Wounded Healers: Azriel x Gwyn

Begging and Pleading

"Tell me about the Rainbow of Velaris again," Gwyn begged Azriel.

He had taken to trying to entice Gwyn to visit Velaris by giving detailed descriptions of the city - of the Sidra, the Palaces, and the squares.

"Well, the Rainbow is the artists' quarter. There's lots of theatre and buildings of the arts painted in all of the colors of the rainbow. There have supply stores for every artistic medium: paints, clay, canvases, pencils, watercolors, instruments. There's also many galleries and gardens and beautiful places overlooking the Sidra River," Azriel responded patiently.

Gwyn sighed, imagining Velaris in her mind's eye. She knew exactly what Azriel was trying to do. And it was working ever-so-slightly to motivate Gwyn to try to master her fear. Because it sounded like Velaris held too many wonders for her to live in fear forever. 

Azriel sat within the library, a fresh stack of books upon his table; all relating to the Autumn Court and mating bonds. Their research had come up short so far, but Azriel kept returning to the library to check out more books and to talk with Gwyn. 

"What of it, then? Maybe we could start slow, go to a store or two. Or just walk around the Sidra outside. And eventually, we could go to the theatre. You'll love the music, it's like nothing I've ever heard elsewhere," he promised, trying to sell Velaris' appeal as much as possible to replace Gwyn's fear with desire. 

Gwyn gave Azriel a reproachful yet indulgent look. "It's too soon. I need...to ruminate on it for another week."

Azriel nodded understandingly, dropping the subject. He had been asking her the same question for weeks on end already and, as expected, Gwyn declined every time. He knew that she had to get warmed up to the idea for awhile before taking the first step. And he made sure to make her the same offer, week after week - because one of these days she might just be ready to take the leap.

"Have you seen her recently?" Gwyn asked, the "her" understood to be Elain.

The shadowsinger's expression darkened. "No. But I will tonight. I was invited to dinner and I suppose I should go, because her mate will be coming soon to stay at the house. And when that happens, I plan on staying very far away from her."

Gwyn formed a sympathetic expression. "That's wise, I suppose."

Az huffed a sigh, before looking back at Gwyn. "And you? Has there been...any change?"

Frowning slightly, Gwyn shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. But then, I haven't been brave enough to take your advice yet."

She bit her lip, staring off at a fixed point ahead. "I don't think I'm ever going to be ready. I think I just have to...do it. Because I'm so sick of waiting for something to change. I just have to make a change, I suppose. It's like you said, I want to find something else to fall in love with. So you know what? If your offer still stands...maybe we could...just go for a short walk this weekend. If you're not busy..."

A smile broke across Azriel's handsome face. Gwyn thought privately that she would have made this impromptu decision ages ago just to see that smile.

"Of course I'm not going to be busy. Yes, we'll go for a walk. That sounds lovely. What time of day would you prefer?"

Gwyn looked uncertain. "I suppose there will be no escaping other people at anytime during the weekend. Would sunset be okay? Dusk is my favorite time of day, and I do miss seeing sunsets."

Az couldn't imagine living without the sight of a sunset for so long. To him, the rising and setting of the sun were the most reassuring, calming parts of the day. "Yes, that's perfect. I look forward to then."