OOM All Skate Skellig Dream Magic Weirdness -Part Seven

[brave_kreyu]

It turns out that 'guarding the lair' involves more than just staying in one place. Kreyu has a goal today of scouting outside their borders, looking for possible trouble.

Given that Skellig can't speak the local language, yet, they're not trying to pass as locals. Skellig is just wearing a kilt as they stalk through the forest.

The wilderness is truly wild here, only barely touched by humans. Beasts of all kinds live in these woods, wolves, deer, boars, birds, rabbits, and more.

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[brave_kreyu]

Her heart thumps just a little faster when he licks off an errant drip of cheese.

She glances at the bed. "It looks fair enough to me, although...." she ponders. "I think the sky will be clear tonight. We could take some pillows and blankets up higher on the volcano, curl up together and watch the stars?"

[27_53]

He brightens at that suggestion.

"I would like that very much," he says. "Bring blankets, pillows, and our dessert with us to enjoy. Sounds like a lovely way to spend time lounging with my wife."

Being outdoors will do him good, help keep his internal clock in tune with the ley lines of the world, the energy that surrounds the Lair and Karma that flows freely throughout.

[brave_kreyu]

Once they have finished their dinner, Kreyu slips out of the dress and into the green chiton she has worn before. Dessert, wine, and blankets are packed, and they head outside. The sun is setting now, red, gold, and purple on the horizon.

"We'll pass by our field on the way up, see how the flowers are doing." They're doing well, VERY well, as far along as if they'd been growing for weeks instead of mere days.

[27_53]

While they are stopped to briefly survey the field and their 'handiwork', Skellig plucks a few blooms carefully (mentally 'thanking' the plant for its sacrifice as he does so) and keeps them in hand as they head higher up the path that winds up the volcano.

"I would say the harvest will be plentiful," he comments. "We may have to stagger the ritual a bit as to not have everything come to readiness at the same time." There simply would not be enough workers to keep up with it all. "Alternate regions in which we perform it. Share the 'wealth', so to speak?"

[brave_kreyu]

"I would do that, but I think they would be frightened by something so obviously magical. I had thought to spread the potency over many fields." She flushes. "We may even be able to enhance all of the fields on the upriver side of the village with a single coupling."

There's a nice flat area with a good view of the sky that she's headed toward. It won't take them too much longer to reach it.

[27_53]

"You may be on to something," he admits. "Go easy at first, see how things react during the growing season if we enhance them...gently, spread it out a bit."

He does not mind the walking, even uphill as it is - after all, he is in quite good shape these days.

Once they reach the flattened clearing of sorts, Skellig hands her over the flowers (with a sheepish grin) in exchange for the blankets and pillows, and sets himself to arranging a decent 'nest' for lounging in.

[brave_kreyu]

Her smile is so bright when he hands her the flowers. "They're lovely darling, thank you."

It won't take too long to settle into their nest, curled up together beneath a blanket against the chill of the altitude and the approaching night. The stars aren't out yet, so she's taking slices of a slightly tart apple and dipping them in honey.

She offers the morsel to Skellig as the last bit of sunlight fades and the stars begin to be revealed in all their glory.

[27_53]

Skellig takes it readily - careful not to let too much honey drip onto his lips as she feeds it to him. But there is some, and clearly, he'll need some help in clearing it off once he finishes chewing and swallows.

So it is only natural that he leans over and 'offers' himself up for a kiss once he's ready for it.

Surely she'll accept?

[brave_kreyu]

She'll happily accept, kiss him thoroughly to get that honey off!

"Hmm, this is nice," she murmurs as they break for a breath. A shower of sparks, a meteor shower, cuts across the sky.

This world is so quiet, so EMPTY, compared to Before. Wild, largely untamed, 'barbaric' by so many standards, and yet....

[27_53]

...and yet it is everything that he could want and need, all that he has sought to find, right here within the vast emptiness.

"Very nice," he pays just a hint of attention to the meteor shower, most of his focus on her kiss and her presence so close to his. He takes a piece of apple next, dips it in the honey, carefully offers it up to her.

"Still think the stars on the beach, as you told me their legends...those have been my favorite so far. But these might overtake them in their own way."

If she needs help, he will be there with a kiss to clean up.

[brave_kreyu]

She takes it carefully, the sweet and the tart mingling on her tongue and she makes a pleased noise. She will need help with clean up. Honey is so very treacherous!

"I enjoyed that too, having you curled up on me, listening and sharing tales."

She snuggles a little closer. "I don't know why stars fall, but I have heard a great many legends about them."

[27_53]

"I have heard that they are souls returning to the realm of earth after they have been away," he shifts slightly to allow her to curl up next to him in the way that she just seems to 'fit' against his body. Automatically, instinctively, he begins to stroke her hair, the motion gentle. "Whether that is true or not, I do not know."

(Briefly, he wonders if stars fell on the day he arrived in the desert.)

"But it is that way with most legends. The stories are passed down."

[brave_kreyu]

Maybe they were made for one another, for this. She likes it when he strokes her hair like this, makes a contented sound.

"I've heard that too. Or that they are embers from the braziers that light the path of the dead to the afterlife."

They might have fallen, Kreyu was far too busy to notice

[27_53]

They were BOTH very busy during that day. He keeps up the work of his hand, his fingers as he glances skyward.

"Could be multiple options," he admits. "There is no one answer, if I had to believe."

He leans in, presses his lips to her forehead. "What should we do after you have let the refugees seek safe haven in the city? What should I expect after your appearance as the Goddess?"

[brave_kreyu]

"People will be surprised, emotional," she allows. "But it shouldn't change much for us."

She soaks up his touch for a moment. "We can't do much about the slave trade," she says quietly, voice tight with regret. "WE may be largely immune to attacks from humans, but OUR humans aren't. If we were to start attacking the slavers as ourselves, other nations would take it as an act of war, and the three of us can only be in so many places at any given time."

[27_53]

Nodding, he continues with his touch, sensing the underlying currents of 'want' that are running beneath the surface of her emotions, alongside the regret and sadness. She needs the touch, a sign of his reassurance, his understanding.

"It is unfortunate, but I get it," he says. "Not every soul can be saved, the greater good must be considered at some point."

As disappointing and hard as it may be.

[brave_kreyu]

"Thank you for understanding, Skellig," she says, voice soft.

Then, a thought occurs to her. "On the other hand. my giant eagle shape is NOT known, and you are not yet known as my husband. We might be able to make things...difficult for a slaver or two before we risk too much."

She snuggles into him, pulls the blankets tighter around them. "You make a wonderful hero, you know, dashing in to rescue the innocent. A winged hero whose touch can heal. Add in your loyal giant eagle companion who is human wise and capable of speech, and we make for quite the tale."

[27_53]

"Legends in our own right," he helps her to adjust the blanket a bit, contemplating the thought as she settles against his body. "It is not a role I had ever considered for myself, but I suppose I may have to get used to tales being told of the both of us, if I am to be seen by your side."

Even 'dispatching' those who do bad things (such as bandits, raiders, pirates, and slavers) causes him to take on some of the Dark, but there is enough Light and Karma in his system to override it.

"I have never seen myself as the hero," he continues. "It is...an odd image, in my mind."

[brave_kreyu]

"There will be tales about you if you are around me, for a certainty," she tells him. "Part of the cost of being known as my husband, I'm afraid."

She hopes she's worth what she will cost him, in that and other ways.

"You have always been heroic," she tells him. "Healing and helping those in need."

[27_53]

Skellig keeps quiet for a moment, considering her words.

"It is just...what I am feel as if I am called to do, when I have the opportunity and choose to do so." There have been times when he has looked the other way, or chosen not to heal, not to help. (Does that make him the villain?) It is obvious from his tone that he feels some inner conflict at the thought. "Before, it was merely...survival. Thriving as I am in this world we are in is...a new experience."

[brave_kreyu]

"Wherever you were before seems to have been a cruel place, cold. I'm sure you did the best you could under the circumstances."

She tilts her head to kiss him, soft and reassuring. "We will learn how to navigate this world together."

[27_53]

Even with his reserves of Light as filled to the brim as they are, he is still very grateful for the kiss and the reassurance, allowing himself to pull just the faintest hint of Karma from her reserves, working to settle his nerves and indecision.

"I look forward to it," he says honestly once they break the kiss. "To have a partner is a strength I am most grateful for."

[brave_kreyu]

"I have worked with my brothers before, but I am always the 'little sister'." She tries to put the feeling into words. "They are older, wiser, and though they love me, I do not feel I am their equal."

[27_53]

"Even though I have only met Elihu," he points out. "And I obviously did not meet him when he was at his...greatest levels of strength...I would not consider it a contest. You each have your own different angle of attack that you have struck from when it comes to the public eye."

He presses his lips to hers, lingering.

"Between the three of you, each of you have strengths that balance the others."

[brave_kreyu]

"That is good to hear," she tells him when they break to breathe. She's slightly flushed, but from happiness, not embarrassment.

"It might be good for me to see myself through your eyes." An owl calls somewhere out in the dark. The wild things that come out at night are waking up, going about their business.