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Post by libellule on Nov 13, 2011 14:06:22 GMT -6
Danalli was quiet for a while, treading lightly on such a known tense subject. Listening to Asina speak and remembering that dreadful memory displayed for all to see. She was grateful and she kicked herself at the same time. She’d been so stupid. The prey in her had been so stupid… The aeon shook it off quickly. No she had told herself there would be no negative energy this day, she wouldn’t let it creep up on her like that again.
’…Silus…’
There was a pain in her heart when the queen spoke of her lost son. A pain and a longing to try and make the proud woman next to her as joyful as she could. No other person, no other creature, deserved joy as much as Asina did. Danallli nodded, murmured a soft ‘mm’ as Asina concluded. “Well, my friend,” she spoke honestly and sweetly, “I have only heard great ballads and legends of your father. What a demon he must have been… Silus would be a perfect name for a son you would love just as much.” She nodded in high agreement, doing her best to pick her words wisely and thoughtfully. “A perfect, fitting name.”
There was a soft undertone that had a twinge of reminiscence. Memories of the past were scathing by, but they were fleeting and continued to move by. “It looks like we are inspired by some similar instances, kindred,” she cooed with a soft chirp.
Asina’s laughter made Danalli cock a brow in her direction. Now what was so funny? She blinked, turning fully to Asina, noting the affectionate look on her face.
’…nothing would make him more… giddy… than having a son named after him.’
Giddy… what a word she’d never heard in the same sentence as her swathed ShadowSpawn. She chuckled, her own excitement brightening her own aura slightly. “I am so thrilled you like it! I had my doubts, but something reassured me… Something I couldn’t refute.” Five months it would be… Until she got to fall in love second pair of beautiful purple eyes all over again.
Although she was out, clearing her mind and having lovely down time with her queen, Danalli was building a small amount of anticipation to find him in the next few hours and tell him so /very/ pressing information. Oh the look on his face if she made hers frantic. Oh she would be such a trickster tonight.
“Oh Asina…” she spoke mischieviously, “Don’t you worry that shaggy mane of yours. I can only hope you do taunt him, /and/ tease him. It will be our little shared endeavor to get him all sorts of tortured, painlessly… in the physical sense of course.” Oh dear, the complete ‘ok’ she was giving Asina to run off and tantalize her poor little fussy zephyr was maybe not the best idea… for him. For her… however.
But the aeon felt the man needed a de-tressing. He had been wound up tightly lately. Zanen needed to be picked on; he needed a good laugh as much as she had needed a ride on Souzan.
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Post by Willow on Nov 13, 2011 14:28:25 GMT -6
A maliciously mischievous grin was painted across her lips now. Danalli had given her permission to play with poor Zanen, and she fully intended to do just that. Perhaps she would make sure to pass him sometime before he met up with Danalli, put on a blank or concerned face, and tell him that Danalli needed to tell him something, something important about their son. Doubtless he would spirit off in that instant despite the logic that if there were anything truly wrong with either mother or child he would know through the Seal he had on the mother. No, he’d just ignore logic and dive into the shadows and race to Danalli’s side.
The thought made her snicker. Perhaps later. She still needed to talk to Ciel first. She wasn’t going to risk being around Zanen with the knowledge she knew had before being able to talk to her mate first. Her brother knew her too well. She’d been avoiding him since she’d started feeling a bit off, knowing that he would start getting fussy the moment he scented that something was wrong – which he undoubtedly would. Especially because her scent had already started to change. Ciel had noticed it. He didn’t know what it meant, but Zanen would fuss until she told him or slashed at him.
So for now, it was best to avoid him until she could tell him exactly what was going on. Of course, she wasn’t exactly looking forward to his reaction. The last time, he had been ecstatic, but this time…? Not only did he and Ciel not exactly get along most of the time, but Zanen had been there that day, he had seen the aftermath of not the action. Knowing him, that would be the first thing he thought of when she told him of the second chance she had been given. He would worry, and he would direct his aggression toward Ciel, she just knew he would. And that was something that she really would rather not deal with, at least not until she knew exactly how Ciel felt. Plus, she knew Ciel too, and he would be more than pissed if Zanen knew before he did. Which was something she really would rather avoid.
Asina let out a sigh and shook her head. “I almost feel bad for him, what we are going to put him through,” she said, but she was grinning. “Almost.”
They continued to walk along the river a little while longer, and Asina just enjoyed the air, and the peace. But with the wave of peace that filled her, the more her anxiety grew.
Nightmare gave a loud snort. ’Just tell him, Asina. Go find him and tell him. Until you do you are only going to be a bundle of nerves.’
Asina growled and slapped him lightly on the neck, to which Nightmare only snorted and jostled her a bit. “Shut up, you,” she grumbled, then looked over to Danalli with an expression of vague apology. “Sorry about that, ‘Nalli… I just… there is something I need to do. Thank you for riding with me, it helped clear my head. Now I need to go talk to Ciel.” She flashed her friend a bright smile. “If all goes well, I’ll come find you after, alright? There’s something I want to share with you, too.” [/center]
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Post by libellule on Nov 13, 2011 15:15:33 GMT -6
Oh Danalli knew that sadistic grin so well. Her poor Zanen. Perhaps she shouldn’t have given her- Nah. She mentally waved a hand at her second guesses. She would enjoy this. Maybe after this he wouldn’t be so fussy with her. /He/ would learn a lesson this time. Yes. That sounded very nice.
For all of the times he had sat her down and been frazzled over her and for all of the times she reframed from rolling her eyes… Maybe he would adjust his views slightly and remember that she knew more about her son’s vulnerability inside of her than he did. He was /inside/ of her after all… And with Asina’s help.
’She’s right… she’s always damn right…’
She smirked at his voice. A memory from his reddened anger a while ago, one she’d specifically remembered for any sort of proof that was needed to authenticate Asina’s validity. He had even admitted it. So with her feisty ‘sister’ on her side, the aeon was practically invincible to his patronizing. Fussy he may be… but there was no way she was going be stuck in that bed again until the hours before Zane was born. Ok… unless she was tired. But that was it! Oh… And maybe if she wanted to sleep in. But after that it was the last straw.
“Don’t think about it,” the aeon answered her with a matching grin, “We’re doing it for his unknown enjoyment. The man could use a prank! So in reality… we’re doing him a favor. I knew you’d be the best person to help me, sister.” Her excited blue tinted eyes opened to answer her sovereign’s amusement.
She had been enjoying the crisp air, closing her eyes to the breeze and the freedom. Souzan’s soft breaths were not as deep and relaxing as Necromancer’s, but they were soft and slow. They served to relax her and allow her to let all of the palace ‘enslavement’ and confinement drift away into the open warm sunlight.
A growl made her open her eyes as she held in a giggle as Asina whacked her mount. Then the sovereign regarded her with soft apologetic eyes. The aeon rose a brow again. Asina spoke of going and talking to Ciel, no doubt to clear her mind even more. Danalli nodded in complete understanding. If anyone could pull Asina from her icy thoughts and morose moods, it would be that good friend of hers, Ciel Ahniraeh. She had watched it countless times before.
“Asina its silly to apologize to me. I am just happy to have spent time with you. I hardly get to see you as often. Let’s go for rides more often. My little Zane won’t harbor me from them. Not even on the day of his birth.” The spirited aeon chirped a soft laughter. She then nodded to Nightmare, she couldn’t very well bid Asina goodbye without acknowledging another demon.
“I’ve heard you are an ‘unpleasant vicious monster,’” the aeon began, mocking Zanen’s tone before she continued with her own soft one, “Vicious monster perhaps, but unpleasant… I didn’t think so. It was very nice to be in your company, Nightmare.”
And they were gone before she had blinked a few times. -
Although Souzan seemed relaxed while Nightmare was nearby he was extremely guarded, a feat Danalli had ensured the mortal creature knew to be very well around demons and another immortal laced things. No she could feel him fall into his normal pace and his normal breaths.
“You did so very well, Souz..” she said blissfully to him, laying tenderly up his neck as he gingerly curling it to nuzzle her shin. Danalli sat up again and pulled a thick unbuckled band from one of his sadly bags. It appeared to be a padded girdle of some sort. But as she strapped it across her plump midriff it became some else. A protective shield for her stomach, both padded and with a piece of smithed metal. She had it made for this circumstance alone and she asked for it to be adjustable. The smith had been wary, but Danalli offered a high payment and if Zanen became upset that she would not allow the smith to be harmed. It was her idea after all. He had simply fashioned it.
With her armor in place and her stance adjusted and everything else in check, Danalli cooed a soft sound to the stallion, who pawed at the loose dirt, prancing in place every now and then.
They would race near the river and take a wide arch back to the palace. Maybe an hour or two… Maybe more.
“Take us, Souz.” The stallion reared lightly with an excited whinny, it was more of a soft prance with his pregnant cargo, and bolted into a strong gallop.
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Post by Willow on Nov 13, 2011 15:44:27 GMT -6
The ride back into the city was swift enough that she didn’t change her mind about going now to speak with her mate, but also long enough for her anxiety to begin building again. Nightmare had a few choice things to say about that, which Asina pointedly ignored. It was somewhat comforting that he was so willing to rip into Ciel on her behave if he did not behave himself appropriately, but she wasn’t about to let Nightmare sit in on this particular conversation. It was to be a private moment.
If Ciel proved to be… well, if things didn’t go well, then after she was done with him perhaps she would toss Nightmare the scraps, but deep down she had a solid confidence in her mate. Ciel was her Parallel. He was her true mate. He was twin to her soul. It had taken them centuries of a secret affair for them to finally say ‘screw it’ and come out of the shadows with their affections, but now most people knew that she and Ciel were a mated pair. Those who didn’t found out soon enough, because the two did not hide themselves anymore. When they went into the marketplace or went to the tavern with their troops they did not reign in their affections. They were demons! When they wanted to touch each other, they would, and they had long since stopped pretending to be less than what they were.
He was hers, solely hers, and he felt the same possession about her.
Her hand rested on her flat belly as Nightmare pulled to a stop just outside the grounds. She could see Ciel, finishing up the last of the morning training sessions, and it made her smile softly, affectionately. Her precious monster. He held himself with such a strong and powerful authority. Her troops heeded him as a natural leader, and he instructed them well. He used force when he needed to, but was a patient teacher.
There was a flash and for an instant she could see him smiling with a little boy on his shoulders. Laughing, playing together. A family.
There was a little knock on the inside of her head and Asina opened herself up to the touch of the goddess on reflex. ’Oh, I forgot to tell you something. I was going to leave it as a surprise but… Well, Baelli decided that you will need to be able to prepare appropriately and threw enough of a fuss that, well… you know I just can’t say no to her when she has to have her way…’
Asina almost rolled her eyes. Really, the two of them were like an old married couple… which she supposed they were. But what her goddess mother said made her pause, made her have to force down her panic. Something she needed to know? To prepare for? That couldn’t be good, could it? But Saeliir wanted to make it a surprise?
’Oh stop your worrying, child! You think I would really surprise you with bad news? Come now. Really, I thought you were the logical one! What I wanted to tell you was that I had this planned. I worked very long and hard to be able to give you this chance again, so I did. Your boy surprised me, though. He was determined be born. Darling little zephyr, he will surely do your father proud as his namesake.’
A low growl bubbled from Asina’s chest. “Will you just get on with it!” she hissed, and heard the goddess’s silvery laugher dance inside her head.
’Tish, I would rather just show you.
Her vision of Ciel giving his last orders of training faded, and she was seeing another place and another time, not too far in the future. It was one similar to her little bout of imagination a few minutes before. There was Ciel, playing with a young boy, the happy toddler riding his shoulders. The boy was beautiful. But for the shag of black hair, he looked exactly like his father, golden eyes and all. The play stopped momentarily as Ciel and the little boy both turned their attention to an open doorway. From the other room, she saw herself enter, and in her arms was a sleeping little girl with long black hair. Ciel’s mouth moved as if he were saying something, but this vision had no sound.
Then it faded.
When Asina came back to reality, there were tears on her face and the goddess had left her mind. Ciel was also standing alone on the training field. He would know she was there, would have sensed her the moment she arrived.
Nightmare snorted and shifted his weight, not saying anything but Asina knew what he was telling her. So she dismounted and went to her mate without bothering to wipe the tears from her face. There was no need to bother, he’d smell the salt anyway and would know they had been there.
When she reached him, she took a deep breath and looked up at him. “Ciel…”
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Post by libellule on Nov 13, 2011 23:02:17 GMT -6
“I suppose that should be enough for the morning.”
The massive demon jeered humorously at his lot of sweating elites. They had been up just after the sunrise. He could smell their relief and their exhaustion. It would fade within a few hours and then perhaps there would be another few hours before sundown. Yes… keeping his own muscles in a fine tuned state was worth this exertion. He loved the feel of that burn, the good burn. The ache of stretching and tearing of his sinew, only to have them rest overnight and build, repair themselves into stronger, thicker tendons and flesh.
Hn. It was strange. A few years ago, the male would never have been caught in an epicenter of attention at the front of Asina’s elite forces. He would be in the marketplaces of either warring nation, slitting throats of enemies in their homes and alleyways. Enemies who had paid him handsomely to leave no trace, or paint their home in red. He was an assassin created to massacre all those who stood in his path and who stood in the path of his customers.
Then… she came along.
He chuckled to himself as the guard dispersed. Ah yes… His dear little woman. His fire. Asina. Mm the very thought of her brought a sizzle to his skin, a craving that slitherred up his spine and bloomed across his shoulders and neck in a blistering hot desire for her skin to be near his. He could only hope she had been feeling much better and was simply sulking.
He didn’t think he could be torn from her for long. Perhaps they would find a closet he could shove her in. Mm yes, she’d rip in him for pushing her around. Just like she had this morning when he told her to rest. Heh… The reaction and attack from her made his blood rise and his heartbeat stammer in lust. All the while something had been nagging him in the back of his mind in relation to her actual actions.
She seemed… off.
Not sick or anything of that nature, but different. It was something he’d never come across before, so he thought… It changed her scent and even her very emotions were teeter-totering about. A small amount of concern had announced itself when he told her she should rest earlier in the day. Asina never felt… off. Perhaps she had overworked herself or maybe just eaten the wrong… She had been hard at work trying to find a way to get the aeons and zephyrs freed from the Forest of Lost Souls. At one point she hadn’t slept for near two weeks. His growls and fussiness fell deaf on her ears which earn her a sharp vicious snap from him, which of course spun in a heated clawing fest, which… with a little bite at her neck… well you get the jist.
Asina had assured him rest was all she needed, even if it was reluctant and ignored his tender caress, trying to disregard it. But he saw it in her eyes before she averted them. She enjoyed his calming touch. Her affectionate snarl alerted him that he’d won this battle, left quickly to attend her troop and so that she would miss the gloating in his eyes. He had shrugged off her ‘offness’ and focused on training her strong soldiers. They needed direction or else they’d all become lazy and useless. Asina would come to him if anything should arise and he… he would be at her side in mere moments.
And here she was, behind him, with that strange scent. But now… something else was interlaced with it. Salt. Interesting.
“I thought you would’ve come for me hide hours ago-“
”Ciel…”
He’d been slowly turning around with a relaxed teasing expression, but now his entire attention turned with a snap to face his parallel. Shock and confusion sifted across his face as he took a quick stride to her. There was a mere fragment of space between them in seconds.
The salt were tears, so fresh. His palms were cradling her cheeks before he’d registered them moving, his thumb brushing her blatant emotions away. Asina /never/ showed so much raw emotion in public. Ciel’s gaze clouded with red slightly as he snapped a vicious glare towards Nightmare. Could he have something to do with this?!
He reigned in his demon, thinking clearly. Nightmare would never harm Asina and would attempt to never upset her. He shook his head slightly, returning his attention to his mate. “Asina,” he cooed, running a hand through her hair, leaving the other on her petite cheek, “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
A frantic instinct began to shake him. She was never like this, not within pain, not without the past, and most certainly not in the open on the elite training field. He snarled defensively to all eyes that had begun to look in their direction. He swooped her in his massive arms instantly, cradling her. She could tear into him for this ‘affectionate’ display later.
The zephyr nodded a thanks to Nightmare for bringing her to him, carrying his sovereign to their chambers. He snapped and snarled at anyone who cared to look in their direction on the way in.
He entered their chambers, shutting the door with his foot, before draping her daintly on their bed, before sitting down next to her, adjusting his position to be as close to her as possible. Something inside of him was telling him to be as close as he could manage, a request he could never deny when it came to his Parallel.
“There,” he eased, trying to still the tremor in his voice, brushing another fresh tear from his beauty’s face, “You are safe from anyone’s ears, Parallel. Tell me, Asina. Tell me please. I will cut down anything that has done you wrong, say it and I will do it.”
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Post by Willow on Nov 13, 2011 23:27:29 GMT -6
She’d known. Her sweet and terrible monster, her most perfect demon… she’d known that he would be attuned to her, just as he had been these past few weeks. He’d turned to her as she approached, and in an instant he was reacting for her. He pulled her close and she let him, still in a state akin to shock at the curve ball that her goddess mother had just thrown at her. She didn’t know how to react, not really. To think that she had been so blessed…
“Ah, no…” she managed to say softly to his frantic question if she was hurt, or if there was something wrong. The words were so quiet though, and fell on deaf ears. His panic softened something inside of her. Oh her sweet demon.
Would that change when she told him?
Her mind was not wandering, she was very much in the present, and just so she was very much aware of the eyes that now landed on the two of them. Asina did not show vulnerability often, and never in public, /never/ in front of her troops. She was to be the steadfast and impenetrable leader, infallible and immune to pesky things like emotions or other such nonsense that lead to vulnerability or weakness. But at the moment she just… she couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t stop the slow trail of tears, and she couldn’t stop her need to be near him for these few precious moments of certainty. She needed to feel his arms around her, needed the scent of his musk to fill her nose. She breathed deeply and relaxed against him, letting him pull her close without a fight or word of protest. Sometimes it was just good to be held…
In an instant she was swept up into his arms and instead of snapping at him as she otherwise might have done, she curled into his body and snuggled as close to him as she could, feeling the power and the safety of those arms that held her. Everything could change within the next few minutes… and she wanted to hold on to what she had right here and right now for as long as she possibly could. Ciel was her Parallel, her mate. He would never want to hurt her, would never seek to destroy her… but she had thought the same thing before, hadn’t she?
No. That was a different time, with an unworthy man.
They were in their bedchamber, he was holding her close on the bed, waiting for her to speak, for her to tell him what was troubling her. There was no time but now. Here it was, the moment had come. It was time to open herself up fully to him, more completely than she ever had, than she had ever thought she would have to. She loved Ciel, craved him, needed him. He was as much a part of her as her own blood, as the forest that she would one day reclaim as her home. So Asina took in a deep, centering breath and prepared herself.
Then she looked up at Ciel with a gentle but serious expression, the flow of tears slowing as she raised her tiny hands to cup his face. “Then be prepared to cut yourself down, my sweet demon, if you do not find this as a blessing and a joy.” Her voice broke. She was actually going to say it… actually going to admit it out loud for the first time. Her tears began to flow rapidly now and her grip on his face tightened as she pressed her eyes shut to try and get a hold of herself enough to actually say it. Oh, but she was afraid, afraid because saying it would really make it real. By saying it, anything could happen. Good and bad, anything could happen.
But she must move forward.
Asina took in a deep collecting breath and dropped one hand to rest on her flat belly, the other gripping him tightly as she smiled at him, the expression watery but soft, affectionate, gentle, and absolutely overjoyed.
“Because I would hate to have to explain to your children why they don’t have a father.” [/center]
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Post by libellule on Nov 14, 2011 0:10:00 GMT -6
Well that was something different… She bended to him, molded into him in an affectionately… womanly way. His precious mate never allowed her adorations to become /that/ incredibly loving, not without their clothes shed on the floor and their sheets ripped into ribbons, alone in the darkness of their chamber.
Safety, some unknown link cooed to him. Asina needed his protection, his power needed to cover her, douse her and encircle her. His purr answered that precious beautiful request. /Nothing/ would touch her now until she was level once more. Friend or foe. If anything came through that door, the zephyr was on unrestrained taunt defense. Anything… everything would be cut down until his mate was relaxed, until her tears stopped, and that sardonic smirk returned to her lips.
“Then be prepared to cut yourself down, my sweet demon, if you do not find this as a blessing and a joy.”
A low growl hummed in his throat in exasperation. What game was she playing with him…? This? What could /this/ be? His heart began to hammer against his chest as he felt her stiffen and noticed her tears fall faster. She was digging a knife through him. His fangs bared in anxiety, resisting the urge to snap at her to get on with it. To just tell him!
He could taste her fear, he could smell the salt of her tears along with the sweat that was beginning to fill her pores. She was… afraid. AFRAID OF WHAT?! What could it be? What could put her in such a state? Who? He was kill them. He would slaughter what had her so distraught… so unmistakably upset…-
”…I would hate to explain to your children…”
He felt his world slide to a grimy halt as his eyes fell on her hand at her stomach. Children…
”…why they don’t have a father…
The world had gone mute for what seemed like hours as his once tight grip loosened on his Parallel. His breaths were slow and sluggish, but his lungs needed more air to fill them. He closed his eyes and stood from her, his back faced to her. Ciel tried to grasp just what was happening as his head swam for moments. Children…? The Gods had blessed him with children. A snarl befell his lips and lit up the room. Those wretched goddesses would see his demise before blessing him with any sort of gift. This had to be a trick. A heated growl followed at the feel of an otherworldly presence in his mind.
Perhaps, fallen son… There is a chance of redemption from past endeavors... A chance to become and have what you fought so hard to protect. A family.
He knew that divine voice well. He’d never forget it, Baelli… His vicious sounds were choked off suddenly at that word. F-family?
His chest shuddered as he breath again, his shoulders quaking. His eyes had allowed red to spin within them as he half turned to Asina. Perhaps the relief was not as well noticed in his reddened gaze as it fell on his mate’s flat belly. Perhaps the sharpness of his moves as he fell to his knees before her stomach had startled her tear streaked visage… The reminiscent way his hand was placed on her skin all too similar to the way he’d seen her wicked unworthy mate touch her once round stomach.
“Asina,” he croaked, leaning his forehead against her midriff, his hand still at her vulnerable stomach. There was a grip of her shirt’s fabric before it was tore from her suddenly and his skin rested on hers, an arm wrapping around the small beautiful curve of her back, tightening possessively with every moment that past by.
His hand caressed her warm bare skin, as his forehead did not leave it to look up to her, instead there was a dampening against her tummy as his shoulders shuddered again. Weeping… he was silently allowing them to drench her and them… with his joy.
Them… Children… his little ones.
“Anything,” he pledged softly to the souls that lay protected in her womb, caressing her skin with his hand, with his lips, “Everything that exists on this or any land will never take me from you. Ever. I will never let anything happen to you. My blessings…”
He raised his tear streaked face to his mate, his hand trailing up her back to encircle her face as an affectionate snarl tantalized her.
”My Joy.”
It was a precious soft tone, but the weight of it was deafening as he pulled her to his lips in a crushing passionate embrace. This began a new chapter. And this time… /nothing/ was going to take it away from him.
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Post by Willow on Nov 14, 2011 0:32:13 GMT -6
Gods above, she couldn’t breathe. Her breath was stalled in her lungs as if time around her had stopped but her mind kept moving forward, aware of the universal pause. As if in slow motion she could feel his grip on her loosen, could feel him draw back from her, and then everything was propelled into motion again, but this time it was moving too fast for her to catch up. The world around her was a blur, but she was frozen, scrambling to catch up. He pulled away from her and her hand tried to catch him, tried to follow, but she was moving in another dimension, a fearful spectator to this horrific sport of hit, miss, devotion, and betrayal. She reached for him, but all she was able to catch was that low and angry snarl.
His back was to her, she could see the tension in his shoulders, that hunch of coiled muscles as if he were about to spring at some invisible enemy. Then he turned slightly toward her, and where she was hoping to see a deep and accepting gold… she saw only crimson.
It was like all of her nightmares coming to life. It was the past revisited, and yet this time it was worse. It was so much worse…
He dropped suddenly to his knees in front of her, moving sharply and aggressively, and her brain stuttered and scrambled to catch up with what was going on. Her defenses did not want to rise. They were too shocked. She had actually believed, deep down inside, that he would be different. That he would join her. That this would be the beginning of a new and better chapter in a novel about a world of darkness and betrayal, of horror and love lost, of genocide and the evil of the light. She had believed… She had allowed herself a weakness, had allowed herself trust and vulnerability. She had allowed his arms to envelope her, his hand to cover her, hands that she knew could turn into deadly claws at any moment and rip into her. He could tear her apart, but she would heal from the wounds he could give her. She would never heal from dealing him his death. And the loss of the two souls burning inside of her would end her world. Forever.
From that there would be no retribution.
Her fear was potent, but the instant he came in contact with her stomach so was her rage. No. She didn’t care who it was, no one would harm her babies. No one would DARE steal them from her again. If she had to slaughter her own mate, she would do it to protect her unborn children. She had been twice-blessed. There were twins growing inside of her now. A little boy, namesake of her father, and a little girl. A little prince and a little princess. Innocent.
They were INNOCENT!
A vicious snarl tore from her throat as Ciel pulled her in. She was blind to his apparent affection now. All she could see were those crimson eyes. All she could connect were the similarities tying now to then…
She tore away from him, standing a few paces away with her legs apart, her posture feral and defensive, one clawed hand positioned defensively in front of her belly and the other one poised to attack. “NO!” she shrieked. “I WON’T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN! NOT AGAIN!”
The grief in her voice was shattering, the fear and the rage overpowering. Tears were streaking freely down her face now, her voice was breaking, her whole form shaking. She had not yet summoned her power yet. Her eyes were coal, not the gold of an impending slaughter. Her breath shuddered.
“Not you too…” she said softly, her voice the croak of a woman half-destroyed. “My Parallel… Not you…”
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Post by libellule on Nov 14, 2011 0:58:13 GMT -6
Had he not just shown her his joy? His love for his kin?
There was a shattering in his mind as she tore away from his embrace. She tore away from him as he pledged his little beautiful souls his unending devotion. His protection. His only gift he could give to them. He had nothing left. But she ripped their closeness from his cheek, they’d been so close. He sworn he’d heard two uneven pitter-patters. Beautiful zephyrs curled into the other, growing.
The terrifying roar was swallowed in his throat at the look on her distraught face. She had distanced them from him and already he felt the distance was too much for his soul to bear. He hung his head, breaking that gaze from her beautiful stomach. The womb that housed his precious cargo. The two creatures he would do anything to protect. Two creatures he would give his life for…
Then she shrieked at him, screamed at him in utter fear and rage. Both braided together to aim an attack that assaulted his very heart. That cut him so deeply it only brought up twisted memories. Noir’s face as a child came into view as he opened his eyes to the floor. The gurgle and smile of her untainted face as he’d held her… wrapped in his arms so many years ago drove that knife even deeper. It was safest place she would ever reside. He gasped in the pain of his memory, a hand gripping at his shoulder tightly, crossing it over his chest, over his heart.
Then he looked up to her with broken golden eyes. The hurt in them was deep and he felt his anguish at the bottom of his soles to the tip of his crown. Could she feel it too?
She had filed him side by side with that…. /animal./ That decrepit creature that had shown innocent precious gifts no mercy, nothing. And now with the way her coal black eyes watched him with a position that only meant his demise he could not work up the energy to snarl at her for her utter stupidity. He could not growl or roar at her with the way her past allowed her to paint similarities between /Merik/ and him! How dare she set him at a level as disgusting and low as that abomination. That disgusting abhorrence that he would like nothing but to dig into and destroy.
Oh he would have found the red tint in his eyes if the agony of his heart had not painted clarity over it first. Secretly, the zephyr was glad. Perhaps becoming angry and vicious of her past mate with her in such a state would unravel an onslaught that he himself could not control.
“How dare you,” he whispered to his love in broken breaths, “Put me next to such a creature. How dare you assume I would /ever/ destroy what I love so much. What I would die to protect…”
He rose without thought, without fear of her soon to be summoned. If she could not see his devotion to her know, she never would. He ignored the ferocity, and slapped away her poised attacking hand, jostling her stomach’s defensive hand, and embraced her, biting at her neck, his mark.
“You are my parallel. Never would I do you /any/ harm, beloved Asina.”
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Post by Willow on Nov 14, 2011 1:29:24 GMT -6
Had he tried to plead with her, she would have struck him down where he stood. Had he attempted to cajole her with promises of sincerity, she would have absolutely demolished him. Because that would have marked him as a liar and a traitor, as unworthy. Only a liar would attempt to talk her down now, a liar in fear of his own pathetic life.
But Ciel did not try to reign her in. No, he rose up to meet her. As her Parallel, he rose to meet her.
“What choice do you give me when you turn to me with red in your eyes, a snarl in your chest?” she returned, unable to contain the emotion that filled her. The pain, oh the pain. “The rage, and then sweetness, and then…” She let out an animalistic shriek of raw emotion. “And then complete and utter betrayal. You call him an animal, and you are right, but remember that until that moment he was mine. My mate. My own. He held my heart in his hands as you do now, Parallel.” Her voice broke and reknit over and over again with each word she spoke, each shuddering breath she took.
“It never crossed my mind back then. And now? Had I thought you were that man I never would have said anything. I don’t know what I would have done, but I never would have said anything.”
He was moving closer, batting away the hand she held poised to strike… and she found that she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t destroy him as he pulled her close to him, his mouth enclosing around the mark that made her utterly and completely his. “What would you have had me think, Parallel?” she whispered now, her voice choked with uncertainty and sorrow. “What would you have me think when you turn to me with red in your eyes and anger welling in your chest, reaching for my babies… our babies… as he once did?”
Her mind and her instinct warred with each other. One wanted to slash and flee, the other wanted to curl into the embrace. Instinct favored her Parallel, and her mind, the cool and the calculating, could only draw those parallels.
But she could feel him. She could feel him as if he were inside of her. He touched her, he reclaimed that mark, sunk his teeth into her, and she could feel him. The power that united them, that ancient power that marked them as more than mates, but as Parallels, rushed through her and she knew Truth. She could feel the swell of his love, of his hurt, and she knew that he wasn’t about to hurt her nor the children she carried within her belly. He would be her sword and shield, he would be her protector. He would be the protector of their children. He would never harm them, of that she knew. There had never been any intention of it, it just didn’t exist within him. All there was, was joy and love.
And pain, because of her accusations. But what else was she to have done? She had to protect her babies. Nothing was more important, not even her dearest love, not even her Parallel.
She sank into him, let him pull her in as she clung to him, allowing herself to open up to him again, releasing her emotions. Fear, joy, terror, relief… she allowed it to flow back to him as she latched on and held him as close as she could, as if she were trying to pull him into herself.
“How dare you,” she hissed to him. “How dare you blame me in acting to protect my children. How /dare/ you…” Her voice was low and angry, but she did not pull away from him. If he made one sharp or tense move, she was ready, her muscles tense to tear him apart, and even with her instincts on his side, she would not hesitate to do so. Perhaps it was not so before, but now was the time to be soft, now was the time to be gentle and cajoling. There was nothing more lethal than a demon mother protecting her children.
“I would kill you, Ciel. It would destroy me, but I would kill you if it meant protecting the life inside of me.”
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Post by libellule on Nov 14, 2011 2:05:05 GMT -6
She had been confused by his actions. Sounds and appearances he had allowed to slip past his defense in his worry, in his shock. He had attuned his growls and snarls to his goddess mothers for their trickery that he had believed existed.
“I am your Parallel, Asina,” he snarled so lovingly into her skin, trying to get her to realize the difference between Merik and himself. His grip tightened around her, “And I am your kin in blood, through and through. Your beliefs and your loves are my own. /Our/ little ones will never be stolen. The thought would never cross my mind, will never cross my mind. “That sound and those eyes were not for you, not for them, which would only serve to explain why my back was turned to you.” He didn’t want her distressed. He wanted to return that brightness to her beautiful face. He wanted to sooth the angry and fire blooming within her. He wanted to lay her back and pacify all worry and fretting that had attached to her mind.
“I do not hold your heart, Asina,” he whispered fiercely, his breath hotly coating her skin, “I hold you entirely. It is my duty; my oath to protect all that is you, all that is /my/ mate. They are apart of you, connected. Our babies. “I am not your past, Parallel. I am something different entirely. I am your future and I will never go away.”
Then she vowed her vengeance, she pledged him an oath that cut into him yet again. Ever so slightly his grip sagged at her sharp offering, her promise and his pride was pummeled. He wanted to show her his joy.
“Did you not hear, Parallel,” he asked tightly, lifting his head ever so slowly from the crook of her neck as he creased his knees again, and dropped to them before her. It was a vulnerable position to take before such a power driven and ready mother to be. He looked at her through clear burnished eyes that only shimmered a soft amount of hurt and the small growth of adoration as he was once again near his growing offspring. Their pitter-patter was unmistakable.
His calloused fingertips drifted down her skin in a lulling glide, smooth without deception or mischief. Both of his hands rested on her bare sides as he had torn her shirt away, clean off. His thumbs glided over the outskirts of her womb, a place that would be round soon.
Very easingly, the massive zephyr rested his cheek against her flat skin, his thumbs leaving her sides to wrap about her, tenderly, protectively. “I told you they were my blessings, Parallel,” his whispered was fragile as his eyes were closed against her skin, “I told you anything and everything could try to take them from me. Could try.” His watery stark clear optics opened up to her in a vivid bold display. “But nothing would get close. I will not let anything happen to them. Not to them, not to you. Because you are the joy that gives me a spark to live. Gives me reason to press. Asina don’t you see? Now you have given me more. /You,/ Parallel have done me so well with such a gift. Let me be yours just as strongly. Let me protect was is mine to be joyful of, what is mine to love.”
He let his eyes fall with his face as he tenderly kissed her stomach.
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Post by Willow on Nov 14, 2011 2:28:34 GMT -6
Little by little, bit by bit, she was calming. His presence soothed her. It was just something that he did to her. Oh how he could play her emotions, making her every pore sing notes he did not even know that she possessed. That was what he did to her. He opened her up to an entirely new version of herself. One that was as small as it was powerful, one as docile as it was fierce, as loving as it was wrathful. He pulled out these different sides of her, giving her the power of a shapeshifter, turning one way and then the other to find herself in another skin.
And each pelt was hers. Each one as cherished by the one she had invoked as her Parallel.
Again he was on his knees before her, and this time she could see him for who and what he was, her gaze unclouded by the defensive fear of a mother protecting her unborn children from a perceived threat. This time she saw a man. Bare and open. A man in love, a man overjoyed.
She saw the father of her babies.
Her whole body had slowly been relaxing with her return to calm, and now she let out a final breath that released the last of her tension. Her smile returned, that warm and affectionate, glowing smile. She ran her fingers through is hair, threading the silky tendrils through her digits as she allowed herself to fully accept this reality, and that it was truth, that it was good and that it was truth. Truth. She cupped his face and bent over him, touching their lips together in a gentle, sweet embrace. That kiss deepened, then. To something fiercer and more intense. She wanted to absorb him, swallow him down. The tears were flowing again. Tears of joy.
“I hold within me your son, Ciel,” she purred to him as she allowed herself to finally give in to the exhaustion that had been chasing her throughout this whole event and sank to the floor before him. “A beautiful little prince with an extremely driven soul, or so my goddess mother has told me. Curled beside him is his younger twin sister.” Her words were soft and tender as she fed them into her mate’s ear, finally able to breathe easily.
Humor flashed in her eyes as she looked up at him. “And don’t spook my like that again, dearest. I cannot guarantee that I won’t rip your throat out next time I perceive a threat to the life inside of me. It would be something I couldn’t control, and it would be a pity to have to explain when the children ask where their father is that he’s gone and confused their poor mother into thinking that he meant them harm. Now that wouldn’t be a pleasant story, would it?” Those dark eyes sparkled and she gripped his face lightly with both hands again, pulling him down for another kiss.
“My Parallel,” she crooned. “Forever mine. The father of my children, the possessor of my being. My dark dragon. My deepest love.” She stroked his face, threaded her fingers through his hair, caressed him, just touched him for the sake of doing so.
There was that wicked smirk again, but even through it she was still brimming with an unmistakable glow, a joy unsurpassed by anything else. “Are you anywhere near ready for what is to come?”
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Post by libellule on Nov 28, 2011 18:13:58 GMT -6
Their deep hue overlooked the calm and the serenity of the landscape before them. The sun in its brilliance lavished her skin with a warmth and an energy she had not been feeling for a few months. She felt the transferred energy send shivers down her spine as her pale skin bristled in light bumps at the chills.
A soft frown surfaced as a defeated sigh fell from her. It was here she had wanted to stand before her mate. It was here she wanted to meet him, in the light, in the glory that had created her… Where the sun glimmered and gave her true beauty for him as she basked in their newfound happiness that she was about to tell him. But no… that simple pleasure had been taken from her. Her news was not celebrated, it did not bring out the joy her beautiful half should have been allowed to release.
It brought on pain. It brought mourning and ferocity she doubted she would be able to stop. No ferocity and anger did not come close to the rage he’d fallen into. What could have run through his mind knowing it was her lifesource painting her lips, falling from them so easily, painting his armour when he held her through those last breathes? And more importantly… What ran through his head after she told him that she was pregnant with his child…?
Danalli shivered with a small gasp as she placed a hand on a nearby tree to steady her. She felt her heart racing as she placed a hand on her enlarged belly. Leaning her forehead against the branch of the tree, she eased her breaths, reminding herself that she was still alive and Zanen was overjoyed. A wry smirk dotted her lips. Oh yes, her proud filled zephyr. She’d caught him staring at her sometimes with a strange look in his eyes before he gazed down at the child growing within her, something that mixed happiness and excitement and became something more entirely.
Beauty… was such a word, used it so many instances sometimes Danalli believed creature forgot to use it for its simplicity, for its elegance and purity. Her back was leaned against the tree now as she looked on to the scenery before her, a spot she’d chosen months ago. It was a small clearing in the forest that surrounded the palace that had an otherworldly glow. A haunt that was peaceful and graced by soft whispers, braided in soft winds. A warm energy whirled about it in a essence that was old as it was simplistic, beautiful. It reminded Danalli of her soothing charms she’d used to ease her sovereign’s mind. This aura too was without deception and trickery, it was simply pure.
A soft bay took her eyes from the meadow to her dear friend, who lay in the plush grass that filled the area. His coat had become a burnt amber, shimmering in the sunlight, as she’d removed his tack some minutes before. They’d spent an hour or so touring the surrounding lands at a brisk gallop. Perhaps a few guards had noted, there were so many stationed in the forest, she cared not to look about, their camouflage would just give her a headache to look through.
Souzan had remained, even through his tack was removed and he had complete freedom to run from her. Maybe she had trained him well to remain with his soldier, or maybe the young stallion simply enjoyed her company as much as she enjoyed his. They were creatures of a similar design, Souz and her. In a world filled with demons and creatures of darkness, their light filled auras were something that brought them together, immortal or not.
“It is beautiful isn’t it, dear?” Yes this place would have been perfect to tell him, to allow him to place his hands at her stomach and hear the soft beats of his son’s heart. She closed her eyes and looked down for a moment, stifling a round of emotions. Then she looked back up with a soft expression. The clearing was an enchanting place, with a small rock face rising up before her a few tens of feet and surrounding a large shallow pond with a surface so smooth it looked like glass. The cliff smoothed into the plush grass against her now bare feet as it rounded the edges of the pond, lowering into the ground and the water’s shoreline. A small stump was near feet from the stable edge of the shore, a place to sit and ponder the wonders of the world, perhaps.
Danalli chuckled softly, patting the tree in thanks as she pushed off of it. She crossed the grass and stepped into the smooth warm sand, her toes curling in the soft surface as she smoothed the fabric of her clothes and sat. Her long untamed white hair, draped across her shoulder, lifted in the soft wind as a warmth and those soft whispers brought her to such a relaxing place. Her hands both found her stomach and as she skimmed them over her skin, she told her son about his father, about Tekania, about her world, the world she couldn’t wait to show him. -
When she lowered herself to the ground and whispered in his ear, he could only press his skin closer to hers. He could not stand not having her be in his arms. His soul wanted to cover her entirely, protect her solely. He needed to feel her body with his. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her into his lap, cradling her, draping her across his skin.
“Twins,” he murmured in disbelief, “A strong brother and a beautiful princess.” A daughter… He felt his heart tighten at the remembrance of how the last one had turned out. He released a breath and shuddered. Could he be the right father this time? Could he protect his family from his past? Could he-
His frightening chatter was silenced by beautiful petite lips. Perfect in every way. They gave him a soothing balm that elicited his joy and held back his past shortcomings. He had been given a second chance. He, a creature that did not hold grace with the divine, was given a chance to give his true mate a future that would be full of this war, but it would be full of her happiness as well.
“Oh my darling,” he cooed with a precious growl at its edges as he brushed her neck, “I didn’t dare try to in the first place. I would take my own life to protect them from myself. Your children will not be fatherless, Asina.”
Another kiss to add to his bliss. He could only deepen it, could only pull her lithe body to his massive one. He sighed in his reverie, a dream that was becoming a reality so easily. A chuckle brought on a smirk as she answered her coy remark.
“No, my vicious queen, it would not be a pleasant story,” he rang a hand through her hair, “Now do any with those thoughts forever. I don’t want to hear of your threats when they don’t need to be said. You’ll never be a poor mother, and I will never be taken from /my/ children.”
She stroked his face as his eyes simply looked at her softly, preciously. Once again he was drifting into a docile creature for a few moments. He couldn’t help it, something within him willed to be soft with her ever so often. He did not have to be a warrior for every second with her…
Then she cooed those titles to him and he felt his chest grow warm. A hand slid up her back to cradle her cheek. “You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” It was a soft spoken statement that magnified his devotion to her. A softness and precious tone that did not come from him often. A twinge of excitement lit his golden eyes into a brightness.
Are you anywhere near ready for what is to come?
“I am,” he spoke honestly with a, daresay, chirp in his chuckle. “I cannot wait to watch them grow within you…” The humor and happiness in his eyes were unmistakable.
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Post by Willow on Nov 30, 2011 13:52:45 GMT -6
The day had started out strange, and had only gotten stranger as the sun continued to move across the sky. He’d woken before dawn and relished in the proximity of his mate beside him for a good hour before the sunlight broke across the horizon and he felt his heart align with Danalli’s as it had every morning since that first morning.
But this morning was different as well. Danalli didn’t feel it, because she was sleeping quite soundly beside him (an effect of the pregnancy), but there were two other heartbeats there. One of them was distant, far away, and the other was close and anciently familiar. The second one he immediately identified as Ryell’s. This made sense in some capacity. After all, Ryell was a rave. After Danalli had come into his life he’d been able to fully tap into his Art again, had been able to connect to the power of World that was all around them. Ryell had been trapped in the Forest of Lost Souls for a thousand years, perhaps being freed of it somehow opened her up to what she had been once again? Perhaps it had just taken these past few months for her to fully awaken and come to terms with the new reality that she found herself faced with.
This new reality… That was still a stab to his chest. It was this little internal torment knowing that this was his fault, that her pain was his fault. And yet, it wasn’t. There was no one to blame. It was just the forces of the universe, working in ways that none of them could possibly begin to understand. On one hand there was this horrible guilt for how Ryell ended up alone like this. She’d fought her way out of an impenetrable prison, fought her way back to him with the full understanding that she may have already lost him. A thousand years was a long time to wait for a love you had every reason to believe was dead.
But Ryell was a demon and a rave, and she understood when he’d told her that he’d found someone else. What hurt was that the moment she had realize who and what his love was, a wall had gone up between them, a wall that had never been there before and hurt him on a constant, almost subconscious level. Ryell was no longer his mate, but he would always love her. She was one of his dearest friends, a part of his past he thought was gone forever.
But that was another life, a different world.
In this world, Ryell wouldn’t speak to him. Even four months later she wouldn’t so much as look at him unless they were forced to be around each other, and the one time that she and Danalli had been in the same room together Asina had had to make an excuse to take Ryell away for a period of time. It was just too tense. Ryell did not understand, respect, or even like Danalli in the least bit, and that hurt. It hurt a lot.
But today he’d seen Ryell. He saw it in her face that he hadn’t been imagining things when the sun dawned. Ryell had felt it too, had felt his heart beating inside her chest, along with her own, and Danalli’s, and that phantom beat that felt so distant and far away. If there were more raves than just them, that little heartbeat wouldn’t have even reached them. It would have been drowned out by those in the more immediate vicinity. She had felt it too, though, he had seen it in her face. Even though she didn’t speak to him, even though their eyes had met for only the fraction of an instant before she’d hurried off with a swiftness that alone betrayed her emotions.
Then, as he was crossing the training grounds, the thought on his mind to warm up with the Elites before doing some of his own training and then getting some business out of the way, he saw the scuffle between Asina and Ciel. He moved closer, curious, and could feel a buzz of anxiety fluttering against his ribs as he looked at the a little bit more intently. Although it would probably look to most of the Elites that Asina was fighting even with Ciel, occasionally taking the upper hand, he knew her and he knew Ciel. Ciel was treating her carefully, and Asina was exhausted. She was off her game, and the both of them knew it. Finally they ended up on the ground, with Asina on top of Ciel. Although it looked like Asina had him pinned, he knew that Ciel was the one who had dominated in this bout. Asina stormed off, and if it weren’t for the fact that she was storming in the opposite direction he would have tried to intercept her.
Then another surprising thing happened: Ciel took over and fluidly stepped into command of the Elites, continuing with their warm-up as if nothing had ever happened.
Well, there was no way he was going to join in if Ciel was the one leading. A demon had to have his pride.
So instead he rounded the grounds and headed to his own private courtyard. There he stayed, training and thinking for what could have been ten minutes and it could have been ten hours. By the time he left, the sun had shifted in the sky enough for him to know that Danalli would probably be up by now. Usually she was up with the break of day, but recently she’d been sleeping in until mid- to late-morning. However, as he passed through their chambers, he noticed that she wasn’t there.
He let out a breath of a sigh and shook his head. She was probably out with the horses. He loved her dearly, he really did, but she could be so reckless.
There was one more strange thing he saw as he headed out, his feet pointed toward the stables. Necro would already be waiting for him, and the stallion always knew where Danalli was, whether he’d been there when she took off or not. He had to pass by the training grounds again, and he saw Asina talking to Ciel. Something was… off, but he was too far away to see clearly or hear what they were saying. Then Ciel scooped her up and took her into the palace. Little alarm bells went off in his head and he had already turned to follow when something knocked him so hard in the back that he nearly fell over.
Zanen whirled around with a snarl on his lips and a dagger in each hand. He had to adjust his gaze to look up when it was Nightmare glowering down at him. Zanen sheathed his knives. “What?” The demon horse just glared at him. Zanen turned to follow Asina and Ciel again, but Nightmare physically imposed himself between him and the palace.
It quickly became clear that Nightmare wasn’t going to let him pass, and if there was one thing that Zanen had learned over the centuries, was to trust Nightmare when he had an opinion about what was going on with Asina. So as much as it poked at his pride and fiddled with that burn of anxiety, he turned and instead headed toward where he knew Danalli would be.
Necromancer was waiting for him, nearly prancing with anticipation. He knew where Danalli was and had been waiting all day for him to get here so that they could go be with her! Zanen couldn’t help but laugh at the stallion’s excitement. Around Danalli, the ferocious war horse with half-demon blood was as playful as a colt.
A colt that could sure run. It wasn’t long before they found themselves coming up behind where Danalli was sitting. Zanen soundlessly dismounted and crept forward, taking down his mask before gently covering her eyes with his hands. “Guess who?”
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Post by Willow on Dec 1, 2011 0:51:31 GMT -6
-Are you anywhere near ready for what is to come?- she’d asked him. I am, he responded, with the dusting of a laughter in his voice.
Asina laughed. How could she not?
“At least that makes one of us, love of mine.” Asina shook her head and raked her fingers through her hair. It was growing longer than she’d let it get in a while, a thick shag that now tickled her shoulders. She let loose a heavy sigh and leaned against him. “I have no idea how we are going to do this,” she confessed with a shake of her head. “I’m… thrilled, more thrilled than ever. I’m also terrified.” Her voice was dead serious, and Asina did not easily admit fear of any kind.
“When I was younger, I’d never dreamed of ever being a mother. Hell, all I had thought of was the thrill of living just for me. I was a young and selfish creature. All demons are.” She gave a small, nostalgic smile. “My father used to say that one didn’t really ever become a zephyr, truly until they reached their first millennia, because only once you’ve lived two lifetimes did you really understand how precious life is.” She shook her head. “For the longest time I never believed him. When we would get into arguments, petty little things usually, I would attempt to pull the ‘powerful zephyr’ card.” Asina gave a bark of a laugh and ran her hands over her face. “Papa would just laugh in my face and told me that I wasn’t a zephyr yet, I was still just a demon, just a baby.” A sigh, then she looked up at Ciel and cupped his face. “But he was right. I was just a baby, just a demon. I didn’t know what it meant to be a zephyr. I was so young and so incredibly stupid sometimes.”
There were memories playing across her face, some tender, others not so much.
Then she took in a deep breath and looked up at him again. “I hadn’t even lived out my first lifetime when Lilani went completely insane. I was fresh into this whole ‘queen’ thing. I’d been raised to lead my people from the cradle, but at that point I was more a warrior than a leader. I wanted to fight, to prove myself, like all zephyrs at that age. Then in an instant everything changed. I was young by our standards, my father had just been slaughtered, and I had the fate of an entire faction of peoples in my hands.” She examined those hands now. “Back then, I could only see how small they were and struggle to make it all work. I did whatever I could.”
She had. She’d fought, she’d strategized, she’d sacrificed… She’d done everything in her power to secure her people’s safety. In at least some capacity, she had succeeded, but she also knew that she had failed them as well. Otherwise, fifteen hundred years later, they wouldn’t still be fighting. They would instead be rebuilding.
“Even then, as I began to realize everything that my father had tried to teach me was true, as I became more than just a demon, I couldn’t even fathom bringing children into this world. Having a mate was the furthest thing from my mind. I didn’t care about love or personal shit. I just wanted my people to be safe, and I wanted revenge…”
She still wanted revenge.
“Then things began to change…”
Asina stopped here and shook her head. After a moment, she continued. “I knew the reality of the situation, but I still fantasized about bringing a child into a better world. After all, at least there was us, a family, right?” Her voice choked in her throat and she had to swallow it down before she continued.
“After that, I…” She shook her head. “I would have given anything for another chance, but I thought it was impossible, and then…?”
Asina just curled into Ciel and huddled in his embrace for a few moments, breathing in his scent, letting his presence envelope her. Then she took a deep breath, sat up straight, and collected herself. She even flashed him a fanged grin. “Now, I have no fucking clue how we are going to do this. Me, a mother?” She laughed. “It will at least be interesting, won’t it?” She sighed. Her? A mother?
She paused for a moment as she found herself thinking of her father again. When you have children of your own, you will understand. How many times had he said that to her? And how many times had she sarcastically retorted that it would never happen? They would joke around, but she had always known that he wanted grandchildren. Silus had been a warm man, a hard one at times, but a warm one, and he loved children. He’d loved her, and he had wanted to see her children.
“Ciel, I want to name our son Silus,” she blurted out, looking at him suddenly. The look in her eyes was fierce, as if she was just daring him to oppose the idea. “For my father.” [/center]
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