"Ness, don't go far. I want to be able to hear you," Styxx said, giving Vanessë's ears a small stroke. She cuddled into his paw, nuzzled at him, and gave him a small nod. He actually felt a small smile form on his face before she wiggled out from beneath his paw and hopped off to find something to nibble on. They'd come back to the edge of the desert in his wandering and were taking a few moments for Ness to take her fill on the plant life here before they returned to his home. He'd even tuck some into his bracer for the journey home. He watched his little charge hop away, tilting his head. Everything was still insane right now but at least now he had a distraction, and Ness wasn't such a terrible distraction to have.
He shook his thoughts away and glanced off. He should try hunting too. No, he needed to stay here, didn't want to get to where he couldn't hear Ness if she called for him.
He was standing to follow her, so he could gather some extra plants for her, but froze when he heard a name he thought he'd never hear again.
"Ettore?" He turned, blue eyes wide in horror at the vision before him. He'd gone mad. Days upon months, a lifetime even, of dreaming of the one creature who'd ever sought and touched his heart, it had all finally driven him insane.
"A-Arie?" The name was stammered from his maw and suddenly she was pressed against him, her paws wrapped around his neck and by the gods he didn't care that he'd finally lost his mind.
They'd said she was dead. To find her out here... Either he had lost his mind, or this is where she had been this whole time, trapped without as he had been within.
"Gods, Arie..." His eyes clenched shut, begging for this to be real as he wrapped his one good paw around her back and squeezed her tightly. To have her in his arms again, her scent enveloping him, it was the closest he'd come to truly understanding the concept of heaven. "Please be real."
"Get away from him, Teacher." The words whipped over them like a snapping branch, like the heavy paw he'd long since grown used to. Words raced through his head, words he ignored, and they both looked up to see two males within just a few leaps. Neither he recognized, but both he knew. It would have been hard not to, especially with I'm the Doctor echoing in his mind. They were Time Lords, the intricate designs on the brown male's adornment told as much, and the fierce hatred in both their eyes finished it off. It was stupid of him, continuing to wear the bracers of his past. But... they were useful.
Maite's heart had skipped a beat when he'd said the nickname he had given her. It was Ettore, she'd known by his mane, by the dark symbol peeking out from under the dark pelt over his back. Ah, but she would have known him anyway, his scent had long ago been imprinted on her senses. Gods, how she had missed him!He had been someone to talk to, to play with. Home had meant so much learning, training to be what the seers had expected of each one. There was little room to just be a cub. With Ettore, there had been no obligations, just existence. She'd been so scared over what might have happened to him after she was trapped in the roguelands, but here he was, whole and holding her. It made her want to weep.
She started when the Doctor's, Kumi's voice snapped over her. She looked to see him standing with Oded, both looking with murderous intent upon her cubhood friend.
"What? Why?"
"Because they know I'm not a rogue." Ettore's words were soft, his voice low and flat. Maite blinked once, twice, before turning to look up at him. She watched him take a slow breath before returning his cold gaze on her companions. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen that kind of look in his eyes. Had it been when he'd been a cub, when they'd first met?
"I take it you're the Doctor, the one who closed the valley." Ettore's voice had changed since they were young, she could hear it clear as her own voice. Briefly, she remembered it being soft, maybe even gentle once. Over their meetings, he had grown hoarse, there were times when he had asked if he could just listen to her talk, confessed that his throat hurt him to talk. Grown, the hoarse, guttural quality remained, had even worsened now that she considered it, while his timbre had deepened with age. It made her think of creatures that had screamed and roared for so long that there was just nothing left. And worse, she heard something in his voice she'd never heard before. Fury. For some reason, it seemed like he hated the Doctor, even more than Oded did. Why? Not because of her... could it?
"Let her go and we can talk," Kumi growled low in his throat and Maite felt a soft gasp leave her when Ettore tightened his hold ever so slightly. Her thoughts scattered to the wind as she looked up at him, trying to understand what was going on.
Styxx loathed himself for what he was doing, for scaring Arie. But he knew better, he couldn't let her go. For all that he didn't want to just yet, he couldn't, and that had nothing to do with his suddenly pounding heart. If he released her, the moment she moved away, both males would be upon him before he had a chance to explain anything.
"Ettore, please..." His eyes squeezed shut, he didn't want to see the betrayal on her face that he knew would come.
"My name is Styxx."
Maite's eyes widened at his whispered confession. It all finally fell into place. He really was one of them, the heartless monsters that had been warring with her people for generations. He'd lied to her, about his name, his family, what else?
"Why?" It was the only word Maite could manage. His eyes opened, barely slits as they locked with hers and yet... Guilt, she could see it. So contrary to what she'd been told of his pride, he gave her a bitter smile, little more than a quirk of his maw at one side.
"Would you have stayed that day?"
"Y-" As the affirmative began to leave her mouth, she snapped it closed. Would she have? His scars had terrified her then, so red and angry. They were pale now, a stark pink against his dark coat, and there were even more now, ones she didn't remember. If she had known on top of that fear that he was her enemy, one of the monsters her parents schooled her to fear, would she have stayed? Her ears flicked back. No, no she wouldn't have. He saw the answer on her face and his head dipped in a small nod. It broke her heart to think that he expected that of her. They had been friends, he'd called her his only friend. He had lied to her... and yet she felt like she had betrayed him even more. He was her friend, had always been her friend. He'd been afraid of her lashing out at him when he was weak, how could she forget that now, for even a second?
Her head dipped down in shame, pressing her forehead to the curly mane that fell over the scars she knew he also carried on his chest. "I'm sorry." Did she imagine him squeezing her a little tighter, as if to reassure her?
"Don't be." A smile crept across her face at his stoic acceptance. Ettore, Styxx, his name didn't matter any more than her new one did. His bloodline didn't matter. The way he'd been with her hadn't been a lie, the way he was hugging her as if she'd disappear if he let go wasn't a lie. She couldn't stop herself from nuzzling a bit into his mane.
Styxx nearly choked when Arie nuzzled against him. She didn't care. Arie was cuddling into his hold. She'd learned he was a Dal'ek and she hadn't pushed him away, hadn't attacked him, hadn't even looked at him in anger or disgust. She'd looked guilty when he'd asked her if she would have stayed. It was impossible to keep from pressing his cheek to the top of her head, savoring her all the more. Another heavy growl brought his attention back to their company and he glanced up, his face still pressed to her mane. His eyes narrowed on the large, dark male. He'd taken another step towards them."You know I can't let her go. You'll attack me as soon as I do."
"I'll kill you either way," the bigger threat of the two snapped and Styxx actually felt a smirk for the first time in a while.
"N-!" "You can try." Styxx was quick to cut her off, holding her tight when she jerked. The dark male snarled, taking a step forward, while the other Time Lord just looked confused by his arrogant claim. It was the Doctor who spoke again, a frown in his voice.
"How did you escape the valley?" That question gave further life to the smirk.
"Dumb luck, divine intervention, and blind determination." Arie finally managed to pull back enough to look up at him again.
"What do you mean?"
"A goddess helped me, Arie, shhh." His eyes never leaving the other lions, he pressed his cheek to hers, his maw close to her ear. "Please, I don't what you in the middle of this any more than you already are. I can't let you go, and I'm sorry, but please, be quiet for me."
She nodded and pressed her face back into his mane. Styxx watched as the dark male bristled even more in fury and the Doctor just looked even more baffled.
"How do you know the Teacher?" The Teacher? It must be Arie's Time Lady name. It had never been something to come up in conversation. It always seemed like Arie didn't want to talk much about things like that, just the interesting parts of her lessons.
"We were friends as cubs, before you took her away!" The last half of the sentence was snapped, his ire rising again as he remembered why they'd been apart for so long. And yet, it seemed to trickle away as soon as it had come. He couldn't seem to care enough anymore, not when he had Arie back, knew she was safe and happy to see him. Gods, he'd never dreamed this would happen.
"Impossible..."
"No, improbable. But it happened."
"A Time Lady would never-"
"As you can see, she didn't know." And clearly, at this point, she didn't care. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Styxx whispered in her ear. "I was afraid at first, and then..."
"Then?"
"I didn't want to lose you."
Maite didn't need any more convincing. If nothing else had been enough, those few words had done it. Still, she saw a devastated look on his face when she pulled away from him. He hadn't even fought her over it, as if he expected this or was incapable of putting any more pressure into his embrace. Hoping to reassure him, she gave him a small smile and turned to face Oded and Kumi, keeping herself between her family and her best friend.
"He won't hurt me, and I sure as hell won't let either of you hurt him, understood?" Oded's eyes widened at her language, she'd never talked like that before. Honestly, she wasn't sure she really liked it, but it got the point across. No one was going to hurt Styxx, not if she could help it. She felt Styxx's paw on her shoulder and glanced back at him.
"Arie-"
"My... name is Maite now. My Guardian thought it was best." She watched his ears flick back. But he nodded slowly.
"I can take care of myself."
"But I don't want them to even try. I won't let them hurt you." Her heart warmed when she saw his posture relax even the tiniest bit. Would she have even seen it if she hadn't grown used to it long ago?
Kumi took another step towards the pair, trying to wrap his head around this. None of this made any sense. Maite had made friends with a Dal'ek when she was a cub? How had they even met? None of it made sense. He was nothing like what a Dal'ek should be, but this boy had readily admitted that's what he was. Yes, he had used Maite as a bargaining chip, but it hadn't looked like he was hurting her or even threatening her. And when she'd made an effort to move away, he hadn't even stopped her. That had given the Guardian and himself a perfect opportunity to attack and he hadn't even flinched. On top of that, it seemed like the only hatred the Dal'ek had for any of the Time Lords was directed at himself, and only because he'd caused the slide that had separated the two cubs.
"You fought in the war." It wasn't a question.
"I did. I became general before my mane grew in completely. If you'd been trying to stop it with your stunt, it didn't work."
"I was trying to stop the misuse of rogues, on both sides." He blinked when Styxx's lip curled.
"And you trapped plenty in with the prides," the younger male growled back.
"Galen?" Maite's question caused the boy to close his eyes for a moment and shake his head.
"He was a slave ordered to train, then guard me. An assassin... Galen took the initial blow when I didn't see it coming. The assassin escaped and I watched him die." Kumi didn't understand, Dal'eks weren't supposed to feel, or to even think for themselves. This male was independent and clearly felt a lot. It was supposed that the commanders of the warriors were required to strategize on their own, but he'd never seen it in practice, hadn't even heard of an example. Then again, he hadn't heard of a general being captured, either.
"How is this... How are you possible?"
"I'm an idiot."
"Styxx..." The former Dal'ek sighed and shook his head at Maite's gentle reproach.
"I was stubborn." Kumi watched as Styxx paused and looked down at Maite. Kumi would have bet his life that he would never have seen a Dal'ek look at another creature with so heartfelt an expression. "And someone showed me something worth being stubborn for."
Kumi sat down with a thump and turned his attention to Oded.
"Guardian?" Sure, there was a question in his tone, but he'd already made his own decision. It was halfway between just wanting to know Oded's opinion and telling him where they went from there was on him. The dark warrior's lip curled slightly in the ghost of a snarl. But when Kumi glanced down, Oded had allowed his claws to retract. It was clear he didn't trust the former Dal'ek, but was at the least willing to give the boy a chance, at the least for Maite's sake.
"We won't hurt him, Teacher." Just as long as he didn't make any threats, of course.
Maite relaxed and let out a sigh.
"Thank you." It meant a lot that they would trust her judgement, especially Oded. Her guardian was such a hard mind to change and she knew it would take much longer than this for him to trust Styxx at all, but it was a start. "I want us to talk. Could we have some space?"
Kumi nodded at her request, stood, and started walking away. He was probably going to go hunt, as they'd been intending to do when she'd broken away. Oded, however, just moved several lengths away and sat down to watch them. Close enough to see and run to her defense, but not close enough to hear unless they raised their voices. As much as she disliked the fact that they wouldn't have total privacy, it was good enough.
(WC: 2,733)