Life on a Fishing Line

Tamsyn had been on the warpath ever since Ulric had returned from being summoned to the north with a little extra baggage. The Aegis had brought home another wolf, one that Tam knew from her past, and whose presence here infuriated her. He had never seen his little blackbird so enraged before, but when she started ranting about Sirius and his cavalier attitudes and habits, Kane immediately switched from confused to defensive. He was afraid Tamsyn would try to run off after the asshole again, getting drawn back into his web the way he seemed to have a habit of doing. Sirius Fatalis was toxic and the relationship he had with Tamsyn was borderline abusive, and he refused to allow a wolf like that near someone he loved. As much as he trusted Tam to keep her word that she wouldn't go seeking him out again, it worried him to think she could be on the edge of doing just that in her fit of anger. That was why as soon as the wine came out and Tamsyn's ravings became more drunken and delirious, Kane began doing all he could to calm his girlfriend down and keep her in check.

It took all of his focus and effort to plead Tam to stay and just vent it all out. Most of the night had been spent watching her pace back and forth in their bedroom while she alternated between cursing under her breath and all but screaming threats of violence against this wolf he'd never met. Finally, it took Kane practically shoving his tongue down her throat to get Tam to turn the fire burning in her heart from hate to lust and get her to think of something other than Sirius. He didn't recall how many times they'd gone at each other that night, the drunk angry sex leaving him well spent and exhausted by the end, and somewhere just before midnight, Kane fell asleep with Tamsyn at his side. He hadn't been aware of Tamsyn leaving to go send a message, but he did feel when the mattress shifted as she climbed back into bed and snuggled up in his arms. A sleepy smile spread across his muzzle, and Kane drifted back off into a deep sleep with his lover held to his chest.

Kane was awoken sometime in the middle of the night by voices whispering nowhere near as quietly as they thought they were right next to him. Hazel eyes slowly blinked open and scanned the darkness of the bedroom without moving his head. The practiced hunter knew well the methods of remaining undetected, and he lay still, measuring his breathing to make it look like he was still asleep while he listened to Gwynevere's raven telling a still very drunk Tamsyn that she'd delivered her message and Sirius was on his way here right now. Kane's paws gripped at the mattress as a tensing anger grew in his heart. Sirius was coming here in the middle of the night for Tamsyn?! He was usually a calm and peaceful wolf with calm and peaceful intentions, but right now he wanted to rip the fucker's head from his body if he dared show his face around here. But that was fine, because Tamsyn had given her word that she wouldn't see him again, and... wait, why was she getting up?

The dire brute continued his facade of sleep while he felt Tamsyn rise from the bed, listening to her claws click frantically as she hurried from their bedroom and tried to sneak out, but the clicking of the latch betrayed her escape into the night. He listened as her paw steps rushed away down the corridor, and then he lifted his head, staring in the dark at the door his lover had left through. His mouth hung open in shock. She was going to see Sirius. After all this, after crying her heart out about how he'd hurt her, after swearing Sirius off, after promising him she wouldn't seek Sirius out, after saying she loved him... Tamsyn still went as soon as the Warlord called for her. His heart ached as he realized this would be the constant. Tamsyn would always go when he called for her, even if it meant leaving their bed in the middle of the night. Sirius still held control over her, and he was beginning to doubt if those ties could be cut.

For a moment, Kane debated storming off after her and dragging her drunk ass back to bed after giving Sirius a few choice words. While that might have felt sweet in the moment, he knew that would only cause more harm. And so Kane just lay back down, staring out the large windows at the dark night sky, and he waited. He waited for Tamsyn to come back so he could confront her. He waited... and he waited... and he waited... He watched the moon creep across the sky, approximating an hour to have passed before he finally heard the door click open and Tamsyn try to silently slip back inside. He didn't move, still just lying in bed while he listened to her paws move across the floor, then felt her climb back into bed with him. Kane was lying facing away from where she slept, staring blankly out the windows, knowing she wouldn't have the mental faculties to check if he was awake while still drunk. He waited until she had gotten back into bed and settled down before he spoke and let her know that he was awake. "Got your fix of poison?"

"Kaneonuskatew"