This is my kingdom come

It did sometimes feel as though she was in an ever present battle with Alastor to keep him from destroying himself and at times the constant destruction and struggle to help guide him in the right direction was tiring, but he was worth it. He was worth forcing to take the medicine that would help him and he was worth dodging the shrapnel of broken glass and the splatters of liquor as he smashed the bottle he had been holding, he was worth prying the empty vial away from him to keep him from shattering that as well. Whatever he needed from her, she was willing to do it for him because of this deep, unfathomable love she had for this fractured, broken brute. She did look to his injured paw with a bit of lamenting at the fact that he certainly wouldn't let Irilyth treat him now so the easiest form of treatment was now out of reach. She didn't want to bother Ikigai this late, but if the cuts turned out to be deep enough to warrant it she might have to.

As she made her offers for ways she could help, he denied having any desire to see either Relm or Irilyth. That at least she could understand, though she did want to give him the option just in case he still had an interest in confronting them about this himself with her there to back him up. She had yet to decide how far she would pursue this on her own, but she knew she would in one way or another. A frown pulled across her lips as he looked away from her, his expression hard to read but undoubtedly seeing the shame he carried. She was quiet as he expressed how he would never ask her to mourn these pups that she had no tie to and his doubt that Relm or Irilyth would tell her anything if she were to ask. Her paws trailed down from his cheeks to his shoulders as he spoke, feeling his muscles as they began to loosen and his shoulders slump as the strong medicines began to take effect. She glanced down at his injured paw with him, watching the rivulets of blood move between his paws as well while she gathered her own thoughts.

Her paws shifted from his shoulders to gently take his paw between her own, holding it still while she began to carefully remove each piece of glass, continuing to tend to her husband in the time when she felt that he needed her most. "You are a Mendacium and my soul mate," she told him quietly as she worked, glancing up toward his face occasionally to make sure he was listening. "By blood or not, those pups were my family as much as they were yours. That is all the tie I need to mourn them with you—regardless of what their fate would have ultimately been had they lived. Your pain is my pain. If you mourn so will I." She removed the last piece of glass from his paw pads and glanced up at the shelves, grabbing a rag that was folded up there to wrap it around his paw to at least keep it from getting dirty or dripping blood around the den until morning. She wrapped his paw and tied the corners of the rag together, deciding that was as good as it was going to get for the time being.

She sighed and released his paw, bringing his gaze back to hers with a cold, stern, assuredness lingering there as she added, "Also, do not doubt what I could get from Irilyth and Relm." While she did not want to bring harm to the woman she loved, if it was for the sake of bringing her mate any peace of mind or closure she would do what she had to. As for Relm... The woman had been notably submissive to her since she joined the pack and Manea doubted that this would be any different. She would not have the same regret over having to force anything from Relm if it came to that as she would Irilyth. Her expression softened again as she took in the exhaustion that was coming to the surface now that the drugs had taken effect, her paw reaching up to his cheek again as she leaned up to press a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Come on... We can figure this out in the morning," she assured him, standing once more and making him walk with her to their bedroom, getting him to settle on the furs before she joined him, making sure to position herself between him and the door just in case he woke up with any ideas. She kissed across his ears, whispering, "Get some rest, love."

Manea | Temno | Ciemny