Wild Berry Meadow An avalanche

For @Nirali

Flutters are making themselves permanent residences within the silver ex-prince. The reunion grand; together they all are once more, with the addition of another. Nirali has always been keen on picking up strays. Aldric being one of them. At last, he feels as if he can rest easy. The laid-back male allowed to laze around underneath the sun rays once more.

It is difficult to ask for Nirali's company alone, for he does not wish to keep family apart even for a second longer than necessary... and she leads their tiny group—expected, and perfect. Come sunset, Aldric returns to the encampment at the Meadow after a failed attempt at hunting. The prey scarce here brings a different sort of challenge. Alas, he finds a comfortable spot near a large berry bush and settles.

She's speaking with @Eleni when she spots Aldric returning to the vicinity of their small group, and her heart leaps into her throat. She doesn't hear her own excuses as they tumble from her, nor does she bother to look back to see her sister's expression as she turns to follow. All she can focus on is trying to keep her expression neutral, her mind blank. She's only partially successful.
I didn't think I'd see your face again, She says as she slows to a halt at his side, struggling to sound lighthearted. Her pulse feels uneven and too fast, and she hopes wonders if Eleni accidentally poisoned her. I missed it. Only part of you I ever really liked, you know. She manages a fleeting grin, looking away just before the expression drops. Some small part of her is painfully aware of how lame she's being, and after a moment she adds (still not looking at him): I am happy to see you.

you are the avalanche, one world away, my make believing while i'm wide awake

Dark tipped ears flicker, twitching towards their leader as she sways towards him. Approach casual, expected to be—for Nirali tries so hard to keep a tight lid on the bottle of her storming emotions. Aldric wonders if there is something afoot, if his careful steps to twist that cap just enough to release some of them has been undone by their separation.

Their reunion enough to cloud such thoughts, however, as his heart beats in a mirror of her off-beat one. An off-key song the duo plays in secret from each other. His body tilts towards her, adjusting to rotate as if she is the sun itself—and Aldric huffs a soft chuckle. Amused, yet puzzled all the same. If he were more confident, if he were the cheeky sort... he wishes he had been.

As am I, he pauses, I’ve been looking for you. Expression turns soft, almost as if he is in a sleep-hazed dream, with the slightest curl of his lips. He takes the risk of one movement alone, and reaches up with his pink nose to her shoulder.

I’ve missed you. Oh how I’ve missed you. Every part of you.

Aldric has always been one of few words, yet it only takes a few words to crack Nirali's carefully-constructed mask. She sucks in a sharp breath, turning back to him at the soft touch of his nose. Her eyes are bright with unshed tears, expression betraying just how much she'd hoped to hear those words.Really? Her voice is barely above a whisper, almost inaudible to her past the drumming of her own heart. She wants to say more, to lean into his touch and tell him how much she'd missed him, but something holds her back. Memories of so many sleepless nights, rehearsing this reunion in her mind with the freedom of knowing it would never happen.
It'd been easy to be honest with herself then, when the threat of reality had not loomed over her. When she'd been in control of the imagined situation. And now it is all too real, and she is far from being in control.

On the beach of Minrathous, there were countless times where he wished she would look upon him the way she looked at Maelia—she looked at the fiery phantom as if Maelia hung the stars in the night sky. Yet, when those wild, bright eyes land upon him—a dam holding back a flood—Aldric feels a pang in his chest. His skin crawls, claws desiring to grip at the ground, and so he flexes his limbs unconsciously.  

Really, he replies, steady—a boulder surrounded by a rushing rapid. His lips fold the opposite direction, golden eyes sparking with a new ember. His eyebrows furrow, it is the most emotion that Aldric has worn in months. Ever since the rush of rage that filled him the day he found out about their exile. They tried their best to keep the beast from breaking the chains and chasing after them. Ultimately that caused the volcano to erupt, and now he is here—bowed before the person he treasures most.

I thought of you every day. Every morning when he woke, every night before sleep—and in his dreams.

The words bring a fresh wave of heat to her eyes, and she turns away again as the brimming tears finally spill over, struggling to control her breathing. Silence stretches between them for what seems like an eternity, though it can't be more than a few minutes. She remembers to breathe, slowly, and thinks about her exile, about the day she'd realized she would never see Aldric again. Yet, here he is.
Aldric, I — She swallows, doubting herself, and the rest follows in a rush: I'm in love with you. She tries to say more, but her throat tightens, and instead she finds herself staring at the ground as if her life depends on it. The regret hasn't set in yet, but she can see it on the horizon.

His touch relaxes, easing back as tension curls over the thief—overwhelmed at last, the dams crack, splitting until hot tears coat her cheeks. He wishes it were his place to pepper her in kisses, to replace tears with laughter. Instead, he watches feeling helpless, unable to grasp what he wants.

There is something on the tip of her tongue, surging against the barriers wanting to break free and yet it seems difficult. Aldric is standing on a thin rope, dangling over the rapids in wait. He does not expect the words she utters. Thinks him a fool for allowing his mind to trick him into thinking a dream is reality.

Golden eyes widen a fraction, staring at the woman who confessed her love for him—a love he never thought would become mutual. His lips hover, for a moment. Heart hammering so fast within his chest that he thinks it might just break free.

Words have never been his forte. They never will be. That is why the shy boy escapes his comfort zone, he gets to his feet in a rush, and all at once attempts to tackle her. Just the tip of his over-fluffy tail wagging behind him. His muzzle buries into the thick of her neck, trying to hide his own embarrassment. (He wants nothing more than to see her eyes upon him again—that feeling he’ll never forget.)  

“Really?” He almost parrots, but bites on the question—selfishly not wishing to allow Nirali the chance to take it back. I, he starts instead, voice surprisingly steady despite how shake-y he feels. have always been yours... will always be. Ever since the day she picked him up off the streets—a lost boy grasping the hand of a girl with a great destiny ahead of her—he’s been doomed.

I love you, he whispers. Ears burning.

The sudden feeling of Aldric pressing against her startles her, though she hides it well. She goes still, eyes closing, and listens to her pounding heart. When he starts to speak, it seems louder with each word, and coherent thought begins to return to her in broken strings. He loves me, she thinks first, and then: I knew that. And she had, in a way, though she'd never allowed herself to consciously think it before. But rejection had not been her fear anyway.
I love you, She whispers, chest tight. Then, haltingly: But... I'm scared. Scared of repeating the past, of ruining what we have — but she doesn't say that. She knows she doesn't need to; Aldric will understand.

Scars of old display themselves plainly. He’s witnessed Nirali’s relationships on the sidelines, knows more of her and her family than perhaps any other. That is the part that ultimately, the silver ex-prince was born to play in their lives. He has never been the protagonist, or “the one that gets the girl”.  

Despite that, he is earnest, he lays his feelings out and answers her—tells her what he has been hiding since the revelation of his feelings months ago. It feels freeing to do so, as if he no longer must burden this secret alone. Yet he knows that their relationship will shift no matter the outcome. Her stock still frame is proof, as are her words that follow his own confession.

In his gut, he wishes to be greedy; to consume and possess what he’s longed for. Yet he knows in his heart that Nirali will never be a caged bird, and Aldric would not cage her. She is born for the spotlight, to lead. And he a supporting actor in her journey. It is enough to know that she loves him. That is more than he’s ever imagined.

‘Me too,’ he wants to say, instead, he tucks in close.

No matter what, I’ll be here.

There is no outward response to his words, yet they slowly quiet the fears stirring deep in her chest. She is reminded, in this moment, that this is Aldric — the same boy she'd left behind in Minrathous, no matter how much he has grown since. And he is still all of the things she remembers him by: stability and warmth, a quiet presence at her side. Safety. Their relationship has never been the tempest she'd endured with Maelia, and she has no reason to disbelieve his promise.
She pulls herself from his embrace after several long moments, searching for his golden gaze. Words escape her when her eyes meet his, and she presses back into him with a series of fierce, frantic nips and kisses peppered along his jaw. Her actions are not gentle, but filled with a brightly burning, almost feral passion that threatens to overwhelm her even in its infancy. Aldric, She murmurs, teeth against his throat, breath fast and heated against his fur. She pulls away again, abruptly this time, dancing just out of reach with a sparkle in her eyes. If you want me, you'll have to catch me. The words slip from her breathlessly, and she turns without waiting, bolting in the opposite direction with every intention of making Aldric work for it.

Reluctant, yet he does not chase the contact when she moves from him. Golden eyes meet her red ones, and Aldric feels shy—desiring to flicker away, to bury back into the warmth he lost moments prior. He cannot bring himself to, for she shines with unspeakable beauty. Aldric lured in like a dragon to his precious pearl.

She pressed into him this time, and the silver prince practically melts into it. A grumble of contentment rumbles in his throat, jaw tingling where she lays teasing nips and feverish kisses. Such affections are foreign, a feeling he's never quite experienced to his degree. His mind blanks, consumed and drowning in Nirali and how touch starved he feels. Each of her movements feeling like fire against his skin. He chases after each of them, unable to resist this time. Moth to flame.

His heart squeezes, and he moves the jaw she favored to press it hungrily alongside her own, placing a nip of his own before giving kiss after kiss at the spot. Alas, Nirali free as always slips away from him. Eyebrows raise, captivated by her dance. He has never been one to waltz, much to the disappointment of his father, but with Nirali? He'll dance with her until the end of the earth.