Post by Aurelius Adalbern on Mar 14, 2020 6:36:59 GMT
Although the Bear King held himself as steady as a great tree, he felt the relief of the danger dissipating, cooling his entire body like the waves he and Finn had played in together. A relaxed breath left him as he followed Romi to her knees, folding his large arms about her shoulders to beckon her into a gentle embrace.
He did not know if she could hear him through her sobs, but he bent his head to speak softly to her.
"In my homeland, Yhavastus, there is a special place - a hilltop overlooking a vast green valley. My little sister would braid crowns of flowers there. In my culture, we believe that those we meet, as friend or foe, become tied together by invisible threads that transcend time and place. Alvilda can see her now, your daughter, through us. She will watch over her, as she had always watched over me."
And Aur stayed there on his knees, allowing the grieving mother to cry all that she needed to. His head turned ever so slightly to address his dear Pup.
Finn's eyes did not leave the broad back of his friend knelt before him, comforting the mother whose world his damned Wolf had stolen the light from, consuming it like Sköll swallowing the moon in the tale of Ragnarok. His feet had turned to roots, growing into the Earth below, holding and binding the Pirate into a man made statue. Finn couldn't move or speak. Every utterance he could have made felt insignificant, like his voice alone would be enough to harm this woman further. But in those moments of frozen silence he learned a great deal about his friend. His guardian. A Valkyrie of a man with a damaged wing that Finn had not even seen until now. He'd no idea. It was a stark realization how much Aurelius knew about him now, and how little Finn knew of the King of Yhavastus, in turn. He wanted to know all the pieces that made up the mighty Bear with the gentle heart.
"Yea." An automatic response to the request to join Aurelius in getting out of here. Giving the poor daughterless mother her space to process. Though, Finn felt justified in carefully plucking her pistol from the ground on his way past. She may not be a threat, now, but Finn was well versed in keeping munitions away from angry women who wanted nothing more than to aim them at him. He'd not make the same mistake a third time. Especially not if it would put Aur in harms way all over again. If she pointed this barrel towards that Bear one more time, Finn was sure he'd not be able to stop himself from tearing her arm from her socket...and he did not want to do that. He slid the small gun into one of his pockets, figuring Dalia would probably enjoy the thing. She always said she had trouble with the bigger pistols and her- uh- lack of places to store such a weapon.
A good distance away from all that madness Finn stopped walking, placing his hand against his friend's arm. His face hidden in shadow, rather unreadable except for the evident frown pulling at the corners of the Pirate's lips. "Aur," again the only word he could find. How did one go about saying "I'm sorry the mother of an innocent child I murdered almost killed us both. My bad, love."? No, he didn't know what to say. His arms curved around the Bear King's frame. Finn, pulling himself tight against his protector's body, fingers curling against him, clinging tightly. In his hands, he could not hide the telltale twitch of raw anxiety tearing the Wolf up inside. Holding so tightly, afraid if he loosened his grip Aur might start to fade away like his Mother. "I-..." How could he not say it? Death was on Finn's doorstep and he may find he never had the chance to say it ever again if he tested the Fates too fervently. He felt it, he could tell he felt it. But what was it Stroud had once said? "Convince him that throwing his life away won't change anything back home. You know how it is - history just repeats itself." Finn remembered the parting words the Warrior from Yhavastus had bestowed upon the Wolf regarding their mighty King. It wasn't just Aur's sister. There was so much he didn't understand about his foreign friend. He loved him. Finn loved the dear sweet Bear who was always looking out for him, but he couldn't say it. Not aloud. Not if it would only make the future a harder foe to face. Instead the Pirate would just cling to him. Hold as tightly to him as he could in the hopes he might be able to stop the King from floating too far away.
"All Sins can be forgiven when somebody loves you"
Post by Aurelius Adalbern on Mar 14, 2020 7:56:27 GMT
Before rising, Aurelius slid his fur cloak from his shoulders to place around Romi's, unsure of what he could do for the poor woman. At the very least he could offer her warmth. It felt like pieces of him were breaking off as he stood, forever tied to this moment, tied to the reality that he had stolen something from both Finn and Romi.
His eyes trailed after the firearm as Finn removed it from Romi's possession. Forevermore, the Bear would be grateful to her for not using it against him, against Finn…
As they walked together, the sounds of crying fading, Aur was silent. He tried to process what had just happened, feeling like he understood the trauma of Finn and Brigid more than before. Were there others out for revenge against the Wolf? Were there those who mistreated his mother because of it?
Aur.
"Mm?" Aurelius draped his arms around Finn when his friend held onto him. He felt how tightly those trembling hands clung to him, as if they were trying to prevent something from fading away.
I…
Poor Pup.
"I am sorry for what I did - I had no right to place myself between you and that woman." His hands moved to cup Finn's face, moving himself back and tilting his friend's head upward just enough to see his face from beneath the brim of his hat. "But, Pup, your mother needs you, and you must be there to…" The warrior sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before reopening them to gaze deeply into Finn's. "To say goodbye."
And, gods, what would I have done if something happened to you?
No right? Nothing about that situation had been right. Finn knew there was no justice for it. Once he'd thought his death might make up for it. Years ago when he had just got Captain of The Wolfsbane. He remembered that night. If not for Emerson, Finn might not be standing here now. The older man had quite literally walked the Wolf down from the ledge. No, Aurelius had had every right to intercede. Finn may have let himself give in to those feelings all over again. He might've let her shoot him. Again. He'd been pulled from the edge.
"Don't apologize," Finn pleaded with his friend, unable to stand hearing Aurelius asking for forgiveness when it was Finn who'd caused all the trouble. "I thought I was going to lose you." Nothing had ever scared him so much. How he'd manage when Aurelius inevitably had to return to his own kingdom? Finn wasn't quite sure. If he returned. The voice nagging at the back of his head, Stroud's words echoing all over again. "Aurelius," the man's name a choked laugh on the Pirate's lips, pulling back with his face resting against the hands at his cheeks. Finn's own arms slid to drape around the Bear's neck, his fingers gripping and tangling in the long strands of hair. "I need to know," his voice trying to sound sure of himself, but fear caused it to waver. The Wolf's eyes were darting frantically between the Bear's. Finn didn't know if he did need to know. If he even wanted to. If he could do anything about it. "Someone told me-. They told me to convince you not to throw your life away." Finn tried to loose a laugh, edgy and nervous, hoping Aurelius would laugh too and assure Finn it was just some dumb practical joke or something. That he was being toyed with. Because the alternative was the stark implication that foreshadowed his precious friend's coming demise and nothing about that was okay.
"All Sins can be forgiven when somebody loves you"
Post by Aurelius Adalbern on Mar 14, 2020 15:43:01 GMT
Aur recoiled at that statement, his hands drawing back into uncertain loosely curled fists hovering between them.
Who? Who told Finn that?
Which of his men would give that away? Would betray his trust in such a way? Would even have the vocabulary to express it?
Narrowing it down was easy enough - the outsider. The outsider that Aurelius dragged to shore and stripped of wet clothing hardly fit for winters in Yhavastus to save him from freezing to death.
Stroud.
His piece that never quite fit the puzzle of his life, but always had he forced a place for the foreigner among his clan. In the ten years that they spent together, they forged a deep and unbreakable bond.
His storyteller of a world beyond the sea.
Narrowed eyes and furrowed brow relaxed as soon as Aur realized his was glaring as the thoughts crossed his mind, first from surprise, to confusion...to anger. Another sigh, and the Bear slid his fingers along Finn's arms to meet the hands that rested at his neck.
"The longevity of the life of a King is uncertain," he answered. "There will be those who wish to murder me. Those who wish to rightfully challenge me for the throne. I could very well fall in battle." He shrugged, his eyes unable to meet the Wolf's desperate gaze. He spoke the truth, partially. He was dancing around the complete answer.
Was what he planned no different than Finn letting Romi kill him?
"I have a responsibility to my people, and always do they come first if it means their happiness."
Was he contradicting his own words by forfeiting his life for Pup?
The looks flickering like raging firelight across his friend's features were of great concern to the wolf who felt himself shrinking beneath the Bear's ire. At first he thought it might be towards himself, but for what reason he was unsure, not that he didn't have ideas. Had he crossed a line? Was it about the incident that had just passed? But then there seemed to be a dawning behind eyes like sapphire and somehow Finn knew he'd outed Stroud without ever meaning too, unable to stop from mentally cursing himself for getting the trust of a man who had confided something important to him into trouble. That had not been his intention. He owed Stroud a massive apology for that one, wanting to beg Aurelius not to be angry with the man who only seemed concerned for the King, but in so begging, there would be no doubt for the warrior who'd confided in Finn. Not if the wolf outed him by name. He assumed Aurelius knew for certain who it was, but lately "assuming" had been making one hell of an "ass" out of the Captain.
Strong fingers found his hand hanging from the nape of the King's neck. Briefly, Finn could feel the tremors running up his arm as he scoured those entrancing set of eyes looming above him for answers, but he knew when he was met with indirect words. It felt like glass in his chest to know Aurelius was hiding something major from the Pirate, suddenly the distance between their two worlds laying out before Finn's eyes and looking it over, even being a decent enough navigator as he was, he could find no way even his most beloved Wolfsbane could cut through the distance. Not in his lifetime, anyways. And certainly not in Aur's, it would seem. It was upsetting now, to know how much Aurelius had seen of the Finn who'd had walls in place for a reason and was now being firmly reminded of exactly why. This. The pain. Loss. He wanted to go back. Go back to before he'd had to ruin everything by asking another loud mouthed and impulsive question. Before he'd gotten Stroud into trouble. Before he'd known his friend was hiding something massive from him when the Wolf had nothing left. No secrets left hidden from the Bear to hide his own exposed form behind. Before he'd realized he could never share the same world of someone he held so dear
"I understand," Finn's words hollow, but he smiled all the same, doing his best to hide the hurt in his eyes, finding it the safer practice to just cast them to the ground, but not before he let his hand slide along his friend's face to look the Warlord's features over with great scrutiny. It was like he was committing every line in the Bear's face to memory, taking a mental snapshot to lock away for fear of never having another chance to. He did not understand. Despite his words, he knew he couldn't understand. After everything Aurelius had just done to save Finn, after everything that had just happened. Aur wanted Finn to be okay with the "risks of his Kingly title", and more than that, a looming and ominous risk he would not even give Finn the slightest inkling towards. Finneas felt sadness, loss, anger, indignation, but more than all that. He felt heartbroken. Like his chest had shattered apart, a feeling he'd tried so hard never to feel again and he'd been stupid. He'd let someone behind his walls and now he was hollow and exposed with no protection harboring his chest.
All at once his arms, his touch, his gaze. All of it receded from the King, Finn's head bowed as he tugged the brim of his hat low. A habit he had for keeping his private thoughts unreadable, even through his eyes. His damnable eyes that would betray his soul every time. "I think-" speaking suddenly, but there was a nothingness there in his voice. Guarded, masking whatever emotions the Captain knew would otherwise peer through if he did not control his tone, "I think taking a break on the safety of The Bane might not be a bad idea." Just for a moment. Just so he could process. His mother. His friend. Guns waving in faces. He just needed a break from it all.
"All Sins can be forgiven when somebody loves you"
Post by Aurelius Adalbern on Mar 14, 2020 21:58:12 GMT
Aurelius blinked when Finn pulled away. It wasn't the absence of his friend's physical presence that caused his heart to drop. No, it was the emotional distance - he could practically see the walls being built back up by the Wolf's betrayed psyche.
No. Please don't…
"Finn-" He reached out, wanting to take the hat from Finn's head once more, to see his eyes, so full of emotion.
But he wasn't ready. Never had the Bear King felt uncertain about his quest until…
Until you, you damn Pup.
He felt he could not falter, could not let his warriors see him hesitate - something he felt that the Pirate Captain could understand.
"Let us return, then." His voice just as hollow, hand falling to his side.
Did Finn see around his half-truth? He must have. Whatever Stroud had told the Wolf was enough to give away that the Bear planned to die someday after returning to his homeland, that he would not return to Atelus after this.
He lead the way back through the trees, through the narrow streets, trying to carry himself as he always did, but defeat was obvious in the way he held his shoulders. When the Wolfsbane was before the pair, he stepped aside to allow Finn to board first, trying to smile at him. "If you need to be alone now, I will not bother you where I know you are safest." There was a slight tremble to his voice, but he sniffed and looked to the side in an attempt to disguise it.
He could feel the companion sorrow that echoed his own coming off the King in waves, only making Finn feel worse, but he had to stop himself from sinking too deep into a whirlpool that would drown him entirely if he let it, and oh how easy it would be to let it. To just give in and hold Aur while he still could. Kiss him deeply, feel him fully, but he could not. It would only worsen the pain that was already excruciating enough to try and bare the weight of, Finn feared he might crumble beneath the weight. He understood a duty to your people, he truly did, which is why he felt he couldn't be selfish here and plead with the King to forgo all that. Forgo some doomed prophecy like words spoken by the Oracle Delphi. To be selfish. To let Finn be just as selfish. Stay with me. He wanted to scream it at his friend. He wanted to plead and beg and fall to his knees, scream until his lungs burned raw, but nothing would come to him. Not a single word. He wouldn't allow himself to break, especially not the moment his boots set foot on the plank leading up to his boat. His refuge. A Den for the Wolf who wanted to curl away in the darkness. The Dread Wolf. Dreaded, seemed more accurate.
"Captain," Emerson regarded the man who made to move past him without giving his First Mate so much as a word. Silence was unusual for Finn. Emry knew something was amiss the second vacant eyes made to fly by without the slightest of regard. "Finn-" startled when he found himself near about thrown into the ship's railing the moment he'd tried to place a single hand on the Ship's Captain. Eyes like a rabid animal burning through the First Mate, a realization of what he'd just done, then sorrow, but no apologies could leave Finn's trembling lips, just the billow of his coat as he made straight for his quarters, the door closing behind him with such a firm slam the sound itself seemed to tell the boat at large to "Keep Out".
"Rare he gets his hackles in a tiff like 'at," Emry sighed, straightening his shirt as he regarded the King of Yhavastus with a measured look. "Ill-winds," Emerson stated matter of factly. He knew something was amiss between the two men. He didn't know how the whole situation going on with his Captain's mother, but it seemed added to personal quarrel between the King and the Pirate. A resounding crash echoing from Finn's quarters that drew a wince from the older gentleman. "Temper gets the best of the lad," Emry tried to explain, "But then, yeh probably already know 'bout that sorta thing." Alluding to the fact that Emerson was all too aware Aurelius had a very similar curse to Finn's. "'e'll be up the Rum creek without a paddle in no time then hopefully be in a better mood." Hopefully. Anger from his Captain, Emry had seen before, but shoving him the way Finn just had? That was new. A little concerning.
"All Sins can be forgiven when somebody loves you"
Post by Aurelius Adalbern on Mar 15, 2020 1:01:53 GMT
A quavering sigh hissed from between clenched teeth as Aurelius pinched the bridge of his nose, listening to the crashing tantrum taking place in the captain's quarters.
"I had not meant to set him off," he tried to explain to Emerson, giving the older man an apologetic look. "I do not fully understand why he is-" He threw his hands up in exasperation, then ran them through his hair, then planted them on his hips, eyeing the door to Finn's personal room. The Bear wanted to throw a fit, too, but forced the urge down, down, down into the pit of his gut. He did understand the temper, but seldom did he let himself act upon it. "I need to be sure," he breathed, speaking more to himself than the captain's first mate.
When he started for the door of the captain's quarters, he saw Kukinta standing at the helm of the ship, looking down at his king with concern. Aur raised one hand to his warrior, an indication for him to not intervene in the matter. Without stalling, he entered the room, closing the door gently behind him.
It wasn't until he crossed the threshold that Aurelius realized he was contradicting his own words once more.
Wood screeched as the desk was pushed to the side with enough force the solid oak scraped a good foot or two before stopping. A chorus of objects smattering the ground in the wake. Pens, papers, books. He hated this rage. He hated this wolf inside him. He hated how useless he felt to everyone he cared about. His mother, he was unable to save her and it was driving him mad and now Aur? Aur was hiding something from him that sounded like he planned on meeting his grave too and for the life of the Wolfsbane's Captain, Finn could not bloody figure out why everyone just wanted to drop dead in his presence? Was this the Universe finally collecting its pound of flesh for the many pounds Finn had taken, himself? He felt stupid for thinking it a good idea to come home. Felt stupider even for thinking there was any such thing as a bond between a King and Pirate. Idiot. He should've listened to Emerson from the very beginning when the older man had tried to convince the younger that such a world could not exist where Finn and Aur could coincide. "Damned fool!" a glass pitcher shattered against the wall, a booted foot kicking the chair behind the desk that had toppled to the side in the wake of the Wolf's rage back into an upright position, slumping into its embrace and hurling his hat to the floor. Half a bottle of dark liquid had been poured straight down his throat when the door to his quarters began to open. Finn rose, standing over his disheveled desk and chucking a sizable book against the side frame of the door, a warning to whoever the hell thought it would be okay to poke a rabid wolf. Not smart.
"Pup-" The single name that stopped the Wolf in its tracks, a much more hazardous projectile clutched in his hand now. A sharp letter opener whose blade was digging deep into Finn's palm, curling his fingers around it in a white knuckle grip. Clearly the book had been quite the warning as he let his arm poised to throw slink downwards, the bloodied blade clattering to the floor. "Don't- call me that." Finn snarled. "Pup" had been Aur's friend. "Pup" had wanted to follow the King to the ends of the Earth. "Pup" had broken a few paces back from that gangplank outside. There was no Pup. Only a Wolf. Angry and wounded. Where blood dripped from his slit palm, a thorn sat in its place. Begging for someone to pull it free so he could calm the anger and hurt, but he couldn't even see the damn thing, let alone rip it free of his body. "You save me from a death I more than deserved," a squeeze of his hand, purposely digging nails into the opened wound, forcing it to bleed more, to hurt, to mask the emotional pain with physical, "Seconds later you lie to me about your own- or at the very least withheld something important." His tone erratic. Rising and falling. Going from too stern to breaks that held back tears. "I shared all of myself with you- all those dark corners and crevices NO ONE has ever seen and you keep me in the dark. So please-" his voice shattering as he looked up at the ceiling trying to force the tears to stay back. He didn't want to cry right now. He'd had enough looking weak before a man who seemed intent on playing with his emotions like a game. A distraction. "Tell me why- why you said you-" Why you said you loved me? That wasn't fair. "Dammit!" A daunting crack as he slammed his palms to the desk top, "Just forget it. Please- " his non-injured hand covering his eyes in an agonized look of desperation. "Just leave.." Clearly that's what Aurelius had always intended on doing, anyways. Leaving and not once looking back at the Wolf he'd made feel important- to anyone...if even for a moment. Finn figured it easiest if he just- left now. If he was planning on abandoning him anyways. It was fine. He was used to it. This pain, abandonment he'd felt enough times before and had sworn never to let himself fall victim to again. History will always repeat itself, so it would seem.
"All Sins can be forgiven when somebody loves you"
Post by Aurelius Adalbern on Mar 15, 2020 2:10:07 GMT
Aur closed his eyes at the sight of the enraged Wolf, drawing in a deep breath through slightly parted lips. He allowed the onslaught of Finn's accusations to cut him apart, the rest of the world outside of the captain's quarters falling away from existence. Steadily, he approached the shifted desk, both hands running along its edge as his gentle gaze tried to find Finn's.
His hands tensed suddenly and the desk he gripped was ripped away from the pirate as Aur twisted himself to throw it aside with monstrous force, uncaring of what it smashed into, only wanting to be rid of the barrier between them. The Bear loomed over Finn in an instant, forcefully shoving the other man back into the chair. He bent down to grip the arms of the chair, caging the pirate between beast and wood.
Always had he bridled his anger, but now he seethed with it, rage twisting his face.
"Said what?" he growled through clenched teeth. His grip was so tight that his hands, arms, and shoulders were trembling. "Tell me, Pup, what is it that I said that has angered you so?" So close, their heads almost pressing together.
Finn had thought his own temper had gone left unchecked, but when his desk sailed out from between himself and the Bear he felt a temper matching his own come unhinged in that moment. It was like the Wolf fed on the aggression, staring defiantly at Aur even as he was forced backwards into his chair. He both wanted and did not want to hit the man looming over him. No matter how much he hurt, Finn still did not want to inflict pain, but there was a burning part of him that yearned to throw a strong fist against the Bear's chest, to lash out, to claw and bite, but instead he just glared. Glared like a kid put in a time out. He really didn't know why Finn was so upset? He had no clue why Finn would be so hurt by the little value Aurelius seemed to be placing on their bond? Or- what Finn had thought was a bond. He thought he'd seen it so clearly, but whatever he'd seen. He could not see it now. Not now as anger and sadness tore apart every feature of his face. Pup. Again. More pointedly this time. He didn't want to hear the nickname because it hurt. It hurt so much hearing Aurelius call him "pup" now.
"You said-" he couldn't meet the intense gaze bearing down on him from above. It wasn't important. Why did it even matter? Clearly it was just words without meaning. Clenched teeth barring in sharp pain. "You said you loved me, you asshole!" the words nearly a snarl as his fist flew through the air between them, aiming to strike Aurelius in the chest with a chaotic mix of hurt, anger, pain and loss.
"All Sins can be forgiven when somebody loves you"
Post by Aurelius Adalbern on Mar 15, 2020 3:04:27 GMT
Aur stood his ground. The punch probably would have hurt more had his body not been so tense from anger, but it hurt nonetheless, his breathing staggering, but his grip only tightened to the point that the sound of creaking wood could be heard.
What the hell was Pup so upset about? Did he not want to accept Aur's love? He seemed quite keen about it before when they…
I'm missing something.
"I shared all of myself with you."
"They told me to convince you not to throw your life away."
I didn't lie! But…
Claws raked along wood as the Bear stood to his full height, glaring down at Finn, his breathing harsh and guttural. "You should have told me sooner that you had a problem with it," he spat, still riding his own vexation. "What were you doing? Leading me on? What do you want from me?"
Stop it, idiot Cub.
"I have to die someday," he roared, his bitter cold gaze unwavering, locked onto Finn's eyes. "I am not throwing my life away as I am sure Stroud put it! I am a willing sacrifice!" His hands flew up uselessly, dejection replacing anger. "But you…" He turned about, trying to find answers that were not there. "FUCK!" With the desk toppled already, he couldn't find anything to release his anguish onto, and so he bent over, clutching himself tightly, nails digging into the skin on his shoulders and drawing blood.
Breathe. Rage is not your master.
"I do not have secrets or walls," he whispered gratingly, still cradling himself, but less violently. "I just… I do not speak about myself - and here and now… This is not about me." An angry cry, and then a deep, shaking breath. Aur slowly rose again, his gaze downcast now. "Never did I fear my path, but now I am fearful. I do not know what is happening inside of me," he hissed, gripping at his chest. "Because of you."
Problem with it? Leading him on? Aurelius wasn't understanding him at all! He hadn't had a problem with Aur- loving him. He had a problem with him saying it then walking away from him...forever. Like it was an easy thing to do. Like he didn't owe Finn a heads up or a warning. "I love you, but oh hey by the by, I plan to die soon." What kind of confession was that supposed to be? What was Finn supposed to do with words and feelings like that. All he could do was listen and watch his friend fall apart inside the same way he had, look for something to break but there was not much left in this room to be broken.
"You idiot..." the insult soft but void of any real venom behind it. Finn rose from his chair, striding across the room for the Bear in turmoil before him, his bangs hanging limply in his eyes, tears glittering on his cheeks. "You didn't understand a word I said," a humorless laugh that sounded on the border of unhinged. "Don't you get it?" He made to grab his friend, to turn him so their eyes met, his own damp but determined as he shook his head like he couldn't believe the density of the man he was arguing with. "I love you." The words like shards of glass in his throat, but he needed Aur to understand, he couldn't take the King not getting why he was so upset, truly. "I wasn't toying with your emotions," his grip tightening on his friend now as every part of him felt poised to collapse in on itself. Trembling and scared. Saying words he never thought he'd say in a thousand years. Saying words that tasted and felt foreign on his tongue. But, then, apparently he had a taste for Foreign, didn't he? "I love you, you- stupid Bear. That's why when-" pausing to try and get the words out, "When you wouldn't tell me the whole truth-." Dammit what was he doing. "Look, it- it doesn't matter." Stepping away to create distance between them. "You plan on running off to your death and it doesn't fuckin' matter what I think about it. How much it would kill me..."
"All Sins can be forgiven when somebody loves you"
Post by Aurelius Adalbern on Mar 15, 2020 4:06:33 GMT
Stroud, you weren't only trying to protect my reputation. You were trying to protect me.
There was no anger left. Aurelius stared at Finn, focused on his ocean eyes that conceded to the storm.
I love you.
It seemed that the pillar of stone suffered a fracture - his legs felt weak. He tried to speak, but his words were a blend of English and his own native tongue, the words melding together as he tried to communicate with Finn. He growled in frustration, clamping his jaw shut, closing his eyes and lowering his head.
The muscles on his face relaxed, sorrow replacing irritation. "I told you enough for the time being. We are not in Ziorang to discuss anything regarding me, Finn," he explained solemnly, slowly, struggling to speak the Wolf's name. "We are here for you."
Arguing like this when Brigid lay in her deathbed.
"There is no man that I would bow before but you, and it is driving me mad." And he surrendered, kneeling before the pirate captain as if he were in the presence of a king. "Just tell me why that is. Please?"