forum Feathers Anew 2.0 (1-1, Closed, Mature)

Started August 27, 2022 by @Serpentess health_and_safety language

tune

Valiel felt his arm tighten and leaned into him, hoping to calm whatever was agitating him. She reached up and trailed her fingers across his chest this time, trying to distract him from the topic that made him so nervous.
"So… they leave you alone because you're a timid Strangeling with a dark side." She looked up a him. "Is that about right? Because I've seen all of that and I'm still here."
She didn't exactly know where she was going with that, but she wanted him to not shrink back from her. She was more than a little worried she was going to tie herself to this man for longer than she meant to, but, at this moment, her life had no other particular purpose.
In fact, now that Valiel thought about it, this was the first time in a long while she was thinking in terms of purpose or long term plans. After leaving the Hinterlands, she'd just kind of… been, without really doing much. Now, with Phalakros, she was thinking about life in terms of living, not survival anymore.
The thought made her cuddle him closer.
"Would… would you ever consider a relationship with a non-Ahkrethian?" She looked down again, studying his arm around her while tracing his chest.

It soothed him a bit when Valiel leaned into him. He appreciated her concern and kindness… and her creativity with her fingers. He wasn’t used to talking about romance at all, particularly with the lingering thoughts of his dark side getting out. But, somehow, Valiel made it seem alright.

He listened to her questions, and was about to answer when she looked at him and spoke words that Phalakros never thought he would hear. She wasn’t afraid of him, or his dark side. And, most of all, she meant to stay. Those heartwarming words nearly brought him to tears, but he took a deep breath and decided to answer her questions before he got carried away.

“Because I am a timid Strangeling, yes. Ahkrethians have a strict culture, and outsiders, especially Strangelings, are rarely welcome. Lucitius is more lenient on Strangelings, as long as they do not cause trouble, and… I also remind him of his first son, who died long ago. Yet, I avoid relationships, because of mine dark side. It is… a cruel being, and I am afraid what it will do to those I get close to,”he clarified. As he finished speaking, his other arm wrapped around her.

“I… am terrified… of that creature. And, it… feeds on that fear. I have more blood on mine hands than I ever wished, because of it,”he breathed shakily.

Valiel snuggled against him, which soothed him, and a shy smile appeared on his face. He paused at her question, his smile becoming thoughtful. When she caressed him, he closed his eyes a moment, a short purr rumbling in his throat. He then leaned down a bit, whispering in her ear, his voice sincere and intense.

“Yes.”

Valiel knew she needed to tread carefully here. She did worry a bit about the fiend, but… she'd handled it once, she could again. Phalakros clearly had some fears to work through, but she would try to help him do that in due time.
The whispered answer did things to her, and she shivered. He had thought about the answer before giving it, so she knew he wasn't just being nice.
"Well… what do you look for in a woman, Phalakros?" she asked playfully, hoping to keep him smiling and happy.
The less he thought about his fear and the dark and how others had treated him, the better, at the moment.

Phalakros gave another short purr when Valiel shivered, inhaling deeply. He could smell her reaction, and it was all he could do to not lick or nip her ear.

Why was he suddenly so smitten with Valiel? Yes, she has treated him so far with the utmost kindness and compassion. Yes, she was quite beautiful, especially in the more familiar form of an Ahkrethian Strangeling. And, yes, he did indeed care about her, and didn’t want to see her hurt. But… did any of that explain his sudden desire for her? Or was there something more going on?

Valiel’s question brought him out of his thoughts, and Phalakros paused, wondering for the first time what he actually did look for in women. It amazed him how little he’d thought of it before.

“I…”

Phalakros paused again, considering her question a bit more deeply. He then chuckled.

“Though I, truthfully, have little experience with this, I have always sought a woman I could trust. One that soothed me and supported me. And, one that could possibly help me be… ‘less timid’? I am uncertain,”he answered.

Valiel nodded, thinking. "What do you mean by, be less timid?"
She knew from their brief time together that he was a very timid creature, but she wasn't sure how he was wanting help with that. Did he mean general timidity, timidity with women, timidity about the dark, timidity in bed… there were any number of things he could mean.
She also noticed he'd been thinking a minute, and his arm around her had loosened. She hoped that wasn't a bad sign, but she did wonder if her kindness had won him over, or if he still needed winning.

“Overall, I guess. I have become more and more timid over the millennia, and it bothers me,”he clarified.

A moment passed as Phalakros became lost in thought again. He pondered why he liked Valiel so much, but, after a bit, decided that the ‘why’ didn’t matter right now. As long as Valiel was willing to stay.

“Are you certain you wish to be with me?”he asked shyly, still whispering in her ear. He wanted to be sure before he did anything else.

Valiel nodded slowly. "You are timid, but… don't let anyone confuse your gentleness with timidity, Phalakros." She meant it as praise; he'd been extremely gentle with her, which she could appreciate.
They sat in silence for a long moment, both of them thinking, before he asked her a question that surprised her. "Me? What about you? Do you want to be with me?" He barely knew anything about her, and she was also nervous he was talking about a life bond. She wasn't sure she was ready for that yet.
But to give him a chance? Absolutely, if he wanted her.

Phalakros paused at her words, considering them for a long moment. He then smiled breifly.

“I appreciate your words. Yet, I suppose I could rephrase to better clarify mine meaning. I wish to change how… ‘reclusive’ I have become. After the… Fiend…”Phalakros trailed off with a sigh, shaking his head helplessly.

Phalakros chuckled shyly. He hadn’t meant to surprise her, but… he couldn’t help asking. There was something about Valiel that he was just… drawn to. He wasn’t concerned about serious commitments, namely the Mating Bond, simply because it was too soon. He just wanted to be close to her.

“If… If you will have me. You have shown me such kindness. I… I…”

Phalakros straightened and sighed,”I am terrible with words.”

“We do not need to do anything lasting. I… simply wish to be with you. I have known very few women that have treated me like you have. I… wish for such compassion to linger,”he finally said after a long moment of contemplation.

"We can work on making you less reclusive." Valiel patted his chest gently. "And let's be clear: you can tell me as much as or as little as you like about the fiend. I will not judge either way."

She was frankly a little stunned at what he was saying. She tried to think of how to answer him, just sitting there looking at him for a long moment, before she finally settled on the only answer she could think of.
This time, she kissed him.

Phalakros smiled appreciately at her words. He then shyly nodded, not wanting to talk too much about his dark side at the moment.

He waited patiently for her response, becoming increasingly nervous as time passed. He wondered if he’d gone too fast. But, when she kissed him, all of the tension melted away and he held her closer, kissing her back. It surprised him how readily he accepted her kiss, but he wasn’t about to complain.

Valiel pressed herself into his chest, and only pulled away when she was pretty sure he'd gotten the point.
"Does that answer your question?" She kept her hands pressed against his chest, not pushing him away this time, but maintaining contact with him.

Phalakros held her a bit tighter, tenderly sliding one of his hands up and down her back. When Valiel finally pulled away, he was a bit breathless.

“Indeed,”he said quietly, a short purr rumbling in his throat, distorting his voice a bit.

Phalakros appreciated her hold, and he gently grabbed one of her hands, lightly kissing the back of it. He then held onto her hand, indecisiveness taunting him. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to simply hold her, or if he wanted to kiss her again.

Valiel flinched when his hand brushed the burn patch on the lower part of her back, but was otherwise happy to let him touch her however.
His rumbly purr made her smile, and his kiss on the back of her hand nudged something in her chest. He hesitated, and she solved whatever dilemma he had by wrapping her free hand around him and pulling him into another kiss.
He was soo gentle with her, she was still trying to get used to it.

Phalakros paused in his caresses when she flinched, realizing he’d gone over another wound. He made an apologetic sound, then resumed with his hand, being more careful with where he touched.

As he contemplated what to do, Valiel did it for him, engulfing him in another kiss. He didn’t hesitate to respond, passionately kissing her back. Another purr burst to life, continuing on during the entire kiss.

Valiel smiled against his lips, before pulling back to look at his face. "Look, I… I'm sure of this if you are." She could feel the purr rumbling through his chest, and she wanted to be clear with him. "I'm not perfect, but… I'll do my best with you, Phalakros."
She'd finally found the words she needed. IF he was willing, so was she.

Phalakros stared at Valiel, listening to her words. He then smiled shyly, chuckling a bit as he nodded. His green eyes were bright and hopeful.

“No one is perfect, Valiel. I learned that long ago,”he replied reassuringly.

Phalakros then couldn’t help hugging her, still being careful of her wounds. He wished he knew some healing spells, but it didn’t make much difference.

She hugged him back, before pulling away to look at him. "So… I have a question." It was pertinent, but it was going to be very sad, and she wanted to be careful. "It's a heavy topic, and I don't want to push you."

Phalakros watched her, his expression becoming concerned. He hesitated a moment, contemplating if he wanted to dare this mystery subject, but it did seem important to her. It also would nag at him until he figured out what it was, and he didn’t want to deal with that.

“What is it?”he asked softly, steeling himself for whatever she said.

"Do you remember any of last night?" she asked gently.
Part of it was to see how much he could remember from his time as the fiend, but part of it was also a sinking suspicion she'd had. About the ogres and the woman and children they'd had chained together.

Phalakros sighed shakily, then shook his head.

“I remember some of it. The last clear thing I recall is jumping off a branch to attack one of the ogres. Then, I remember that… horrible sensation of… losing mineself to… it. Everything after that is nothing more than a vague nightmare. That… is actually what mine nightmare was, when I woke. I know I attacked you, yet I cannot… I… I know not how to describe it. ‘Tis like watching mineself from afar. I know it was me, yet it does not feel like it. That… that sensation terrifies me the most. Yet… beyond attacking you, I only have small pieces, and none of it makes sense,”he answered quietly.

Valiel nodded, before reaching up to touch his face. "I'm sorry to bring it up. I just… I'm worried." She stroked his face gently, trying to soothe him. "I've been on the road a while, and I'm increasingly seeing bands of people in chains, taken by large creatures. I'm beginning to wonder if they're all connected, but I don't have any clue as to how, or even why. All the people we set free last night ran, and if they're alive, they're far from here now." She searched his face. "Do you know anything about this?"

“‘Tis alright. I understand,”he said, his voice still quiet.

Phalakros initially seemed like he was going to move away from her touch, but, after a moment, he instead held her hand against his face, appreciating her attempt to comfort him. He listened closely to her next words, stunned.

“No. I… only recently came to this realm. I have been here only… eight or nine days,”Phalakros replied, shaking his head as he spoke.

He was being honest, and he remembered quite vividly falling out of the portal and into the trees below. The portal had been breached while he was traveling through it, and he’d been chased by a dark, skeletal creature the rest of the way. The only reason it hadn’t followed him through was because he managed to get far enough ahead of it that the portal closed by the time it arrived.

Valiel nodded slowly, thinking hard. "Then… we'll have to keep our eyes peeled. If something is going on that… that we could stop, then… we should." Her sense of right and wrong was too strong to let her stay out of this. If this was slaving or conquest or some sort of culling…. she wanted to put an end to it.

Phalakros nodded,“I agree completely. Yet… I am wary of what I may do if we encounter another group like that. I do not wish that… thing in me to get out again. And, I do not wish to hurt you again, Valiel.”

It truly pained him to know that she was hurt by his hand, even if it hadn’t truly been his hand at the time. Valiel didn’t deserve to be hurt. She didn’t deserve to face the Fiend. No one did, actually.

Valiel nodded, moving her hand from his face to his shoulder and rubbing gently. "We would find a way for you to help without the Fiend coming out. Maybe… you free the prisoners and guide them away, I fight the big bads?" She wanted him to not fear the situations they may face, and Valiel could handle herself.