Explaining Her Actions (Finished!)

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven's ears drooped when she watched his expression, when he spoke. He really was, and would always be the horrible push over from his teenage years. She didn't want him to prove the point she was trying to make.

"You are a complete and utter moron," She said bluntly as she looked at him. "And if you're so willingly accepting a condition you're to look at a person's face. Someone taught you manners, I know that. You're not a ten year old boy, don't act like one." She put her hands on her hips, a frown on his face.

She refrained from sighing as she looked at him, waiting for him to return her gaze. Growing impatient she spoke in her normal tone, "Accepting such conditions under the circumstances was a smart thing to do, for someone in your position. But, Lior, I'm not going to force you to become my King. If you really want to become my for the sake of your family then I'll expect you to look me in the eye and say it. If you don't want to become a King for the sake of yourself, then say so. Of course, I will hang my ability over your head for as long as you take up space."

Explaining things in full was difficult sometimes. Her tail twitched in frustration.

Othello nodded as he buried his face into his Mother's fur. "Pleathe don't cry, though," he muttered into her coat. Weren't parents the ones who were supposed to "know better." They knew all sorts of thing, so why was his Mama so upset. He whined as he pressed up against her. He really hoped everything would be okay.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Rhiannon couldn't help but chuckle as she licked her son's head soothingly, rubbing her cheeks with the back of a paw. "Okay, okay,[/b]" she said quietly, smiling at the boy as best she could. He wouldn't be able to see it, she knew, but it made her feel better to at least try it. At least she wasn't crying anymore. Her eyes ached slightly, though. It had been a long time since she'd last broken down like she had, and the emotion was a heavy burden.

"I'm done crying now. I promise.[/b]" she shifted slightly, rising to her feet but keeping close to the little hybrid. The voices coming from within had changed in tone, and she felt ready to face the storm once more.

It hadn't been the best idea to leave in the first place, she was sure, but calmly walking out of the room had almost certainly been a better idea than simply spreading her wings and jumping out of the window.

Slowly, the coyote-hybrid nosed the door open. Lior was the first in her view, and the look on his face made something in her chest sink. What had happened? She resisted the temptation to whimper, instead standing tall, her posture befitting of one with a royal title such as herself. She gave the Highland feline a small glance though, one filled with emotion - before she walked into the room completely, encouraging Othello to follow her.

"I'm sorry for my absense. If it please you, Your Majesty, I would very much like to rejoin you.[/b]" she slid into the speak of the Court, finding it easier to deal with than emotional outbursts at this point. She smiled at her Queen as best she could, but there was no hiding the hopeful affection behind the glance.

She couldn't help herself. They both were so... so important to her. She would be nowhere without one of them, dead without the other, and without either... nothing.

[The Jenn]

Lior didn't think he would be able to endure this kind of stress and emotional pain for anyone else, but Rhi was different. She always had been, and she'd done so much for him over the years, just by being there and keeping him from giving in to despair and depression. He didn't realize that Xiven was 'testing' him and that he was failing miserably. His mind felt foggy, a combination of having woken up not long ago and the sheer weight of the guilt pressing down on him like a smothering blanket.

Golden eyes lifted to stare at hers, his tail unconsciously poofing a little bit at the look he received. As he opened his mouth to speak, the corner of his eye caught movement and he turned his head to watch Rhi step into the room. She stood tall, as he should have but had difficulty mustering, and gave him a look that he wasn't sure how to interpret. Was that love? Warning? Hope?

Whatever it was, it unglued his throat enough to turn back to Xiven and nod. "I apologize, Your Majesty, for my manners. I accept and await your pleasure." Oh Hills, the Court. He really hadn't missed the politics. For Rhi, though... for Rhi and Kieran and Treasa. Maybe he'd even get to see his uncle again...

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven let out a small sigh of relief when Rhi entered the room. At least she was all right, to some degree. Things weren't going to magically fix themselves, and to be perfectly honest Xiven was still painfully jealous of Lior. That and she still wanted to smack him across the face. She would be nice, though, for Rhi's sake.

"That's perfectly all right," Xiven said with a nod to Rhi. She turned back to Lior, her ears twitching when he spoke.

So he would be under her complete control. That did make the feline feel a bit better about the situation. It meant she could easily make him do awful things. She choked down the smirk that was forming on her face. "Very well then, I suppose you should announce the news to Rhi then, Lior."

Othello was happy that his Mama had said she would stop crying. It definitely made him feel better. The mix breed's ears flipped forward when he heard his mother's encouragement. It took him a bit to get through the door without hitting it.

And when he did something horrible happened.

Othello felt something he never had before. The horrible feeling washed over him, coming from something in the room. His tail was between his legs as his eyes widened, fur standing on end. The sound he made started low but quickly turned into a high pitch wail that became a shriek.

He tried desperately to bolt out of the room, but he hit the door frame instead. Bouncing off he landed on his rump, crying, screaming and trying to cover his face with his paws.

Xiven didn't have a proper time to react. At the very first sign Othello was about to have a meltdown she made motions to go to his aid, shifting into her animal form for the sake of his comfort. Her panicked son, however, moved painfully fast. "Oh hills!" she whimpered as she hurried over to her panicking son. "Othello, sweetie, please calm down!"

She went to pick him up, the boy however continued to flail, making it difficult for her to get a hold of him at all. What the HELL was going on? She made a worried sound as she struggled to get the boy to stay still long enough to check if he was hurt. Highland hills only knew how he wasn't knocked out as he proceeded to kick the Queen in the chin.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Rhiannon looked at Lior, blinking once or twice. He accepted? What was going on? Her tail wagged once when she looked back to her Queen, hoping that someone would tell her exactly what was going on. When Xiven spoke, she looked at Lior again. From the way it had been phrased, the coyote-hybrid felt her already low heart hit the floor. Had the man agreed... to leave again, accepting some terms with Xiven? It took all of the woman's will to keep from whimpering softly as she waited for some explanation.

It was only Othello's presence that kept her calm, she realized. She had to keep her promise to the boy, and she glanced at him just in time to catch the first sign of panic. When the boy jumped up and tried to run, she let out a short and worried bark. "Othello! Baby, what's wrong?[/b]"

Her words must have fallen on deaf ears, for the little boy continued to wail and paw at his face. Rhiannon had seen him in a number of states, but never had she known him to get this worked up over anything. This was... the boy was inconsoloble in his panic, though both of his mothers tried their best. She had spent so much time with Lior that she'd somehow adjusted to the way she'd felt when she used to look at him, and that feeling of death creeping closer and closer had been entirely forgotten - it was just Lior, who she loved. She whimpered when she looked up at Xiven, a worried expression creeping into her eyes. "Do you think.. he saw something?[/b]" she asked, but only a second later the boy kicked the Queen in the face.

Oof.

Kieran peeked his head out from his father's wing at the sudden explosion that seemed to fill the room, his gold-lined ears flicking back against his neck. Why was the boy whining and whimpering so much? It reminded him about when his papa would get sad about things, and he began to feel some small dread over what was to come, even though Dell wasn't here... And there was something about the crying and sobbing that left him feeling raw and empty.

"I'll be right back, papa, I promise," he said, nuzzling his father once more. Since Jak wasn't there, the responsibility was Kieran's to try and cheer the terrified boy up. He did his best to summon up all of the feelings he'd experienced when he'd seen his father in the hall yesterday - joy, excitement, an overall feeling of good - because after all, it would be easier to cheer himself up if he was feeling happy too. He didn't know the magic that was behind it - he didn't even realize that the marking on his snow-white chest had changed to a "K" overnight.

But when he turned to Othello, those happy emotions flooded out of him and filled the room. Xiven would only feel it slightly, Rhiannon and Lior would feel it more strongly... But it would fill the sobbing, panicked boy completely.

"Are you okay?" Kieran asked as he moved close, nudging the little boy with his masked nose, tail twitching with worry. The words were meaningless in the flow of all of that emotion, though.

[The Jenn]

Oh hills, that reaction. He hated most when children acted out against his aura. It made him feel like the monster he'd become. Normally he could ignore it, pretend that he didn't feel like a harbinger of death, but the actions of others always served to remind him of the truth. He huddled on the bed as the child went into a fit, unable to do anything to stop it besides leave - and even then, he would have to pass right by the panicking child and would only scare him further.

The tiny voice and nuzzle at his side snapped him out of his mental haze briefly and he lifted his wing slightly to allow the boy freedom. Then he was hit with a blast of something intense, powerful, and unmistakably joyful. It assaulted his mind and at first he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. The sensation made him want to laugh, which he appeased by hesitantly grinning. This wasn't a funny situation at all, but... he just couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly happy! He had always been unduly susceptible to the moods and emotions of others, so Kieran's spell affected him strongly despite his rank.

A small, stifled laugh made it out of his throat and he stood, stepping down from the bed to brush up against Rhi. "I belong to your Queen now," he whispered in a conspiratorial voice, expression looking uncharacteristically thrilled... especially with the implied threat behind the words, whether she heard it or not.

[Kari Muffin]

For Xiven it was like hitting a mental brick wall. A sudden wave of utter joy and happiness was not something that she needed or appreciated. She paused in her motions of trying to restrain her sun from kicking her in the face. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes with her paws. What the hell was going on?

She continued to be utterly baffled while her son stopped crying completely.

Othello coughed for a moment as he tried to get over his tears and flailing. The situation didn't seem happy, but he couldn't help himself. It took him a bit to blink the tears away. "I'm fine!" he said with a cheerful note. He obviously couldn't see who was talking, but he did feel Kieran's nose. Carefully he tried to get up from his flopped position on the floor. It was a struggle with his bound leg, but he managed to find himself on all fours. "Everything's okay now!" he said in the general direction of where Kieran was. His tail wagging faster than it had in a long while.

Xiven remained utterly confused by the entire situation. Her stubborn attitude was fighting desperately with the magic that had been released in the room. Her paws remained over her eyes as she tried to desperately to concentration.

[carcinoGeneticist]

If it was physically possible for him to do so, Kieran would have smiled.

He could feel the magic when he released the thoughts, but he couldn't have predicted exactly how well the spell would have worked. He could tell, however, that it would be wise to take advantage of the situation and he gently nudged the other boy, beginning to purr slightly. "Come on, let's go play," the boy offered to the other, long tail waving slowly. "I'm Kieran, we're brothers..." his voice trailed off as he lead the other feline-canine out of the room and down the hall, leaving the adults alone once more.

Rhiannon reacted to the waves of joy in a very similar way to Lior, and even when the source of the spell was gone she couldn't help but feel much more cheerful than she had before. If she had the vocal cords required for it, she would be purring. At the delivery of the news her ears perked up, and yellow eyes brightened. Then... an agreement had been reached? Lior would be allowed to stay?

The woman did a much better job at keeping her cool this time, but she smiled widely at the cat, too distracted by her own joy to notice how bizzarely happy Lior was. Any other time, it would have weirded her out quite a bit. "Then, your Highness Lior,[/b]" she announced, returning the light brush against her side with a touch of her wet snout to his cheek. "I look forward to serving alongside you on behalf of my Queen.[/b]"

She turned back to Xiven, giving a small kiss to the woman's paw and a happy smile. "Thank you.[/b]" she whispered, bowing her head low.

She should have been worried, but that would almost certainly come later. For now, she was happy that she had all of her family again.

[Kiki]

Jenn, Kari and Xenon receive 2 tokens each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!