I wanna feel the change consume me
feel the outside turning in

he whisks @Brighid ♔ away, stealing her into the night, his form brushing against the silver glow of the desert moon. everything cold settles against his flesh - as they travel together side by side - enduring together, the cold winters of amaryllis. december had brought forward their violent chill, a vehement cloak draped about his masculine shoulders, but here in the oasis it would be warmer, not as cold. still, the brumal chill creeps upon his skin, a prayer to his forbidden thoughts. involutarily, he leans closer against brighid's frame, guiding her wounded physique forward, easing her across the earth as he offers her his masculine strength. he still cannot believe brighid is alive - but he won't question fate, he won't question destiny. miracles would be embraced, just as he fully embraces her now.

"our children are here, in the oasis. i have managed to grab this hostile land. it is no winter paradise, but it is beautiful all the same, especially at night. look at all these stars." he gazes upward, watching the starlight fall and dance upon them both. a million little lights, like a million little souls, glazing as hungry as the icy moon's. "along with our blood children, i have taken in three orphaned daughters. zima, zola and brielle. i could not let them die."

table by ryuu

i put a spell on you it called for
three-fifths of my blood and a full moon
but instead i did it in the daylight wanting you

she had grieved her loss, shed her tears, and mourned in the boneyard at what could have been her headstone. and then, @Harou had come to save her, sweeping her away from the ledge and back to reality. he had dried her wet, bloodstained cheeks and somehow, brighid found her footing.

their journey is not a fast one. she leans against him, limping as she relies on his strength to help keep her grounded. for once, brighid does not attempt to hide how tired she is and is relieved when they appear to arrive at his kingdom. the shifting sands underfoot are unfamiliar, threatening to steal away her balance. her ear flickers as he speaks and brighid feels both a glimmer of pride and a wash of fury all at once. she is afraid to ask if they had mentioned tracking her whereabouts. had they given up on her so easily?

"our children," she repeats in a wispy breath, as if marveling it for the first time - or rather, marveling at it with harou for the first time. "i told them about you." her gaze lifts to the stars. they remind her of home all the same. "how brave, vicious... handsome." perhaps it is the still that pain that addles her mind as she purrs out her compliment, pressed so impossibly close to him as she takes a moment to rest before continuing somewhere she can safely collapse into the earth.

and then, he mentions others. adopted little darlings. little girls. "have they no mother figure?" brighid is unattached to the parentless children in harou's protection, though there is some inkling of curiosity and concern burned deep within her. motherhood had changed brighid and she found herself just as capable of loving as she was at destroying. still, there is another unspoken question. she bides her tongue, pressing it against the back of her fangs. have you no queen — no bride, harou?

table by ryuu

I wanna feel the change consume me
feel the outside turning in

their travels would take them, here, into the barren wilderness of the desert. along the way, he would do his best to patch @Brighid ♔ up with herbal poultice, although he is no proper medic, always a warrior first.

this place is a hostile stretch of land, with no amount of forgiveness. this place would call to harou, a metaphor of what he has now become: hostile, barren, desolate. still, he could afford to show tenderness, he could bring his heart to beat next to brighid's, to feel the warmth of her flesh stirring right next to him. he leans into her just as she whispers her compliments, guiding her hips against him with a stray, singular hand. a smile, soft and genuine, stretches the dark line of his lips.

even after he had left to sate his wanderlust, to fulfil his thirst for violence, brigid has forgiven him. he can only hope that their children would, too. in his youth, harou had been wild, volatile. he is, perhaps, less volatile, wiser, now. aged in his wisdom. "i can never forget you," he breathes again, inhaling her fragrance. "your skin as pale as snow, your eyes as blue as the moon's, and those lips..." - here, he kisses her - "...as warm as roses unfurling beneath the sun's touch," his whispers were for her, only. her. and the stars that glowed in secret, up above them.

"no, i am their true guardian," although he had appointed brielle to aphrodite's watch, little brielle did not warm up to the idea of another mother. harou was left to care for them instead, a notion he did not mind, and somehow managed to fare quite well. perhaps, his paternal instincts were that strong, despite his warrior ways and thirst for bloodshed.

table by ryuu

i put a spell on you it called for
three-fifths of my blood and a full moon
but instead i did it in the daylight wanting you

he could kill her softly and she would be none the wiser.

brighid melts unlike the frigid wastes of her home. the glacial stare of hers is heated by a warmth not unlike the outskirts of her wintry home. she forgets her pain and the ache in her hollow bones; she forgets her strife if only for a moment, staring into wine red eyes that shadow her like the moon above. even weak, even as disheartened as she is, brighid smiles with all her teeth, something soft and sensual - it shames the predators of ancient tales that had meant for those same rabid fangs to be frightening. i can never forget you, he had said and his kiss burns passionately against her lips. "and i, you," she says lowly, basking within his praise and satin laced compliments. brighid relishes the attentions, even as she continues to use him as her crutch. everyone had revered her strength, but who cared for her weakness?

here and now, the white furred woman does not think she could ever truly be mad at him. he had followed his nature: to go, to thrive, to chase desires that brighid could only imagine..

and as if some strange twist of fate, they had found each others paths again.

i want you, she yearns to scream. her feminine wiles beg for more despite the sweat and grime that coats her fair skin. the sand clings to her paws and as uncomfortable as it is, she realizes that this will be her home. its a stinging sort of relief. "i want to rest," brighid speaks into the crook of @Harou's neck. she inhales around the thickness of his mane, allows it to tickle her nose. "with you." it is not as carnal, as provocative as her instinct demands, but it is enough. brighid wonders what it would be like to claim his space as her own; and be to claimed and claimed over again by the winter cloaked sovereign under the desert stars.

their true guardian. and brighid feels an unspoken expectation: she wonders if he will feel as attached to their own spawn and come to understand the warborn yearlings and all their strengths and flaws. her acknowledgement is given in a subtle purr. these are things she can investigate when she is better, after she is finished basking in his masculine energy. "what have you seen? tell me of your travels." its a welcome distraction from all of her loss and her ears twitch, a sign that she is listening expectantly for his conquests and his endeavors. it was a rare thing to have queen brighid's ear, and harou had managed it along with her tears this cold evening.

table by ryuu

I wanna feel the change consume me
feel the outside turning in

she makes the beast of a man, tame. her voice sounds soft, tastes beautiful, eroding like sweet venom in his deprived mind. slavering strides draws the icy titan forward, every sauntering step murmuring in the wake of brighid's shadow as he closely follows her. he draws in her fragrance, taking her ambrosial scent and wrapping it against his muzzle like a tight, leather leash. the silence breathing softly between them feels like devotion, feels like carnal love. he leads her into his den, where warm furs await them both; heaped piles of mused bedsheets, entangled in shadows and in deep, unrelenting darkness. faithfulness, worship - there is devotion here - somewhere beneath the stars; written within their eyes, etched into their hearts. a forbidden truth pressed between two dark, malevolent gods. but there is no room for violence here, tonight, not when brighid looks so soft and delicious - every edge of her laced in moonlight whispers and delicate ruination. haunting. beautiful.

"in here, brighid," harou guides her into his - their - lair. he treats her gently, not desiring to re-open those wounds. all tender touches and guiding hands, seeking to heal her, not to further destroy her broken spirit. each of his kiss would be laced in the softest of passion, each touch more nurturing than the last as he pulls her into him and embraces her, warmly. it's in the softness of harou's gestures, as he seeks to make her as comfortable as possible, ensuring that she would find her way against that earthen bed, lay back down upon those lavished furs, to rest her weary head upon satin pillows. he were lost in her words that would mean an eternity, together. lost in her icy-blue gaze. "you will rest with me, in my den," the beast breathes, softly, possessively, answering her passionate words with the fire of his own. the slavering heat of his breath mists warmly against her elegant collarbone. he will keep a close eye on her tonight, and for the many nights after. when she asks him of his travels, his breath is still warm, an even and steady thrum. with her, he feels like he's dreaming.

"my travels here within amaryllis have been mostly empty, lack-lustered. i've met others, seen faces, drew blood - i fought for this desert kingdom to sate my violent desires, but for a long time i had wandered the wilderness alone, hateful. it has been uneventful, thus far. boring, until you returned to me, brighid. you and the children," he holds her gaze with a burning intensity, meeting her beautifully frigid stare with the smoldering depths of his own. his gaze drops from her eyes, to the fullness of her lips. within the darkness of the den, there was only him and brighid, and the shroud of both intimacy and intensity draped upon their spirits like a fervent cloak. "i am pleased to see you again," he draws closer, hovering above her now, once again seeking her lips with another kiss. softer, this time, a kiss more tender than the last. "i missed you," he breathes out that final confession, like breathing out a prayer.

@Brighid ♔

table by ryuu