“No,”Phalakros replied, stopping as well.
He froze as Valiel leaned against him, not sure what to do. He then chuckled a little at her words, less confused now.
He stared into her eyes as she inspected his, admiring the subtle shades of blue. Because of Lucitius and his almost completely blue appearance, the color was very familiar to Phalakros, and very comforting. And, Valiel’s eyes were a much softer shade of blue, not as intense and vibrant as Lucitius’ eyes. That reminded him of Synthia, Lucitius’ wife, the most motherly woman Phalakros had ever known, and her grey eyes.
Phalakros didn’t even notice that Valiel was melting into him. Nor did he realize that his hands were wrapping around her, cradling her against him. Her words caught him off guard, ripping him out of his admiration of her eyes, but when they registered, he couldn’t help a smile.
“As do you,”he replied, his voice just as soft as hers.
He thought her eyes were nice. Valiel felt herself blushing, but she didn't care, more distracted by his soft voice, his arms around her, the gentle look in his eyes…
The vibrant green was alluring to her, reminding her of plants and leaves and life, something the icy lands she'd left behind lacked. He was warm against her, and she wondered if he could feel how her heart was thudding in her chest.
She found herself looking for… Something from him. More approval maybe.
"What makes you say that?" she asked, internally scolding herself for fishing for his kind words, but also still really wanting him to answer.
Phalakros saw her blush, and his smile brightened a bit. She seemed so sweet when she blushed. Then, the way her heart beat against him. It made him realize how quickly his own heart was beating, and how tempting it was to kiss her again. Though, her question distracted him before he could more deeply consider that kiss.
“I…”
He paused, not sure how to answer such a tricky question. It almost seemed like a test. Was she testing him? Why? Had he done something wrong?
He pushed those questions aside. He was getting ahead of himself. If he’d done something wrong, she likely wouldn’t be against him like she was.
“I… said that, because ‘tis true,”he replied, his hand moving to caress her cheek as he thought of a better answer.
“You have beautiful eyes. Soft and soothing, like a gentle lake. Yet, a lake that has much more depth and strength than it shows. ‘Tis… breathtaking,”he said, the words just pouring off of his tongue as he once more stared into her eyes.
Valiel leaned into his touch, silently exulting at his words. She knew better than to seek any kind of validation from a man, but…
It had just been so long since someone had been affectionate with her. The Hinterlands were a rough place to live, and coming here had been a long process, and she'd had no time or desire to think of romance, and his sudden kindness, his sweet praise was driving her a little mad.
"I, uh…. I'm glad you think so." She tried to keep from stammering, but she was flattered, and touched, and a bit overwhelmed.
She leaned into his chest further, pressing herself to him, wondering where to go from here. She didn't want to leave his embrace, but with her heart hammering like it was, he was sure to notice, and she didn't want to weird him out. They'd already crossed some lines earlier, and she wasn't even sure where their boundaries were now.
When she leaned into his hand, it tugged at something within Phalakros. He didn’t know what it was, but he knew he didn’t want to let go of her. Valiel was so wonderful to him, and he felt… safe with her. It was a feeling that he had only encountered a few rare times, most of those involving Lucitius and his family. It was nice to feel that sensation again, particularly with someone that didn’t have godlike abilities.
Phalakros smiled a bit at her words, having another shy moment. He understood what was going on with her, because he was going through it as well, in his own way. No one had ever commented on his eyes before, let alone complimented them. And, the words describing Valiel’s eyes hadn’t been planned. They just… came out. It was shocking to hear himself saying those words, but he didn’t regret them for a moment, because he believed in every one. Her eyes truly were gorgeous.
Valiel leaned into him even more and that reminded Phalakros of his earlier thoughts of kissing her again. However, he didn’t want to push things too fast for Valiel. He had a reasonable excuse for kissing her again and again earlier, and that was because of how shaken he was from his nightmare, and then how taken he was with Valiel. He still had the latter, but not the former, which would complicate things. Thus, he needed to do something less… abrupt. Hopefully it wouldn’t backfire on him.
“This… might be a strange question, considering earlier. Yet, I… Would you be fine if I kissed you again?”he asked a bit awkwardly.
He was thinking, and she was thinking, and her heart was fluttering, and he was holding her close, and then he was stammering, and the question made her smile, and so she answered him as best she knew how.
Valiel tilted her head up and kissed him herself, smiling against his lips.
Her smile inspired one of his own. Then, when he’d been expecting words, she instead surprised him with a kiss of her own. However, despite the surprise, it was exhilarating to kiss her again, especially with that sweet smile curving her lips. Somehow it made the kiss even better.
Without really thinking about it, one of his hands moved to tenderly cradle the back of her neck. His other hand shifted a bit to hold her better, being careful of her lingering wounds. His fingers then started to knead her back.
Valiel placed her hands on his chest, splaying her palms across it, not so much to push him away as to stabilize herself. He was so much bigger ad stronger than her at this size, he made her feel safe, and she wanted nothing more in that moment than to stay right here forever.
His hand shifted, and Valiel realized how much her body had been hurting. She didn't realize she'd been tensing her back while they'd been walking, to avoid moving the burn too much, but when he began rubbing her back, a small noise escaped her throat. It was somewhere between a moan and a whimper, and she was immediately embarrassed, because she hadn't done it voluntarily. She relaxed into his touch, finally pulling back to breathe, before diving back into another kiss.
His breath hitched slightly as Valiel placed her hands on his chest. Phalakros then kissed her more deeply, half deliberately and half without realizing it.
Phalakros had noticed the tension in her back, and that was one reason why he’d started massaging her back. He hadn’t expected the moan though, but… he found that he didn’t mind it all, particularly when she melted into his continued massage. That meant he wasn’t hurting her, and that was one of the main things he wanted. Even better, if his massages could bring Valiel some relief from the pain he’d already caused her, then he would gladly massage her whenever he had the opportunity.
When she pulled back, Phalakros used the opportunity to catch his breath as well. And, when she kissed him again, he didn’t hesitate to kiss her back.
He hit a particularly sore spot, and Valiel nearly made another noise, but she bit it back, embarrassed enough from the first one. She was losing herself in him, which wouldn't be a problem, except she wanted to be careful.
So she pulled back from the kiss and laid her head on his shoulder, her lips near his neck.
"Thank you…" she said quietly. Her back felt much better, and he'd just started, or so she hoped. She kept one hand on his chest, and looped the other around him to keep herself close to him.
Phalakros discovered a tense spot and sensed Valiel holding back another noise. He wondered why. He wasn’t going to make fun of her or anything. He actually didn’t mind the sounds.
When she pulled away, he was a bit confused. Then she put her head on his shoulder, her lips so near to his neck. A part of him wanted those lips closer, but the other part didn’t want to rush. Unless Valiel was alright with it, he wouldn’t push things.
Her words brought him out of his thoughts and he smiled, resting his head on her shoulder as well, still being careful of her wounds. He continued to massage her back, slow and steady, gentle but effective. It was so soothing to be held by her, and to hold her.
“You are quite welcome,”he replied softly, a short, contented purr rumbling in his throat.
Valiel gave a small, quiet giggle, her breath ghosting across his neck. "Why the purring?" She wasn't sure if it was cultural or natural to him, but if he wasn't doing it on purpose…
Well, she could stop trying to contain her own happy, pleasured sounds .
She suddenly remembered what he'd said earlier about Ahkrethians and mating, and realized she'd actually escalated things by getting this close to his neck and jaw. She thought a moment, before deciding to stay where she was and see what happened.
Her breath ignited his nerves, sending waves of temptation up and down Phalakros’ body before settling as a dull ache in his jaw. However, he contained that part of himself, wanting to linger in the hug a while longer. Besides, Valiel was still getting used to her form, and was possibly unaware of what she was doing to him.
Her question caused an embarrassed chuckle to burst from him. He hadn’t even noticed that he’d purred. He usually almost never purred, but it just seemed to… happen around Valiel, a lot.
“I… do not know, truthfully. All Ahkrethians can purr. ‘Tis similar to felines I suppose,”Phalakros replied, not sure what else to say.
Valiel smiled at his shyness about it. She began trailing her fingers up and down his back lightly, while kneading the hand on his chest.
"So what makes an Ahkrethian purr, hmm?"
She was attempting to play with him, see if he would play back. She wasn't sure if there was a playful streak in there, or maybe just the shy streak she found so endearing and worrisome at the same time.
She didn't quite realize that every time she spoke to him, she was breathing on his neck and jaw ever so little.
Phalakros almost moaned as she started caressing him, his body practically melting into her. His massaging fingers stuttered to a momentary stop, while another, deeper purr rumbled to life in his throat.
He was a little lost in regards of how to answer her question, particularly since his brain was turning into the same mush as his body. But, he didn’t miss the euphoric sensation of her breath on his neck. It was a blinding reminder of his temptations, and it helped inspire an answer. With a simple tilt of his head, he was ready.
“Exactly what you are doing now,”he whispered, his breath hot on her neck.
Oh.
Valiel was suddenly very aware of how her breathing must be affecting him, because his was suddenly driving her a little crazy.
She went completely still, not in fear, more like she had frozen in his embrace, waiting for something.
It took her a second to break free from that stillness, and she found herself needing to remember to keep moving her hands. His had stuttered the same way, so it wasn't a problem she told herself.
She realized she was tilting her head back, giving him better access to her neck, without meaning to. Hs move had set something off, and she was having trouble fighting the instincts this body came with.
"Uh… I-I see that…"
Phalakros paused when she froze, wondering if he’d done something wrong. He figured that he’d surprised her. But, when her hands started again, he once again melted into her.
As Valiel tilted her head back, he moved his head closer. The dull ache in his jaw became heavy throbbing. The temptation to bite down on her delicate skin nearly overwhelmed him, and his fangs almost touched her throat. But, her words made him freeze.
“I…”
He reluctantly moved away, trying hard to catch his breath and compose himself. It was extraordinarily difficult to do. Worse, he had no idea what to say to Valiel.
She wanted him to bite her. Wanted it badly enough to feel disappointed when he pulled away.
Even though we just said we weren't going there… That was the part that scared Valiel. How quickly her internal boundaries had just… disappeared.
She sat there for a moment, fighting with herself about what to do, before deciding on a course of action.
"It wasn't a complaint…" She said softly. "I just noted what you like, Phalakros." She swallowed, before committing.
She kissed his jaw, a light touch that only lingered a moment.
"Please don't feel bad." She waited for whatever reaction he would have to that.
Phalakros looked at her, his typical shyness peeking through the wild gleam in his eyes. He was about to reply when Valiel kissed his jaw, nearly causing him to go out of control. He barely contained himself, so he could talk.
“I… I know. And… I do not feel bad. I simply do not wish to… rush things. I understand this is something… completely new to you, considering how Ahkrethians are. I… do not wish to force you into anything you do not wish to do,”he replied gently, still rather breathless.
Valiel nodded slowly. "I know that, but…"
She kissed his jaw again, slower, lingering a little longer this time.
"You're not forcing anything."
If it didn't work out, it didn't work out. Valiel was a passionate creature, and she was determined to go with what she was feeling just now. Whether it was the smart choice or not.
But something had put them together, and whether it was fates or some higher power, Valiel had always felt that things happened for a reason.
What would come, would come.
Phalakros was relieved by her words. That she was okay to go ahead with this… was wonderful. He hadn’t expected to do this now, but, at the moment, particularly after her second kiss… It was just too much to resist. He shifted so that his lips were next to Valiel’s ear.
“Then do not panic when I bite. The pain will fade. And, though you will bleed, ‘tis not a dangerous amount,”he whispered.
He kissed her ear, then moved back to her neck. He tenderly kissed her throat a few times before biting down.
(I’m not sure how you want to continue with this. We could skip until they’re done. Or go a vague route, if you’re comfortable. To be honest though, this part is a bit vague anyway. The way Ahkrethians breed is an underdeveloped aspect, so yeah. I really need to develop Ahkrethians more, in general, lol)
(whatever your comfort level is, friend. I generally go the vague route, talk about emotions and the joy of the moment, and just kinda imply the physical aspect. Or we can fade to black, your call)
(I’m honestly casual either way, so yeah. If you want, I can modify my last post to go the vague route. Unless you want to go next and we just go from there)
(Sure thing thumbs up)
Valiel shuddered just a little as his voice washed over her, explaining, comforting, entrancing…
And then he bit her.
The kisses were tender, the bite gentle but firm, and her throat hurt as he said it would, but…
Well, Valiel was so lost in the moment, she barely noticed.
Though it was strange to be with a woman after… practically ages, the euphoria was something he had drastically missed. The way their hearts synchronized, pounding so loudly in his ears that the whole world faded away to the music, was especially pleasing.
Phalakros held Valiel closer against him, his fingers lacing in her hair. He couldn’t help it. She had been so good to him thus far. He didn’t want to lose her. He couldn’t lose her. Not now. Though they weren’t bonded… yet, if he was lucky… he knew he was already deeply attached to her.
