It had become an uncommon occurrence for the wildcat to descend from her snowcapped home. Isla was always wanting to be close by just in case she was ever needed, but this day she had become a bit restless. She moves around the frozen lake, dual colored eyes taking in her surroundings while thick fur kept her warm from the buffeting winds. She couldn’t quite recall if she had ever seen this lake fully thawed out, always seeming to be covered with a thick layer of ice Her tail swishes behind her as toes curl around the edge where frozen lake met land, claws unsheathing just enough to scratch at the ice below. Her ears twist and twitch as she listens around her, allowing for her mind to stay clear enough so that she’d hear another nearby while she stared out at the expanse of the frozen water before her.

QUEEN OF SHADOWS

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY DEE, MODIFIED BY GUNNER

The sensation was odd, to be away from family, and the first night outside of the Hollows had been a hard one for Anthonius. He found himself restless, awake more than not, and as the sun rose he had been swift to resume his travels.

He wasn't aware of how close he was getting to the Summit - nor that he was coming across a rather important individual. He slows in his stride as he nears @Isla ♔ , noting her observing the frozen lake.

It was odd to him to feel the cold - especially after the humidity of the caves he'd been in. Smiling, he does not see her as a stranger, but rather his brother's bride-to-be. "How is the wedding planning going?" He questions out in greeting, stride casual as he aims to near and stand not too far from her.

@Isla ♔

His steps are heard before he speaks and Isla tilts her skull in his direction. She notices him as one that had greeted bother her and Morrigan whenever they had visited the Hollows to strike up an alliance, giving him a warm smile in greeting. His words cause for a flutter to be felt within her chest, heart skipping a beat. She hadn’t seen Alexander in quite some time, wondering if he were waiting for her to come visit while she was also doing the same - stalemate it would seem. But her deeper, darker thoughts would scratch to the surface while she stared at @Anthonius, letting out a soft sigh before asking her question. “How many does your brother pursue?” The wildcat knew she was never going to be tied down to just a single lion, but she also didn’t want to be simply a number in another’s life. Isla was looking for close-knit, not widespread; she wanted to have the time and attention she deserved instead of having to always seek it.

QUEEN OF SHADOWS

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY DEE, MODIFIED BY GUNNER

The warm smile that draped over her lips was welcome, comforting even. Any worries seemed to fade away, and he found a friend in the woman before him; soon to be family.

However, at the soft sigh, he senses trouble is on the horizon.

A brow lifts at her question, one that catches him a bit off guard. There is understanding in his eyes, though, because he knew the feeling wasn't something light, nor was the fact of taking multiple mates. "He is not a man of few lovers." He speaks, his voice genuine as he looks to @Isla ♔ with softer features.

He'd never been one of the males of his family to pursue multiple lovers - he was one of the few, and the only he knew of, to be waiting for his lifemate. He had been laughed at because of it, teased - made fun of. He knew the Savante needed to grow, and cubs were their strength in the future... but the idea of being with anyone but the most significant to his life sounded... betraying to him.

"Has he told you about lifemates, Isla?" It was his turn to ask her a question, prying gently, wondering how much of their traditions Alexander had revealed to her. Did she know there was someone blessed by the Mother for Alexander, created for him, his soul's other half?

A small nod of understanding comes as a partial reply to his answer, her mind half fogged by the many thoughts that plagued her mind. Isla couldn’t deny that Alexander was an attractive man, and she’d be a fool to think that others weren’t attracted to him or he attracted to them. Never having been in a real relationship until now, she wasn’t exactly sure what to assume, but weren’t they supposed to see more of each other than they already had?

Her attention is brought back to the present as @Anthonius asks his own question, brows knitting together as she shakes her head. “No,” she finally responds in a low tone, body moving so that she was now facing the man. “What does that mean?” And was there a chance she wasn’t it, whatever it was?

QUEEN OF SHADOWS

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY DEE, MODIFIED BY GUNNER

She does not say anything to his statement on his habits with lovers, but he did see how his question had hooked at her attention. Her brows knit together, and her response is given - causing Anthonius to frown slightly.

The Savante wasn't sure if it was his place or not to tell her, or truly why Alexander hadn't informed her. While lore of their family was kept private, that would be something he'd let any potential mate of his know, before they devoted to him.

"A lifemate is someone who gives us Savante Warriors a will to live." He speaks, peering forward to the distance around them, a fond expression on his face as he speaks about lifemates - about the person he was determined to find. "They are close to worshipped among us, for being so rare - but so powerful and impactful to our entire being. They are who makes us whole, who makes us at our strongest - brings us to our full potential under the Mother's blessing. A Savante Warrior will always yearn for their lifemate - even if they settle for lovers... I believe the longing is always there. " He finalizes, slowly peering over to her, his eyes locking on her dual-colored ones.

"You deserve to know who you are marrying, @Isla ♔ . You deserve to hear it from him, above all else. Why don't you go to him?" Because he did want to see Isla in the family, but at her choice; with full knowledge of just what family she was joining.

Her mind is whirling with this new information, feeling her heart lurch and thump harder than normal. It was a feeling that caused her to feel momentarily nauseous, having to close her eyes to ground herself before fluttering them back open. "So even if he says he loves me," Isla finally begins, her words being chosen carefully and spoken slowly, "I will never be the one." Was she okay with knowing she would never be an equal to a lifemate? Was she okay with knowing that even if she gave her body and soul and every fiber of her being to Alexander that he would still see another above all else as his true love?

No. She was not okay with it.

Her mind began to replay her and the red colossal's past encounters, trying to analyze every move and every word. Alex and plenty of chances in filling her in about lifemates, and yet he kept her in the dark about it. The realization was unsettling, causing for bile to slowly creep up her throat. It was only when @Anthonius posed the question on why she hadn't gone to him that brings her back to reality, brows knitting together while dual colored eyes darken. "Because-" a short pause, gathering her composure and emotions, "because I am afraid of what I may say to him. That... That I don't wish to be seen as anything less than next to his lifemate." Crestfallen, her emotions turn from hurt to anger, knowing that she was never informed on this before she herself had made her own decision on allowing the Hollows King to court her.

Isla Greyflood-Tollaire need not a man to make her feel whole.

QUEEN OF SHADOWS

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY DEE, MODIFIED BY GUNNER

Anthonius wished he could assure her of his brother's love, assure her of sunshine and rainbows in their happily ever after, but he could not. Happily ever after wasn't with lovers - it was with lifemates. They had faded in the family, the thought of lifemates - but Anthonius kept it alive and well, at the forefront of his focus, where they belonged. Perhaps that was why Alexander didn't tell @Isla ♔ of their belief, but if they were to be married... she needed to know somehow.

And Anthonius wasn't afraid to take the blame.

He does not reply to her instantly at first, his blue eyes gazing at her with a saddened understanding, before his head nodded slowly. "I could be mated happily with eight women and living the best I ever could - but if my lifemate was found... I'd abandon them all in an instant and never look back." He does not speak on Alexander - but his explanation is enough hint that Anthonius believed the same would be the reaction of his kin. He hopes Isla is able to find that message in his words, too.

"You will always be less than a lifemate, to someone who is not your lifemate." Raspy tones sound emotionless as he speaks this, but his face is genuine; the weight of the conversation fully felt by the Savante. He knows this may not end well, with her knowing the brutal truth; but he did not want her coming into the family and being blindsided after her marriage. They did not need anymore issues than they had.

"I believe the Mother has someone out there for you, too, Isla." A softer remark, aiming to move a bit closer to the Summit woman, head aiming to press gently at her shoulder in a comforting touch. "Many of my family do not wait for their lifemate, give up on them, lose faith... but I await for mine, dream of them - pray for them." He looks off from her, a soft smile on his lips at the thought of who he would spend eternity with.

"Alexander has not waited - and he may never find his lifemate, he may only ever have lovers. But there is always an if." His voice faded into the breeze as he spoke those raspy words.

@Anthonius is speaking but the words fall upon half deaf ears. It is as though she is submerged underwater, hearing the voice but not fully able to understand what is being said. Her own thoughts were louder than the sentences the Savante were speaking, and only when his head was felt pressing into her shoulder would she reel herself back in. Her muscles stiffen at the platonic affection, stilled in the moment and unsure of how to react. A stutter of breath is then released from from the woman, a breath she didn't realize she was holding in.

"What should I do?" The answer was more than obvious, but in the moment it was as though all the logical parts of her brain had stopped working and instead her heart was trying to take the driver's seat. "I mean, I know what I should do. But should I take the chance? On the 'if'?" She didn't know Alexander's brother well, but he was already filling her in on things she had been kept in the dark about so asking him for advance didn't really feel too farfetched.

QUEEN OF SHADOWS

ART BY YUMPY, CODE BY DEE, MODIFIED BY GUNNER

"Do what your know you need to, what will bring you to your fullest potential." He offers in advice, because if he wanted to be bluntly honest - he'd of told her to leave Alexander, leave any lovers, and wait for the one. He'd tell that to any of his family, as well, despite the need to procreate. He disliked seeing them with so many beyond their lifemate; not waiting for what they were meant for.

He liked @Isla ♔ - and she would make a strong piece to their family, but only if she knew what she was getting into. He was sure Alexander had some reasons to withhold the information, but regardless of past events or not... it was not fair for her to go into things blind. That only made room for more mistakes to happen.

"Our family is complex, but accepting. I look forward to having you as a sister in law, Isla, or as a friend if you choose another path." Because he would not dislike her for doing whatever she needed- whatever she wanted for herself. "The betrayal of hurting my lifemate by taking the chance on the if with another... breaks me internally. I would not be able to live with myself, if I harmed them by my selfishness." And that was a true statement, the very thought of his lifemate feeling any way but loved by him burned deeper than a thousand degrees - to them, he is bound.

Perhaps if he doesn't find her in this life, he will the next... and will be able to forever say he was eternally faithful to her.