Anticipated Heartbreak

Kotori wasted no time in joining her beneath the widely spread shade tree. The larger wolf lay close and leaned in to kiss her cheek. Heat flared through the pale princess's cheeks and her heart fluttered a bit, that fluttering increasing as he complimented her appearance. Every bit the princess, the young woman smiled and nodded. "Thank you. You look handsome as well." She had always liked the look of the earthen, horned boy. Now that he was less boy and more man, his bigger frame filling out, she had definitely noticed. Being beside him, she felt even more dainty and delicate than usual. Perhaps this was a result of her impending womanhood and the hormones surging within her, but she truly noticed.

That was why this was going to be so difficult.

He'd asked how she'd been and Ikigai took a deep breath, giving her crown a slight shake. "A lot has happened," the young lady spoke in clear, soft tones. Iki curled her body so that they were both on their sides, facing one another like two halves of a whole. One dark gloved paw settled over one of his large, earthen paws and she brought her snake-slit gaze up to meet his turquoise eyes. "I'm going to be leaving Ashen," she admitted softly, red rimmed eyes dropping as she spoke. "I'm part of an alliance agreement between the Empire and Elysium. I'm to be married." She'd been the one to help broker the deal, but now that she said it aloud to someone that she cared for, it didn't seem as positive a thing as it once had.

"Ikigai"