take this thing back to baltimore

Ira snuffled, sniffling once at the rank scent that he had, in a manner that the juvenile found slightly horrific, had became desensitized too. It lingered, even now, never fully going away no matter how used to it the Princeling was, but it wasn’t as ‘knock-you-on-your-feet’ as it had been the first couple of times Ira had been forced to endure it. The words that spilled forth from Lecter’s lips were …not what Ira had expected - though he had not been sure why the Shaman had called him there in the first place. Enmity …Lecter was tired of the enmity they shared towards one another? Ira spared the Gamma a suspicious look for a few seconds hindering on belief and disbelief. There was nothing that openly suggested that those words had been a lie, and yet Ira was dubious all the same; the consideration that they were sincere left Ira with the question what had changed Lecter’s mind? Lecter’s following words made a little bit of sense to Ira and the Princeling wondered if that was why Lecter was suddenly changing his mind about their tentative relationship. Because he was - as everyone did little bit by little bit - dying.

“You would challenge it while you still live, though?” Ira asked the Shaman, crystalline blue eyes searching the cold, frozen blue eyes of Jinx’s mate. In Ira’s opinion, it was not something Lecter had any right to do (even if it was a wrong opinion) because Ira had been Jinx’s son before Lecter had been her mate. Ira snorted at Lecter’s spot-on assessment of Ira’s personality, of which Jinx had not bothered (for her own reasons, surely) to correct him upon and so it had solidified during Ira’s impressionable age. He was less likely to be convinced of things, now. He could decide for himself, “Join the club,” Indeed Lecter was not the first one to say those things to him - Ira’s mind flashed to Jace who had called him a demon spawn or something like that - and they hardly bothered the Princeling.

“So if we’re destroying the enmity between us what do you suggest takes its place?” Because something had too, surely; it wasn’t as if they had grown fond of one another or anything like that. Without the enmity Ira had felt to the Shaman there was …nothing.