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The last fading rays of sunlight cast their eerie glow over what once had been a beautiful city, teeming with life. Meronna now stood in ruins, the smell of death, decay and burning flesh filling the air. What few had survived the battle had already come out of hiding and were now gathered at the western gates of the city as Alex, Vael and the others made their approach.

Alex didn't need to hear the sobbing of the survivors to know why they gathered but still he pushed past them franticly. When the young fox's eyes fell over the blackened, furless corpse - now impaled by his own blades - he simply froze. No screams of anger or cries of sorrow escaped him now, he simply stared for a few long moments before falling to his knees; his eyes never straying from the macabre sight.

Lyran came up beside Alex, one paw falling to the young prince's shoulder softly as he looked upon the corpse of Marcus Ashwood, the pain and sorrow reflecting silently in those amber orbs of his. "This isn't your fault," he managed to say, his voice quiet. "There's nothing we could have done."

"I could have saved him." Alex said at length, his eyes never leaving his fathers charred remains. "I could have fought bes-"

"Your father would never have let you," Lyran interrupted, shaking his head slowly. "He wouldn't have let you put your life in danger as well, Alexander."

The wolf's words tore at Alex's heart, even if he knew they were true. "I could have.. I should have been.. I-" For once, Alex truly couldn't find the words nor the will to protest, his words giving way to a quiet sob as his head slowly lowered and his eyes drew tightly shut.

Standing just beyond the gathering, Vael leaned against Dante - still not fully capable of supporting himself - staring through the crowd. "Why did this happen?" he asked, his voice too quiet to be heard by any but the squirrel at his side.

"We've been at war for generations," Dante explained, giving a long sigh before turning his attention to Vael; away from the sight of his fallen king. "It's been a silent conflict for so long that most of us had forgotten." A long pause fell between the two as Dante turned his gaze away from Vael but not to the remains. Instead, his eyes fell on the young prince. "It's not going to be silent any longer. All of HaLar will grieve with Alex and eventually, all of HaLar will stand ready with him."

Falling quiet with a long sigh, Vael started forward, pulling away from Dante slowly as he made his way towards Alex, stepping past him slowly. As he moved to remove the first blade from the fallen king's body, a young otter in the armor of a city guard suddenly grabbed Vael by the arm, "What are you doing?!" she demanded, staring daggers into Vael's back.

"Marcus Ashwood was a good man and an honorable king," Vael remarked, not turning to look at the guard though incapable of pulling away from them either, "he shouldn't be remembered like this."

"You have no right-" The guard started, her free hand reaching to draw her sword. Her words were cut short however as she felt a wolven paw grab her wrist and slam her sword back to the hilt into it's scabbard.

"He's right," Lyran growled at the guards-woman, "put your strength to better use and rally the survivors. Start tending to the dead in the city, we'll construct a pyre for Marcus out here." His words came with the weight of a command and though it puzzled the guard, she eventually nodded.

"Alright," said the otter, giving her fallen king one last look before turning on the crowd, "Alright, everyone clear out! We have a lot of bodies to clear out and give proper burials!"

~~~~~~

As he walked through the silent ruins of the city's market district, Dante couldn't help but let his eyes wander. The level of destruction astonished and disgusted him but even for all he hated in what he now saw, to some degree it actually fascinated him.

Lost in the moment, the slender squirrel made his way into the half-broken remains of what once had been a clothier shop. Studying the strewn clothing the broken mannequins, a thin smile drew across his face.

"I almost forgot how much you enjoy the silence after a battle." came a quiet, raspy voice from behind the squirrel, bidding him to turn to face the humanoid figure lurking in the darkness of what once had been a changing room.

The figure's ashen skin shown slick and wet against the few rays of light that found their way through into the darkness. Crimson eyes peered out from above a toothy, fanged grin and it's wild raven hair left short and tussled.

"Hello, Sharduul," Dante sighed, chucking quietly. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

The figure's grin grew wider, as if it's face were splitting along the jawline to better reflect it's wicked glee. "Tell me, why did you help to bring that boy back from Ephiran?"

"Repaying a favor to an old wolf." Dante said with a shrug, turning away from the demonic figure, "She saved our lives a few years back, remember?"

Sharduul's wicked grin suddenly twisted into a grimace as he shivers, growling, "I wish I didn't remember. She always did make me uncomfortable."

Dante laughed quietly as he picked up a ash-covered vest, shaking the soot from it as he studied the cyan silk. "I know, but we still owed her a lot and a simple tug was a good price paid for our lives, right?"

"Right, well at least we're not in her debt." mused the demonic figure, rolling his crimson eyes, "Seriously? You're not putting us in that. honestly, who comes up with these colors?" he added, making a face as he looked to the brightly colored vest.

Dante opened his mouth to argue, but the words were cut short by a quiet scream and a sudden crash from the back rooms. Giving Sharduul a momentary look, Dante just shook his head and started to search.

Stalking quietly into the back rooms, the squirrel's left hand pumped open and closed slowly, over and over again as he looked around. Catching sight of a sudden movement, Dante quickly slung a series of fabric bolts, once propped up with care - now singed beyond the point of salvaging - aside.

Another quick scream rang in his ears as the fabric bolts hit toppled, revealing a young feline girl, her clothing tattered and torn - the hem still smoking faintly - and her fur singed and matted.

"Don't hurt me!" she pleaded, curling up into a ball suddenly and covering her head with her paws. "Leave me alone!"

Dante just frowned, shaking his head as he slowly knelt down beside the sobbing kitten. "No one is going to hurt you." he said quietly, offering a reassuring smile. "You're safe now, the Imperial soldiers have gone."

Slowly, the frightened kitten peeked out from behind her paws, tears still falling from her lavender eyes and rolling down her cheeks as she peered up at the squirrel. She didn't say anything for a long few moments, studying the strange squirrel, though she dared not return his smile.

"Come on, lets get you something to wear." Dante remarked, standing and offering the kitten a hand to help her up. "I bet if we looked we could manage to find something decent that wasn't completely destroyed."

Still studying the squirrel and wiping the tears from her eyes, the feline girl hesitantly took Dante's hand, letting him help her to his feet. Perhaps he /was/ telling her the truth? She barely dared to hope but for the moment, hope seemed to be all she had.

~~~~~~

As the sun set over the western skies, all those still left in the once proud city of Meronna stood deep within the heart of the city around the massive pyre erected in the town square. Atop the wooden structure, bound in the finest cloth to mask his brutally disfigured form, lay Marcus, once the proud king of Meronna; his simple iron crown placed carefully atop his chest.

Lyran slowly approached the wooden structure, carefully pulling a torch from it's place in a nearby brazier and as the last shreds of light faded from the sky, he set torch to tinder and bowed his head low.

"Marcus was a kind and generous man, a benevolent king and a dear friend," Lyran called to the masses gathered, his voice carrying clearly through the cooling air, hiding well the crippling pain in the massive wolf's heart. "Tonight it is with heavy hearts that we offer him to the Eternal Flame to light his way to Lan`Kaar."

As the flames engulfed the body lain atop the pyre, everyone bowed their heads in prayer, souls crying fond farewells to their beloved king. Every head bowed except one. Standing among the masses, trapped somewhere between tears and agony stood Alex, watching the flames as they slowly ate away at the man who had taught him so much.

As the flames crackled and sent embers into the heavens like dozens of fireflies, Alex could only stare in disbelief. From afar, Lyran noticed the young prince, saw the pain in his eyes as he slowly turned and walked into the darkness towards the Great Hall and gave a slow sigh, shaking his head slowly as if to ward away the sorrow that threatened to cripple the wolf even now.

Seeing Alex departing, Vael looked up, watching him for a moment before trying to follow after him, but before he could, a feline paw suddenly gripped his shoulder. A gentle tug pulled Vael to meet eye to eye with a familiar face.

"Katarina," Vael sighed, apparently startled by her sudden appearance. "I-"

Before Vael could say anything more Katarina forced a feint smile, "Alexander has lost a great deal," she said, her soft voice doing well to hide her sorrow, "He could use something good in his life right about now..."

~~~~~~

The silence in the dark of the once beautiful tower was deafening, the moon casting it's soft glow over the room through the large hole blown in the wall during the siege. Sitting slumped in the middle of it all was Alex, his ears folded back and a pained look ever present in his eyes.

Having stood in silence in the hall, peering in through the broken door for several moments, Vael gave a quiet sigh and walked in, making his way to the swordsman.

"Alex..?" he said quietly, pausing until the vulpine prince cast a glance at him. He would have said more, but no words were enough - would ever be enough - to console him at this moment.

Alex stared for a long few moments into those violet eyes before he suddenly lurched forward, throwing his arms around Vael's waist and burying his face into the white fox's tunic.

Vael remained still a moment. He didn't pull away, but rather reached down, guiding a paw under Alex's chin to gently pull his gaze up. Once again Alex found himself staring into those beautiful eyes, but only for a moment this time before he felt Vael's lips brush against his own tenderly.

In that moment, the prince's pain and sorrow faded. In that brief moment, he no longer felt that he was alone in the world. With a gentle tug, he pulled Vael close, feeling the weight of the slender white fox against his lap as he pulled him into another kiss; deeper this time than before.

Vael welcomed the embrace, leaning into the kiss as he was pulled onto the swordsman's lap. Draping his arms around his shoulders, Vael leaned forward, pushing Alex gently back against the bed.

Caught in the moment, Alex gave Vael's tunic a gentle tug, pulling it off easily as he looked up into those beautiful violet eyes. Another gentle tug at the white fox's belt loosened his trousers, allowing him to kick them off easily.

With a slight pink hue creeping along his cheeks, Vael started to undress Alex, tugging his tunic off easily enough. He blushed all the more however, when he found himself fiddling with the clasp of the swordsman's belt a little too long.

Alex gave a quiet snicker as he flicked a finger across the clasp of the belt, unbuckling it with ease and kicking off his own trousers. Vael leaned in again, brushing another kiss across the swordsman's lips as he slid up, his crotch grinding slowly against the swordsman's sheath as his length slowly slid from it.

Rising hesitantly, Vael straitened his back, gasping softly as he felt Alex's tip gently pressing against his slit. He paused a moment to smile down at Alex - and perhaps to calm his already racing heart - before sinking down around the swordsman's shaft.

Slowly taking in every inch of the swordsman's length, Vael's cheeks flushed with a pink hue, inner muscles spasming slightly around the intruding shaft. After only a moment to adjust, Vael rose again, slowly taking on a rhythmic motion, sliding slowly along every inch of Alex's member.

Alex propped himself on an elbow after long - already panting softly from the sensation of Vael's inner walls squeezing around his length - and pulled Vael into yet another loving kiss, tongue slipping past his open lips to dance against Vael's as he moved.

Alex's free paw slid from Vael's chin to his hips as their ecstasy continued to build. Vael could feel the knot forming below him with each fall and as it reached it neared it's full size, Alex gripped tight and pulled him down against it, pushing it in with a soft, wet pop.

Vael's head snapped back, a loud, gasping moan escaping him, fueled by a sudden wave of pleasure and pain as his inner walls stretched to their limit, instinctively clenching down around the knot as he felt Alex's warm seed spill into him.

After a few moments, Alex wrapped his arms around Vael, pulling him down to lay against him, the two panting quietly as they relaxed.

"I love you," Alex said at length as he held Vael close, his words carrying across a feint murrring sound.

"I love you too," Vael managed quietly between soft pants, shivering slightly from the feel of Alex's still throbbing member.

As they lay in each others arms, the pain of their reality faded away, hidden behind the veil of bliss they'd found in that moment. Neither gave thought to the ruined city below, nor the hardship which lay ahead. For the moment, only one thing truly mattered.