Sea Lion Shores don't ask me why

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.