He had heard more than saw the furious shouting match between the two vibrant red wolves, and although he had no way of knowing what was being said the dread and fury that had been exchanged between them had been easy to pick up. He recognized both as Célestin’s family but the full nature of the shouting match had been lost on him. It wasn’t until he saw the motley wolf chase after his brooding brother that a true tendril of foreboding began to unfurl in the pit of the Prince’s stomach. In spite of how dearly he wanted to he could not convince himself that it would be appropriate for him to go to Cél right there and then, so instead he waited, laying in the shade of a willow with his nose tucked into his paws, the walls of his eyes showing as he glanced to see if his friend was anywhere nearby. With a deep huff the dire closed his eyes, his decorum winning over his concern as he attempted to restrain himself. "Speech" Think You

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Well... everything was a mess wasn't it? That his brother had managed to convince himself that they were all unwanted by everyone around them, when any animosity anyone carried for Blaise was entirely the red boy's fault, stirred some doubt in his chest. Which he hated because if he knew anything about his mother or uncle it was that both of them were dedicated to the lot of them, unintended litter or not. He couldn't even being to imagine that their mother; who had embraced him and Bas so tight when they'd returned home, or their uncle, who had gone to bat for them and their mother had anything but love of them in their hearts. But Blaise seemed determined to play the victim in this, which only really served to make Célestin angrier at his brother. Blaise had been a bully his whole life, cruel and rude to his siblings and obtusely combative with everyone. That anyone could maybe not be fond of the boy was his own fault never seemed to cross his mind. At this point all he wanted was to see someone knock some sense into his brother, literally if they had to. Not that any of his anger at his brother dulled any of the pain of the revelation of the circumstances of their birth. Even unsurprising in hindsight as it was, it didn't cushion the blow any. He's known for a while, something had been wrong... they had no father to speak of and while when he'd been a pup that hadn't been an issue he had known for a few seasons now that that meant something. Sighing the rainbow boy dragged himself through the willows, the fight with his brother having drained him physically and emotionally; his paws felt like lead. Slowly his scanned the territory. The last thing he wanted right now was to be dragged in front of any of the other wolves in the pack and know they knew something was wrong. Maudire Blaise. He thought to himself, Il ne pouvait pas avoir son argument au secret? Célestin caught the image of Pegasus, lounging below a willow and for the first time Célestin felt conflicted on whether he wanted to spend time with his friend or not. On one hand he didn't really want Pegasus to see him like this; didn't want to have to air his family's dirty laundry for a wolf he respected so much... some part of him was certain learning this would change the way Pegasus viewed him. And on the other hand he wanted nothing more right now than to seek solace in a wolf who'd proven to be a good friend. He wanted to curl up and be told everything would be fine, and he wanted to joke around with his friend and pretend nothing had even happened. Finally though he decided; slowly he lumbered towards the prince until he was certain within ear shot and clear view. "Hey..." He muttered, his voice soft and trailing. For a moment he stood stock still, avoiding Pegasus' gaze. Then he allowed himself to lower onto the ground, almost collapsing onto his stomach beside his friend. Though he wanted to push into the bigger boy, bury his face into Pegasus' pelt and surround himself in the familiar comforting scent of his friend Célestin restrained himself, instead laying his head on his outstretched paws and staring dejectedly out into the packlands, a soft huffy whine pulling from him. Right now he wanted a physical comfort he dared not ask for. Still the presence of his bigger, princely friend helped to quell him a bit, he felt at peace. Home. "Speech" Think You

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He raised his head abruptly at the rainbow backed male’s approach, his ears standing alertly on top of his head. “Célestin.” He greeted, worry written all over his face. “Is everything…” He trailed off, it was evident in the way he carried himself that everything was not alright. Physical comfort in public was rare in Aytepios, even between lovers, but Pegasus couldn’t help the instinctual call to rest his head on the other boy’s back and assure him that everything would be alright. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked quietly, if only to distract himself enough to keep the distance between them. He dropped his head back down on his paws, his ears pinning back and flicking forward nervously. He reached for a story he could tell the other male in the hopes that it would cheer him up but nothing came to his mind no matter how hard he focused. It hurt him to see Célestin like this, so downtrodden when he was usually just as lively and colorful as his pelt. Pegasus had never met Blaise or any of the motley wolf’s family but in that instant he wanted nothing more than to hurt whoever hurt Célestin and damn the consequences. speaking Thinking   You

Pegasus didn't exactly look like he knew what to do and some part of Célestin felt a bit guilty coming to his friend in such as state, but he was here now so what was he going to do? As he lay beside his friend, Pegasus asked him if he wanted to talk about it and for a moment Célestin regarded him, tilting his head so that the side of his face was more resting on his paws than his chin. He looked at his friend, unsure if he did want to talk about it but there was something comforting about the idea of sharing what his troubles were... though he still feared his revelation might change things, their dynamic. Finally heaving a sigh Célestin turned his head back to stare out ahead of him, not wanting to see how what he was about to say might affect Pegasus. "You probably heard my brother and mother fighting..." Célestin began; giving a sardonic barking laugh as he did so, the whole of boreas had probably heard them. "Blaise, my brother, evidently got angry at our mother and started yelling about how we were unwanted and our father was probably a rapist and..." He lowered his voice slightly, feeling a wave of nausea roll over him. "Well evidently Balise wasn't totally wrong, we're bastards; in the literal sense. I guess it wasn't a total surprise for me... We'd never had any father to speak of and our mother has always been rather jumpy. But I guess learning you're the product of... well... I guess I just never really wanted to consider it." Célestin fell silent for a while, staring out at the pack lands; his mind a whirlwind. There was something completely different about realizing you're different from other families than finding out your very birth was the result of one of the worst acts someone could do to someone else. He found himself wondering if any of them looked like him, if when his mother looked at her kids she saw him. "Anyways," he continued, louder; not really wanting to continue on in that line of thinking, "Blaise stormed off and started talking nonsense to my sister Priscilla about how our mom and Uncle Torin were lying to us by not telling us. As if telling a couple of pups that they're mother only had them because she was assaulted is any way to handle this situation. Then he started claiming no one here cares about us and that he was going to take over the pack one day and trying to play the Us. vs. Them card and he's just so fucking full of shit and-" Célestin stopped talking, realizing his volume had been rising as he continued to fume. He took a few deep breaths; closing his eyes as he reigned in his anger. "Blaise hadn't made contact with us, with any of us for a year before this. He claims our uncle doesn't care but he's made no effort to be there for anyone and as soon as it turns out the world doesn't work the way he wants it to he thinks he just gets to ruin things for everyone else. Uncle Torin hasn't ever treated any of us like we were anything but just like everyone else. He's can be harsh but no more than he is for anyone else... as far as I can tell anyways. But Blaise? Oh no, he's always the victim. He's been a bully since we were pups and now that he's convinced himself he's been wronged he wants to punish everyone. I've never wanted to hit him more than I do right now. I hope he get's his ass kicked." Célestin kept his gaze straight ahead, his face a mask of grim anger and determination. Some part of him hoped to be the one to kick his brother's ass but right now more than anything he just wanted Blaise to stop pretending he was the only goddamn wolf on the planet that had ever been wronged. "Speech" Think You

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Pegasus listened, his heart growing heavier with each word Célestin spoke. Rape was something unspeakable to the royal court of Aytepios, he knew it existed among commoners as a grievous crime but the reality of it had always been distant. It was what made his father’s rape so horrific to him, the fact that he could be subjected to such a low act and from another male no less. He looked at Cél with pained eyes as the full gravity of being a bastard born of rape fell over him, and how he’d had to learn of it under such tremulous conditions. “Maybe I should kick his ass.” He grumbled, only half joking, then pricked his ears to see if the other male would react, hopefully with a light hearted chuckle. He hesitated a moment, then lifted a paw to rest it on top of Célestin’s his heart beating wildly with the fervor of a trapped bird’s wings. “You’re not a bad person.” He said resolutely, confirming for himself just as much as he hoped to reassure Célestin. His blood and his family had always been the basis for who he was and who he would always be, but he also realized he could never even conceive of the motley wolf intentionally harming someone for his own amusement. Célestin was a good person, even if his father or brother weren’t. "You're...One of the best wolves I've ever met in my life actually..." He said, quieter now than he had been before. "Every friend I've ever had outside of my family only befriended me because of who I was, they only stayed with me for the benefits of being a prince's friend but you... You aren't like that, you...Like me for who I am...And no one has ever done that before." For the first time in his life Pegasus found himself existing outside of who he was as a prince and as his father's son, Célestin saw him only as Pegasus, and no one, not even Pegasus himself ever had. "Speech" Think You

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Célestin couldn't help himself when he heard Pegasus' suggestion, a genuine if barking laugh pulled from him, a moment of levity in a time when it had been hard to find. He finally turned to look at his friend, a small grin on his face. "I think I'd like to see that." He couldn't help the light tone. The idea of watching his friend wiping the smug look off his brother's face was amusing. Still the forlornness would wash over him again, brief though it was. Pegasus did something that took his mind out of the problem again. A paw placed on his own and for a second Célestin couldn't help the fluttering in his chest, feeling the warmth of his friend's paw on his own made him realize how much colder the rest of him was. He took a breath and then gently made to rest his chin on Pegasus' paw, giving him enough room to retreat if he didn't want that extra contact. He listened as Pegasus spoke, watching him. He felt his heart fluttering even more than just the contact had. Ranks had never meant anything to him and he had no ambition for rank himself and Pegasus' kingdom was so far away in his mind that the concept of his friend's royal status having any bearing on his life had seemed absurd. And as he thought of it, well it occurred to him how much he liked his friend. He suddenly wasn't sure how to respond. "That's their loss then." He finally said, not quite meeting Pegasus' gaze; instead fixing on his muzzle. "If you've proven anything to me it's that you're someone worth actually getting to know." He chuckled softly again. "After all you took the time to befriend a bastard." speaking Thinking  you

He felt his heart jump as Célestin rested his head on top of their joined paws, his pulse suddenly racing at the contact, as small and insignificant as it might be to the other male. He didn’t move his paw, too frozen in place to even consider pulling it away from him and breaking the comfort of each other’s touch. He heard Célestin speak and returned to his senses just in time to hear him say that he had befriended a bastard. “Honestly, I don’t think it would have made a difference if you weren’t one.” He said softly with a light hearted chuckle, his eyes calm and understanding.  He remembered when he was younger and he and his cousins would roll down a grassy hill beyond the city’s gate, he remembered the lurch of fear and excitement as he tumbled blindly down the hill, the weightless fluttering in the pit of his stomach as if he had swallowed a bird. That was how he felt around Célestin; he felt an apprehension he didn’t fully understand and an elation so genuine that it frightened him. He wondered if any woman would make him feel the same way, and for a terrifying moment he doubted it entirely. “Célestin, I love you...Like a brother.” He said in a hushed tone, although the hastily tacked on inclusion seemed like a lie. He loved the other male as more than a brother, but the very nature of the thought terrified him. In truth he was far more afraid of losing Célestin than he was of exploring the unnatural thoughts he had at times when they were together, but for now, he could only hope that their close friendship would be enough to keep them together. He realized then for the first time that he would never return home, not as long as Célestin lived in Boreas. speaking Thinking   You