Alfhildr:Alfhildr's head was tilted as she stepped into her brother's den.
"She looked upset. What have you done this time, brother-mine?" she asked as she sat down several paces across from him. She didn't begrudge her brother's appetite, but that didn't mean she didn't find it a little distasteful to see him eating other lion, especially a cub.
Hildi was one of those females that didn't lie down just because of her gender. She was tough, had even wanted to be a reaver as a cub. But best-laid plans and all that. Now she just channeled her stubbornness by butting into family business and rarely taking no for an answer. Even the way she sat in her brother's den was as if she owned the place instead of him, her tail curled around her feet.
Erykk:
He didn't even look at Hildi as she came in, sitting down in his den as if she was special. Okay so maybe she was special, at least to him. Hildi was his favorite sister, and he probably would have given her the moon if he could. But he was also a bit of an a** who couldn't contain himself sometimes. She put up with both.
"She should be upset." He said simply, finishing his meal and cleansing the blood from his maw with his tongue.
"Fancy seeing you here." He said, and it was more a question as to why she was there, than a statement.
Had it been any other sibling of his, he likely would have not been as calm. He knew Hildi was probably going to scold him, and he didn't really care. Any other sibling tried that, and he'd probably have their heads.
He pushed away the carcass, and turned so that he was looking at her.
Alfhildr:
"What did you do this time?" she asked, a smirk on her maw. Erykk was always getting in trouble in one form or another. Or getting her or one of their other siblings in trouble. It's probably why she didn't give him even an inch of leeway. Somebody had to at least try to keep him in some semblance of order.
Hildi rose a paw and studied her claws in a bored, off-handed fashion.
"Really? Do I surprise you with my visit? I must be slipping if my snooping is becoming uncommon!" With that, her smirk grew into an insolent grin.
Erykk:"Turned a deserpate little someone down on a marriage proposal? Or.. Marriage demand as it was more like." He said, arching a brow and looking at her. His blue eyes still held the look of irritation. Finna had only just left, and the news was still heavy on his mind.
"Not at all." He grinned devilishly. "I should expect you to sneak your way in here. I was merely distracted."
Cubs.. He wasn't going to be a good dad, he didn't even know what a dad really was. He hadn't had one. No, that was why he was doing what he was doing. If they were his, staying away would be the best thing for them.
Alfhildr:
Hildi laughed at that. Oh, that was rich, a female trying to tie her brother down. Poor thing really didn't know him well enough to think that doing so was possible.
"Demand? Tell me she had some sort of leverage and it wasn't just that you gave her some vague flirtatious remark and she took that as a declaration of monogamy," she replied with another laugh. What could the girl have been thinking?
"I could have told you you'd be hard-pressed to that, especially if she told you to do it. You don't even listen to family when we tell you to do something."
Erykk:
When she asked about leverage, the calm face dropped and he sighed. Okay, maybe she -did- have the right kind of leverage. But that wasn't going to make him marry her. He had no intention of marrying anyone.. let alone Finna..
"She might have. Doesn't mean she was getting what she wanted though." He said, his calm face back on once more. "She was pregnant." He still showed no emotion when he told Hildi about it. He really was ashamed for letting his anger get the best of him with Finna.. But she had really upset him.
"No, I guess you're right." He smiled. "Her downfall was her demand. What kind of Stormborn takes orders from an exile?"
Alfhildr:
"Pregnant? And an exile? Good gods, Erykk, even you can do better than that!" He must have been heat-sick, surely there could be no other explanation why he'd let someone like that sink her claws into him, even if just a little. At least, from what Hildi was hearing of her. The poor fool obviously didn't know her brother well if she thought she could tell him to do anything.
Hildi considered her brother for a moment, all her teasing gone.
"Could they be yours?" She wondered what he would do if they were.
Erykk:
He waved his paw at her. Scoffing a bit as he did. "Hildi she all but threw herself at me. How was I going to turn down a few ride?" He asked iwth a chuckle. He may have been smart, but he was also a male.. and having a pretty little thing throw themselves at him was more than he could handle. For all that Finna was, she was definitely a pretty little number.
"They probably are mine." He said, the cool face returning to him. He hadn't told Finna that, in fact he had made her believe he thought she had gotten around. But he knew she was all for him, regardless of his no feelings to her. The odds of those cubs being anyone elses were slim.
Alfhildr:
She shook her head slowly.
"I'll never understand males. Or the females that bend so easily," Hildi replied with a disbelieving sigh. Look at their family, after all. They had cousins aplenty from their uncle and they didn't even have a father beyond his brief assistance in creating them. She couldn't imagine being willing to take on that kind of responsibility without a steady partner at least.
"Well, what are you going to do, then?" Didn't sound like he was going to marry her. And frankly, Hildi was fine with that. She'd rather not see any of her siblings forced into marriage. But the cubs were a completely different story.
Erykk:
To be fair, if Erykk had been thinking about consequences, he would never have messed around with her...Maybe. But hindsight and all that. He was determined not to panic, even if he wanted to panic.. There were no stable men in their lives, and could he be a stable man in someone else's lives??
"I don't know." He said simply, looking at her, blue eyes unreadable. It was hard to read him, and he was sure Hildi was used to it.
"What do you think I should do, Hildi?"
Alfhildr:
"At least you can admit that." What did she think he should do? She was all for him not tying himself any more to the scheming little fluff. At least until she got a better read on the female. Maybe someday Hildi might try to soften her brother towards the girl. Then again, maybe not.
The end of her tail tapped on the floor for a moment or two as she thought.
"I'd hope you'd at least claim them. Wouldn't want to have to thrash some sense into you." A smirk curled its way onto her maw with her half-threat. "Anything else, we can work from there. It's about time I had some nieces and nephews to practice on. Maybe someday I'll give them some cousins to train."
A shrug and a wink, as if it wasn't a serious matter at all.
Erykk:
The way Hildi took it, was exactly why he loved her as much as he did. She was always there for him, even if it was to clobber his thick skull with a good pop of her paw. He smiled at her, and nodded.
"No I'd... I'd never let them grow without someone to claim them." They knew that feeling well, with his own father Chander having never been in their lives.
"Please put a hold on that. I really don't need more ... fluffballs than I can manage.." He was hoping for maybe a one cub litter. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad.
Alfhildr:
Hildi snorted and waved a paw.
"That's why I said train. If I'm going to help you with this, and I already know you'll need it, I'd much rather just have yours to worry about." Besides, she was distinctly lacking a significant part of becoming a mother, and she wasn't about to just settle for the first male to look twice at her. No, she was picky.
"And good," she added with a nod and finally a real, genuine smile that softened her features to almost cloud-level. She even stood, walked over to him, and pressed her forehead to his. "I'm glad you have sense enough to do the right thing by them. You'll figure the rest out in time. I'll even lend a paw if you ask me nicely."
Who was she kidding? He was going to get her help in this whether he wanted it or not.
Erykk:
"I think I might be asking you quite a bit." He said, nudging his forehead against hers too with a chuff. He loved his sister, maybe even more than the rest of his family. But his family was family as far as he was concerned, and he'd defend any one of them to the death.
"Thank you, Hildi.. I mean it." He said, genuine appreciation in his eyes. It wasn't often he had that look, but Hildi deserved it.
"I should probably check on Finna later." He said, feeling a pang of guilt.
Alfhildr:
"I know. I may doubt your wits sometimes, but not your word," she replied, the barb as soft and sugary as a ripe fruit. Her paw rose and gave the side of his head a pat that was probably harder than anyone else might have given and she pulled back with that smirk of hers.
"I intend to. She's going to be seeing a lot of me, I expect, so she needs to start learning to put up with it sooner rather than later," Hildi shot back with a snort of laughter. And she wasn't going to be taking no for an answer, either.
"Still, though, I think I'll give her a few days. I'd rather not deal with your aftermath while it's still so fresh."
Erykk:
"Probably for the best." He said, flinching only slightly at the pat on his cheek. Not from pain, but out of reflex. Hildi and Finna getting together? That sounded dangerous.. but probably far better than him trying to help Finna.. Hildi could be there in his stead, at least where Finna was concerned. He was sure he hadn't heard the last of the marriage demands, anyway.
"She's a b***h, so don't take her personally." He smirked, though he knew if anything, it would be easier for Hildi to like her that way.
Alfhildr:
"And what do you think I am?" she asked, sitting back and pressing a paw to her chest.
"A poor, delicate lady who just can't take a few words without-" Hildi trailed off in soft, gasping half-sobs, her face contorted as she dramatically looked up as if begging the gods to spare her delicate sensibilities. In an instant, the act dropped and she gave Erykk a look that said "Are you kidding me?" one eyebrow raised.
"I think I can handle myself with her. It's you who needs the luck." And with that, she stood and turned away, flicking her tail to nearly hit her brother's nose before she headed out.