[lestan also was unsure of their destination, but he followed along intently with kirain as she spoke. he did not like the idea of anyone at all watching the pups, but fought the urge to puff up as a mother hen might. he simply did not think he was ready -- or they -- or, admittedly, maybe both. but the mayfair remained attentive. he himself had no such urge to run wild; he was stricken by a hundred anxieties each day about each pup, and the weight of it would have been unbearable without kirain's steady love and devoted support. i d-do not think of going back, he said quietly, nuzzling the place below her ear. i h-have lived such a v-vast life and n-now it has become you and them, and i am -- it is w-what i wanted. he did not want to run from this; he wanted it to become the sum total of his life. was that selfish? but if stardust came to stay, lestan knew he might well ruin any romantic excursion with his own fears. in a way he did feel less free, but it was something he had accepted the day his mate spoke of her pregnancy. you and i have many ad-adventures ahead of us and -- kirain, i w-want you to run beneath the moon as m-much as i wish to sit beneath it, he laughed softly, though suddenly filled with stresses that she would be offended. th-those times, and w-wake -- wake brought us t-together. i sh-shall never forget those r-recollections for my life entire. it made y-you my universe and th-the stars also.]

lestan also was unsure of their destination, but he followed along intently with kirain as she spoke.
he did not like the idea of anyone at all watching the pups, but fought the urge to puff up as a mother hen might. he simply did not think he was ready -- or they -- or, admittedly, maybe both. but the mayfair remained attentive.
he himself had no such urge to run wild; he was stricken by a hundred anxieties each day about each pup, and the weight of it would have been unbearable without kirain's steady love and devoted support. i d-do not think of going back, he said quietly, nuzzling the place below her ear. i h-have lived such a v-vast life and n-now it has become you and them, and i am -- it is w-what i wanted.
he did not want to run from this; he wanted it to become the sum total of his life.
was that selfish?
but if stardust came to stay, lestan knew he might well ruin any romantic excursion with his own fears. in a way he did feel less free, but it was something he had accepted the day his mate spoke of her pregnancy.
you and i have many ad-adventures ahead of us and -- kirain, i w-want you to run beneath the moon as m-much as i wish to sit beneath it, he laughed softly, though suddenly filled with stresses that she would be offended. th-those times, and w-wake -- wake brought us t-together. i sh-shall never forget those r-recollections for my life entire. it made y-you my universe and th-the stars also.