The time had long come for Xavier to return. The eve of his fourth birthday had felt something like a reckoning. How long he'd felt like a wayward boy, wandering as he'd pleased with little care for all he'd left behind. However devoted he was to his family, it had never been quite enough to fetter his wanderlust. But with time, he grew weary, and the unmistakable recognition of all he'd left behind hit him. It felt bitter and cold in that lonely den, and Xavier spent that sleepless night mulling over what the rest of his life would look like, what legacy he would leave.

Already one of his sisters was pulled to the wildlands outside of Amaryllis, and though he'd remained in the country, it left his homelands without a son.

Thus, he arrived upon their borders upon the encroaching dawn, having left his small hovel sometime in the night. Tiredness wore in the dark, shadowy duskiness of his gaze, a roguish skinniness complimenting the well-muscled frame of a loner who'd always managed to do just well on his own. Porcelain teeth poked through half-bared lips, jaws parting in attempt to gather their scents; just as strong, just as resolute. And then, after a few moments, he let out a few chuffs, hoping that his appearance would be far more welcome than rebuffed.

---

Set before the challenge. Anyone is welcome!
@Amara @Louve ♔

Art by raph, table by cala

@Xavier had disappeared after her rise. hell, had he even stayed long enough to witness it? had he watched her fell the challenger, standing victorious over the body of their own flesh and blood? louve had looked for him in the aftermath; he had become a ghost, too much like their father.

and now the proverbial son returns, his voice immediately recognized by the bluffs sovereign. louve wastes no time, hastening to the borders, yellow eyes honed in on her wayward brother. "avez-vous l'intention de rester cette fois ?" do you intend to stay this time? there was no anger, no true emotion at all. louve is guarded, careful, watching the handsome angles of her siblings face as she poses her prying question.

even if he did not would she deny him a home? the question was a waste, if she were being honest, but she felt the need to ask it all the same. "sinon je te botterai encore le cul," if not i will kick your ass again and there, then, is a grin, as she reminds him of the time they were so much smaller. back when both she and her sister had knocked him down a peg.

art

However much he'd ailed the way he'd painted himself the same picture as his father, Xavier had never been quite known to throw himself into the fray just as much as Kieran did, only to wrench himself away. But whatever ill-will they'd had toward their father had evaporated the moment his blood had been spilt upon these ancestral lands, and now death had fettered him to it, keeping him where they could not lose him. Xavier had little intention of following that same fate, and whatever wanderlust he'd once felt he'd slowly begun to quell. Slowly, but not completely. As his gaze fell upon the imposing form of his sister, a small smile unfurled across his lips, a respectful bow of his head only appropriate for the now-Matriarch.

Do you intend to stay this time? she asks, and the words cut like daggers, despite the fervent lack of emotion in her tone. He'd almost wanted there to be emotion, would have preferred the fire of her ire, the venom in her words. Her gaze upon him feels like an unmistakable ache, as if he's being unraveled by her eyes. If not i will kick your ass again.

He lets out the breath he'd not realized he'd been holding, boyish brows furrowing as he lifts himself up once more, standing still well above her height. While there were always that semblance of sibling rivalry, Xavier had long grown old enough to know where respect was commanded, demanded, and @Louve ♔'s ascension to Matriarch only solidified his loyalty to her. However much she'd embarrassed him as a child, however much he could probably easily sit on her and stave her ire off a little bit more than he'd once been able to.

Je suppose que je dois rester maintenant, he mused with a similar grin, De peur que j'invoque la colère de ma soeur-reine.

Xavier had always every intention of returning. It had just never felt like the right time until now. Now, after they had lost and gained so much.

---

¹ I suppose I have to stay now.
² Lest I invoke the ire of my sister-Queen.

Art by raph, table by cala

it did not matter to her that he stood significantly taller. he bowed to her, and that came with the same surge of power she had felt a dozen times before. it was intoxicating, to have them all beneath her command, and yet as addictive as it was she did not abuse it. hers was a power earned and so it was a power controlled.

"oui," she agrees, for though their tones are light and carry a jest they both know the seriousness of the exchange, "tu ne veux pas de ma colère." you do not want my ire. it is a warning despite the teasing glint in her eyes, for though he is her brother she would damn well hunt him down if he disappeared again. and louve was not known for compassion when her anger is sparked.

all said and done she surged forward, suddenly, and shoved her head up beneath his chin. a brief gesture of affection, yellow eyes closing for a second as she breathed in the familiarity of his scent. "bienvenue à la maison, mon frère." welcome home, brother. unraveling herself from him in the next breath, stepping back to invite him in to the bluffs and back where he belonged.

art

Were they years younger, Xavier might never have imagined them standing where they stood now. Even a youth filled with aspirations of power and control had paled in comparison to that of his sisters', and content was he, along with Elaine, to watch from the sidelines. It was disappointing only, perhaps, that @Louve ♔ no longer had Séverine to compete with, but the whims of their lost sister were always a blissful mystery, and her survival assured by her steeled will, wherever she may be. Thus, as he grew older, he grew content, ever willing and eager to slip in line where his own father once had. A Dieudonné dog, a stalwart and unwavering sword for the women who wielded it.

Her warning comes genuine at first, and for a brief moment, Xavier thought his sister still angered by him. But eventually, the near-teasing nature behind it settles in, and a small, cunning smile unfurls across his lips. But what she does next takes him aback; the warm feeling of her head just underneath his chin, the fur of her chest tangling in his mane. He didn't quite remember it being this soft. Slowly, a paw raises, and comes to rest between her shoulders, relishing in the few fleeting moments before she'd eventually pull herself away. He was not a creature of comforts, but her touch had been surprisingly wanted, as if it were something he'd been aching for ages.

Je suis heureuse d'être de retour, ma sœur, he sighs, tipping his head to the side, allowing his smile to grow a little wider. Maman se porte bien?

---

¹ I'm happy to be back, sister.
² Mother fairs well?

Art by raph, table by cala

there was a growing sense of strength in the bluffs; the return of @Xavier only compounded it. while war brewed outside of the borders -- and the icy hand of death never lingered far -- she was able to find a brief snippet of happiness in his presence. a quiet comfort, one that she expresses in that quick embrace.

"la mère est invaincue, et pourtant," mother is undefeated, yet she tells him with a flash of pride in her grin, "même s’ils semblent déterminés à continuer d’essayer. elle a jeté le dernier des falaises." though they seem determined to keep trying. she threw the last one off of the cliffs. a low chuckle, clearly amused by the constant defeat that amara rained down on the challengers.

"viens, je t'emmène chez elle." come, i'll take you to her. because surely amara would be keen to see her eldest son, too.

-exit w/xav-

art

He is relieved to hear that Amara fairs well; he'd half hoped to see her show up at the borders upon his call, but ever was she entrenched with her own duties. Louve's ascension to Matriarch had perhaps only half-helped, and it were a position Xavier was not envious of either woman. He nods toward her comments, eager to see the star-speckled Queen as much as he'd been his sister. He thought, perhaps, the only thing that could make all of this better would be the presences of those lost; Severine and Kieran had long been an achingly empty spot among them, a lingering solemnity in their greatness. Not enough to stop them, perhaps, but to make them think, to long for what they could not all have.

But such was their nature, their way. Life carried on.

He quickly ambled after her, eager to make himself at home in the same spot he'd left.

---

Exit with @Louve ♔

Art by raph, table by cala