Ilragorn

"I have no orders regarding you, you're free to go."

Aru growled, the sound dangerously close to animalistic as his hands lowered, the pouch dropping from them as he stepped forward. He jerked still at Avery's voice.

"Aru, no... Don't.. Neither of you touch the other... Kyori... Why..."

"I was given orders. Surely you've heard that kings are starting population control? If they hear of a newborn child and feel even the slightest threat to the throne, they coerce people into disposing of the child and possibly the mother. I can't bring myself to do it directly this time. Your baby is fine, but that knife was coated in poison. You have a choice. You can allow your baby to live, but you yourself have a choice of succumbing to the poison's effects. Or, you can drink this antidote, but one of the ingredients will kill your child. What is your choice, Avery?"

Aru bristled again, angry tears on his face as his eyes remained trained on Kiyori, hands shaking at his side. "And they called me a monster," he croaked, fighting with himself as his voice shook, "when it's people like you that go and steal things from people."

"Sometimes even monsters have their reasons for doing something, little one."

"Aru, no.. So I choose physical pain or the mental pain of losing my child. What a horrid situation. How bad will this pain be?"

"Excruciating."

"You've been put through this too, haven't you? I choose the pain, if means my little one has a chance."

Aru started and looked at Avery, then back at the woman, then away as his expression shadowed, feathers still standing high. "Why does everything have to always be pain or death," he whispered, tone broken. His fist clenched and he pulled away, putting distance between himself and them as he sat against a wall, sinking down and pulling his knees up. His voice grew quieter as he hid his face. "No one has the right to take from people. All it does Is hurt others. Why...?"

"You're a child, it wouldn't make sense for you to-"

"I suggest you get out. I want nothing more than to kill you for what you just said to my son. But that would make the monster I once was. And I can't be her anymore. So, leave, Kiyori, before you get more than what you deserve at the moment."

Aru's eyes widened a little as he hic-uped again, wiping an eye with the heel of his hand. His feathers sank just a little, not as on Point, but when he spotted the blood, they flattened as he bit his lip, shaking.

"It was nice to see you again, Avery. Let's hope I don't come back."

"Aru, grab the bandages and herbs, please."

Aru hastily dried his face and leapt up, grabbing the bandages and the herbs, then made his way to Avery. He stayed quiet, minus the sniffling as he tried to control himself again, but his chin still shivered and eyes threatened to spill again.

"Thank you.You don't have to stay here, this isn't going to be pretty. You can go lie down, I'll be there when I'm done."

Aru gave a hard shake of his head. "No. I want to help..."

"I'm sorry about this, Aru. Maybe if I had sent you with Zay, none of this would have happened. I never want you to feel like you're going to be left alone."

He shook his head again and grabbed a rag, wetting it from the water near the fire pit and walked back over, wiping the blood away carefully, trying to ignore the black. "No," he croaked, voice quiet. "Something worse could've happened, and then Zay and I would've came back and wouldn't have known what happened...." He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, pulling the other back as he sat in the other chair in front of her. The grip on the rag tightened, and he looked down. "Why do I feel so hot...." he wiped his nose, eyes watering again. "Is this what being angry feels like...?"