Firefly Ravine no one wearing a crown comes in the name of peace

she finds purchase on the ravine's side, the sound of her claws scrapping against stone joins the thrum of his heartbeat, strong and resilient; she aids him in lifting herself up and lets him pull her the rest of the way onto solid land. once he is sure she is clear of immediate danger of tumbling he drops her with a huff of breath and takes a greedy inhale followed by small pants that last until he finally catches his breath. though it comes as some surprise for jagtooth to be aware that he'd even been holding it in the first place ( as if conserving the oxygen in his lungs was going to somehow help ) as she curves in on herself and fusses at her womb.

jagtooth slumps onto his haunches as she does this for some time, eyes rolling skyward; attempting to give her as much privacy as he can afford her whilst so close to her. his attention falls back to the pale sylph easily enough when she calls for it, offering him words of gratitude; and for some reason jagtooth is struck with a small and strange epiphany: that occasionally even corrupted holymen were still, in some respects, holy. life couldn't exist without the balance and nothing was as clear cut as many'd like to believe. he'd aided in saving her life ...in saving the life of the life she carries within her womb.

it does not cleanse him of the corruption that riddles his past, does not baptize him so that he is entirely absolved — for he knows himself too well to know that he will not, suddenly, turn to a life of unfettered good. he's ended too many lives ...some in the name of the holyfather and others because he is the cardinal and he carries that power around with him always, never willing to truly relinquish it.

still, jagtooth's scales of balance have, for the moment, shifted. hush. the cardinal means to quiet her at her apology. neither of us have ended up in a watery grave and thus there is nothing to apologize for. he tells her sternly, not having any more attempts at an apology. are you well enough to take the lead again, aurëwen? or should we rest here for a while longer? he doesn't want to set out until her footing is stable and she is confident that she would not be falling over ledges again. jagtooth isn't so sure either of them'll be fortunate the second time around and he is not in the mood to tempt fate twice.