/ tentatively set after the party

It's a long way down from where she is at, sticky and covered in the residue of courage and confidences. A woman usually so hunched, so intent on making herself seem smaller, Idunn stands taller than she has ... perhaps her entire life. The fermented fruit has worn off by now, leaving behind the lingering feeling of fuzz at the corners of her mind (no doubt that it would grow into a full-on migraine by the time they reached home but -)

for now, they walked side-by-side, momentarily worldless (and wordless), coats mingling in the dim light of the moon once again.

sæta, she muses aloud after a while, her breath warm against the pale fur of her chin, it's something we say to beautiful women we are courting; not the women who haphazardly line our beds or draw a sea-weary eye but ... wivestock. Queens of to-be kings,

Teal eyes flutter and she can feel the static creep from her brain to her spine, unbidden and fiercely electric - dangerous: or maybe... a cause to champion and serve, sprung from the ground whole and unmatched, ja?

@Aphrodite

She had stuck close to @Iðunn. Not for her own safety but for the giantess who had requested she stay close. And Aphrodite wasn't going to lie, she quite enjoyed being close to Iðunn. It was a different feeling than what she had with Miaran. Miaran was chaos while this - this was raw. Fresh and new. Something different entirely. It scared Aphrodite if she were to be honest but Aphrodite had never backed down from anything even if it had scared her a little bit she would push forward and stand her ground. And that's what she did at the very moment as she walked home with the giantess, their furs brushing against each other.

A word slipped from Iðunn's lips and violet jewels flashed over towards her curiously. Ears twisting as Aphrodite would listen to what she was saying, knowing that this was an entirely new language for Aphrodite to know, to possibly learn eventually. A smirk formed on her dark lips as she let's her shoulder brush against the woman. And what lucky woman are you courting these days? She would ask, a slight hint of jealousy perhaps sinking into her voice as she watched Iðunn. Aphrodite had taken note that since she had returned, the little feelings she had felt towards Iðunn had grown and Aphrodite was always possessive about what she considered hers. Perhaps. She would smirk again.

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a queen, or ... someone who was, and will be again. Mine, I think, heavy paws slow to a halt, their meandering paused by sincerity... and the quiet hesitance Idunn held to her chest in hopes of some mock-security.

I took the title of Jarl from my cousin, she admitted into the darkness. The words sounded twisted and faded, slipping from her mouth as if she were recalling a memory from her childhood, and not the events of the week before. I am king, king of the Sigrun, warlord and wayfinder dangerous, so dangerous to give to another... so treacherous is her tongue that it even snakes over @Aphrodite's ear in a quick flick of affection. the Sigrun... we are not an easy bunch, but our passion meets no other. I would hope.... I do hope... you would find fulfillment with me - by me. Next to me.

She revels in the closeness, craving the lilted breathing of her companion across her face, hoping for some sign that she had offered something good, and not the curse so many of her generation (and lineage, truly) found to be Vellen's calling. if.. if that's okay.

She listened to what @Iðunn said in her slurred state. Pausing when the giantess paused herself, violet jewels looking at her with an intensity that was normal held for fighting. Ears twitching as she listened to what was being said. Some of it did catch her off guard and Aphrodite would blinked at Iðunn for a brief moment, wondering if she had heard her right.

For a moment she stayed quiet as she listened to the announcement of becoming Jarl of the Sigrun. That she was a King, head honcho of the Sigrun and as Aphrodite felt her tongue run over her ear causing her to rumble a purr from her chest. Violet jewels looked at Iðunn, like really looked at her as she listened to what was said. To know the traditions of the Sigrun. That they drawn their children, but Aphrodite has heard worse.

Blinking again, Aphrodite found herself silent for just a brief moment before words finally found their way to the surface. As long as you do not betrayed me as Miaran did, and I am yours. She had felt a connection when they met. And though she hadn't drank anything at the party, she highly doubt Iðunn was lying about any of this.

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Sigrun women were not meant to be emotional, at least not in the way of affections and sweetness and love rather than anger and ferocity and tumultuousness. For a hundred generations, the women of her family were meant to be hardened, solid and untouchable as ironwood, but Idunn... Idunn was sweet pine under @Aphrodite's gentle purr, a swaying branch that laid bare her needles and spines, sap oozing from her nicks and bruises.

Never on my life, tree-sap and sea-salt formed her, molding her body into candied liquor set aside for a lover turned confidant in the recesses of their public hideaway, a public fear unspoken in their private space: never would you have had me in this life, if you knew what I could See.

She doesn't allow the dark waves to growl their cruel agreement this time. Instead, she steals the seconds between doubt and anxiety to press a chaste kiss upon her lady's cheek, her nose tracing the sharp curves from cheekbone to jaw - lingering, memorizing. I am not made for betrayal. I wear my tongue on my chin and my heart in my hand. That's how I can so easily give it to you, all here, no catch. No obligation.

She gives her wrist a delicate flick to reveal her peachy pads, now torn and calloused from the obsidian sands that decorated the Sigrun homeland, a cut for every rock and shell that pierced her skin without her knowledge or care. Each line criss-crossed another, so tangled and worn that it was impossible to tell where one storied path started and another began, and most importantly: it was impossible to hide a single one.

I don't expect you to never indulge yourself with another, I'd be a liar then. I -hm - the giantess cleared her throat, but still managed a cheeky little wink - am not above a man or woman of the night, so long as yours is the final bed I reach for at least... three summers. Not counting this one, of course. This is my free one. Another winning smile graced her wide muzzle, all warmth and saccharine sincerity invading the darkened corners of her mouth.

Violet hues watched the Sigrun King beside her. Breathing in the woman's perfume. How intoxicating it had become without Aphrodite realizing it. She craved it and it wasn't like how it was with Miaran. No Aphrodite knew that her relationship with Miaran has been strictly lust, it has been something built on a deal that broke within days of being forged but this? No this was different. There has been a connection. She has built some kind of trust with @Iðunn even as she felt her feelings grow like wildfire.

At first Aphrodite had wasn't to fight it. Keep her distance which has been why she didn't go looking for idunn when she returned but that failed obviously. Words hit her ears causing them to twitch as she listened, once more breathing in Idunn's scent as she pressed her nose against her cheek and jaw. Memorizing it herself. But this, this was not made of a deal as Idunn started. There was nothing here and all Idunn wanted was Aphrodite. And all Aphrodite wanted was a life with Idunn.

Aphrodite turned to face Iðunn then and gave her a smirk. I am yours and you are mine until death comes knocking on my door and even in the after life. She would state, she didn't really catch the joke not knowing what she meant by that. And then Aphrodite pushed her nose against Iðunn's cheek, breathing her in. I just want you... It was a vow. At one point, Aphrodjte would've enjoyed a harem of wives and husbands, but now? After her betrayal with Miaran. She didn't want to deal with all of that drama.

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Granted. Who was she to deny the lady's wish when she had so unabashedly pursued her, openly and awkwardly but ultimately sincerely? Branches twirled around each other (sweet pine and flowering rosewood, tangling, shifting to account for the other's gnarled roots); and for a moment, Idunn felt as though she may have to shift away to keep Aphrodite from noticing the rapid drum of her heartbeat, far too fast and far too thready to be normal, even in the afterglow haze of hangover and confession.

I can do just me. She didn't have the anatomy for children, or at least, for siring, as was a king's typical duty; a shame - Sigrun children by Aphrodite and herself would be jotunn in their own right (of this, Idunn was sure). But... there was something about being wanted as surely as she was wanting (wanting, isn't that what she had greeted Eisa with? Wanting? No, it should've been needing because this -

she closed her scarred paw around her lover's queen's own.

- this was wanting)

/ "all breeding threads must have a fade" per guidebook so fade out for nebulous lovins here ? idk i've never done this before lol

Rolling SummerBreedingAttempt 1d50: 7
Your breeding attempt was successful! You may now submit your cub request in the maintenance forum.

The words slipped from @Iðunn's lips. Granted her what she wanted and it brought a smile to her face as she pressed her side into the giantess. Her ears twisted, pushing down on her head as she continued to listen and if Iðunn was worried about her own heart beating to loudly, she didn't need to worry. Aphrodite's own heart was beating too loudly for herself to hear anything else. The noise in her ears caused for her to nearly go deaf but it wasn't anything she was worried about. She knew that this, this was where she was meant to be. It hadn't been Miaran she should've been married to, but Iðunn herself . This was why her path had brought her here. She was home.

Exit via fade of cuddles and lovins.

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