Arrow Lake abbatia

He looked to her now—maybe in a way she had always desired him to—as, at least, another sentient being, rather than a chess piece upon a playing board. The flame in his eyes when she mentioned Fennec—did he not know that she knew he had taken another wife and so swiftly?

To hell with Akashingo.

Emboldened—he was leaving. She took a pace closer to him, that fire within her not simply from a season looking to rear its ugly head, but from a connection she felt with him from their very first meeting. Her muzzle jutted forward, once more, and again, another step, moving to him, closer still, until her breath would brush the ends of the fur on his shoulder, eyes abashed as they remained intent upon him, her tail giving a final lash behind her.

The very idea of him leaving hurting—it shouldn’t. She had a place to be. And so did he, more so than even her,

But still….

“Do you want to know how many bonus points if you don’t leave, Imperator?” The thought of him gone—it hurt. It hurt too much.