Tis But A Scratch

There was a couple moments of silence as she sighed and he began steeling himself to deny her arguments against his declarations, but as soon as her paw rested on his cheek and she forced his eyes to meet hers his resolve and his anger began to fizzle. His mouth drew into a hard line when she insisted that she didn't want him to find the man. He wanted to insist on it, but he held his tongue, letting her continue as she said she wasn't delicate, that she would be fine. He let out a slow sigh, his ears flicking back. He had no doubt that she would be fine and he knew she was strong, but... He wanted to protect her. He wanted to tear that brute apart for even thinking about harming his mate. He understood that she could do this herself, but he wanted to defend her. It stabbed at his heart that he hadn't been there to fight off her attacker with her. He should have been there at her side fighting with her. She shouldn't have had to face this brute alone and end up brutalized like this. He wasn't trying to fight her battles, but he wanted his own kind of revenge as well.

But when he saw the resolve in her golden eyes and heard her say how she wanted him to help her get stronger, how she wanted to be the one to rip out his heart, Ulric felt some of that tension falling away from his shoulders. This was his Eska. He was so glad that this hadn't broken her spirit. She was injured, yes, but the fire he loved was ever present. He leaned forward to catch her lips with his own, kissing her deeply for a moment, savoring the feeling of her lips. She was here. She was okay. He just kept having to remind himself of that. His muzzle pulled away from hers again and he gave her the same determined look. He admired her strength so much, but he wouldn't allow her to face these things alone again. "We'll find him," he promised in a compromise. She had told him that she wanted a partnership and that partnership didn't stop because she was the one that had been affected. "I'll help you train, I'll help you get stronger. And then we'll find him and I'll watch as you rip out his heart."

Ulric Adravendi