Wings Of fire: Shadowstalker

Chapter 9: Futures

Shadow led in his bed after the date, just thinking to himself as he stared up at the ceiling. Everything has gone well, spectacular even. The prince pulled a blanket over himself as he relaxed on his large soft bed, all sprawled out and cozy. Perhaps Sulu was wrong, because Mindwatcher hadn't shown any signs of ill intent.

A knock echoed on his door and he quickly scrambled up to answer it. He looked down to see his mother. "Oh, good evening mother." He smiled as he lowered his head down to her.

"So how was your little date? The whole kingdom is talking about it!" Moonglow said excitedly. "Was it fun? Was she nice? Did you compliment her!?" She exclaimed. Darkstalker chuckled from above, sitting in the doorway with his wife. His head lowered down so he could see his son better.

"How was it?" Darkstalker asked. "I'm just as eager as your mother to hear about it." He rumbled with a smile.

Shadow's snout got all red. "It- it was nice- and yes I did- I complimented her and bought dinner so don't worry!" He said quickly. "We had a nice time.."

"I'm glad, and gerh proud of you son." Darkstalker ruffled his head a little, making Shadow huffed and paw at his talon. "But.. I have seen a dark path, and a path of pain, one with happiness too."

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked. "With her.?"

"Yes.. I just want to let you know ahead of time. I don't want you to be hurt, or worse." Darkstalker's expresion was sincere, and he has worry in his eyes. Something Shadow hadn't seen in a long time. "There's one where she betrays you, one where she parts ways with you, and another where you two live happily. That one is hard to make out."

"So it's..the least likely? No- no I can give us a happy life. I'll make sure of it." Shadow said confidently. He always trusted his father, but he wanted to give happiness a chance.

"I thought I could do that too, with Clearsight. It didn't work out, not that I regret what happened. Your mother and I are happy together. She is more than I could've ever asked for, or more than I ever could deserve."

"So what does that mean?" Shadow asked.

"It means, just because she is your first girlfriend doesn't mean she's the one. She tried so hard to fix me, make me how she wanted." Darkstalker grumbled. "And I couldn't let her do that. Moonglow loves me for who I am, she saw past my mistakes and said I deserved another chance."

"That's right." Moonglow reached up and rubbed her husband's claw gently. "I saw his soft side, and I knew he needed love. We both set some boundaries, and we agreed to them. We haven't broken them in our almost decade long marriage."

"I suppose, yeah.." Shadow said with a nod. He understood what they were getting at, but he did like her a lot. "So boundaries then?" He asked. Darkstalker nodded with a smile.

"That's a good start, but try to avoid having eggs, at least for now. For both our sake and yours." Darkstalker huffed. "I already feel old enough as is."

"Oh ha ha. I don't plan on having any soon, so don't worry." Shadow said with a chuckle. "And I just wanna take it slow, enjoy our time together." He smiled.

"Alright then. We are off to bed." Darkstalker said softly before yawning. "Goodnight son, sleep well."

"Goodnight father. Goodnight mother." Shadow said as he waved, then he closed the door. "Hm.." He sighed and climbed into bed. It was running through his head now. He wasn't sure how to feel or what to do, because he wanted to have a happy, lasting relationship. His wings tucked close as he thought about the possibilities.

"Great... Now I can't sleep." Shadow sighed. "Ugh.." He got back up and went to his desk before sitting in a chair. All he could think of doing was drawing until he felt tired. There wasn't much else he could do to distract himself. Outside on his balcony, he heard a slight thump and he turned to see Mindwatcher. "Oh!" He perked up and gestured her inside. She opened the large wooden doors and made her way in.

"You know, you oughta lock these. Someone could easily sneak in." She teased.

"Okay okay but what are you doing here?" Shadow smiled whole bringing his head down to her, and she proceeded to pat his nose.

"I got lonely, wanted to see you. You big adorable teddy bear." Mindwatcher snickered. "I brought you something." The prince felt his tail sway slowly while she pat his snout. He couldn't stop it from moving while she did, but he didn't mind it either. A wooden box was set on the floor. She opened it to reveal several cookies.

"Oh you didn't.."

"I did." She grinned. "Here.." She smiled and offered him one, which he ate out of her talon quickly. He licked some crumbs off his snout before moving down for more. "Have as many as you want. I knew you'd love this." She giggled. He just grunted and took three out of the box before munching on them, resting his head next to her.

"These are so good..who made them?"

"Just a friend of mine. She owns a shop downtown."

"Well they are spectacularly delicious.." Shadow smiled and continued eating them. His tail kept swaying and they took his mind off of what his father said. "Thank you.. I needed this."

"Something is wrong. I know that look, talk to me.." She said calmly, reaching for his face while rubbing his scales. The prince sighed and told her about the futures and possibilities with them. He was pretty worried and scared they could lose their happy future. The two exchanged hugs for a moment before she looked up at him.

"I know you're worried, but.. we're going to be happy together, I promise." Mindwatcher said soflty. "Okay?"

"Okay.." Shadow rumbled. "Thank you for coming tonight.. you can stay here with me."

"I'd love that." Mindwatcher pat his nose. The two climbed into his bed and led beside each other, getting comfortable. "Just don't roll onto me." She teased.

"I won't!" He laughed. "I would never."

"Mm, we'll see." She kissed his cheek before snuggling up to his chest. "Just don't worry about the future, worry about now. We're together and that's all that matters."

"Right.. of course." He smiled. "You and me. Partners." He hummed quietly as he drifted off into sleep.