that he spoke his mind, but even he knew when to shut up. Nox could not put together the pieces of the puzzle before her. Every time she thought she was close, he swiped the pieces onto the floor and watched with a blank expression as she scrambled to put them back together. He spoke with resolve but there was not a hint of sentiment behind his words, only an intense cold. The lifelessness in his gaze resembled a frozen lake. She could not break past the first layer of ice no matter how much she tried and that frustrated her even further. “Why cry over what you can make more of.” Nox’s head jerked upward and the flames nestled in her irises flared. If his goal was to get a rise out of her, it was working. “Says he who has clearly never had children.” There was not a lick of paternal instinct in him. Most men fell short in that subject, but he flunked out completely. How could he understand how she felt? He was a vessel without a soul, completely void of sensation. It was ridiculous to expect that heart of stone to beat. “And what you call your opinion, I give no fucks for.” She retorted harshly. Nox just about had enough of his snide remarks. If he wanted to treat her like that, fine, he would get exactly what he dished out but tenfold.

Nox would have paid to crack-open that head of his and figure out what made him tick. She was not completely sold on the fact he had blood in his veins. Although, she wouldn’t know for sure unless she cut him open… Which sounded considerably tempting given how he taunted her. Again, he spoke out of turn. His lips formed words but there was no substance to them. When would he figure out that he looked an ass trying to tell her how she should feel? "I know nothing, nor care to know anything about you." “Exactly! So, stop poking your nose into my business. You have no idea who I am or what I have endured. I do not pretend to know you and I do not care enough to lecture you on how to feel. Rectify that ignorance before I do it for you.” The tone of her voice was heated but icy-cold at the same time. Her patience was gradually being worn thin. It had to be intentional. No one spoke with such careless freedom unless they were looking for conflict. Normally she was not the type of woman to easily rile, but he caught her at a weak moment. Not only that but he continued to poke and prod her wounds without any apparent reason. It was not the fact he was being callous, but rather that he knew absolutely nothing and yet he continued to judge her without aforethought. There had to be a motive behind his cruelty, either that or his mother hadn’t slapped him across the head enough as a child. Why she did not just walk away, Nox didn’t know. She wanted to but pride kept her feet planted. If anyone should leave, it was him. She had been there first and he initiated it… Whatever it was anymore. "You don't exactly stir any feelings within me.. let alone the feeling of bitterness." “What a relief because I was beginning to think you didn’t like me.” She responded, words steeped in sarcasm. Sarcasm that would likely fly straight over his head.

As he went on, she began to feel a sort of pity for him. It was clear that he had nothing and no one. If there was a creature on the globe that could tolerate him, she would have been very surprised. Admittedly, she was very intrigued as to what sort of conditioning made beasts like him. Whatever the formula contained; it was not made with love. “Again, he continues to speak regardless of whether his words are valid. Let me educate you on something because someone obviously failed to.” Nox paused to give him a sharp look. “Emotions can be an advantage in all aspects of life. Whether it be to forge bonds or manipulate others into doing what you want. Emotion is a vital part of living and the fact you have never experienced it… Well, that is the saddest thing I have ever heard.” She looked him up and down, but her eyes held little sympathy. How bland it must’ve been to view the world in monochrome and not in color. Regardless, he was not hers to fix nor did she believe she had the skillset to mend that sort of damage. Maybe there wasn’t anything broken in him at all and he was just… like that. “And how, might I ask, would you know that without ever experiencing emotion? Life goes on, but I would find it tremendously boring being empty of everything that makes life worthwhile. Passion, happiness, wonder, sadness even.” Nox clicked her tongue. “You must be a terrible bore at parties.” It was a jest to keep her sanity alive. Talking to him felt like talking to a lump of hardened clay. "You don't hear the stars cry when one of them dies." What kind of analogy was that? It was poetic, but it could not hope to compare to the truth. “Because stars are made up of various gasses and dust. A star cannot cry for the same reason a rock does not shed a tear when a pebble gets stepped on.” He did not talk like the uneducated twit he made himself out to be but he certainly did not aid her impression of him by trying to prove an invalid point. She had met a lot of hard-headed men before but he took the crown.

Her eyes narrowed as he spoke and branded her with his scorn. “What gives you the right to snuff my hope? Do you find enjoyment in it? I really would like to know.” By that point she had moved away, nudging the stone with her paw. It hissed as she pushed it across the ground, stone against stone. She began to tune him out, completely absorbed into the task of uncovering what was left of her flower. She looked up for a split second, just to check if he was still there. He no-longer had his back turned to her and as she looked up an object moved toward her just in time to collide with her left-cheek. The contact made her face sting and though not much force was applied, she stumbled backward. Nox stood there for a moment in complete shock. Her surprise faded quickly though and twisted with something that more-resembled fury. “What… is your fucking problem!” Words squeezed past her clenched teeth, sharp and hot like the embers of a crackling fire. She moved toward him, taking daring strides into his personal space. The fur along her spine prickled and bunched up around her neck. Few had the displeasure of witnessing her like that, but he earned it.

There was a point when she decided enough was enough and a stranger laying their hands on her? That was the defining moment when she stopped with the pleasantries and put her fucking foot down. Jaws stretched open and without another word she propelled herself up and forward to snap at his face. If she was successful, she would leave a nasty 'peck' on his cheek. It was nothing more than a warning, but the only one he would get. “You know what I find insulting? No, actually, I don’t give a fuck what you want.” The skin around her lips curled upward as she spoke. Her voice was steely and wrought with anger but surprisingly quiet. “The fact that you think you can stand there, preach and judge like you know anything about me, slighting me every step of the way and then lay a paw on me without repercussions.” Her tail was raised and waved behind her like a declaration of war. “You can say whatever you want about me, but if you touch me again…" She paused and purposefully stepped on his paws, digging her nails into them. "If you touch me again, I will happily give you some more scars to count. Bitch, queen, whore, mother... Whatever I am. I do not fall easily, I promise you." Every crinkle in her face smoothed over. Something dangerous danced in her eyes, just begging to be set free. "Oh, and just because you are some emotionless paperweight does not mean I have to be one too. Unlike you, I am capable of many emotions, wrath being one of them. So, whatever happened to you, whoever you are, what you think of me, and whatever your problem is… I. Don’t. Care. So promptly do what you should have done when you saw me here: Keep your damn mouth shut and move along.” Nox looked deeply into his eyes, her face barely a centimeter from his. She did not back down. A fight was not her intention, but if he wanted one, he would get one.

I'm gonna make my own empire.