Purposely he had strayed well outside of Seracia's bounds. Tail hung limply behind him, russet mingled with russet as hips and shoulders rolled and swayed while he went. Not a smile or simper tugged at his lips, but something more serious, more discerning. He'd let loose a cry for his wife, and when he was sure she would have heard him he had left, hopefully drawing her after him. His stride was uncertain, his bodice unkempt. The life he had always dreamed of was not what he imagined it would be. It was time for a change. It was time for a discussion with his wife. He tossed his chin back and over his shoulder, glancing behind him for her figure as he slowed his pace to a standstill. The water licked at his hocks, cool and crisp and salty. The beach was blackened with sand that glistened though not all of it was wet - shining and shimmering like a thousand diamonds of the deepest ebony. It gleamed up at him, darkening his features and casting a shadow upon his face. "We need to talk," he uttered, not entirely sure she was there yet - but speaking anyway in the off chance that she was.


"Speech,"

Time had certainly changed things -- even more so, it had changed her. Less than a year ago she had been Queen, ruling the Kingdom of Seracia, alongside her new husband. There had been so much promise in their lives, and though there still was, it had shifted significantly. No longer did holding power matter; not as much as their children did. As their marriage and their sanity. Perhaps ruling a pack would be a possibility for the future, but right now, it was not.

The white pelted woman was frequently lost in these thoughts; of the future and the past, wondering if her father would be proud of the road she had taken, or if he had expected more of her. But upon hearing the call of her husband, her concentration would be shattered, disappearing into a thousand pieces that were doomed to resurface. She was not an overly obedient woman, but for Maverick, she would do anything -- and she would never ignore him when he needed her. She trailed after him, finding it curious that he did not stop to greet her, but instead continued further toward the sea. It felt strange to be trailing after him, but she would trust in his instincts and continue close behind.

The woman would come to a halt as the beach appeared in her vision, sparkling and black, more vivid than anything she had seen before despite its color. Maverick would appear before her, and she would pad beside him, letting the cold water lash out over her paws. "I know," she told him quietly. Her voice was detached, and yet not cold -- she knew they hadn't been entirely happy for some time, but they had not yet decided how to fix it. "Tell me what ails you, my love."

Instinctively he would lean into her, allowing just enough pressure for their pelts to mingle together in harmony. A smile flickered on his features, but didn't linger long enough to be noticed by anything but the muscles in his face. Tail twisted toward her, hoping to intertwine with her own for naught but a moment - anything to reaffirm his longing for her. "Everything," he breathed, scarcely a whisper but loud enough for her to hear, certainly. "Seracia is different. It's massive, and while part of me knows I should be proud about that - the other half can't help but dislike it." He should be proud, he should be gleeful over the growth of a pack he'd been with since the very beginning, and yet all he felt was regret that he had let it go without knowing what his next step in life would be. "My entire life was once centered around ruling Seracia, having children. I've done all of that in my scarce three years. All I can think about is.. what now?" Seracia meant little to him anymore if he couldn't be its King, and fate had told him that - for the time being - he could not. Word had spread that another may be taking over the Kingdom for an indefinite amount of time. He knew he couldn't take another change in leadership. He had been willing to reside under Loccian's command, but no one else's. Confusion shook his insides, rattling them around until he felt he might be sick. Oh, life was tricky.


"Speech,"

She was grateful to be away from home; away from the lands she had come to recognize as her own. But truthfully, Epiphron was attached to her family and to familiarity, not to the lands themselves. She had learned to leave her birth-pack, and this one might not be so different. But Maverick was not just her husband -- not just her partner, but truly her other half. With him, she would always be, for all eternity.

Her own tail lashed out behind her, sliding briefly against his own, before settling down at her hocks. Still the water lapped at her paws, cold and bitter and just as unrelenting. "I feel the same way," she agreed with a soft exhalation of air. If they hadn't been blessed with children, things would've been different, but she did not regret their births for the world. They would've continued to rule, their leadership strong and unshakable. However, it seemed fate had different plans for them. "Perhaps we should leave." She tested her words carefully, her expression guarded as she watched him. Once, such a thing would've been unthinkable to him, but things were so different now. "Maybe not forever, just for awhile." There was so much of the world they had never seen, and she was beginning to wonder if they ever would.

The water kissed his paws, running up near his hocks at times when it drew in quite far. It was cold, bitterly so - but it fit his mood perfectly. That was a sad fact, but one he couldn't deny. She would voice his same thoughts, perhaps it was time to leave. Seracia was not his home anymore - she was, his children were. He knew some of them may not want to make the journey, and he would not punish them for choosing to remain - but his heart was telling him to go, even if it meant leaving them behind. "I think so," he murmured, almost as if the words were foreign to him. How shocking this moment would seem had he been looking at it a few months ago. How strange it would be to think that he would ever want to leave - but alas, things changed. "I don't know where we'll go, maybe to Valhalla - maybe we'll find a place entirely our own." The future was blurred, unable to be seen, and it excited him. Seracia had grown... boring, and the future was anything but. "I love you, you know. I'm sorry I haven't said it nearly enough lately," he murmured with conviction, knowing that he hadn't been a proper husband or father lately. It seemed he'd been failing all around lately, and in that particular moment he swore to end the rut he was in - to make a new life for himself, for them.




"Speech,"

Epiphron truly did not care where she went -- so long as Maverick was by her side, and so long as she knew where her children could be found. Even the youngest ones were not newborns any longer; they could make their own choices, even if she did not agree with them. Despite the slight dread she felt at the conversation they would be having with their children soon, the former queen felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Her gaze would shift from him, watching the waves lap at the shore, becoming more threatening. As though shouting at them to leave this beach, and leave the place they once knew as home. It seemed they had become stagnant, and finally they were realizing they did not want that. She would turn to him, smiling gently, a more genuine expression then she had offered him in far too many weeks. A sigh escaped her lips and she embraced him, pressing her nose to his neck tenderly. "And I love you, my king," she returned with a soft laugh. He would always be her King, even if not by formal title. He would always reign over her heart, and she could not imagine anything but. "Things will be better, now." The world awaited them -- but only after they spoke to their children. And then? The possibilities were endless.