Show me how to be whole again

Darika turned to look at him and gave him a little scoff, but even that didn't sound like it had her heart in it. She muttered a reply that there were no princesses here. Her lack of a rise made Daemon's lips purse together for a moment. Oh boy, she really was in a dour mood... He couldn't blame her though. How would he be if he were in her situation, with his parents gone and his sister going off on her own? "Hmm, well then in that case, I suppose you won't don't actually have the authority to tell me to go away, soooo..." With that roguish grin still on his face, Daemon didn't wait for Darika to give him permission to come keep her company, already trudging over to join her with giant lion paws crunching on the gravelly shore of the lake. She looked up at him with a suspicious, guarded gaze at his innocuous offer, but eventually relented and agreed that his company might be nice. Not like he was giving her much of a choice anyway. He was staying with her tonight regardless of if she wanted him here or not.

At her invitation to join her, Daemon settled his large form down on the cushion beside her with a heavy thwomf of the downy stuffing giving way to his immense size and bulk. Darika was by no means a small wolf, but Daemon was massive compared to her, even in their still growing states. She lay there in repose, so prim and proper with her fluffy tail wrapped around her hip while Dae spread himself out, stretching those taut muscles under his fur while he got comfortable. A very amusing dichotomy between femininity and masculinity between the pair of them. The two wolves were quiet for some time in the cool autumn evening, her spots and his marking glowing with gentle pulses of bioluminescent light, just like the fireflies over the lake's dark mirrored surface. Daemon kept his gaze out over the inky black water, listening to the gentle lapping of the water until the stillness was broken by Darika's soft voice.

She wanted to know what had him out and about this late. The adolescent brute simply shrugged his shoulders. "I like the night," he responded as if the simple answer were absolute law to him. His gaze briefly lifted to the canvas of stars in the sky. "But I also can't be around all... that right now." Between the calamity of Elysium crashing down and Deimos and Ikigai's murders, his little brother Thyrus had finally succumbed to his illness and his parents had been understandably heartbroken. There was just death and despair all around and while his sister thrived on it, he didn't exactly enjoy being around his wailing mother, his despondent father, or his panicked family as they scrambled to pick up the pieces.

"I'm sorry... about your parents, that is." His cerulean gaze stayed out across the lake while he spoke, finding it difficult to have these sorts of feely conversations without it being uncomfortable. When he did look back over to Darika, he started looking around her little midnight lounge setup for something. "You don't have any wine or anything here, do you? My dad always told me emotions are easier to deal with when you're not sober, and right now I'm thinking he might be right." It'd be far easier for him to feel like he wasn't about to choke himself on his own words if he had some alcohol in his system—not that the yearling had done much drinking beyond stealing a few sneaky sips from his parents' collection of liquors.

"Daemon Mendacium"