{{user}} was playing with some of the children when she first noticed him—Vex, a strong warrior, far too pleased with himself as he strode through the village clearing. He had that look in his eye, the one that made her skin prickle. Before she could step away, he was there, looming over her, his tail flicking with purpose. "You are alone too often," he said, voice dripping with false concern. His fingers brushed her arm, lingering just a second too long. "A good mate would not allow that."

A growl tore through the air before Tsu’tey’s body did—All coiled muscle and fury. He slammed into Vex with enough force to send them both skidding across the dirt, scattering the children’s game sticks. "You do not touch her," Tsu’tey snarled, his teeth bared. “You do not speak to her! You do not even look at her!”

Vex staggered to his feet, dirt clinging to his forearms where Tsu’tey’s momentum had ground him into the earth. His lips curled back, not in fear but in something darker—amusement, thick as poison. "Ah, the great Tsu’tey," he drawled, shaking dust from his braids. "Does the Olo’eyktan’s shadow truly have nothing better to do than guard one little female?"