[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft]Luminous had been here before and so she was less nervous this time around. Still, it was always good to have a touch of reassurance and so she set out in hopes of finding someone to give such assurance. She had not traveled far before she decided she needed a break, stopping in the shade and enjoying the cool breeze that drifted through the trees.

@Baneful Thanks so much!

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King of Shadows didn't interact with people very often outside of his direct tribemates, he was moody, elusive and generally not all that pleasant. However, sometimes a kin would catch his eye and give him cause to step out of the shadows. This particular doe was just that sort of kin, and after admiring her attractive markings and antlers for a time - with just a hint of vanity himself - he stepped forward, all four of his strange eyes glowing in an interested sort of way at her.

"A pleasant sort of day." he said, with a rakish curl of a smile.

"What brings you here?"

@lolternative

Luminous started for a moment, so relaxed and lost in her own thoughts before giving a dip of her head in greeting. "It is quite pleasant now that I'm out of the sun," she replied, squinting as she looked in the sun's direction as if to chastise it for doing what it has always done.

"I am with child," she said, matter-of-factly - nothing else needed to be said, right? "This is the second time for me. The first time I received some reassurance and things went smoothly. I'd hoped for the same." She shifted in her place and rose.

"And yourself? Just out for a stroll?"

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This information only seemed to broaden King's smile, revealing a set of very keen sharp teeth. "Oh." he said. "Quite a few creatures come my way looking for the blessing of the fairy king. Few receive it."

His tail curled thoughtfully at his heels. "I was watching you." he said, as if this was normal and not at all an unsettling sort of occupation. "You interest me."

Shaking his head he set the boughs of flowers in his antlers rattling. "I do not offer reassurance. Birth is a dangerous business, where a mother steps into the veil of death itself to retrieve her little lives and does not always return whole from the experience. I do not tell lies in this regard."

He moved, circling her at a distance like a hungry wolf, the fire in his eyes dancing.

"Why should I ask the darkness to spare you?"

@lolternative

Luminous paused for a moment, wondering if she had perhaps made a mistake venturing on her quest. He could give a blessing but could he also give a curse if she displeased him? However, there was an air of arrogance around him and she frowned for a brief moment before she dipped her head low.

"Shall I let another have the glory, then?" she asked, her eyes meeting his. "I sought out the king of the fairies for I believed his blessing and his alone was worthy of my children but perhaps I have been mistaken."

She waited before she responded. "I would not expect to receive something for nothing. If you would ask a price of me, I will make effort to pay it if it is within my ability to do so."

@Baneful

King seemed to find this very amusing, cackling out loud.

"Glory." he drawled with an edge of derision. "There is little in the way of glory in new life. Only death brings glory." Life was the domain of Fair, not him.

But his eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect of a deal made.

"You'd offer a price?" he said, and there was something crocodilian in his smile as it broadened. "A price, I could accept."

He circled her still, thoughtfully. "How about a price to be decided later? One day I will ask something of you, and you will give me what I ask for. In exchange, I will bless you with more than you might otherwise have gained."

@lolternative

Luminous noticed the smile and wondered if perhaps she had made a mistake in offering a price - especially one she would be agreeing to without knowing the outcome. She watched him closely as he circled her and weighed her options before giving a simple nod of her head. "I accept to these terms."

Whatever he asked of her would be worth it for the health of her children.

@Baneful