Her body was still weak, her limbs shaky and breaths fast. The conversion ceremony had taken much out of her, but Csitri felt lighter - whole, even. Still, there was much to do. And the very first lion she wanted to see after some much needed rest was Arkyn. There were things that needed said now that she'd survived - as promised.

The piebald woman would reach the crest of the peak huffing and puffing. The world spin slightly off its axis, and the healer settled heavily on her haunches. Pretty soon, the newly-minted Savante would slump to the ground for a moment of rest. Once she caught her breath, she'd call for him. Csitri hadn't wanted to waste time. She'd taken her herbs for energy and blood replenishment, that would have to do because she was impatient.


Lifting her head after a long moment, she'd call for him as loud as possible. He'd come, she knew he would come.

@Arkyn

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What he had experienced had outraged him. Arkyn knew that there were many different religions and beliefs, and with those came rituals of all kind. Even the Brynmawr followed ancient laws that may be seen as controversial, but to allow for a supposed loved one to bleed out to the point of near death? All he saw was red, taking every fiber of his being to keep calm and collected in front of @Csitri's family. He tried to stay after it was all done but he couldn't stomach seeing the healer in such a state, causing for him to leave without a word. And ever since then he'd been staying close to the peaks, finding comfort and solace and seemingly calling this territory home.

Arkyn was padding down a well worn trail when her calls echoed in the cool air. Eyes widen and his pace quickens to a quick jog, colossal paws eating up the distance with ease. Yellow eyes land upon Csitri soon enough - so frail, so small. The beast wouldn't slow his gait until he was close enough to her, arriving head on to the woman. He'd give no warning as he tossed his muzzle into the crook of her neck, inhaling deep and slow. "You almost fucking died," he rumbles in a low growl against her fur, hot breath causing for his whiskers to twitch. "You almost died, Csitri!" Irrational anger surged through him, Arkyn retracting his head from her so that he could now stare her in the face. His tone may have been harsh but the expression on his face said it all: I almost lost you.

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Her chin rests down at her paws as she waits. It's not long before his thundering paws alert her of his presence, and soon enough his shadow looms over her. Csitri purrs, feeling warm and safe now that he'd come. Arkyn hadn't been able to see her in this condition, and she understood. If the roles had been reversed, the piebald medic couldn't say she could take it as well as he had.

When he speaks, her ears flick back against her skull, and her eyes slip closed. Tears trail their way down her face and she breathes his scent in deeply - grounding herself. Her tongue lashes out to gently caress his face, littering it with what are meant to be soothing strokes.

"I'm here, Arkyn. I made it." she croaks. "I had to." her eyes open again, staring at him for a long moment through her bleary, tear filled eyes. And a brilliant smile spreads across her face.

"I had to come back to you because...because I love you." her breathing stops, and she waits with her eyes trained carefully on him.

@Arkyn

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Emotions that are far too foreign for him to comprehend swirl within his chest. Eyes watch her with intensity, noting how her own mismatched ones glaze over with watery tears trailing down her cheeks. He cannot stand to see her like this, in such a condition, but as she spoke of how she had to he would only let out a grunt to show that he was listening. Arkyn knew that he would have done whatever Valhalla asked of him, especially if it meant to prove his loyalty and devotion to his own family. Her tongue runs over his face in a way he could tell was an attempt to soothe his worry and emotions, but what the feeling brought was something else entirely.

He is on the brink of speaking when her words shoot into his chest like an arrow. The beast feels his own breath stolen away by what he had just heard, and for a couple of moments he has to really stare at @Csitri to try to decipher what he had heard was actually truth and not his mind playing tricks. Arkyn swallows the lump that had formed in his throat between those moments, finally blinking and moving so that he were closer to her from where he stood before her. A forelimb rises and wraps around the woman's neck, pulling her in delicately - affectionately - into the thick of his mane. His nose presses itself to the top of her skull and he inhales deeply, savoring her scent and the way it made him feel. "I love you," he mumbles, words vibrating atop her head. He doesn't make any attempt to remove himself nor let her pry herself away, only standing there with his leg wrapped tightly around her.

And for the first time, Arkyn feels his heart become whole.

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Her breath doesn't return to her until his arm coils around her and pulls her tightly to his body. A breathy gasp leaves the lioness, body tensing slightly in surprise before melting beneath his warmth. Csitri burrowed her face into his chest, her tears flooding heavily as she gleefully giggled into his thick mane.

"Really?" she'd chirp, not sure how she could believe him when this felt so much like a dream. Her heart galloped in her chest, nose twitching as she shamelessly drank in his scent. Her fur felt like it was on fire, butterflies swarming in her belly as she tilted her head back to stare up at him.

Tongue would reach out to trace his strong chin and a mischievous smile followed suit. Lifting her paws as best as possible, she'd wriggle so that she could hopefully wrap her arms loosely around his neck and press her body into his.

"Show me then, big guy." if it were anyone else maybe Csitri would be embarrassed by her brazen request. But she trusted Arkyn with every fiber of herself. She'd never been with another lion, and he seemed like a perfect first. A man she could lean on, love freely, and never fear. He wouldn't judge or shame her, only protect and comfort.

-fade to black?-

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He gives a sharp yet intimate nip at the woman's nape as she questioned his love, letting out a low growl in the process. "I do not lie." Just as he pulls his head away again does he feel her tongue caress the side of his jaw, causing for a thick coated purr to rumble in his chest. Heavy eyes watch @Csitri with a look he's never given another, a look that he hadn't felt before until now - yearning. He moves with her body, and as she grips her limbs around his neck he moves to push her down onto her back and to the cool rock surface. Her words were all that he needed to allow primal instinct to take over, ready and willing to ravish and treasure her body.

fade.

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