He had followed her after the strange meeting with the cherry man, and he had not spoken since, letting himself find comfort in silence - his thoughts churning all the while. Why had she gotten so close to him? Did she care for him? Was he really the infamous Isardis like he had assumed? There was something about his scent that was similar to Sibelle's own, which made the situation all the more perplexing. It would seem that the duo didn't have a set destination in mind - although Sibelle could be leading them just about anywhere. So long as Aeron could get back to the mountains to head north from time to time, he was content. The grassy plains were a ways off from the volcanic mountain that they had been on before, but it was a closer territory than many others that weren't a part of Alacritia's mountains themselves.


He would stop, the dry grasses tickling his legs and ankles, and his gaze would settle on Sibelle as he wanted her to stop as well. He could not let his thoughts dominate his mind any longer, and there was something frustrating about it all that had flowed through him and rendered him unable to ignore it any longer. With the sour feeling bubbling over, he would speak, his gentle tones taking a quiet edge as he let free his bark. "Who was he?" It was not a request, as most of his words were. Sibelle was important to him, she was different, she was his lady in red and he wouldn't have her sliding her figure and twining her fur and feeling the warmth of anyone but...


him?


With a small shuddered breath he would drop his gaze to the ground, watching a snake slither by - he must have scared the creature. "I... don't like him." It wasn't really the other male's fault, he hadn't done anything particularly wrong, but in the young male's mind he was guilty by association.

He had followed her silently, for as far and as long as she wanted. But when the sounds of his movements stopped, so did she. He spoke as she turned, his quiet words holding a surprising edge to them. Verdant eyes would study him for a moment, unsure of where his edge came from. Before she could answer, his gaze would drop and he would state the obvious.

With a gentle smile she would approach, closing the distance between them. The russet woman would bury her face in his neck, inhaling his intoxicating scent before speaking.

"That would be my father, and nobody likes him."

A bitter chuckle would roll from her tongue as she pulled back to look at Aeron.

Her expression would change, becoming slightly more serious.

"He played a dangerous game, one must know the rules to survive."

Quiet words, spoke only for his ears, not that anyone was around to her. She would plant a small kiss on his nose, wanting to soothe any of his concerns. She didn't know what was bothering him or why.

"Whats wrong?"

Her crown would tilt to the side, wanting to know what he felt, what had caused this and how she could fix it.

SPEAK

So he was right in his assumptions, that man was her father. Isardis, why did she get to close to him? What was going on that he had missed? Had her feelings toward him changed since she had told him about the other male on the beach all those months ago? Aeron wasn't sure - in what he knew about Sibelle, what he had gathered about the woman, she was determined - strong when it came to her beliefs. Something must have happened that he had missed in his wanderings, or something was going right over his head, as feelings tended to do whenever he was involved. Yet listening to her response, hearing that sharp tone to her laughter, he wasn't sure things had changed entirely - what he was sure of, was that he would never be able to get inside of Silana's head. Her next words, would make him appreciate that - her quite words held danger to them. She was a survivor, quick, sharp in all of the ways that he wasn't and yet softer than he knew at all how to be.


The kiss to his nose made him settle a bit - immediately the demanding edge to his figure all but melted with the sudden affection. Focusing on her helped a bit with the precarious emotions that had caused him to stop at all - but they were certainly there even still. Now dabbled with thoughts of Sibelle and a hint of confusion, it was possible for him to ignore them - but her reminder only brought them swirling back where they could affect the brute. He would huff, his tail curling beside his legs and his ears pulling back along with it. "You vere.... so close to him. I zought you hated him." He would rather her hate the man than be so near him - seeing their fur slide together, russet with white, made him want to rip them apart. "Vhat does zat have to do vith survival?" He would question, question her motives, her reasons, for perhaps the first time. Because she had treated him so kindly, so sweetly... what they had wasn't a game too, was it?


It seemed like such a silly question, but in this moment the male was unsure. He shared nothing like this with anyone, not even his own sister, and if it wasn't real then nothing in this world could be real - not a damn thing. And even Aeron who knew so little of holding onto others, knew that there wasn't a point to living a lie. "I don't understand." He would admit, moving to gently nuzzle the russet woman's neck. "You are so important." He didn't realize that it was a declaration, a confession - only knew that was how he felt - plain and simple. But was he important to her too?

Confusion swept over her as his ears fell back against him skull, his tail curling at his hocks. He had an edge to him she had never seen before, she didn't understand what had caused the change in him. And then, as he spoke it, all became crystal clear. The russet woman beat down a smile. It never occurred to her that he would, could, be jealous. She place a kiss on his cheek, leaning into him gently.

"Oh Aeron, its a game. I have to play his game, to taunt him as he taunts me. He is a game."

Audits slide forward as he spoke again, eyes glittering with concern. A small played on her lips. She never imagined he would ever admit his feelings, he had always been so distant in his own way. To know that she was important to him made her heart swell with joy. She leaned forward as he nuzzled her neck, returning the gesture, burying her face in his neck. Creamy muzzle would lift, her hot breath wrapping around his ear as she spoke softly.

"You are important to me too, more than you know."

SPEAK