forum Opportunistic Omnivore: Scavenging the Remains of the Divine || OxO || Closed || 18+

Started March 15, 2023 by @ElderGod-kirky group

tune

Eurion nearly laughed, and the only give away for any amusement was a slight glimmer in his dark eyes. There was no honour or greatness in what he did, at least not to Eurion. Sure, he was a messenger of the Old Gods, believed to be long gone and that fact alone might have earned him at least some respect. But no, he was an assassin. He killed, murdered, and there was no honour behind that.

“Definitely no wife.” Fuck no on that front. He’d never liked women, had always thought something might have been wrong with him, especially in his younger years, but realised that there was nothing wrong with him and that was fine. It had only taken a couple decades to get to that realisation, and some very awkward moments to figure it out, too, “Definitely no kids. When you kill for a living, it’s not exactly the best occupation for a blooming love life. I don’t think whoever I end up with, my mate, would be so inclined to stay, anyway.”

That possibility had always been a no, at least until Sláine. That instant connection, the pulling and burning to one another, it was different than anything he had ever experienced. The prince had to be his mate, there was no other explanation for such a connection but until he was certain, he wouldn’t say it, not even to him.

Although the complications that came with that realisation were many. Sure, Aideen and Caoimhe were okay and worked out fine, but Aideen had practically redeemed herself when she became a knight, then a guard, but Eurion? His list was long, the blood on his hands wouldn’t fade no matter what he did and so why would Sláine want to stay, no matter their connection?

The prince's lips twitched in humor at the reaction to Eurion potentially having a wife. It was similar to how Sláine acted when proposed a potential suitor, or even given the nudge to start opening up to the idea. It made the assassin all the more likeable to him, that familiarity making it easier and easier to get along with Eurion while they traveled.

But, that humor faded into confusion and curiosity. "Really? What makes you think that?" Sure, Eurion could be a bit temperamental when pushed too far, as Aideen had demonstrated beautifully that first ten minutes of walking, and he seemingly had a permanent scowl on his face no matter what, but he wasn't horrible. He could joke around, was quick on his feet, and Sláine could stand him two nights in a row. Plus, he seemed protective enough, or at least willing to humor the needs of others given his current standing as a royal pillow. Caoimhe couldn't see any reason why someone wouldn't want to be with him.

Aideen had made it abundantly clear at the start of their relationship that she would always be a criminal, always have that identity with her, no matter what armor she donned or what title she bore. She would always been that thief in the streets snatching gold from pockets. Her targets simply upgraded in the amount of gold they wore on them, and she had a prince to have her back. And Caoimhe had never seen a problem with that. She was who she was, and many people took issue with her unorthodox nature, but he loved her all the same. He had fallen for her in the midst of jewelry thefts and threats to cut his throat out if he didn't do what he was told, and soft-spoken admissions of fears and hidden thoughts she kept from the rest of the world. She was Aideen first, and her identities second. Eurion should have faith in his mate's ability to view him the same.

Unless. It visibly clicked in the prince's mind, but his confusion only deepened. "Ah. It's the assassin thing, isn't it? Tell me," Caoimhe leaned forward and gestured to his scythe, which was leaning against the tree on his other side. "what's the difference between an assassin, and a soldier?"

Any flicker of humor was quick to leave the assassin’s eyes at the question, “Theoretically, nothing.” Because really the only difference was who was commissioning the kill. One was from a royal, or at least someone who was viewed as good and had enough power to command an army, a group of soldiers. Assassins? Private. Done of their own accord, but done for the money, mostly. There wasn’t honour in that. It also led to his next question.

“Do you enjoy killing, Your Highness?” Eurion asked. Had Sláine not have been leaning on him, he would have leaned forwards, but he couldn’t. To keep himself calm he kept massaging his prince, for both their sakes, “Every time you do, do you gain a high from watching the fear of the person on the other end of your scythe? From watching them bleed out, beg for their lives? Take your time with it if only to make yourself feel more powerful, because you like it?”

In the end, that was the difference. Eurion enjoyed killing. He loved the fear, the high, the control of it all. It was why he sort out other missions while waiting for the Gods to relay their next message. Why he did it deliberately. Whether or not the Gods were giving him orders or a random man in an inn, the only difference then was the treatment of Eurion himself. He was scared of the Gods, yes, petrified of them, but the fact that he enjoyed what he did had nothing to do with them.

“How do you think someone would react if they learnt that the answer to all those things was yes? That it didn’t matter who was telling you to kill because you’d do it anyway. That you couldn’t stop not because of who was in control, but because it’s fun?”

The prince listened to Eurion, expression unchanging but engaged and unwavering, unflinching, to the man's confessions. Not even a slight cringe or a flutter of an eye. Eurion had all of Caoimhe's attention, and it was heavy. But the moment the assassin laid out his case, made an assumption that would set them apart, a slow grin stretched across the prince's lips. He lounged back against the tree, legs sprawling lazily so he could rest his arms on his knees, and tilted his head. "That's a better answer than I've ever heard before, I'll give you that."

Aideen was watching with hawk eyes, excited to see what was about to go down. To act as instigator, and bearing a shared sort of pride, she gestured to her mouth. "You've seen their teeth, yeah?" A rhetorical question, one that she didn't allow time to answer. "Men have lost their throats to them."

There was a glimmer of something like malice in the prince's eyes, and excitement, but his voice was even as he continued. "That's the difference between me and my brother. Sláine can turn off his empathy if need be. I've seen him tear through people with no hesitation. But he never chose that path, and I would in a heartbeat if we were given a redo. That adrenaline on a battlefield, the feeling of someone's life in your hands? Nothing like it." Caoimhe angled his head the other way, as if scrutinizing Eurion from where he sat. "Overpowering someone in the same position as you, just a body in the way, is something that'll never get old. And scythes aren't as pretty as an arrow or a knife, or even a sword."

Taking someone by surprise was something Caoimhe loved to do, especially when he could go right for the jugular. The nobles called Azriel feral, but Caoimhe was moreso. Maybe it was the burning rage of his ancestors in his blood from the injustice of the family's brief downfall. Or maybe it was just him, bred to fight and kill and be the last man standing. Sláine never wanted to go to war, but Caoimhe had been at his back reigning terror on anyone that dared get near.

And big brother mode was slipping in as he pointed to Eurion, sternness slipping in. "Make yourself the bad guy all you want. There are men out there that would wilt under your true feelings on the matter. But there are men like us built for the blood on our hands," and faces. "If not us, then who would take up that sin? Let the holy and righteous call us monsters; we're just keeping the balance between them and the damned. If someone has a problem with that, then they are not worth your attention or affection."

Eurion took a moment to think through what the other was saying, and as much as his expression remained stone cold, a glimmer of respect made its way into his gaze. They didn’t get redos, he wanted to argue, that Caoimhe had made his choice, and so had Sláine, and nothing would change that. Sure, the first prince may say he enjoyed it, but the way Eurion felt when he was killing, torturing, he doubted anyone but an assassin would know. It wasn’t a battlefield, it was personal, more so, he presumed. He’d been wrong before and he may be wrong again, but that wasn’t the point.

They didn’t know each other. Eurion wasn’t a good person, he was, in fact, a bad one, it was almost rooted in who he was at this point. He was older, more experienced, had plenty of opportunities to stop and change but he didn’t because he liked it. Loved it.

But who would go home to someone knowing they had spent their day torturing, slowly and painfully because in their mind it was fun? That was where he worried when it came to whatever it was between him and Sláine. Like Caoimhe had said, the second prince hadn’t chosen that path, as much as he may have partaken in some way or another years ago. Would Sláine be able to stay or want to stay, knowing that? It was a bridge they’d cross at another time, for now, he was asleep and had no clue of Eurion’s true feelings towards his occupation.

“You’re not wrong,” Eurion admitted, he’d give the prince that much, “But in a hundred and twenty five years, I have not met someone who would willing go home to someone knowing they had spent the day murdering,” He shrugged, “And if I have a mate,” He tried not to look at the Sláine, “There’s a chance they would feel the same. Regardless, I’m never in one place long enough to meet someone properly, so, I doubt it would ever happen, anyway.”

Caoimhe pointed again at Eurion, those this time it was more like a jab into the air. "I like you," he announced. The prince, it would seem, wasn't having the assassin's crisis over his occupation versus his love life. "I have seen too many people do horrible things while putting on innocent smiles and dressing in white robes. In my book, the worst people out there are the ones that get away with what they do because they present themselves as 'good.' There is no good, and there is no bad. There's just the liars, and the ones that don't hide who they are." Caoimhe tapped his heart. "You could hold a knife to my chest and tell me all the things I bet you wish you could do, and I'd still trust you over a priest with their hand behind their back."

Maybe it was a product of growing up seeing nobles, or maybe it was from all the places the twins had seen where the people who got hurt the worst were victims of people they thought would never hurt them. Maybe it was all the children who had to run because their parents couldn't accept that they were different—magically, or personally. Or maybe it was all the times negotiations had gone haywire in a split second, all because Sláine said one thing that the person didn't want to hear; all nice and considerate, then holding a blade to Sláine's throat and demanding retribution.

Aideen crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head back to look up at the canopy above them. "If whoever you end up with is worth their salt, then they would understand that it's a part of you they cannot change. The best sorts of villains are the ones capable of love." She then smiled a little and huffed a small laugh. "I just ask that maybe you don't resort to biting your enemies—it's a bit of a hazard, and I've stopped trusting where his mouth has been." Caoimhe rolled his eyes at that and shot Eurion a 'you see this shit?' look.

"Oh, and," the prince finally registered Eurion's final statement and narrowed his eyes a little in accusation, "I call bullshit on not finding someone."

Eurion was ready to comment on Aideen’s statement but then Caoimhe was giving him a look and calling bullshit and for the second time during their conversation, the assassin felt his heart begin to race, “Why do you call bullshit? I have no reason to lie about my love life.”

But he did. Because what him and Sláine had was a secret for the time being. They didn’t know what it was, their connection, as much as Eurion had his theories he were beginning to believe for truth, but until they knew for certain they were going to keep it hidden, for both their sakes. If Caoimhe realised his twin were mated to the assassin that had tried to kill them, that their relationship had changed so drastically over the course of a few days, Eurion was worried that the conversation wasn’t going to end well. Another reason to remain alone was to avoid the hard, inevitable talk that would ensure with whoever he may have ended up with in another life, but it made things worse when he was both assassin and stranger.

He couldn’t help but feel conflicted. Sure, the first prince was fine with who his own lover was - thief at heart - but their relationship had developed normally, slowly, over the course of months. Not in a few days to get to the point him and Sláine were at. Did witches have mates? Was Caoimhe aware of the bond and what it entailed more so than simply being fated for someone? Another downside to his lack of knowledge when it came to how the witches functioned.

When all you did was kill them, there wasn’t a need to understand their love lives, how they picked and chose who they ended up with in the end. Eurion hadn’t had a need to understand how any of the magical beings functioned when it came to love because there was never a need. Not until now, not until Sláine.

As much as his suspicions circled around the exact dynamic around Sláine and the assassin, Caoimhe wasn't thinking about them right at that moment. He was in big brother mode, and Eurion talking down about himself wasn't flying in the prince's book, no matter their age gap or relationship.

"I don't care if you're lying to me or not, but now I'm a little curious as to if you are." If anything, that re-sparked his interest in just what was going on between the two, but he pushed it aside for now. "I'm just saying that it's bullshit you won't find someone because of how often you're on the move. That doesn't mean anything if someone catches your fancy, or you catch theirs. I refuse to believe that you never had the time to take interest in someone. No one moves around that quickly." He should know. The princes had secured several flings over the years of travel between countries and realities. There was always just the right person, at just the right time.

Caoimhe then added as an afterthought, waving up and down to encompass all of Eurion. "And we all know there's plenty of people into the whole tall, dark, and handsome kinds. You've even got the dash of mysterious and brooding. The perfect wet dream for those lot."

Snickering, Aideen silently concurred. Eurion was attractive, even with his scowly face. She, too, noticed the treatment of the younger prince. How gentle he was with the way he massaged Sláine's neck, the idle twirling of his hair—the assassin could be soft with others if he wanted to be. That, in her book, was a deadly combination. If they hadn't been at each other's throats so easily, and if she didn't have a man already, she would've found him attractive enough to consider pursuing. Caoimhe had entrapped her with how sweet he could be when he wasn't being batshit insane or purposefully riling her up. Eurion should have no problem pulling people in for a taste.

"Maybe I just haven't wanted to, then," Another shrug from the assassin, "I tried when I was younger to find my mate but never found him. At that point, I gave up and resorted to just one-night stands when I needed something." It felt wrong being with anyone that wasn't who he was destined for. Sure, he didn't know the full extent of what it entailed or how connection and bond worked, but regardless, it was an ingrained part of his being. Every Fae was the same. It was part of their soul whether they liked it or not. They could fuck and be with people they were attracted to, but the moment they found their person it was all over.

That was what it was like for Eurion. What it was like when he found Sláine. No one had burned through him the way the prince did. With just the most innocent touches he could calm his heart, just being around him, five feet apart, wasn't enough. He wanted to hold, touch, and care for the prince in ways he had never intended to care for anyone. They were supposed to be nothing to one another. They were still strangers, in a sense, but Eurion felt as if he had known Sláine for years. The way the prince was able to just soothe and draw out and break walls that hadn't lowered for years, weave his way in between and somehow nestle his way into Eurion's soul in a matter of hours wasn't normal and had never happened with anyone else. It would never happen again.

But, with the thought of Fae mates, it brought him to his next question, "Do witches have mates?" He asked, daring a small glance at Sláine, "Or similar? How does it work or do you just… find someone like humans do?"

Because as much as Eurion was semi-aware of how that bond felt for him, it was strange that his person wasn't Fae. It was rare and maybe that was why he never found Sláine when he had been actively looking because he had been looking in the wrong place. Had been looking for someone like him and not a witch- High Witch.

That was an understandable point, but that also rendered Eurion's previous argument moot when he had initially stated he couldn't find someone. Couldn't, and not wanting to, were two very different things. And Caoimhe geared himself up to argue back, enjoying this banter just a little now that he had someone else to go back and forth with. Sláine was fun, but they had been doing it for years, and at some point, it became predictable with certain conversations. Aideen just liked to see what pissed him off the most without really caring about the conversation. But Eurion was new, which made it fun.

But then Eurion sneakily switched the topic around, and Aideen piped in so that the prince could redirect his prepared script gracefully. It was a topic that she could easily answer without pissing the assassin off. "Simple answer is no—witches don't have mates. Not like the Fae do, at least, which brings me to the more complicated answer."

Aideen spread her hands and weighed them back and forth, like a scale. "Less powerful witches tend to act more like humans, finding partners easily and not really sticking with the same ones if things fall apart. But more powerful ones, especially High Witches where they live a lot longer, are more selective with their partners. Some never find one. They say they can feel it in the aura of the person if they are bonded, essentially. The most compatible. Magics connect and compliment, and they are more likely to stick to a single partner for the rest of their life." She glanced up to Caoimhe, who was pouting a little, and hooked a thumb at him. "That being said, there's also instances of long-time partners having agreements where they can go out every once in a while and sleep with someone else, just to spice things up. It can get mundane for some people to only stick to one person for what feels like eternity."

Caoimhe nodded. That's what his parents did sometimes. "In simple terms—yes and no. It's more likely for High Witches to have special bonds with their partners that almost feel predestined, but nothing is set in stone. And, obviously, not all feel the way Fae do with the aversion to sleeping with people that isn't their person."

Eurion did his best to prevent himself from frowning at the information that the two witches provided. It was hard to resist the urge to look at Sláine, or to wake up him and ask for his thoughts on the matter, especially when it came to sleeping with someone else. That part didn’t sit right with him. He knew it was because of who he was, the Fae and Witches functioned differently and that wasn’t anything knew to him, but it didn’t stop him from feeling uncomfortable with the idea that Sláine may want to sleep around with someone else on occasion.

If they stayed together, would the prince want to fuck different people after a period of time? The thought of someone else touching the prince had the assassin clenching his jaw, but that was the only indication that something may be wrong or would show how he was really feeling. Because if Sláine was his and he was Sláine’s there was no one else, there would never be anyone else, not for Eurion. If they were mates the thought of being with someone else, going out and finding someone just for sex was distressing.

“I guess it makes it easier for you all,” Eurion said, “You don’t have to worry about finding the person fate deemed right for you. Leaves room for more exploration.” Most Fae found their mates early into their adult lives. It made it easy when many didn’t venture outside of the Fae lands because it was safe there, perfect for them and so there was no need. Fae mated with Fae, too, made things better because you knew your person would be around.

Probably why Eurion had given up hope until Sláine, but there was the newfound fear that the prince wasn’t going to view their bond the same way, that he would want to look for someone else to keep things entertaining for him if they stayed together and the though made him sick.

Caoimhe suddenly got very interested in that subtle but telling reaction. It shouldn't have been a surprise that a Fae was disturbed by common Witch practices, in terms of monogamy, but the prince was willing to bet that the assassin had someone in mind and wasn't too thrilled by the idea. So that potentially narrowed it down to a Witch, if the reaction was involving the idea of sleeping with others.

To test out his theory, the prince lounged against the tree and made himself be casual, even if he was putting out feelers for the sake of his curiosity. "True. There's several instances where Witches have multiple partners. Finnigan has two husbands, though they are all together. My parents go out and have a random night where they sleep with random people." There were probably other instances, but he wasn't too interested in distressing the Fae even more.

"But," the prince added, "there's also several Witches that make lifetime bonds, or aren't interested in exploration while committed. I've known a lot of High Witches that are like that. Pretty sure Neziryth—that one Sláine mentioned being involved with an assassin?—only has their sights set on their partner." Caoimhe gestured to Aideen. "I have no plans on getting involved in one-night stands or the landmine that can be polyamory."

Then, to really get to his test, he pointedly nodded down to Sláine. The sleeping prince, who was peacefully unaware of the conversation but completely comfortable sharing Eurion's warmth. "Sláine would have flings and such, sometimes partners. Even when he had a feeling they wouldn't last long, he never sought out someone else until it was over. And recently, as much as I tease, he hasn't been really going out and looking for anyone to be with. Don't know what that's all about, but he's loyal to the bone either way. We don't condemn our parents for their arrangement, because it works for them, but we don't condone it either for ourselves. It's entirely personal preference, and the practice isn't our thing." He shrugged, and Aideen snuggled more into his side, as if solidifying her status as his in response to the topic. "Maybe the Fae are the ones that got it right."

As much as Caoimhe’s comments about his brother being loyal and not pursuing anyone while he was in a fling did lessen Eurion’s worries a little, it didn’t stop the fear from disappearing all together. Until he spoke to Sláine about the topic he was going to worry no matter what his older brother said. Sure, Caoimhe knew Sláine better than he did, but Eurion was sure there were aspects of his life that the twin didn’t know or understand, and if he wasn’t sure why Sláine hadn’t bothered to engage anyone recently, maybe this was one of those things.

To take the focus off how unbelievably fast his rate rate was, how he had started to massage the princes neck a little more if only to soothe himself, Eurion focused in on Caoimhe’s last comment.

“It’s hard to explain Fae mating bonds. In all honestly I don’t know much about them and how they work, but every Fae knows what it feels like regardless of whether or not they understand the workings of the thing.”

The yearning for another, the desire and burning that arose when you found that person. How things clicked and felt right even if you didn’t know the person. It was how he felt with Sláine, and was an indication of his thoughts regarding the Witch being his mate, “It’s why I can’t imagine being with more than one person, well, anyone else along with my mate if I ever find him. It’s like… finding that other half to your soul. I wouldn’t dream of being with someone else.”

Caoimhe thought about the Fae mating bond, giving it more attention now than he had before. He had known about it, of course, on a surface level. The Fae mated to one person, and stayed with them for the rest of their lives. Perfect matches. But Eurion was a Fae himself, and the conflicting practices involving intimacy and romance was making the prince think a little more about the other side of the coin.

"In all honesty, I can see preferring that over a game of chance," the prince admitted. "I probably would. Cycling through people trying to find the one that clicks the most can be time-consuming and feel not worth it, or leave you with experiences that you'd rather not come out with." If he had felt it that Aideen was the one for him—which he firmly believed, no matter how often they seemingly clashed—he would've put in more effort to care for her and pull her to his side. "And I don't know this for sure, but I imagine the bond is more intense than a typical attraction."

Aideen had some thoughts, though. "But, there's no autonomy," she pointed out. "You're essentially told who you're going to end up with. It might work out great, but it can't always be perfect. Nothing is, not even the laws of nature. Do the people that abuse their family get a mate? Do they hurt them too?" She tilted her head in contemplation. "Who's to say there's not another person out there that fits with you just as well as the one mate you found?"

Sighing, Caoimhe nudged her with an elbow. "Quit playing devil's advocate." Then he turned back to Eurion with a small smile, a tad sheepish. "I understand. Maybe you'll find your mate soon, and I hope he's exactly what you're looking for and need as your other half." He waved a hand absently. "We are going back to the Fae lands for the festival, afterall."

For once Eurion agreed with Aideen, and to bridge that gap between them just a little, a sort of truce from yesterdays fight, he said as such, “No, Aideen is right,” As much as it did pain him to admit it, “Some people don’t deserve a mate, and sometimes as much as someone can be deemed ‘perfect’ they might not be. It’s rare - very rare - but you can reject the bond, and some people do.”

Eurion hadn’t seen it in his life time, but he had heard the stories as a child, every child did. The Fae mating bond, as much as the connection was deemed to be the only thing that should matter, could be rejected. It barely ever happened because majority of the time thing worked out no matter the differences between the two people, but there were some that rejected it. It had to be a pretty fucking awful situation for it to happen, because the time and work and pain that came with the breaking of the bond was almost not worth it, it was why it was so rare, but not impossible.

He turned back to Caoimhe, “I appreciate the thought, but I spent my young adult life back in Dalthia and didn’t find him. Either they’re a Fae who no longer resides there, or they’re not Fae altogether. Not exactly the best situation when it comes to finding him.”

But little did the prince and his lover know that Eurion’s mate was curled up on his lap sleeping peacefully, and the assassin had been curled in Sláine’s arms only hours before they set out that morning. Until the festival, they wouldn’t say a word about it unless it was an accident, but right now? Nothing.

Aideen offered a lighthearted salute of camaraderie, pleasantly surprised by the support and the miniscule olive branch between them. The fight had quickly soured things between the two, but it was bound to happen. The two of them were far too similar, but polar opposites at the same time. Violent opposition was practically fated between them on a good day. But now that Eurion was backing up her point against Caoimhe, she took the chance to gloat by looking over at the prince with a face full of smug satisfaction. "See? I was right."

"You are a depressing pessimist," Caoimhe shot back, but he ruffled her hair affectionately and tugged her into his side, and a startled, unguarded laugh slipped from her. The prince grinned down at her, pleased with himself for getting that reaction out of her, before turning back to Eurion. "You never know. He might've been a wanderer, like you, and happened to come back to Dalthia when you were gone. It's not impossible that you just never crossed paths until now."

Caoimhe wanted to hold out the hope that Eurion had someone there for him. Whether that be a Witch who was unaware of the bond between them, or a Fae that the assassin had yet to meet, it didn't matter. So long as the man was good for him, good to him, and treated him right instead of shaming him for his job as an assassin, that's what mattered. His suspicions floated around the idea of Eurion fancying his brother, but they didn't go deeper than that. Nothing was confirmed, and Caoimhe couldn't keep digging.

But regardless of those thoughts floating around, he had no idea that Sláine felt the same. Just as intensely as Eurion, he felt the bond, even if he didn't fully recognize it. He knew something was there pulling him towards Eurion, smoothing out the process of knowing one another, and making his chest always feel so warm and light when near and looking at the assassin. Sláine was already giving himself fully to Eurion, and recognizing him as perfect for the prince, no matter his lack of being perfect. The bond was full and bright within Sláine despite not being Fae, and he didn't need to recognize it to know how he felt about the man he craved.

To avoid any suspicion that Caoimhe may have regarding Eurion and his little brother, he bummed softly in agreement as much as he was well aware he’d already met the man he was fated for and he was currently sleeping against him.

“Skyfall does bring about Fae from all over the country, so it is entirely possible,” He tried to keep his tone unassuming, made sure he wasn’t looking at Sláine when he spoke. It did pain him a little to think about finding someone at Skyfall as much as it was a lie, the comment felt like acid on his tongue, “And considering the eclipse is the same week and most likely the same day, it would be idiotic for any Fae to miss the event if they were in the area.”

Had Sláine not suggested the idea of going both for a cool down for all of them as well as a way to gain some information, Eurion himself wouldn’t have gone. It was too risky to go when the Gods were breathing down his neck, at least this way he could blame the visit as a way to gain information on marker stones and in turn have a little breathing from for the side mission.

At least now he had the opportunity to experience a part of his culture he had been wanting to experience for a long time. Whether it was fate or coincidence that allowed for Skyfall to occur this year, that he had met Sláine when he did, it was all interconnected in some way. But Eurion wasn’t exactly thinking too deeply into it right now, only because Sláine seemed okay where he was, conversation with Aideen and Caoimhe wasn’t taxing and was starting to become enjoyable, and that was better than pondering over what fate had in store for him.

Caoimhe grinned in triumph. "See? Have some faith. I'd hate for you to be stuck with us the entire time without someone else keeping you going." It was a small thing to be happy about, getting Eurion to agree with him and see the potential, but the assassin didn't budge much when it came to anything. Of course, it was entirely possible that the man was lying to him to appease the prince and get him to shut up about it, but he didn't care if it was. There was the illusion of triumph, and Caoimhe was going to take it.

A presence pressed into the back of his mind, intruding on his thoughts. 'Leave him alone.' Solise, Sláine's spirit guide. When he searched for the origin of her magic, he found that she was lounging up in the trees and watching from below. She kept hiding, so she was likely hiding from Eurion at Sláine's request.

The prince had only faltered some when confronted by the spirit, and only angled his head up a fraction, but it was a split second too long for him to be a normal lull in conversation. Aideen recovered for him, though it wasn't any better as she said quietly, "Sláine."

It was subtle, but the sleeping prince's face had scrunched seemingly in pain. His hand was outstretched like he was looking for something to hold onto with his fingers curling and uncurling. He was dreaming, and this time he couldn't escape it by dragging himself out of sleep because he needed it. But he would try, and as much as Aideen hated it, she got up to kneel by the assassin and prince. Her hands settled around Sláine's head, hovering just an inch away, and the Witch started to cast her magic on him. A formless teal glow grew within her palms, and a glowing pattern of blue feathers circled around her wrists as if on an invisible wind.

She hated doing this to him any time it happened, but it was for the best. He needed sleep, and he would deny himself it to avoid the dreams. So she cast her magic through his mind, a simple sleeping spell to drag him back down and cause a fog in his mind to make it just a little more pleasant, with the aftereffect of being groggy when he woke up. She explained as much to Eurion to avoid being yelled at. "He's going to wake up, and it's barely been an hour. I'm just making sure he stays asleep."

When Caoimhe stopped for a moment too long Eurion was once again reminded of that presence that seemed to be lurking in the shadows around them. Following them, clearly, because it was the same feeling as the one he had at the inn hours ago. But if the prince could sense it and wasn’t deeming it a threat then he would continue to leave whatever it was be for the time being. Maybe he’d ask Sláine about it when he woke up, or maybe just send his magic out to find it properly.

His attention, however, was quickly dragged to Sláine. Now that he was more aware of the bond between them it was easy to feel he was uncomfortable as well as seeing it. Then Aideen was moving and using her magic to nullify the prince and keep him dreaming. Eurion was tempted to tell her to fuck off, to pull Sláine against him to give him more comfort but he couldn’t without alerting even more suspicion to their complicated relationship.

The assassin’s hand remained massaging the prince’s neck. Tempting to run his fingers through his curls and play with his hair as he had been last night but yet again another thing he was unable to do in the presence of the first prince and his guard. The hiding was going to get on his nerves in the end, especially if Sláine crashing and having nightmares was a frequent occurrence, “He needs as much sleep as we can allow.”

It did pain him, but it was for the best and he just hoped that Sláine could sense his presence even in sleep and hope to be a comforting one.

The spell did put a damper on the dream, and Sláine did settle down for a minute from the mixture of the fog and the comfort of Eurion being there with his grounding touch. Aideen watched for a moment, and just like clockwork, the dream only got worse like usual. The prince's face pinched once more as he grunted, as if receiving a blow that never happened.

Aideen sighed in defeat and pulled at his hair until the tie came undone, letting his curls spill all over, then combed her fingers through the tangles to get the strands out of his eyes. "He needs the sleep, but we can't allow too much of a delay, or we risk setting our timeline back too far," she said, then lowered her voice to a tone only Eurion would hear, "I knew about the nightmares; he didn't want Caoimhe to know. I hate doing this to him."

The look she gave Eurion was stern and very clear: Take care of him. It didn't matter what their relationship was. She had a gut feeling that Sláine trusted the assassin enough to look to him for comfort, and they spent their nights together where the other two wouldn't be able to look after him. Eurion was a stranger, someone who didn't have a history with Sláine, so he had a better shot at prying answers out of the prince than Aideen or Caoimhe did—especially Caoimhe. Aideen was well aware of how little Sláine wanted to worry his twin, and thus how often he hid the things that would cause worry. Usually they weren't important, but this, she felt, was important enough that someone had to look over him.

And as if nothing happened, she switched back to the topic at hand so as to not alert Caoimhe of anything—sneaks being sneaks. "You're the expert on this. How long can we comfortably delay without rocking the boat too much?"

Eurion returned Aideen’s look with one of this own. One that conveyed he would do what he could to make sure Sláine was well taken care of and protected.

When those curls spilled out, when the prince grunted he couldn’t help himself from running his hands through Sláine’s hair properly. He let his fingers catch the casual knot, working them out in a way that was far too soft for someone of Eurion’s usual nature. The movements felt natural and there was no hesitancy in his hands as he worked and massaged and eventually began to create a loose braid with a couple of the strands that he could reach without moving the prince too much.

At least it was an excuse to finally keep his gaze on him. Eurion hadn’t been expected how difficult it would be but he guessed it was only made worse due to the fact that Sláine was in pain and they were touching, and he knew they shouldn’t be but they were. Either way, his gaze remained on him as he spoke, fingers expertly braiding as he did so.

“At least a couple hours. No more than three,” Eurion sucked in a breath, “We had an extra day under our belts from yesterday till the festival. I had been hoping to use it to search the libraries but we won’t have time before the festival now. It’ll have to be after.”

It wasn’t that big of an issue or did much to their timeline, but it was a little annoying that they would have to sour whatever fun they may have at Skyfall with the reminder of their task afterwards.

It was fitting that Eurion be the one to undo the knots in the prince's hair, as he had been the one to create them in the first place. But as he gave into the temptation to touch his mate, Sláine seemed to calm down. Still dreaming, still clearly uncomfortable being stuck in whatever plane of nightmares he was in, but calm. His expression smoothed out, and his breathing evened out from where it had started shortening. Sláine twitched here and there, that was unavoidable, but the assassin's gentle and soft touch was enough to keep the prince just a little steady and comforted.

Aideen watched, vigilant over her friend's well-being, and huffed a little in jealousy over the assassin of all people knowing how to effortlessly braid and she couldn't. "Then let's shoot for two—I'll lift the spell then, so we can get moving. He's going to be extra groggy when he wakes up, though, as a side effect. The fog doesn't immediately lift all the way." A little warning, given that meant Sláine was going to be a slight problem for them all when he woke up barely functioning, but they could still be on their way and just drag him along.

When she was sure that the prince was okay, and that Eurion had things under control, she stood up and went back over to Caoimhe. He noticed the intent in her expression and made a wider gap between his legs just as she turned and sat down between them to lean against his chest. He wrapped an arm around her waist and hooked his chin over her head, noticing fully just what Eurion was doing. "You can braid?" he asked, pleasantly surprised.

Aideen rolled her eyes and ignored him to address Eurion's concern. "Do you think we'll be able to make up the time with extra travel time? We might end up more tired, but if we try to pick up the pace we could aim for the library first, then festival."

Eurion addressed Aideen first, briefly glancing upwards to meet her gaze before returning it back to the sleeping prince and the braid he was working on, “Possibly, but it’ll all depend on how tired we all are,” and be we he meant Sláine.

If the fog didn’t lift wholly when the witch lifted her magic then it was going to be an issue trying to get Sláine to keep walking when he was tired and groggy. He’d slow them down regardless of how much they dragged him around and along so it wouldn’t be the best idea, “We’ll just have to visit the libraries afterwards. It’s not an issue, but will mean we may have to stay longer than originally thought.”

Because if the festival spanned multiple days and they wanted to stay for all of it then they were going to have extra time in Dalthia that Eurion wasn’t exactly happy with. Only because he wanted to avoid seeing people he knew at all costs which - with Skyfall would be somewhat easy with the masked dances - but the days after wouldn’t be so simple.

“And yes,” Eurion continued with another glance towards Caoimhe, “My mother taught me. It helped when both her and I had long hair when I was a child.” He’d cut it off when he started his training as a teenager to became a Fae guard and had left it short in his weird curly-mullet. Easier to maintain, and suited him better in his mind.

Somehow, Aideen doubted that the man who had avoided his homeland for so long was not seeing an issue with staying longer than planned. But she only gave him a look of disbelief, then a shrug, and let it go. "Alright." She wasn't about to argue with him about it, not when things were civil, and she didn't particularly care whether or not he approved of how long they were staying in the Fae lands.

Caoimhe, meanwhile, was excited to hear that Eurion could braid. "Really? I can't picture you with long hair." The prince understood the sentiment, though. A lot of the people in the palace and the city kept their hair long, no matter the gender. He didn't know where exactly the habit came about, but it wasn't enforced and no one with short hair stood out too much. He quite liked his hair longer.

But that brought him to his next point. He poked Aideen in the back of the head and said, "This one here doesn't know how to braid for the life of her." The guard swatted his hand away and turned around, reaching up as if she was going to go for the horns, but only met empty air. Caoimhe grinned at her and her attitude, and tugged her back against his chest. "I'm doomed to either do my own hair or have Sláine do it—he's pretty good at it."

"We're ignoring you," Aideen announced, huffing and making a point to face Eurion. "This conversation doesn't involve you. We have important things to discuss, and that is not one of them. Eurion," a thought occurred to her, and it wasn't entirely bullshit just to wipe the giant grin off the prince's face, "what exactly are we going to the library for?"

Eurion, despite his worry and general dislike for Aideen, let his frown flicker into the smallest, barely noticeable smile at the teasing between the two sitting across from him. As much as he hated to admit it but being around other people, being around them, wasn't as unpleasant as he had thought it to originally be. He and Aideen would no doubt butt heads again sooner rather than later but for the time being there was a mutual truce and it was good enough for him.

"It was a long time ago," Over a century since he had had his hair as long as the prince's, "And I wouldn't ever grow it out again but as a child, it was decent enough. My mother used to braid all the time so, I picked up the habit long before she taught me how to properly braid."

Because as a kid his plaits and braids had been messy and all over the place with no care as long as it was out of his face and not bothering him. Now Eurion almost prided himself on how well he was able to do so. He wasn't a professional by any means but he was good, as shown in the braid that he had created on Sláine - one that started just above his ear and followed the shape of his head. Loose enough for the prince to take it out with ease if he so wished but it would maintain its shape if he woke and wanted to keep it. Soothing for both of them.

Either way, his focus shifted to Aideen once more although when he spoke again he didn't look at her, "We need to find as much information on Markerstones as possible," Whatever was left of his smile had faded as he recalled his interaction with the Gods, the vision, "Specifically on whether or not they are able to be revived after being destroyed. If-" For the first time since meeting, he faltered with his words, trying to find the correct ones, "If they could be reconnected with the Old Gods."