Choosing to say out of the Alliance, the Cinders are isolated in their own conflicts, and when Helia Cinder reaches to the void for answers, she inadvertently draws a creature out. Expecting to be eaten alive, she is instead left with a man with no...
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Vice watched Pyre go through paperwork in one of his remote, off-the-grid offices. To Shan's relief, the old grand mage had left the Sol castles for a bit, but Pyre would return for Helia eventually. Skimming through mage connections and ties, Pyre searched for any allies he could use to piece the Cinders back together.
Just because Pyre couldn't lead didn't mean he wouldn't help Helia in any way that he could, and it warmed Vice's heart as he watched the man so diligently devote himself to the life and happiness of his children. Stubborn, vampire-hating, and strict as he was, Pyre was a man worthy of his family and the love and admiration his people once gave him. Seeing him reduced to a supporting role pained Vice, but Pyre seemed less bothered by the demotion. Just focused. Always prepared for anything.
Wren was just outside the little complex, breathing deeply and composing himself to stand strong as the leader of the Songs despite just breaking down in Forest's arms. This was the third Cinder hideout Wren had checked, all three of them quite close to Talamayas' territory. Wren had assumed Pyre would be close to where Blaze had attacked, and he wasn't wrong. Pyre was just hanging around for different reasons.
Vice had been following Wren since a little after he'd arrived at the Copse complex. Talamayas had frightened the hell out of Helia when he'd burst through her door and collapsed on the ground in tears. He'd been barely making coherent sound, but Vice had known immediately that it was about Wren. No one else could uplift or break Talamayas quite like his mate. By the time Helia had found a robe to cover herself, Talamayas had already wept most of what had happened onto Stone's lap. Wren had allowed Talamayas to take him as a mate would, but after, Wren had been upset and fled.
Consent was of stronger importance to vampires than even humans, their moral code leaving no room for interpretation. Love and affection from one's mate was earned not given, and only the truly vile would take someone unwilling. Such an act would end them shunned or killed soon enough, even if the offender was a house head. It was disgraceful to the entire line, to use force to take that which was most precious between mates.
Talamayas was extremely skilled in the art of misinterpretation though, so Stone stayed to soothe Talamayas while Ghost went after Wren. Vice's mage master knew few safe places without his memories and he was prudent with his actions, so Wren predictably had gone to the Copses. To where Talamayas had told him was safe. That meant Wren wasn't avoiding Talamayas if he really wanted to chase after him, just getting some space. Wren also didn't look like he was upset about what Talamayas had done to him intimately, not after Forest had laughed at him. It seemed Wren was just upset about his memories, and though Stone conveyed that to Talamayas it did not help much.
Talamayas had always been a direct man, unable to believe what others said unless he could see and touch it. Until Wren returned and held Talamayas to calm him down, he would remain in shambles. If Wren had his memories, he would have never left Talamayas like this, broken, frightened, and desperate. It was so bad that Talamayas could not pry himself off of the floor to rest in his own room.
