there is no greater love
01-03-2022, 10:39 AM
In Ballad, Jupiter found escape. She was someone he could be with without fear of their expectations. It seemed like he was surrounded by unmeetable hopes and standards so of course he came back when he could. His visits over the last season had waned as Alfrun became increasingly frail. The birth had been nerve-wracking, but once it was over (and the shock of eight pups had worn off) Jupiter had thought things would get better. They had not. Instead of recovering Alfrun's weakened state had persisted. Jupiter found himself up to his eyeballs in parenthood. He had eight terrifying children to tend to and a wife who relied on him more and more as the days passed. He felt smothered, overwhelmed, and exhausted. There wasn't any time for Ballad and the forest to cross his mind.
Until there was. To anyone else it would have been a good day. The children were sleeping, the chores were done, Alfrun seemed well enough. But time to think was Jupiter's enemy. He found himself drowning in expectation and, choking on it, had excused himself from the family den to run for the forest. There he knew he'd find air. And he hadn't been wrong. Jupiter had stepped one foot over the border and found himself awash in relief.
With a smirk on his lips he made his way to the place he knew Ballad would be. He wouldn't stay gone for long because he didn't want to worry Alfrun, but a few hours here would do him some good. He could bring home a pig or something and everything would be fine.
The sight of a very round Ballad stretched out in the moonlight wiped the smirk off his face. He glanced around furtively hoping, what, that some dude would be hanging out in the shadows ready to help her and claim fatherhood? There was no one; it was just the two of them. "Ballad?" he asked uneasily.
NOTE: this character is pretty on the outside but nothing but ugliness and innuendo on the inside. It's best to consider all threads with him rated 'M' regardless of the official tags.