An Oath of loyalty

Oath lingered at the shrine, the dimming light casting long shadows across the stone structure. The faint echoes of distant hymns from his childhood seemed to swirl in the evening breeze, making the shrine feel alive with memories long buried before he'd come here. He took in the ornate carvings, tracing the faded patterns of the Morningstar deities that he had added with his eyes, his mind busy with the weight of recent revelations.

He wasn’t angry, not truly. But the admission had been… unsettling. Azriel, betrothed to his sister? It was as though the ground beneath him had shifted, and Oath wasn’t certain where his footing would be next. Atreyu was the closest thing he had to peace, and the thought of someone stepping into that sacred space had left him off balance.

He heard the familiar sound of Azriel’s footsteps long before his friend appeared. Oath’s ears twitched, and his cyan eyes narrowed slightly in thought as he debated how to approach this conversation. But the truth was, he didn’t need to pretend with Az. They had been through too much together.

"Azriel," Oath greeted, his voice soft but carrying the weight of the setting sun. He didn’t move from where he stood, still focused on the shrine. "How long did you wait before telling me?"

There was no anger in his tone, only the faintest tinge of disappointment; a wound still fresh, but not entirely unexpected. Oath knew he could be overprotective, a bit of a perfectionist when it came to his family, especially when it concerned Atreyu. But this… this hurt in ways he hadn’t yet begun to articulate.

After a long pause, he finally turned to face Azriel, his gaze searching. "So, what now? You going to pretend this doesn’t make things different between us?"