OOM All Skate Skellig Dream Magic Weirdness -Part Eight

[brave_kreyu]

They spent yesterday helping curtail an outbreak of the White Death and doing a bit of shopping. Luckily, or not, depending on your point of view, they ALSO found out that today is the day the former slaves they plan on helping go before the judge.

That means this morning has involved a lot of preparation on Kreyu's part, because if she is appearing in an Official capacity, she must look just so. She is very grateful that Skellig is willing to help her make the small braids and decorate them with beads that match the dress.

"You can see part of why I don't do this very often," she quips.

Comments

[brave_kreyu]

"Just a short nap, sweetheart," Iset tells her. Neferet gives Skellig a hug of thanks before she goes down for her nap.

"Thank you," Iset says, voice soft. "I would have never dared such a thing, alone." She glances at the position of the sun. "I should not keep you from your wife. I hope you get to enjoy some time with her, after how busy you have been the last few days."


When Skellig gets back, there is a kind of triage going on with the crowd. Various priests, civil servants and volunteers seeing whose needs are actually urgent and politely but firmly turning others away. With his abilities, it will be child's play for him to slip back in, people watch.

[27_53]

Skellig does not even have to use any true amount of skill to work his way into the crowd - it has thinned slightly, due to the efforts of the priests and volunteers - and he settles comfortably beside one of the fountains to do just that, people watch and listen to the conversations going on around him.

"She gave us her blessing!" One man whispers excitedly to the woman who walks beside him. "For a prosperous livelihood as we begin our marriage!" She is clearly just as delighted as he is.

Another older gentleman with a staff shuffles by, assisted by one of the priests, making their way towards the 'priority' line that has been assembled.

He can sense from the Karma in the space (it has been spread out among many of these members of the public, tiny sparkles of it everywhere) that she is going to be quite tired by the time she returns to the lair, so he is already mentally preparing what he would gather for dinner (and perhaps even the next several days, so they will not have to leave their sanctuary) from the stalls before he takes his leave.

Eventually, before the sun dips much lower upon the horizon, he rises from his 'perch' and begins to do just that - a variety of fruits and vegetables (the selection is a bit sparse, given the thick crowds of the day) from one stall, several skewers of roasted meats from another (they are wrapped tightly in paper and then in linen, to keep them from dripping as he places them into his bag), a loaf of bread (because neither of them are going to have any desire to bake tonight) and some other various sundries are gathered.

At some point, his attention drifts back towards the center of the square, where the chattering is getting louder among the crowd.

[brave_kreyu]

The folks who are chattering are the critical cases and those closest to them. Everyone else, except for Skellig who they somehow fail to notice, is being cleared out. Some of them are not THRILLED about that, but they don't dare kick up TOO much of a fuss.

The merchants who capitalized on her sudden appearance have done VERY well for themselves. Well enough that they are inclined to share their good fortune when Skellig is shopping for his wife. With the staples that they have on hand in the Lair, they shouldn't need to leave to get food for several days!

Kreyu spends longer with these critical cases, will spend more of her energy.

When she finally meets him at the Lair, her Karma reserves are the barest shadow of their usual selves and she's allowing herself to droop a bit from weariness.

[27_53]

By the time she arrives back, he has already put away the shopping, poured each of them a glass of wine (he may be on his second at this point) fetched a robe for her to change into and laid it upon the end of the bed - which he has already tidied up twice, fiddling with the cushions until they were just the way he wanted them to be.

He also has already started with some minor prep work for dinner - slicing up some vegetables and some of the bread to be set out onto a platter, along with dipping oils and olives and some cheeses and nuts. (That way she can pick at whatever she feels like eating, and it is not complicated.) It is out and ready at the table, along with a handful of wildflowers that he most definitely picked himself on the last stretch of his 'hike' after landing near the lair's entrance, set into a jar of water.

His senses pick up on her energy (and the lack of it) as she enters the lair itself, and once she makes it into their space, he is already near the doorway, hands extended to her.

"Let's start by getting that dress of you, my love," he says gently - and in a totally innocent tone.

[brave_kreyu]

She smiles so very bright when she sees him, sees what he has prepared. "You spoil me," she says. But she's clearly quite pleased. "But I find I am quite ready to be spoiled."

She laughs, low, as she takes his extended hands. "I always forget, how much it takes out of me." His lightening effect on the dress has definitely worn off when she comes to him for assistance with it.

[27_53]

Skellig notices how much heavier the dress is, and scowls slightly at it.

"I will have to work to strengthen that spell," he mutters to himself as he allows her hands simply to rest in his for a moment, a brief exchange of his Light energy (it is well-topped up, after all of the positive interactions he was nearby today) to lend itself in restoring at least a small portion of her Karma reserves.

And then once he is satisfied (for now) she is not about to fall down on him, he kneels again before her as he works to shift the dress up and over her figure, careful not to disturb any of the fine beadwork as he frees it from her body, lifting it carefully over her head with only the slightest flourish.

"There." He lightly places it on the end of the bed, beside the robe (finely spun silk, much smoother than the lining of that dress, and MUCH lighter) he had selected. "I have wine and some snacks for us on the table, though if you would like to simply rest upon the bed for awhile, I could begin reheating the lamb while you allow your body to relax?"

[brave_kreyu]

"You have done wonders already, love," she tells him when he scowls at the dress. Her physical energy is clearly replenished by his touch, and she feels much perkier after.

"This kind of kneeling before me I don't mind," she quips. She moves to kiss him, soft. "You are a miracle, Skellig. I will have the wine and snacks with you. I entirely forgot to eat or drink anything after we left here today."

[27_53]

To his credit, Skellig does not squawk in protest when she shares that information with him - just leans in to meet her for that kiss, tender and easy - she is home now, with him, and he will take care of her needs. But she does get an eyebrow raised as he pulls back, fetches that robe, helps her into it.

"I at least remembered to eat and drink while I was out there," he says, chiding lightly (though there is no heat behind it) as he moves towards the table, slides her cup of wine closer to 'her' chair which he pulls out for her to have a seat. "Those merchants who chose to shift the focus of their efforts to the square did quite well for themselves, today."

[brave_kreyu]

"I had intended to, but with so many people needing my attention, my own needs slipped my mind." The robe is a lovely green, so very soft, and she sighs in pleasure as he helps it slide over her body. She smiles her thanks as she takes the wine, sips.

"I am sure they did," she replies, laughter in her eyes. "That merchant with the good luck charms that startled you so the first time we visited sent a great many young folks scampering for more charms, even unbaked clay."
She is considerate enough to wait until he doesn't have anything in his mouth before she quips. "I think I must have laid hands on every phallus in his stock."

[27_53]

"Him," Skellig sighs heavily, shaking his head, amused. "He was sold out by the time our spot in line snaked around to his stall, and was desperate for anything that he might have been able to find for you to bless."

And then the second part of her comment hits - thankfully AFTER he has swallowed down a mouthful of wine, though he still is taken aback and has to clear his throat slightly at the image in his mind.

"Not that I ever have a reason for concern," he says. "But I am grateful that the only actual phallus you have most likely laid your hands on today is mine."

He says most likely because...while he does not think she would have touched another (certainly NOT in the manner she touched him this morning in the pre-dawn hours!) there may have been a legitimate, medical reason...

[brave_kreyu]

She laughs. "Only yours today, which I am glad of." Speaking of touching him this morning. "Your body did not cause you difficulties today, I hope? You seemed quite spent after this morning..."

She sips the wine more eagerly, thirstier once the first sips have passed her throat.

[27_53]

"I was quite spent," he assures her, laughing low as he drinks another sip of his wine and pulls the 'tray' he has prepared closer, selecting for himself a few olives to start with. "And I did not encounter any...difficulties. While in the judge's hall, I was more focused on listening to the energies of those who were gathered inside when you made your appearance."

He smirks.

"You did excite one young man as you moved outdoors, he mistook your smile for me as one for him," he adds. "I did not have the heart to disappoint him so harshly, but reassured him that if not you, perhaps a woman nearly as beautiful would find his heart soon enough."

A pause. "And I did have to gently clarify to Iset that I am happily married, as it had never been discussed when I healed her and Neferet the other day."

[brave_kreyu]

"That is good. And I am quite relieved that I was able to turn their hearts toward compassion."

She laughs, amused, at the plight of that poor young man. "That poor fellow. Perhaps he will find his heart as I have found mine." Her smile at Skellig is soft, warm, intimate.

She's less amused at his statement about Iset, but not ANGRY, as such. "I can not fault her taste," Kreyu admits. "You would make a fine husband for any woman." She shakes her head, bemused at her own feelings. "And yet part of me wants to mark my claim to you. Folly."

She nibbles at the snacks he has set out, easing her hunger.

[27_53]

"She mentioned at one point while we were awaiting our moment for your audience, that she would some day like to meet my wife," he replies, smirking slightly. "I was quite careful to keep the fact that she would be doing so in short order to myself."

He toys with his cup.

"Neferet was...interested, greatly, in the shadows. She mentioned when I arrived at their home that she could feel all of them 'pulling' towards the center of the city," he says. "She could not tell me why, but then after she had met you, she had an opinion as to why you had not yet taken a husband."

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu laughs. "Most wise of you, my dear husband."

Kreyu is interested in his description of Neferet sensing the shadows 'pulling' toward the center of the city. "Why did she think I had not taken a husband?" she asks, curious.

[27_53]

"She said that your shadow was 'huge', that it filled the entire square."

Skellig sips more wine, recalling the conversation's details.

"And that if you were to take a husband, he would likely be squished," he adds. And then he adds the 'squish' sound effect, for good measure - because this is a four-year-old they are discussing, and accuracy matters for something. "Squished."

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu can't help it, she breaks into laughter at his retelling complete with sound effects.

"We did need to be careful when I was in my dragon shape," she admits, when she finally stops laughing. "But you can assure her that I would be most careful not to squish a husband."

[27_53]

Skellig joins her in laughter - it is a good feeling, one that boosts his own Light energy and in turn he can allow more of it to bleed off into her reserves. "I reassured her that I felt as if you had probably undergone quite a lot of self-training and teachings to understand how to control your own gifts," he says. "And I told her that perhaps if chosen, she might become one of your Wise, someday."

He reaches a hand out, palm up on the table to her.

"As I am one of your Wise," he adds softly.

[brave_kreyu]

She puts her hand in his, grasps his fingers gently. "No one will ever be one of my Wise quite like you are, my love," she assures him. "You are unique."

"But I will put her and her mother in contact with a student of my students to keep an eye on her, begin the basics of training in a year or so." Her smile widens. "And perhaps, when she is older, if she wants to see her mother's homeland, she will stay with us a while, in our village?"

[27_53]

Something in Skellig's expression shifts when she says the words when she is older, as if a piece of his mind has been unlocked that was once hidden away - in reality, while he has known that binding his soul to Kreyu's was for all eternity...he has not yet truly had a tangible piece of the 'future' to think about.

And now she has presented him with one.

His heart is truly full with her love for him as he squeezes her hand gently.

"It has been so rare that I can remember having a future to look forward to," he admits. "And now, with you my love, I cannot wait to see what the next day brings as dawn breaks on the horizon."

[brave_kreyu]

She would be sad at the fact that he has so rarely had a future to look forward to, but he is so very happy that it brushes any sorrow away.

"I am so glad that you feel that way," she tells him. "When I am with you, it is as if everything is new, wonderful, waiting for me."

She ducks her head a little. "Though for the next few days I have no intention of leaving the Lair. I will need to replenish my reserves of Karma and recover from being around so many people and their emotions." Her eyes look up at him. "I hope today hasn't put you off the idea of being known as my husband?"

[27_53]

"I made sure to bring back quite the haul from the market," Skellig says. "We have enough vegetables, fruit, bread and other smaller things to last us several days. They should keep easily enough. And I could hunt for us if need be, or fly into the city on my own to fetch some meat. There is also spiced lamb which I got us tonight..."

Speaking of - they should eat some of it. Skellig rises up from his chair (and takes the opportunity to refill their cups of wine) before he wanders over to the 'counter' in the kitchen, gathering up the skewers. "They had not been off the fire long, I am not worried about them being too chilled..."

Once they are unwrapped, he returns to the table and sets them down between their spaces, beside the other tray of snacks. Then, he meets her eyes again.

"As for your other question, no. It has not put me off the idea of being known as your husband." A small smile, one that is privately for her alone, graces his features. "If anything, it strengthens it, because it would allow me to be by your side throughout any similar instances, and we would be able to draw strength from each other's company."

[brave_kreyu]

"You are the most thoughtful of men," she praises him.

She eases a piece of lamb off of the skewer, pops it in her mouth, and makes a pleased noise. It is quite good, and her body is craving protein.

Her joy is so very bright at his answer. "That would let me draw strength from your presence, for a certainty." She sips her wine. "But you do realize you are likely to wind up...worshiped, no matter how I introduce you?"

[27_53]

"I realized that quite early on," he admits - and he does make a slight face at the thought of it. "And then once I returned to the square and heard the voices, saw the crowd that had formed, felt the energy...it became evident that it was a future which included me in it."

He pauses a long moment, his focus shifting to a bite of lamb - and then he waits until SHE has cleared her mouth, before he speaks again.

"...I will admit that I would not look nearly as stunning in that dress as you do," he teases. "So I will have to find something else to wear."

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu laughs again at his comment about the dress. "We will find something you like that suits you and your wings," she promises.

She pops another bite in her mouth, chews, swallows. "Though I would find you handsome in anything, so I may not be the best judge for such things." Another sip of wine, where she gazes at him over the rim. "If I did not wish to keep ravishing you regularly on the silks we stole from Heka, I would suggest those as a fabric."