Wheeling Gull Isle i think karma just knocked on my door

@sunijo

he knew no matter how long he put it off, there was no escaping the inevitable. today was as good as any to tell the empress of his situation, and so after a taking a moment to mentally prepare his thoughts, the inky ghoul set off in search of hua.

it was not so much forgiveness he was seeking, for as far as he was aware he'd not broken any laws, but rather acceptance. if she did not accept the life growing inside of tzila, then he needed to know as soon as possible so that he might plan and act accordingly.

Huā strolled nearby the den, not wanting to be distant from the kids. Her children were growing fast; each day they seemed more confident- well, most of them. She wasn't sure how to bolster Luli's spirits and only hoped the rosebud might soon come along. If not... Huā would always be there to guide and protect her. 

During her stroll at the edge of the forests, she caught sight of Astaroth. In the drama of the moment with Strand, Huā had not noticed anything off about Tzila- and so unknowing, she headed over with a waving tail and friendly chuff.

it didn't take him long to find her, for he assumed she'd be somewhere near the den and children now that her kids were slowly beginning to explore the world around them. he met her friendly chuff with one of his own, though once close enough aimed to give a gentle bump against her shoulder.

"mind if i steal a moment of your time? got some things i want to talk to you about." he didn't want to take up much of her time given she was on official mom duty with the kids, but given the nature of the topics he intended to talk about, he didn't expect this to be a quick chat either.

At the bump, she laughed and nudged him in return, though settled down once he spoke. I not mind. She affirmed, smile warm as she settled back onto her haunches. The children would be okay, and @Daiyu had made a habit of resting near them lately anyway. She eyed her friend then with inquisitive seaglass gaze, quiet- awaiting his words.

as she settled down on haunches he came to do the same, sparing only a quick glance in the direction of her den before he revealed the purpose of his visit. "tzila is pregnant", he started with before pausing for a moment to allow her to digest and process the information before dropping the real bomb on her.

as much as he wanted to avoid her gaze and any judgment she may toss his way, he found it more difficult to look away then keep the eye contact. "the children she is carrying are mine."

It was a good idea on Astaroth's part to tell Huā now, considering the way she'd reacted to finding Huojin. Better to prepare for a litter in advance, rather than finding one kept a secret. At the news, she stiffened momentarily, but ultimately her concerns fell to Tzila's health. Only a small part of Huā bitterly wondered how easily Astaroth had moved on from Ying. Finally she sighed- I am glad you tell me now. We have time to prepare, She hummed. Is she feel okay? Because we fight the captive, other day- she not risk the baby...?

her reaction is everything he could have hoped for and more. he'd been worried there would be hell to pay, for he knew not many leaders tolerated young outside their own, so for her to so easily accept what he'd shared was a great worry taken off his mind.

"she's doing well. i wouldn't have let her fight against the captive if i thought it posed a threat to our children." he thought tzila to be rational enough to know when she should step back from a fight, and saw himself stepping in as a last resort. "that actually brings me to the second point i wanted to talk to you about..."

Her worries were relieved as Astaroth described Tzila as well. She had more questions for him- what now, of their relationship? In Huā's culture, a pregnant woman without a husband was a disgrace. It was why she had wanted Atausiq so badly. Now that he'd dissapeared, she knew there was no way to save her image. And she wondered whether he would leave Tzila to face the shame of having children out of wedlock- not knowing that neither seemed very shameful about the matter. But his words came next, and she shelved her thoughts- ears tilted forward in quiet anticipation.

"with children already here and more on the way, i want to make yuèlóng as safe as it can possibly be." he had no plans of running from the responsibilities of parenthood, but rather choose to embrace what little paternal instincts may be brewing within. if he were to raise his offspring here, he wanted to make sure they were safe.

"do we have any enemies, or allies?" he probably should have asked about all of this back when he first joined, but emotions had been high and hua hadn't exactly had much free time to sit at chat with him about the dull topics of friends and foes.

Enemies and allies- We have both, She confirmed seriously.Our ally both in-land. Moonspear, of Hydra, and Neverwinter, of Mal. Both South. Mal's name came somewhat awkwardly, as if she wished not to mention him. Southwest, is pack call Rusalka. We... not on good term. Other enemy inland, not know where. Hydra tell them to me- Merrick- dark man with light neck- and dark woman, and black-head woman, like me. They hurt the innocent, and young, and so we must hunt them. Huā declared.

moonspear and hydra were familiar names to him, though neverwinter was not. perhaps when he had a bit of free time he'd go pay a visit to their allies and introduce himself for the simple sake of making new friends and getting off the island every now and then.

what surprised him most though was not the mention of the dangerous trio, but rather the name of rusalka. he had yet to visit rosencrantz on the plateau, but perhaps this would be a good reason to. "i know someone who lives within rusalka. perhaps i can pay them a visit and try to smooth things over." the last thing he wanted was an angry pack to come knocking on their door, especially not when they had young here and nowhere but the sea to run to.

At his proposition, Huā frowned. 我认识几个住在那儿的人。 他们都很可怕 The empress wanted to huff, but held her tongue. You can try, She muttered finally, clearly reluctant. But her gaze met his again- You should know, last time we send scout to them, they are terrible to him without reason. I not be surprise if they treat you same. She sighed with a shake of ebony head. Of course, Ruvik had gone to collect information, not resolve conflict- but Huā decided not to mention that. Bad manners were bad manners all around, no matter the context.

she didn't seem very hopeful in the idea of smoothing things over based on her words, but in truth it did little to sway him. his mind was already made up, and he hoped within the next few days he might be on his way to pay a visit to rosencrantz and any other rusalkan who was willing to give him the time of day.

"not many dislike me, and believe or not but i'm quite good at making new friends", he teased aloud. he always preferred friends to foes, and saw little use for making enemies when it was so much more enjoyable to make new companions anyways.

It was true, and she chuckled slightly, amused with his optimism in the face of barbarians. Fine. If is what you wish- but be safe. She sighed warmly, nudging his shoulder playfully with his muzzle. She would not stand to lose her friend, or see him torn to smithereens by Rusalkans. She only hoped they might treat him better than they treated Ruvik. Huā pulled back then, eyeing him with a quiet gratitude which she would not yet speak aloud, only waiting for the results of his journey to admit she might be wrong about their enemies. 

wrap?

whether or not he could convince the leader's of rusalka to let go of the past and any bad blood that came with it remained to be seen, but he had faith he'd be able to get on at least someone's good side during his visit.

"i will ", he assured the empress as he return her nudge with one of his own. he had no intention of gaining any new scars anytime soon, and if things started to look ugly, he'd quickly dismiss himself and head straight back to the island to report the news to hua.