Mai began explaining the outline of the pack of Crith-Thalmhainn - it sounded like an arid land, full of crevices and canyons, caverns and boulders. Mai did not speak as to the make up of it, in terms of wolves, of pack members, but Aindreas assumed that she did the best she could, and got as much information as was possible. He didn’t know what rank the wolf she had talked to held - perhaps this had been all that that wolf had known.

“Do you think that they would be a good pack to have an alliance with?”

In the past, when Dierne Hrof was not Dierne Hrof, but was instead Aurora Borealis and had been ruled under Aindreas‘ father‘s reign, the pack had been allied with many others, but also had had enemies. Since Aindreas had taken over, there had been no alliances, no enemies other than Caidir Olc, and they were an enemy because the Queen had murdered both a member of the Arcus Irae and Aindreas’ only remaining daughter. They would forever be on his shit list, although the Ivorio had no way of knowing that the perpetrator of that terrible crime had herself been murdered. But elsewise, the plate had been swept clean, a new page begun. And part of sending pack members on these missions had been to find out which packs were worthy of the alliances, and which weren’t. He valued his loyal subjects and for the most part trusted them. It would be on their recommendations that he would extend a chance of friendship and strength to another pack…

But soon enough, their conversation had changed to different things. He had told Mai of what had happened to his daughter, and of the war that was to come. And then… And then he had stressed his fear for her safety. Above all, he did not want Mai to get mixed up in all of this. She was neither tempest nor rainbow nor vampire, and she had hardly spent any time within Dierne Hrof … This was not her war. And he did not want her to become a casualty of it. The thought of her death swept fear through him in anguishing waves, tsunamis breaking upon a weary dam. Aindreas raised his optics toward the heavens and sent a silent prayer to the gods that she would leave. He did not want her to… And his heart might break if she did, but his beating organ would surely shatter into 1 million pieces should she die, and he feared what he would transform into. Aindreas would not use the word evolve to describe it… Evolving meant becoming something better, something greater. And without her in his life? He would surely degredate into something either hollow and fragile, or something dark and terrifying.

But she had no idea how he felt about her. How could she? He never spoke of his feelings, he never hinted toward it. How exactly was one to go about telling a nearly perfect stranger that she was his soulmate? How was he to explain to her that he felt, in essence, love at first sight? Most claimed it did not exist, that that was lust but not love… But he felt no lust for her or her body. His loins did not ache for her, not yet. Such intimate desires would take time, would take getting to know her, but his soul recognized her’s and latched onto it, and had refused to let it go. Slowly, she had responded to his words, and he had closed his eyes and bit his lip. He nearly yelled at her, screamed at her, anything to chase her away to save her, but he was too weak to do that, he wanted her near too much. And when she said that she would stay, and deal with his rage and fury, deal with him, come what may, the strong, muscular brute nearly cried. He winced and bit his lip harder, enough to draw blood, but it was better than letting her see him cry, better than showing her that she was his weakness. And yet Mai seemed to sense the swirling pool of emotions, for she too was affected. Her vocals dropped to a whisper, and she pleaded for him to tell her what she could do to help.

Aindreas could not help but smile - he had just told her that many deaths would come, that he might turn into a fury machine, and she was still asking what she could do to help. She was like that of an angel, completely selfless and giving, wishing to find and heal the broken. “Anything that you do will help, I am sure. My one request is that you do not leave this land, at least not alone. It is too dangerous for any of us to be alone anymore, but especially you.”

Because you are my soulmate. Because you hold my heart. Because others could use you to control me.’ The words hung silent in the air, unspoken: a melancholy lyrical monologue dripping with bittersweetness from his mind.

“I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer quickly, without thinking. It does not matter what I need, only this: in your heart, what calls you? What is it that you have passion for, that you want to do, that calls to you? Whatever it is… If you have not to the skills for it, I will find someone who can teach them to you. All you need do is tell me.”