and in search of silver lining,
we discovered gold
They had met in a harbor.
And yet, enfolded in his embrace upon the cusp of each night, Aelin had never felt more as though she were being washed gently ashore the nameless lands of home. For a wanderer such as she, it was difficult to imagine laying her silvery head upon the same pillow each night. But she could, with absolute simplicity, envision the careful slope of her cheek tucked safely against the corded blue of his chest. By now, that was idyllic.
By now, it was all she could ask for.
The Fair had never been much by way of warrior. No, her talents lay within the capacity of her mind, and the too-pretty picture her colorful mind invented.
In her youth, Aelin had been pliant and naïve, her hunger for knowledge outweighing her sensibility for danger. Through the eyes of her dreaming heart, it was as reflexive as breathing to see the softness in a wolf; to envision the talons of a slashing panther as errant comets; to pretend a splash of blood was the opened petals of a rose.
And though she was wiser now, she still peered into the heart of warriors and saw their tenderness. Their trembling dreams and their burdened spines, beholden to the weight of blood that was not their own. It was, inevitably, the nature of her lover’s character that had drawn her to him. Insatiable in her curiosity, she had heeded the allure of him with gentle eyes, dissuading his roughness in favor of promising him a safe place to lay his head for the night.
As it were, their paths would cross as they unraveled the tangled string of their shared fate. Together, they tugged and yanked upon the crimson tether that bound them—ceaselessly enduring the acrobatics of their dreadful, separate lives. Safety undoubtedly lay in their unity, and the joint glow of their passion seemed enough to drive back any flame.
It was when they were apart that the pieces began to break.
Her eyes were aglow with love as she watched him, a youthful smile playing along the corner of her lips as her words brought them to pause.
(It was easier to breathe now, than it had been months ago. Simpler to outstretch her wings and feel the breeze, rather than the crushing doom of a collapsing sky.
Easier to closer her eyes and to pretend the world held her betwixt promising fates. That doom didn’t await her every step.)
Happiness, her tremendous heart insisted. By all the Gods, they would find it here. His reply made her weak kneed and light-headed, and Aelin’s outstretched wing kissed his spine with benevolent tenderness as she coaxed him forward. A cozy throng of trees awaited them along the meadow, creating a delicate copse through which she knew moonlight would filter nicely.
Try as she might, there wasn’t enough wit in her silvery bones to think up a remark to put him on his knees. No, she could only dwell upon the stretch of skin his muzzle had nudged, setting her alight with fires that could rival suns.
“To hear us wonder after what these new lands will bring?” Aelin demurred at long last, her words a breathy, enchanted interlude into their quiet. She’d known exactly what his intent had been, and the words had still summoned a storm within her rabbit heart.
A pearly smile stole its way toward him, a slash of her hoary tail lightly catching upon his hocks.
The outcropping of trees was bedded with soft grass, shorn low in a way that told her another wanderer might have, not so long ago, let their weary head lay here. Aelin occupied the space with flared, curious nostrils—placated by the solitary scent of soil and weeds.
“Here, then.”
Within the safety of their stilled limbs, Aelin let her wings lay flat against her body, dwarfing the opaline rivers that sloped down her shoulders. Her posture was inviting, and she dared a step toward him as her head tipped back, piebald eyes wide with gratitude.
Aelin’s heart had long made its resolve that she would not see them parted again. She knew, too, that Lumaris had made a similar promise. Nonetheless, it didn’t detract from the meaning of his company.
“Thank you,” the woman’s words imbued the quiet with love, and the gentlest deviation of playfulness. “For coming with me, you scoundrel.”
Her head shook slightly as she watched him, an airy huff of laughter echoing her voice. “I would thank you further, but I would rather not suffer your ego.” Her smile broadened as she stepped nearer to him.
“I meant what I said, though. Tell me,” she tipped her muzzle back, unable to close the distance of their heights, but knowing he would bow his head closer to hers if she dared to tempt him enough.
“What awaits us here?”
Tell me happiness, her mind whispered. Tell me hope.
we discovered gold
They had met in a harbor.
And yet, enfolded in his embrace upon the cusp of each night, Aelin had never felt more as though she were being washed gently ashore the nameless lands of home. For a wanderer such as she, it was difficult to imagine laying her silvery head upon the same pillow each night. But she could, with absolute simplicity, envision the careful slope of her cheek tucked safely against the corded blue of his chest. By now, that was idyllic.
By now, it was all she could ask for.
The Fair had never been much by way of warrior. No, her talents lay within the capacity of her mind, and the too-pretty picture her colorful mind invented.
In her youth, Aelin had been pliant and naïve, her hunger for knowledge outweighing her sensibility for danger. Through the eyes of her dreaming heart, it was as reflexive as breathing to see the softness in a wolf; to envision the talons of a slashing panther as errant comets; to pretend a splash of blood was the opened petals of a rose.
And though she was wiser now, she still peered into the heart of warriors and saw their tenderness. Their trembling dreams and their burdened spines, beholden to the weight of blood that was not their own. It was, inevitably, the nature of her lover’s character that had drawn her to him. Insatiable in her curiosity, she had heeded the allure of him with gentle eyes, dissuading his roughness in favor of promising him a safe place to lay his head for the night.
As it were, their paths would cross as they unraveled the tangled string of their shared fate. Together, they tugged and yanked upon the crimson tether that bound them—ceaselessly enduring the acrobatics of their dreadful, separate lives. Safety undoubtedly lay in their unity, and the joint glow of their passion seemed enough to drive back any flame.
It was when they were apart that the pieces began to break.
Her eyes were aglow with love as she watched him, a youthful smile playing along the corner of her lips as her words brought them to pause.
(It was easier to breathe now, than it had been months ago. Simpler to outstretch her wings and feel the breeze, rather than the crushing doom of a collapsing sky.
Easier to closer her eyes and to pretend the world held her betwixt promising fates. That doom didn’t await her every step.)
Happiness, her tremendous heart insisted. By all the Gods, they would find it here. His reply made her weak kneed and light-headed, and Aelin’s outstretched wing kissed his spine with benevolent tenderness as she coaxed him forward. A cozy throng of trees awaited them along the meadow, creating a delicate copse through which she knew moonlight would filter nicely.
Try as she might, there wasn’t enough wit in her silvery bones to think up a remark to put him on his knees. No, she could only dwell upon the stretch of skin his muzzle had nudged, setting her alight with fires that could rival suns.
“To hear us wonder after what these new lands will bring?” Aelin demurred at long last, her words a breathy, enchanted interlude into their quiet. She’d known exactly what his intent had been, and the words had still summoned a storm within her rabbit heart.
A pearly smile stole its way toward him, a slash of her hoary tail lightly catching upon his hocks.
The outcropping of trees was bedded with soft grass, shorn low in a way that told her another wanderer might have, not so long ago, let their weary head lay here. Aelin occupied the space with flared, curious nostrils—placated by the solitary scent of soil and weeds.
“Here, then.”
Within the safety of their stilled limbs, Aelin let her wings lay flat against her body, dwarfing the opaline rivers that sloped down her shoulders. Her posture was inviting, and she dared a step toward him as her head tipped back, piebald eyes wide with gratitude.
Aelin’s heart had long made its resolve that she would not see them parted again. She knew, too, that Lumaris had made a similar promise. Nonetheless, it didn’t detract from the meaning of his company.
“Thank you,” the woman’s words imbued the quiet with love, and the gentlest deviation of playfulness. “For coming with me, you scoundrel.”
Her head shook slightly as she watched him, an airy huff of laughter echoing her voice. “I would thank you further, but I would rather not suffer your ego.” Her smile broadened as she stepped nearer to him.
“I meant what I said, though. Tell me,” she tipped her muzzle back, unable to close the distance of their heights, but knowing he would bow his head closer to hers if she dared to tempt him enough.
“What awaits us here?”
Tell me happiness, her mind whispered. Tell me hope.
Speech, @Lumaris <3
Art by Rhiaan, Table by Rayoflight
