Silvery leaves and little red fruits rustled serenely over my head, contrasting the glowering tempest skies that mercilessly suffocated any possible glimmer of light bestowed by the heavens, with their stygian wrath. I sat against the smooth ebon bark of a caedis tree, with long silver spears of grass playfully tickling my feet and legs as they wavered in the warm breeze.
My long golden hair was pulled back in a messy low ponytail, using a black strip of fabric that I'd tied into a rather cute bow. My flower crown added the final touch to my whimsical look. I knew that it was rather silly, but wearing it seemed to give me an invaluable sense of comfort. It was like a little rainbow piece of earth on top of my head. A small reminder of home.
The six eyed zombie horse, who I now knew to be named Sagacor, grazed peacefully beside me. My hand gently glided over the soft black fur of his muzzle, while I listened to the soothing song of the river, and instructed Valarendrik where to stack stones upon it's pebbly shore to build a firepit.
"Yep, right there... Perfect!" I exclaimed as he placed one of the final stones down with a clank. Then I frowned, realizing that Sagacor was trying to nibble on my peachy pink dress like the puckish little rascal that he was. "Hey! Stop that right now, you naughty horse!" The reins jingled as he goofily whinnied and playfully shook his head, while I shooed his mouth away with an irritated scowl.
Valarendrik joyfully chuckled as he watched us with a twinkle of admiration in his eyes. His usually chaotic hair was also pulled back in a low ponytail, deceptively making it appear slightly less unruly. He wore only his black leather pants and spiked boots, giving me a full view of his sculpted upper body for the very first time. And good gracious golly, he may have been an abyss creature, but my god was he built like a man.
"You need to watch out for him. He's a mischievous one." He laughed, while inspecting the sturdiness of the stones. "I believe it is ready for the final piece." The breeze blew a few loose strands of hair across his face, causing them to eerily dance among the twitching bones.
"Wonderful! I'll come help." I began to push myself up, only to have him immediately rush to my side.
He gently grabbed ahold of my hands and helped me stand. I wasn't putting any pressure on my injured foot, causing me to wobble a bit. "No, you should continue to rest. It would be a shame if your wound reopened and prolonged your recovery." His voice was very deep, but also soft and caring.
I sighed in disappointment. "Alright, I suppose you're right... But I would like to at least try to walk over." I firmly added.
I had only been here for five days so far, and the man had been nothing short of overbearingly protective. Every time I'd try to get something, he'd swiftly get it for me, telling me that he didn't want me to further injure myself. He carried me just about everywhere, watched my every move like a damn hawk, and rushed over anytime I made even the slightest sound of discomfort. It was like he thought I was made of thin shatterable glass or something.
Yet despite that, I was still extremely grateful for him and his hospitality and protection. I'd already lost track of the amount of times he'd saved my life since stumbling into this world. And I hadn't even been here one measly week!
He let go of my right hand, but continued to hold my left. A silent gesture to dissuade me from walking completely on my own. "Alright, just don't put too much weight on it. The sooner you heal, the sooner you can train."
He was referring to his grandiose plans to teach a "frail little human" like me to both swordfight and regular fight like an expert. I had felt highly insulted when he'd first told me that. But in all honesty, after considering my natural lack of strength and endurance, I realized that his hopes were far too high.
With his strong arm steadying me, I hobbled over to the impressively stacked stones. The louring dark rocks were all sharp and flat, making up a spiky raised U-shape next the the misty cantabile river. His beaming smile cut through the gloom like a ray of sunlight, as he helped me kneel down in front of it.
"You look pleased with it." He mentioned with a slight chuckle, alerting me to the fact that my facial expression had unwittingly contorted into an embarrassingly enthusiastic grin.
"I'm just really excited to see some light again." My voice sounded strangely breathless. I surmised that it was probably because of the short walk over here, since I had barely moved in days.
His pale clawed hands mindfully placed the final wide flat stone across the top, with a strangely adorable look of slight confusion on his face. "But the lantern gives off light, does it not?"
I hummed while giving a confuting shrug. "This will be different. Trust me." Not only was the ghastly lantern in the cave dim as fuck, but the thing was from Hell. Quite literally.
As it turns out, his friend who could supposedly travers worlds, and would 'surely be willing to bring me home' was, in fact, an actual goddamn demon of all things. Naturally, I freaked the fuck out upon learning such information. Valarendrik had tried to calm me down, assuring me that I'd be in no danger with him, especially considering that his consort, Gwendolyn, was also a human. And it did make me feel a little bit better to know that. But it was still highly unsettling, and besides, what kind of whacky woman would marry a demon anyways?
Begrudgingly, I knew that I didn't have any other options. So now here I was, trapped in some godforsaken abyss, with a kindly tenverian man and his zombie horse, waiting around for a literal motherfucking demon to randomly appear from the depths of Hell, and teleport me back home like a damn taxi service.
Valarendrik suddenly placed a bunch of sticks and pieces of dark red wood down next to me, startling my thought bubble into swiftly dissipating. "Will these do? I made sure that they were all very dry like you requested." He held a stick while flicking the tip of it with his thumb.
I clapped my hands together with a smile, then grab a few sticks. "Yes, they're perfect. Thank you." A look of accomplishment and pride adorned his features, as he curiously observed me meticulously stack them within the firepit. "I believe that all we'll need now is the lighter."
"Oh right. The fire creating device..." He held up a finger while adding, "I'll go get it!" My eyes followed him as he excitedly wisped away like a shadowy reaper, swiftly becoming one with the unfathomable blackness of the cave. I shook my head and giggled while plucking a few loose threads from the tattered hem of my dress... 'The fire creating device' I mentally mused. Black mist suddenly twirled across my bent legs as he reappeared holding the lighter out for me to take. "Here you are, my little friend."
I pinched my nose in a pseudo scowl while taking the lighter from him, in order to show my disapproval of the nickname. "Thank you my gigantic companion." I retorted with a smirk, causing him to laugh. "How tall are you anyways?" Curiosity was abundant in my voice, while I tucked an imaginary loose strand of hair behind my ear. He really was strikingly tall. I stood at a moderately average 5'7, yet he still appeared to be well over a foot taller than me.
He looked puzzled by my question, then awkwardly placed his hand on his head. His sharp forehead bones twitched while he slowly moved his hand out in front of himself, mindfully keeping it at the same level as the top of his skull. "Um, I don't know. This tall, I suppose." He answered with a small shrug.
A crooked smile of amusement snuck it's way across my lips from his guileless answer. I felt silly, realizing that he understandably knew nothing of the metric system. "Thank you. I'd been wondering about that for awhile now." I graciously replied, only deepening his confusion. "Now watch and learn as I kindle this flame." My brow arched up to a dramatic angle that said, 'let's get to business.'
Valarendrik dichotomously loomed above me like a dark cloud with a cheerful demeanor, while I confidently ignited the first flame with the lighter. I held it steadily under a flimsy little twig, watching with great excitement as the fire set forth on it's noble quest down the length of the gnarled bark to enkindle the large pile of wood. Then it fizzled out halfway down the twig with a decrepit grey puff of smoke that pathetically wisped into the darkness.
"Dammit." I hissed, while tucking an actual loose thread of hair behind my ear this time. The lighter hissed along with me, as I reignited the flame, once again trying to set the perfectly stacked pile ablaze.
"Are you sure this will work?" Valarendrik dubiously asked, failing miserably in his attempt to not seem doubtful.
"Yes, I'm sure this will work!" I grumbled while slightly tilting my head to give him the good ol' one eyed stink eye. "It just takes a minute or two for the wood to catch on fire. That's all."
(About 30 minutes later)
Tiny beads of sweat drizzled down my forehead as I strenuously huffed and puffed, inflating my cheeks like a chipmunk, to rapidly blow on the withering flames which pitifully simmered upon the twigs beneath the sticks and wood. Valarendrik sat still as a statue, crouched down beside me, looking highly concerned for my wellbeing. I sucked in the deepest breath that my exhausted trembling lungs could muster up, then gave one final spittly blow as I slowly collapsed to my side. The flames finally caught on the larger sticks, and the whole thing abruptly combusted in a pillar of fiery glory.
Success!
The mist instantly illuminated with an eerie amber glow, while the inky black river beside us now glistened with shimmering gold as it's gentle ripples captured the light. Flickering rays glimmered beneath the dancing silvery leaves, and gilded the shinny red fruits so that they sparkled like rubies. The bright swirling flames caressed the insufferable darkness, and caused shadows to beautifully flutter throughout the wavering trees and across the pebbly beach.
I tried to quickly sit up in both victory and awe, but instead screamed as I was suddenly wrapped in darkness and forcefully yanked away from the firepit. Valarendrik immediately let out a harrowing otherworldly hiss which made my blood run ice cold. It seemed to creepily echo within his throat, as if a thousand trapped souls were all screeching inside of him at once. Sagacor simultaneously whinnied in distress, and before I knew it, all three of us were hiding behind a caedis tree.
Valarendrik lowly growled as he held me tightly against himself, with his dark shadows swirling chaotically all around us. His claws were fully extended and black venom dripped from his fangs. Two things that I'd come to recognize as surefire signs that danger was nearby. Pun intended. Sagacor was cowering behind us, likely thinking that he was fully hidden. Although, just his head and front were behind the tree, while the light flickered across his big horse butt.
"What the hell are you doing?" I tried to say, with my cheek firmly squished up against his vibrating chest.
"Getting us a safe distance away from... what ever the fuck that is!?" His voice was layered with a ghastly abyssal pitch, as all ten of our eyes peeked around the trunk, and over towards the crackling flames.
I furiously ripped my arm out of his grasp and irritatedly gestured towards the damn thing. "That is the fire I've been trying to make."
His crimson eyes suspiciously narrowed at it. "That is the fire? Why is it so unfathomably bright?"
"I don't know, because fire is just naturally bright, I suppose. Now, let's go sit by it, and I'll cook up the food." I'd been eating nothing but strange alien plants since arriving here. Some were pretty decent tasting, others I'd spit out immediately. But most I thought would be greatly improved if roasted.
As I tried to wiggle out of his grasp, his shadows swiftly wrapped around my waist like a giant octopus tentacle, and firmly held me up in the air. "I'll go first." He protectively stated like a true chevalier, while holding up a clawed hand.
"Alright, fine." I grumbled, as I hovered about a foot off the ground. It wasn't the first time he'd done this to me. "But just know that you're overreacting. It's perfectly safe."
He peered back over his shoulder with a raised brow. "I'll make sure of that." His gaze moved back to the flames before he could see me roll my eyes.
A mellifluous hiss resounded through the air as he unsheathed his swords, and warily approached the firepit with carefully calculated steps. The large menacing blades brightly gleamed as they reflected the light, with each obsidian gemstone glittering upon the black handles like luminous stars within midnight's ebony depths.
My gaze trailed along the impressively sharp curve of a blade, then moved further up to the muscular arm holding it. I began to examine the hard bulging muscles of his biceps, boldly defined by the flickering firelight, and up along his neck to the strong jawline and straight nose making up the striking angles of his illuminated profile. He cautiously side stepped around the flames, with his hackles raised, fully prepared for it to attack. Then he quickly turned to face the fire, threatening it with a fearsome swoosh of his sword. My eyes slowly trailed along the strong width of his shoulders, following further down his perfectly toned back and the cascade of raven locks, then straight to the way his tight black leather pants hugged his herculeanly handsome behind.
Before I knew it, he swiftly turned around again, making my gaze level with his front. I bit my lower lip, noticing the way the fire accentuated the masculine bulge within his pants. I could tell that he wasn't erect, just naturally big, and yet, my lower belly unexplainably quivered at the sight of it.
He stepped to the side, then looked down and behind himself, trying to figure out what in the world I was so blatantly staring at. "What are you looking at?" He cluelessly asked with genuine confusion.
Oh my god! Was I seriously just leering at him like that!?
It suddenly felt as if I were suffocating within a noxious cloud of shame, and a deep blush quickly crept across my cheeks. The physical evidence of my immediate mortification. "Oh, um, well... I uh, I guess maybe..." I senselessly rambled as his shadows carried me closer to him. "I'm just glad to see the fire." I guiltily shrugged with a fake smile, now nose to nose with him.
He intensely peered into my eyes with a scrutinizing stare, then abruptly shrugged with a smile. "Oh, well that was kind of a weird way to look at it. I mean, you were going like this." His spiky teeth dorkily poked out to bite his lower lip, while his eyes googled as if he were staring at his favorite mouthwatering dessert. It was likely an accurate imitation of my lewdly leering face.
"Stop making fun of me." I angrily hissed, still dangling before him in his shadows.
A deep hearty laugh boomed from his chest. "Alright, fine. Well, let's get you comfortable, shall we? ...Sagacor." He tried to call Sagacor over.
Sagacor timidly nickered, and hesitantly took a few steps towards us, then a few steps further back behind the tree. Valarendrik tried to coax him out a few more times, until ever so slowly, his large black hooves gingerly crunched over the pebbly beach towards us. His six deathly eyes looked like foggy white marble reflecting gold as they warily inspected the light.
"Easy, easy." Valarendrik cooed, while grabbing the reins and guiding him over.
Sagacor's large cadaverous body nestled down beside the fire pit, and the shadows placed me gently to the ground with my back against his side. Valarendrik sat down next to me, and pulled a plethora of unappetizing looking plants that we'd gathered out of the saddle bag.
I tried to smile, I truly did, but it came out looking more like a reluctant grimace. "Alright, let's get cooking..."
-: ✧ :-✧-: ✧ :-
The warm soothing glow of the crackling fire was ever so slowly fading. And although it was still shinning brilliantly, it was only a matter of time before the reaper's cruel breath would blow upon the flame, reducing it to nothing more than mere embers and ash, empowering the everlasting darkness once again. Grey smoke wispily swirled up into the obsidian skies like ghosts twirling through the ether in search of the afterlife. I sat against Sagacor, nibbling like a little mouse on the remains of a roasted savory plant that looked sort of like burgundy bok choy, while laughing and exchanging stories with Valarendrik.
"...But even after that, the damn thing still wouldn't stop following and screeching at us. Azathoth ended up getting so intensely fed up with it that he vehemently ripped off his boot, marched over there with the fury of Hellfire, growled as he grabbed it by the neck, and violently shoved the whole boot down it's throat." The bones on his head happily twitched as he told his silly story.
"Aw, the poor scaly creature. That wasn't very kind of Azathoth." I said with a giggle, while gazing up at his fire illuminated face. He was even more ethereal looking in the light, and it was hard not to notice just how truly handsome he was, regardless of his inhuman features.
He shrugged with a chuckle as he leaned further against Sagacor. "Well it got him back good. The thing ran off, and Azathoth never saw his boot again."
The dancing flames softly crackled, and the wind blustered through the soughing trees of the surrounding forestland. We both softly laughed, while Sagacor sneakily munched on some caedis fruit that I'd secretly slipped him. I absentmindedly buried my good foot within the small grey pebbles of the beach, then lifted it up to watch them clink back down to the ground. The action reminded me of nights at the beach back home.
A slight yearning suddenly lurched in my heart. I was apprehensive about the fact that I'd have to travers the cosmic veil with a demon to return to earth, yet I was achingly homesick. It was funny how being stranded in another world made me so glaringly aware of how unappreciative I'd been of my own. My flower crown rustled as I slowly pulled it from my messy haired head, and hugged it closely to my chest like a teddy bear.
Valarendrik's crimson eyes followed my movement. "You miss your world." He stated with a frown, as if he truly wished I didn't.
"Yes." The abyssal breeze carried my soft voice up to his ears like delicate lily petals in the wind. "I suppose I never really realized how unfulfilling my life was until I was faced with death. Nor, did I realize how much I took my world for granted until it was taken away from me." I tilted my head up to look at him with a small smile. "Now I'm afraid that I'll never get the chance to see it again."
The pebbles rustled as Valarendrik bent his knees up to his chest, and wrapped his arms around them to hug his legs. He turned his head towards me as he rested it upon his knees with a cute smile. "You will see your world again, Lucilia. I promise." His messy bound hair flowed down the length of his back and coiled on the ground behind him, with little wisps of shadows dancing out of it. "How will you make your life more fulfilling when you return? I'm curious about what life is like on earth."
I pulled the bow from my hair and began running my fingers through it in a futile attempt at grooming. "Well, first I'd quit my meaningless job, then I'd try to do something good for the world instead. I'd also put an end to my relationship with my jerk of a boyfriend, Justin."
"You have a consort?" He immediately lifted his head in curiosity.
A small giggle chimed from my lips... Who even says consort? "No, he's not a consort, and I wouldn't want him as one either. He's just my soon to be ex-boyfriend."
His brow's pinched together, but he seemed highly intrigued. "Does he not please you?"
I awkwardly placed my hand on the back of my neck and shook my head. "No, he does not." That was true, particularly when it came to our sex life. I'd never actually had an orgasm, by myself or with Justin. And he was more like a five minute fiasco in the bedroom rather than a lover. Although he was the only man I'd ever slept with, I still knew that it was downright shitty sex. "And he's mean too. Not to mention the fact that I highly doubt he even loves me. I'm more like a trinket for him to dangle from his arm." I scoffed while disgruntledly throwing a large pebble into the river. It splashed as it hit the water's glimmering gold and black surface with a plunk.
He perked up at the word 'love.' "Ah, so he does not feel the satisfying rush of bloodshed when he's with you." He nodded knowingly, as the firelight danced across his muscular enfolded body.
"What!?" I whipped around to glance at him like he had three heads.
He held out a palm and gazed off into the distance. "Is love not like the pleasurable rush you get when you see someone's blood violently spill from their flesh? Only it's a constant blissful feeling for someone else that makes you want to protect, cherish, and frequently fornicate with them?"
I stared at him in disbelief, trying to make sense of his macabre philosophy about something so wholesome. "...I suppose that's one way you could describe it. I like to think that it's similar to a fire. It starts out as a spark, then you kindle it, and eventually it turns into something bright and beautiful, and full of passion." My hand gestured towards the fire as I spoke.
A thoughtful frown fell across his face. "Well, this Justin man must be very foolish if he has not attempted to kindle the love thing with you. You seem like you would make a worthy consort." His gaze eerily shifted over to me. "Do you feel love for him?" He further pried with astute inquisitiveness.
I shyly bit my lower lip, unsure what to make of both his flattery, and his rather personal question. "No." I shook my head. "I thought that I did when we first met, but I definitely don't." It was funny to me how growing up I'd always dreamed of falling in love with my perfect prince charming, and yet I wound up with some so utterly ugly on the inside. "I made a mistake by being with him, and now I have to fix it." I cleared my throat, then made a lame attempt to shift the conversation away from my failed love life. "What about you? Have you ever been in love?"
His eyes fell from my face, and thoughtfully flickered down towards the pebbles beneath him. "No, and I'm not entirely sure if I can feel love either. Most tenverians can't feel things such as empathy or sorrow, nor can they care for others in the slightest. And yet, I do." A tiny hint of bitterness laced his tone, as if he secretly resented his ability to feel such emotions. "I've wondered if love is another thing that I possess the capability to feel, but I've never had the opportunity to find out."
I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, not exactly sure what to say. "Well I hope that you are able to love someone someday." I said with a small encouraging smile.
He smiled back, but it was more like a mask to hide the deep yet overflowing well of hopelessness and sorrow which lay hidden beneath. And yet, no mask could ever hide the depths of loneliness which flooded his eyes. My heart painfully lurched at the brief glimpse of his misery, and I realized just how incredibly lonely he must be out here, all alone in the darkness.
He has no one to love...
"Thank you." He said while absentmindedly swirling a claw over his knee, then it was his turn to diverge the topic. "May I ask you something?"
"Yes, of course." I nodded, while placing my flower crown on the ground beside me.
"What color are your eyes?" He curiously asked while intensely staring into my peepers.
I blinked a few times, then shifted my gaze over towards the crackling fire... Could he possibly be colorblind? My mind quickly reasoned. "Oh, their um, their blue. Why do you ask? Can you not see color?"
"Blue!?" It was suddenly as if that was the most exciting thing he'd heard all day. He abruptly crawled on top of me with his knees on either side of my thighs. His hands latched onto my shoulders, and his face enthusiastically bent down mere inches from mine. The orange firelight danced behind him, darkening his features, as his sculpted shirtless body imprisoned me against Sagacor's side.
"What the!?"
"That is blue!? That is the color of earth's sky!?" He stared deeply into my eyes with an awestruck expression, as if truly enchanted by their watery depths.
"Um, yes." I softly squeaked.
"And your hair..." He lightly ran his clawed hands through my long wavy hair on either side of my head, softly pulling it forward to cascade down my front. "It is golden like the glowing orb in your sky? Yes?"
"Um, yes. And it's called the sun." I meekly held up a finger.
"The sun..." He softly echoed, completely mesmerized by my hair and eyes. "Earth must have the most beautiful sky." It was as if he was stuck in a trance, lost within the bewitching images flowing through his mind as he stared at me like I was the most beautiful thing in this world. My cheeks flushed rubescent, and I shyly turned my face towards the dark glimmering river. He furrowed his brows, and curiously tilted his head. "Why do your cheeks change color like that?"
His question fed my embarrassment like the sticks fed the fire, and my whole entire face began to burn bright cherry red. "Oh um, I'm just, I don't know.. It's called, um, blushing, I suppose." I shook my head and tried to hide my face while I spoke.
He seemed to notice my discomfort and reluctantly climbed off of me. His back rested against Sagacor once again, with his legs out stretched. "I think it's a very lovey feature." He smiled.
I peeked back up at him, hair all frazzled, with my face beet red and lips pinched into a thin line. "Thank you." I curtly said. My eyes were quickly drawn to the softly twitching bones on his forehead. Since we were on the topic of appearances, I figured that I might as well ask about those too. "What are those bones on your head? And why do they move like that?" I stared at them with innocent curiosity.
He stiffened for a mere millisecond, and I saw the tiniest glimpse of a scathing, deeply rooted pain within his crimson eyes. But then it disappeared as quickly as it came, and he casually shrugged as if I'd asked about the weather or something. "You're right, they are bones. They're attached to my skull, and they move with my emotions... or sometimes just to be annoying." He looked up as if he were pseudo scowling at them.
"Oh, they're quite fascinating." I surmised that all tenverian's must naturally be born with such bones protruding from their skulls... Although, the corpse from the stream didn't have them?
A small almost shy smile graced his lips. "Thank you. But you do not need to be so kind. I am aware of how repulsive they are." He softly replied. His crimson irises glimmered in the ambery glow, while a few loose strands of ebony hair fluttered around his pale face.
I inwardly frowned. It was true that my first thought of them had been one of disgust, but I had also been frightened by all of his otherworldly features at the time. After spending a few days with him, I'd realized that I misjudged him terribly. He was more kindly then most humans I'd known, and it upset me to learn that someone so genuinely good hearted would consider something about themselves as being repulsive.
"May I touch them?" I found myself quietly asking, unsure of what possessed me to do so.
His expression swiftly contorted to one of pure befuddlement. "You want to touch them? The bones on my head?" He pointed at them in disbelief.
An eerie screech resounded in the far distance, causing me to instinctively scooch closer to his side. "Yes." I said while slowly lifting my hand towards them. To my confusion, he seemed to almost flinch away, so I pulled my hand back with uncertainty. "Is that not something that's appropriate in your culture?" I asked, now worried that I may have unwittingly affronted him or something.
"Well, in my culture, it's punishable by death." He softly laughed. "But you may." His eyes shifted between mine as he gently spoke.
"Thank you." I laughed too, assuming him to be only joking, and lifted my hand once again.
He leaned down slightly towards me to grant my hand better access, with an almost nervous looking glimmer in his gaze. My lightly sun kissed fingers met with the smooth dark grey bones, as I gently ran my fingertips, with chipping pink nail polish, up along them. Each bone twitched with soft clicks like they were enjoying my touch. It was strange how they truly resembled fingerbones, tipped with black claws and everything. I slid my pointer finger along the underside of one, and it bent as if it were trying to hold onto me.
"Is this alright?" I decided that it would be a good idea to check in, considering the almost unreadable look of both solacement and agony on his face.
His gaze shifted down, as if he were trying to silently figure out his own swirling pool of conflicting emotions. "Yes, that's alright. It's just a bit strange feeling. No one's ever dared to touch them before... Are you not disgusted?" He hesitantly inquired.
"No, they're unique and rather alien to me, but not disgusting." I giggled while playfully wiggling my fingers between his head and the bones, watching how they playfully wiggled back with soft skeletal clicks. After brushing my pointer finger across the tips in one final caress, I carefully pulled my hand away. They seemed to try to grasp at me, as if upset by my hand's departure... Weird.
I knelt before him, and gently placed my hand on his cheek. His crimson gaze lifted to meet mine, with a shadow of sorrow cast upon his features, yet a look of gratefulness gleamed in his eyes. "Valarendrik, I want you to know that you are quite possibly the most kind hearted being I've ever come across, and there is nothing about you that is repulsive." I firmly stated, because I truly meant it.
He stared at me for a second, unsure of what to say. Then he abruptly pulled my body against his in a somewhat intimate hug. I let out a soft squeak, as he cradled me against his chest with a clawed hand entangled in my golden locks. His chin rested on top of my head, with his eyes squeezed tightly shut. I wove my arms around his torso, feeling the smoothness of his bare skin and the muscles which rippled underneath.
"Thank you." He softly murmured while gently caressing my back.
"You're welcome." I quietly replied.
We stayed like that for awhile. Then I eventually yawned and shimmied to get a little bit more comfortable, watching with heavy lids as the flames slowly faded further into darkness. The rustling of leaves lulled my senses closer towards my impending slumber, while a shroud of shadows crept up to wrap snuggly around me. My eyes finally closed, as I fell sound asleep safely within Valarendrik's tender hearted embrace.