Ravensblood Forest the one minute. the soldier's minute

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Their eyes met and Arturo found that he welcomed the assuage of her moonglow gaze against his aflame ember gaze. Eye contact was so very crucial for their species. It bespoke a challenge when a subordinate met the gaze of their superior, the touch of gazes could show vulnerability, desire, affection, respect, love. Her gaze meeting his did not spark the instinct of dominance for Arturo did not see Lotte as his inferior. No, the mummer was a queen among peasants, even if she did not know it. Instead, it inspired something even more archaic, something much deeper. The thought that he wanted to get lost in her eyes, that he would not mind waking up to them every day for the rest of his life was one that the gangster found terrifying. Dangerous, even. To flirt with danger and the very real prospect of heartbreak. “Thank you for letting me see you, the real you.” He murmured in return, knowing that she could have so easily let her charade continue with him none the wiser. Idly, it made him curious as to what had changed her mind.

Lotte answered his question, the press of her head against his chest, the feel of her breath stirring against the tendrils of fur upon his chest knocking him briefly breathless. While she spoke her confession to him, he was gratefully took the time to regain his bearings, to attempt to collect himself, the soft shivers her touch was eliciting down his spine were distracting to the man, as was the rub of her muzzle against his collarbone. The only clear conclusion was to admit that he was too deep into this already, so soon. She spoke of telling Doe and Szymon the truth, and expressed her fear to him in earnest, pulling back from his embrace to meet his gaze once more.

“Chusi adores you, Lotte,” And Arturo approved (but of course he did!). He offered it as consolation before he decided to broach the subject of her uncertainty. How the Depth wolves would take her deception. Though they were not his Teaghlaigh in the same way that those beneath his rule were, they were still family and he'd spent some time with them. Still, it was hard for him to deduce their reaction to her truth. “I can't say how they'll react,” He admitted after a few moments, regretful that he could not offer her an assurance that they, too, would understand. Worse, came the thought that she would face them alone and that they might seek to harm her should the conversation take a turn for the worse. It was not a thought he wanted to bear. “but it's not your fault Lotte. You did what you needed to, at the time. It was just business.” This was easy for him to say, though, given that he was helplessly smitten with the Ansbjørn woman. Arturo did not know the circumstances of why she'd done it, that she had been encouraged by her leader but the idea of letting her face the lion's den alone was not one that he entertained well.

“I understand your desire to come clean with them, but I don't want you to go alone,” He admitted. “I could come with you, if you wanted. For support,” He offered in a low murmur. “And if it does not go favorably I could talk it down. Doe isn't particularly fond of me but I have a standing alliance with their Leviathan, their Alpha, who is a friend.” Somewhere along the line Arturo had begun to think Skellige as a friend for the sea titan was the closest thing he had to one, admittedly. If her standing as one of Deirdre's wolves was not enough to assuage violence, if it went that vicious path, then perhaps Teaghlaigh could contain the worst case scenario.

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