TRIGGER WARNING!
This content might touch on topics that are sensitive or triggering for some readers. Trigger Warning for mentions of forced c-section, implied rape, general violence.
Renozuri had little to no interest in continuing the needless, pointless argument that had started between them. Sooner, rather than later, Icefang would be dead and Cassius would be free to take over fully. If he didn't manage it before then. Even if he had never been interested in power, there was nothing wrong with his Heir wanting more. Wanting everything.

And the devil would ensure he had it.

A single ear flicks as Icefang speaks, unknowingly mimicking her action. It was the only indication he was still sentient, still here. Finally, a sigh escaped him and he feels himself boiling over with rage. So Icefang had nudged his son, their son, toward that pathetic excuse for a woman? The arrogance, the vanity, the utter self-absorbed aspects of that woman made her intolerable to be around.

And Icefang practically trapped Velasco.
Why would his son turn her down?
Why would he think to if Icefang approved?

He wanted to strangle her. To rip out her tongue. To defile her in a manner he'd never wanted to before.

Yet none of this registered on his features. Renozuri was calm, and perhaps that was more formidable than outright rage. His voice, when he speaks, is dangerously low. Barely above a whisper, and sharp enough to cut, "Surely you are not dense." Finally the visible signs of his rage become noticeable, even in this ghostly form. Jaw tightens, his shoulders squaring slowly. "Threatening to eat my grandchildren is offense enough, Icefang. I want her gone, the children removed from her womb; either forcefully or willfully. I do not care. I want her claws out of Velasco." He would not see their son become a weakling under the will of an overbearing woman.

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Their interactions seem filled with sighs and disappointment. Icefang flicks her ears back, uneasy at his reaction to her explanations. She has not touched her food since she laid eyes on him and the longer they engage, the further her appetite flees. Despite his transparent form, she picks up on the frustration that boils over as his body betrays him with the tense motion of lifted shoulders and clenched jaw. She holds his sightless gaze, ears pinning flat to her skull at his words. He had never spoken to her in that tone. “As you wish, my love,” the words are spoken low though Icefang feels conflicted about this. She had been loyal for so many years and yet here she was wanting to push against his demands. At the very least, she wanted those cubs and the queen was unsure of what @Renozuri could do from the other side if she disobeyed. She could easily pass the cubs off as some she found abandoned. Her adopted children had never been prevented from living amongst them.

That would be her preferred choice. Run Miaran off to keep her deceased husband happy, but keep the children. It was important that Velasco reproduced and even if it was not with a lioness that his father approved of, Icefang felt she could prevent the children from becoming a product of their grandfather’s disapproval. She was sure the rest of the family would keep it quiet if told to do so.

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He is quiet, listening. Waiting for the storm, for the argument to ensue. Once upon a time, Icefang did not question his choices, though it was not often he felt the need to enforce himself. Their relationship, along with their partnership with Nikiri, had worked rather flawlessly. He never asked for much, and in return they held their crowns and he retained their loyalty. Their love. It was a fitting trio, until Nikiri strayed.

And why?
Renozuri had never given her reason.
From the very start they both knew.

Knew their husband was a monster. Yet when no fight started, and she complied with his wishes, Renozuri felt himself wanting to praise her. To dote upon her in a way he'd never felt the urge to before. SO quickly does his attitude change. A slow smile curves his lips. Icefang could do what she wished with the children. They could be raised as X'uekai as long as Miaran was not raising them.

"Thank you, mi mujer." He rumbles softly, the rising rage seemingly gone. He was a simple man, when it boiled down to it. Renozuri did not want to have to do anything to cause Icefang harm, after all. "She is too much like my mother." He finally relents, having never spoken about the woman in life. Perhaps it was the vulnerability of death that made him so open.

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While Icefang held onto her rebellious beliefs when it came to her crown, at the end of the day @Renozuri was one of the few individuals she aimed to please. He had been an important companion through the majority of her life as well as Nikiri. The departure of their wife had left a void which only grew when Renozuri's life had been taken from her. A void she tried desperately to fill with Cassius and the responsibilities of ruling the brook. The queen doesn't respond to his rapid mood shift, only accepting that he is content with her response. Her own moods experienced tumultuous swings, so this experience with him didn't faze her.

Her ears prick forward when he mentions his mother. They had never discussed her, but based off his initial ire she can conclude the woman was bad news and a potential key as to why Renozuri held the beliefs he did. She feels the urge to shift closer and press her nose into his shoulder as a comforting gesture, but she ignores it recalling that he nor she will feel anything. "She will be dealt with," she promises, her claws digging into the hide of the zebra.

"Have you spoken to anyone else?"

Did he have any opinions on the rest of the X'uekai that he felt like sharing?

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Renozuri felt immensely pleased at her response. Icefang might have disappointed him before, but now? Now she was turning it all around. The devil simply wanted things done the way he wanted them done. It was that easy. He says nothing in response to her at first, but then the question of if he'd spoken to anyone else came up.

Another slow smile curves his lips and he nods, "Yes, I am trying to speak with anyone relevant before my time is up." Before he was forced to leave once more. If he had his way, however, he would not be leaving. Renozuri wanted to remain, he wanted to be reborn and to do that he had to become stronger. To become a god. "Including Cassius' children. Arcania, her son." He listed off a few, but not all.

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Icefang nods and leans down to take a bite of her food deciding that as the conversation had taken a pleasant turn that she was indeed still hungry. The taste of iron is strong on her tongue, the queen politely licking her lips between bites as he lists off the individuals he had spoken to. While he does not mention him, she automatically assumes Cassius is part of it for Renozuri to be aware of his sons. Though she wonders if he has spoken to his own children that he had left behind shortly after they were born. The two that they had created. "Nazara and Thruum are two now. Thruum shares your blindness, but he has thrived as you always did." A soft purr rumbles in her throat as she compliments him and again she has to remind herself that any acts of affection are futile.

"I do not wish for you to leave," she sighs "How long do you have left?" Perhaps he didn't know himself, but she hopes his answer is longer than she thinks. "You know...I have seen strange things in these lands. I witnessed a woman be killed and then brought back to life after. It makes me wonder what is possible for the deceased...Nazara seems to be interested in those things. I've seen her collecting bones." The thought is spoken aloud and also a suggestion that perhaps the other side did not have to be his final destination forever.

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She's eating again, which means she was comfortable. Good. That was for the best. Icefang was far more compliant when she was at ease, not on edge - as she seemed to be often these days. For a time, the devil listens to her eat before she speaks again. The subject of their own biological children comes up and Renozuri quietly listens. He had not had much time to spend with the two of them before he had decided to leave this plane of existence.

He'd never been much of a Father, and unfortunately that would likely never change. Even if he did take on a new life and remembered everything. While ensuring the line of X'uekai went on, it had never actually been entirely important to him until he was old and dying. Funny how death put some things into perspective for you. Now it was all that mattered to him. And despite most who would see blindness as a weakness, Renozuri saw it as a strength.

"I will have to see them soon." If he had the time. The conversation about the time he had left comes up and he sighs. It was uncertain. Time felt at a stand still for him. He didn't age, he wasn't affected by hunger, or thirst - he felt nothing. It was almost...torture. Something drew him away from this land, with the living. As if calling him to darkness. Renozuri was reluctant to submit to it.

"I do not know, but I do not wish to leave either. I will become more powerful. I will resist whatever is drawing me away. I will remain." He declares, his voice confident, resounding - it almost echoes over the land in his declaration. He would not leave here, would not leave Icefang. And he would continue to forge the children of his line in the way that he saw fit.

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A wave of jealously washes over her at the confirmation that he had yet to see their children. Their biological children. Had Velasco been missed as well? Was this yet another examples of him overlooking her accomplishments? She bites a bit harder at her food this time, a low growl following her swallows as she rips at the flesh. Yes, Cassius might have been Renozuri’s chosen, but she had expected her creations to hold an equal, if not, higher value. Already her brain is searching for an excuse to placate her wrath. The way she had always forgiven or overlooked his jaw dropping, horrible deeds. There was very little that she had held a grudge about.

So, when he speaks as if he is determined to stay and be with her; the least he could do to please her and further tie her to him because of their love for each other. He is confident and it takes all of her power not to melt into a puddle of lust. She yearns to relive the night they had conceived their last litter, the ache in her loins prevalent. A harsh blow of air escapes her nostrils as she clicks her teeth in frustration at the sudden surge of hormones. Unable to help herself, she rolls over onto her back in a flirtatious display, one paw seeking out at his form grasping at the tendrils of mane in a ridiculous attempt to pull him to her.

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If only he could see her, touch her. It was maddening. Death had been a sweet escape in his old age, but it was life he yearned for, ever more - with Icefang as a constant reminder of what he'd lost. There was so much more he wished to do, so much more he wanted to try. Death would not be the end for him. It couldn't be.

Somehow he knew the desire she had for him, and while the devil could not see his wife's taunting, teasing position, he could feel it. In his soul. Inching closer, he does his best to hover over her, a mimic of a breath escaping as he revels in the feel, the very life of her. "Icefang...soon, soon I will be able to touch you again." He promises, the words a low, baritone whisper. A sensual coo as that accent dances along his tongue like honey dipped in poison.

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He senses her desire and breaks the distance between them to hover over her. She imagines the sensation of his body against her, purring out her lust and need to be reclaimed by him. To shamelessly perform an act of love out in the open for any to witness. It is not enough, but at the same time his company and attention is all she craves. They might be limited in their capabilities, but she absorbs his words believing whole heartedly that he would find a way back to her and uphold his promise. "Do not leave me again," she growls softly a demand of her own. She did not care what measures he had to take to find his way back to the living. If there were clerics in these lands that could bring a body back to life, she expected that there was a way she could throw herself into her husband's arms again. No matter what it takes.

@Renozuri

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