Sunbeam Lair seorsum

absolutely a wonderful idea where i'm sure nothing will go wrong, hahaha. wait a day or so, then we wont have to be so vague?

She could have questioned the joke further, but let it settle where it was—coyotes, perhaps. Given the man’s noble and moral compass she wouldn’t believe anything less.

They had finished their meal—the rain had subsided and Germanicus offered to take her home to the lengths of the vale. There was a small part of her that relished in that—for there had been  the inner thought if he wished for them to meet in the seclusion of the lair to avoid being seen with her.

“Of course,” she offered, a slow smile working its way to her muzzle, practically preening at the fact she had a satiated belly and stolen a few moments to herself. It had been nice.

She would duck out of the lair—the scent of fresh rain intermingling with autumn and it held a certain coziness to it. A silver lining after a storm. “You never did tell me if your cool factor went up with the parcel I sent home with you.” A pointed sideways glance.

lets do it! <3

germanicus followed. they left the remains of the pheasant behind. it would be a fitting tribute to the plants which supported two packs. "she is quite busy. but i like to believe she smiled." aquene was a dutiful woman and he was not sure if kallik would return. she deserved such loveliness.

he met her eyes with an open look that lasted a moment. and then his features were turned away and in profile once more. the rainwet air was welcoming and the next breath he took infused him with that petrichor.

the imperator's eyes were sunnier as he glanced at the epochian, keeping pace with her and allowing her to set their speed. he was silent, existing in the newly washed world in a scant moment of rightness.

There was a dry humor beneath that stoical exterior, and Meadow chuffed a soft laugh, wondering if the Matrona she had heard so much about was was as aloof as the soldiers she ran with. It wouldn’t have surprised her—what did surprise her was how bubbly Tamar had come from such ranks.

Amicable silence stretched between them for a moment. Every so often she would steal a glance to him—met with his profile as he drew in the cool autumn air. If serenity could be found with a simple walk between friends, then she was content with that.

She must be—for the man grieved his wife and she? She wasn’t looking to place herself in any scenario in which she could be hurt again. "I can give Tamar your regards, if you'd like," she offered as they neared closer the borders of Epoch.

the eagle noticed first how the lady meadow did not mention arsenio. "please."

there was a flicker of deep appreciation in him as he slowed to a halt and met her gaze when she set it toward him once more. "i have felt more at peace today than i have in a long time." his voice was direct and expression clear. "thank you for that gift, domina."

he was the imperator once more, not a hurting man lingered far too long at the borders held by a man who did not think much of him. the greek might well believe germanicus ready to poach again. but she was not an object which could be stolen, she was a layered soul with a deep interest in those around her.

and then there was another silence defined by how long he watched meadow. "the lake south of us is a lovely place." the eagle stood taller in the mien of a man who has crossed his arms behind his back. he felt tentative and boyish. "one day perhaps you might meet me there."

'Hope,' he had spoken in response to her question.

Had he spoken of longing, of anything—Meadow breathed out sharply for a moment, fully believing that she would have acted upon that spark between them, looking for it to ignite into a flame—and surely, surely doing so, it would have burnt everything to the ground, just as fire was known to do.

But he had spoken only of hope—and it was such an open word that from the myriad of meanings she could deduce, it was that the man was content at having a friend. A confidant, perhaps, who did not report to him and thus, a safe place in which to simply… exist.

And now he wished for an excursion to exist together by a lake, and she felt a slow smile, a coy tilt of her muzzle. “Are… there many plants there?” She paused. “I mean, I’m up for it, certainly—but that will get you bonus points.”

the pointed exhale was not lost on him. 

he thought of the temptation he had experienced in the lair, how the sight of the way that she moved reminded him he was still vitally alive. even now his heartbeat quickened to be near her and to catch the tendril of her scent upon the rain-sweet air.

and still germanicus forbade himself more, binding himself to the memory of the woman who was no longer in mereo. the one who had let go of him before he was ready to let go of her. perhaps that was it. he had not been ready.

"not so many plants as the ones down there. but a profusion of flowers. and in the autumn the reflection of the changing trees turns the water to crimson and orange." as if it were a sunset.

"how many points, lady meadow?" the imperator asked with the same dryness he had given his first jest.

It sounded beautiful—downright romantic, and once more, the ashen waif was left wondering if she read the man before her completely wrong.

It wasn’t as if she trusted her gut instinct on most things.

And if he hadn’t sold her on the idea by offering the details of it, he certainly had by the inquiry to just how many bonus points he could get. Cheeky, almost.

Honeyed eyes swept down in thought, demure never a thing for her, and yet she glanced up once more, amusement clear in her expression. “We’re going to aim for enough bonus points to bring out a gleeful cackle from your Matrona,” she decided—go big or go home, and all that. “I should say a plethora of bonus points from myself if you choose a day when there’s no storm in the forecast.”

His warmth so close to her in the lair, the lightning illuminating the handsome features of the man before her.

Perhaps storms were not so terrible after all.

"a deal then. i am competitive. even if my opponent is myself."

he must return to mereo now. he had allowed himself enough of a respite. each moment here felt like a sojourn for pleasure that he did not deserve. his yellow eyes met the tawny hue of her own and he remembered how she had sighed just moments ago.

"have a good day, lady meadow." and with that he gave a dip of his head.

germanicus turned. each step back to the canyon would be marked with another glissade of memory, both those he had created today and those he did not want to remember.

he returned in a state of self-preservation.

“I’d expect no less from a soldier,” she remarked, eyes gliding over him in a stolen moment of appreciation that she cast aside as innocent.

Strong limbs led the man in the direction of Mereo—and Meadow, wistfully, stole a glance over the lands of Northstar Vale, a pinch of her own anxiety beginning to worm its way into her before she made her own rounds of duty.