A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

"So, tell me about these suitors of yours," Erik asked Naeku with a teasing smirk. They were walking side by side towards the palace entrance after having left the others behind.

Since all but Astrid and Emily were second or first rankers, they wouldn't be of much help, and this was probably something Erik and Naeku should deal with, anyway.

Naeku rolled her eyes. "Why would you want to hear about them? They're not even worthy of calling themself my suitors anymore!" she grumbled, punctuating her obviously bad mood by twirling the short metal spear in her hand. She'd grabbed her weapon before leaving for the entrance.

"Because there's only one suitor you want now, right…?" Erik asked her with a playful smirk, clearly fishing for compliments.

A small blush appeared beneath the dark fur on Naeku's cheeks, her bad mood tempered by Erik's playfulness. "Of course, you idiot…" she pouted, despite the affection in her voice.

"Hehe, good girl," he grinned proudly. He stepped to his side, and quickly swept Naeku off her feet. "Ah!" she yelped in surprise while he took her in a princess carry.

"Now, I'd still like to hear about those suitors," he chuckled, completely ignoring her protests. "I love knowing you are completely mine and hearing about the people who still want, but can never touch you!"

"Hmpf," Naeku pouted, despite comfortably settling into his arms and hugging her spear to her chest. "Such macho idiocy…"

"Hehe, yes it is, but you love me regardless!" Erik grinned down at her as he continued moving towards the entrance. He could have been there already, but he took his time and walked at a mortal pace. "Although, if it makes you feel better, I'm also asking this to learn more about our empire's first targets, hehe."

Naeku rolled her eyes again, but she still smiled slightly. Her previous irritation had completely disappeared. "Fine! If you want to hear it so badly, I'll spill!"

"Honestly, though, there's not much to say," she shrugged indifferently. "I met with them because my father and I didn't want to insult their families too much, but I was never interested in a marriage to someone I didn't love."

She raised one finger and started telling him about one of her suitors. "Kudzai Khumalo from Azania was… fine. He treated me with respect and seemed kind enough to others. Honestly, if I had any interest in a political marriage, I probably would have picked him." She shook her head. "But there was no love there."

"Actually, I even considered him somewhat of a friend…" she chuckled with a hint of fondness, before frowning as her mood soured, "…you know, before his family and the rest of Azania chose to let us rot during the invasion."

Understanding her anger, Erik nodded calmly. He didn't mind that there was a man she once considered a friend, and he wouldn't even mind if that friendship was rekindled. He felt secure in her loyalty to him, and as soon as the bond was in place, it'd be almost impossible for her to develop feelings for someone else.

"Anyway," Naeku continued, quickly becoming indifferent again. "He wasn't particularly interested in our marriage, either. He was actually in love with a human girl back in Azania. Of course, his family would never accept that, so he's forced to follow his mother's wishes."

"Ah, a Romeo and Juliet romance," Erik chuckled, before his expression gained a hint of ridicule. "Except Romeo and Juliet at least had the courage to go against their family's wishes."

"Yeah, and they ended up dead for it," Naeku rolled her eyes in defense of her old friend. Clearly, there was still some fondness left for this Kudzai.

"Fair point…" Erik admitted wryly as he adjusted his grip on Naeku slightly. Even so, he filed this information away for later.

"As for the other one…" Naeku continued, her mood clearly souring when she talked about him. "Mbuya Ombwe is just an all-round piece of shit. Whenever he came to Enkare Nkai, he couldn't resist complaining that we, as shapeshifter rulers, tolerated the freedom of vampires and humans in our domain."

She snorted dismissively. "Of course, he's also rude, abrasive, and a misogynist, but it was his attitude towards vampires and humans that got me the most. If I ever had to take over rulership from my father, having Mbuya as my husband would be detrimental to my people! I'd never accept that! A marriage was never going to happen."

"I guess your father didn't want to interfere?" he asked, curiously.

"Of course not!" Naeku immediately exclaimed, puffing her chest out in pride. "He wouldn't dare! And I guess he loves me, too," she shrugged with playful indifference at the end.

"Weren't you ever tempted, though?" Erik continued with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, with the love you have for your people… I can't imagine you wouldn't have accepted a marriage with this Kudzai when the hunters invaded."

Wryly, Naeku smirked and nodded. "I guess so… I still wouldn't have accepted Mbuya, because I wouldn't trust him, but yeah, I did consider accepting the Khumalo's offer when it became clear we wouldn't be able to hold on alone. But by that time, they'd already retracted their offer."

She looked up at Erik with playful affection. "At the time, I actually felt some regret over not accepting it earlier, but now I thank my lucky stars for it." She smiled lovingly. "Not only were my people still saved, but I also got to marry for love after all!"

"Hehe, well I'm glad you saved yourself for me, even if you didn't know it yet," Erik chuckled fondly. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment and felt the emotions they felt for each other.

Eventually, however, Erik noticed they were approaching the entrance and raised an eyebrow. "So, what can we expect here? Are your suitors a good example of their family?"

Naeku sighed and shrugged wryly. "Sort of. The Ombwe as a whole aren't as rabid as Mbuya, I think, but they're not much better."

"As for the Khumalo…" she continued with pursed lips, clearly feeling more favourable towards them. "They're the only shapeshifter tribe in Azania with a third ranker at its head. The other two are both humans. Because of that, the Khumalo are forced to represent the entirety of the shapeshifter minority in Azania, and that's made them very pragmatic."

She continued thoughtfully. "Even if shapeshifters aren't actively persecuted in Azania, the Khumalo are always scrambling for any advantage they can use to strengthen the position of their kind. But… they've still got principles. They've refused to deal with the Packlands to their north, for example."

Understanding what she meant, Erik nodded. Since the Packlands were ruled by shapeshifters and bordered Azania, they were an easy choice to ally with for the Khumalo. Yet, the Packlands were ruled by people who were only marginally better than the hunters.

Meanwhile, they'd finally reached the rowdy entrance.