Ankyra Sound the horizon tries but he's just not as kind on the eye

@Grezig :)

It had been hours since his coupling with the unknown woman before it dawned on him what was likely the consequence for their actions. He knew what came next -- that part was not lost to him -- but he found it difficult to wrap his head around the reality that was soon to come. Vaati did not scorn the idea of potential children who would consume every second of his thoughts, for he was not his mother. As a child, he had watched as she casted away his younger siblings with such hate that it had driven her mad. Her distaste for them had been understandable considering the context under which they had been conceived, but it had left them unloved since the moment of their first breath. They had suffered from it. If he was to be a father, despite all lack of values he had, Vaati would aim to be different than the parents he had known. 

He moves with purpose as he seeks her out, knowing she dwelled somewhere within Rusalka's grounds. How to approach the topic was unknowable to him, slightly hoping she too had the same intent to discuss it with him. They would be Melonii children. If she tried to distance him from his own spawn, he held no qualms about killing her and finding a willing mother elsewhere. However, that was the worst case scenario; he did not intend to take her as a mate but simply settle into a situation where any offspring that came would be well looked after and nourished properly into adulthood, unlike he had been. 

Grezig, too, had been thinking of the consequences of her coupling with the random male. A male whose name she did not even know. She had never seen him before in her life, yet instinct had caused her to do a thing which would have life-changing consequences. She cursed her body, her heat, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Besides, she had been given permission to breed, and Caiaphas had told her that she could choose whatever male she wanted to. Still… what if he was a psycho and she didn’t know it? What if he had ill intentions towards her or her pups? 

In the end, she decided that if that were the case, she would fight him to the death to keep her pups safe. If he was all right, she would allow him to help raise them, but she did not intend to become his mate—at least not right away. Perhaps, in time, they would form some kind of bond, but that did not happen overnight. Not even after sex. Not even because of children.

She wandered the forest and found him between the trees, calling with a low howl as she trotted nearer. “Hello,” she called, though her voice was uncommonly soft and unsure. Such a thing had never happened to her before and she was not sure what to say. “Um… My name is Grezig.” She supposed introductions were a good place to start.

She finds him sooner than he finds her. Grezig. He has never met her before, though he admits that if he had, he probably would not have remembered. “Vaati,” The man replies, pausing before offering his last name, “Melonii.” It is no use to her, but he figures that it may be a good idea considering their circumstance. His eyes spare a glance to her stomach, mouth drying a fraction. As he addresses her, his steely gazes settles upon her eyes. “You are carrying my children.” Vaati states the obvious, addressing it as the elephant in the room. But it is brought with a slight questioning tone, a part of him wondering if there had been others to possibly claim the pups she would bear. He does not ask it, not to spare her an offense but to simply wait to see what she would say in return.

Grezig put down Vaati’s name in her memory so that she would never forget. This man was now too important to forget. 

’You are carrying my children.’

She stiffened at his words, somehow offended by them. Perhaps it was how bluntly he’d said it. But then, she was often just as blunt, so she wasn’t sure why such a thing would bother her. Perhaps it was because this would be her first litter. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about all this. “Yes,” she said finally, after staring at him for a time. “I will not take you as a mate. I know nothing about you. But as long as you are not planning any harm to me or the pups, you may rear them with me.” 

Best to get that out of the way—her expectations. She stood stiffly and waited for his reply.

Her less-than-impressed gaze indicated she was not pleased with his honesty, but that would not change the manner in which he spoke to her. Vaati takes in her words silently, a slight contemplative frown upon his maw. “That is fair,” He remarks after a few short moments, before his brows narrow a fraction and leaning in sightly to make his next point known. “I will hold you to the same conditions. Should you prove to be an unfit mother, I will not hesitate to remove them from your care.” He says it unforgivably, holding no room for leniency in his tone. In Vaati’s defense, he does not know her either. She could be as reckless as he on certain days, or worse -- he would not know.  Neither it is it in his nature to be a very trusting individual, but as long as she played her part well, he would have no issues. Perhaps it is hypocritical to hold her to a higher standard than he, however, given his past experiences with absent mothers he refuses to take any chances.

Grezig tried her hardest not to be immediately upset and angry at Vaati for his next words. They made sense, after all. Were she ever to find an unfit mother neglecting her pups, she would do all she could to help those pups as well. It made sense. Still. The words stung Grezig more than she would think they would. She swallowed, turning her face away to gather her thoughts. “I am… a new mother,” she said. “I have never had pups before. But I hope that I am not so terrible that you feel the need to…” She could not say take the pups away from me. The idea of that hurt too much. “To step in like that.” 

Grezig cleared her throat, feeling supremely awkward. “I hope this pregnancy has not thrown your life into disarray. It was my first heat. Next year I will try to have better restraint over my own body.”

Perhaps he should feel guilty for the way in which he spoke to her, however, he did not. Being sensitive where one needed to be harsh was simply a waste of time, especially when regarding a matter of such importance. With a slight shrug of his shoulders does he nonchalantly reply, “Do not give me a reason to and there will be no issue.” Yet perhaps in her favour, his idea of anything worthy of removing their children from her was held to the standards he had observed from his mother. A mother that had willed her own children to die. Allowing history to repeat itself was not an option, especially since this time around, it would be his own offspring in question. As she somewhat apologizes for her lack of restraint, noting that this was her first time as a mother does it truly set in that this was now a reality of his. Within him does a twinge of fear arise, unsure whether or not he was even qualified to be a father. He had known Kjalarr, but not well enough to learn from him in the way a son gained knowledge from a male parental unit. Though, he didn’t allow it to show.

“No.” He shakes his head affirmatively in response to her first inquiry as to whether or not his life was now beholden by the burden of pups. “It’s not as if you are entirely to blame,” his eyes flicker to her’s with a hint of amusement.

Sorry for the wait. I’m going to suck at posts for the foreseeable future basically until I finish school in… like two years. LMAO.

Grezig only nodded at Vaati’s words, swallowing again and not looking at him. This… this new attitude—this submissiveness—bothered her. Before now, she’d always been the leader type. The one who got things done. The one who did not back down from things. Now, she felt… lost. Confused. In disarray. She was glad that she had spoken to Caiaphas about pups before now. Getting accidentally pregnant without permission would have been… possibly deadly.

Vaati admitted then that Grezig was not entirely to blame for what had happened. “No,” she agreed. “I suppose not.” She glanced at Vaati for a moment, giving him the shadow of a smile. She took a deep breath and seemed to settle into herself once more. “So,” she said, all business once more. “We must think of names. My family’s names tend to be… not as pretty as some others. But I would continue that tradition if at all possible. Short names. More… guttural sounding, I guess is how I would describe them.” She realized she was rambling and stopped talking, waiting for his opinion on this.

Names. They were important to Melonii children, for each child was honoured with the namesake of a daedric diety. While he did not consider himself to be particularly spiritual, the value of a strong name was not lost to him. "They will take my last name, I will choose their middle name as well." They would be Melonii -- there was no disputing that. It was a ticket to a world that would embrace them, safeguard them as great-grandchildren of the high priestess.. should Rusalka prove to be an unformidable home. As Melonii's, they would be entitled to a significant blood claim to Blackfeather Woods, to the brotherhood and its unparalleled knowledge in the dark arts their family practised. Of course, he would not disclose this information to the mother, fearing that she would seek to distance his influence should she learn who exactly he was and where he came from. When the pups came of age, he would tell them what power flowed through their veins without the expectation that they embrace it. "You can choose the first." He considers it a fair deal, though he seeks her eyes to determine whether or not she feels the same way.

Grezig did not like Vaati’s tone. It indicated that he seemed to think he had some power over her. That he would make all the decisions related to their family. She gave him a hard stare as he spoke but showed no other signs of displeasure. She could already tell, though, that they would never work as mates. Both of them together were far too headstrong and would probably cause storms were they to attempt living together in closer proximity.

The good thing about all this was that Grezig cared not for any names but the first. Her family did not have a surname and before now, she had been unaware that middle names existed. “This is fine,” she said when Vaati had given his conditions. “I will name them once they are born and I have discovered their sex.” She paused, wishing to leave to avoid having to converse any longer lest their conversation devolve into some kind of argument. “Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?”

Her glare does not go unnoticed, however, he is used to these kinds of looks and thus has created a sort of immunity to their intended effect. Perhaps he is demanding, but one did not get what one wanted in life by remaining silent and timid. He gives her a gracious nod, reminding himself that she is the mother of his children. However, had she butted-heads with him over it, he would not have taken it as a sign of disrespect but rather would it colour him impressed. Vaati could not deny he had a particularly fond eye for females who took no shit from anyone, a trait that many of the female figures in his life seemed to hold. He shakes his head, “That is all.” But before he turns to take his leave, his eyes drift towards her stomach, a chill running down his spine at the thought of such responsibility that laid incubating within. Vaati would ensure that she and the children within her never needed to suffer, would never starve or fear. As a wave washed over him, he feels a new sense of purpose -- unlike he had ever felt before, and it is unnerving. “I will bring you food.” He doesn’t spare Grezig another glance before leaving this time, departing slightly overwhelmed.