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Narinder feels immensely torn, on one hand his ego is indeed bruised from the loss. On the other hand, he is very satisfied that his chosen mate would prove to be so strong and surpass his expectations.
Despite his sour mood from the decisive loss he still follows the lamb willingly around the cult grounds. This is the life he will be building with his mate once he recovers his pride. Surely, the lamb will understand his need for some space after such a charged event. The fight had been exhilarating but he was indeed upset by his mates initial refusal to die for him.
He had determined from a very young age that he would not tolerate a mate who was weaker than himself. They needed to be strong enough to stand in any fight and smart enough to know when they should. He dated a few prospects in his youth but most quickly proved they could not stand by him and his siblings. Once he became a full fledged god of death his romantic prospects dropped to zero, still he felt no need to lower his standards even when his siblings did. Then, after many millennia, a sweet and deadly lamb entered his prison…
They were wonderful to spend time with and vicious to their enemies. Truly, it wasn’t long before Narinder began to reciprocate the affections they knew the lamb felt for himself. The love and devotion from the beautiful beast’s mind was unparalleled but not enough for Narinder to abandon his principles. Their defeat of his siblings and dedication to free him was more than enough to prove that his affection was not ill placed, however, this lamb was powerless without his crown. It was deeply heart breaking to meet someone so perfect under such unfortunate circumstances. Perhaps in another life where he had not been imprisoned the lamb could have earned a crown of their own and stood by his side. Alas, the beautiful beast would only serve as a weakness once he was free. While he was formidable even before his crown it is not a power he would simply give up, even for love. After much deliberation he had come to the conclusion that the lamb had earned their place in his heart, and since a crown could not sit on two heads, he would sacrifice his love so they could serve as the bed rock of new heights of power and ensure no other could harm him or win his affection. This seemed like a reasonable and dare he say, romantic compromise. The unmatched level of the lambs devotion would elevate his power to previously unimagined heights and the lamb would be safe and comfortable in his domain. Forever in his loving embrace, they would both rest easy knowing they kept each other safe and in their hearts. The world would end eventually as all things do and they would reunite in the sweet oblivion of death. He certainly wouldn’t allow them to reunite with the universe to be born again. They would stay safe and happy for eternity…..
Then they had dared to stand against him….
He had been livid, not only did the one he had allow into his heart not meet his standards in power but they had been a fool who would start an ill advised fight against the very being they thought to hold so close to their heart. The threatened suffering would be well earned for the pain they had caused him.
When fighting though, he felt their own pain. He supposes this is reasonable given the knowledge that the lamb held no similar expectations in a relationship, clearly they could not comprehend the mercy of his gift. However, to Narinder’s surprise the lamb had not only held their own but defeated him even in his strongest form. The beast who was not yet a god and had no eldritch form to speak of had defeated not only his siblings but even himself. Truly a beautiful beast worthy of his love. He did not expect their mercy even still, he had felt their pain and accepted that by his own standards he was not adequate for this new god. Truly, what a fool he was to doubt their love for him, when he had first been getting teleported he had cursed in a combination of hurt pride and confusion. Then the lamb brought him to the cult and he knew they were truly perfect for him. He had never been a merciful death but they were and he would spend their shared eternity proving to them that he was still formidable in his own right and would not be his mate’s weakness.
“So where do you think you will want to work?”
He was unexpectedly pulled from his musings with this question.
”Excuse me?”
The lamb lets out a small sigh before they respond, “Where will you want to work around the cult? We just did a whole tour so I hoped you would have an idea what appealed to you.”
Narinder’s confusion only ramps with this response, “You would have me work like some random mortal? If you require me to show my merit to you in this form then at least give me a task more suited to my skills rather than putting me on the same level as everyone else. Even in my defeat I would have thought my strength and our bond to be enough to earn me that dignity.”
He wishes he could still read his mate’s mind as their confused expression frustrates him to no end.
”Wait, what? Narinder, everyone in the cult has to do something. Even if it’s centered around the arts or entertainment it’s fine as long as it supports the community. What would you even want to do that is suited to your skills, loyalty enforcer?”
Narinder scoffs before he speaks, “Please, such a title is performative at best and we both know it. While I will happily ensure loyalty in our followers I won’t accept such a minor placating role. If I must once again prove myself worthy of our bond then at least send me to spread the cults influence and slay heretics. I will gladly kill those unwilling to worship death in order to prove I am still worthy of your love in this form.”
Perhaps the lamb did share his preference for a stronger companion and had needed him to prove his worth of their sacrifice in combat? Then why spare him after? Surely the lamb was not so cruel as to force him to spend eternity serving the love he lost.
The lamb stutters as they speak, “W-w- OUR followers? Wait, what is this about love?”
Narinder reals in his confusion, “what part confuses you so? If you have truly lost the love you once had for me then either allow me to prove myself or kill me. It would just be cruel to expect me to live knowing the one I love is out of reach.”
”You love me?!?! Then why did you try to kill me?!?!”
Narinder’s face scrunches at this question, “I had believed this to be the most merciful and romantic option. I would not lower my mate requirements to accept one who is not able to best me even if I love you deeply. I figured sacrificing you for further power would allow you to keep me safe from any further harm and prevent another from earning the title you could not and in turn I would ensure your safety and comfort in the afterlife. If my defeat has shown you that I am not worthy to be your mate then I understand but I had assumed otherwise once you chose to spare me. If there is no way to show my merit then I ask that you respect the love we shared and allow me your mercy. I will accept death willingly as there is no other who I would want to embrace me for eternity.”
The lamb's eyes had become wide and their jaw had dropped while he spoke. He could only wait for death’s judgment as they processed the true depths of his love, clearly they had not been made aware enough prior but he would work to remedy that for the future.
The lamb starts speaking with a small voice “That’s actually pretty sweet, I did not know that was your plan. You really should’ve told me….”
Narinder relaxes a bit but raises a brow in question, “Would you have done anything differently if I had been forward with my standards and intentions?”
There is genuine curiosity in his question, while his current pain only stems from the bruise to his pride he is curious if his intended mate would have chosen a different path with more information.
”Well…. Probably not, if anything I might have fought harder to prove myself to you. The experience of the fight would have been very different though also Aym and Baal probably wouldn’t have interfered if we had the chance to discuss this more….”
Narinder considers this before he speaks again, “Their needless deaths are very unfortunate. While I didn’t stop them at the time because of my own feelings of betrayal I certainly see how a discussion could have helped the situation.”
The lamb nods before him, “Exactly! If I had known I was fighting for more than my desire to live and the sting of betrayal we could’ve reached an agreement about the fight so that even if they did still wish to make me fight them first we could’ve set it up so I needn't have killed them! If I had failed to prevail at any point in combat then I could give myself willingly knowing of your love and that I did all I could have, you know?”
He hums in reply, “I see that I could have handled that better. I am very unpracticed with relationships as none could meet my standards since before I became a god. I’m quite used to the sort of love and devotion that comes only from a follower so I suppose even in my affections I did not see you as an equal.”
Narinder’s heart warms at the lamb’s laughter.
”I understand, I am pretty unused to relationships too. Being on the proverbial lamb my whole life isn’t exactly conducive to productive partnerships and any marriages with followers was more about appeasing them than actually wanting any sort of romantic relationship. Obviously I still only married those I favored but the title was nothing that earned them the right to be my chosen mate… Especially since you dominated my heart and mind.”
He nods his understanding and looks around the cult for a moment. Knowing that his task was not intended as anything more than ensuring he built their community made him significantly more content with the prospect than before, especially knowing that his mate would be working to build the community with him.
”I should make it clear that marriages and relationships outside of our own are not something I am against as long as this privilege is mutual. While none will be my mate as you are, I am not opposed to the notion of building more frivolous connections with cult members for the purposes of entertainment and ensured loyalty. However, all must know that none come before us in our eyes and should I dislike any of your spouses or believe your affections for them threaten our bond I reserve the right to kill them if you are not able to show your loyalty by killing them yourself. Obviously, you have the same right for my own partners but I doubt there will be anyone who I would not be willing to sacrifice for our love.”
A huge smile blooms on the lamb's face, “aawwee, I feel the same! I doubt anyone would be spared my blade if you wished them dead. It is good to be upfront about this kind of thing, I’m told successful relationships depend on strong and considerate communication. I will do everything to ensure our love surpasses even the death of the universe!”
Narinder responds with a pleased purr before returning to the original subject, “I’m happy to help build our life and power but I will not accept being given a role the same as the others. I am your mate and will only tolerate the position of matching esteem.”
”Oh!” The lamb seems to have already forgotten the original source of this conversation but they recover quickly, “Of course! We should plan to perform a wedding ritual tomorrow and then I will ensure everyone knows of your status and the true reason for our fight. They will respect you still as their god or face punishment. It also means you can do what I do and only help with tasks you feel like helping with in between organizing things and crusades. It will be much easier going out knowing I have someone capable who I trust keeping watch here.”
The two of them smile at each other, for a moment all they do is enjoy this peace and understanding. The future is filled with endless possibilities now that they are a united front. It is as certain as death that the world will bare witness to their shared love and combined might. These lands will show reverence to its true gods.
”Still,” Narinder begins after a moment, “I would very much like to go on the occasional crusade myself and even go together sometimes. Maybe in enough time our bond will be solidified enough that I could even use the crown on occasion though this is not something that is needed or expected immediately. I’m sure even with our understanding we both need time to adjust to this new life and reaffirm our trust in each other.”
Before him the lambs face deflates slightly at this, they seem to contemplate for a moment.
”I definitely would love to go out on crusades with you and will happily trust you to go out on your own. I would like to go out together first though so I can rest assured in your ability without the crown. I know you are still very strong but I would feel more at ease seeing it for myself first and acting as a guide since you have been imprisoned for so long. For the crown I agree, while I would be happy to see you wielding it in the future I think establishing our mating first would help ensure we don’t suffer from needless misunderstandings.” Their smile returns full force at their pause, “We will build our lands together and one day if you desire I can return the crown to you.”
At this Narinder shakes his head, “No, not only did you earn that crown from me in our fight but I don’t mind the idea of getting to be a spoiled god spouse for some time. Perhaps one day another crown will find and choose me but until then I would not wish to receive yours when it was not properly earned.”
Thankfully, the lamb nods their understanding at this. They fall silent again as the situation settles between them. The lamb only dares to break the silence once they have both relaxed.
”It has been a long day and there is still more to discuss but should we go home for now?”
Narinder nods in response, purr reigniting as they hold each other's hands and begin walking to the leader tent. No follower interrupts them as they make their own way. Truly the flock is quick to recover after the fight and by now it has certainly gotten late enough that many are also heading to their homes to sleep. It isn’t until they are just outside the tent that Narinder pauses with a new thought.
”I’m perfectly happy to respect your titles in front of the cultists but when we are just the two of us would you feel comfortable with me using a name that is only for me to know?”
The setting sun creates a halo around the lamb as they bless him with a gentle smile that warms him to his core. They seem to enjoy the scene just as much as him for they take their time before responding. Lamb knows he would wait however long they wanted if he got to stare right back at them. They blink slowly before responding in a soft voice.
”I would love that.”