A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Silence reigned in the room. Nobuntu and Kudzai, on their knees in front of Naeku, looked up at her. The latter was obviously anxious and desperate, but the former remained stoic, even dignified, despite her position. She obviously cared deeply for Naeku, but pride was ingrained deeply into her being.

Naeku looked away with a trembling body. Her wet eyes looked at Erik, searching for answers. Unfortunately, all she saw was compassion and love, but no answers.

Finally, she shot to her feet. "I— I need to go—!" she squeaked in a high pitch, unable to look at the kneeling pair. A storm of conflicting emotions raged on her face.

Before anyone could think to stop her, she was out the door.

A panicked Kudzai immediately tried to stand up and follow her, but Nobuntu put a hand on his shoulder. With her indomitable strength, she forced Kudzai to remain. With a stern kind of pleading, she turned to Erik.

Erik, his eyes having followed Naeku out the door, hopped from the windowsill he'd been sitting in. He turned to the mother and son. "I'll talk to her," he promised with a sigh. "Don't worry too much about it."

Shrugging, he turned to walk out. "No matter what, this reaction proves she still cares about you two. You've made the first move towards mending your relationship, now she just needs a little time."

At the same time, he shot her a message through their bond. "We're also going to have a talk about exactly how your fellow Azanian elders knew of the hunter invasion before it happened, as well as the fact you hadn't mentioned this to me before…"

Nobuntu stood up and nodded stoically. "Thank you." Without another word, she pulled Kudzai with her, whose worried, pained gaze was still staring at the door Naeku just left through.

Erik left through the door just as Nobuntu and Kudzai sat down on the couch together. They, too, had some things to talk through after that.

***

Outside, Erik instantly found Naeku. Her hands were planted against the stone wall, back turned towards him. Her shoulders shook and trembled. Tears silently streamed down her cheeks. He noticed she'd turned back to human form, and quickly used ice maker to erect a private space around them.

He put a hand on her shoulder.

Instantly, she whipped around to wrap her hands around him. Erik silently did the same, and she started sobbing into his naked chest. "I— It's— u— unfair!" she cried with resentment and frustration. "T— They c— can't just…!"

"Dammit," she cursed furiously, smacking her fist into the fleshy, fleshy statue hugging her. "O— Of course she c— choose duty! I— I would… would have done the same!"

She looked up at him, tears streaming. "B— But it's unfair! I— I'm just supposed to stop blaming them now?! A— After so many deaths?! I— I—"

She fell silent, unable to continue her thought, and shrugged helplessly. Instead, she once again looked to Erik for answers.

He smiled gently at her and used one his right hand to caress her cheek and wipe away her tears. "You're not supposed to do anything, Naenae."

As his smile turned into a confident grin, he forced her to look up into his eyes. "Remember: you are the Silver Emperor's wife. No one can tell you what to do, unless you allow them to."

The grin faded, and he frowned seriously. "What I mean to say is… that all you've done now is listen to their side of the story. The next step is yours, whatever that step is. It doesn't even need to be reasonable!"

His words and touched slowly eased Naeku's mind. Tears still streamed from her eyes, but a small smile appeared on her full lips.

Erik smiled back and kissed some of her tears away. "Just know that, whatever you decide, no one's asking you to do so right now. And, obviously, I'll support you no matter what you want to do."

Her breathing calmed, and she nodded slowly. "T— Thank you… Erik…" she sighed with a hint of relief. Emotions still raged below the surface, but she felt a little better.

Suddenly, her lips curled into a wry, self-deprecating smirk. "Do you… still think I'm a predator after that display…?"

Erik's eyebrows went up. Chuckling, he gripped her jaw and planted a fierce kiss on her lips. Hungry for comfort, she responded in kind.

When they separated, Erik whispered in her ear. "Predators can have complicated emotions and relationships, too, my love. But its prey who dwell too long on them, and lets these things affect them negatively. Take your time to decide what you want to do, but when you've decided, stride forward with absolute certainty and conviction."

He pulled back and looked into her eyes with amused confidence. "Fortunately, I'm absolutely certain neither of us ever needs to worry about anyone considering you prey, Naeku."

Slowly, Naeku nodded, her gaze fully lost into his. She felt comforted and loved, but also a powerful conviction to not let him down. With a sigh, she collapsed into his chest again to press her cheek against his muscles.

They stayed in each other's arms for a while, until Naeku sighed and disentangled from him. "Well, I don't think I'm in the right mind space to seclude myself right now. I need to take a little time to think about what I want to do."

She looked up at him and a playful smirk appeared on her lips. "First, though, I could use a little distraction to put my mind at ease. I don't suppose you have any ideas for such a thing~?"

Instantly grabbing her meaning, Erik started grinning. "Oh, I think I have some ideas…"

With a mighty heave, he pulled Naeku onto his shoulder and lowered the ice wall. Yelping and giggling, Naeku allowed herself to manhandled as she quickly turned back to werepanther form. In the embrace of her new husband, she already felt her problems slip away for a moment…

***

Some time later, Erik walked out of Naeku's room. Behind him, a purring Naeku had fallen fast asleep. He had no doubt a good few hours sleep would significantly aid her decision making.

'Meanwhile, what's in store for me?' he frowned thoughtfully. 'I want to train with Astrid for a while, but there's still plenty of other things to do…"

He started thinking about what needed happening. "I need to talk to Emily, but that's not urgent while Kudzai and Nobuntu are still here. Speaking of which, I need to talk to Nobuntu as well, but I'll give them a little more time first. I'd also like to spend some normal date time with Elora, as it's been a while… Plus, we still have some plans to finalise.'

He sighed as more tasks came to him. He'd made a few minor promises to the Enkarian elite last night—even if their were several strata between him and them, he also realised it was important to keep them happy.

Yet, one task he knew to be the most urgent right now. "Let's go see how Nora and Anne are doing…" he muttered softly, his feet carrying him towards the palace exit.