Moonspear [m] Stolen Light

Perhaps a big brother. Perhaps an Uncle. She let out a soft little chuckle at that. Not in a condescending way. Alaric just didn't know the light in which she saw him. The dark Archer saw him for more than what he was. 

There was a shift. It started from her then washed over him. Took him over, like a wave and it hit. Crashing down. Now he knew. Her sweet words and compliments were not meant to skim the surface. They went much deeper than that. 

If a wolf were capable of blushing, then her inky cheeks would have been tinted a rosy pink as he caught and shifted her into his arms. She so badly wanted to lean in and nuzzle the midnight of his neck, to get drunk on the scent of his musky, herbal aroma.

But she would not cross that boundary. He had something to say. Something deeply serious and personal. She leaned back, wrapped in his arms. Ears slightly pricked, mouth closed to show he had her complete and un-divided attention. Only when he brought his head to hers, did she dare press her cheek tenderly against his. A show of affection, but more so meant for understanding. That these words, no matter what they said, that his secret would be safe with her, under lock and key.

With her voice lost in her throat, she could only nod softly in acceptance of his truth. A tightly guarded heart, sealed well beyond the reach of another.

She shifted, only slightly to curl in a loose ball, pressed up close against his dark fur. Resting her chin around his neck in a mirror embrace of his own. 

The tale he told was dark. No, downright twisted and heartbreaking was more like it. Horror crept into her eyes, then pain, and anger. The velvet fur on the bridge of her nose began to crinkle but she caught herself before her teeth flashed. When that hot flood of anger subsided, she wore a look of grateful but sad relief. 

The silence hung heavy in the air.

"Oh Alaric... I never realized. I am so, so sorry he did that to you. That you suffered so badly, and at that young age too. No wolf deserves to ever be treated like that...I can't even imagine..." She shook her head, her voice slightly choked up.

She coaxed his head close to her muzzle. Soothingly, she stroked his cheekbone. "But you made it out alive. Changed, but alive." Her voice was low, but gentle. "And no one, especially not me, will blame you for keeping your heart locked away like this. I still adore you for the wolf you are, who I see before me and have grown to know all this time. It means a lot to me that you trust me enough to share that."

Now, she contemplated what he laid out before her. A physical relationship was entirely possible. A romantic one was hardly guaranteed. Could she break the ice that covered his heart so thickly? She didn't know. But that did not deter the tenacious Archer.

She smiled. "Alaric... You have already given me and my family so much by just being you. But, if I don't try then I will never know for sure. And I don't, you may never know if you can give it to me. I think we both deserve that chance to find out. If you will let me." The Star Queen grew bold. Confident. Intense eyes burning like two distant blue stars. In the most tender of gestures, she kissed up along his muzzle to the space between his eyes. "Please, let me try and prove to you that it is okay to be open."