“Not even if you were hungry?”
Anandi smiles graciously. I’m always hungry she wants to laugh, and maybe something in those long-lashed eyes does. Self control is the game, and I am the master– would you like to test me? “Only as long as you don’t run.” It seemed only fair to mention this, even though it was terribly embarrassing to admit. Something primal in her could not resist the chase.
Some strange magic is at play. The Ilati begins to glow with a hot white light from the inside, veins turning hot white like fractures. Anandi breathes in sharply, surprised and awed, and she steps forward. All creatures of the deep sea are enamored by the light. (at least, those who have not lost their eyes-- however loosely "eyes" may be defined) The distance between them closes, despite all the reasons it should be growing. And then it is Leto who finally reaches out across that slim space of warm air between them. A star could not change its orbit, even to save itself.
They are brine and clay, kelp and mud, fish and flesh and heat, so much heat. It’s all new to the kelpie. She knows the warmth of flesh (skin blood and bone) on her muzzle, in her mouth, down her throat, but not pressed against her like that, like the ocean, like the sun, but closer than either of those. Like a locked door being pushed on until it strains against its hinges.
And then there is something sharp pressed against her throat.
The frantic beating of her heart betrays the butterfly-calm look in her eyes that says do I look afraid? It hammers against the bone-blade, embracing and recoiling in equal measure. Even after the weapon is discarded, the kelpie feels a warmth where it kissed her skin. A warmth that considered further, and compared to the feel of Amaroq’s teeth in that same spot, would turn to rage. She resented being treated like a monster or a conquest, even though she could rightfully be called either.
But before the shock can fade and anger rise in its place, Leto is back, pressed against her like warm silk, and there is no room for consideration. There is only being, and doing, and the woman’s words hot on the girl’s bare neck. When she draws away again Anandi takes a single hungry step after her, a small, beautiful frown painted on her lips.
In truth it would weigh heavy on Anandi’s heart to make another kelpie. Her kind did not approve of doing such things on a whim– for they truly saw themselves monsters, and it was a great responsibility to make another monster. But the longer she stayed at the surface, the more she felt a division grow between herself and her people. Life was easy here. Free. There was an abundance of fish and… other things to feed on, and not as many rival clans as Andi had expected.
Really she would be giving the woman a gift. A whole new world, unimaginably larger than Novus. A freedom beyond all expectations. The only downside was the Hunger, but that was manageable. (It could even be enjoyable, but Anandi was not yet ready to admit that to anyone.) “I would feel good.” She feels exposed beneath the starlight of Leto’s gaze and the wide-open sky. “Like I was doing something right.” She hesitates. It was not natural for her to be so honest, so genuine– it often did not work to her favor– but something compels her. Maybe it was the closeness of Leto just moments ago, the memory of her touch warming Andi’s skin. Maybe it was the gravity of the topic of conversation. “It isn’t something I would offer just anyone, you know. You’re… Different. Special.”
Maybe it was something as simple as fate.
a dream strayed into moonlight
@Leto eeee <3
some say the loving and the devouring are all the same thing
☾
