In Dire Straits - Worth the Lie [Cuff]

As the sun dipped down below the horizon and the heat was simmering down, the Chariot decided to venture out into the world once more. One thing was on his mind though now that he was alone except for the occasional visit from his daughter. He was surprised to see Sarissa around and even alone, he figured if she was around, the other twin was also around, but he had not seen her either. He knew Atlas was gone now that his leash wasn't pulling at her neck. Orcrist didn't mind though. She was nothing more than a trophy that had outlived her usefulness.

There was someone else his attention turned to now.

He'd seek her out, a growl bellowing from his chest to announce his presence. She knew of his annoyance toward past offenses and he was more than generous to give her a new chance at her job considering she had bore children from a border rat. In fact, she was lucky Anya had been gracious enough to save her children from Azuhel. She was lucky and Cuff had been understanding enough.

"Cuff..." he called, clicking his teeth together. "Been sometime since we talked." Face to face, and together. Their last conversation was about loyalty, which he had gambled with wrongly. Azuhel had been promising, yet she had flown into her own sun and burned.

"I think it's about time we talked again." he said, laying down and getting comfortable.

So come, talk with me.

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CUFF

He would find her at her den as daylight set, bloating dark on the horizon.

Underground, beneath the cover of a rocky overhang, the silver woman was just on the verge of falling asleep, breathing in the distant scents of her children, when a rumbling growl reached her ears, instantly snapping her into awareness.

Lifting up her head from where it had been resting on her forelegs, Cuff bristled, staring towards the darkened entrance of her den, ruby eyes gleaming sharply, silently daring whoever was waiting outside to enter. They would only feel the vicious sting of her teeth if they tried. Some of her happiest memories had been made inside this very home with her children. She wouldn't let any intruder tarnish them. Not again.

"Cuff... Been sometime since we talked."

It took her less than a second to realize who it was, but rather than relaxing, Cuff only tensed up further. Not long enough, she thought, curling her lip. Her last encounter with the greedy Alteronian hadn't ended on a particularly friendly note. They'd both pledged their loyalties (for their own reasons) to a Dragon who'd long since taken flight from her hoard and castle. They'd both raised their fangs against good people in her name. Cuff still remembered the way Orcrist's breath had reeked that day. Of wolf blood. Of betrayal.

Her tongue had tasted it too.

(I'm sorry, Anya. I'm so, so sorry.)

She was tempted to remain hidden (a rabbit's instinct when it sensed the approach of a fox), but common sense told her better. Blue bloods were never ones to take kindly to being ignored. Avoidance, she knew, would not be an option tonight. Steeling herself, Cuff rose to her feet, reluctantly making her way towards the entrance of her den until she stood just outside of it, her ruby eyes quickly finding Orcrist in the gloaming dark. "Command—" she began, before she paused, reconsidering. That wasn't the title he went by anymore, was it? No—even her own rank was called something different now. It took her a moment to remember what it was.

"Chariot," she corrected, quietly.

The silver woman had a lot of practice at hiding her distaste, her unease, her fury. Any vestiges of dislike was banished swiftly in favour of well worn detachment. Making a point to stay in front of her den, Cuff carefully sat down in front of it, curling her tail around her feet, watching the heavy set male as he made himself comfortable on the ground.

(Despite her seemingly apathetic air, Cuff never had quite mastered feigning such a laidback posture. There would always be a certain rigidness about her. A certain sense of alert.)

"I think it's about time we talked again."

"Of course," she agreed, readily, as if she had any real choice in the matter. Cuff couldn't fathom why Orcrist wanted to talk to her again. The green eyed male had made his disdain towards her painfully clear, and it wasn't any secret why. Her children would always serve as a bitter reminder of her lawbreaking, her affair that had happened right under his nose. His jurisdiction.

Good, she thought, cold, unrepentant. Waiting for him to begin.

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As predicted, she was on edge, springing from her lair in a mere flurry only to realize who exactly was at her doorstep. Orcrist couldn't help but smile a shit-eating grin, their relationship nothing more than an illusion. He hated her — she hated him. A mutual understanding of smiling teeth and nothing more, each one of them a hidden dagger waiting to strike. He rolled a laugh in his throat as she corrected his new title. Impressive, wasn't it? He screamed loyalty to the Dragon and yet, where was she now? It had taken him this long to realize that he wasn't loyal to any one person.

It was Alteron that sang his name.

And yet he was just as surprised when she stayed. So many had disappeared, including Atlas. Orcrist learned what happened when his leash was loose, but not again. Not this time. He'd coil his influence around Cuff's neck if it meant she'd stay.

(Was he lonely? Perhaps.)

She agreed though, settling half-way in her burrow in order to feel some sense of security. The Chariot kept his smile though softened it a bit, humbled that she'd still at least listen. A good sign, at least. Something gnawed at him though causing a furrow in his brow as he set to cross his large paws over one another, his bulk leaning into his elbow. "What made you stay, exactly? As you noticed, people left since Azuhel has been missing. Nothing to stop them, not even me." He was one man after all, and he only had a select few sentries. All had left —

Except for you.

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CUFF

He laughed, and she met his gaze with her usual steel, red eyes clashing against green. Around them, the shadows continued to shift and grow, the summer breeze whispering softly in the last remaining shards of twilight, heavy with the scent of life and decay.

"What made you stay, exactly? As you noticed, people left since Azuhel has been missing. Nothing to stop them, not even me."

What a shame, Cuff thought sarcastically, narrowing her eyes some. Were she a more vindictive woman, perhaps she would have bared her teeth at him and gloated. There was no Dragon for him to follow now. No Atlas by his side to throw those unsettling little grins her way anymore. Cuff couldn't even recall the last time she'd seen hide nor hair of his children.

(Yet she hadn't seen most of her own, either, and wasn't that an unsettling thought?)

"What makes you think I would have left?" she countered, neutrally, suddenly longing to retreat inside the cover of her den. She remained firmly rooted in place though, swallowing back her pain. "My home is here, Chariot. I swore an oath to protect it, long before the Dragon's reign." The scar across her muzzle was a glaring testament to this, even if the circumstances were vastly different now—

Even if her pledge now stood for something else.

(Let the man think that she meant Alteron. He didn't need to know that her children were her home now. She would stay for them. She would search and wait. Hope.)

"Leaving would have only defeated that purpose," she finished, curling her tail a little tighter around her. Orcrist's company never failed to put her on edge, but she did not quail beneath his unwelcomed scrutiny; if anything, the silver woman only seemed to tighten. She kept very still, holding his green gaze steadily. Firmly.

(This wasn't their first time playing this game.)

"I see you're still here."

Unfortunately.

Orcrist watched her carefully, for any flinch or any indication of her indiscretion. The only thing was her squinting eyes, which wasn't all too strange considering their very thin and veiled relationship. Perhaps his prodding got under her skin, but her stone expression was hard to read. Still, the thought of it caused a lopsided smile to form on his muzzle. "Is the oath you made still valid when those you sang your 'loyalty' to fled or abandoned it? What oath do you have to offer to the three upon the throne now? You didn't spill your blood for them, what could possibly keep you grounded in a forest that you hate?"

There's nothing more here for you.

Tongue slid over his nose as Cuff spoke, questioning as to why he would ask such a thing. She was loyal after all, taking an oath to the Dragon. A gruff laugh echoed through his throat and he shook his head slightly. He wasn't as naive as she thought, if she was truly loyal then she wouldn't have broken a law. Orcrist had been more than generous to her, but he didn't trust her. Her staying here was a huge surprise, and he wondered if there was something here that tied her. Her children maybe? The fear of being hunted? Perhaps running into Azuhel in the wild and getting caught that way? He wasn't sure, but he didn't believe that she wouldn't just run if she had the opportunity.

"Of course I'm still here. Where else would I go?" he said, curious as to why she'd think otherwise. Cuff was a smart woman in many aspects. Alteron was his home, it had always been his home and always would be. Each individual to take up the crown weakened his legacy, but even so, he was born in this forest. He would die here too.

"You've surprised me, Cuff. Despite having some... interesting choices throughout your career, I think you might prove useful." he said, rolling his belly forward so he could lean toward her, neck somewhat out stretched as if to whisper a secret. "You'll accompany me to Inaria. We have business there and it'd maybe cure your itch to see the outside." Though he highly doubted that. Still, at least it'd give her some sort of a taste and it's quench that thirst just a little longer.

"Won't that be exciting?" he said with a large smirk this time, retracting his head back.

And I'll be right there with you the entire time.

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