Redsand Canyon Zestasiá

The sun was setting in the distance, and it had painted the canyon in an array of fiery oranges and golds the likes of which he had only seen in the fur of his beloved. Arsenio had finished a patrol and he trotted back to their den, their home, with the intent to find @Tamar and pull her from the furs. He wished to show her the canyon and have her taste their freedom.

My love, the Greek sang as he poked his head into their home. A smile curled his features and his tail flagged behind him.

My love, come and see the colors of the canyon. I have a lovely spot to watch the sun set. Come, come!

tamar discovered that living as a wife was not so different the next morning.

when arsenio found her, she was experiencing the pleasure of an evening nap. she was awake swiftly, however, approaching him sheepish and bleary.

"show me," she said softly, coming to his side with a gentle nuzzle beneath his chin.

His autumn leaf had been sleeping. This pleased him, knowing that she was finding rest. It still felt so new. It did not matter the number of times he patrolled the canyonland. The freedom of it felt real, heavy and light at once. Arsenio was both exhausted and giddy, as he had been since they had arrived.

The redstone man guided his wife out through the stone walls.

I blend in here, hm? You do too; with the snow even your pale furs match.

Arsenio nudged at her chest, chuckling. It was nice to walk with her, and to be close to her without the fear of Pharaoh’s eyes upon them.

The auxillary guided her up a small path until they had a decent perch that overlooked the stone and the bottom of the canyon for a good distance. It was a small dent carved into the smooth face of the canyon walls and the perfect place to watch the sun paint the stone in shades of orange and violet.

arsenio was jubilant.

she had never seen him this way. tamar enjoyed it, enjoyed the sound of his voice, his jesting. "if i blink, i will not be able to spot you again," she grinned, pulling at the fur along his high shoulder for a moment.

the place he brought her to stole tamar's breath. the view was magnificent; she stared out over the large expanse of the canyon, and then toward the hues of sunset falling over the place.

for a long time she did not speak.

"i had thought that the red stone would remind me of akashingo," she said plainly, not yet turning to look at arsenio. "but it does not. it is its own world."

The man chortled lovingly at her joke. Once, he would have liked to simply fade away. That feeling had not bothered him in some time.

When she saw the sunglow of the canyon, Arsenio’s gaze was glued upon her face. He delighted in her enjoyment of it. Tamar looked lovely against the dying light of the sun and redstone walls of Mereo. The snow seemed to make her eyes glow like small brown embers.

The man’s wife spoke of Akashingo. He stiffened only for a moment. When she said that Mereo was unlike it, that it was a place of its own, the Greek eased. He stepped toward her, pressing his chest to her frame and tucking her to his body with his chin.

We need not remain here, either. If there comes a time when you wish to explore the world, we will be free to go. I only wish to repay the Roman for helping me to secure your freedom. It was only right. Nevertheless, Arsenio knew that they could gather their things and find themselves somewhere entirely new, if it was what they desired.

more repayment.

they had traded one debt for another. but now it was arsenio in servitude. "i do not wish to be endlessly paying," she told him, her young face earnest toward the light of the falling sun and took a breath. "but i am free here. we are free. germanicus would let us go."

she was not sure she wanted to leave. not now. not yet. akashingo still crept in her veins. she wished to be settled.

tamar leant against arsenio, lips upturned with a smile. "and i like lady ruenna. she is not like a queen."

It is only for my peace of mind, my love.

Arsenio did not want Tamar to feel she had traded one servitude for another. It would not matter, then, what Germanicus’ purpose was. It would mean that she had been ripped from the familiarity of one terrible life and thrust into one that was unknown to her. The man did not want worries to pass through her head.

I still plan to take you to the seaside. Perhaps when the summer suns are warm upon us.

He smiled, nudging her.

When Tamar spoke of the lady Ruenna, his smile widened.

I like to know you are already making friends. The Roman and I have talked of family… children playing together, growing together. His glacial gaze searched her face for a sign of what she might think of such matters.

tamar's face suddenly burned.

she might have been angry that her husband had spoken with germanicus first, if she did not know him. tamar knew his heart, and saw truth in his eyes.

children.

"when i met the lady she also spoke of them to me." motherhood. "i told her that i had not thought of them yet. that i had not wanted to birth them in akashingo."

there was then the chance that they would not have been fathered by arsenio, but the pharaoh himself. she understood this to be a great source of anger for ramesses.

tamar looked up into the soft face of her mate. "what if i am not able to have children?" she did not know. the changing had not yet come to her. and perhaps now it would not. she had no measure of her years. "you would love me still, arsenio." not a question. a statement.

Love you still?

The man looked at her, baffled. Arsenio had not been certain if she had been asking him, though he hoped that she already knew. He hoped that he had only imagined the breath of a question on her tongue and that she had been speaking with assuredness. 

My love, my sweetest, my most eleímon Tamar… I could not stop loving you for anything.

Ah, but he could only look at her with fondness in his gaze. The sweetness of her was something to marvel at. Tamar was not only a vessel to carry children. She was his wife! Arsenio did not make such a choice lightly. She had captured his heart, his soul, and he would not have her even toy with the thought that her ability to bear children would play any part in such a thing.

There is time, my love. Time to decide if that is something you wish for. I told the Roman that it was your choice, to have children. Arsenio gazed at her for a moment before realizing that his words could have sounded peculiar.

Not that I do not desire children. I would love them dearly and tenderly, and they would never want for anything in all their lives. But you would be the one to carry them. To give them life.

The man sighed softly, admiring Tamar with a smile and a sweep of his eyes.

There is time. All the time you wish for.

tamar felt her eyes throb with tears.

she pillowed her head back against arsenio once more. to be given a choice. to have the imperator informed that it would be her decision. she knew what the red wolf had meant: he wished to center her in this.

it was a weight to carry. it was nothing to carry. "i say yes," she whispered, turning her pale eyes to him again. "when my time comes, i want to be mother to your children. to our children."

her mouth twitched tearfully. tamar reached to pull her husband into an embrace that dulled the rest of mereo away, until it was only she, only he, only the brilliant collapse of the sun fading timelessly into its own bed.

Oh, how his heart swelled.

Arsenio could not keep his tail from beating against the floor. For the worries she had shared, Tamar seemed confident in her answer – to have children. Try as he might, the Greek man could not stop himself from picturing sweet fiery babies with her soft brown gaze, her captivating features. Even though they only existed as a thought, he could almost hear her laugh on their tongues.

Our family, he breathed into the plush hairs of her neck, will be so beautiful, so good. Just as you are, to me.

There, in their shared home, Arsenio could not even think of Ramesses. There was peace to be found in Mereo, beneath the watchful yellow eyes of Germanicus. There was peace to be found in Tamar’s freedom.

I think you will be a most wonderful mother.

arsenio's warmth filled her limbs.

it was easy to be happy when he was here. it was easy to laugh when he was near. tamar smiled, a true delight springing to life across her entire face. "i hope that i am. and i hope that i will not be alone in motherhood."

she thought that the imperator and his wife might have children. but she could not imagine it of the man's dour face.

the future. now it brought her more anticipation than before.

I do not think you will be, Arsenio mused quietly.

It would not make sense for the Roman to withhold children from his wife. If he believed he wanted to establish roots with her, make a family with her, it only made sense that they should begin right away. It was not his place to speculate, but he did. The redstone man wished for his children to grow with friends and to be socialized.

You know, you will have young ears to listen to your tales, my love. What kinds will you tell them?

Happiness danced in the glacial blue of his eyes. He would gladly be put to sleep by her words, held against her warmth.

tamar laughed and leant closer to her husband.

her husband.

his wife.

"i will tell them tales of the desert. of the khamsin which burns upon the dunes of the winds that raise a wall of sand that swallows whole camps." but her eyes were dancing.

"of the sweet desert fruit."

tamar's eyes fastened to his own. "of the pomegranates which grow beside the oasis."

Tamar leaned against him and spoke of sands, of the warmth of her homeland, of sweet desert fruits. Arsenio could feel his mouth watering at the prospect. He could not help but smile and press himself closer to her figure.

Tiredness overcame him, despite his interest in Tamar’s words. He would have wished to listen to her speak for hours. The man was heavy-lidded, and his muscles ached from their journey, from the work that it had taken to get a fresh start. Ah, but it was worth it. The throbbing of his limbs was a reminder of his freedom – of her freedom. Arsenio would have no qualms with such pains.

Mmm, he breathed into the plush hairs of her coat. I wonder if we could find pomegranates in these lands. Arsenio would like to see the red smear the faces of their children. The sweetness of the bundles of fruit berries inside the hard casing was one he knew well.

Would you like another, by chance? *o*<3

always <3 fading!

tamar was content in his embrace.

"i can show you other sweet things while we wait for spring," she teased him, pale eyes dancing with mischief and desire.

this hour she would take him from his tasks beneath germanicus — there were better ways to employ his impressive body.

much laughing and adoration was before the pair. they both shone with it.