Sea Lion Shores don't ask me why

dated AFTER yuelong group hunt for ease of timeline- meaning she would've left @Atausiq for a day or two and told him she'd return to pick him up :>>

After promoting Ying, she had slunk back inland to pick up her pretty new trophy. She hadn't yet told her sister of the boy; she was not sure what she'd think- perhaps he would be a pleasant surprise. Ying wanted her to marry, after all, right? She couldn't be disappointed if Huā was bringing home a catch like this to serve as father- kind, handsome, neither clingy nor stand-offish, and gigantic asf. And younger than her- with many years left in him. She was a lucky girl- no, a lucky bride. 

She had picked him up in the wee hours of the morning, quietly slipping away from Neverwinter, and, for once, hoping she did not encounter Mal. She didn't. And the pair had head towards the island without pause. Huā padded in the direction of the land bridge, but her eyes turned up towards the handsome mountain of a boy. Atausiq, She begins quietly, Do you want to hear about Yuèlóng?

atausiq used the few days she left him to try to wrap his swimming mind around his new reality. it was a lot to grasp and part of him wants to hate the situation. it could be worse, he tells himself. there'd been physical attraction prior to becoming her groom ...and she was an empress. his father could've married him off to someone a lot worse. part of him considers this is a punishment as much as it is a political move. despite the rebellious part of him that cringes at the idea of being put in a gilded cage, atausiq remains where hua left him.

he busied himself by his usual patrols, though staying close to the general area she was meant to return for him at; hunting to fill his belly ...and kill his yawning anxieties as he awaits his bride's return. when she did return for him, he follows dutifully after her as she leads the way to her coast. proving that he every bit the same duty bound and family focused boy he'd always been.

her family was his now. imperial jade gaze moves from the sea — his first time seeing it but also unable to take it in; too internally shell-shocked to register it — to his siren bride where it lingers, upon her face and then to the slight roundness of her sides. he's young but he suspects he knows what the subtle but noticeable change to her body means. yes, he replies, tail brushing against his hocks, face tilted ever-so-slightly in her direction; unaccustomed to the stinging salt brine and pelting of sand carried upon the wind. it certainly seems beneficial to him to find out what he's to expect and whats to be expected of him as her groom.

She feels awkward as his gaze breaks her down, she can feel him take a mental note at the new roundness of her stomach, picking her apart like a bug under a magnifying glass. Her cheeks heat up in the moment his gaze settles there, but it's gone once he answers her question, and she can almost feel her brain breathe a sigh of relief. 

Yuèlóng is led by me and my sister, Ying. It based on our culture back home... She glances at him, awaiting his reactions to her words as she continues. Respect is most important. Always respecting the older and more experience people- this is our way. Second thing is balance. Balance between phys... physical, and mental. Where I come from, men is physical, women is mental. But Yuèlóng is different, anyone can be anything, as long as they con, con-trib-ute.

She glances down to her own side. Certainly he's noticed. A glance back up at him. I think you notice, what condition I am in. When... in a few week, I need you help me. If you are husband, you can also act as father. Okay? What you think? She inquires- though it's not like she'll take no for an answer. He would be her husband soon, and whether he liked it or not, as long as he stayed by her side she would push him into the role of father. Play off the pregnancy as his doing, even- if it could help her image.

she launches into the details after a moment; of studious silence on his head and the unacknowledged awkward silence on her end. she informs him that it is led by her and her sister, ying; and that it's based on the culture of their birthplace. the whole aspect of culture is new to atausiq who hasn't been raised to conform to any certain 'culture' ...at least as far as he knows. atausiq is contemplative as she speaks of respect, of the elder and the experienced, and then of balance. he takes in her words with a soft hum of contemplation, allowing his imperial jade gaze to stray to the ever-moving waves, face against the seabreeze as he listens, raptly.

in truth, there are enough similarities that it won't be quite so alien to him, nor he to it. the most alien thing to him is going to be learning how to be a husband, what she expects of him as such —

those thoughts are interrupted by her next words, proving his suspicions correct. she's pregnant. the mechanics of all that are largely unknown to atausiq but he gets a general idea by the way his body reacted to clover's heat. a few weeks. the fact that she was asking his opinion was partially amusing, if only because atausiq knows there is only one answer and it is the right answer. there is no real choice here.

okay. atausiq rasps, salmon pink tongue drawing across his jowls, tasting the tang of seasalt. a father. a father when he was to be just fresh into his yearhood himself. what do you expect from me, as your husband? he inquires, knowing that he has more questions than could be had in one conversation. still, atausiq tries to focus on the things he finds the most pressing.

Okay, He says simply, and she thinks good. Now it's time for him to ask his own question, which he does so- and she gazes back at the sea, taking a moment to think. What did she expect? All she had ever had were little flings, temporary lovers- and her parents relationship was certainly no example to take after. It took a long minute of thought. 

She turns her seaglass vision back towards him- her fiance- before speaking up. As my husband, you protect me, protect the children. Protect the island, when possible. You teach them whatever thing I cannot, bring new perspective. A pause, a glance into the future- Later, next year, maybe you make me a mother again. She looks him up and down- what kind of children could they produce? He was certainly large and powerful, and would bring her the best sons- she could only hope her daughters would take her more effeminate genes. As for his eyes, they were a perfect cool green, and his coat, a grey that lacked interest, would fit right in with the Jiangs, whose palettes were not especially eye-catching.

She makes eye contact again. And, in time, we learn to, uh, love eachother. That was possible, right? She had not felt love for a man before- but there was a first time for everything, perhaps. Perhaps she would fall head over heels for him. Oh! And- the marriage. you want to hear about the marriage? Because that was one of the most exciting parts of all, the adorable ceremony she'd dreamed of since she was little.

she responds to her question, running through what she expects of him; pack expectations aside. he makes the list in his mind as she lists the items: protect her, the children, the island. teach them things she can't. all fair things that makes him glad he's taken an interest in mercenary work prior to this. he would work, then, on honing those particular skills. for her. for the children. for her island. she brings up that perhaps next year he would father her litter.

atausiq thinks of the scent that hung upon clover's pelage and tries to imagine it upon his siren bride. something burns low in his belly; a low noise, a feral thing escapes from the hollow of his throat. an affirmation, an agreement. atausiq shifts his weight ...not exactly embarrassed but a bit flustered and unsure what he is to do to stifle it.

her oceanic gaze meets his once more, then, as she speaks that in time they learn to love each other. though they were, still, essentially strangers there was definitely a possibility that their alliance might forge something deeper; surely such things were not reserved for just fairytales. her excitement about what he suspects would be their marriage ceremony brings a small twitch of a smile to his lips; unable to help himself. tell me about it. tell me about your dreams and i will try to make them come true.

His noise of agreement makes her blush a little; how blessed she was to find a boy so willing! And so obedient and ready to learn! Stumbling across him, stumbling across Greyback, had been the perfect string of events, even if she had not known what would come of these things at the time. 

She notices the smile that plays at his lips when she questions, and so a smile grows on her face too, dreamy and light-hearted. It was all fairytales, the story of a princess and her prince, the thought of living this dream made her feel some kind of ecstasy. The bride- ah, um, me- spend the day with other women. They prepare me with flower, feathers, shell, weave thing into my fur and make me like magical and pretty girl. And groom- you- spend day with men. They give you task to complete, to 'win' me- like hunt this or that. She pauses, searching his expression to see what he might think so far.

At night, we all come together somewhere, and my other sister, Mei- the priest, say some word to make our marry official. Then everyone celebrate and eat stuff. She turns to him with an eager smile, tail wagging lazily from side to side.

he only interrupts her once to interject you are already pretty. before letting her continue with the events that would lead to the ceremony. they would be separated and while she would be adorned with shells and flowers, he would be shepherded by the men folk, given a task to win her ...as she tells it. if they chose for him to hunt then that would be a task he could accomplish easily. he was well accustomed to hunting, having prepared himself for the trade during his time easthollow. that feels like a thousand lifetimes ago to atausiq, despite having only been a month at most.

sounds like quite the celebration, he offers his thought in a soft hum; wondering if it would truly go as smoothly as that. would he be accepted by her people? she was their empress ( one of them at any rate ) and her word was law ...but what would they think of him? it doesn't much matter, he thinks. it is done and the only reason to hold pomp and ceremony was to honor her traditions. in atausiq's mind, he who follows no culture, he is already mated to her.

how am i to address you? he inquires next, meaning both in public and private. it seems the next most logical thing to ask, given her status as empress among her pack.

His compliment causes her to blush sorely; he was a man, yes, but a very kind one, and she would have no regrets in taking him as husband. If he could stay this sweet and open-minded forever, that would be the dream. And as pretty and femme as she was, he was a good complement to her- handsome in all the ways a man should be; broad, tall, muscled. 

She nods at his comment about the celebration. It was the way of her people, no thing could simply be done without a ceremony to pronounce it as true. Sure, not everything, but to Huā it seemed like they had had festivals and meetings and parties for every event. Though she would not string along all those traditions of her culture, marriage was important, and so she was determined that the island would throw the best marriage party ever. 

Oh! Do not be so formal. You just call me by name, Huāzhen... or just Huā, which what most people call me. Suddenly a thought springs into her head, her heart jumps, and she hums, Let me teach you this word. Bǎobèi. Baobei. It meaning like, um, darling, baby... you can call me that... if you want, She mumbles hesitantly.

he wasn't sure how it was meant to work. his parents had not required them to address them formally ...but they were his parents. from atausiq's mind, she was empress first, wife second and not obligated to allow him to address her so casually. yet, it appears that is exactly how she wants him to address her. casually. huāzhen, he repeats her full name, not wanting to be like everyone else. he wasn't like everyone else; wasn't meant to be, was he?

he watches as her face lights with her idea as it comes to her, ears cupping forth to listen as she speaks again, this time teaching him a word. baobei. it sounds easy enough but he assumes with a small quirk of his lips that she makes it sound more effortless than it actually was; a perk of it being her native tongue. bao-bei, he tries it out on his tongue; slowly. testing the syllables. baobei. he tries, stringing the term of endearment together as he looks to her for confirmation and hope that he hasn't entirely butchered it.

Atausiq tries the word out, and Huā laughs- in joy, not to mock. When he looks to her, she nods and laughs again, Very good. You say it perfect. She grins. Then she looks to him, wondering the same question. In the pack she was his superior... but back home in her culture, she was used to seeing the husband as the head of the family. Where she was from, the man decided how things went.

And though she would not say such things to him- seeing he would likely take her for too old fashioned- she still wondered how he wanted things to be. He had a role in this relationship too. And so she looks to him, And Atausiq, what should I call you?

she praises him and he offers her a soft smile, enjoying her praise; soaking it up, stifling the urge to preen beneath it. i'll keep practicing it. he promises. but you have to promise to correct me if i do say something wrong. he intends to hold her to it, too, should she promise. it strikes him as disrespectful to butcher her native tongue; strange as it feels as it rolls off his tongue.

what do you want to call me? atausiq asks her; having never been in a relationship before and realizing that he has no term of endearment that he can offer for her to call him. did his parents use terms of endearment? he'd never paid attention, in truth.

He promises to keep practicing- but what more practice would you need, dear?- and tells her to correct him if he messes up. She nods enthusiastically, doubting he would struggle much, but still wholly willing to help him where it was needed. That was what husband and wife should do- help eachother. 

He turns her own question back on her, and she laughs lightly, already knowing her answer. If you not have prefer-ence, then I will call you lǎogōng. Her face scrunches for a moment as she considers it, I not know how translate this word perfectly. Is like 'husband', but more, um, casual, sweet.

wrap this up? since they do talk about protecting her, the cubs & the pack i think i'm going to use this for his merc. trade. ^-^

no; no preference, he assures her with a soft twitch of his lips into something of a smile; tail wagging softly against his hocks. surely, by now, he could go back to using 'newt' as it was his given name but he never felt further from the child he used to be than he does here and now; imperial jade gaze resting lightly upon his siren bride with the solemn vow of being protector and father to her children binding them further. i like it. he decides after a moment of quiet contemplation, not trying to repeat that word ( because mochi is being lazy, lol ) knowing he will butcher it.

in time he hopes, he will adjust to his new roles and begin to learn the language that she speaks in more than just sweet words that were to be uttered to one another.

sounds good!!!

He affirms that he has no preference; that he even likes the petname she gives him. She was not sure whether that was true- but she hoped it was. That he was willing to be open-minded to their culture, their language, it would mean the world to her. There could be nothing worse than a foreign husband who would shame her for her own beliefs, so the readiness with which he accepted her words was pleasing. 

She smiles up at him sweetly, feeling no need for words. They would reach the island soon, and there would be more conversation then- so for now, she was content to continue in silence.