I Love You, Flaws and All

Manea frowned a little as Alastor reminded her that she had wanted to take her power and prove the strength of the Mendicium family through that, nodding as she glanced toward the ground in thought. That had indeed been her original intention and as grandiose and satisfying as that would have been she had begun to doubt if that was possible. Besides, she didn’t want to simply snatch a home away from someone that didn’t give her cause. With the northern pack it had been different since it was seemingly a dying pack anyway and it was one that had wronged Venom. That had made it a good target. Now that it was no longer an option her choices were more limited and she felt uncertain of who she could target.

Her gaze returned to him when he insisted that he would support her and that she didn’t need to ask him if he did. It hurt to think that perhaps she did need to question that loyalty and support, but their foundation had been shaken. She watched him for a long moment, trying to pick apart her emotions and thoughts until she finally sighed, getting to her paws so she could step closer to him and lean her cheek into his. “I know. I’m sorry,” she told him softly. What he had done that day still felt like a thorn in her side, but she knew that he hadn’t done it maliciously or consciously. It was hard to erase the feeling of betrayal and the concern she had that he might do it again, but she had to. She had to move on before they could make this huge step for both of them. He was her other half, her soul mate, for better or worse.

She settled back on her haunches again, brushing her muzzle against his while her foreleg that was wrapped in the leather band that symbolized him reached out for his, her soft paw pads brushing the amethyst embellished cuff. “As much as I would love the grand show of power that taking a pack would give us, our family needs a stable home. There’s too many of us to keep traveling like this. Plus… I’ll be in heat again next season. I don’t want to raise a child hopping from place to place. I don’t want to wonder where I’ll give birth.” She leaned back enough to catch his obsidian gaze. “I know it might be settling on some of my ambitions to make room for some others, but… I hope that its worth it.”

"Manea Mendacium"