It is not in the nature of Zaphkiel to simply abandon something that he has set his mind to. Indeed, it was quite difficult to turn his mind from a choice once more. That was why it had been such a struggle when his soul had latched onto Gaia and then his heart had settled on Astrid. In truth he may never have made a full decision, always torn, always confused, except that his imprint had wandered so far away that he had felt that bond snap, like a cord until it coiled within his chest once more and it made his breath ache. Time eased that as did the way things fell into place for Gaia was gone and even though he missed her in a rather shadowed sort of manner, his full attention had turned back to the ivory hunting Queen who had let him have her leftovers and who had become a fast hunting partner. And perhaps, a future partner in life.
His heart thumps hard in the casing of his chest as he presses so close to her. Her scent is spicy and heady with the freshness of vegetation and she reminds him of rain on a warm day. It is the kind of scent one imagines when they start out a grand adventure and he can see her with him on those adventures. Can see her growling at him as he sparks a cougar into a frenzy or when he tracks down leads that might amount to nothing despite the way they both grow hungry; she is practical to his magical and that is alright. That is as it must be.
The way that Astrid leans into his touch feels like cool wind over hot skin and he breaths a sigh of wanting against the side of her cheek. This feels like homecoming, he thinks, for hadn't he imagined touching her in just this way before? Last winter he had curled in his den with his mind pondering how her thick figure would lay with his curled around it even as he had arisen and went to see Gaia, knowing that she needed something from him, attention, kindness, and it had been torture. Torture to want more than one - one because fate said and one because his heart said. Perhaps fate had done a favor though for his decision was whole and true and even if they tried to trick him into binding his soul once more, well, Zaphkiel would not give in. Only if Astrid would be his.
Their mingled moment of pleasure in the exotic feel of touch is interrupted by the way she jolts up and lunges away. Simultaneously Zaphkiel shoots to his feet, long legs spreading as adrenaline pumps and his instincts take over; hackles rise as his hips bunch in the feral need to chase and he fairly trembles as he holds himself in check, unable to move and yet his mind telling him to. Crowding her would only make matters worse and besides, his adrenaline spiked mind wouldn't help matters if he went about chasing after her like she was some doe in rutting season.
Zaphkiel eyes her with a growing sense of consternation and worry. Astrid moves as one who is torn, reminiscent of the way he had paced in Diveen until a soiled path had been made beneath his large paws. He blinks at her, his head turning in a wide arc to encompass her pacing so that she stays within his vision for he did not wish to miss a single moment of her decision. He wants very much to calm her with his voice and charm her back to his side but this must be a decision wholly made by her and not weighted by what ifs - what if he had kept his mouth shut and what if she had been drawn by him into something she didn't want.
Her voice can barely be heard as she mutters unintelligible things and his tail swishes to the side in uncertainty. Finally she comes to a halt after moving close to him and his good eye flicks back and forth between her dual toned ones in an obvious bid for hope. Okay... His eye widens at this, ears pricking forward as his head juts up in astonishment and then a bright grin descends across his maw. "Okay," he breaths in return, his voice filled with a joy and relief. Before he can rush her she comes to him. She comes to him.
It is a start to something wonderful, he thinks, and her head presses into his star-flecked chest as she breaths him deep. His own muzzle descends to rub along her neck and shoulder with a rumble of pleasure at her touch, both marking her as she marks him, comforting and taking comfort. "Have faith, queen huntress, for you have already hunted my heart and captured it. Now it is my turn to make sure that I never lose yours."