I am the hungry shark, fast and merciless

He lingered. Waited. He hadn't yet gone to the Little Bird's pack yet. Hadn't met Reiko yet. He had promised her, he would show up — and he would — but not tonight. Not tonight. He could not leave Ekaterina wholly unprotected. At the moment, he lingered near enough to her that he wasn't terribly concerned — he would hear her if something happened; she knew to call for him.

But he lingered in the Vale all the same, pacing. Hunting? Killing time, more like. Why? What was holding him back, other than the Queen that basically despised him anyway? A frown cut across his mouth then, a pause in his step. For the first time in his life, the Iron Maw wavered.

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The woman shook out her pale coat, flinging water trickling across the clear lake. It sent ripples, subtle and quickly dissipating, upon it's surface. She sat for a moment still, letting the cold wind brush upon her. When she finally quit and turned to leave the water, however, her blue eyes flashed wide when met with his golden. Her pink nose flushed slightly more red, as did the pink insides of her ears.

"A-... Aleksei." She managed to squeak out. 

Her fur, now wet and rather soaked- especially around her legs and belly- stuck close to her figure. She attempted to shield herself with her tail but it made nearly no difference. She, sure was covered in fur and sure, they technically were always naked but, for some reason now she felt rather vulnerable and exposed.

She quickly sensed that 'embarrassed' was not an emotion that suited her royal visage, so quickly corrected her posture into one that feigned pride and nobility. She tried her best to ignore the way his eyes felt on her body, with every nook and cranny of her normally plush and fluffy legs exposed, as she lengthened her stance. The flushed look on her face would fail to cease, however, so hints of her bashfulness still remained. 

"Do you have an update for me or something?" The woman was clearly excited to move on from the moment with the eagerness to switch to a more appropriate topic. Hopefully he would take the bait and talk about something else other than her embarrassment but, knowing Aleksei.... 

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Even with wet fur clinging to her body, there was a beauty about her that couldn’t be denied, by any man. Or at least the ones he knew. The men of the Royal Guard had always been on about her, how the King was lucky, how she was miles better looking than the Dynasty’s leader. Aleksei, — of course being one of the lads — had joined in, even if he hadn’t meant it. But over time, he had meant it.

That same attraction lingered even now, though there was something… different about it. Where he once might have flirted with her, what came out of his mouth then was decidedly not flirting. “Nothing new. However we’ve been out here for months. We haven’t found the King, or any of the others. With the season as it is, I think we should join a pack. There’s one close. A bit South of here.”

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Her eyes narrowed as he spoke, her body language quickly becoming more rigid and serious. His suggestion was compelling to her, truly, but some rebellious nature still stirred in her despite it.

"I don't want to be under the foot of another king." She spoke boldly, and without quarter. Her king was nowhere to be seen for so long, no longer did the fear of his persecution lord over her mind. Briefly her face contorted in reaction to herself, wondering how strong Aleksei's loyalty was to the Emperor. Would he be hateful towards her and her rather treasonous ideals, so plainly displayed without second thought.

Yet quickly, her serious and determined expression returned. Cold and calculating, like the empress she was. What was he going to do if he didn't like it, report her to a king that wasn't there?

"But.." The woman resumed her thought, her eyes glancing up and down the man's body, as if she were sizing him up. Yet it were as if it was not his body that she was inspecting, but his mind, for her eyes came to a stop once they met his own. He would not suggest such a thing if he did not already had a place in mind.

"If there is a safe place with no such archon, I will consider it." She left the ability to back out intentionally. If even a little she did not like the nature of whatever group he chose, she wouldn't want to break any promises when and if she decided to flee it. 

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He could not deny his agreeance with her statement, though it was for reasons that misaligned with her own. Aleksei's King would always remain the same, that intrinsic loyalty buried deep within the cream colored chest of the knight. He had been taken from poverty, peasantry, and raised to a status that was far above anything he could have hoped to achieve. His parents had barely had anything, afterall. Only when the Grand Master Knight had taken him under his wing had Aleksei thrived and grown from the skin and bones child to what stood before the Queen now. And who better to teach the boy of honor than Master Knight himself?

He met her eyes, golden glass holding her own proudly, unfalteringly. Despite his loyalties, he had never been cowed by authority, and perhaps that was exactly what made him such a perfect guard for the slight, shapely woman — he could take her shit.

“Not a King, no. An... Empress.” The word tasted and felt odd on his tongue. It was foreign, probably. Foreign to him, at least. “A mountain, southeast of here. Worth a meeting, at any rate.” And maybe she'd like it. Maybe she wouldn't. Aleksei would cross that bridge when he came to it.

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