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Just as they were getting settled around the fire, Deimos surprised her by requesting to speak with her away from the others. She cast him a curious glance as she wondered what he would want to talk to her about that couldn't be spoken about in front of their guests, but regardless she would allow him to lead her away after she gave Venom and Ikigai a smile and a dip of her head as well, saying, "Pardon us, we'll be right back." Stepping away from the fire, she waited till Deimos stopped well out of earshot of the women before she turned to face him with a raised, inquisitive brow. His bold and direct way of what saying what he wanted certainly didn't surprise her coming from her brother, but the request itself definitely did. She was careful to not let her expression change much other than the subtle twitch of her features that showed her shock at what he was asking of her. She gave a quick, subtle glance at the princess that was waiting for them by the fire with her mother, a small tug of a frown pulling at her lips when her gaze returned to Deimos. "Deimos... I..."

Before she could deny him or reason with him, her brother cut her off and went on with his reasoning and persuading. She knew him well enough to know his tactics and to understand what he was doing as he tried to sway her into giving him what he wanted. Unfortunately for her, his reasoning resonated with her and picked at issues she had already had with this arrangement from the beginning. She had wanted Ikigai to be partnered with one of her own children from the beginning, but the ages and timing of her and Venom's litters simply hadn't worked out to allow that. She had been happy enough pairing her up with Poe in the end since she did adore her cousin, but she would be lying if she said she didn't wish she could have the Ashen princess more closely tied to her own branch of the family. She still wasn't sure that Deimos was the perfect solution, but she also couldn't remember a time when she had seen Deimos this impassioned about one of his requests. He often would just take what he wanted, but this time it was obvious he understood that he couldn't do that without doing irreparable damage to his relationship with the rest of the family—so here he was, asking his sister, the Matriarch, to pull the strings he needed pulled.

As he finished his pleading, Manea looked at him for a long moment, trying to determine if his interest in Ikigai was genuine or some kind of ploy, and couldn't determine one way or another. After his long absence from their family she wanted to make sure that he had everything he needed to be happy here and to be a vital member of their family. Being one of her older siblings, she would have expected him to have his mate already just as she had expected the same from Merrick. The fact that neither of them had managed such yet worried her since the years that they had to produce their own children were dwindling and if she could ensure that Deimos got the chance to not only do that, but to have children with one of the most spectacular women he had ever met outside of their own family then why wouldn't she do that for him?

She let out a slow breath after a long moment of thought and gave him a small nod, seeing the immediate satisfaction and victory on his face. "Don't start celebrating just yet. I'm going to have to work some things out first and do damage control with Poe, but... I'll do what I can." She smirked slightly and added, "You're lucky I love you." Glancing back at the Ashen women over his shoulder, she considered the situation for a moment, figuring out how to proceed. "Follow the path over there up the mountain to the dens at the top. Wait for me there. I'm going to speak to them alone so they don't feel any pressure with you here. I'll find a way to make this work for you, but I refuse to force Ikigai into anything." Deimos relented at that and leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek before turning back toward Venom and Ikigai, giving them both a polite dip of his head before he turned to follow his sister's instructions and walking away from the group to go wait by the dens.

Smiling gently, she walked back over to the campfire to rejoin the other two women with a soft chuckle. "Ikigai, it seems you've created quite the impression on my brother." She had come to understand that this arrangement and offer from the princess had come mostly out of her sense of duty and not from a place of attraction or love so she did hope it wouldn't be too difficult to sway her. Really, she was a bit more concerned about having Venom's approval. Hopefully her brother made a good impression during whatever time they spent together. "Deimos has asked to take Poe's place as your betrothed. As much as I would hate to let down my cousin... I am inclined to agree to his request. Perhaps it's a bit of favoritism on my part, I would be thrilled to have you in my branch of the family... as long as you agree, of course."

"Manea Mendacium"