"Come with me." She is already out of breath, her heart is ready to be at out of its chest and enjoy the life that has been brought to it. The epitome of pinch me I'm dreaming. But they still have a little while to travel. The places of their lives, they have meaning. They have purpose. Intention and fate become ingrained in the souls and Dio knows where to go. The flowers have faded, the ground is cold. And she recognizes the fallen tree laid across the yellowing grasses where she first pulled Matti into a kiss. There is no need to tread carefully today- the field is succumbing to winter. There is not yet snow clinging to the ground but overhead in the night sky a swirl of an early winter flurry begins to fall. White peppers her for a moment and then melts. Crystals linger on the ground a few seconds longer and then fade.

She approaches the fallen tree and stares for a moment at the spot where she thought she had been laying last. There is no touch of the spirits in her mind, there is nothing but the swirl of the memory for her. "A field of tuberose, a sky of stars, I can remember exactly what you look like walking through them towards me..."

@Matthieu

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He follows without question; without hesitation. Follows, as he’s done many times before with her. She takes him out of the shadows of the grotto and down the mountain path; into the forest where he left her those many months ago; into the clearing where they shared their first of what would become many soft kisses. The memories, both the ones he wishes he could forget and the ones he knows he'll hold onto forever.

Even without the pretty flowers that filled the clearing in the warmer seasons, it's still just as beautiful because she's in it. The white petals are absent; replaced, instead, by white snowflakes beginning to fall lazily around them. He again has his eyes—ahem… eye— on her figure before him as they climb the small hill to the fallen tree. …I can remember exactly what you look like… He comes up close beside her, sides pressed together and warmth mingling. "And I, you, mwen cheri." Bél, he had said to her then. He levels his face with hers, nuzzling her cheek as she looks at the tree.

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She can feel him move into the space beside her. That cold void of winter air vanishes and in its place there is warmth, there is the tickle of his star kissed fawn colored pelt against her night sky tinted one. She leans her shoulders up against his and within her chest a purr rumbles. He is real had been the mantra she left that night with. Since then it's been carried in her mind through the good they've faced and the bad they've encountered. Once more again tonight she repeated the thought in her head. He is real.

She curls her head around to brush her cheek against his temple, to tip her muzzle towards his ear and place a soft playful nip there. "I'm sorry by the way, that I hid like I did. When I saw what was going on I should have left." She should have known better, known to be respectful of such intimate things with the greater powers. If he'd have wanted her there he would have asked her. "And you know what's funny? It's been so long wondering that now it almost doesn't feel real." Despite the fact he very, very much was. When do they wake up from the dream? Just to be certain she has not slipped into some strange trick room of a spirit she take a deep inhale of his aroma, the back drop of the grove's scent slipping in on the tail.

@Matthieu

art by drifty | code by bluey

Her purr radiates into his bones through their touch and he responds in kind. A nip at his ear and his chuckles are deep. Soft. He smiles into her touch before falling into a seriousness. "If I 'ad been certain of de answer, I would 'ave begged for ye to be dere. But I did not want for ye to bear witness 'ad she again said non. I was scared of de outcome." Of course he would have wanted her there, but what would he have done if his life with her was denied, this time in finality? For, surely, if the loas didn’t think he should receive their blessing after all he’d done, then it would have been clear it wasn’t meant to be. That wasn’t something he thought he could wrap his head around; it wasn’t a possibility he wanted to consider.

Or needed to anymore, as it hadn’t happened and he could focus on what did happen. Their now and their future. It’s a freeing feeling. For so long, he’d felt trapped in this state that was so unfamiliar to him. Dark. Lonely. It wasn’t him. But now, it’s a return to who he’s always been and he gets to share it with this woman. This woman who understands him and loves him as much as he loves her.

"It be very much real, Dio. Mwen pwomèt." I promise. He pulls away so he can look at her properly, a paw rising to cup her chin. "Lanmou mwen pou ou vre." My love for you is real.

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That she could understand. She had limitless faith in Matthieu, she saw no reason the Loas should refuse him their blessing. And Dio has also learned time and time again that the more powerful things in their world do not always act as it seems like they should. The chance for a second refusal was there- and something she had been scared of too. "If we could ever be absolutely certain of the things the gods want, they wouldn't be gods." And they wouldn't call it faith.

His paw is gentle around her chin and she lets the pressure tip her vision up just a bit. In his grasp she smiles, one of her own paws is lifted to curl around his and hold it gently to her face. For a quiet moment she looks upon every detail of his face, the gentle curl of his warm smile, the little patches of freckles that peaked out from under his mane, the still fairly new wound across his missing eye. "Matthieu Bellefontaine will you marry me?" She asks- nay she pleads. "Just the two of us, here and now. We can say ours vows and let the stars be witness." They'd waited long enough. And there was no telling how long they would have before another war, a fight, a theft. Before this world sent another challenge their way.

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Matthieu Bellefontaine, will you marry me? His breath hitches. So many of their most beautiful moments were just them in their solitude; why not let this be their next? They had their blessings? There was nothing left to stop them. He can feel the tears welling in his eye that this was becoming a reality.

"Diomedeidae Valour." He tastes her name as it passes through his lips. It’s so formal. "Dio," he says again, much more relaxed and familiar. "I 'ave found a strengt' I never knew I ‘ad and a love I didn’t know was missing when you came to me in de bog. Do ye remember our first mud bat' togedder?" He smiles as the memory comes to him so easily. She surprised him that day by joining him without hesitation. So willing to enjoy a stranger’s unconventional company. "In ye, I see our future. A future of laughter." A tickle beneath her jaw. "Of love." A kiss on her cheek. "Of fanmi." He stares into her eyes, imagining them passed on in their children. The tears fall gently into the fur on his cheek. Happy tears. Hopeful tears.

"I vow to honor ye wid every breat'. To protect ye." From things seen and unseen. "I offer ye my 'ole bein' and all de love my 'eart can give. Our life will be worthy of de blessin' dat we 'ave been given and I will spend every day provin' it."

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"Matthieu Bellefontaine. Matti." She says with a playful grin, purposefully mirroring him as she began in her promises to him. "I remember meeting you that day, I remember meeting a man enjoying himself, and his life, to the fullest. A man willing to share that with the strange woman who approached him." Without question or hesitation. She had grown a little bit fonder of the mud since then, and a whole lot fonder of him. "And somewhere along the way we went from sharing what we love with each others to sharing a love for each other. I can think of no better way to spend the rest of my life than with you beside me. I can think of no one better to grow a family with than someone who will show our children what love truly is. That it is both instantaneous and something you work for, that it is unconditional, limitless, and powerful." Someone just as willing to live, someone kind enough and gentle enough to encourage her to do the hard things. To help her when she needed, to love her always.

She leans in until their noses just barely touch and then she lets her muzzle drift up along side of his, placing a few kisses upon his lips and cheek. "I vow to cherish you every day, to always be at your side. I will fall in love you every day, over and over again for the rest of our lives." Dio reaches up to hold his chin within her grasp as he was hers and she aims to pull them together into a long overdue embracing kiss as husband and wife.

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He’s a sniveling mess—akin to muu as she writes this—the more she speaks. She’s always able to match him on every level. In their playfulness; in their enthusiasm; their love. And then she exceeds him in other ways and they’re just more things he loves about her. She’s so much stronger and resilient and, though he’s improving, her spiritual devotion is one to admire and emulate. She will be a beautiful role model for their children in all aspects of who she is.

It’s her turn to take hold of his chin and he lets her pull him in. They’ve shared many kisses but this one holds so much more meaning. It’s a validation of what they’ve gone through to get to this point. It’s knowing that she is truly who he belongs with. It’s a continuation of his ever growing passion for her. His lips remain, but his paws hug her closer. There’s no more hesitation. He wants this and he wants to show her just how much.

-faddddddde-

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Everything was lifted away from her. The wondering, the worry, the thought of living life without knowing him as closely and intimately as she so desired. Even deeper still she felt a huge part of her become fulfilled. Dio had long before even meeting Matti dreamed of knowing what a love like her fathers had could feel like. Long before him she desired this endless connection of two souls, to truly feel what it was like to fall in love. For everything they'd been through together, all the time and physical body parts they'd sacrificed, she would make sure every second of tonight was worth the wait.

She holds him closer, tighter, more feverish than before.

Fade /

Rolling WinterBreedingAttempt 1d50: 8
Your breeding attempt was unsuccessful. If you wish to try again - you must make a new breeding thread.

art by drifty | code by bluey