There was so much buzzing inside his mind after Deathbelle and he had finished their patrol. He had bowed to his Empress, and she had dismissed him to come to terms with everything they had spoken of. He knew that he a lot of priorities to shift, and would need to host training exercises within the pack. He struggled to spar with any in the Klein family for fear of hurting them, and well he would still have to be careful with these smaller wolves, he no longer had to fear dire circumstances. But… before even all that, he had one very important thing to address. Swept up in his emotion, he didn’t realise that what he was about to do was probably the exact opposite tactic he should be taking. The man had been known to be a fool after all, and her assessment of him wasn’t too far off the mark. He marched to Zee’s den, and was lucky to find her there. He stuck his head inside and offered her a toothy, distracted smile. "Zee, up, up, your moving.” he told her as he walked inside and grabbed the cheetah coat off the floor, already moving to usher her from the den. "Speech"

Zee had decided to take the rest of her break from Deathbelle to relax alone in her den. Her woven rug was done, the birds they needed were caught and plucked, and Zee felt she deserved some genuine self-love. She nestled into her cheetah pelt and rolled onto her side to feel the soft fur rub against her with a warm groan of pleasure. What a wonderful gift. It wasn't long before her solitude was interrupted however, and Sirius' over sized head poked into her den for a mere moment before a flurry of movement slid off her nice coat and began to shove her out the door. "Woah there!" She responded with confusion, trying to fight against Sirius' push but in the end too small to help herself from being forcibly removed from her home. "Where's the fire? What is going on? It's my break!"   "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Zee responded with surprise at his instruction, through not anger, they had dealt with that at least, and he couldn’t help the cheeky grin he gave her over his mouthful of coat. For the moment, he was walking on air, and couldn’t wait to share his news with her. But first, he needed to get her out of here, and put her exactly where he could keep a watchful, secure eye over her. No one was ever going to hurt her again, and he had the rank to make it so. Well.. there was still one other person who could, but if Hannibal even tried they were going to have a problem. A protective growl slipped past him, before he shook the thought free and nudged Zee again. ’ Urmfh” he said past the coat in his mouth, and gestured towards the exit of the den, ushering her outside it. He wasn’t about to take no for an answer. Once outside, he took a steady trot through the ravine, through the walk to his den wasn’t a very long one. He had been steadily working on his den the last few days, and it was already greatly bigger, with an elevated space tucked into the wall on one side, perfect in size for a wolf like Zee. he had actually been building it in preparation for the next storm, but now it would serve even better. He chucked the coat into this alcove, and turned to Zee with a grin. “Do you remember once how you told me I wasn't entirely truthful about my rank? Well i’ve been told in no uncertain terms exactly what my place is in the Ashen Empire. I have a right to protect you, both through my rank, and Deathbelle’s wishes to keep you safe. She’s quite fond of you, you know.” they had both befriended this small blue wolf, and loved her dearly. Somehow she had just the right qualities to fight perfectly in the hearts of both of them. “It’s still a bit cosy at the moment, but in a few days it’ll be big enough for the three of us” he promised her. This was probably the point where she realised where he was going with this and put on the air brakes to his happy parade. "Speech"

Zee followed along happily behind Sirius, a light laugh coming from her as he ushered her forward. His energy was infectious, and she felt more gleeful then she had in days as she followed Sirius on this weird adventure. "Okay okay." She giggled, moving along with his brisk stride. They made it to his den and she hopped up daintily into it as she had before, still very confused as to what was all going on here. "Oh, you've expanded it!" She mused, moving over to the little alcove and jumping into it atop the pelt to test the size. "It is cozy." The compliment came easily and she nestled into the small crater. He spoke then of his rank, and Zee felt her grin widen as he mentioned his true identity in Ashen. She was so glad he was able to stop thinking himself as merely a slave, and open himself up to his true potential. Pride swelled in her chest. He wanted to protect her - and Deathbelle wanted it too? This was great. Did this mean he wanted her to move into here with him? The idea was... interesting, though she didn't hate it by any means. It made her feel warm inside to consider sharing a home with her friend, and as she moved to respond to his speech he ended it with a very large bomb. "... Three of us?" She blinked at him in disbelief. If he was female, she'd have taken it as a proclamation of pregnancy. Was Deathbelle moving in? Oh god, she hoped not. That would get awkward fast. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

[/b]

He wasnt expecting her to laugh, or find amusement in his kidnapping. At least she wasnt asking any questions he couldn't answer through his full muzzle. She realised pretty quickly that the alcove was for her, and jumped up into it. He gave it a critical eye with her inside, and decided he had got her measurements about right. He would just need to dig it a little deeper once he a few more rugs to warm the stone beneath her.

Some part of him must have expected her to protest this sudden change in her life, for he found himself surprised when she gave very little in complaint. Instead, she nestled into the risen bed, and only gave him confusion when he mentioned a number.

He paused in his own excited, determined decision making, he had been pacing a little, his heart had been simmering the whole time here, as if he feared someone would get to zee before she was in the safety of his fen and demand work and punishment from her. He was perhaps a touch ridiculous in his thinking, but the knowledge that he could make a different.. it was so tandalising that he had grabbed the idea refused to let go.

"Err.." he said, looking to his moral compass as she didnt immediately grasp the implication of his words. "I thought I could bring the other slave in here, and protect you both" he explained. "I thought that's what you would want. In truth, his priority was Zee, and it was only for her that he had included the stranger.

Things were looking up. Zee was nestled within the alcove all wonderful and cozy and imagining the many nights she'd stay within these stone walls with the comfort that Sirius was there. The thought definitely brought some confusing emotions to the forefront however, and she tried to ignore the burning within her chest. There was another reason entirely to why Zee was so pleased with the new development, and it had little to do with thunderstorms or protection from their masters. He seemed to stumble on his words however and Zee got concerned immediately. She'd have absolutely no way to argue if Deathbelle did want to live with them. She loved her mistress, but at the same time she was not thrilled with the idea of living with them both. She wanted Sirius all to herself, and the thought itself felt like betrayal. Though Deathbelle was not what he had in mind, and Zee was taken aback by his suggestion of inviting the new slave to live with them. "Sirius..." She began carefully, voice hitching at the end. "I uh, I don't... I really do appreciate the thought." A small smile of appreciation and somewhat of an apology touched her face before she got the courage to continue. "Though I hope you'll understand my hesitance. I want the new slave to be protected, but does he have to be here in this den to do that? I just..." She was torn. It was her who made such a big deal of grabbing the other, and now here she was trying to think of reasons for the guard to not protect him to the same extent. "Look I trust you so much, I know you'd never hurt me or anything like that. But this new guy, he might not take well to his new life. What happens if I'm in the den and you're out patrolling or servicing Deathbelle... and he, y'know." Her cheeks flushed. She'd let him fill in the blankets. "I'd feel more comfortable just, staying with you." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Sirius hasnt intended to decorate his den with anything more then one rug, but now that he intended to share it with Zee, he knew he wished to offer her comfort and insulation. He would need to line the floor and the edges where the floor met wall, to keep the chill of winter at bay. He wasnt sure what he would do about the entrance itself, perhaps he could rig something like a thick coat to hang from the entrance way and block the chill. It might also help lessen her fear of storms.. suffice to say, he was already attached to the idea of her staying here.

He was surprised at her reluctance to welcome to slave into their home, after all he had been the reason she had hated him for a while. However, he didnt find himself caring terribly, it would be easier to protect her and keep her safe if it was just the two of them. She sounded awkward as she tried to phrase it, and even went so far as to admit that she did not feel safe around the new slave. He growled softly. "Then he does not stay. If he ever does try to hurt you zee, if anyone does, you call for me." He told her. It certainly wasnt a question. "I take it then that you'll stay, no lingering doubts?" He asked her.

He got to his feet and pushed his nose into her alcove. "I've never been in the position to defend someone on lesser rank then my own before. Its.. weird, how desperately I wanted to keep you safe the second I realised I was able to"

Thankfully it wasn't difficult to persuade Sirius to not invite a third into their den, and Zee's smile returned as he agreed to it. "Yes, I would be happy to stay here. No lingering doubts." Her agreement came easily. "And I'll be closer to Deathbelle too, to serve her as she needs." His growl at the mention of her harm was scary, but Zee for once was not on the wrong side of it and it thriller her to think of this massive titan defending her. "I will call for you if he tries anything." She promised. "But Sirius you can't seriously expect to protect me from just anyone. The majority of this pack are Klein masters and if they see fit to hurt me then - as you've explained - that is their birthright as greater wolves, is it not? I mean, you can't keep me safe from anyone here except the new slave." She lifted a brow to regard him, curious as to whether he'd keep his stance on the strong command the weak. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He nodded his head as she pointed out the closeness of Deathbelle’s den - it was why he had chosen to carve his den out of stone, instead of finding an easier material further afield from his Mistress’s home. She showed doubts at the idea of him protecting her from anyone else but a slave, and he leaned his muzzle against the floor of her alchive, surveying her for a moment before he spoke. He was yet to come to terms with why he felt so protective of Zee, perhaps it was a part of his selfish nature. He did not care one ounce for a stranger, but as he grew attached to a wolf, he would fight tooth and claw to keep them at his side. “Deathbelle’s mention of wishing to keep you safe, and bringing disputes to her, gives me the authority to defend you. She intends for it, and by bringing disputes to her, she will be the authority that deals with it. Regardless, she has dangled the idea of Daimyo before me” he would add, trying not to let his lingering discomfort and confusion at that leak through. “If I reached for it, then there would be very few wolves in Ashen that I could not defend you from. I don’t care if you are a slave, you are mine... and Deathbelles” did his intensity frighten her? To think he had gone from feeling mild disdain for her, to exasperation at her sass, to admiration for it. A friendship had come somewhere after that, and after the fear of almost losing her in their fight, something more had bloomed. Hearing that he could protect her shortly after that, was kindling to the fire, and he burned with his desire to protect what was his. Well, his and deathbelles. His Mistress’s claim to her was much greater than his own. "Speech"

Zee watched as his nose poked into the stone recess, peering at her with intensity. He spoke of his permissions to protect her, and she still found it hard to believe that this devout wolf would be able at all to bring himself to intervene on her behalf. To her he was not a slave, but if that was the identity he chose then she could not expect him to fight back against her Klein masters if they wanted to hurt her - regardless of his rank. "I'm happy for you." She told him genuinely. Her head tilted down and away as a fierce heat came into her face at his words. mine he had said. He considered her his. It was a wild feeling and she couldn't help her heart hammering in her chest at the words. "Sirius..." She murmured softly, eyes squeezing shut. "It's not fair." Her voice got very quiet and she struggled to get the words out. "I- I care for you more then I can say, and when you say things like this it makes me feel really good." With a sigh, she crawled forward and nudged him gently aside, hopping down from the alcove to stand taller at the other side of his den. She couldn't feel small and helpless like she did curled up before him - she needed to tap into the pride and confidence she used to feel to speak the difficult words. "These feelings are confusing. You are not a slave, Deathbelle wants you to be a Daimyo. I'm worried, Sirius." Her words spilled from her faster then she wanted them to, her passion driving her to be bolder. "I fall for you more and more each time I see you, and I'm scared that my feelings for you will get you in trouble. Don't you think it's inappropriate? For a slave to be so attached to their superior?" "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

[/b]

She turned her head down, and away a little from him, partly obscuring her expression in the shadows of her alcove. He heard her heart pick up in pace, and decided that he had let his words leak too much passion and strength, and possessiveness. After all, only a few days ago he was quite likely to be the one shoving her head into the dirt, and now here he was telling her he considered her his. He raised his head slightly from the rock, trying better to gouge her expression as she told him it was not fair. He wasn’t expecting her to admit how much she liked to hear him say these things. It was like her decision to stay in his den - he hadn’t expected her to agree so easily, or feel this way. When she nudged for him to move, he obediently stepped back, and to the side, as promptly and gently as he would have to any Klein that demanded him to move. He wasn’t certain what her sigh indicated, and he was worried she intended to leave the den. Perhaps she needed fresh air, and a moment free from him. The idea worried him, so he was grateful when she stopped at the other side of the den. There was now a greater distance between them, but she was leaving yet. I fall for you more and more she told him, and he sat down suddenly, butt hitting floor as he looked to her. She held all of his attention, through in truth she had done so from the moment he had found her in her den. Her words struck him like a blow, for surely she could know how closely aligned they where to his very thoughts and words to Deathbelle. How he was an undeserving slave, and their affections should not be so. Zee felt that about him? he wasn’t certain what to say. He knew he was protective and possessive of Zee, and the thought of her with another man brought a fiery burst of adrenaline through his veins, but did that mean he loved her? could he love her, would he ever be allowed to. He suddenly felt very, very confused. He cleared his throat, and found his gaze drifting to the floor, realising in that moment that he had been giving Zee a very different idea then he had intended to. “I… Zee..” he paused, he really didn’t know what to say. “I’ve grown strongly attached to you, I wish always to be in your presence, you make me feel alive, and like so much more than I am. You make me feel independent, exasperated, amused and happy. I see your fire and your spirit and I respect it to the stars and back.” he paused again, trying not to stammer. “I have loved Deathbelle since we were children, but I knew that her lofty position would forever be a bar between us. It was inappropriate, for a slave to be so attached to their superior. Twice now, I have spurned her advances towards me, because she deserves so much more than I” another pause. “Do I love you? I do not know, Zee. I want to say yes, for a fear that you will leave this den if I say otherwise. It may even be the truth, I am not certain… but I do not believe Deathbelle would forgive me if I said it.” "Speech"

Zee's stomach churned as he spoke, and the further he made it into his speech the harder it was to hold her gaze upon him. His eyes were downcast, and she wished she could see inside them to judge his feelings fully. Her heart wrenched hard deep within her chest, but waited until he finished to speak again. "You are not a slave." She began, voice firm yet quiet. Slowly she slumped down onto the floor, leaning her back against the stone to draw strength from it's cool chill. "You may have been when you were young, but today in this pack you are not. If you love her, you should be with her." There was the matter of her children of course, but if Sirius was the one Deathbelle spoke of who owned her heart, then surely the Empress would find a way to make it work. "I want you to be happy, my friend. I may not have the freedom to be with whom I want, and maybe I never will. If you don't take your chance at happiness then you're spitting in the face of us who want to but cannot." She did her best to let her voice stay calm and soft, so that Sirius wouldn't feel like she was chastising him. Her heart felt as if it wanted to shatter imagining her Mistress in the guard's arms, lofting Sirius up to a rank he deserved but that kept him far from Zee's reach. A selfish part of her wanted to find reason to be angry with him again if only so it didn't hurt so badly to push him away. "Deathbelle's comfort is, as always, the first priority." Her murmur came after a while. It was beginning to pain Zee terribly to see how Sirius put the other woman first, and she hated herself for thinking that way of her mistress. Even with the respect she held for the royal wolf, she couldn't help but see her as an obstacle. It was unbecoming of a slave, and Zee hoped desperately she could be a good enough servant and friend to the Empress to not hold Sirius' love against her. "I understand. I - I didn't expect anything different, to be honest. I assume I will not be loved in that way until after the day comes that I leave here, if I even survive it." There was always the option to earn her freedom too, but Zee wouldn't even know how to begin. It took Sirius his entire life to be freed by his Klein masters, and she was not nearly so patient.   "I say these things to you not to make you uncomfortable, and I hope it doesn't change things between us. I respect your choice fully, and if the day comes where you stand by her side as ruler of this pack then I will gladly bow at your feet, too." A pause, and she couldn't help but burst out her closing statement. "Just know that I love you regardless of your feelings for me, and please act with that in mind. You're kind of an idiot sometimes -" She gave him a small, fond smile of apology. "- and as your moral compass I need to remind you that to invite a woman into your den is usually a bad idea if you don't share feelings or blood." A sigh of finality and sadness having finished with her heavy words, wanting desperately to have just not said anything at all. She tried to force her usual level of sass into her words, hoping it would bring some regularity back into the conversation. "You can't take it back now, though. You've made me a cozy room and everything. That would just be rude." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

His glanced up at her, only to find her own gaze had drifted downwards. No doubt what he had to say wasn't anything close to what she had hoped. He didn't know if his crazy possessive feeling to her was love, and he was uncertain if he dared to find out. She was prompting him to be with Deathbelle, which stood in contrast to her earlier words of falling for him. He dared not look up again, worried what he would find in her gaze. She didn't know the complicated, seething mass of thoughts and feelings he held in regards to Deathbelle. He worshipped her, which was hardly the grounds for an equal relationship. She continued to tell him to go for it, for she might never get the chance to have a wolf she loved. The protective growl rose a little inside of him again. Hmm. He didn't like the thought of her by herself, or with another wolf. That was something he was going to get over, because she herself was already proving selfless in her desire to see him happy. How could he do any less for her? He felt more than a little uncomfortable as Zee mentioned him one day ruling this pack no he thought, that wasn’t going to come to pass. “It matters not, she has invited the father of her children to this pack, and shared affections with another. Either of these two men can offer her more than I, and already found purchase in her heart. I will love her always, but I do not ever see myself being with her. I never have.” he said softly, “I spoke of Deathbelle not to hurt you, but so that you understand exactly the position I am in. Deathbelle considers me hers, and I can not see her forgiving me a transcretion, even if she and I would never be” in other words, he fully expected this life to be a loveless one. “You love me?” he whispered softly, he couldn’t seem to raise his voice any louder then this. “But why? For all the times I've hurt you, demanded your respect of the Kleins, threatened you. why? ” he asked with a soft intensity, like her answer might mean the world to him. “I don’t mean to hurt you Zee, but if I would mark you mine this very moment, if I could.” the possessiveness he could not deny, and he hoped she would not see the true intensity of it. He had a feeling it would frighten her if he knew just how strong that feeling had begun to grow. “This den is yours now, as much as it is mine. If you wish me to make changes to the structure to suit you, let me know. I will bring in bedding and a hang a fur from the door to keep in the warmth.” he explained her plans to her in a distracted voice, his thoughts still on the heavier part of their conversation. "Speech"

Sirius' response came to her differently then she anticipated, and she needed a quiet moment to absorb it. With every conversation the pair had she learned more of this strange man and his motivations. He loved Deathbelle - terribly and with every part of him. She loved him too, but from Zee's prior conversation with the Empress it was the pressure of her family that kept her from him as well as his own worries. The two seemed a troubled pair, and Zee wasn't sure if she wanted to take happiness from their complicated distance or be sad for her two friends. The selfish side of her spoke up as Sirius changed the perspective. Now the conversation was not centered on the guard rejecting his empress, but instead on how their mistress would feel if he were to claim Zee as his own. "If.. if she has committed herself to another, and you are adamant about not stepping in as her equal.. then what stops you?" She had to ask, feeling anxiety pool in her chest once more. "I can't imagine loving someone and not wanting them to be happy, as I want for you. Do you truly feel that Deathbelle would hate you for falling in love with someone else when she herself has two men in her bed?" It felt harsh, and Zee suddenly felt like the worst handmaiden in the world. She looked so highly upon her mistress yet here she was making assumptions and speaking behind her back. "Would she even need to know?" He asked why she loved him, and Zee had so much she wanted to let spill out. However to speak her true feelings - especially when Sirius seemed so uncomfortable with them - felt cruel. She murmured something unintelligible under her breath, before repeating it louder for him to hear. "You don't know what I've done to get here. Or the reasons why. My entire life I've held my goals firmly in sight, befriending or fucking anyone who could give me the slightest chance at greatness. Since I could remember, I've dreamed of having a pack of my own. I've never wanted anything so fiercely." She paused, exhaling a shaken puff of breath. "Until I met you, Sirius. You are endearing and yet frustrating. Kind when you need to be and firm when you're pushed. You make me feel safe and protected and like nothing bad could ever happen. You annoy the living daylights out of me but every time I'm away from you I can't wait until I can see you again. I love you for all that you are. I'd stay forever in this pack as a mere slave - beaten and broken - if it meant I could wake up beside you." The confession was exhausting, and her head slumped down into her paws so that her nose pressed firmly against the stone floor. Some part of her expected him to leave, or kick her out. He'd not withdrawn his offer yet, however. How honest could she be before she drove him away from her - or worse, into Deathbelle's arms instead? "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

“My loyalty to her” he said simply as she asked what stopped him. It felt like a betrayal to Deathbelle, to have feelings for another wolf, let alone act on them. He wasn’t certain exactly what he should do in terms of loyalty to Deathbelle, but he was adamant against breaking it. She might have welcomed other to her bed after he had gently turned her down, but he wasn’t so certain he could do so without fearing he’d hurt her. He hadn’t said the word love in relation to Zee, but she spoke as though he had. He winced a little at the way she phrased it ‘when she herself has two men in her bed’ He had absolutely no idea how to approach her next words Would she even need to know and decided for the moment the prudent course of action would be to ignore them. He couldn’t predict exactly how the future would go, with Zee being here constantly, near him. Nor how his anger might change him another hurt her after this day, but for the moment he would at least try to find a safe path through this tangle of hearts. If he could have Zee without hurting Deathbelle. He.. he might actually be interested in taking it. What a strange thought, to love another for so long, so devotedly (and he still loved her even now) and yet still have room to develop these feelings for Zee. these feelings seemed more even, more real, almost, for how he spoke and acted around her, more like an equal then the devoted way he was with Deathbelle. He couldn’t help the soft, possesive growl that slipped out as she began to explain her thoughts to him - or fucking anyone - “ but the sentance riled him for reasons he still wasn’t quite ready to explore. It didn’t pass his notice as she finally explained what she wanted, which was her true reason for coming here - a pack of her own. She wanted it so badly, she was willing to do anything for it. Apparently that even included giving herself up as a slave. He didn’t like the distance between them, especially when she drove her head into the stone floor, and he moved cautiously towards her, as though she was a creature that might turn on him and bite. He stopped just before her and placed his nose on the ground before her, so that they touched, and he could feel her breath on his skin. “I think your right Zee, I think I love you. I want to wake up beside you, also. I want to share this den with you, and protect you. I want to fight for you. But I will not hurt Deathbelle for you, for she has been a constant in my life from as easily as I can remember. Yet, yet, I want to be possessive of you. If you lie with another, I fear I might take his balls. Where does this leave us, Zee. Where?” "Speech"

He came close to her, his nose touching hers and she let her eyes flicker up to his face. It made her very glad that he hadn't run away, and still seemed to be willing to make it work. Though she struggled with the confusing feelings of her own possessiveness that rose when he spoke of Deathbelle. His admittance of a possible feeling of love would have thrilled her if not followed by his refusal to hurt his Empress for her. Zee felt suddenly very small and second to the royal wolf, which was silly considering their vast difference in rank. She sighed at his threat to a potential other she might someday have, fixing him with a look that was slightly more firm then she'd shown for the rest of the conversation. "Where does that leave me?" She countered quietly, tail moving to wrap around her side tightly for comfort. He was so close to her that her heart hammered in her chest. Would this be the last time he'd permit her to touch him? She desperately hoped not. Her nose moved off the floor to press against his closer. "I can't have you for fear of upsetting my mistress. I can't leave the pack and find someone elsewhere. I spoke to Deathbelle... she was not opposed to letting me find love, have children. She's granted me more potential freedom with it then I could have ever hoped to be allowed as a slave here. But now you tell me that if ever I was to move on and find love, that you'd want to maim him?" A soft sigh, and she paused. "You can't have both. You can be possessive of me as property that you're meant to defend, and as a friend you may cherish. Though you can't have everything, Sirius. I do want to be loved someday, even if it can't be you." "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Zee asked a very reasonable question, but it was still one that left him feeling frustrated. He knew that this was unfair for Zee, and he hated the truth in that thought. He wanted to speak on it, but she beat him to it and opened her maw first. He pushed down his words and bided his time, listening to what else she had to say. She pressed her nose against him, when he somewhat expected her to spurn him for the direction his words had been going. He wanted everything, and in doing so, he was being terribly cruel to her. He gave a noncommittal grunt at her assessment of wishing to maim any she chose to love. He couldn’t promise her anything with the rage he was known to possess. “Alright, Zee, how about this. I will see if I can find a path that allows us to be together, and does not hurt Deathbelle in the process. If I can not do so, I will not hold you to any commitment to me, because it would not be fair to you. In the meanwhile, I will treat you as my treasured friend, and I will love and protect you in this pack. Is this something you can stand by?” he asked her softly, leaning into her nose, his eyes seeking hers until the gentle light on the cave floor. He didn’t know where this was going to lead, and he was a little afraid of this promise he was making her, but she knew she deserved this much. That he would try for them, instead of simply wishing, and if it was not to be, he would hide all possessiveness from her so it did not impact her life. "Speech"

Zee smiled gently as his nose leaned into hers, a hum of pleasure rumbling in her chest. He didn't react as badly as she expected, and he gave her a reasonable promise as well. She had no reason to argue him, although she wanted to yell to him "No, choose now. Choose me." she gave a grunt of acknowledgement instead. "I can live with that." She said finally, blowing a relieved exhale through her nose against his. Zee had no idea how much tension she had been holding onto throughout their conversation, and it felt good to have managed an answer from him that was not a resounding 'no.' "Thank you, Sirius. You don't know how much it means to me." Even if she could not compete against Deathbelle, the very idea that Sirius was willing to just try to find a way spoke volumes. She could never doubt his unwavering loyalty to his first love although she wished it were otherwise. "Can - Can I spend one more night with you before taking my room?" Her eyes lifted to regard the cozy cubby he had built into the wall for her, realizing that with it and the furs he'd gather that she'd have no more excuse to lie beside him even during storms. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

He smiled at the sound of the pleasant rumble in her chest, and felt that he had taken the right path, even if it complicated his life by leaps and bounds. He had no idea what he was going to say to Deathbelle, or how she was going to take this. His heart hurt at the thought of upsetting her. “Good” he said softly, and she would go on to thank him for his compromise, through he felt he was letting her down by not giving her more. She seemed so sure that she loved him, and with all this talk of Deathbelle, and commitments, he felt he hadn’t really gotten to the bottom of why she felt like that, no matter what she had said earlier. She asked to spend the night beside him, and his first instinct was to say no, but when he looked to her, he thought about everything that had been said, and found that he couldn’t give her the negative he wished to. It would be nice, to hold her for the night. “Of course” he said softly, getting to his feet with a sigh. He gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek, and went for the ox blanket, dragging it closer, and indicating for her to make herself comfortable. Assuming she did so, he would then grab the fluffy winter Cheetah coat and ensure it was draped mostly over her, as he settled down beside her. He ensure there was plenty of room at his side if she wished to cuddle, and rested his head against his paw. “So, you wanna be an Alpha, eh?” he mused. "Speech"

Zee blushed furiously at his kiss - it lacked any intimacy, but she couldn't help the way it made her body react. Luckily he stood to adjust the bedding, and she was able to force the heat from her cheeks before he turned back to look at her. She did as he bid, moving to the ox blanket that she had worn that first thunderstorm and laying down beside him. Murmuring a happy "thanks," at his placing her new gift upon her back she settled herself into the warmth. He'd given her room to get nearer to her and while she wanted desperately to cross that gap she couldn't bring herself to. There were no guarantees or promises in their future, and if Sirius really did intend to try and make it work and Deathbelle took offense to it then there could be trouble headed right for Zee. For all she knew, the guard might be banned from ever speaking to her again. God knows they made enough fools of themselves the last time they were together in their Empress' presence, Zee doubted that she would be considered worthy of Deathbelle's most loyal guard and first love. Sirius interrupted her thoughts then, and when she looked to him he was laying with his head upon his paws and waiting for her response. "Yes." Zee replied sheepishly. "Ever since I was little. Deathbelle inspires me so very much, this seemed like a good opportunity to learn and gain allies. I never would have guessed that I might not want to leave." She eyed him carefully before putting her own head upon her small paws. "Did you ever aspire to be more?" "Speech" "Thinking" "You."