The Mark Of A Dragon

A Soothing Warmth

"Perfect," Wriothesley murmured. He sat up a little more, putting both hands on Neuvillette's shoulders to look at him.

After Neuvillette had eased himself and Wriothesley into the warm, soapy water, he still had yet to let go of his mate. He smiled after hearing that Wriothesley was happy with the temperature of the bath.

"You're such a good mate." Wriothesley leaned in for a kiss, lingering for only a moment. "So caring, Gentle."

On a normal day, Wriothesley often felt as if Neuvillette could use some reassurance when it came to interacting with humans.

Now, he was being plenty confident, but Wriothesley still had a feeling that getting a little praise back would please him.

Neuvillette was taken aback at the sudden praise, but he definitely enjoyed it. With a soft growl, almost like a purr, he kissed Wriothesley and held him close.

Wriothesley kissed Neuvillette back happily, and then let himself be moved around, lowering his head to give a better view of the mark.

While keeping Wriothesley in his lap, he turned his mate slightly to the side to be able to inspect the mark. It definitely looked sore, and it was at risk of getting infected if bacteria got into it. It could be severe, especially since the bite was so deep.

Kissing Wriothesley shoulder, Neuvillette gently poured water from his hand over the wound. "Does it hurt?" He asked softly, knowing the answer would most likely be yes.

The water hurt a little running over the wound, but it wasn't any worse than any pain he'd been enduring today so far. "Like hell," he said cheerfully, reaching up to pay Neuvillette's arm.

"But it's fine. I wanted it. Though, if it won't mess with the mark making process, maybe I'll do a bit of self-healing later." He was by no means a healed, but he could patch himself up a little if he had his vision within arm's reach.

The dragon frowned slightly after hearing Wriothesley was in pain. "You could heal it, but so can I, if you trust me with that, though I assume you do. I could do it after our bath during tea, if you'd like. I've got a few kinds of medication and bandages. Pain pills too, if you want them." Neuvillette spoke rinsing Wriothesley.

After, Neuvillette started gently bathing Wriothesley a little more properly, gently lathering some body wash in his palms before starting to rub it over Wriothesley's body.

"It's fine, love. I can patch myself up enough, I don't want it healed all the way, and the pain is fine. I've fucked plenty after fights, this isn't much worse than that. I didn't lie when I said I liked a little pain." He let his eyes fall shut again, letting out little pleased hums every once in a while as he was washed.

Wriothesley stretched out a little, allowing Neuvillette to clean him, something no one had ever done for him before. It felt very luxurious.

He really could get used to this type of treatment, especially from his mate.

"I know you can patch yourself up, I was just curious if you wanted me to do it for you, or at least give you something to help with the pain a little. If anything, I could at least lick it to soothe it a little. You're my mate now, I've marked you, so of course I'll want to care for you, so much that it'll probably get annoying. But I love you, and that won't change." Neuvillette spoke, running his damp hand through Wriothesley's soft hair.

Handling his mate gently, Neuvillette cleaned practically every inch of Wriothesley's body from the shoulders down, making sure to be extra careful when washing his scars or particularly sensitive body parts.

"You can lick it all you want," Wriothesley assured, "Right now, I'm very much down for anything your instincts tell you to do. I came to you to help you with your heat, and if that means letting you fuss over me, I'll be perfectly happy with that."

Hearing that he was allowed to lick the wound, Neuvillette did just that. With his tongue gently rasping at the bite, he wrapped an arm around his mate and rubbed his stomach gently, holding him.

"I'll fuss over you even when I'm not in my heat. Maybe not so openly, but it'll happen. I assure you." He spoke between licks, clinging to Wriothesley.

Wriothesley sighed, feeling himself go more pliant to the touch to his hair. Another novelty. Neuvillette's fingers felt so nice against his scalp.

Having Neuvillette so openly caring even outside of his heat didn't sound too bad. Neither of them would neglect their duties, Wriothesley was sure of that, but he did like the thought of Neuvillette coming to check in on him more often, or being invited to Neuvillette's only to have some tea and cuddle.

Maybe they could have picnics together... There would be no rain while Wriothesley spent calm quality time with his mate, after all. Even if he thought he was hearing the soft battering of drops against the window now, but he figured if Neuvillette was feeling emotional, that those could be equated to happy tears.

"You know.. since I won't have any offspring to care for, and I'm not counting the Melusines in this case because they can take care of themselves, I'll just have to take extra care of you and be extra protective of you. ...Unless we adopt or have a surrogate, but I'll be leaving that up to you." Neuvillette said, more of speaking his thoughts out loud rather than to Wriothesley specifically.

At his words, Wriothesley stilled, eyes widening a bit before his face fell back into easy calm.

He loved children. Of course he did. And the idea of giving a lonely child a loving home hit him deeply for many reasons. He was sure he'd be a good parent. He knew Neuvillette would be, too.