Whatever tension had been between Takiyok and him had felt heavy and real. He knew that long term, it was just a movement of colour. It was just how things would be, always. Each of them were designed to deal with what would come, but so far this had been the first of their real hardships.
He knew there would be more to come. He hoped they could deal with them well. And so, he tried to treat this threat of Zephyr being and idiot and dying on him to be one of these "basic" hardships. He could not though. The very idea of Zephyr leaving without an escort after Taikon had left him crying and running away made him feel ill. He worried constantly that Zephyr's scent would be gone forever, and that he would never hear about him again.
It terrified him. Like Taktuq, but... worse.
But as Taikon went, Zephyr came. Like magic. A gold flower was in his jaws. Taikon saw it and didn't say anything.

Taikon felt ready to shun his leader boy, to somehow de-privilege his position as he lived his life with his semi-happy wife and life. The fact that she had not yet come into heat was bothering him, but he refused to reveal it to anyone.
The flower drifted to the ground. He stared at it, and its beauty and the sadness of its imminent demise held him for a moment. Flowers. So impermanent and wonderful.
Please don't go, he answered suddenly, having listened and not responded until pertinent. Not now. He said. He moved toward his friend, having no care what had been said or happened, and wanting only to comfort.

Taikon did not wait for him to stop. He did anyway, and when he asked why, the prince pulled in Zephyr close, throwing his head over the boy's shoulder so that at the very least, he might smell the icy stone once again.
Because if you die out there, I want to make sure I remember this, and not a flower. The illness had fucked with his mind, but if there was one thing he had learned, it was that these hours on earth were precious. Taikon would not let him go without at least one moment without guilt and tension and pain.

Zephyr promised that he wouldn't die, and Taikon remembered himself saying the exact same thing to Takiyok right before he'd left. He also remembered having to drag himself back to the dark woods with a terrible injury and admit to her that he had been wrong to go without someone. That had also been when Taktuq was still around, and he wondered if the stress of his care had somehow pushed her away.
You better, he said firmly. Or I'll murder you, he joked, chuckling and snuggling the boy against him. He was certain that Takiyok wouldn't approve of such closeness, but affection was important to him. He held Zephyr for likely longer than he should have before finally pulling back away. His eyes were watery by the time they'd stopped.