OOM All Skate Skellig Dream Magic Weirdness -Part 12

[brave_kreyu]

They wind up staying two full cycles of the Moon with Tyr's tribe.

Time enough to learn the various dances, share recipes, race through the Teeth, make friends, share stories, BELONG.

It might even be enough time for Skellig to sort out how he feels about being among other people with wings!

Tyr clasps Skellig's forearm in farewell. "I would call you my brother, if you would permit it?" he says, voice soft.

Comments

[27_53]

Skellig is grateful for the privacy of the room, and is also taking note of the room, the furniture within it, his options.

"I...I am not entirely sure," he admits. "I so very rarely show my winged form to others, and I have never asked to be drawn..."

His internal debate - couch or chair - is wandering through his mind slowly, as he works the shoulders loose of his chiton. "I think it would be easier if you saw how my wings look, perhaps. Then we can decide?"

[brave_kreyu]

"That sounds like a good place to start," Ajax agrees. "I've never drawn anyone with wings who wasn't a bird, so we'll both be learning here."

And he REALLY wants to see Skellig's wings!

[27_53]

With the shoulders unpinned and the fabric moved down around his waist (this also gives Ajax a better view of his torso - but that is not the subject matter here, at least not in this moment!

Then it is easy enough to remove his amulet from his neck, which reveals his wings in their entirety. He is careful not to stretch them out TOO much, as he doesn't want to bump anything in the room with the tips, feathers rustling as they settle into place after heading been cooped up for so long.

[brave_kreyu]

Ajax doesn't say anything when Skellig's wings are revealed, can't, his words are all tangled up in his throat. Wonder, joy, and an aching WANT. Not for Skellig as such, but for wings of his own. For the freedom of the sky.

It takes willpower and several deep breathes before he can manage words. "You are magnificent, he breathes. "I would not have thought feathers and flesh could blend together with such elegance." He takes several steps, giving himself a slightly different view.

"This," he gestures to his own body, "is not a shape suited to the sky. But your body is, in ways I can not put into words."

[27_53]

Skellig is grateful for the effects (as mild as they are) of the wine and marijuana, as it at the very least lessens his automatic urge to duck his head and flush crimson at such attention! He does laugh a bit under his breath, and do his best to stay still as Ajax moves.

"The sky is a most wonderful experience," he admits quietly. "It is often where I feel most at home... things just make sense? When I am aloft."

He extends a wing and sidesteps slightly, closer to Ajax. "You can touch them if you would like," he adds. (Inwardly he hopes Kreyu will not be TOO jealous, but he still feels the energy between him and Ajax is rather chaste, all things considered.)

[brave_kreyu]

"You were made for the sky, it makes sense that you would be at home there," Ajax says softly.

He's visibly surprised that he is being allowed to touch, but it is one he gladly takes. He has some idea of how to touch someone with feathers, has handled falcons trained for falconry and orphaned ravens. There is nothing sexual in Ajax's energy, he's not even thinking about sex at all right now. His touch is careful, courteous, but curious. "So strong and yet so flexible, a marvel of nature. It is far easier to truly SEE the structures, with wings your size."

He would have thought about sex, before Koschei. When the only times he could really be sure of someone wanting him for HIMSELF, not the trappings that come with being a prince, was when they were sexual partners wanting release, pleasure.

[27_53]

It is a different type of touch, and Skellig recognizes that - his is one of a man who wishes to study, to learn, to understand.

"You can see now why those who came across my feather were likely so very confused as to where you had come across it," he chuckles. "As they are a great deal larger than your standard owl."

At least, the feathers that he will allow Ajax to touch, on the outside of his wing. Those on the inside, the soft down closest to his body... THOSE are Kreyu's, and hers alone.

[brave_kreyu]

"A bit of confusion will do them good, keep them from becoming complacent with what they know," Ajax quips.

"Much larger," he agrees, taking his hand off of Skellig's wing. . "But I would bet they are still silent, yes?"

[27_53]

"They are."

Even though he is not much for hunting outright unless he has to, that does not mean he does not possess the capability for stealth and surprise. He moves towards the low 'couch' slowly, seemingly lighter on his feet now that his wings are free. (Clearly, Ajax has had some influence on the furniture choices in this room - they are made for comfort and pleasure, and can easily fit more than one person.)

"I...I do not know if this is too forward to ask, and if it is...I deeply apologize," he says. "But there was a place where Kreyu and I had stayed before, where some of... well, most of the art, was of nude studies. I think she would...appreciate if I were to gift her one, of me, to decorate our most private space."

If he was not clearly blushing before, he is now.

[brave_kreyu]

Ajax smiles reassuringly. "It is not too forward. I would be glad to do such a piece." Ajax sits beside him on the couch.

"The nude form is simple in some ways and so very complex in others. It leaves little room to hide for subject and artist both."

Ideas of what the art in those places Skellig and Kreyu might have been percolate in Ajax's mind. He's slightly flushed himself when he asks "Were you wanting something of an erotic nature?"

[27_53]

It is by some miracle or blessing that his voice does NOT crack when he speaks.

"If that were possible, then yes, somewhat erotic."

Skellig toys with his wine glass slightly - clearly he is a reserved man by nature, that will not be difficult for Ajax to discern. "My wife is a private woman, but I do think she would greatly appreciate such a piece, especially from an artist as skilled as yourself... and there are not many I would trust to show my full form."

[brave_kreyu]

"It should be possible," Ajax replies. "Perhaps not in the later stages of arousal," he admits, flushing. "As that would present many difficulties, logistical and otherwise."

"Understandably," Ajax replies. "I am honored that you chose me to make such a piece, truly." He chuckles. "And I have something of an appreciation for erotic art, though most of MY art has not been of that nature. Eroticism need not be so blatant as an erect cock, especially when it is meant for one very special person."

He sips from his own glass to give them both a few moments to settle. "Unless I am very much mistaken, you know how to best position yourself to draw her eye, how to request her attentions with your body alone?"

[27_53]

"To be quite honest, she knows I am a bit of a tease, and just some hints would be enjoyable for her," he says, smirking softly.

Skellig's mind flashes back to the moment where he sprawled himself upon those silks in the center of the bed within Heka's Lair - giving her the 'come hither' gaze and his wings unfurled behind him, weight propped up slightly on his elbows...

"And you are not mistaken," he says, laughing. "I have learned what it takes to get her attention, especially in a private setting." He places his cup down on a table beside the lounge, then scoots himself back a bit to position himself in a rough estimation - minus the sultry stare - of the sprawled position he knows will cause her heart to race whenever she sees him in it.

[brave_kreyu]

"That will work," Ajax says, considering the light and his position. "If you are comfortable like that, I can start some sketches right now."

He chuckles. "We will need to take breaks, holding one position can be quite tiring. I will work on getting form, shape, first, then go in for details."

[27_53]

Skellig adjusts his body slightly to better settle himself into a position he can remain without growing too weary, nodding.

"One advantage to this form is that I am lighter than most," he admits. "So I do not tire quite as fast as a man might." He specifically does not say 'standard', 'normal', or 'regular' man - as he knows all too well what it feels like to be considered 'lesser' and he would not do that to another being.

After some time sketching, and some discussion of how to best position his wings to show them in the greatest detail - they pause for a refill of wine, and a refresh of their 'herbal' supplements which Ajax prepares while Skellig studies the work on the pages.

"These are quite good references, for as short of a time you have worked on them," he says. "It is quite clearly my form."

[brave_kreyu]

"Thank you," Ajax replies, clearly pleased. "I, I have shown my work to few," he admits. "A prince can seldom afford to make himself vulnerable in such a way, and more rarely still trust that the responses he receives are genuine."

"I had thought to try your face next, with the expression you would have her see?"

[27_53]

Nodding softly, Skellig considers this.

"It is just a gaze," he says. "But one that the first time I used it 'on' her, the results were..." He trails off, then clears his throat softly. "Quite...significant."

"Would you have me in the pose as I was before, or simply just view my face in the best light?"

[brave_kreyu]

"In the pose you were before, I think," he says after a few moments of thought. "I want to make sure I catch any changes in your body position caused by the gaze. Even very small changes can have a great effect."

Once Skellig is in position, Ajax speaks, his voice low. "Picture her in your mind, see her before you."

[27_53]

It is a very good thing that Kreyu's focus is intense on the wards she is discussing with Koschei - because otherwise she might pick up on the uptick in Skellig's heartrate as he thinks back to that moment in the hoard, surrounded by all the precious treasures that Heka had claimed...

And yet, the most stunning piece in the room was her. His wife, his mate, his dragon.

"She was the only thing I noticed," he mutters quietly, fixing his gaze - THAT gaze - on Ajax. "She usually is, when I lay eyes upon her in a space."

There is a subtle shift in his neck, the way he holds his head, the position of his fingers curled lightly against the 'silks' beneath him - very much a 'come and claim me' pose. Almost submissive in a sense, except he KNOWS that he is all that Kreyu wants, and he is smug about it.

[brave_kreyu]

Ajax's breath catches when Skellig fixes THAT gaze on him. He knows, oh he KNOWS, it isn't truly aimed at him, but it affects him a bit anyway.

He chuckles, low. "I'm not surprised that gaze affected her so," he tells Skellig. "If you had given ME such a gaze, before I met Koschei.." He clears his throat. "I would have done almost anything, to have someone look at me like that." There's love in Skellig's gaze as well as lust, complete focus, complete desire.

[27_53]

"I would have said the same, before finding Kreyu. She has completed my soul in ways that I never imagined possible, filled holes in my heart that I did not even know were gaping wide open. We have been together longer than you and Koschei... but I can sense when I see the way he looks at you, looks after you... he cares quite deeply for you."

He pauses.

"And it is you he looks at. Not your title or your crown. Your heart."

[brave_kreyu]

"I did not understand that, at first," Ajax confesses. "I quite enjoy sex, but if I am honest with myself I must admit that my many dalliances and escapades before Koschei were only ever partly about sexual gratification."

He takes a deep drink from his wine goblet. "In the throes of their want, their ecstasy, I could convince myself that they wanted ME." His smile turns sharp for a moment. "There were entirely too many nights where I would have gladly been used for their pleasure if it meant that they SAW Ajax and not the prince."

"Koschei, Koschei was different from the very moment that we met. I owe you and Kreyu more than I could ever repay, for sending him my way. Whatever is in my power to grant, is yours for the asking." That's no small promise, even from a prince once counted the least among his brothers.

[27_53]

Skellig is very well aware of just how much power that promise holds - which is why he is careful to accept it (because to decline it would be a massive slight to Ajax, and he would not ever want to do that) nodding softly.

"Kreyu was the first partner who I ever showed my wings," he says after a moment - and an equally deep drink. "It was...even though we did not meet initially with the intention of laying together, I had always feared that a partner might...focus on them, rather than me, which I understand. But still...it would be similar to your title or crown."

[brave_kreyu]

Ajax nods. "They are a part of you, but only a part." He sighs. "I suppose people are people everywhere, for better and for worse."

Koschei's laughter can be heard from the other room, Kreyu's too, during the discussion of some wild theory Ajax and Skellig find mostly incomprehensible. "More for the better, lately. Far more than I had thought possible."

[27_53]

"There is a shift in the energy, it seems," Skellig offers as 'explanation'. "I choose to believe that the changes we are noticing are perhaps a sign of better things in the horizon. I know that is difficult, especially given recent events..."

Even when your brother is trying to have you killed, the man is still your family, your blood and kin.