Fenrir: Dawn Rising (Part 1)

"He apologized, -to you-, Ris," Terra clarified.

"Yes! To me! Why?" Pointing to Luna, Ris said, "Because -she- was unconscious because of what -he- did!"

"Ris, think about it," Terra said, "Would you rather live your whole life without knowing your a Pantheon?"

"Erm...But Terra," Ris began, his ear twitching in slight confusion, "I already know that I am...I'm obviously missing your point."

Terra shook her head. "Knowing what you do know, would you rather live your whole life without knowing you're actually a Pantheon?"

Ris was still a little confused. "No...No, that'd just be stupid, wouldn't it? Why else would I have Solus after me and all that?"

"Argh!" Terra put her paws on her head. "I can't reason with you. You're so stupid!"

"I was saying, that just think of Luna's situation, and put YOU in there, instead."

After a twitch of his ear, Ris let out a quiet sigh, slowly shaking his head. "I can't deal with you sometimes. You're just too smart for me...And look, I'm happy she's not going back to 'normal'. Really, I am. I just don't want her living here." With a light shrug, he said, "She'd still know who and what she is."

Terra sunk her face into her paws, groaning. "Forget it."

"Fine..."

'...This relationship is going to be so much harder just because of Terra and Fenrir...' With a light sigh, his thoughts concluded with, 'But they're her parents...'

"You two done fighting?" Luna said, slightly annoyed.

Looking to Luna, softening his expression for her sake--and incidentally his sake--Ris said, "We were never fighting, just discussing."

Luna's paw reflex clenched in her frustration before taking a deep breath.

"Was there anything else, babe?" Terra asked.

"Well... The only other question I could ask is: why?" Luna asked.

"Ah... That might take a while..." Terra said, smiling.

"You may not know, Luna, but I wasn't born a vampiress. I used to be mortal. Fenrir bite me when I came to the castle, and I fell in love with him."

Luna nodded. She was a little surprised, but still curious of the story.

"After Fenrir... "sacrificed" himself, it wasn't until 25 years later and he ressurected. That's how vampires work. We die, and come back. In a sense, immortality."

"... In that time, I realized what my love for him really was. It was a curse in itself. I loved him so much, that it drove me insane, being away from him that long. 25 whole years... alone, in this castle."

"When he finally came back, there were two things on my mind. Fenrir, and my revenge against Fenrir for making me wait that long. Just a bit of love-hate there."

"We made static for the first time not too long after he resurrected, and then you were born. When the realization hit me, I knew I didn't want you born into being a vampire. It was only a matter of time before me or Fenrir died again, leaving you alone for another 25 years, at minimum."

"The story's a bit complicated here, but just know you were born in this castle, but I took you away from here. I wanted you to have a taste of a mortal life, since you still retained your emotions, even as a vampire. I knew it, when you first opened your eyes at me... you smiled."

Terra smiled warmly at her daughter in the remembrance. "... That's why I killed myself that night, and made sure Fenrir saw it. Apparently, we both died that night, which worked out a little better. But the point was, to make him feel how I felt while I waited for him."

"I watched over you, while I was dead, and made sure you felt as normal as possible. I just wanted you to enjoy life for a while, until you figured it out. You would have eventually. The crave for blood? Or, at least, when you died the first time."

"That's why I did all of that, Luna. Just for you," Terra finished.

Ris wanted to stay upset with Terra just because she might be keeping Luna from him, but hearing that made it all the more difficult. By the end of the tigress' explanation, the blue-furred vulpine wasn't sure he wanted to take the lynx away from she who had given up everything for her.

But Ris didn't want to lose Luna either, and if she began living with Terra and Fenrir, getting to know them better, what if they convinced her that he wasn't right for her? What if, because of them, she not only lost the love she had for him but ended up hating him as well?

It was a terrible thought.

"W-wow... I..." Luna stammered, not knowing what to say. "I almost feel like I--"

Terra interrupted her, shaking her head. "Luna... I did all of those things, simply because I love you. All I want is for you to be happy, and enjoy your life. If that means without me, I'll have to live with it."

"You're a big girl now, Luna. I mean, look at you." Terra had her paws on Luna's shoulder, her eyes glancing up and down. "Ten years ago, you were just a baby."

"Oh, Mom..." Luna was teary eyed the whole time, blushing and looking off to the side.

"Well, Luna. Whatever you decide, is up to you. Remember that."

"Um... not to ruin the mood or anything, but why not... uh... let her come to visit the castle every so often?" Leo asked, quite suddenly in fact. "I live on my own and I go to visit my mom on the weekends. Aside from the whole 'castle only appears in an eclipse' thing, I really don't see too much of a problem Luna trying the same thing."

She'd come to realize that the two vampires weren't all that bad of people. Or, perhaps, Luna had changed them somehow. Either way, slaying the vampires wasn't really worth it now 'lest they still intended on bringing ruin and misery to the world.

"There's gotta be a way to get her to and from here, right?"

Sure, the solution was a little tilted in her and Ris' favor... and probably not even possible.

But a feline can hope, right?

"There is. It's probably a little harder if there isn't an eclipse, but I'm sure we could manage," Terra replied.

Luna thought long and hard about the situation... Finally, she dropped her stubborness and turned to her love, turning him to face her.

"Ris... Listen to me. This doesn't mean you're right about Fenrir or Mom..." She poked a finger to his chest. "I feel like, a lot has happened here, just now... And I can't really focus on any of it. I don't want to run away, but..."

"Okay, Luna, my turn again..." Ris began, his voice low as he set his hands gently on her sides, pulling the lynx just a titch closer. "I know there's a lot on your mind right now because there's a lot on mine, too...A lot -has- happened. But here, in this castle, isn't the best place to make those sorts of decisions. All I'll ask of you right now, Luna, is to go home and think things through. That's all I ask. Then later on, when my business is all done here...we'll--...we can all sit down together and talk about it. The four of us: Terra, Fenrir, you, and me."

'Assuming no one dies, at least...'

"Deal?"

Luna's paws went to his shoulders, softly coiling around them as he pulled her closer.

After hearing what Ris said, her ears flattened against her head, eye brows furring down as she stared into his chest. "But..."

Terra cut her off. "This isn't just what Ris wants, dear. Although, I wouldn't suggest leaving the castle, but, I do want you safe."

And after hearing her mother agree, Luna gave in. "...Fine, but you have to compromise, Ris. I'll leave right now, on two conditions. The first is, if you're not back within a few hours, I'm coming back for you. And second..."

She dropped her muzzle a bit lower, her hair drooping over her eyes as streaks of red covered her face.

"I'll only leave... If you kiss me."

The Arctic Fox listened carefully, relieved that they were finally coming to an agreement he could live with. At the mention of her first condition, Ris gave a slow nod. "Okay. A few days and you can come back..."

At the second condition, a light blush passed over the vulpine's face. With a flick of his tail, he looked over to Terra for a few good, long moments before giving her a look that said, "You can't blame me."

Turning his gaze back to Luna with a quiet swish of his tail, Ris raised a hand, lightly tipping the lynx's muzzle up towards his own. Leaning forward, he softly pressed his muzzle to Luna's, allowing his head to swivel ever so slightly to the side.

In an instant, Luna's body turned to mush. In an instant, any grudge or frustrating she had was gone, only left with the blissful idiom of actually knowing their hearts were beating together in joyous sync. The lynx's eyes half-lidded, then slowly closed, gently but passionately pushed back up against his lips. Her tail gave a few rapid, short wags when they first connected, until settling for a wide, energetic sweep behind her legs. One of which bent at the knee, and lifted up off the ground a tiny bit as she leaned into his embrace, holding against him for a long, overdue, timeless moment.

The blue-furred vulpine didn't want to break their kiss. Even in the short time he had been in the castle amongst all his old friends and foes, he grew to miss Luna's tender embrace. Experiencing this now only made him miss it more, because he knew it would be several days before he even had another chance to be with her.

But he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to Luna inside the castle. He wanted her safe at home to think over her new life.

Eventually, Ris brought himself to gently pull away, but he couldn't help but plant another soft kiss on her lips. His blue eyes reflecting both happiness and regret, the fox softly said, "I'll see you in a few days then, 'kay?"

"I don't want to leave now..." Luna softly said after Ris struggled to pull away.

Ris wanted the lynx to be with him, but not if it meant keeping her inside Eclipse Castle. "But you promised, Luna...I promise, I really will see you soon."

He didn't wait for her response--She would only make it harder for him to stick to his decision. "Terra, could you take her to the exit? I'd hate if she ran into Solus..."

Jackal stood there for a moment, wide-eyed, stuttering as he tried to speak. Blushing, he brought up a paw to touch his cheek, where Aetsia had kissed. ...this day ain't gettin' better than this.

The jackal jogged after Aetsia, soon catching up with the squirrel. Jackal soon saw Fenrir walking down the hall with a determined look on his face. Jackal eyed the dark wolf for a moment, "Where do you think he's going?" he asked Aetsia.