TW: Masturbation, Death, Kidnapping, Dead bodies.
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Kali wanders down the darkened hallway, guards have left their post as usual around the later hours. Tate follows close behind, tailing her as a chill runs through both of them.
"They're really keeping him down here? In this kind of place?" He whispers, and Kali answers with a nod.
"He's been down here since the day I came here. They just torture him."
"Do I want to know how you came across him? What were you doing down here?" He gives her a side eye and she shrugs.
"I was just exploring, don't worry about that now. At least I found out about him, who knows what's going on. Especially with these murders, I mean why was it just the head?"
"Maybe it's easier to transport when you just have the head?"
"But he kissed it! I mean, that seems a little ritualistic. There were a lot of things that implied such." Kali shivers as they turn the final corner, Kellum coming into full view.
He lays on the cobblestone floor, a fresh pool of blood surrounding him as he holds his head in his hands. Fresh cuts and whip marks bruise his body as they approach, Kali's heart sinking seeing the gentle elf looking so defeated.
But she feels nauseous as she thinks of what she needs to tell him now. How do I even start this?
Tate's foot kicks a stone, causing Kellum to look up quickly, pink long hair falling into his green eyes as he looks hard between them.
"Who is that?" His voice is husky and broken, his glare growing stronger. "You brought someone with you?"
"He's my friend," Kali's voice is soft as she crouches down, getting to his eye level on the floor.
"That doesn't mean he's mine." Kellum looks away and Kali sighs, wrapping her fingers around a bar.
"Kellum, in the woods we saw a man wearing a hood and all black... he... had the head of an elf. You were right, someone is murdering your people." She tightens her grasp, looking down, scared to look him in the face.
"So while I'm trapped in here, my people are still being slaughtered..." His hands form into a fist as he bites down on his lip."
"We're going to get you out of there, we're going to stop this." Kali blurts out, but her confidence isn't strong.
"When, Kali? Sooner or later I'll die here, then my kingdom will come looking for me. Just for there to be more death and bloodshed. I mean..." He pushes himself up off the ground, wobbling a little as he sturdies himself with the bars above her. "Do you even know who this killer is?" He starts to pace back and forth slowly, limping as a bloodied gash starts to seep crimson down his leg. "Or why does the King deny his existence?"
"We don't know, but we can find out!" Kali stands up as well, eyes pleading with him as her heart races. "You know I want to help you, I can figure this out. I just need to look more and..."
"Forget it," He turns to her, swaying as he approaches, his face inches from her with the metal barrier between. His eyes stare intensely at her, but she softens when she truly looks into them. They're broken and scared. "I don't need help anymore. Just let me die here, just let my kingdom reign hell upon this cursed place."
She reaches forward, trying to touch his shoulder but he flinches away. Her hands shake as tears start to prick at her eyes. "I don't want to forget it. I won't forget it. Or you."
"I'm as good as dead, so let me die." He sneers, before a laugh makes them both jump.
Tate had been quietly listening behind them, bursting out into laughter as he now walks up to them both.
"You call yourself a prince?" He jabs, blue eyes attacking Kellum's green. "What a joke. Don't claim that title when you give up easily."
"Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?" Kellum shows his teeth with each word, causing Tate to laugh again.
"Your best friend, if you cut out all this pity me bullshit." Tate crosses his arms as the elf tilts his head.
"And who are you exactly?"
"Nice to meet you, Prince Kellum," Tate bows a little, looking up at the pink haired man with a grin. "I'm Prince Tate of Malista. Unofficially, of course, since my asshole of an uncle stole my title away."
"This Kingdom... has a prince?" Kellum opens his eyes wide and the white haired man smiles softly.
"I know what you're going through. I know what it feels like to see your people struggle, all while you have no ability to help them. I know what it feels like to be trapped and cornered."
He moves closer, reaching through the bars, surprising Kali as Kellum allows Tate to rest his hand on him.
"Kali is helping us right now. And she's worth putting your faith in," he smiles at Kali briefly before turning back, "if anyone can help you- it's her. She may be a little ditsy, but put your faith in her. I have, and so far... well, my uncle is alive still so that sucks, but I have a feeling she'll get us where we want to be somehow."
Kali pouts a little, "of course we'll get to that point..."
"Oh, so you'll kill now?" He smiles at her and Kellum looks curiously between them.
"I'm... working on my feelings on it." She looks away and both men smile.
"Kellum, we're not giving up on you. You have two of us on your side now. You're not dying here. And your kingdom will get justice for the lives lost, do you understand me?" A wave of understanding crosses between the men, and now it's Kali's turn to smile.
She wraps her arms around Tate, who is still holding onto Kellum.
"Thank you," Kellum smiles, nodding sternly. "I'll hold onto my trust and hope in you. I'll stay strong."
They all share a nod, grinning ear to ear as the atmosphere seems to lift above them all. "Don't you dare give up, got it, Litten Alv?"
Kellum chuckles, shaking his head, "you know I'm older than you, right?" He side-eyes him and Kali tilts her head.
"But I'm taller," Tate winks and Kellum rolls his eyes. "So litten alv you are to me."
"What language is that?" Kali asks quietly, and Tate shrugs.
"Not sure, I learned it when I was little. I just remember some things."
"It's spoken in the light mage kingdom," Kellum quips, looking Tate up and down. "Which makes sense why you know it."
"What do you mean?" Tate frowns.
"What does your language sound like?" Kali grins, looking happily at Kellum. "Please, I want to hear it!"
Kellum smiles, leaning as close to her as he can. White teeth gleaming as his eyes soften, "Jeg vil sætte min tro på dig."
"What does that mean?" Her mouth makes an 'o' as she frowns a little.
"He says he'll put his faith in you." Tate rolls his eyes, sharing a look with the pink elf.
"Thank you, Kellum," Kali smiles, "we must go now, but we'll try to find some things and get back to you when we do, ok?" She nods and he returns the gesture.
"Be safe, ok?" He whispers and Tate smiles.
"This girl doesn't know what being safe even means," he nudges her before adding, "keep your spirits up, ok?"
"I will, thanks, Vindmand," he winks at Tate and the younger man frowns a little as Kali pulls him away hurriedly.
"Let's go before someone comes back," she says with a hushed tone.
They take one back look at Kellum, seeing him wave as they turn the corner.
Their footsteps barely make a noise as they rush down the hollow corridors, back up the stairs then down the halls back into the outside. Cold sweat falls down both their foreheads as they take a breather, the fear of being caught had kept them on high alert the entire time.
Tate bends over, putting his hands on his knees and he takes a deep breath, "ok... so..." another breath, "I think we need to find some evidence."
"Evidence of what?" Kali breathes hard as well, looking at him curiously, putting her hand on his back to balance herself.
"That the king knows what's going on. You know, like maybe there's something around that shows proof of murders taking place."
"That's a good idea," she nods, looking up at the sky, the clouds hovering across the moon as the air starts to chill more and more. "Where should I look?"
"Where should WE look?" He smiles, looking up at her before standing up straight.
"This is a 'we' situation now?" She grins.
"Well of course! Didn't you hear me being inspirational there? Of course I'm helping now."
"Yeah, and thank you for saying that to him. I think it really helped him, he needed that talk." She pats him on the arm and he pulls her in for a side hug.
"Of course, he's a nice guy. And you're my friend. A friend of yours is a friend of mine."
"You're the best, Tate." She smiles up at him and he flicks fake long hair behind his shoulder.
"I absolutely am, so about finding this evidence... Ooooh, no-" they both look forward, Tate stiffening as Finn walks towards them, an amused look on his tanned face. "It's Finn, play it cool." He whispers, but Kali's face widens into a larger smile.
"Hey, Finn!" She chimes out, making Tate flinch and look at her with big eyes.
"That's way too happy to be cool," he whispers, but she shakes her head.
"I am happy to see him," she hurries ahead, stopping right when she is in front of the taller general.
"Hey, Kali." He smiles, looking between both of them before crossing his arms. "You need to check the morgue."
Kali tilts her head, purple hair falling to the side. "What?"
"For the elf bodies. I'd bet if the king knows about them then they'd be in the morgue. Or at least some evidence of them having been there."
His brown eyes move to Tate, a look of skepticism plastered on the younger man's expression.
"Cut it out, Tate. I'm helping you. I heard you down in the dungeon, you're lucky it was me listening and not someone else."
"Dungeons? We have dungeons here?" Kali puts her fingers to her chin, looking away from him.
Finn chuckles and shakes his head, "you're a terrible liar, you know that?"
Tate smiles a little and sighs, "she really is."
"No I'm not!" She huffs and Tate pats her head.
"It's ok, can't be good at everything."
"But really, I want to help you. I think you're doing the right thing helping the elf." Finn nods, frown creasing his forehead.
"So, the morgue then?" Tate ponders for a moment, "yeah, that is a great first start. Kali and I can go down there."
"She can't go down there alone," Finn butts in, making Tate give him a questionable look.
"She won't, I'll be with her."
"Then who will stand watch if someone or the mortician goes in there?" Finn raises an eyebrow, making Tate sneer a little.
"Are you implying that you want to come as well?"
"I would love to, thanks for the invitation. So Kali and I will go inside, you will stand watch." He pats Tate on the shoulder, "that's an excellent plan."
"You'd really help us with this?" Kali smiles, clasping her hands together.
"That's what friends do," Finn smiles softly, his eyes resting on Kali.
"Uh huh, friends," Tate looks between them, his eyebrow raised. "Well, let's go friends, while the night is young, yeah?"
𖤓𖤓𖤓
The bathrooms of the barracks are empty, the guards currently out on their free night in the town. It's not often that Altear allows them to have a break day, but he decided to go easy on them, especially to curb any suspicion of Rhyder's disappearance.
Steam flows up from the tub, Dakki using his flames in his hands to warm the water more and more as it seeps into him. He doesn't feel the hot water too much, but it does relax him to lay and enjoy. His body has been wild recently.
Many emotions swirl inside of him, burning and growing. The pleasures from intimacy, and the addicting satisfaction from the death of the trash. He can still feel the bones cracking beneath his knuckles, the blood pooling around him. The smell of iron in the area was deliciously appealing.
His kind can't kill weaker beings, but for some reason it didn't affect him, or Kali from what he could tell. Something about him being under her makes him think he's protected by her abilities. And something in her makes her able to kill without punishment.
Maybe her mother's soul? He shrugs, unsure. It's not his place to know or understand. But it peaks his attention.
He squeezes his eyes shut, a ripple of longing washing through him as he thinks of Kali. Her silky, wavy, violet hair. The way her eyes sparkle like the freshest of amethyst in the sunlight. Her voice that wraps around him, a low, soft melody that plays over and over in his mind.
He misses seeing her, misses feeling her as she hugs him, her body pressed against him as she wraps herself around him. Soft curves, the squishiness of her stomach and the silken skin of her arms. The way she always smells like fresh dahlias and rain.
He can feel himself heating up more and more, and not from the flames or bath. His body is an inferno, burning and burning as the need inside of him grows. He opens an eye, peeking down into the water to see himself fully erect.
Leaning his head back in the tub, he groans. When he's away from her his urges get stronger, to the point where he can't even control his body. He thinks of going to Mara, but he can't be bothered to head out into the cold night while in this state. Wet and hard don't go too well with being in freezing temperatures.
He gives into his body's wants, sliding a hand down, gripping himself as a soft whimper escapes him. His length is already throbbing and pulsating in his hands and he starts to stroke himself, his mind wandering as he does.
Thinking about what he wants more than anything. Eyes closed tightly, a scene plays out in his head.
Kali walking in, her hair long like it was. Flowing in beautiful cascading purple down past her generous breasts, her small waist that shows off the lovely curve of her hips, the lovely fluff of her belly. Since she started training, she's lost weight much to his dislike. He missed the softness of her stomach, the small jiggle of her thighs that have now turned into muscle.
But they're still beautiful, her long legs, the hourglass shapes of them much like her body. She would walk to him, her eyes full of love and trust, making him feel wanted, loved, and relied on. He would tell her how much he missed her as she sat on the side of the tub, looking down at him. He would reach up, cupping her cheek in his hand.
Her olive skin would blush from the heat of the tub, or maybe from his touch alone. She would tell him about her day, what she's been doing and feeling. Tell him that she missed him. He would look up at her with a world of admiration in his eyes, the longing and lust being pushed back as he would savor every moment of her voice.
She would tease him, and he would retaliate by sliding his arms around her waist, quickly pulling her into the tub with him. She would scream, smack his chest, then they would laugh together. She'd grab bubbles in the water and put them on his nose, before poking at his individual freckles, counting them like she did when they were kids.
He would enjoy her closeness as they cuddled under the water. It would be like the world didn't exist. Problems weren't problems, and it could just be the both of them happy. Enjoying their time together. Her hair floating around them in the water, soft strands tickling his shoulders.
He would meet her eyes and hold on to them, his own crimson staring deeply into her violet, words never spoken passing between them. She would lean closer, her mind wanting to do the same as his. He would meet her halfway, their lips brushing at first as the tingles erupt within them. Taking it slow, making sure that everything was natural and comfortable.
Lips pressing together, her lips tasting like sweet honey to him as it deepens, hands caressing and bodies beginning to move together. Take your time, he would tell himself. Go slow. Her hand would twirl into his hair, pulling and tugging as her body moves harder against his.
His hands shaking, faster, faster, faster, as he craves more. He cups her breast in one hand, her shirt still a barrier between, but he can feel the soft squishiness.
Hips grinding harder together, he can feel himself reaching a breaking point as her lips trail to his jaw, then down to his neck, soft kisses marking his burning skin.
Faster, faster, faster...
She sits up, putting her forehead to his, eyes hypnotizing him as she whispers through her perfect, pouty lips, "I love you."
"Fuck!" Dakki lurches forward, his body shaking as his cock explodes, white strands squirting into the water around him as he breathes heavily, hand still wrapped tightly around himself.
It takes a few minutes for his body to calm down, sweat dripping down his face as he leans his head back again.
"It's always her," he sighs, talking to himself out loud. "Why am I like this?"
He covers his face with his hands, groaning again as he shakes his head. "I'm going to go crazy like this, hell, I already am going crazy. I spent years being able to control this, and NOW it decides to be an issue?"
He splashes his hands back into the water around him, cracking his neck before looking back down into the dirty water. "Fucking gross."
He stands up, stretching his arms over his head as his cock swings lazily down. "At least that's done with for now," he shakes his head a little, stepping out of the bath and pulling the plug, then wrapping a towel around his waist.
"I wonder what she's doing right now..." he pouts, hearing the door open on the other side of the room.
He turns to look, eyes darkening as Lukas and James walk in.
"This will be fun," he says under his breath, stretching his arms over his head, his muscles in his chest flexing as he does. He cracks his neck on both sides, watching them closely as they approach.
"There you are, Red. We've been wondering where you ran off to," Lukas sneers, eyeing him up as they approach, both pairs of brown eyes stabbing into him.
"Just having a bath, sorry, were you wanting to join me? I finished for now, but you both can help yourself," Dakki grins, gesturing to the tubs behind him. "I'll tell you, though, the water doesn't get neary hot enough."
"Cut the shit, what did you do to Rhyder?" James butts in, making Dakki tilt his head.
Straight to the point, huh?
"He went on a mission for Altear? Didn't he already explain this?" He walks over to the sinks, resting his hands on the counter as he leans towards a rusting mirror. Red eyes stare back at him, wet crimson locks falling into his face as he watches the two men come up from behind.
"We know that's bullshit. He never would go out without his stuff. He wouldn't just disappear." Lukas' voice is low as he moves closer, reaching out to grab Dakki's shoulder.
Turning quickly, he takes the man's wrist in his grip, turning to look the human in the eyes. "What exactly are you getting at?" Dakki lowers his own voice, raising an eyebrow.
Lukas tries to pull away, but Dakki's grasp is firm.
"We think you did something to him," James stares hard, "you were the last person with him."
Dakki shrugs, releasing his grip as he lifts up his arms. "Not sure what to tell you, I can only say ask Altear."
Lukas lunges forward, pushing Dakki back up against the sink, "don't pull that card, just fucking tell us."
Stumbling back and righting himself, Dakki shows his teeth in a mischievous smile. "Do you really want to take this path? Isn't it easier to just accept what you're told?"
"You fucking bastard-" Lukas swings at him, aiming for his face, missing as Dakki dodges to the side. He swings upward, hitting the human with an uppercut to the chin.
Lukas falls back, hitting the ground hard. James takes his place, running at Dakki as a scream erupts from him.
He tries his aim at the red dragon, his arm being swiftly grabbed before being pinned behind his back. James squirms in Dakki's hold, curses erupting from him.
"Fuck you, you piece of shit. We're going to fucking ruin you, we're going to tell everyone what you did. We're going to tell the King, too. Then we're going to fucking enjoy raping your sorry, broken, ass. You'll be begging-"
Gurgling noises start to bubble up from the human's throat, blood spilling down his chest as his eyes widen.
"I'm tired of listening to the vile shit you say," Dakki breathes, his hand lowering the dagger he had stolen from James' side. He releases the man, letting him call to the floor as he holds his bleeding neck.
"I'm tired of all this blah blah talk of rape and shit, it's repulsive. You're repulsive. You really think it's going to scare me? It just pisses me off." Dakki crouches next to him, watching him with a smile as he falls over completely. "I didn't want to have to kill again, but thanks for the reason to get to."
"Fucking cunt," Lukas breathes, sitting up with his hand pressed against his head. "Now you're really going to die."
"If you go down that easily with just a punch, I'd love to see you try to kill me." Dakki smiles at the other human now struggling to get up, ragged brown hair falling into his face as he holds contact with the dragon. "I mean, is now the time I should let you know that I'm already dead?"
"You sure are," Lukas sneers, standing up and pulling his knife. "You're going to wish you were dead after this."
"No, you're not getting it, I AM dead," Dakki rolls his eyes as Lukas takes a step forward. "Do you not see your friend on the ground? Do you really want to go this route?" He tilts his head, unamused.
"You cocky asshole," Lukas seethes, preparing to lunge at the red dragon.
Dakki raises his hand, making a "come at me" gesture with a wide grin. He pauses as he sees movement behind Lukas, a tall man creeping up from behind. His eyes widen in surprise, his smile falling slightly.
"Where's that confidence going? Are you realizing I'm going to-"
CLUNK.
Lukas falls forward, his body hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"You took away my fun," Dakki pouts, crossing his arms as he looks at the older man clutching the back of his sword.
"Why do you feel the need to keep killing my men? It's an awful inconvenience." Altear, scolds, nose twitching as he looks at James still bleeding on the ground. "Such a mess, you're a pain in my ass."
"This one is still alive," he kicks at Lukas' head, "and you still have shit you want to know. Do you have somewhere to keep him till he wakes up?"
The captain of the guard sighs, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know a place. But we also need to summon the mortician to come get rid of this body and clean up the blood. Such a pain."
"Not my fault, you train these trash men," Dakki walks past him, patting him on the shoulder. "And you'll be happy to know, the dead one tried threatening me first." He smiles a canine toothed smile, leaning closer to the darker skinned man, "that's why I killed him. Lost all fun when he talked shit."
Altear rolls his eyes, turning to watch Dakki leave the bathroom. The red-head lifting up his hand, flying his middle finger as a good-bye.
𖤓𖤓𖤓
"If anyone starts to come down here, you try to stop them, ok? And knock three times on the door before letting them in." Finn whispers to Tate, the three of them huddled together outside of the mortuary.
"Yeah, cause that's not suspicious," Tate scoffs. "Oh, sorry, you need to go in there? Ok, "knock knock knock," yeah sure, head inside now."
"Then what do you think we should do?" Finn crosses his arms.
Kali looks between them both, her heart already racing. I hope I don't need to see dead people. Well, no, of course I should see them... I need to know if there's an elf... Oh no... what if there is one?
"I'll just scream," Tate shrugs nonchalantly.
"You don't think that's even more suspicious? Seriously?"
"I mean, I'll tell them I'm ghost hunting or something, I'll figure it out, just go inside. Stop bothering me with your dumb ideas." Tate shoos him towards the door.
"MY dumb ideas? Do you hear yourself?" Finn scrunches his nose.
"Tate is smart, come on. The longer we wait the less time we have." Kali whispers, grabbing Finn's arm softly. He quickly turns to her, sighing and nodding, hesitating as he looks down at her hands with a smile.
"You're right, I'll go first." He nods, hand wrapping around the door. It's large and made of dark wood, causing him to struggle a little to push it inward.
He looks inside and it's dark, making him pause to look at Kali with a reassuring nod.
They sneak inside, with her turning to look at Tate as he gives her confident thumbs up. She smiles and continues into the darkness, feeling uneasy with the bitter cold of the room.
Finn has moved across the darkened space with ease, lifting up a hand to the oil lamps to start a flame. Everything illuminates in a pale yellow hue, as he moves to other lamps on the walls.
Kali looks around slowly, her eyes taking everything in. The wall of covered in bricks, with square doors all organized on top of each other. Like little coffins, making a chill run through her body. A large desk sits near a sink, many vials, potions, and tools resting on it's surface. Large tarps and boxes are stacked on the opposite side of the room, with the remainder of the area being taken up by strong metal tables.
Two tables with bodies on them, covered in white sheets.
Her eyes are burning onto the sheets, looking intently at them. Finn finishes lighting the lamps, looking at her to see her gaze.
"Might as well rip it off like a bandaid," he jokes, trying to light the mood in the atmosphere, but she stays standing where she is.
"I haven't..." She gulps, "I haven't seen a dead body since... I was little." Since Dakki's.
"It's sad to see, but they can't hurt you. Come over here, let's check them together. We just need to see one missing a head, right?" His voice is calm, trying to be soothing, but the effect doesn't stick on her.
She approaches hesitantly, moving next to him as they look down at the first covered corpse. "How will we know it's an elf, though? Without the head?"
"Good point... but at least it's a start to know. I mean, how many women get decapitated in this kingdom?"
"I should ask you that question," she whispers, watching closely as his tan hand reaches over, grasping the white fabric in his hands.
His hand stills for a moment, before flinging back the blanket. She sucks in a breath, closing her eyes tightly.
"It's an old human man," Finn explains for her, taking a breath. "Not an elf. The next one..."
She opens her eyes now that the body is covered, mentally kicking herself for being too scared to look. He reaches for the next sheet, but she stops him.
"I want to do it..." she bites her lip as he nods. She leans closer, grabbing the rough fabric timidly.
She pulls it back quickly before she can pause, eyes widening as a woman's body is revealed. Her skin is pale like moonlight, completely naked. Scratches litter her perfect form, dirt buried under her broken nails. And above her neck... nothing.
Kali covers her mouth, trying to not scream as she looks at the decapitated victim. Dried blood crusted around the open flesh, nothing left.
"No... head." Kali whispers again, hands shaking as she can't peel her eyes from the poor woman.
"So he knows," Finn whispers back to her, taking his hand in hers to cover back up the body. "The poor women, the poor Prince."
"But I told you, there are ghosts!" Tate screams out, causing them both to look hurriedly to the door.
"Shit, we need to hide." Finn's voice is panicked and hoarse, grabbing her gently to try to lead her toward the boxes and tarps in the corner.
"Kali..." He says as she refuses to budge. She can't move, her body won't let her. She feels frozen in place, fear completely kicking in as she watches the door. "We need to, oh, fuck it..."
He scoops her up into his arms bridal style, her face crashing into his chest as she holds onto him tightly. He rushes to the corner, shielding them from the view of the rest of the room. Sliding down against the wall, she can hear his heart beating in his chest just as the door to the mortuary opens.
"The hell is going on tonight," the deep voice of the mortician groans. "Everything I'm having to do, then on top of that the crazy kid. Everyone in this castle is a fucking psycho."
Banging noises ring out as he drags in something wrapped in a sheet, he lugs it over to a table, huffing and grunting as he picks it up and lays it out onto a table.
"Clean up the blood, take the body, it's too late in the night for this. I thought I told them that I'm done with this after all these damned elves. I'm here to prep bodies, not be a cleanup crew."
Finn leans down, his lips resting on Kali's head as she trembles in his arms, squeezing him tightly to her. The man heads to the sink, running water pouring out and making a loud noise that allows Finn to whisper to her, "it's ok, take deep breaths."
She nods slightly, trying to focus on her breathing, but her chest is becoming painful, beating erratically and making her feel like she can't inhale.
"Listen to me, ok? Deep breath... 1... 2... 3... hold it..." He whispers in her ear, his tone deep and soothing.
She does as he says, sucking in a quiet breath.
"Now release. 4... 5... 6..."
For a couple of minutes, as the mortician cleans the area, Finn counts on, her heart finally starting to rest as she closes her eyes. Calm words leave his lips into her ear, "you're doing amazing. You're ok, everything is fine. I won't let anything happen to you."
She relaxes against him, her body feeling drained and exhausted from the anxiety she had been feeling. He pulls her closer in his arms, rubbing circles on her shoulder as he softly and slowly rocks her back and forth.
The mortician lets a cough out, wiping sweat from his head. "Well, I'm not doing the rest of this until morning, fuck I want to sleep." He retires to the door, opening it and closing it behind him as he leaves.
Kali lets out a relieved sigh, looking up at Finn. He's always grinning down at her, his brown eyes sparkling in the candlelight. "Looks like we have our answers."
She nods and he pats her head, "you did so good. We did it." His hand slides down her head, resting on the back of her neck.
She blinks a few times, realizing the position they're in. She's in his lap, his legs crossed beneath her. Her hands are resting on his beating chest and their faces are only a couple of inches apart.
Her eyes look up at him, a moment passing between them. Butterflies start to erupt inside of her, heating bellowing throughout her insides as she can't help but look between his gaze and his plump lips. "Yeah..." she trails off, biting the inside of her lips.
He's so close, I want to kiss him.
Her hand trails up his chest, his pecs flexing beneath her touch.
"Kali, I..." He leans closer to her, their noses are almost touching. She tilts her head up, closer and closer as he tries to get the courage to say the rest.
"Am I interrupting something?" Tate's voice rings out, making them both jump, Kali sitting up quickly as she moves away from Finn, much to both of their disappointment.
"What the fuck, where did you come from?" Finn barks out, glaring up at the white haired man standing above them, arms crossed.
"In the mortuary of all places?" He frowns, then tilts his head, "I mean I guess if it gets you off, but it's still a weird choice-"
"Shut up, Tate," Finn groans, sitting up a little more as well, looking at Kali with sad eyes.
"Did you get the evidence?" Tate crouches down, getting to eye level with the both of them.
"Well," Kali says with a shaky breath, "there's a decapitated body of a woman on the table, and the mortician said something about having to deal with elves. So I guess that lines up."
"That's great news! Well, terrible news, but still good news!" Tate grins, gaining a look of annoyance from Finn.
"We could have figured more out if you hadn't let him in here," he gives the younger man a glare.
"Uh huh, sure, I did great. And don't act like you didn't appreciate it. It looks like you took no time to take advantage of curling up and hiding together-"
"Forget it, come on, let's go," Finn coughs, standing up quickly, reaching his hand out to Kali as well.
She takes it, the softness of his touch making her smile as he lifts her off the ground.
"We can tell the prince tomorrow, for now... let's just go take baths. This place is gross." Finn rolls his shoulders, heading towards the door.
"Wait for me!" Kali calls out, chasing after him.
Tate watches them both, tilting his head as he looks between them. "Interesting."