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+--- Thread: PRP drowning in my fears, i'm calling out your name (/showthread.php?tid=11823)
drowning in my fears, i'm calling out your name - Tiberii - 5/25/2026
RE: drowning in my fears, i'm calling out your name - Shiloh - 5/25/2026
Typically, Shiloh wasn't one for "naps." Since his rebirth, his body felt heavy - as his armor once had when he was still gaining the musculature needed for knighthood. He fared better than he had in the days before, but he still grew tired as he idled in wait for Tiberii's return.
He didn't want to be stifling, even when every instinct screamed at him to not let her out of his sight. Because if he did, what would happen in his absence? Would the balances of fate, of the living and the dead, tip against him to take what he had forbidden it?
Shiloh found himself biting the inside of his cheek until it bled when his paws itched to seek her out constantly, but it did little good as he often went to find her anyways despite the tactile reminder that she did not need him looming.
She was fine, she would be fine. The world was at ease, but concern still dug its way beneath his new and younger skin.
Why couldn't he trust the universe like his sister did, even when it tore at her flesh with ragged hands?
Shiloh had only just drifted off when the atmosphere changed from calm to charged. The air shifted, moving around the large frame occupying the entrance and stymying the flow of fresh air into the space.
The change, though subtle beneath the blanket of slumber, was enough to rouse the lion from his sleep. Stormcloud eyes cracked open and he tipped his muzzle in Tiberii's direction a moment before a sleepy grin sprawled across it.
Waking up to the sight of her was a silver lining he normally appreciated, but something about her affect quickly raveled it into a flat line as concern etched across his features.
She... wanted to talk? Why did the request feel heavy, like lead in his hands? A flash of concern swept through him, leaving none of him untouched. Though he hadn't let himself think such things in the weeks following his return, now he couldn't entirely shove away the idea that maybe this was it - the moment she found him unworthy. Had something changed and he hadn't even noticed? He was normally so in tune to her, as she was to him, but she had been waking up before him lately...
Maybe she was eager to part from him and hoped he wouldn't be awake to notice while she prepared herself for this revelation.
He lifted his head from his paws as she drew nearer, trying valiantly to ignore the kick of his heart beneath his sternum.
Shiloh swallowed his own thoughts, permitting them no space until he heard it from her mouth. He pushed himself into a sitting position, scooching over to give her plenty of space at his side or before him, whichever she took advantage of.
He didn't want to be stifling, even when every instinct screamed at him to not let her out of his sight. Because if he did, what would happen in his absence? Would the balances of fate, of the living and the dead, tip against him to take what he had forbidden it?
Shiloh found himself biting the inside of his cheek until it bled when his paws itched to seek her out constantly, but it did little good as he often went to find her anyways despite the tactile reminder that she did not need him looming.
She was fine, she would be fine. The world was at ease, but concern still dug its way beneath his new and younger skin.
Why couldn't he trust the universe like his sister did, even when it tore at her flesh with ragged hands?
Shiloh had only just drifted off when the atmosphere changed from calm to charged. The air shifted, moving around the large frame occupying the entrance and stymying the flow of fresh air into the space.
The change, though subtle beneath the blanket of slumber, was enough to rouse the lion from his sleep. Stormcloud eyes cracked open and he tipped his muzzle in Tiberii's direction a moment before a sleepy grin sprawled across it.
O' course I am - was waitin' for ye, musta dozed off,he murmured in a voice still roughened by sleep. A teasing, but affectionate, cord wove through his words as he added,
How can I stay asleep when ye call for me?
Waking up to the sight of her was a silver lining he normally appreciated, but something about her affect quickly raveled it into a flat line as concern etched across his features.
She... wanted to talk? Why did the request feel heavy, like lead in his hands? A flash of concern swept through him, leaving none of him untouched. Though he hadn't let himself think such things in the weeks following his return, now he couldn't entirely shove away the idea that maybe this was it - the moment she found him unworthy. Had something changed and he hadn't even noticed? He was normally so in tune to her, as she was to him, but she had been waking up before him lately...
Maybe she was eager to part from him and hoped he wouldn't be awake to notice while she prepared herself for this revelation.
He lifted his head from his paws as she drew nearer, trying valiantly to ignore the kick of his heart beneath his sternum.
Tiberii? What's wrong?he questioned as his brows knitted.
C'mere, we can talk. Always.
Shiloh swallowed his own thoughts, permitting them no space until he heard it from her mouth. He pushed himself into a sitting position, scooching over to give her plenty of space at his side or before him, whichever she took advantage of.
RE: drowning in my fears, i'm calling out your name - Tiberii - 6/1/2026
RE: drowning in my fears, i'm calling out your name - Shiloh - 6/1/2026
He watched her with the focus of someone whose life depended on it. The stormy depths of his eyes did not stray from her form, attempting to decipher the features of her visage for signs of what lay ahead of him.
Shiloh had a built-in cypher for Tiberii's expression, but she gave little away this time. There was worry, of course, but his mind spun to determine what would worry her so gravely. All was well when he returned to their den, eager to curl up in a small corner of the world that was comprised of and belonged to just them.
It had become his favorite part of the day. No matter where the morning and afternoon took them, they were always drawn back here - to their own combined space. A ritual forged from their bond, reinforced by the devotion they individually felt.
Or so he hoped.
It was no great secret he spent many of his years of life a reluctant party to commitment. Sometimes, he almost couldn't comprehend how he'd gotten here - only that he'd do whatever it took to keep it. There was always a buffer between himself and others, a line he forbade anyone or himself to cross. But in Tiberii, all of his rules were meaningless. She tore into his life with the might of a hurricane and he embraced the storm.
When Tiberii consumed the space between them and her frame melded to his, his shoulders lost their tension at her touch. He wove his muzzle along the slope of her neck and shoulder, his chin notched over one side as a means to pull her closer. Her scent surrounded him and the initial brunt of his worries evaporated.
If she was going to drop the executioner's axe, surely she would not have drawn in so close. His chest inflated with his next deep breath-
... and then stilled at her words.
For a moment, he forgot what words meant. The sounds echoed in his ear, vibrated in his bones, but their meanings were all lost on him. Silence reigned as his brain caught up, its wheels spinning, digging furtively in an effort to make progress.
Pregnant.
As in, the promise of imminent children.
Panic flooded him with a vengeance, his heartbeat racing as her confession finally took root. The world rushed back in around him, the ringing in his ears replaced with each draw of breath from his lungs and hers. Everything was louder than it had been before, he was sure, and he felt the compulsion to...
Do something.
Being stationary worked against his every instinct; as a knight commander, he was meant to lead the charge. He had the answer to every problem, the solution to every initiative. Everyone followed his example, his orders were spoken with steadfast confidence and with the resolute capability he earned with every sacrifice.
No one doubted him, not even himself most of time.
But that little voice he often wanted to strangle crooned with a siren's song when his defenses lowered. And now, in the wake of Tiberii's admission, those walls had all but crumbled at his paws.
Shiloh craned his head back so he could fix Tiberii with his own gaze, searching her expression for any sign that he had misheard her.
There were moments, times when he wondered what it would be like to nurture a family like the one he'd come from - but he rarely allowed his mind to venture too far. During his years in the Guard, he didn't even entertain it. There was no way he would risk leaving behind a widow and fatherless children in the wake of his inevitable death.
Shiloh fully intended to die on the battlefield, and he did just that. More recently, he died to protect Tiberii. He would do it again, so many times over. And now?
What if he couldn't protect them? He managed to save Tiberii, but was there enough of him to defend a family? To keep them safe and warm, free of the horrors of the world?
Was he enough? Could he be half the father his own was?
He had to be more careful. He had to be present now, more than ever before; Shiloh wouldn't let his children grow up without a father.
Shiloh's throat bobbed as the doubt pulsed through him, turning his stomach.
But beneath the panic, something else lurked. Something brighter, as warm as the sun. An emotion so intense it stung the back of his eyes and he was certain he would fall to pieces beneath its onslaught. Its creep was slow, but its touch all-consuming as it blanketed itself over him and his shellshocked expression gave way to a grin so wide it threatened to crack his face in half.
He couldn't have given the feeling a name if anyone asked him; it was effervescent, simultaneous heavy enough to pin him to the spot but also leave him light as air. Pride, elation, and a wellspring of adoration for the woman before him fought for first place in his chest - even as concern lingered.
There was so much to do and process and he was sure his euphoria at the news would crash at some point as reality set in, and he realized what lay ahead - all they would have to prepare for - but for now, he let it crash over him.
He eliminated the space between them again, planting a steady series of kisses along her muzzle and face with enough enthusiasm he might have been close to pushing her over before he caught himself and withdrew. His tail thumped the ground of their den in a frantic tempo as he redirected the energy he reined back in.
The idea was foreign, really; he never thought he would get this far. It seemed like a chapter he never saw himself having, an aspect of life forbidden to him. But now, it wasn't.
A million questions rose to his tongue and, after a cleansing blink, his eyes looked over.
When he finally wrangled the inquiries back upon realizing he was likely overwhelming her, he closed his mouth with an audible click of his teeth.
Shiloh had a built-in cypher for Tiberii's expression, but she gave little away this time. There was worry, of course, but his mind spun to determine what would worry her so gravely. All was well when he returned to their den, eager to curl up in a small corner of the world that was comprised of and belonged to just them.
It had become his favorite part of the day. No matter where the morning and afternoon took them, they were always drawn back here - to their own combined space. A ritual forged from their bond, reinforced by the devotion they individually felt.
Or so he hoped.
It was no great secret he spent many of his years of life a reluctant party to commitment. Sometimes, he almost couldn't comprehend how he'd gotten here - only that he'd do whatever it took to keep it. There was always a buffer between himself and others, a line he forbade anyone or himself to cross. But in Tiberii, all of his rules were meaningless. She tore into his life with the might of a hurricane and he embraced the storm.
When Tiberii consumed the space between them and her frame melded to his, his shoulders lost their tension at her touch. He wove his muzzle along the slope of her neck and shoulder, his chin notched over one side as a means to pull her closer. Her scent surrounded him and the initial brunt of his worries evaporated.
If she was going to drop the executioner's axe, surely she would not have drawn in so close. His chest inflated with his next deep breath-
... and then stilled at her words.
For a moment, he forgot what words meant. The sounds echoed in his ear, vibrated in his bones, but their meanings were all lost on him. Silence reigned as his brain caught up, its wheels spinning, digging furtively in an effort to make progress.
Pregnant.
As in, the promise of imminent children.
Panic flooded him with a vengeance, his heartbeat racing as her confession finally took root. The world rushed back in around him, the ringing in his ears replaced with each draw of breath from his lungs and hers. Everything was louder than it had been before, he was sure, and he felt the compulsion to...
Do something.
Being stationary worked against his every instinct; as a knight commander, he was meant to lead the charge. He had the answer to every problem, the solution to every initiative. Everyone followed his example, his orders were spoken with steadfast confidence and with the resolute capability he earned with every sacrifice.
No one doubted him, not even himself most of time.
But that little voice he often wanted to strangle crooned with a siren's song when his defenses lowered. And now, in the wake of Tiberii's admission, those walls had all but crumbled at his paws.
Shiloh craned his head back so he could fix Tiberii with his own gaze, searching her expression for any sign that he had misheard her.
Pregnant?he echoed, framing the word as a query, thoroughly bemused. His eyes were wider than he thought they'd ever been before, his jaw held faintly ajar.
There were moments, times when he wondered what it would be like to nurture a family like the one he'd come from - but he rarely allowed his mind to venture too far. During his years in the Guard, he didn't even entertain it. There was no way he would risk leaving behind a widow and fatherless children in the wake of his inevitable death.
Shiloh fully intended to die on the battlefield, and he did just that. More recently, he died to protect Tiberii. He would do it again, so many times over. And now?
What if he couldn't protect them? He managed to save Tiberii, but was there enough of him to defend a family? To keep them safe and warm, free of the horrors of the world?
Was he enough? Could he be half the father his own was?
He had to be more careful. He had to be present now, more than ever before; Shiloh wouldn't let his children grow up without a father.
Shiloh's throat bobbed as the doubt pulsed through him, turning his stomach.
But beneath the panic, something else lurked. Something brighter, as warm as the sun. An emotion so intense it stung the back of his eyes and he was certain he would fall to pieces beneath its onslaught. Its creep was slow, but its touch all-consuming as it blanketed itself over him and his shellshocked expression gave way to a grin so wide it threatened to crack his face in half.
He couldn't have given the feeling a name if anyone asked him; it was effervescent, simultaneous heavy enough to pin him to the spot but also leave him light as air. Pride, elation, and a wellspring of adoration for the woman before him fought for first place in his chest - even as concern lingered.
There was so much to do and process and he was sure his euphoria at the news would crash at some point as reality set in, and he realized what lay ahead - all they would have to prepare for - but for now, he let it crash over him.
He eliminated the space between them again, planting a steady series of kisses along her muzzle and face with enough enthusiasm he might have been close to pushing her over before he caught himself and withdrew. His tail thumped the ground of their den in a frantic tempo as he redirected the energy he reined back in.
Tiberii...his words faltered as emotion worked its way into his throat, cutting his words off as his eyes searched hers. Wonder filled his gaze as he simply stared at her for a moment longer.
I'm going t'be a father?
The idea was foreign, really; he never thought he would get this far. It seemed like a chapter he never saw himself having, an aspect of life forbidden to him. But now, it wasn't.
A million questions rose to his tongue and, after a cleansing blink, his eyes looked over.
Are ye okay? Are they? When did ye find out?the questions began to spill before he could close the flow of them. His gaze lifted to hers, brows pleated.
What do I need to do? What do ye need?
When he finally wrangled the inquiries back upon realizing he was likely overwhelming her, he closed his mouth with an audible click of his teeth.