09-17-2018, 06:59 PM
He does realize, on some level, that what he is doing to Kylin is not right. That realization does not come with the morally appropriate guilt that it should - it simply reminds him to be careful, to be sure that she never has any reason to doubt him. She is not able to be unhappy; Ivar refuses to allow it, and anytime he suspects she might be experiencing anything negative he presses into her the command to forget it. It is a perfectly good life, and Ivar makes the daily efforts required to ensure it continues indefinitely.
They have been here three years now, and this western island has finally become the kelpie's home. He was meant for the sea, after all, and he has what he needs here. Their daughter is a yearling now, and her elder half-sister nearly grown. Raul and Santana have fledged, though he still sees the twins from time to time, often on the shore of the larger island. The population of their island will be shrinking soon, and it is clear from Kylin's narrow sides that their efforts to add to the headcount were fruitless.
This year, Ivar tells himself: next year will be better.
There might be another child, he reasons, tucked away in secrecy with the mahogany queen. Former queen, the kelpie remembers - the spotted mare that he'd not kept has since moved up and taken her throne. Ivar doesn't regret not keeping her, but that is only because he's incapable of that particular emotion.
"Frightening." He tells her when she asks. "Unpredictable, dangerous." There's a smirk on his face as he says it, a raised brow above a golden eye that looks suspiciously like a dare. "Incredible."
They have been here three years now, and this western island has finally become the kelpie's home. He was meant for the sea, after all, and he has what he needs here. Their daughter is a yearling now, and her elder half-sister nearly grown. Raul and Santana have fledged, though he still sees the twins from time to time, often on the shore of the larger island. The population of their island will be shrinking soon, and it is clear from Kylin's narrow sides that their efforts to add to the headcount were fruitless.
This year, Ivar tells himself: next year will be better.
There might be another child, he reasons, tucked away in secrecy with the mahogany queen. Former queen, the kelpie remembers - the spotted mare that he'd not kept has since moved up and taken her throne. Ivar doesn't regret not keeping her, but that is only because he's incapable of that particular emotion.
"Frightening." He tells her when she asks. "Unpredictable, dangerous." There's a smirk on his face as he says it, a raised brow above a golden eye that looks suspiciously like a dare. "Incredible."