whatever you do; Posted on December 28, 2022 at 04:18:57 AM by rafe
make certain your hands are clean ; Nyimara crests over a sandy hill, sides swollen with pregnancy and some of the anxiety in Rafe settles. They may not have ever been as involved as he was with Marceline, but Nyimara has been a steadfast ally - whenever she is on the islands, she is on whatever side serves her best. Given that Rafe has made sure that aligns with his own plans, things have always been constant between them.
“Nyimara,” he murmurs in greeting, and when her neck extends he shares breath with her. Past meetings have been colored with flirtatious touches, but this time her pregnant state gives him pause. He doesn’t know who she keeps ruling at her sides these days, but has little desire to anger the father of her child-to-be. “You look stunning, as always.” And while his tone is light, he is sincere - she’s practically glowing, so confident and settled in her role as Queen, in her power as a mother.
She grins at him, and the teasing that follows has him snorting out a laugh. “You,” he drawls, “Are the furthest possible thing from forgettable, which you know well.” Her reputation across the islands has never been small - the Witch-Queen is well known, a name you can hear from Tinuvel to Atlantis.
Her next comment is a bit too on the nose, though, and Rafe flicks an ear back in annoyance, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. It has little to do with Marceline taking a new lover - they had never held claim over one another in any permanent way and he cared little who she was bedding until Isik crossed him. Her fickle nature on the other hand? Accepting a trade and then going back on her own offer? That certainly is enough to make him lose interest.
“It isn’t Isik or his existence who irritates me, so much as her own inconstant, fickle nature.” He has to tread carefully here - Nyimara has never moved against the red queen, and he knows they are allies as well. He isn’t privy to just how close the queens were; hopefully, not so close that this will backfire. Too much pushing, and she may side against Rafe. Evrain would have a much higher hurdle to get over, if he had to also deal with outside pressure.
Of course Nyimara sensed the heightened tension - both he and Marceline patrolling their own borders more frequently, fewer of their herd members making the trek across the isle. “Cato is well,” he tells her, accepting the shift in topic. “He ventured out alone when you left, but came to me a few seasons ago asking to stay with the herd; I’ve had no complaints, and he is safe and welcome in the Badlands as long as I hold it.”
Rafe pauses for a few quiet moments, icy gaze watching her closely before he finally says, “He isn’t why I came.” She must suspect as much - Nyimara isn’t dumb, and they tend to only call on one another when something is afoot. It is what makes them such steadfast allies - they do not tend to dig into one another's business.
Finally, he explains, “Marceline’s lover stole my kin, and when I accepted the offered trade for the girl’s recovery she went back on her own promise. Marceline kept the girl, and broke faith with our alliance.”
Surely Nyimara will see just how dangerous that is - how can you have an ally who cannot be trusted? How can they rely on Marceline, if in one breath she will turn her back on them? If she will break her own word at the simplest of urgings from an inconsequential Lagoon hanger-on?
“Changes are coming to the Hills,” he murmurs, finally, words confident. “Marceline’s usefulness as a ruler has come to an end, and our son, Evrain, is better suited to the position.” He watches Nyimara closely, studying her fine-boned, pretty face for any inkling of which way the Dunes queen will lean. “I’ve come to ask that you…allow things to progress as they will.”
rafe | 15.2 hh bay overo brindle mutt | king in the badlands