There was a cold knot in his stomach as he arrived back at the borders of Yfir. Hypnos would breathe in as he looked at the semi-familiar terrain. He hadn't been around Yfir enough. Hell, even in the raid against Threar he had felt off. Hadn't fought. Hypnos would close his eyes, deep in thought. He was no viking. That much had become obvious to him. He was what Katja and Kapra would consider weak, following his heart in a way that they couldn't understand or agree with. He might have only spoken with Kapra on the matter but it was something Hypnos was fairly sure of. The warning of the tan and brown male still rang in his ears too. But Hypnos had a plan in his heart. Hypnos would steal his courage and throw back his head, giving a howl for Katja. He had made his decision on what he wanted to do, and come hell or high water he would fight for the right to go about what he wanted. Should he fail, should he not be allowed to leave or lose his fight for freedom if it came down to that Hypnos knew he'd never give up. If there was one thing that could be said about the once Olympus child he was a stubborn young man. Try, try again, and keep fighting. It was time to stand up. ""

Art by Tea

The voice that called to her was one she hadn't heard on Yfir's pack lands for some time now. Not the only voice that had fallen silent, but this one was special to Kapra. The boy she'd once assigned to him as protege. Rising to her paws she moved at a lope toward the border. Odd, that he would call from the border. He was a member of the pack, with his own den and life here, and there was little reason for him to call her from the borders. Unless something was wrong. Intuition touched her with caution. Her expression schooled into cool impassiveness, she came to a stop near him. Tilting her head slightly in greeting, she murmured, "What did you need, Hypnos?"

Katja came, and that knot in his stomach twisted harder and harder. He would not lie. He would be honest with her, though he knew not where honesty was going to get him. Hypnos would breathe in, dipping his head as Katja spoke. "Katja" The young man would say her name calmly, keeping himself collected. "I wanted to speak with you about my future... my place in Yfir." He would lift his head, meeting her gaze with his own sea green orbs. "I am in love, Katja. In love with the very girl that you once tried to enslave. You said yourself that loyalties could not be divided while in Yfir. I have come to the decision that is only right of me to leave. Mystic does not trust you, and I can not say that I blame her. I do not wish to create strain either, so Katja, I ask that you allow me to go. Go create my own life, and, someday my own pack." The young man would take a breathe, his muscles tense. Ready. "I will not forget all that you and Kapra have done for me, but Katja I can not keep living a double life any longer. I must go." "Talk" Think

Table by:: Chrono

As Hypnos nervously launched into a rambling speech, Katja remained silent, her eyes not leaving his as the words tumbled into the air in a torrent until finally, silence reigned. He would betray the pack that had taken him in without question, despite his connection to the Olympus family. He would betray the man who had sought to help him find his way through life. He was a traitor. And finally she spoke in reply. "Love," she sneered in contempt, icy gaze hooded. Did this child know what he had done? Or had none of Kapra's attempts to teach him anything gone through his thick Olympian skull? "Love is meaningless if it means abandoning your honor. What love, what lover would have you throw aside all honor and loyalty? A slave?" Her voice was hot with a blaze of fury, and her lips twitched up to reveal fangs. "The girl is weak, useless. She made no attempt to protect herself or her family when I found her, but rolled over immediately and showed her belly. A coward. She uses others to protect her because she will not do so herself. By being with her you do not somehow elevate her to your level, boy, you lower yourself to hers." She made a disgusted noise. He was a fool, a fool not to see what he was doing. Though perhaps he saw, and didn't care - and that made him all the more a fool. "So you would turn traitor for a weak, needful bitch. I should not be surprised - your blood is tainted by your father's cowardice and idiocy. Olympian," she spat. She should not have accepted a scion of Olympus into her ranks, whatever Kapra felt for him. How had the child who had witnessed his birth mother's death with such delight turned out so... weak? "I saved your life when they would have ripped you apart but I have never made an effort to bind you to me in return. Or have you forgotten? You came to us, you chose to join Yfir on your own. You were not coerced into it. The oath was given freely. And you would break it for a girl, you fool. Are you truly prepared to be labelled an oathbreaker before the gods, Hypnos?" ""

Hypnos would listen. Yes he would listen, because he cared for Katja, even if he was unsure of where this would lead. Katja’s words were a sneer. She could not understand the same things he felt. His gaze was hot with anger, and he would spit back words heated as such. “You speak of her because of her actions on one account, but you know her not, Katja!” The once-Olympian had his ears pinned flat to his skull. “She is no slave, and love is far from meaningless. You think it is abandoning my honor, but in abandoning her I have nothing. Kapra taught me to live in the moment, to go for what you seek and hold nothing back, and that is EXACTLY what I’m doing.” Hypnos’ nostrils would flare. “I could give a damn about your opinions about her either! Mark me a slave, mark me a traitor, I don’t give a shit anymore!” Spit flew his maw he was so angry. “But don’t you dare compare me to those bastards that created me. My blood might be theirs, but my heart is not. Unlike them I will fight for what I believe and keep fighting until I can’t anymore. Until my last breathe is ripped from lungs.” Hypnos would swish his tail angrily back and forth. “...and do you think I don’t know that you saved me, Katja? Do you think me ungrateful? I know I came to you of my own free will. But I did not give the full oath of one of your warriors, or have you forgotten the rank I was given?” Hypnos had begun laying his defenses as he spoke, prepared for the worst. “...I am a fool Katja. I just don’t agree with what you’re doing. Our worlds are different, and I’ve for too long tried to lead myself into believing they were the same. I could give a damn what the gods believe... They’ve long since abandoned me anyway.” Hypnos never looked away from her. “But I will not allow myself to be held down. I will not allow Mystic to be claimed by you or anyone like you, nor my future children.” The boy would snarl. “So go ahead and believe what you want. I’m ready to fight for my ideals.” ""

Art by Tea