A Note That Said I'll Love Her Till I Die

Seeing Aranea's children and their father around the pack had been a shock to his system. It was easy to let himself indulge in his own pleasures and forget about the reality of things when he was allowed to do so - which was exactly what he had been doing ever since he and Aranea had found themselves in each other's arms again. He had fallen into a comfortable routine spending his nights with the delicate healer. It wasn't until he heard the howl from the border and saw the look Aranea gave him before she ran off to meet their guests that he was reminded of the situation they were in. He hadn't tried to approach her or her family during their stay, knowing he would most likely do more harm than good, but he couldn't keep himself from just checking in from a distance. Even in the moments that she wasn't with the gold-swirled man or the pups, if he happened to catch her eye, she would quickly go in a different direction from him so he stopped trying to approach her.

He sat near one of the windows in his room as evening fell, lingering uncertainly between wanting to leave and wander the castle and giving up on the day and going to bed instead. He had noticed that Aranea's family was gearing up to leave during the day and he had already begun to wrestle with his own emotions. He had no way of knowing what had happened between Aranea and the other man. If they had been found out he couldn't imagine the father of her children would be pleased by the development, but then where would that put them? Did he even want to continue putting himself between them? He didn't feel upset or put off by her distance during their visit. The conflicted guilt that kept reoccurring as events like this happened was the only thing that plagued him and that was what he was wrestling with when he heard the soft creak of his door opening behind him.

Ulric stood as he turned to face the door, his silver gaze landing on Aranea standing in the entryway. The expression on her face and the crack in her voice made his ears flick back and made that twisting, pulling emotion in his gut worsen. "Aranea..." He immediately took a step toward her, only to stop himself and hesitate, wrestling with his own guilt. Ultimately he wasn't strong enough to resist himself and he continued crossing the room to where she was standing, dipping his head so he could lean his head into her neck. He sighed as he nuzzled into her fur, hating the conflict he caused himself with how much he wanted to be with her and how guilty seeing her children made him feel.

After a moment he pulled back and stepped out of the way so she could come into the room, gently closing the door behind her. "Aranea, I..." he began as he faced her again, but his words failed him before they even really began. He didn't know where to even begin or if he even should. His apologetic guilt was written across his face as his ears folded back against his head. Giving up on speaking, he left the floor open for her, giving her a questioning look. He was dying to know what happened and what would happen, even if he couldn't verbalize that desire.

Walk | "Talk" | think