closed the blinds and made goddamn sure we could never see the sun

With a rapid shake of her delicate tiara, the dainty girl pulled forward and finally met his gaze. He could see the glassiness of her eyes as they began to brim with unshed tears, and the concern upon his face only grew. And then his cousin forced a smile onto her face, and forced the welling tears to cascade soundlessly down the pale fur of her cheeks. She reassured him that she was glad to have him home, and lifted a delicate paw to wipe away the dampness from her cheek. She started to say something, and then paused to rephrase it. In the short time between his acceptance and this day, the shogun had left the pack. And without a farewell to his children? That felt as though it were rather out of the blue, and it came as just as great a shock to the godling as it might have to his children. What had been going on in the royal palace during his exile? Something must have prompted the breakup of the royal family, right?

Ikigai apologized quietly, her voice breaking as she did. The amethyst dappled yearling shook his head mutely, lifted a slender forelimb and sought to wrap it around his cousin's dainty shoulders and pull her towards his narrow chest. She tried to wave away her turmoil, to apologize for her suffering. He snorted softly, and shook his head as he aimed to tuck her crown against the downy charcoal fur of his chest. "Nonsense, Iki." he crooned gently, letting out a slow sigh as he gathered his thoughts. "I was about to take a break as it was, so come sit with me. I believe there's a few more bottles of my last batch of wine, so let's have a drink." he offered with a half-hearted smile pulling at his lips. Loosening his grip about her frail shoulders, the young wraith pulled away to look into her eyes for a moment. "It tastes more like vinegar than wine, but it will do for the night, I think." he was aiming for a joking tone, but he was still rattled by this revelation, and the mirthful expression didn't quite reach his eyes.

Slender limbs pulled the phantom male through the mess that he'd created while he reorganized, keen eyes searching for the familiar bottles of dark liquid. There were a few loose furs scattered about, good enough to rest on and pour out one's woes for the evening. By the time they were to drunk to be properly sad anymore, then they could sleep on the old furs just as easily. He kicked a few of them into loose piles, and directed his pallid cousin towards one of them with a wave of his paw. "Make yourself comfortable," he offered lightly, still scanning through the odds and ends for the drinks.

"Pontifex" || "Hallux" || "Pollux"