VULPINE: Her Second Chance

The First Steps

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The First Steps

...a mate who would honour their commitment.

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Thalia woke to a minor earthquake and wondered when she'd fallen asleep. Then her pillow hardened and shifted, and she realised what had happened as the king wrapped his arms around her and his subvocal growl - the rumbling she'd felt - became fully audible.

She must have fainted, but Thalia was uncertain as to why. She didn't feel unwell, and hadn't at any point that day. The last thing Thalia remembered was accepting the king's handkerchief as a sensation she couldn't discern rose within her. That feeling was apparently the syncope that leads to unconsciousness, since next she knew she was waking up horizontal. And now practically sitting in her new mate's lap.

Her ears and throat felt warm as she blushed involuntarily. She hated to lose control of any part of herself, especially her consciousness. On the bright side, Thalia still had the king's kerchief clutched to the base of her neck to keep the mark from bleeding excessively.

"I'd give them some space, if I were you." The sudden voice from above startled Thalia out of her embarrassment.

She looked up to find her friends surrounding her and the king, at a barely respectful distance. The king's beta, who had spoken, was standing just as close, the witch a step or two behind him. They both were looking askance at Scott, who was for some reason kneeling beside Thalia, opposite the king.

Scott made as if to touch her and the king rose, his grip on Thalia ensuring that she rose with him, and the 'fox's hand instead landed on her dress' hem. A snarl ripped from the king's throat, and honestly Thalia wanted to growl a bit as well. How dare the Skulklord behave as though he still had the right to touch her? She'd rather break all of his fingers first.

"I meant no offence, King Jackson," Scott placated, scrambling to his feet as well. He held his hands up in a gesture of non-agression, but did not show his neck. "I was merely worried about our dear Thalia."

Our? Her ire rose, and with it, the urge to cause Scott grievous bodily harm. Thalia glanced at the human, ensuring he had remained behind the dais in case of a fight between the shifters, and met his eyes accidentally.

The priest was physically safe, if acting a bit odd for the situation. He was watching Thalia instead of the goings-on, and an inquisitive frown was pulling on his previously serene brow.

Thalia had no time to ponder this, as the king grew louder, clutching her to himself more firmly. Her eyes felt riveted to his, only a sliver of green left showing as his Spirit stared at Scott through dilated pupils.

"Mine." The king curled his lip aggressively, and the beta stepped forward as Scott moved back, different levels of alarm painting both males' faces for a split second. Her hand flexed over the silk cloth on her neck and the sting of the mark there brought Thalia out of her daze. Had she just been thinking about physically fighting Scott? Wild.

The pileup of negative moments must have had her more angry than usual, Thalia surmised, and pressed the feeling down as she was used to doing. Her emotions would fuel the king's, now, and she would have to keep that in mind, as well as learn better suppression and shielding.

"What my king is saying, Skulklord Kane, is that you can rest assured in the knowledge that we take care of our own in the Moonstone Kingdom." The beta winked at Thalia, and she felt him send a wave of reassurance through the pack bond. From up close, she saw his eyes were a light grey with icy blue flecks near the pupils. "Our queen is in good and loyal hands. Isn't that right, Your Majesty?"

Instead of kneeing Scott where it'd hurt the most like she wanted, Thalia turned further into the steely bands surrounding her. The king's arms were gentle enough to allow her to move more, but Thalia only turned enough to free her right arm up and pat his tense bicep.

Not that she wouldn't love to see it, but if King Jackson murdered Skulklord Kane before a new Alpha Court was chosen, Thalia's friends would be obligated to the Union. And since the beta had done his part, it was on her to de-escalate further, if she could.

The king ceased his growling, but did not respond to the beta with anything other than a terse nod. Thalia wondered why he was so strangely nonverbal, outside of his mind. Was his Spirit not tame enough to let him speak aloud? Regardless, she'd been treated like an object too long to appreciate any possessiveness from any humanoid.

Thalia cleared her throat, still slightly flushed with anger. She shifted her weight to get out of King Jackson's arms, but kept her free hand on him to provide them both a little stability.

"I was merely overwhelmed by the difference in power. I am feeling much better, Your Majesty, so perhaps we should continue with the rest of the day's tasks and be on our way?" Her voice was sweet, but her eyes clearly said to cut the s**t.

The king nodded and stepped to the side, gently guiding Thalia by the elbow. She tried to one-handedly tie the trailing ends of his handkerchief without letting up the pressure on the mate mark, and her fingers fumbled the cloth slightly.

As they came to a stop near the Moonstone Kingdom's empty pews, the king took the bedraggled fabric from Thalia's right hand and twisted it deftly. He left her left hand in its therapeutic place and focused on reworking the wonky knot. His hands were quick and sure, as it had clearly been a two-hander of a task.

Even though he was somehow giving more fabric to the knot while leaving her other hand mostly undisturbed, Thalia could feel herself bristle. She was unable to be fully grateful, since she was so fully done with people dressing her in any way, shape, or form. The king paused with the now- rolled and bowtied ends of the accessory-turned-bandage in his thick fingers and caught Thalia's placid gaze.

She felt the "knock" at her mind's edge again. She felt her mouth twitch as she became slightly more irritated. The only people required to ask Thalia for permission to enter her thoughts were now unable to do so. After the years of open conversation with her closest skulkmates, having her mate request to mind-link felt... impersonal. And Thalia couldn't afford for him to feel that way.

A tiny playful smirk appeared briefly on King Jackson's lips at her delayed response. The knock returned, this time with a rhythm to the flutter. Was that "shave and a haircut"? She narrowed her eyes as she suspiciously opened her mind, and the king's smirk reincarnated as a little smile that disappeared just as fast.

Thalia blinked. The Skulklord had wanted her to be the poster child for the "born sexy yesterday" trope, before he'd lost interest. Perhaps the king preferred a little more spice. She took a chance based on his earlier amusement at her derision towards Scott and put some smoulder in her words, impertinently letting her thoughts out before the king could air his.

-I'm quite able to play dress-up all on my lonesome, just so you're aware.- Thalia injected just enough humour into her mental tone for her to pass it off as a joke if the king snapped at her. To her satisfaction, his response was amiable, even though he clearly took her irritation seriously.

-I thought I'd lend a hand or two, since you seemed to have need of three, Lady Weiß.- His words remained friendly, but the platonic tone left no room for further flirtation as he turned back towards the dais. -But I should have asked first. As a further compromise, you can do the tying next time, and I'll do the compression.-

-Ah. I believe those terms sound agreeable, Your Majesty. We shall shake on it at a later date.- Alrighty, crossing out the Vexatious Vixen. Very slightly embarrassed that hers was the less innocently motivated of the two's banter, Thalia quickly turned away and ended the link. The king waited a short beat before brushing against the edges of her mind again.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, but he kept his gaze on her friends, who had gone forward to be voluntarily banished. Grateful that he seemed to be ignoring her blustering, Thalia let him in, more quickly than the last time.

-You don't have to lower yourself in deference to me, by the way. You are, of course, able to call me what you like, but I prefer Daniel, Lady Weiß.-

She'd really rather expected an apology of some sort for his possessive behaviour, but she liked that there was none. Thalia wouldn't deny the king his nature, but they would for sure have a chat about it. He seemed to like it when she spoke her mind at least, and they had time for her to figure out what else he liked.

-In that case, call me Thalia. And thanks for the re-tie.- She smiled at him, relief spreading through her as she realised it was almost over. She was almost fully out.

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