So Much Harder To Leave

For the most part, Relm's impassive expression gave away nothing of how she felt while Alastor was raving about the pirates' trespasses against his family. He had been distracted by his own thoughts to notice much, but her single word reply in the tone she said it in spoke volumes that maybe only he could read. Alastor turned a swift glance down to Relm and noticed the way her jaw had set, how her eyes remained focused dead ahead. The tension in her was palpable, an emotional upset she was doing her best to hide. Were he any other wolf, it might have worked. But Alastor knew Relm better. He knew this visceral reaction wasn't being caused by the pirates; she had no reason to feel even a fraction of the loathing he did for them. Which left only one other actor in his stories to draw this response out in her.

Alastor opened his mouth to speak on the matter, but the sound of falling rain drawing closer silenced him. A wall of rain was approaching them from the storm clouds moving in from over the ocean, getting closer by the second until the dire brute felt a few errant drops hit him on the back and head. He felt Relm's silent gaze land on him, waiting for his instructions. They could make a break for the island, but he knew they'd get caught by the storm before they were even half way across the land bridge. "Come on," he muttered to Relm, leading her away from the path back to Alias. He headed in the direction of the abandoned dens they'd passed by earlier, scoping them out to find a suitably sized one for the both of them to wait out the storm in just as the rains reached them, starting to pelt the wolves with a deluge of water. Alastor ushered Relm inside and slid in behind her just as the wall of water rolled past the den's entrance. His fur was only slightly damp and would dry in time, but they'd be safe and warm in here for now.

Dark eyes watched the downpour outside for a few moments until Alastor slid back into the den to join Relm, heaving a sigh as the dire brute came to sit beside the pink and black fae. "I know this is hard for you, Relm. But I am trying to make things work." Alastor didn't expressly come out and say he knew that the thought of Manea was bothering her, but Relm would understand all the same, he was sure of it. Obsidian eyes searched her face for something to use or understand. "I love you and I don't want to upset you, but Manea is obviously going to remain a presence in our lives." Alastor sighed again and shook his head, a sarcastic chuckle slipping from his lips. "What do I have to do to get you two to like one another? Get you two to fuck? Would that make it better for you?" As humorous as his teasing comment was, there was some semblance of truth to it. Relm had only really started to come around to him after he'd nearly raped her following the murder of her father. Did he have to get Manea between her legs too to get them aligned?

"Alastor"