Tangerine
In the middle of the night, I go walking in my sleep
She knew he would be surprised. Yet, she was not prepared for his reaction. His ears flatten and his demeanor changes to show her a side of himself she had never seen before. The quivering of his lip and the flint in his usually welcoming eyes puts a space between them. She steps away from his side with a shake of her head. She doesn't know why, but his reaction makes her own ears flatten into the mass of ebony mane behind them. Maybe she should be flattered by his anger, but it has the opposite effect.
The two days of travel, the rocky terrain her emotions had her navigating, the achs of her pregnancy, they all seem to hit her now.
The wight of his distress makes her knees buckle. She had chosen to go to the dark god that night, she had baited him and drank the spices and starlight he fed her eagerly. He had fucked her and then disappeared into the night with her blood on his lips and she hadn't minded one bit.
But how did she say that to this man-child beside her?
The innocent king.
"No," she says and the word floats between them, nowhere near enough to fill the void. It's not the answer he wants but she is too tired to cry into his shoulder and let him protect her. She didn't have it in her to be his damsel in distress tonight. And that night had given her something she would die for, something that had more value than all of the kingdoms of Beqanna combined. Celest kicks and Tang almost smiles, but her gaze holds fast, steady, yet not hard.
"No," she repeats, softer this time as his question comes again. But there is nothing else she wishes to say about it. Instead, Tang reaches out her muzzle to place a light kiss on his brow. She is with her friend again for the first time in too long, yet she feels a world apart. She can't stand to feel that way so close to him. The frustration in her chest drives her to take a step back before she turns to look up to the hard glint of the mountain peaks in the light of evening. She blames her fluctuating emotions on her pregnancy and does her best not to let her frustration reach her eyes. She doesn't want to hurt him. But regardless of their source, these feelings, they are powerful.
So she does what she always does when she feels unrest and she turns to leave.
"Get some rest Amet."
You have a kingdom to run.