Serris had a new experience that day. Nothing life shattering, nothing threatening, but rather something curious. An anomaly. Something that just doesn’t happen, and here it was happening before him. Devil’s Angel was.... nervous. It was a secret emotion he often felt himself, so that was not the cause of his shock, but this huntress was a different story. She was always calm, cool, a granite monument in the landslide of the world. But he could see worry in her pupils the second he narrowed his portals. Understandable, of course, but still unexpected. Afterall, it would be quite understandable if she were a little overly defensive at this point, what with her injuries and her time away, but it seemed she was exuding the opposite.
She looked away for a moment, surely a sign of respect, still after all this time. Honestly, Serris hadn’t been expecting a show a of any kind; she had earned her place here, and although the occasional bow was liked, this was a somewhat dire situation. Still, Serris had not yet heard her explanation for deserting them like she had, so such a movement probably saved her in the end. Despite, the midnight regal found it hard to stay mad at the femme. Blame it on Kobato or her own increasing age, but he held pity in her heart for this former member and didn’t wish to see her wounded so. Goddamn girls, screwing him up like this.
Even after this amount of time had passed, Serris could feel the tension still flowing from the vix. He hadn’t meant to be this intimidating, although he took it as a bit of a compliment. Regardless, he wasn’t out to terrorize the demoness. More with the soft-hearted bull. Ugh. After his lyrics the lady couldn’t even look to his gaze, and so Serris looked away as well, gazing into the distant wilderness beyond the border. She began to speak, then, her tone defensive like he had expected her mannerisms to be. She would be fighting hard, it seemed, to rejoin her home. The expected response, of course, but her intentions were still a drifting matter on Serris’ sea of thought. She seemed to be speaking the truth, though. Her adventures to Misty Mountain, her ambush. It was obvious she had great difficulty explaining this part; the warrior in him would’ve protested as well, and he gave her points for having the strength to do so. But what about the fact that she had come as soon as she could? He she been hurt that badly? She was lucky her wound hadn’t gotten infected, or she really would’ve been out on a limb gone. Then anger bubbled within him at the stranger who did this to one of his family. He turned his skull to face the rising peak of Misty Mountain, pools narrowing to trickling streams as his protectiveness got the better of him. They’d be long gone by now, he knew that, but it didn’t stop the thoughts from coming.
It was obvious that Devil’s Angel had finished, and Serris returned his gaze to her silhouette. Simple, straight, to the point, very much like the Devil’s Angel he once knew. So does that mean she hadn’t deserted them? Or she could be lying to his face. Still, Serris was sure he would’ve picked up on something like that. Was his anger, his suspicion of her unjustified? He was the Alpha of these lands, though, and he was to protect them at all costs, from any attacker. And if the attacker was one of his own? Serris knew he was being too thoughtful on this matter. Maybe the old Serris would’ve pressed harder, asked more questions, but the present Serris couldn’t keep his mind of the vixen’s wounds and how he wished them to heal. Bloody soft-hearted freak he had become...
Sighing and growling at the same time, at himself, mind out, Serris rose to his paws and padded beside the fae, lowing his front. He was offering himself as a crutch, a shoulder to lean on both physically and mentally. As much as guarding the palace was the duty of an Alpha, guarding the hearts of his warriors took priority. He would be there if she needed it; if not he would simply show her the way. “Blame Kobato for this new heart of mine. Even after she’s gone she’s still screwing me up inside.” Perhaps he sounded like a kid, but that’s how he really felt, and he hadn’t thought much about these words before he said them. “But many things have changed within these borders, I must warn you. New faces, and I still question most of them.” If she was up by down he’d be directing her over the boundary, if not then they’d simply wait for Serris to finish her monologue, although the brute really had the intention to walk and talk at the same time. Alphas always had things to attend to, afterall, and Devil’s Angel needed to get care asap. “There is a boy who is constantly patrolling the borders, I’m surprised he hasn’t found us yet. Aindreas is his name, a girl’s name if you ask me, but I wasn’t the wench who bore him.” There was the old Serris, peeking out again. “A brother and sister pair just arrived, although not together, and I don’t want to deal with any sibling rivalry at the moment. Hopefully they’ll work things out before my temper flares. High blood pressure is bad for us old men.” He had started to think of himself as an “old man”, a sort of almost playful thing with himself, since he really was only middle aged and still strong as ever. “There’s a stranger from Aurora Borealis on the borders. I’ve let him be to attend to more important things, but I’m surprised he’s still hanging around. Something important, maybe? But if it were that urgent the poor Alpha could’ve come themself. Although I’m afraid this has something to do with Kobato as well...” His voice trailed off as he thought about Kobato, his little adopted daughter who wasn’t so little anymore. But why was he rambling about all this in the first place? Perhaps Serris wanted to fill the awkward gap of Devil’s homecoming, make her feel informed. Perhaps he just needed to fill the silence with words before his thoughts took over once again. Perhaps he needed to get these things of his mind, and a living pair of ears sure did help relieve some of the tension. He only hoped Devil’s Angel wouldn’t think him too crazy, too changed. He could barely hold onto members as it was, and she was one of his best.
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