With a small pot of oyster and mussel soup tucked in his maw, the Warlord returned to the den that he and his Wife shared. Walking by the little inlet, and the bridge he had crafted for their children to play on. Children that had now grown up into young adults, both litters of them. A strange thing to consider.

Shaking his head, he gave the bridge a fond pat, wondering if it was time now to dismantle it. He and Zee were getting on in age, and he did not know if their relationship would ever return to that level of intimacy. He ignored the tightening in his chest. Knowing he would hold the roll of her friend for however long she needed, even if that was until the end of their days. No matter how much that made his heart feel heavy.

He reached the door to the house and wiped his paws on the mat at the entrance. “Zee, will you meet me in the dining room?” he called as he turned right into their ever-extending den and sat in the place made for their meals.

"Speech"

Zee lifted her head from her paws as her husband's voice rang out from the doorway. It was not often he'd open with something so.. formal and odd, and it was enough to bring her curiosity forward. "Of course." She responded, her tone bordering upon suspicious confusion as she wandered from their bedroom, through the den halls, and into where the had their meals. It was there her mate stood, an offering of food in his maw. They had had enough 'discussions' on her eating habits already, mostly boiling down to Sirius desperately offering her cut after cut, and Zee explaining that she merely wasn't hungry. Was this to be the same discussion, yet over a different style of food? The smell of seafood hung in the air clearly, though it did not wake her idle stomach. "What is it, Sirius?" "Speech"

He smiled at the small horned wolf as she appeared through the entry. His mouth was a bit full with his burdens, but he set them down in front of him, crossing his paws. “Satoru has been dabbling in cooking, and he offered me this” he explained, pointing at the soup in front of him. It had this, that and the other in it - or, oysters, mussels, summer tubers, mushrooms in brine if anyone was feeling precise.

“I thought you might want to try it with me” he explained, grabbing a serving and offering it to his Wife. Was it a ploy to feed her wrapped up in a pretty request? No… no. of course not. Never. He wouldn’t do that.


"Speech"

Zee released a small sigh, but followed it with the barest of smiles. She could understand her husbands' turmoil, in watching her waste away and being unable to fix her. The man was as protective, smothering, and stubborn as a wolf could possibly come, and it was a large part of why she'd fallen for him in the first place. "I suppose so." She teased in reply, bringing herself up alongside him and his bowl of seafood. "is Satoru accomplishing anything with Ophie?" Zee asked him, making small talk over the bowl. Her children were growing quickly and of them, Ophie was becoming the heaviest of any Fatalis she'd met. She knew Sirius had assigned the servant to her training, but saw her daughter so little around the plains that she could not know whether the training was working. "Speech"

He flashed her a grin at her teasing answer. Knowing well what he was doing, but humouring him anyway. But even if that was all she did, humour him for this bite, and that bite. Perhaps one day it will gather up to be enough to return the meat to her bones. He glanced down at her ribcage with a sadness he quickly hid. How their lives had changed so drastically…

Now it was his turn to sigh, and he did so softly. “Not that I can see. She’s as stinky and puggy as ever” he said with an exasperated sigh. That he hadn’t dragged her around the pack by her ears was a sign of great restraint. One he was wondering if it waa right to show at all. Maybe what she needed was more boundaries in her life.


"Speech"