Noctisardor Bypass komorebi

@Kelsier

Faun wasn’t an angry creature by nature. Her demeanor could be best described as that of a kindly schooling mare, always happy to be around people, never bucking or charging off.

It didn’t help her now.

She had fled north, confusion blurring the edges of the anger. Why was she angry? When had she ever been so angry in her life? She took a moment to shred a tree with her teeth, throwing bits and pieces over her shoulder and hissing when bark stabbed her gums. She spat out the piece, running her tongue over it in aggravation.

Why was she bleeding? She felt irrational, and that just made her angrier for no reason at all.

Lmk if anything should be editeddd

Faun fled to the north, carrying with her a scent that drew Kelsier along in her wake like a puppet on strings. He tried to keep pace, he really did — but she lost him several times, and he felt his worry growing as the frantic speed of her departure failed to abate. Something was wrong? No, that couldn't be it, not with that scent —
Heat. She was in heat. Kel blinked as he came to the realization, which coincided with perhaps the third time he managed to catch up to Faun. This time, the scent of blood was on the air, and the object of his affections was spitting furiously like a cat in an alley fight. He softened.
Faun, He called to her quietly, slow in his approach. Are you alright? If she let him near enough, he sought to press his nose to her cheek. The scent of her called to him, but his concern overrode all other feelings for the moment.

Kelsier.

His voice made her hackles want to rise.

His voice made her want to sink into a puddle.

She was angry at that.

Faun shook herself all over, still spitting out pieces of bark when his nose touched hers. She jumped, twitched, then shook again.

I don’t quite know what’s wrong with me. Her voice was calm, but tremulous, one moment away from teetering into the abyss of anger.

She hated feeling so angry but that’s all she could feel and she hated it!

Oh. She didn't know.
Wait —
She didn't know! Kel took a step back at her flinch and shifted anxiously, fretting already over how he would tell her. Oh - ah, Faun... He stammered. You - you're in heat! Then his ears flattened and he stepped closer again, indecision carrying him in a circle around her.
He circled only once, then moved to inspect the tree as if it had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world. Kel didn't really see it, even as he appeared to inspect the damage closely. He was lost in his own head, anxiety-ridden and detaching more by the moment. It took him several seconds to pull himself out of the spiral and turn his gaze back to Faun.

Wait.

Her brow furrowed deep, her eyes narrowed. She was? It didn’t take her long to connect the dots in her head, the erratic behavior, her errant temper.

Ah.

A pause.

Well, shit. 

So she was, it seemed. Faun looked at the tree she had savaged, then let out a soft wheeze.

So I am. Now what? She knew the technicalities of sex, how conception seemed to work, but she was quite lost on how the action itself worked.

Kel blinked, uncertain. If you want to wait... His voice was hushed, his pulse uneven. If he was honest with himself, he did not want to wait another year — but Faun's comfort took priority. Besides; he hardly knew what he was meant to do.
Actually, he wasn't sure at all what he was meant to do. Instinct gave him a few hints, but it was meant to be more than that, wasn't it? ... wasn't it? Suddenly Kel questioned even that; maybe Faun would just want to get it over with as quickly as possible. He paused a moment, and finally asked, Are you uncomfortable? It certainly seemed like she was, but Kel didn't think he had ever really understood women or ever would. Best to ask outright.

Now that she was actually aware, she felt…oddly empowered.

Who knew all it would take was blood on the summer grass to engage a part of herself long hidden? Faun surely hadn’t. She tore her eyes from the tree to observe Kelsier.

No. I don’t think I wish to wait. She took a few steps closer, tail swishing like that of a cat, her pink eyes suddenly keen.

Do you? If not, well. Faun was not the most patient creature in the world when she was like this, apparently.

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: Conception!

Her eyes seemed to sharpen upon him in a way Kel had never seen in her before. Heat rushed over him, but he felt conflicted, too; there was an unwanted reminder in Faun's newfound confidence, something that called to mind a past he still tried so hard to forget. He reminded himself firmly that she was wholly unlike the women who ruled over The Evergarden.
It seemed to work. He let out a breath and stepped closer to her, reaching out to touch her face softly. No, He murmured. I don't want to wait either. His touch trailed across the dark fur at her cheek, her pale muzzle, her pink nose, and nothing existed then but Faun. Kel hesitated only for a heartbeat.
Then he kissed her, and slowly drew her closer, undemanding but reverent in his affections. This moment was for her, and he would follow her lead in all of it.

She held his attention, all of it, and she felt swallowed whole by it.

He drew close and she led the way, guiding their boat with a steady hand on the rudder. And when the crashing waves became gentle lapping on the shore and they drew apart, she steadied their course.

Faun watched the clouds roll by with a smile on her face, bliss in her soul.

I think I know what I wish to be called now. Clarity, singing through her heart. She turned her head to look at Kelsier.

I am no longer Faun. Faun had been the cocoon she had wrapped herself in, a transition between then and now. It was time to break the seal and open to the world.

Call me…Doedapple.

He wasn't sure how he felt, when all was said and done. Well — good, of course, but Kel still grappled somewhat with the weight of his decision. To turn his back fully on The Evergarden, to cast off the self-imposed shackles he'd worn for comfort all this time. Children. They would have children.
They would be cursed.
No, he told himself, pressing his flank to Faun's in the aftermath of their coupling. He focused on the gentle sound of her voice. She, too, was changed by the experience; no longer Faun. Doedapple. Kel remembered their conversation with Silvertongue, the naming convention of Riverclan, and saw in it an opportunity to start anew. Kelsier was cursed, but perhaps he could be someone else. He pressed his muzzle to Faun's — no, to Doedapple's neck, and thought in silence for several long moments.
And I'll be Kestrelcloud, He decided after a time, quiet. They would go into this new life together. He was silent after that, but he stayed close to Doedapple, and would remain so through the coming days.