I Know What My Worth Is

Alastor saw the way Relm winced when he went to help her out of the water, saw the way her tail dropped between her legs, not in a sign of submission, but certainly not comfort either. She was guarding herself from him. Dark lips pursed into a fine line while his stomach twisted with guilt at the aftereffects he'd left behind in her. He should have fought harder to get her to leave after he'd killed Kefka. He knew his grip on reality had been meager at best, that his control was slipping, and yet he didn't push her away hard enough. Now she would always bear the scars on her back that perfectly matched his claws, mementos of where he'd groped her during their mating. She'd likely never fully forgive him, nor forget what happened, and there was a good possibility they'd be stuck in this tension forever. He hated it, knowing that no good deed went unpunished. But if it was the price he had to pay for saving Relm, then so be it... He couldn't regret that.

She confirmed she was fine and Alastor simply nodded once. "Good..." he mumbled under his breath, escorting her back out of the water until they were both on the shore. His eyes roved down over the healing reddish-pink scars on her back once more, small snippets of conscious memories from that day coming back to his deranged mind. He couldn't recall everything that happened, but the animal inside him relished at the moments he could recount. Relm began to head back towards the dens and caves on her own once they were on the rocky shore, and part of him wanted to go with her to make sure her wounds were taken care of. But he didn't. He couldn't. "I'll have Irilyth bring you some salve for your back," he said while he continued making his way back to his family's cave, giving Relm a wide berth on the side she could see.

"Alastor Mendacium"