Wheeling Gull Isle xxii. when the past ain't been that friendly to you but there's magick in that

@Daegon

The walk was a silent one, the dark wisp left to simmer in what remained of her ire, marinate in her own insecurities - brought forth by Rosencrantz barbed words. 

She did not pay attention to where they were headed initially, too preoccupied by her tumultuous emotions, but as the sound of waves pricked her auds, her violet halfgaze lifted with clarity to recognize their cove. 

She shot her mate a small, grateful smile though it was somewhat hesitant - uncertain what he made of Rosencrantz's exaggerations and accusations. The noxwisp could only assume he had given her the peace of quiet, led them here, to allow her to collect her thoughts which was much needed after the dramatic confrontation. 

"You have questions, I'm sure," the Seelie murmured at last in her mother tongue, breaking the silence as she drifted to the edge of the tide - allowing the waves to break over her toes gently, ticklishly.

His own mind was swimming with emotions as he lead them back to their cove. He was still quite angry with the former tactician and knew that should he see him any time in the future, things would not be so free from violence. He was lucky the Rhæ had been there to center him and help him rein in his temper. Some of his anger was, unavoidably, fueled by jealousy, no matter how much he tried to push the feeling away. He knew things hadn't been quite as Rosencrantz had made it out to be, but he couldn't help but wonder what had gone on between them. Maybe the ivory man's feelings were unknowingly unrequited before, and when things looked serious between Rhælla and Daegon, he grew jealous and let it twist him up inside. Still, some jealous part of him deep down kept poking at him and leaking doubt into his thoughts. 

He sat down next to her as she spoke. At first he said nothing, his body still somewhat tense from what had just happened, but also because he couldn't help but feel a little confused about everything. Finally, he released a heavy sigh and spoke. I am trying not to be jealous, but...it is difficult, he said quietly, his tone a little defeated. He was unsure what else to say just yet, so he fell silent again, eyes trained on the water, following it as it spread over her paws and then retreated over and over.

Silence condensed between them, a frost-bitten mist that draped over her shoulders to sink into her bones with its cold bite. The curve twitched, falling from her lips as her gaze fell to the lap of the tide at her paws - biting her cheek against the fear that coiled low in her gut. 

Had she found him only to lose him so soon?

"That's understandable," the nightborne dipped her head, heart withering like the browned leaves of autumn shrivelling upon their branches in the cold as she considered how she might feel, were the tables reserved. 

Where was there to start but the beginning? 

"I met Rosencrantz earlier this summer whilst hunting. We'd targeted the same fawn and it nearly came to blows but we agreed to team up, so we might both feed our people," the Seelie began, words weaving through the air - soft, shivering ribbons of regret curling between Lirean and Icadearian. How had she been so foolish, to think there was anything else beneath that cold glint in his molten gaze?

"I was injured and he helped me; we parted as allies of a sort," here the fabric of her dark brow would rumple, pleat, recalling the following weeks and the odd glimpses she'd caught of him after their terse encounter. 

"Later, shortly after I recruited you, Rosencrantz returned and pledged himself to Aristos - though I know not why he left the Courtfall band," the blackened pearl gave a minute shrug of her shoulders. It'd never come up and she'd been happy to have a familiar face around at the time. 

"I admit, after we spoke on the mainland I wasn't sure where things were with us. We didn't speak, which was likely my own fault, and I couldn't help but worry that you regretted coming with me," tumble and spill, these embarrassed utterances trickle from her tongue obsequiously.

Her gaze shifts, throat bobbing as she swallowed against the bitter flavour of undeniable truth, defeat. Whetting her lips, parting the clench of her jaws, the girl professed, "I kept an eye out for possible suitors as I immersed myself in building this pack. Even if I couldn't work things out with you, I knew I'd need to marry once we were official." 

She was no fool. A woman such as herself - young, tiny, unintimidating, nonthreatening - would not be taken seriously without the reinforcement of a male at her side. A husband would ensure that any rivals, or even allies, did not allow their minds to comfortably wander to notions of how easily the Isle's hierarchy might be toppled. Additionally, any children she bore would have a father - they would not be bastards, though she would have loved them regardless. 

"But nothing came of it," hontes swore solemnly, turning, lilac peering up into citrine. "He and I had just begun to find understanding with one another; I thought we might be becoming friends," the shadowed waif lilted, confusion tinting the wisped words as they were snatched by the wind.

"He has let jealousy fester within and allowed it to unhinge him. I barely knew him, Daeg, we hugged but once, briefly, when he returned from a trip," she reassured with a small shake of her head, beyond shocked and apalled at her former Tactician's behavior. 

"I didn't know he had feelings for me; Rosencrantz said himself that he didn't wish to find a mate or settle down. Mayhaps he planned to act on those feelings but...what can I say?" The small Lady gave another rise and fall of the oiled peaks of her shoulders, allowing a gentle smile to furl over her lips.

"We had our talk and well...it's always been you," her head ducked, heart thudding almost painfully quick in her chest - a galloping tempo that punched and pulsed against her ribs as anxiety sparked to life. 

Would he believe her? Or had her mistake in trusting the one-eyed Mortensen poisoned them - ripped it from beneath her paws so soon?

His tension clung to his muscles as she started to tell him what all had transpired between her and Rosencrantz, only growing as she continued to explain things. It was hard for him to imagine the other man stepping into help her when he already felt guilty that he hadn't been there to do it himself, as selfish as that might be. 

And, hearing that she thought he had regretted coming here was too much to bear; he had thought of nothing other than being reunited with her for the entirety of their time apart. His gaze finally lifted from the water to rest on her face, his expression unreadable. Guilt settled painfully in his chest as she described how she had felt the need to keep an eye out for a mate other than him after their awkward reunion. 

By the time she finished speaking, he didn't even care about the stupid former tactician anymore (although, he would definitely still go for his throat if he ever saw the bastard again); he only wanted to soothe her uncertainty and hurt, afraid his moment of weakness might have added to it.

He quietly got to his feet and closed the distance between them, nuzzling her cheek as he settled back down next to her. My love, he murmured. Please don't take my jealousy to mean that I hold any of this against you. He only held one wolf responsible for this. For me, it has always been you, as well, and I am sorry if I have given you any reason to doubt that. Daeg nuzzled her cheek again after he finished. He didn't want her to ever doubt his feelings for her again.

Her lid fluttered, lavender nictating as she blinked rapidly in surprise - lips forming a small o as cognisance settled over her. A havering smile graced her lips, temple caressing the curve of his throat as the wisp reminded herself she should not mire too deeply in the doubts of perturbation.

"I'm glad," she sighed in relief, curling herself against the swath of his chestnut chest familiarly. "There's no need for apologies. The best thing we can do now is put it behind us and grow," the fae chirped, pulling back to smile up at her jorrāelza with adoration. It was their way, she was learning, to learn and adapt together; unsurprisingly, she was finding there was nothing she couldn't face without his steadying presence by her side.

"There's only one man I want ruling by me," the Lady maundered, octaves ahush with trepidation despite her certainty in the Vallaeris' feelings. Only one she would give, bare herself to - mind, body, and soul. 

A deeply drawn breath whistled as she inhaled shakily through rose nose, standing to face him upon trembling limbs as her dark head fell aside - throat bared archaically in utter submission. 

"By the old gods and new, I pledge myself to you, as my Lord and husband, if you will have me," the girl's head dipped once regally, eye shutting as tears brimmed and the unifying vows of her people fell from reverent lips, "from this day, until the end of my days." 

He tightened around her, the last of his tension leaving him as the warmth of her body sunk below his thick coat to heat his skin. As she spoke, he realized that she was right: he couldn't keep dwelling on past mistakes that couldn't be changed. He would try his best to remember that.

Becoming hers hadn't meant that he expected to lead; he was happy to just have her. But, when she implied that she wanted only him to lead at her side, he couldn't imagine it any other way. Before he could reply, she drew in a deep breath and moved to stand in front of him. Confusion flashed across his face until she bared her throat to him. His heart sped up and he released a harsh breath at the sight, wanting nothing more than to bite her and leave a mark for all to see. The feeling only intensified as she pledged herself to him forever. He stepped forward, running his nose through her night sky fur and breathing in her scent. I have never wanted anything more. He ran his muzzle through the fur on her neck once more, the need to mark growing with each second. And, I give myself to you, as my Queen and wife, from this day, until the end of my days. The words were spoken into her fur. And then, he could resist no longer. He sunk his teeth deep into her flesh, permanently marking her as his. It wasn't typically how things were done anymore, but the urge had been too overwhelming to fight. When he released her, he delivered soothing licks to his mark and whispered words of love and devotion, intentionally leaving his own neck exposed to her, should she feel the same need to mark what was now irrevocably hers.

Her joints liquidised as his breath expelled heavily, her ears fluttering against her nape curiously at the noise, and she feared she might crumple upon the sand. Yet, the shadow of him looming near in her periphereals held her captive, breath hitching in her throat. 

A shuddering exhale heaved from her narrow chest at his agreement, cheek growing damp as a few stray tears escaped in her exultation. 

Something shifted, charged in the air between them, the static before a lightning strike - primitive and electric. His words fell on ringing ears, still shocked giddy by the realisation that he was hers, and she was unprepared for the bite. 

Her body jerked, supressing the escape her limbs screamed for as it would only rip his teeth from her painfully, as her mate's fangs sank into the soft flesh of her neck, as easily as a knife through rubber. 

A choked whimper escaped, her frame racked by twitches in response to the tearing, searing pain that burrowed into her bones. Instinctively, the curve of her spine hunched deeper, limbs lowering, tail tucking slightly. 

Gesǣlig was left quivering, panting in relief as the barbs retracted. A strange noise, somewhere between a hiss and a gasp as Daegon's tongue rasped over the fresh wound, soothing and stinging as he cleaned it. 

She did not mind, did not regret - she had felt worse pain and it was well worth it to bear Daegon's mark. 

The noctis nymph curled into him, needing that reassurance, muzzle inching investigatingly along his throat. The same primal urge that had taken hold of her mate curled in the depths of her being, winding through her veins ignitingly as her lips brushed upwards to settle at the junction of neck and shoulder. 

Her lips pressed to his skin, kisses falling upon the fire-streaked fur of his neck like rain upon the forests of their Isle, tongue darting out to lap over her chosen spot as if to gently prep it. 

The exile's teeth cut into him - shallow yet sinking, afraid to hurt him yet certain in her marking. How painful and embarrassing it would be to do this a second time. 

Her fangs retracted slowly, tediously, reluctant to cause him any further discomfort. Her tongue rasped comfortingly over the grooves and furrows left behind, cleaning and alleviating as the sylph nestled against him - tremored by aftershocks.

The feel of her teeth sinking into his flesh made him freeze and draw in a sharp breath. Her bite was more delicate than his had been, but there was sure to be a permanent mark left behind. The pain only added to the intensity of the moment, and he closed his eyes as his heart began to race. Pleasure spread from the mark and into his veins and seized his whole body. He was completely lost in the moment. Even when her teeth slid out of his flesh, it took him a few seconds to open his eyes and reclaim control of himself. 

His love—his mate leaned into him, and he pressed his face into her fur and breathed deeply a few times as he collected himself. A calm, warm euphoria settled over Daegon, making his limbs feel somewhat like jelly. So he slowly moved to the ground, gently guiding her down with him so that he could curl tightly and protectively around her. There was so much he wanted to say, but he couldn't quite form words just yet. He had never felt anything so consuming but also so right in his entire life. It was as though everything had led them to this moment—like they had finally fulfilled some part of their destiny, and it rendered him completely speechless, leaving him only able to express his love through affection as he nuzzled and nipped up and down her neck, careful to be gentle near his mark.

She sank, boneless, limp as it throbbed through her, into the sand and her mate's embrace. It originated in the fresh wound upon her neck, each pulse of her heart sending a wave of heat crashing through her: vestiges of pain, overridden by satisfaction and something intense, instinctive. 

Dazed as she was, it took several long moments - her eye shut, trembling body tucked into her perzys - to identify it. The urge burned underneath each breaking wave, swirling currents in the depths of her being: submission. 

It would not abate, ceaseless in its torrent, not now that she'd given herself so intimately to the fallen Prince. Not until, with a soft rumble spilling from her throat, she rolled in his forelegs - underbelly and throat bared as she relaxed into Daegon's affection.