[goddess of ducks]

Originally Posted by monfang

Every second he is here my heart cracks just that much more.

Onyx stepped closer, and he nuzzled his son's head up, so that his icy-blue eyes collided with the dark green ones of his son. "I know, Cassius, I know..." He said, holding every tear that threatened his eyes. "Cassius you must be strong for me, please." He said. He rubbed his head against Cassius', giving his muzzle a small lick. "Son, even when a king dies he has an heir. You, son, must take my place as king." He said, standing tall over him. "You have to part from your mother, and let the one I choose and the one Halite choose to teach you. This is hard, I know, but you told me you wanted to be king, and now is your chance to be the king you were born to be." He said, his blue eyes becoming bright. The pupils now gone as his eyes shone. "Take my gift, if will aid you in the future." He said, pressing his nose to Cassius's. The gift of sense. Onyx was well known for his amazing nose and so his son would benefit from it. "Your first goal is to become a fighter, in which Halite's chosen trainer will help you." He stopped and thought a moment. "Next, you must become a Guard. This is were my chosen trainer comes into play. Obey him, listen to him, he knows what you need to know." He said, and he looked down at Cassius. "Then I will be here, every step of the way, guiding you and training you with both of them." He sighed and padded back to his son, and he pulled him into his chest. "This is alot to take in, but I don't have much time..." He whispered and moved so he could look into his eyes. "You look so much like your Aunt. She had those same eyes." He said. He missed Salem, he missed Lynx, he most of all missed Maximum. Max was his anchor, and when she died the rope was cut. He felt horrible having to put so much on Cassius but he would break it down next time. For now, he had to process it all, and then accept it before they could meet again. But Onyx was not going to let Lilith, as much as he loved her, corrupt his son. His son.

He let Onyx nuzzle him, but Cassius was still in too much shock and grief right now to even focus on giving him the affection back. He looked up into his fathers eyes, the eyes that he had stared into so much as he wished to be like him. He felt a tear still sitting on his face. He had to be strong. Onyx wasn't crying, so neither would he. He used his paws to quickly wipe away the wetness on his face and stared into his fathers eyes, his gaze hard and stern. He would not let himself cry again. "Part from Lilith? Is it because she lied to me about what happened..." He asked, his voice forced, that way it would not crack, it would not break down. "And what about Ferox? Must I part from him too?" He asked, knowing his brother had never liked Onyx as much. But he still wanted to know if he would only go on with his trainers. It might be nice having a brother to stand beside, if Ferox would accept him... And he would have a chosen trainer, one chosen by Onyx, if only he knew who it was... He ignored the compliment, the show of affection. He had one question to ask that had been looming in his mind the whole time. "Dad, who did it?" He asked.

"Who killed the King?"