The day before Lilliana had been held up back in her home territory. Helping her uncle and his mate to realize their good fortune. But while in the midst of diagnosing the Hollow's new mother to be, Lilliana had thus learned pivotal information regarding herself.

Now she returned in a trance. Eyes as distant as her chaotic thoughts. Mindlessly through muscle memory, she feeds her ever burning fire before taking a seat -- to sit washed in a glow that made her fur more red than earthen clay.

Too many emotions bombarded the forefront of her mind. And perhaps some mild stages of the grieving process. Not of the situation itself but for what it meant. Perhaps the most pivotal moment in her life and all she could think about was who would be missing it.

@Haakon

Art by EditJackson, Code by Minxy

He has been away longer than intended, but no matter. Lilliana isn't likely to wander far between her home and her garden with its little fire. He sees it in the distance. That warm, golden glow, like a beacon in the dark night.

The pale lion arrives quietly, finding the woman's back to him, her frame silhouetted against the bright fire she feeds and tends to. A small, quick smile flits along his muzzle as he nears, already warmer for her presence. But that isn't enough.

He attempts to nip Lilliana right between the shoulder blades (a place, he's found, she is rather sensitive before dragging his side along her, coming to stand at her side in the heat of the fire.

"Askling." Haakon murmurs, attempting another lovebite on her cheek. "I told you I'd be back."

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She does not hear his approach. By the time she realizes she is not alone it is too late. A soft gasp slips from her lips as teeth brush such a tender spot. The skin there budding goose flesh from his touch. Haakon. She breathes out, an ear tipping his way.
She wanted to smile. To press into him. Feel his warmth so much so that they melted together. Yet she quiets herself. Even when he seeks to nibble at her cheek, Lilliana remains stilled.

This should be a joyous thing to share. She knows that. Knows that all of their time alone would naturally lead to this. However, her mind would always lift up some sort of nagging paranoia. Despite his constant visits and their near daily joinings, Lilli needed reassurance. Verbal validation that @Haakon would want this. Would want her in more ways than just physical.

You said before that you came here to grow your legacy. Is that still the case? Were there others more fitting for the task? Women more willing to sacrifice their family and beliefs in ways she couldn't?

Perhaps if they had been smarter and less guided by their last, this sort of conversation could have happened before this new development had a chance to grow.

Art by EditJackson, Code by Minxy

Lilliana doesn't press into him, she doesn't react much to his presence at all. His name feels almost cold on her lips, a breathless word, and he wonders if she's bored of him already. What a shame. He certainly isn't bored of her.

"Hm?" Drawn from his mind, he glances in her direction. Something about this is off. "That is the plan, yes." He had once had grand visions of his kin and clan coming along with him, following once he had cleared the way. That was no longer his dream. It has died with his bloodline. "I will rebuild what I've lost." He tells her, and himself. "I'll take a pride and establish myself, then I'll claim what's mine."

He does not outright say it, but his gaze lingers on Lilliana's, wondering just how she'll feel about that when the time comes. If she is no longer interested in him...

His skull turns, facing her properly. "What's on your mind, woman?" Better to either confirm or refute that idea entirely, before it comes back to curse him.

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Oh if only minds could be read. What a blessing. But also what a terrible terrible curse. She reels herself back in before her thoughts could go wandering off with that.

He faces her and she too shifts to be head on with him. No, she was not bored of him. Quite the opposite really. Even now she'd much rather they be rolling in her bed. It was so hard to maintain this distance. Just a few inches away was too far.

She does her best to listen. To maintain eye contact. To not let her burning needs control her. What she had to tell him was more important, she reminded herself. Repeating it like a calming mantra.

For a moment she gets hooked up on the part about him claiming what was his. If he took a pride and established himself.. was that not the same? What was this other thing to be claimed? A woman maybe.
She almost winced.
Her family was known to share and spread their hearts to more than just one. Surely she would be no different one day. But was it jealousy she felt just now? The thought of him being with someone else wasn't the problem, she quickly realized. It was the thought of it never being her again. Which was solely dependent on this moment right now. Or so she believed.

Take what's mine

His. She wanted that. Wanted to be his. Wanted to hear him say it too. To hear him call her, 'Mine.'

I just.. She starts, ears subtly folding back. I learned something recently. And I just- Want. No, need. I need to know if you. An audible swallow. If you love me.

Completely. And truly. Without fail. Without question. Did he love her passed her flaws? Passed their differences?

Passed their Gods?

@Haakon

Art by EditJackson, Code by Minxy

Haakon forgets how young she is - not in age but in experience. She's a long way from the girl in the grass, to the woman in the snow, to now. The keeper of the flame. His flame, greedy as that sounds. But she is still so very young at heart. And now she wants to know if what he feels for her is love.

For a moment, Haakon isn't entirely sure what to say. For a second, he wonders if he's capable of the love she is. Her pure, selfless love. His greed and ambition, his tattered heart, have all worn him away. But then, Haakon realises something. She is not bored of him. She has not tired of their nights, their trysts and the soft, hushed words that come after. Lilliana is not sending him away and Haakon is happy about that.

"Lilliana." Haakon says slowly, carefully. "Marry me." He does not want her from his side, and if that is not love, it is as close as he is capable.

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She blinks; rapidly. Mind working to process his response. Marriage. It wasn't the answer she was looking for but she wasn't about to complain! Haakon had never been the emotional sort. Maybe it was too much to ask for a spillage of heartfelt confessions.

You married out of love, right? Well, not always that inner nag retorted. It doesn't count if he doesn't say it.

Lilliana stares at him for a long moment before a faint smile slips. Through their continued unions she had definitely achieved a new found confidence. In herself and with her body. Something only @Haakon ever got to witness. Thus she pushes forward, finally bringing her form gently to his own. Her forearms rising to wrap over his shoulders, paws cradling the back of his head. Her nose teasingly rubbing his. Tell me you love me. Lilliana whispers. Tell me you want me. Silly for a man to assume that action was enough. The visits. The sex. It paled in a woman's heart when compared to hushed sweet nothings tickled against her ear.

Tell me I'm yours. All yours. Forever. And I will marry you, Haakon.

Art by EditJackson, Code by Minxy

If proposing isn't enough, Haakon does not know what else to do. Marriage is as serious in his tradition as anyone else's - and considering how flexible and open his world could be, where sex and even children are not dependent on vows of eternal commitment and devotion, it means all the more.

Lilliana says nothing, but her smile speaks for her. She pulls close, draws their faces together. Haakon's gaze wanders across her face, finally resting on her eyes.

She knows exactly what she is asking - the sort of man Haakon is, how unlike him it is to such say frivolous things. Words mean so little. But it is what she wants.

"I want you." He repeats in a whisper. That much he can say without thought, without hesitation. His desire should surely be obvious; he'd have never come back after that first night otherwise.

"I love you." Such a thing seems strange to say, the words unfamiliar on the viking's tongue, low and husky. "Jag älskar dig." That is easier, somehow. Haakon leans in, lips pressed to her neck, just under her ear.

"You're mine, älskling."

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As warm as her smile was against his fur there was also a tinge of amusement. Enjoyment found in knowing she could get him to do what she asked. She knew him well enough to know how hard that probably was for him but she was far more grateful than perhaps he could ever imagine.
I love you. She murmurs against his cheek, planting a gentle kiss there. And you are mine as much as I am yours. Hers. Maybe not ultimately all to herself; but here? Right now? He was.

Her body moves against him. Subtle at first but quickly growing with an eager want. She couldn't get close enough. She craved his rougher touch and all the ways he liked having her. Maybe it was the new hormones that left her so grated and needy. Haakon. She breathes against his lips after having finished claiming his mouth in a fevered kiss. She should probably tell him now before things got any more heated, leading her to completely forget. I only asked these things because I wanted to know with full certainty how you felt about me. About us.

Because, Her forehead comes to press against his, her eyes closing, heart racing. I'm with child. It is barely even a whisper. Something she found hard to believe despite their endless sexual escapades. Her family may have been fruitful these last two years, but The Savante Curse still lingered. Maybe, just maybe, if she didn't say it too loudly, the Demons that plagued her bloodline wouldn't have to know...

@Haakon

Art by EditJackson, Code by Minxy

There's no doubt that pretty words are a quick way to a woman's heart, and they think the same of men. Haakon won't dissuade Lilliana of that thought, not at all, if she wishes to claim him. Words do not speak as loudly as action, however, and when things begin to heat in that familiar way there's no thought of responding aloud. Haakon is more than ready to pull her under him, to lavish her with enough affection she'll never doubt him again -

"I'm with child."

If anything would stop Haakon in his tracks, it would be that.

The lion freezes, the icy blue of his eyes widen and swallowing the whites. Haakon hadn't thought their trysts would amount to anything, that she would have taken precautions to ensure it didn't. But Lilliana seems both nervous and happy about the announcement. There is no sign of regret, no desire to end it.

She is pregnant... With his cubs.

"Marry me." He repeats, more forceful this time than the first. With their foreheads pressed together, he only has to whisper. "Marry me, before your god and mine."

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