a flower blooms only to be crushed // romulus

[merlin]

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merlin e. gwynne
long-time member of
tanglewood
penned by teef

[align=left]SAY THESE THINGS WILL ONLY FADE - ꧂

there was nothing quite like the wrath of the wronged. she had been wronged in the past, and the lingering flames of that wrong done to her blazed in her chest, the lioness shaking herself out as she paced. she had spoken to romulus, when she had seen him at the border, asking for a moment of his time. yes, politics were on the line, as were group relations, but she hadn't seen the kingpin in quite some time. she hadn't been lucky enough to see him earlier when she visited, but it was what it was. this wasn't so much a pleasure visit as it was to do with her title as ambassador and solving a murder.

coming to a stand still, looking at the flora around her with a solemnn gaze, tail swinging slowly from side to side. ximen's murder was worrisome and it struck a hot iron in her breast; she was furious and the matter of agrimony and inferno didn't soothe the burning destructive heat that only seemed to grow by day. it tickled something in the memories that she couldn't touch, a sense of wrongness, a sense of ... betrayal. bending her head to sniff at the greens, she tried to focus her mind on other matters, such as her group and firefly. was she doing well? she hadn't seen her, and from what she'd picked up, the luminary wasn't in the best of health. she couldn't let this matter further strain the curret luminary's health any further.

the first time she had been in this land, she had been terrified, and a wounded mess. there, that's when she had met him, the child of a pair of strong warriors who brought misery to the whole land. she hadn't hated him as the others had, she'd tried to speak up for him then when he'd come to look through the library. she wasn't as blinded by hatred, but she couldn't say that as of now. inhaling and holding the breath in her chest until her lungs burned, exhaling slowly, exhaustion falling in place of the rage stifled back to the confines of her chest, until her limbs trembled and tears welled in tired eyes. she hadn't known ximen well, if at all, but the sight of his body now turned her stomach. she owed him a drink, when she got home.

raising a paw to rub at her face with a frustrated snort, smiling bitterly. she still could cry for the dead, it seemed. lear hadn't taken that from her at the least. lifting her head to look to the sky, stretching out her aching body with a yawn, staring at the clouds that she could see until romulus would join her. tail tucked over her paws, ears swiveling for a moment as she settled in, wishing to see his face again, in a less harsh way, in a way that didn't bely how he felt of the situation. she wanted to see that caring look again, though she wasn't sure if she'd even earned the chance to look at him like that when she had been taken prisoner by jormungand. feeling her face heat under her fur, she licked at her chest fur suddenly, internally groaning at herself.

[member=16801]ROMULUS MALUS[/member] //

꧁ - LET ME DOWN THE EASY WAY

code by teef

[Romulus]

She knew how he felt about the situation. There was no doubt about that. Romulus usually is not expressive, but in his anger, he tended to be blunt and firm with his words as he seethed. She had seen it once before during her capture and now once again during her charade at the border. Thankfully for him, his frustrations were for a good reason. As he walked along to their meeting place, he pondered if Merlin knew the reason behind his actions, rather the expression of his misdeeds. To what he hoped was a potential ally and a friend, the lion did not want to reveal his disdain to her again. Yet, here they were.

The rising summer sun pounded down on his multicolored fur as he arrived nearby, purple hues spotting the other lion in a clearing. She seemed pre-occupied with staring at the bright sky as he approached comfortably. He walked slow purposefully. His gaze watched as her soft features switched down to her chest, a tongue caressing carefully along her pelt. A smile stifled across his lips. It faded almost instantly due to the situation at hand. The reason for their meeting was unfortunate and could not be forgotten.

His throat cleared in an attempt to catch her attention as he deaccelerated. Chiseled features looked inquisitively at her in hopes she would stare back and acknowledge his presence. A hesitant paw offered a wave. "Busy?" he questioned nonchalantly. Romulus thought she looked quite elegant for the messy situation that just occurred, especially how professionally she carried herself. A quick grooming session did not seem necessary.

Whether or not she answered honestly, he ambled over to her side and sat down. A relaxed tail swished downwards and wrapped around his side, curling around his paws to finish off. His attention turned to the sky. A pleased hum rumbled out of his throat, realizing the gorgeous perspective of the clouds she had previously. "I see why you were gawking," came his soft tone. The magnificent warm hues of the sky bounced off the clouds and painted a portrait above the two. "It's quite gorgeous." His gaze moved back down to look back at her with a subtle grin. How ironic.

A disappointed sigh left him. "I'm sorry we had to meet again like this," he murmured. With Ximen dead and their chance at an alliance temporarily squandered, Romulus was disgruntled. Even so, the kingpin couldn't imagine the pain she felt. Her friend is dead. She was visiting the land she was kept hostage in. The two feats couldn't have been easy to face. He couldn't help but feel sympathetic. A paw reached out to lightly rub the top of hers and then pull away, letting her know he was there for her. "It's nice to see you again though, Merlin."

[merlin]

embrace my lungs -

It felt like a snake was squirming in her chest, wrapped around her heart for the longest time, her mind an anguished mess. There was so much wrong in her present. What of the past? There was all too much there as well. Bright pink and purple eyes grew dull as she paused in her grooming, contemplating the situations of her life and the situation that had drawn her to the borders of the Coalition and to Romulus once again. Not that he was bad company. Emotions looked good on a man, even if she'd seen the gentleness he'd shown her in the past, and his ire at the situation of then and now. It was better to know he was a living entity and not a mask of emotionally reserved stone. Though she wouldn't complain at that. Everyone had their own reasons for the way they were, and she was the least of them for those reasons.

The clouds above allowed her restless mind an easy habit of picking out shapes, something she did so often these days when her head became a plaza of sound. Inhaling and exhaling, ears angling towards Romulus, instincts causing the swordswoman to track the approaching entity. Friend or foe? She didn't know anymore, and she hated that the most. He was not of the deep past, more of the most recent, and he bore her no threat that she couldn't handle. Romulus was not a threat; a friend if she dared call him that.

Head swiveling to face him as he entered the clearing, quickly returning her tongue to her maw with a flustered sound before coughing and clearing her own throat, "Perhaps the least busy I have been in some days.", she would offer in turn to his question, unable to help the path of her gaze sliding over the male. He looked in good health for what she could see, relieving some unknown worry she had carried since her return. Why she cared about that, she didn't truly know. If there was peace in a neighboring group especially with the commander, the group usually stayed quiet which meant no issues for them, right?

Lifting her gaze back to the sky, back to the watercolor beauty and the shapes that scattered and formed as if pushed by an invisible god. "I dare you to say that again with your eyes fixed on it. It is a force of extreme danger, and for today, I am grateful that we are gifted this display. But beautiful things are often the most dangerous, no?", she spoke with a small quirk of her lips as she allowed herself to return her gaze to him, glancing over his eyes quickly before holding them. Things had changed, so many things. But the chance for a moment of peace ... it was something cherished.

"I too am sorry that tragedy is what has brought us together again. But that seems to be the path that our lives take at this time. Do not mistake the pain to break a sturdy back, please.", she offered him a loose smile, ears drooping slightly, "Just as I shouldn't mistake a warm smile to be so free of his own agonies.", she spoke softly,  "I didn't think I'd be coming back, but fate is a cruel witch.", she spoke softly, looking down at the gentle paw that reached out and rubbed her own. How alien was that simple contact, yet there was something that craved more of it, to know that she was alive and could still feel.

How many lives had she taken, how many paws had she held as death delivered itself upon the deceased? It was strange that she wanted more of it, but she didn't have the desire to question it now. "I ... I almost didn't. But I had promises made. Memories to bury. The Ciphers are gone, and with them, the woman I was. I'm not so easily scared by my own shadow now, nor am I of anything g that's bigger than me, but that was all drunken bravado before.", she laughed softly before smiling and moving her paw to rest beside his, hesitating, wanting to touch him. She wasn't dreaming right? "And what of you? What has Mister Malus been occupied by in the last two years? If you don't mind sharing with a friendly ear. It helps to take the mind off of things, a stolen chance at momentary peace."

- your breath i keep

teef

[Romulus]

A pleasant hum left Romulus. Her response was satisfactory and what he wanted to hear, after all. The busier they were often was aligned with conflict that occurred, so some peace and quiet was rather needed. In fact, even somewhat rewarding. With the sky above in a flurry of colors and the presence of a friend by his side, the kingpin could feel his breath begin to slow and mind start to clear. The present faded into view. For the first time in awhile, he could take a moment to live and spend it with someone who appreciated his presence without any underlying motive. Even his family couldn't do that...

Purple hues marveled in the warm sky above them. He listened to her intense spiel with interest, reconsidering his position on what laid above them. "I suppose that is why we keep beautiful things at a distance then," he mumbled inquisitively. Romulus' lips flatly pulled back as his browline furrowed, hesitantly questioning the validity of his response. The statement stood true though. The lion rarely let someone lurk in his thoughts for so long without any boundaries. He preferred to stand alone in his endeavors for his own safety and sanity. He had cared too much before, only to watch his family die before him in the span of months. Never again.

Yet he could feel something tugging on his insides. A member of his past stood before him with open paws, despite the negative connotations before them. Fate had brought them here. Whether that be to continue on or for closure, he did not know. He let his gaze wander away from the sky as she spoke, only to find her own eyes upon him and a smile subtly across her maw. His lips tugged back to echo her sympathy. "I wouldn't take fate to be cruel," he echoed back softly. "Maybe there's an end goal in mind." Was the future worth losing a friend though? Ximen's death was a tragedy, not a poetic exit from this world. Romulus bit his tongue as the thought arose, hoping for the best for the both of them. There was no need to damper the mood. "After all, we are here reunited and enjoying the quiet. Let's enjoy that while it lasts," he ended with.

He found himself leaning forward as she continued to speak, outlining her tragedies over the last two years. A hesitant laugh echoed hers as she finished. "I would not have taken you for a drinker," he honestly admitted. "We all have our demons and a need to cope with the downsides of our lives though." She drank, he dreamed. Was it so bad to indulge every now and then? Not excessively, of course. A guilty pleasure could enrapture someone so easily, as it had done in his past, but as world around him improved, he did not feel so inclined to indulge. Without a getaway, Romulus could only think he would have gone insane. Maybe the same was for Merlin? He didn't want to press too much, given her lighthearted facade, and kept that analysis to himself. Perhaps a different time.

What had he been up to though? Romulus, unlike his father, did not actively speak on his accomplishments, but Merlin had given him the chance. He hesitantly opened his jaws. Lost for words, he let out a sigh. "Work," came his blunt answer. "Fixing the mistakes my predecessors made and hoping the Coalition of the Condemned would make better choices after years of worthless rebuttals and revenge." Romulus wanted to relieve himself the pressure of pleasing his parents, who were dead at the time, and to create a better environment for those that remained to prevent their grief. He had succeeded for the most part. Though... a bump in a road always occurred. "As you can see, we're in a bit of a predicament now though." The paw opposite to her lifted up to his face and scratched as his cranium. A hesitant laugh exited him after a few moments. "We can't catch a break, can we?"

He shook his head in displeasure and lowered his gaze and paw to the floor in shame. In this moment, Romulus took notice of the proximity of her paw. The lion chose not to acknowledge her comfort verbally and looked back up with a smile in an attempt to offer mutual solace in their quiet moment.