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Things had settled down into a more acceptable pattern of late. It had been quite an adjustment to have a female around so much. Well... he supposed that wasn't the real adjustment. What he had struggled with was their roles with each other. He felt rather satisfied now that they had established limits and allowances, and things were going smoothly.

This entailed certain... advantages on his part, of course. It was vastly different than any random, fleeting, possibly violent encounters he had been having on viking, but not really in a bad way. He was getting used to having Arii there when he returned from roaming, finding his den clean, finding her waiting. She had remained as demure and submissive as that first day. He'd fought his gentler feelings towards her for a while, but that haunting voice of his mother had never allowed him to ever harm her. It was honestly infuriating, but in the end he had managed to banish that nagging voice by treating his thrall decently.

He'd kept the voice quiet concerning his physical benefits of having a female thrall by ensuring he never force Arii to do anything she didn't want to. It assuaged that part of his dimly present conscience, apparently, so he felt content. Tonight he was returning after a long day of travel back from another viking. He was very satisfied with his take on this trip, and was bringing home quite a few precious items to add to his neat little pile of pretty things. He had even snagged a bit of cloth that he intended to offer Arii as a gift. He truly was getting soft towards her, wasn't he? He reflected with amusement on his changing attitude towards the female as he entered the den as dusk settled outside, carying a pouch around his neck with he treasures in it, and the strip of cloth about his neck.

Damu was satisfied with her greeting overall. Things were as they should be, at least on the surface. Still... as he stepped closer to her, he could tell something was off. A quick glance around showed nothing out of place... a heavy inhale reassured him that no other males had been in his den. That would have been... well, it was safe to say it would spell trouble for the normally docile Arii. But he could detect no notable reason for her discomfort, which was growing more plain to him the closer he was to her.

He made the jump in logic that perhaps she was growing restless and unhappy as his thrall. He brightened at this, though, since his gift should hopefully smooth things over. Damu wasn't really the most astute or sensitive of souls, making his misunderstanding of her signals almost comical.

"Oh come now, Arii," he cajoled her, batting at her face with a gentle paw. "Don't sulk! Look, I brought you something, something just for you!" With a flourish he pulled the strip of cloth from his neck and let it flutter her direction. It was a light piece of fabric in a bright, brilliant red. It had one edge that had yellow threads running through it, which was what had reminded him of her. He thought it would look quite fetching on her... which led him to frown faintly. Perhaps it hadn't been so wise for him to give her something that would make her more appealing to the other males. A brief flash of fangs showed as he decided he would simply have to fight them to prove his worth and possession of her. His expression cleared again and he gestured for her to try it on.

He made a grand gesture of his paw and opened his mouth to accept her words of submission and gratitude... but stopped, mouth still open, as she finished what she had to say. He stood there like that, mouth agape, paw suspended in mid-air, eyes surprised, but with the pupils narrowed to pinpricks. Wait, what had she just said? He closed his mouth, put down his paw, and gave her a very hard look. "What did you say?" he almost growled, lids narrowed fiercely at her.

Before she could answer, he waved a paw impatiently, silencing her. He was breathing rather fast now, and he rose to pace back and forth. Mind spinning, he tried to grasp the meaning of the words she'd spoken. They kept slipping from him, like a fish in shallow water. He shook his head, making his mane ornaments jingle. He had to stop and really think! He sat down, back to her, a mighty frown on his muzzle. Okay now... she'd said... it was beautiful... nothing wrong there. Next she'd said she didn't deserve it. True, but still not a real problem, as he generally felt rather magnanimous towards her... unless she'd done something stunningly stupid or destructive. He whipped his head around to stare at her in sudden suspicion that she had done just such a thing.

But as his eyes lit upon her trembling, weeping form, it finally came to him what she'd finally said. She was pregnant. With his... cubs. All expression wiped from his face, pupils dilating finally, going very wide. For a few moments he did not breathe, though his heart thudded loud in his ears. His... cubs? His cubs?! Wait... he shook his head again, harder this time, sending one chunk of round metal flying from a loosened tie. His. Cubs.

He was to be a father. Of... thralls? He threw his head up with a snort. No. Not his cubs. Never! He opened his mouth as if to speak, sucked a sharp breath to declare such, then stopped again. More life-changing realization. If they were to be Freeborn... something else had to change too.

He closed his mouth once more, his lips thinning. He paced towards her slowly, looming large and intense before her. He pinned her down with his gaze, though she wasn't likely to look up at him in this state. She clearly was in fear for her life, shaking and crying. This time he didn't even need that ghost of his mother, be she dead or alive, to provoke him. The mother of his cubs should not be cowering on the floor, afraid of him.

He continued to gaze down at her. If she had been looking, she would have seen his expression soften, his eyes glow briefly. Things were changing for Damu swiftly. He couldn't say for certainty that his mother would have approved, but he was sure she'd at least be happier with the newer version of himself than the old. "Do not cower like a thrall," he growled softly. "Rise and wear that gift with pride... my wife." He'd already claimed her in so many ways as it was. Why not this last way, to make her his forever? His latest treasure, soon to bring him more.

Well, at least she'd be an obedient wife! That was one particular thing in her favor. Still, it wouldn't do to get all soft and mushy with her. "I may take a saltwife," he warned her sternly, turning to look away as if he wasn't as moved by all this as he actually was. "But you can rest assured, none will replace you." Yes, she was his now, forever and aye. "I'll be certain to make it known to the others that your status has changed. None will be able to order you around anymore." Even as a claimed thrall, that always was a possibility, within a certain degree. No more, not for his Arii. "If you like, we can take on another thrall to help you care for the den as you...," he faltered then, failing to find the right term for her increase in girth as the babies grew. After an uncomfortable moment, he continued briskly, "You'll need help around here, so we'll get someone to help."

The den was also now her domain, he realized with a start. He eyed her thoughtfully, mulling this shift in authority. Reaver he might be, but when it came to dens, the mates ruled the roost. It would be an adjustment, but he felt he owed it to her, and to his coming sons and daughters. "You'll be working with the thrall, and tending the den as you wish, so you likely should pick out a thrall yourself." For a brief flash, he had the insight that this might be difficult, and most certainly must be strange, to go from a thrall herself one moment to considering who to take as a thrall herself the next. "Maybe you know someone you could trust?" His tone was wavery and uncertain. He wasn['t comfortable asking about her experience as a thrall. Not at all. "I'll leave it to you," he finished, washing his paws of the whole affair.