Ankh's scream shattered what was left of his resolve. It felt as though a mountain lion's claws had ripped through his chest. There was a rush of blood in his ears as he followed his mate, rushing towards his son's body-- noting the torn off ears and tail of what was once his beautiful child. Viserys had never been strong in the face of death. It had always shaken him to his very core, bringing everything crashing down upon him all at once. The scent of blood and death was the only thing that he could smell as he approached, standing beside Ankh and swaying slightly as if even standing was too much for him right now. He looked towards Fenyang, his teal eyes hollow and glazed over. The quiet words made him shake his head, but he was unable to speak and assuage his other son's fears.

Viserys dropped to his stomach beside his mate, running his nose through her fur before reached the cold body of Xerxes. He shuddered. It was not right for him to be this cold. Tears dripped from his bright eyes and into the pale fur of his son, mingling with Ankh's own sobbing. It felt as though he could not take a deep breath, and his entire body seemed to ache and scream. The healer continued to nudge and press into his son's body, as if gently trying to coax him out of a deep sleep. It just couldn't be true... Xerxes just had to wake up.

It was then that Ankh rose, suddenly, the absence of warmth near his side leaving him shivering. He rose to his haunches, placing a paw gently atop Xerxes' body, staring in shock at his mate's fury. "Ankh..." He replied, his voice quiet, but with a strange sort of commanding nature that his tones didn't usually possess. It was as if, suddenly, a switch had been flipped inside of him. Instead of shredded, his heart felt like it was ablaze, like there were a hundred roaring lions caged inside of his chest. It was fury and rage like he had never felt before him his life. Viserys rose swiftly to his feet as Ankh turned to face him, and all of his anger was channeled into a single phrase.

"Don't blame this on my home." He seethed, his ears laying flat against his skull and his lips peeled back in a snarl. With the gods as his witness, he'd never leave Asteraia so long as a good king ruled. Did she not understand that it was the land of his family? Their family? What would leaving do except turn everything that they knew on its head even more? He had never thought Ankh stupid, but in these moments with fire coursing through his veins, he wished to call her every nasty insult he could think of. There was some small part of him that was pleading with him to stop before he said something that he'd regret-- but it was drowned out by the fury and the scent of death that surrounded him. "You never taught Xerxes to defend himself."