Stavanger Bay anymore

omg u get the last lyric of this song congrats to u @Velen <3 <3 <3 please. set after she heals @Firefly 

with all that had happened, dalia needed to find velen. she also needed to tell him of her siblings visit, even though i'm not positive what place in her timeline that is taking place and it's not yet completed so i don't know exactly what she'll tell him. when the devil had descended back to hell, dalia took off to find her lover, ears pressed forwards as she kept alert, maybe a little too alert, for the motion of a squirrel racing past her just about gave her a heart attack. she was on edge, as you might expect, she was a jumpy creature by nature anyway.

she sought out velen, nose twitching, ready to crawl into his embrace for just a few moments before explaining to him all that had happened... and hoping to get his clarity on the situation.

muzzle and jaws littered with fresh wounds rent by their new leader, velen spent a goodly amount of time searching for ford, aching with the weight of his own failures, his own quaking anger.
and when his brother’s scent trailed off into the shared lands, velen knew what must be done. loathe to leave dalia alone for any length longer, the ceto hesitated, then turned and paced back across stormrift’s borders.
he came for the seafoam girl immediately, bristling as he read in the land where her scent had crossed with that of firefly. and when he saw dalia searching for him, he bounded to her without hesitation.
”did he hurt you? what did he say?” velen demanded in a rush of fear, sidling closer to check her for any marks of teeth, any ruffled fur.

when he approached he was not so warm but more on guard, which perhaps she understood. his scent was all over her. dalia reassured him with a quick few licks and a gently sigh. "he didn't touch me," she told him quickly, ears flicked back, "but he seemed to have made home in my den," which was frustrating, as it had been one of her only safe spaces since the day she had been assaulted all that time ago... it wasn't so long ago anyway. "i'll have to build a new whelping den," she murmured, thinking mostly outloud, forgetting to maybe tell him what had happened. 

she remembered quickly.

"oh -- he came to find medicine. i patched up his wounds. he didn't trust me so he made me eat some of the herbs i was going to give him,  but they weren't dangerous so i'm fine," she summarized for him as quickly as she could. the part about her asking about her unborn babies was left still, for now, she didn't want to think about it or worry velen. not now.

the ceto's gaze rapidly cooled as dalia spoke. "what a fuckin' asshole," he spat when his mate had finished relating her encounter with their new dear leader. as a testament to how upset he was, velen did not pause to inwardly simper and gloat over the fact he could now call the sea-eyed girl his mate; he moved to pace before her, stopping only to let his gaze settle on her flanks, where surely soon she would begin to show.
"i don't know if they're safe now, dalia," velen blurted grimly, seeing no reason to sugarcoat the reality they now faced. "they aren't his; why would he care what happens to them? ford is ... was ... is their uncle, so he's vested in their well-being." a ragged sigh broke from his throat, and then at once his head lifted. 
"what if we made your den somewhere else? not here?"

dalia gave a gentle chuff as he spat a vulgar (as if velen knew anything else) insult on firefly's name. he began to pace before her, leaving dalia to sit calmly before him and wait patiently for him to sort out what he was thinking. it did not take long. her ears pricked when he spoke, pressed forwards against her crown as she anticipated what he was getting at. 

"i asked him," dalia began, falling into a pause as she awaited a reaction from her mate, "she told me he didn't care. that our lives were not his to meddle with. that they would not be harmed." but even as she spoke such definite words, herr voice wavered, and her expression betrayed the doubt she felt. knowing how unconvincing she sounded, dalia rocked her head back and forth on her shoulders, released a gentle sigh, and said, "i don't know if he told me the truth." 

a playful smile, trying to lighten the tension, played across her lips. "i've been told i'm rather naive," she quipped, best she could. she was unsure if it would help in the moment or not, though. she moved on. 

"where would i go?"

"the sentinels," velen answered swiftly, settling on his haunches before dalia. she had always been small to him, much smaller, but now he took in the porcelain delicacy of her little skull, the fragile cheekbones framing the face she tipped to him, her slender forelegs and the gentle curve of her hips where their children surely grew by now.
she was not weak, but he felt in him the flame of the need to protect her from the driving brutality of men. "i was going to lead there, remember? what better time than now?" he asked breathlessly, searching her features.
dalia was a careful sort, and velen did not expect her to take immediately to his suggestion. but he was convinced she would at least consider it — what other choice did they have?

dalia stiffened at velen's comment, and a visible change in her demeanor came underway. though he searched her delicate features for answers, dalia could not find an answer within her immediately. as she looked away, barely to the right, flashbacks of teeth and weight and breathing in ash came forwards. she did not shutter, but as it all washed over her she felt increasingly more numb. she did not want to return to the place that took her innocence. 

"i... didn't think that'd be so soon," dalia murmured, allowing her gaze to return to him a breath later, "i haven't made peace yet with that... place." she didn't expect to for moons to come -- but velen was right, she'd be safer under his rule. their children would be safer under his rule. 

her ears flicked backwards, and she took in a deep breathe. "i don't... i don't want to tell you no. i know it's smart to move, we'll be safer. but..." she hesitated, releasing a breathe now, "you're asking a lot of me."

how could he have forgotten? a whine broke from velen's throat; he inched closer to nudge dalia's cheeks, kiss the tense line of her throat. "i'm sorry." what a selfish asshole he was, to think only of himself and what the sentinels meant to his family. not at all what they might mean to dalia.
"we can go somewhere else," velen rushed, seeking her seafoam eyes with his own. "anywhere you want. i'm sure rann will come too. i just ... as long as that man is in charge, i don't want to be in the rift." he was torn between going truly off to find ford and staying with his young mate; he felt as though he had failed his brother, and the knowing of that made velen even more loathe to seemingly abandon dalia at this time.

his words were so reassuring to dalia, who felt selfish herself. too scared to live in a forest -- what a coward. she sneered at herself inwardly, mocking and laughing at how weak and wimpy she was. she shook her head, though, despite his statements. what about ford? she reminded him, returning the gentle nudge, what if he returns and we're gone? 

oh. brother. dalia remembered the other reason for finding velen. she shook her head again, more stressed now. we don't have to decide now... i have more news, she began softly, quickly transitioning, i wanted to tell you... my brother and sister came by -- dacio and opalia. my birth pack has fallen, and my mother has died. the transition was not much lighter... but she added, i want to name one of our children after her. 

throws an absolute stake in our name plans bc IC stuff

:o

ford. a muscle in velen's cheek jumped. "i love ford. but keeping you safe is just as important." the titan was a strong beast; he would understand why his brother had seen fit to secure his mate and children before an extended search. however, dalia shifted their conversation quickly — his brow furrowed and he blinked, a frown pulling at his mouth.
"drageda?" he mumbled under his mate's rush of words, stricken by her tense demeanour. dacio, opalia. a dead mother. he thought swiftly of deirdre, and moved closer to embrace her. "i'm so sorry, dalia," velen murmured. "of course. of course we can. and will."

she pressed herself to him... she couldn't believe the strong, supportive man she had betrothed herself to. velen was so wonderful in every light of her eyes. she wished circumstances were better. 

she purred a little bit at the response, even though the topic was rather sad. thank you, velen, she murmured, giving him soft kisses to the cheek, i'm okay, i promise. it was just a shock. i'm glad that dacio told me.

fading <3

"it's all right," he murmured, wanting to reassure her that there was no need to justify her want to him. had deirdre passed on, he would have wanted to remember her in the same way. and the news of both drageda's fall and her mother's death was a harsh burden to carry indeed.
until she was ready to part, velen held dalia upon the wind-swept expanse, stirring with protective instinct, with love, with desire. soon she would have their children, and no matter what happened, the mayfair-cairn knew he would make a safe place for her.
for them all.