How long had it been since they'd been on their own? A year at least. Time was funny when only one thing mattered. Mistral, the silent sentinel, had but one goal in life and that was to keep Cierzo safe and whole. His sweet half-sister would want for nothing. She would never be in danger. She would never be cold or go hungry. He would lay down his life protecting her and treating her like the queen that she was. What could breed such loyalty? I'm glad you asked. It had always been Cierzo. From the very beginning when his mother had dumped him at the borders of his father's lands, she had been the only constant that mattered. Of all the wolves that lived under their fathers rule, Cierzo had been the only wolf to show Mistral kindness, compassion and love. That was why, from and early age, he had come to love her. Without Cierzo, there would have been no life. Nothing worth fighting for. So, when he was made her bodyguard in an official capacity, the striped giant had agreed wholeheartedly. After the... incident... Mistral had stolen Cierzo away, taking her to foreign lands to keep the delicate fae safe. No one would ever harm her again. He swore his life on it. The thick fog of the swamplands would hide their forms against any who might wish them ill. The stench of the sulfur and rot that rose from the various bogs would cover their scents. Mistral had found a rise in the land that seemed less damp than the rest. He'd already smacked a few alligators, warning them off. Once he'd cleared a place on the little island, the man laid out a thick bison skin. Lifting Cierzo onto his back, the brute waded across to the island and placed her comfortably on the other side. "Are you hungry?" volcanic tones rumbled free, though there was a softness within them held only for her. "Speech"

Perfect. Perfect. Be perfect. The idea had been long hammered into the female's skull. Be graceful. Not a hint of clumsy or unrefined. Be delicate. Not one muscle too toned to be had on her entire body, no lessons in self-defense. Serve your superiors. Not a disobedient bone in her body. A puppet. A marionette. Bend her backwards- it'll be fine. Flex her limbs in ways they should not naturally go- she will not resist. Mere whimpers of pain will escape her, but none enough to irritate- she knew better than to annoy.

Her salvation in a world that had been so wholly cruel to her- her darling brother. He could do no wrong in her eyes. He could commit crimes worthy of spewing bile, and she would hardly bat an eye. It was a glorious sight; to see him so fit for life. Quite unlike her. No. She could only stare in awe at his talent for living. This was why she had been so attached to him since the moment they met. He was the ripple in the pool of suffering that had made up the entirety of her life.

A year had passed since the events that had left her catatonic. She could not remember what had happened after…. After that, She only knew her brother had taken her away from her pain. He had told her she would not be harmed again. Harmed? What did that mean? Wasn’t it what she was meant for? To be arranged however others wanted her to be? To be a perfect girl- woman now?

Cierzo had been waiting for him. Her delicate rosy form a stark contrast against the filth of the lands around her. He came back to her as he always had, lifting her up against the warm, hard structure that was his back. She felt at ease when he touched her, a sense of splendor washing over her as he brought her gently to a place all her own- a bison skin meticulously placed for her to sit away from the muck surrounding them. She worried for him though, beckoning him closer to sit with her.

“Es..” She called her nickname for him shyly, her toes kneading the soft pelt below with anxiety. “You don’t need to do all this for me.” Her voice was a wisp of a thing, so soft it might not have been audible to others. But her brother would hear the true meaning in her faint mew. She wasn’t worthy of his level of care.

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Once Cierzo had been deposited upon the fur, Mistral's gaze went back to scanning their surroundings like the good guard that he was. He would allow no danger to happen upon them for lack of being vigilant. As the sweet, soft words of his sister drifted towards mismatched ears, some of the brutes rigidity lessened. Only Cierzo could soften him. His paws were covered in swamp muck and his belly and chest were wet, so he lay at the edge of the bison fur but not upon it. Leaning across, Mistral tenderly nuzzled into one silken, rose colored cheek. "I do," his volcanic tones rumbled softly. "If you are not worthy of such attention, no one is or ever will be." Couldn't she see how dear she was to him? The swamp seemed to forget that they existed. All of the sounds went back to normal. Though his senses were all on high alert, Mistral did lower his blocky skull to the ground, resting it on the fur beside the smaller frame of his sister. This was where he belonged, at her side, always. This was where he had always belonged. Cierzo was the only good thing to ever have come from their father so Mistral couldn't hate him entirely. Wish him dead, yes, but not total hatred. "Speech"

As the warmth of him left her cheek, so did the comfort it brought her. Cierzo cast an anxious glance at her dear Es, “But I…” She began, a touch of pain entering her sweet tones. -I am worth less than the skin I lie on. She knew he did not like that sort of talk, or any kind of self hatred she had to whisper. So she kept it to herself, making the focal point praise of her brother instead. “You are meant… for so much more than this.” She should have never begged him to take her from their home. She should have never forced him to make that decision. Not for her.

She could hardly stand herself in this moment, gently turning away from him- seated so that she could look out at the swamp, away from him, and fight her tears. “I ruined everything.” Her shaky, remorseful voice came as clearly as she could manage; begging the gods that he would not recognize the emotion in it. Maybe if she fell into the mud that his massive form had so easily trekked through, with her useless self on his back, she would drown in the muck and nothing would stop Mistral from those great things she believed he was meant for. Cierzo wondered if that would be best, but she hardly had the strength to throw herself in regardless. So what was she to do with this horrible, guilty feeling she carried? With the worthlessness she felt? And to constantly look at him and see nothing but perfection, so unattainable? The best she could do was cling to his side- and even that was a burden.

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Mistral could feel the emotions pouring off of his half sister. He didn't have to see them. The man was so in tune with her, thanks to all of the time that he spent watching and guarding her, it felt as though perhaps Mistral knew Cierzo better than she knew herself. He certainly knew her value better than she did. Priceless. She was well and truly priceless. If only he could make her see herself in the same light. Soft words met the man's ears and he frowned, brow furrowing. "I am a low born bastard, Cie. I am meant for nothing other than the task that I have been given." Her. He was meant for her. Mistral couldn't tell her that for fear of changing the relationship and bond that they held. He didn't know how she would take it, knowing that her own brother loved her. Well and truly loved her. Not in the manner of siblings, but in the manner of brutes and fae's. He loved her. He always had. Mistral wanted Cierzo as his mate, but... that would forever be a dream. His sister's shaky voice carried to him as she looked away and he knew that she was upset. Cierzo always seemed to be upset. Mistral longed to see the blush colored woman smile once more. All he wanted was for her to be happy. "You ruined nothing," he assured her, his rough tones soft. "You were the one that was wronged, Cie." Extending his neck even more, he placed his cheek alongside her hip, chin resting on the fur. He didn't want to get her dirty, but he still wanted to touch her. To comfort her. "Speech"

As soon as he had finished speaking Cierzo was firing back in offense, something so unlike the blush colored woman. “You have never been low born to me! You- you…!” -you should have been born in my place, and I, the ‘low born’! But her fire died immediately, the anger she felt as he belittled himself receding into the wave of wallowing she was currently drowning in.  It happened every so often since they had run off together, but she did not nearly display so much of her pain so openly. And to have him express the very opposite of her own inner thoughts about herself? Torturous. He... was just saying all that to make her feel better, no matter how untrue it was. She was entirely oblivious to his feelings for her and thought he was acting out of some sense of duty to her even now- far away from their home.

“No I- I have wronged you. I made myself.. your burden.” Her cerulean eyes falling downcast, blurring with the onset of tears unshed; her body drooping at the touch he gave to comfort her. Unworthy. Unclean. Untouchable. Toes once again kneading the fur below with anxiety she choked out a slurry of words that screamed remorse, hoping her brother would not feel disgust at her admittance.“Oh Es. Maybe if I had been better he would not have-” But she could hardly finish her sentence, a rush of nausea engulfing her- her teeth gnashing together so she would not show him something so unsightly. Don’t be less than perfect. Don’t. Don’t. Not in front of him. She squeezed her eyes closed so tightly, her body going rigid as she fought to keep her bile down.

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It saddened the man to see just how little faith his sister had in herself. He saw so very much value in her and she thought that she was the lowest of the low. Mistral attributed it to the way that they were raised as well as the abuse that she went through, but he hoped that, in time, she would see what he saw. What he had always seen. Cierzo was his world.

The rose petal fae declared herself a burden to him and Mistral scoffed, a soft growl rumbling in his chest. "You never have been, and you never will be, a burden. Not to me and not to anyone that truly knows you." He could feel her stiffen beside him and tried to comfort her further by nuzzling into her hip. The abuse inflicted by her intended would forever be a stain on her; a black spot in her mind. It hadn't been her fault, but, being raised and molded as she had been, it was understandable why she thought that way. Mistral wanted nothing more than to break her from that sort of thinking. To him, Cierzo could do no wrong. She was an innocent in all of this. An angel. His angel.

Again she brought up the past. If she had done this, then maybe this... He had enough. Muck or no muck, she needed comfort and he would provide. At least it was mostly dry. Rising to his paws, Mistral stepped onto the fur and curled his massive body around her diminutive frame. One thick foreleg draped over the dainty woman and he pulled her in against his chest. His nose found the soft spot right behind her ear and he spoke softly, gently. "None of it was your fault." He had to remind her every day and he would continue to do so until she believed it.

"MISTRAL"

Not to anyone that truly knows you. Oh, but Mistral. No one knows her. Only you. That’s the way it has always been. Cierzo repressed a sob, her teeth nearly cracking with the force that she used to keep him from hearing any more of her sorrow. It wasn’t fair to him. He had saved her, despite her shortcomings. Because of her failure. Stupid girl. Stupid fool. Stupid, stupid, s t u p i d. The echoing self-hatred tormented her, and she could have sworn she could hear their father’s voice, her bethrothed’s voice too- thrown into the mix somewhere- like a whisper becoming more and more prominent. But it all melted away, those intrusive thoughts faded with only a touch from her protector; her dear Es.

His giant form wrapped around her like a blanket- no. Like a wall between her and the rest of the world. Cierzo was shielded, a flood of relief instantaneously running through her delicate frame. Her cheek pressed against his chest now she breathed in his scent and the comfort in turn also invaded her lungs pleasantly. ‘None of it was your fault.’, his voice was soft and gentle, the way it only changed for her. Cie took many calming breaths, the tremble she’d developed when she was about to vomit subsiding slowly. The bile receded back to her gut, and she was able to open her mouth again to whisper a faint thanks. The blush woman could not muster any more vocabulary however, and instead placed a dainty paw up by her nose to rest against his chest and return the embrace as best she could given the size difference.

For many minutes she did not wish to be released back into the world, but regretfully she could not control the sudden rumble from her stomach that loudly interrupted the silence. “Oh!” A blush flushed her cheeks, embarrassment shooting up her spine as she tried and initially failed to free herself from his huge paw holding her close.

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