Remorseless

Manea didn't miss the way that Irilyth avoided her gaze and as much as that hurt she didn't try to push the blonde furred woman or force her to do anything that she didn't want to do. There was only a brief moment with Irilyth glanced up at her wordlessly, but she had quickly looked away again. It didn't hurt her personally as much as she hurt for her love and the fact that she was put through this. She couldn't deny the guilt she felt for what Irilyth was put through despite the fact that she had no hand in what happened and hadn't known what Alastor had planned to do. As she finished cleaning Irilyth's fur she had only wished there was more than she could do to help or a way she could reverse time to put a stop to all of this before it began. She had only been trying to help and to give Irilyth an easy escape from having to live in the same caves as her attacker when she offered to set up one of the spare dens for her, but as she watched Irilyth's frown crease her delicate features and heard her response that was short and hard Manea guilt only deepened, her ears folding back against her skull.

Her aqua gaze followed the smaller woman as she stood and began to walk out of the lake, allowing Manea to really see the extent of the wounds that Alastor's claws had left for the first time now that they weren't submerged in the water. Her heart clenched as she watched her go for a moment, her stomach twisting with frustration–not at Irilyth, but at Alastor and the situation that was in front of them. She understood that Irilyth had technically gone against direct orders and broken their chain of command so she was due for some kind of punishment regardless of why she had done it, but there was no reason he had to stoop to this. But worse than that, she had guided Irilyth through building her confidence and self worth only for this to threaten it. She had done all she could to support Relm for him despite her issues with the woman and this was how he treated the one she loved.

She understood immediately what had upset Irilyth about her offer to move out of the den until things calmed down. It was the exact same reaction that she would have had if the roles were reversed and even though she wasn't sure she agreed with the decision given Alastor's volatile nature, she wanted to grasp any spirit and confidence Irilyth had and bolster it where she could. "Irilyth, wait," she said gently as she got up and waded through the water to join her at the shore. She tried to look for her raspberry gaze, but she wouldn't force Irilyth to look at her. "If you want to come home then do it," she said quietly. "I was trying to do and suggest what would be easiest on you. I didn't want you to feel as if I expected you to come back and live with Alastor after this if you didn't want to. But if you want to stand up to him and come home then I'll support that decision and I'll protect you." Her voice grew heavy with emotion as she spoke, lifting her paw to Irilyth's cheek again as her ears folded back against her head. "Apologies won't fix anything so I won't say them again, but let me help where I can. Tell me how you want to be helped."

"Manea" & "Irilyth"