Fate Draws Us Together

As Iki revealed the betrayal of her father, something flashed within Deimos’ blue eyes. The emotion had been very real, if only for a moment, and she found herself wondering what he might have experienced in his past. Was it something similar? As she wished ill fortune upon her sire, the frown upon the purple marked man’s face shifted into a grin. He replied and Ikigai chuckled softly, her long, inkblot tail swishing lightly across the stone floor. Deimos did seem to understand somewhat and for that, she was appreciative.

While making the fire, the woman felt eyes upon her. Ikigai was used to being looked at, but something about having the Mendacium man’s aqua gaze upon her sent little flutters through her belly. Why, she couldn’t rightly explain. Perhaps it was the ease with which they interacted. Already she’d let down her princessly veil, mentioning the ruin of her father and her ill wishes for him. It wasn’t a side of her that many were given a glimpse of. Her mother and siblings knew of her feelings of animosity towards her sire, but she would never tell an outsider. Not until now.

Mercuric eyes widened momentarily as the giant man was bold enough to reach out and take her paw in his own. Little tingles flared through Ikigai’s obsidian paws as Deimos held her there in his massive grasp. The brutes words were surprising as he offered to accompany her to Auster. She hadn’t expected something like that at all and the fae’s dark brows furrowed for a moment as she fought to wrangle her emotions into submission. Rather than extract her paw from his, Ikigai left it there, her dainty digits resting within that mighty ursine appendage. That was surprising as well. Casual touch wasn’t something that the stately fae was used to, nor something that she sought. Here she was, however, allowing a veritable stranger to handle her as he wished. Curious.

Ikigai thought about the man’s offer, her gaze never leaving his face. She never shied from eye contact and she wouldn’t start today. In her mind, the woman began searching for some ulterior motive to Deimos’ offer. What would he get out of escorting her to confront Hattori? Perhaps he honestly had experienced something similar to what she and her family were going through. Silence stretched between them, but eventually the woman spoke. “I accept.” Gently, she extracted her paw from his, placing it back upon the stone floor. “Tomorrow morning before the sun rises,” she confirmed the time with him. If he wasn’t up, she would go alone like she had initially planned. Having a traveling companion might be nice though. The strength of Deimos at her side might very well ease whatever nerves might strike on the journey south.

"Ikigai"