Wheeling Gull Isle And basically I've gotta know

@Rhællaa <3

The moon glinted off the waves as they came gently rolling towards him, its soft beams the only source of light in an otherwise dark night. It reminded him of Rhæ and how she always seemed to brighten any darkness in his life. But, he hadn't had the reunion with her that he had anticipated; thoughts of resuming where they left off were what had kept him searching for her even when it all seemed hopeless. Now, though, things were weird and confusing. He found himself watching her from a distance like he had once done, admiring her beauty and strength and dreaming of what could be and yearning for what had been. What was once a burning love that filled every part of his soul with purpose and light, was now only kept alive by his fervent desire to have her as his once more. His love for her had never faltered or lessened in intensity, and it hurt deep within him to think that maybe she didn't feel the same anymore. That hadn't been her reason for not wanting to be with him; she had told him she was different, wasn't ready to reclaim what they had. And, he would never push her into anything she did not want, especially considering her situation with his piece of shit brother. Thinking about him made Daeg literally vibrate with anger. He wished he could resurrect him just to rip out his throat and watch the life drain from his eyes. But, he couldn't go to that dark place; his brother was gone, and he'd just have to take comfort in the fact that that monster could never touch his love again.

He shook out his autumn coat and sat down at the water's edge, a heavy sigh leaving his chest. He tried not to drown in his ever increasing sorrow...but what did his life mean without Rhæ at his side? He focused his gaze on the sea, letting the rhythmic sound of the waves attempt to soothe is aching soul, but he knew only one thing could really do that.

She tried not to think about him. 

At first, it was just too hard to accept. Looking at him was like looking upon a ghoul; she'd long presumed Daeg to have perished in the riots. Later, it was frightening - remembering what they'd shared, what had happened in the shadows. 

She'd been young, scared, hurt - little more than a girl. At most, furtive kisses stolen in hidden moments passed between them but there was truth in his devotions, healing in his touch.

It had been real.

But she'd lost it when he'd 'died' and something inside had never mended afterwards. Alone, broken, she had wandered to these southern lands - repressing the loss of him. It had been too fresh to grieve; the exile could not allow it to consume her if she was to survive. So, she'd buried him - and everything they might've been. It was easier to bury herself too, in the foundation of Aristos. 

The girl could not help but reflect on this hidden history as she watched, perched on the stone ledges above. They'd yet to speak since finding each other once more, which was likely her fault. Still, some fragment of her whispered that he might've been angered by her rejection, might be regretting his pledge of loyalty. 

The cove murmured with magicks, with the voices of her gods - and Rhæ wondered if he still heard their voices, or if he had forgotten the ways of her past. The nitewisp could hide for only so long; at last she could not bear it, she must reveal herself. 

With a bunching of her dark haunches, she tumbled nimbly down to land almost silently upon the sand. In the dark, her one-eyed sight was thrown farther off kilter - her limbs curling, knees crumpling against the sand. The blackbird bit at her lips ruefully, withholding a laugh of embarrassment. 

She rose, shaking the the grit from her starry pelt with a little quiver as she pattered closer. The corvid arced around the mountainous, ruddy build - scarred crown falling against her nape to peer up at him.

For all the world, such a creature should have struck fear into her heart. Yet, something settled, clicked at the sight of him - as if the autmnal Vallaeris possessed the ability to right the world. 

"Daeg," the Seelie lilted timidly in her mother tongue, slow as she took her own seat some pace from his side - unsure if he might want her company.

He pawed at a shell aimlessly while his mind drifted; he had found it days before and kept it because when it shined in the sun it gave off the same lilac color that he admired in the gaze of his love. It mattered little to him that only one of her eyes remained, other than being angry with whomever had caused her such an injury. 

Soft steps against the sand pulled him from his thoughts, ear twitching in the direction of the sound before he turned to see who approached. Her scent filled his lungs and made his heart beat faster in his chest. They hadn't spoken since their reunion, partly because he had wanted to give her space, but everyday it was harder to keep away from her, and now that she was here, softly speaking his name, there was no hope for him. 

He watched her sit, not liking the space between them but, again, not wanting to force anything. So, he remained seated and, instead, gently nosed the shell in her direction. For you, he said hesitantly, his gaze mimicking the tone of his voice. He didn't turn away while he waited for her to accept or deny his gift; he continued to watch her, hoping to catch some unspoken emotion in her expression, some sign on her night sky face that confimed he was meant to be here.

Tenderly her paw blankets the treasure, glinting a faint periwinkle under the moon's light. "I will cherish it," the wisp rasps with a small quirk of her lips, honesty hiding beneath the playful lilt of her language. Gingerly, she pulls it to her - seeming to pat it once gently after nestling it betwixt her paws. 

Her words die and the silence curls 'round her shoulders with the weight of unspoken fear. 

Do you regret coming here? Are you put out with me because I can't give you more yet? 

Are you going to leave? 

Such a thought stills her heart with fright, violet gaze shyly seeking his uncertainly. 

"Are you happy here?" She dared to venture, ruined gaze finding the sea once more - unable to meet his warm eyes. "With us?" 

With me?

Relief flickered across his face at her acceptance, and a pleased smiled curved his lips. He made a note to bring her more gifts in the future simply to elicit the same reaction from her again. 

In the silence, he studied her, wishing he could hear her thoughts just as much as he was glad he couldn't for fear of what they might reveal. He met her gaze when she peered up at him, noting the uncertainty there and wishing he could soothe away whatever doubts made her feel that way.

He looked away when she spoke, his own gaze searching the sea as he considered how to answer her question. Of course, the truth was that he was miserable. But, it wasn't anyone's fault, most especially not hers; she could take however much time she needed. If only his heart would get in line with his mind, then maybe he wouldn't be so tortured. He refused to tell her any of that, though, afraid that it would guilt her into doing something before she was ready; every cell in his body shied away from causing her to feel that way. He couldn't lie to her either; it just felt wrong to hide things from her. So, he settled for somewhere in the middle, his gaze still lost in the sea as he finally spoke. I...miss you, he said quietly, his heart pounding again as he divulged his truth. He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, but it was too late to take it back.

Her vision winks into total darkness as her lid falls shut - his words striking that hidden vulnerable spot at her core. 

He'd always been able to read through her carefully constructed words, beyond her wit and smiles; always, the guardian faced her with unflinching honesty, an admirable trait of his people if ever there was one. Never before had he leaned upon the same distance, the self-protection that all Lireans seemed imparted with. Why should it be any different now? 

Because you have convinced yourself that things are different. Lest you be hurt again.

"I miss you too," the wisp breathed as her gaze opened, lost as it found his. 

"I'm scared, Daeg'," the admission burst from her lungs with the same hush - ashamed to show weakness even now. Mist clouded the lavender of her remaining optic, the dark fae blinking furiously as she turned from him. 

Her gaze locked on the sea, shoulders hunching tightly against the numb vibration of anxiety trembling through her frame. 

Small and curled bracingly against the world, she dared to utter: "I want to be...I want that life everyone speaks of: love and happiness, children. The way things are supposed to be."

"But by myself, I can't be..no one can make me forget who I am; no one can take away my identity. I just got it back and I don't know if I'm ready to lose myself again."

He waited for her response, the anticipation painful in the silent moments before she answered. Her soft words tore his eyes from the water, pain and need filling the ochre depths of his gaze. He ached to reach over and run his nose through the fur on her cheek, desperate in his need to banish her insecurities. Seeing her eye sparkle with the hint of a tear finally broke his control, and he slowly closed the distance between them. But, he didn't touch as his body urged him to do; he only studied her profile, lingering so close that he could feel her warmth through his fur. 

He listened quietly as she elaborated, his hurt deepening, causing a painful tightening in his chest. Had things really been like that before, and he hadn't realized it? He knew she could never be her true self with his brother. But, with him? He reached over and gently nudged her chin with his nose, wanting her to look at him. And you think loving me means you have to give up who you are? The question was as gentle as his touch and heavy with the pain currently squeezing his heart. How could he ever ask her to be his if she felt that way?

She is hurting him - all she seems to do is hurt him - and guilt snakes through her venomously. Turning to him, she shakes her head vehemently. 

"No," she protests confidently, the truth of it in the scrape of her timbres - in a tongue her people were rumored to be unable to deceive. "You're nothing like him," she promised gently. "You could never be."

Her head fell forward then, her temple nestled against the sweep of his broad chest - a place that felt familiar, even with the years between them. 

"I'm just.." Petrified.

"I lost you once. And it was my fault." It's easier to say, somehow, whispering as she does curled beneath his chin. "The only thing that kept me going in the beginning was knowing that surrender meant it was all for naught - everything I suffered, all that you lost, your death," the noxborne wisps, voice cracking on the end. 

"Now that you're back...I can't help but think, what if I lose you again?" 

There it was - every little fear that plagued her mind both in daylight and in the pitch of night. What they had was real but mayhaps it was safer to shield herself from it; the nitewisp was not certain she could shoulder that grief again. 

With another, it might not be as fulfilling. But, then, she was less likely to be hurt.

He couldn't help but feel relief when she assured him that he was nothing like his brother. Deep down, he was always afraid that being related to such a monster meant that there might be some of the same tendencies within himself. He tried to live his life differently--better, but in the moments where he was consumed with anger, he could feel something dark inside him waiting for the right wolf to push him just a little too far. He could tell that there was more than that holding her back, though. There was something else keeping her from giving into her feelings for him.

At her touch, what felt like years worth of tension left his muscles, and a soft sigh moved from his lungs. She fit perfectly against his chest, and he hadn't even realized how much he missed her being nestled there until now. And, then, she was spilling her fears, every reason why she held herself back. How could he blame her for wanting to protect herself? He had lost her too, after all, and he knew how it felt to think you would never again see the other half of your soul. There had been so much against them then, and he hated that she blamed herself for any of it. He wished he could have found her sooner so that she wouldn't have spent so much time thinking he was dead. The thought of her injured, banished, and all alone was too much to bear. Rhæ, he murmured, moving his nose through her fur. I'm sorry you spent all that time thinking I was dead. I wish, more than anything, that I could change that, but I can't. The only thing he could do was make sure he was here now.And, I can't predict the future, but I can assure you that I'm not going anywhere--not by choice, anyway. He couldn't promise that he wouldn't die because he would gladly give his life for hers, but he could promise that he would never make the decision to leave her. And, I know that I don't want to spend anymore of my life without you. He had already gone far too long separated from her. Even if he could only have her as friend--if that was all she would give him, then he would find some way to deal, as long as he could ensure that she never suffered again like she had in their homeland.

She only nods, eye winking shut as she clamped down on the roil of emotions roaring in her veins, whitewater and treacherous. It's not that she expected him to rewrite the past, just that she hopes he can understand - love doesn't seem as safe as it once did. 

His words struck muse into her heart, lifted her spirit with a dangerous hope of courage. The Seelie's violet gaze tipped up to his, shining with unspoken vulnerability and timorous seeking. 

Following suit, the dark swath of her muzzle reached up - hovering uncertainly as her breath fans over his lips. Surely he meant what she thought..

The kiss is not igniting nor animalistic in passion - not the hungry, greedy exchange that their reunion might have warranted. It is a gentle brush of her own against his, tender and questioning - a sweet ? awaiting his answer. 

It was the junction of two lost souls, opposites who should not have been but found themselves in each other regardless - the reunion of inevitability, of fate even.

She only nodded, and he feared he had revealed too much and smothered her with the intensity of his feelings. He felt her shift, then, and he lowered his gaze to meet hers, surprised by the depth of emotion he found there. He froze when she moved closer, her lips lingering inches from his. His heart sped up again, and he wanted to close the remaining distance, but he wasn't sure why she hesitated. He didn't have to wonder for too long before he felt the soft brush of her lips against his. 

His already precarious hold on his control slipped then, and there was no hope of regaining it. Even though he felt like he might combust with his need for her, he managed to remain gentle as he nuzzled her cheek and nipped at her chin. He nuzzled and nipped his way down her neck before pulling back a little to look at her. His breathing quick and eyes glazed, it was now Daeg that looked at her with question and vulnerability. He wanted there to be no doubt on her end, because for him, there was no turning back after this.

If her kiss was a question mark then his was an ! of eager, fearless answer. 

Rhælla felt her heart stutter in her chest with joy, throb with the ache of how she had pined for him. His lips danced over the ruins of her features, dew beading on her lashes as they rained over her scarred throat - coaxing a murmur of curiosity from its depths. 

The wisp could not restrain herself from pressing into him, spine bowing as she extended on her toes to reach for her northerner - muzzle burrowing into the russet and gold of his ruff. Yet, Daegon withdrew, causing her gaze to rise to his hesitantly; her tongue darted with a flash of pink, the wisp whetting her lips as she searched for rejection. 

Her dark crown bobbed at the question in his eyes, the fae chewing her lip as a shy smile bloomed upon her onyx features. 

Maybe it would be strange at first - they'd grown in their time apart, they would need to learn each other again. 

But she'd long ago given him her heart - she could not deny it him now, not for insipid fear. 

If her nod of hadn't answered his question, the impish smile she offered him certainly did. He had longed for this moment since first arriving here, which might have made most impatient and caused them to rush, but not Daegon; he wanted to savor this as well as make her feel loved and cherished and irrefutably his. And so his affections were gentle and thorough as though he was relearning every part of her. When finally they became one again, it was every bit as torrid and consuming as he hoped it would be, his desire for her not in the least bit diminished by the time they had spent apart. If anything, he was desperate for her by now, something he was unable to hide the closer they got to their shared culmination.

He curled around her afterwards, his limbs like jelly and his mind a haze of contentment and satisfaction. Most of all, he was overcome with love for his amazing, beautiful Rhæ. Words were apparently not something he could form just yet, so he just languidly nuzzled her, drawing her scent inside his lungs, unable to get enough.

She hadn't planned for this when watching from the shadows and stumbling upon him, a desolate sentinel of the beach. 

Still, when he returns to her - there's no restraint to the instinctive kisses her lips plant along him, the primitive nips she teases along his length. It's fumbling and she can't quite stop trembling; still, anticipation quickens her blood, excitement hitches her breath in her lungs, heat burns in the chasms of her being. 

Lucavon is still the only to touch her as of yet - a thought that fills her with shame and disgust each time it crosses her mind. Desperation tinges her caresses, urging him to unity as if silently begging him to erase that taint, banish the violent memories lingering on the fringes of her mind. 

Whatever imbedded fear that hovered fled as they met, growing frenzied as need overflowed, the lost time imploding between them. 

After, she curled into him - astrological pelt quivering with the released tension, chest heaving with spent breath. Her neck twisted, nibbling along the curve of Daegon's shoulder with affection - soothing as she groomed along the same path.

For a while he reveled in her affection, his eyelids eventually growing heavy and closing over his eyes. But, worried thoughts slowly began to creep in and break through his contentment--questions he probably should have thought about before he took things this far, but he had only been thinking with his heart, his mind's logic long forgotten in the emotion-fueled moments leading up to their love making. He wanted to ask her what this meant for them, but he thought it might be too pushy. More pressing was his concern for her, and that was something he could inquire about. He probably should have asked sooner, but he had only just regained the ability to speak. His eyes opened, and he silently watched her for a few moments before speaking. How are you? he asked quietly, reaching over to where she worked on his coat and offering a nuzzle to her cheek.

She falls back at his touch, turned pliant and malleable by their lovemaking; the wisp reclines against the sand, a hazy grin playing at her bruised lips. 

"Perfect," she purrs, batting a dark paw to brush along his ribcage reassuringly - she wanted this, wanted him. "And you?" the Lady lilts with the same veiled question, gaze clouding worriedly. 

Maybe it wasn't as good as he'd hoped - maybe he didn't want his brother's damaged goods as much as he thought. 

Rhælla banished the poisonous thoughts, new nervousness rising within as she summoned her courage - planting a chaste kiss on his umber cheek demurely. 

"Thank you," Rhæ whispered as her cheeks were lit afire, gaze dropping, "for.."

"For showing me what it's supposed to be like," the obsidian sylph stuttered out, voice dipping to a hush - reluctant to ruin it with mention of Lucavon but needing to say it anyways.

His gaze remained fixed on her as she moved to recline on the ground next to him. He relaxed some when she stated that she was 'perfect,' and he couldn't help the grin the spread across his face. Good. She deserved to feel that way always. I am.. he paused, searching for just the right words to encompass just how happy he was. She kissed his cheek in the meantime, making him grin again before he continued. That was more perfect than I ever could have imagined. He stole her word, finding that it covered pretty well how he felt, as well.

The grin fell from his face at the indirect mention of him. He hated that his brother had touched her; not only did he not deserve such a privilege, but it had been a constant inner fight for Daegon anytime he thought about it. Even before he found out what had happened, he didn't think Lucavon deserved her. Perhaps it was their long lived sibling rivalry or the evil he always sensed in him.

His expression softened after a few moments as he regained his composure. But just as quickly, guilt filled his eyes. I should have taken you from there. True, she hadn't disclosed quite how bad things were, but he had been able to plainly see how miserable she was. Maybe he just hadn't wanted to look too closely. Regardless, he would never forgive himself. You wouldn't have been forced to kill him and then banished from your kingdom.

At his reassurance, warmth suffuses the girl, light radiating from within as a wide smile splits across her lips. Despite herself, a soft tempo of joy fills the air - her tail beating against the sand. 

Her starry head ducks, embarassed but pleased, at his praise - a flush of warmth tingling through her veins. Shyly, she presses closer, hiding her heated face against the giant's chest - vaguely abashed by her eager reactions. 

Something dark shivered within her; her mind subconsciously shying from the memories as her eye squeezed shut, pressing tighter into Daeg's embrace. 

Hunched, gaze downcast, she hunkered on the balls of her paws - auds flattened as he circled her. Her muscles screamed, begging release but his low taunts kept her quivering limbs locked like the frozen beams of a winter cataract. Faltering, falling to her knees, meant punishment - a word the girl had come to fear as much as her mate. 

Stiff, she lay unmoving beneath, pinned, trapped, encased. His fangs burrowed into the junction of her collar - the fae imagining darkly for a moment that he reached bone, vital meat, and ended this. 

A scream trapped in her throat, lips parted in unending, silent horror, all she could do was watch. Her stomach rolled in protest and she turned away with a recoil, throwing her gaze violently from the massacre of her father's Guard. A motion that would not do for the newly throned King of Icadearian; roughly, he seized her by the nape and hoisted her into the air to watch in spite of her cries of pain, like an errant child, like a ragdoll. 

With a shudder, she forced it away. 

"Don't," the exile pleaded brokenly, unable to handle this - the thought that he blamed himself. 

"They'd have killed us both," she reminds him of the impossibility of it all. 

"In the end, we're here - together - and he's dead," she whispered, her gaze drifting to linger blankly upon her own paws, the words shifting to a harsh rasp on the last word - a bite towards her fallen husband.

Daeg closed his eyes and sighed heavily, knowing very well the truth in her words, but it didn't make her torment any easier to swallow or let go of. And, how thankful for them both that he couldn't read her mind when it went to that dark place. Still, it would be a long time before he could let go of the guilt, and he would surely do everything in his power to make the rest of her days fit for the Queen she was. 

He didn't want this moment to be tainted by the awful things from their past that they couldn't change. He didn't like that the joy he had seen in her features just moments ago was now gone, snuffed out by the ghosts of her past. He nuzzled her, delivering a gentle kiss to her starry cheek. Let's not allow him to steal this moment from us, he murmured against her fur. You're right: we're together now, and that's all that matters. And, he was never letting anything keep him from her ever again.

Amethyst jumps back to him, startled from her haunted reverie. She leaned into him, allowing herself to relax into the Vallaeris' touch as his words reached her; a sensation of homecoming choked her and the wisp clung to him. 

A measure of qēlos-vūjitan could scarcely believe it was real, that it was not some cruel vision of slumber - whether truly asleep or merely held captive in the prison of exhaustion mired between sleep and wake, taunted by hallucinations. 

Yet, as she shifted and dull ache flared through her lower half, the exile reasoned that was enough proof. The flames licked along her face - up her ears and over her scalp, down her neck and over her chest - as she recalled the reason for her soreness.

Biting down on a grin, she curled herself against the male's side as fatigue crept over her once more. Her sleep was erratic these days, to say the least, and the blackbird'd been flitting all over the Isle in preparation. With the physical activity and emotionally draining conversation, her energy reserves were rather depleted. 

Against Daegon's side, the Seelie sunk into a warm, content haze - lavender optic winking as she fought to keep it open; utterly lulled by the rise and fall of his ribcage pillowed beneath her head, the drum of his heartbeat beneath her ear, the warm security of him wrapped around her. 

"Not a one time thing..ya know?" The corvid wisps sleepily, needing him to know that this isn't a fling, a one night stand. She could never have lived with just this one taste anyhow; deep in her heart resided an imprint of his claim and it still thrummed with need for him. 

"I want to be with you," she breathes, inching up to drowsily brush her lips over his jaw in adoration.

As the words fade, their death silenced by the low crash of tides on the shore, the sylph lowered, head tucking over his leg - where she might be able to hide her face if he is not in favor.

She shifted some and then curled against him in response, making him tighten his hold around her. Just as physically and emotionally exhausted as she was, a large yawn parted his jaws, and he released it with a long, contented sigh. He had all he could ask for right now with her curled up safely against him, sated and his. 

Neither said anything for some time, and he could feel the pull of sleep tugging at him harder with each peaceful second. His eyelids, too, had grown heavy, and he was about to give in to his body's demand when her words broke through the quiet. She wanted to be with him. The words and following affection pushed away any lingering tiredness as his heart picked up speed again. He wanted her again, right then, just for saying it. He lowered his head to where her face was hidden and gently nipped just below her ear. Then, I am yours, he rumbled. But truthfully, he had always been hers and she his, even when there was no certainty that he would ever see her again. There was no one else for him, and there were no words he could think of right now that could fully convey how happy it made him to hear her say she wanted to be with him. He supposed he had plenty of time to show her, though, and he would make sure she never had a reason to regret giving herself to him.

Teeth tease the down along her auds, sending a shiver down her spine. The wisp's shadowed features slackened into bliss, elation as languish stretches along her muscles - rapture glimmering in the lilac eye that tumbled along her jorrāelza's moonlit features.

Desire sparks in the heat of her blood once more, a new quaver taking hold of the girl, hearing the growl in his promise. She writhes in his grasp, rolling onto her back - allowing Daegon's affection to rain upon her throat.

New heat rises on her cheeks, sheepish violet gaze bright with lust - the Veltigar's head falling to the side to avoid his gaze, embarassed at her promiscuous behavior. (A small part of her could scarcely be bothered, they had a lot of time to make up for.)

Exhaustion chased from her, the Veltigar's starry muzzle carded through the fire-kissed fur of his chest - breath quickening in her lungs, an explorative rumble of a purr escaping. Her head rested against his elbow as a whispered vow leaves her, in the halting prose of his own tongue: 

"As I am yours - always."