Lost Creek Hollow inflexus

gonna forward date this for uhhh the 3rd

the storm in the mountains had delayed him.

the travel had made him lean. but now he had returned to riverclan.

there was something new within him as he called for @Crowfeather, announcing his return.

the yellowpaint eyes hunted for the shadow's form.

The voice that called had drawn Crowfeather out of the cave of stars.

Once his paws had reached the mouth of the sacred place, he was breathless. His honeygold eyes searched the trees in hopes that the eagle would forgo the formalities. The shadow had no intention of keeping Germanicus from Riverclan. Even if he wished to become a ranger, to roam, to be gone and working. The hollow’s warmth and life would welcome him back.

It felt like seconds between the cave of stars and the edge of the clan. Crowfeather did not stop until he saw the glimmering yellow of the man’s eyes.

You’re back, he uttered. How-

Crowfeather wished to ask him how it had gone. He worried that it would be too much. The shadow could never imagine the strength it must have taken for Germanicus to do what he had done.

crowfeather was there almost before germanicus realized it. the gentle footfalls drew his face toward the shape which separated from the darkness of the hollow.

words to say. words not to shape.

he met the shadow's eyes with a look that said much, even if there was nothing truly to say.

his heart ached. "i thought perhaps i would spend some weeks here. perhaps inform myself about kvarsheim and swiftcurrent creek."

yes. icarus' report had been a firm one.

germanicus inhaled. "mereo is gone."

It was no surprise that Germanicus knew of the others – the creek and Kvarsheim. The silver eagle had always had a way of knowing. Crowfeather knew better than to ask.

They’re both very kind. Different, but good.

It would be good to know them. The dark Star was fond of their neighbors. He was pleased that they had managed to make alliances with the two clans. It showed that they were doing well. It was proof that they could take their quiet hollow clan and turn it into a place of peace that was also protected. If only Crowfeather’s father could see him.

I could introduce you. Not that Germanicus would need his help.

Mereo was gone.

Crowfeather watched the older man with intense eyes.

Not really. Dark tail waved, slow and gentle. I’m sure you’ve taught them lessons they’ll carry with them everywhere.

Mereo would live on in its members, in whatever they would do.

mereo was gone. crowfeather mean to offer a word of support in this moment but germanicus did not wish to hear it.

"another time," he said of the creek and kvarsheim. very quietly he stepped toward the shadow, yellowpaint eyes searching the honeyweave of the other's soft stare. "it is not my focus now."

a kiss, to cheek, trailed to shoulder. the eagle's long-held hungers were surging; it showed now, germanicus slowly backing crowfeather until the bole of one of the beloved trees provided respite for the shoulder blades of the shadowstar.

gaze an undressing.

it had been so very long since he knew contours similar to his own. his flesh remembered, alighting the eagle's eyes as the half-dark surrounded he and the shadow glinting in jet and gold.

Another time.

Crowfeather nodded softly. He had no intention of pushing the man.

Germanicus’ kiss left him stunned, electric with tingling he had never felt. The shadow’s stomach flipped wickedly inside him. The feeling of a dozen winged eagles fighting to break free, flapping and scratching, beating their way up his esophagus and flying from his mouth. The dark figure did not breathe. He did not think of anything. The warmth of his body was like that of a hot spring.

The three-legged figure could not help but look at him. Hurried breaths fell from his lips as he lingered near the man’s throat, breathing in the changes of his scent. Crowfeather touched him there, soft and wanting. His whiskers shook as shivers overcame his lean figure.

Let’s get some food, he whispered.

there was only one ravening that germanicus wanted now to feed.

but he relented, a small smile curving his dark lips into a bow. "what shall we eat?" he asked, stepping back from the shadow and allowing himself to be led along into the rich shadowing of the hollow called riverclan.

his flesh burned where crowfeather had touched him, and the yellowpaint eyes found the fine dark features quickly once more.

A good question.

Crowfeather searched the hollow with a thoughtful squint of his eyes.

I’m going to fish for you, he decided. As his honeywarm gaze shifted back to the silver eagle, there was a flicker of confidence that had never shown itself. Even on three dark legs, the Star moved through Riverclan with sure steps. The hollow grounds were made for him.

And then we will see the cave of stars.

A playful nudge was pressed to the older man’s chest. Two dancing steps carried Crowfeather toward the moving water. The beat of his heart was a shock of energy. The yellowpaint eyes of Germanicus were like two warming suns in midsummer.

germanicus had noticed crowfeather's newfound grace the moment they had met once more.

suddenly within himself he was shy; he pulled his eyes aside and thought upon this place of stars.

"it is just as well." his gaze, unable to stray for long, traced those of the shadow's sculpted face.

"i have gotten no better at fishing," he revealed dryly, though he marvelled at how easy it was between them once more.

It’s a good thing you have me, then.

And he laughed. The noise bubbled from the back of his throat and into the hollow with enough force to surprise the flighty shadow. It felt odd, foreign, and it made him pause in his walk. How long had it been since he had last laughed and felt it in his heart? It seemed like he had been living as a shell of himself.

I’ll feed you so much fish that you’ll glitter the way they do.

Narrow features were drawn into a swift smile. Crowfeather did not care if Germanicus could fish. He did not care if the man could hunt or fight. There was no need for him to serve a purpose in Riverclan. He was free to come and go as his spirit needed. In the dark of the hollow, there would always be a star waiting to meet him.

The waters were high with melted snow. Crowfeather leaned over the bank and blinked at the rushing fish.

was this flirtation? it warmed his face and roiled in his gut as nothing else had done before.

gone was consternation or unsurety from crowfeather. each step, each word, each smile; all these things proclaimed his ease, and germanicus felt blessed that he could witness such with his own gaze.

now he applied himself to the task and watched for shapes beneath the ice-streaked face of the waters.

A glimmer of bright scales spurred Crowfeather’s heart. He lunged, aiming just ahead of the fish’s nose. Cold shocked his face and rushed up his nose. He snapped his teeth until he had found purchase in the soft flesh of his target.

With a wooshing wet noise, the shadow lifted his snout from the water and breathed deep around the plump body of the fish. Joy was shining from his dark frame.

Got it, he huffed in muffled words around the wriggling catch. With a firm clamp, Crowfeather felt the fish cease its squirming. Its slick body was placed beside the river. The shadow’s dark face was dripping with water. He drew his tongue along his whiskers and shook his head, leaving a damp and disheveled picture in its place. Another? the crow asked brightly.

the sweet fire of a fine vintage singed in his veins as germanicus allowed himself a long look of admiration slip softly along the elegance of the straining flanks, the flurry of droplets beaded as if they were each an opal upon the fine points of the shadow.

the riverwater, flattening rich dark pelt against the slim waist and the muscular shoulders.

"no," he said with difficulty, mouth offering another inscrutable smile as he bent to eat, tasting the clear taste of the fresh catch.

Had his smile always looked that way?

Crowfeather was glued to the eagle’s features. Each shift in his expression was a revelation. The careful gleam of yellowpaint eyes filled him with want, bubbling like a hot spring. The shadow could scarcely hold the energy in his limbs. It felt as though his blood would pump free of his body.

Germanicus ate and Crowfeather brushed his paws against his face to dry the wet fur.

When he had ruffled his dark features into spiked tufts, he turned his attention back to the other man. His chest ached, hands outstretched in hungry desire.

Boldness found the shadow’s heart. He drew nearer to the eagle and found his lips tracing the jutting lines of his shoulders to the dip of his back.

a tactician's senses always reached in a hyperstate of constant arousal.

germanicus plucked the thin bowstrings of humming anticipation between the pair of them. in the open sungold of the celestial's gaze the eagle knew he would not be turned aside if he reached now.

the fish appreciated but unfinished, the roman closed his eyes beneath the filtering of crowfeather's breath down to the quills of fur populating gooseflesh.

"show me this cave of stars," he asked in a voice made hot by the shadow's kindling.

The burning beneath his flesh was worse than fever.

Crowfeather swallowed at the lump in his throat. The dark, flightless bird turned to lead them along the river to where the waterfall sounded. The water guided them. It was a familiar path for the shadow who had visited the cave each day. He could not keep himself from the glittering stones that lined the walls within.

At the mouth of the sacred place, he paused. The echo of the waterfall could be felt on the air. The darkness of the cave waited for them like an open mouth. It was ominous, at first glance. From the outside, it looked as though only darkness would thrive in the inkwell.

Crowfeather stepped inside, his breath trapped in his lungs.

in another world germanicus would have called this heathen.

yet he resided within the realm of shadows now, and so only cast his eyes in watchfulness to the stones.

the shadow became one with the darkness that beckoned, and the eagle would not hesitate as he too was swallowed by the black tendriling.

germanicus reached for crowfeather's warmth in the unseeing gloom.

Through the darkness, their rocky path carved into the cave for many paces.

When the shadows became natural, their eyes sharp with familiarity, the air around them seemed to grow and expand. Crowfeather’s mouth parted to exhale his breath.

The room was large and round. The natural ceiling stretched out well overhead. Embedded in the rough rock walls and overhead were batches of glittering stones. Jeweled and sparkling with luminous clarity in the dark of the cave. A hole in the top allowed for the light to break through and reveal the natural stars. Their shine was cast upon the ground. A shift in the clouds caused the spotlights to flitter across the floor.

Crowfeather’s gaze twinkled with it. He pressed his ribs to the eagle and sighed.

it was stars beneath the earth, a temple of them. rough-hewn walls were studded with gemstones carved by forces far beyond his reckoning, a veritable trove of them in a scintillating belt as far as he could see.

crowfeather, exhaling beside him.

germanicus, reverent down to each detail of the cave he now knew to be a place of holiness.

it did not seem fit to speak aloud.

Reverence held them cupped in its dark hands.

The crow nudged at the other man’s shoulder. His steps pushed them to the center of the room. There were furs on the ground. It was a place for resting and for dreaming. Crowfeather had toted the pelts into the cave, one after another. It was measly, but he had spent many hours beneath the jeweled cave.

A dark paw scratched at one of the larger pelts. He shuffled it into a position that looked plush, inviting.

They did not need to speak. Crowfeather could exist in silence. He wanted only to press his body close to the figure of the other man. The shadow needed to find its source.

less a boudoir; more a place of cryptic meditation. germanicus allowed himself to be guided, welcomed it. the rich softness of the pelt beneath him invited relaxation.

crowfeather was there, warm and yielding.

germanicus held their quiet, illuminated by the glow of stone stars as he sought another kiss, another sweet exchange of breath, wanting through haptic power to know that this was both a dreaming and their reality.

They existed in their closeness, in an intimacy that did not break the holiness of the starlight cavern.

Crowfeather reached for Germanicus. His tentative featherlight touches against the muscled figure of the older man. Each kiss was met with fluttering eyelashes over honeywarm eyes. The warmth in their figures, so close in their discovery of each other.

Even in his dreams, the dark star had never found such raw satisfaction. Even in fantasy, Crowfeather could not have known how cherished he would feel.

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honeysuckle wine and a tracery of ink to the gilded pages of a sacred tome. germanicus exhaled beneath the soft insistence of crowfeather's touch, turning head slowly to pull his teeth gently through the tresses of dark fur upon the edge of one cheek.

time now, time enough to wait, to enjoy the building pleasure of exchange until the eagle felt himself undone down to the coil of his hips.

smooth movements until the shadow was beneath his own sinewed strength, held lovingly to the softness of the furs below. a whisper that trailed downward.

a tactician. a centurion. once, a warlord. 

and now he was only the basest supplicant in full devotion.

So this was love. 

The tension in his lean limbs was lifted with each gentle touch. The eagle’s breath was hot against him, filling him with want, with willingness to succumb to these stretched tendrils of desire. 

There was no pressure, only the support of Germanicus. The strength of his arms had turned the dark Star to ink. Soft and thick and folding beneath the touch he had so desperately wanted, Crowfeather couldn’t help but fumble innocently against the older man until he was held and the fevered wanting had been fulfilled. 

Soft and breathless, the shadow tucked himself to the eagle. A kiss was pressed to the man’s throat with a whisper, I love you. 

I needed to recover from the sheer poetry of your post. ;w;

have more <33333

this final culmination.

germanicus was reminded of the faceless men he had loved in distant youth, breathless tanglings while the centurion looked the other way. the event of hope blossoming in him, only to be stamped out again and again when he held that same body broken in his arms and felt part of himself die.

as he had risen in his brother's army, germanicus had spared himself the burden of love, save once for a fellow tribunus who had seen in the hardened eagle and equal.

and so once more his heart had come open and undone, and once more it had been broken when that selfsame man chose a wife with whom he might settle. it was their way, that of a proper roman man.

germanicus had not wanted only to be a liasion. it was the final moment which finally broke his strength in the army.

and now, with crowfeather in his embrace; he felt the galloping of the shadow's heart against his own as yellowpaint gaze descended toward the sungold gems set in the dark countenance of the beloved man.

the kiss, the tremulous whisper.

"i love you also."

and the time then for words passed them by. by turns frenzied, by turns gentle, always with breath mingling in amid the anticipated dance of their selves as one.

the eagle did not hide his voice, winding it around the sounds he meant to draw from crowfeather.

the rightness of their union, inked indelibly upon the very fibers of his spirit.