Shot through the heart, and you're to blame

[shesapir8]

[It's just an ordinary morning when she wakes up. The only thing different is that she stirs before the Summoner, carefully stealing her way out of their bed and his arms to stand in the centre of their small room. It's not the largest she's had, nor the best decorated but it's a place she's called home for quite a few sweeps. The only other place she had ever though of in that way was the cabin of her ship, with all it's finery and space and even then... she prefers this little shack they share, with just enough room for the things they absolutely must have.

She prefers it because it's theirs, not just hers. She prefers it for he's here.

The moon is only just starting to peek out and carefully Mindfang stretches, crossing to watch the sunset as she fully wakes. Her messy tangle of hair is no longer a pure black, small streaks of silver threading their way though in their own little pattern. Her naked skin, covered with blue scars is starting to loose it's firmness, softness appearing were only straight lines once were. There's a slight ache in her shoulder where metal meets flesh and she knows her blinded eye would look a deeper red is she was to check. She's getting old, a laughable concept when she's lived through so much, seen so much and done so much. She's been old for many sweeps, but it's only recently that she's begun to look old. And even as she accepts it, she loathes it, loathes the weaknesses that seem to now come, how her body becomes less agile, her feet slower.

Absent-mindedly she brushes her hair over her shoulder, the tangle covering the tattoo of a long dead rival and combs her fingers through it. Now she turns back to him, watching the Summoner sleep, the last of daylight fading into orange. She should wake him, prepare for the night. They don't have time to spare these days, especially not when they'll be a battle any day. She should wake him.

Instead she just watches, a genuine smile playing on her lips.]

Comments

[uprisings]

[He's already stirring actually, her sudden absence from his arms setting off little alarm bells in his head. They're long outdated, of course. He has no reason to believe she is in trouble when they have slept relatively peacefully here for sweeps now]

[Still, there is a reason he usually wakes before her, and before too long, he jerks into consciousness, whole body tensed for a fight he already knows is not there. But only when he sets his eyes on her does he manage to calm down again, relaxing back into the bed. Truth is, he is not much better off then her when it comes to the signs of aging. A little more then two decades into his life, and the edges of his hair are already shot through with grey, his many and varied scars giving him trouble on a night daily basis. He grows more and more tired over the sweeps and it is only her face highlighted in the sun's last glow that gets him up some nights]

[He gives her a slow, lazy smile before burying his face in his pillow, muffling his voice. He just can't be bothered feeling the urgency of the revolution when he has just woken up like this]

You're up early.

[shesapir8]

[The smile stays in place even as she crosses the floor back to him, fingers falling out of her face. Her face is now lined, tiny creases from all the emotions she's had through her life and yet she still goes on. She knows she has to, there's no use waiting for the death she knows will come. She'd rather enjoy her time after all, what she has left.

It's coming, soon she knows. Each day the face in the mirror slowly becomes one she recognises as that of her corpse. So close, and now she starts to hate it. Hates it and yet does not run from it, because to run is to leave him, and she couldn't. She's waited so long, she'll never leave until she's forced from the world.

Kneeling on the bed she leans down to kiss his shoulder, streaked hair a curtain around her cheeks. It's careful and soft with none of her usual rush. She's different, oh so different now, and she's learnt the sweetness that comes with relaxed kiss, gentle pressure. There are days she misses the blood stains on her chin, the taste of purple blood in her mouth, her own blood too, but not enough to bite him.

No, it's just a kiss. And yet it is so much more. A soft chuckle escapes her as she shakes free of her musings to half drape herself over him, watching carefully with her eye.]

I was watching the sunset. Admiring it, I suppose... so brutal, and yet so beautiful as it fades.

[uprisings]

[Honestly, for as much as she hates the lines on her face, those little signs of growing old, he adores them. When they had begun together, he had always wondered what it'd be like, him aging away in an instant compared to her, and her looking young and perfect for the entirety. But here she is with grey streaks in her hair, and he absentmindedly winds his fingers around them as she lays against him]

[He turns his head a little, horn catches against the bed before too long, but he can still smirk at her over his shoulder]

I always preferred the dawn. [And he shifts a little, tugging a little on her hair when he bends his arm and taps his lips with a forefinger. Come here, and kiss him for real, Mindfang my dear]

[shesapir8]

[His fascination with it is the only reason she doesn't look into dyes. That and it helps her to forget the distance in their ages. He is like a bright candle, one that's quickly burning it's way to the end while she remains a smouldering fire, one that will never truly die.

It hurts sometimes. She could show him so much if he aged like her. Naturally she knows she has many sweeps left, enough to show him all of Alternia, from the mountains to the deepest reaches of the oceans. But they'll never be time for that.

Perhaps in another life.

Sitting up she moves forward, hand sliding under his head to ease the pressure on his horns. At such a size they could snap any day and they don't want that.] Of course you did. Gave you an excuse to go to sleep, or at least retire from duties. But it's no where near as pretty as watching night creep in. [And just to be a pain she'll kiss him on the very tip of his nose.]

[uprisings]

[Hm. Okay, here is something he hates. He does not want to be treated delicately. He may be older, his horns may be going brittle, but he knows how to take care of himself. He doesn't need her easing the pressure for him. But then she's teasing him, and he knows she means well, so he doesn't say anything about it]

[Wrinkles his nose when she kisses it, pushing himself up after. Following her, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck and kissing her himself. Just briefly and quite sweetly, but still. It's too early for him to put up with her being a pain!!!]

I'll have you know, I worked damn hard every day of my life. I deserved all the sleep I got...!

[shesapir8]

[Like she cares. She's lost enough, and she refuses to lose him through his own stubbornness. She can out stubborn him and she will. But she'll do it with a playful smirk and a laugh that's become softer over time, no longer the cackle of her youth.

That laugh forms now as he sits up, her hands falling to his shoulders as she gives in to the one around her neck and kisses him. Soft, sweet, and she relaxes, melting into his hold till she rests against him. Relaxed. At ease. Safe. It's funny what he makes her feel. Again she chuckles]

You could still do all that on less sleep. Lazy, lazy... besides there are better things to do indoors when the sun is up than sleep.

[uprisings]

[Of course he remembers her wilder days. Their wilder days really. It is something miraculous that she has calmed so much, that she will relax like that in his arms and he leans back against the headboard with her, keeping an arm wrapped loosely, if possessively, around her waist. This is... so good, and the fact that he can say that of a blueblood turns his own smirk into something sappy and desperately fond. He might be getting old, but he's still a huge, romantic dork tbh]

Are you sure? I can't think of anything... [E H E H no sorry having a bit of a hard time saying that with a straight face whoops]

[shesapir8]

[He's her romantic dork. And honestly, she loves how dorky he can get, how much he can fuss over the little detail. The fact that he can recall details from sweeps ago, and that they're all minuscule irrelevant details to her. The way her hair looks in certain lights, or the way her lips curve. The way her fangs show when she laughs, a brilliant white against blue lips.

Only after years of practice has she taught herself to remember details like that about him. It's not a natural thing, and that he does it so easily amuses her. Settling against his chest she quirks an eyebrow, carefully making circles on his chest with her nails as she smirks up at him]

Nothing at all? And here I thought your memories wouldn't be fading yet. [Sighs exaggeratedly, shifting herself on him] I suppose I could remind you...

[uprisings]

[Ah. Well as romantic as he can be, there is still something absolutely arresting about her fingers against his chest and the way she shifts just so. Sometimes it's nice to skip the romance. Sometimes things move too quickly to deal in the minute details that he is so fond of, especially when they are so caught up in a war. Moments of intimacy are few and far between, so they must take them when they can. This is something he has learned from her in his time. And he's learned it well, if the faint smirk that crosses his mouth is any indication. Slides a hand, almost absentmindedly, across her hip to rest against her thigh]

If you've got the time. It does no good for a, leader to be forgetting something important after all.

[shesapir8]

[She moves almost like a snake, her body sliding against his as she moves to straddle his hips. The sheets pool around their waists and Mindfang is completely comfortable in her nudity, lazily stretching, twisting her arms up behind his neck. Her lips brush over his, her body presses against his and she savours the moment, the warmth of his body contrasting with her lower temperature. So many differences, and yet she likes to think she knows his body as well as her own.

She nuzzles his throat before stretching up to murmur in his ear, voice a soft purr.] Oh I think I can spare some time... the question is if you can. Because I don't tolerate interruptions or early leaving. You'll be staying for the whole lesson.

[uprisings]

[...oh dear. She's really distracting hahalsdkjflk But she does have a point, and so he is silent for a moment. And really, it's a moment too long. It should not take him any sort of notable pause to remember who he set in charge for the early evening. His memory really is fading, much as he hates to be reminded of it. Glances out the window to the falling light, knowing in a sort of instinctive way what time it is and--]

[Oh right. That impatient yellowblood girl. The one who had been vying for a command position for so long. He never would have given it to her - she does not have the temperament for command - but their forces have dwindled rather uncomfortably low in the past few perigees. A few bad decisions maybe. Or, more probably, there is a snitch somewhere in his ranks. The Empress has just been too well prepared for them lately for him to suspect anything else]

[Frowns slightly at the thought, before letting his attention return to his matesprit, turning just enough to kiss the corner of her jaw. He keeps his own worrying out of his voice surprisingly well]

You know I always have time for a good schoolfeeding. [Hopefully....... He knows the girl will not come get him until she's decided someone's being a problem which, he can only hope, will not happen until midnight at least]

[shesapir8]

[She's silent as he thinks, busying herself by running her fingers through his hair, claws scraping lightly on his scalp. Enough pressure for a pleasant scratch but no where near enough to draw blood. Knots are gently eased out and she finds herself humming softly, an old song she only half remembers. It seems her memory is fading too, but she lets it.

She has enough memories that she can loose a few things. As long as it's never the important ones. Which won't happen.

Coming back into herself she returns to light kiss before continuing on to his jaw, tender kisses following the line of it. She chuckles, rising to meet his eyes as her body shifts against his, her eyes half closing as she moves teasingly against him, never quite enough pressure and all her touches fleeting]

The question is how long you'll retain the lesson this time... you never truly focus, and I always have to repeat myself, don't I? [Again she rocks down, and good lord, help whoever even tries to interrupt her now]

[uprisings]

[Haaa, he never really could take being teased, especially by her, and so when she rocks down that last time, he shifts enough to press back against her a little firmer]

What can I say. Schoolfeeding was never my strength...! [...which of course is true. What schoolfeeding he ever got was minimal at best. He has learned everything he knows from experience and curiosity. But despite the teasing, he does know what he's doing here, and so he slides his hands down her back, lets his claws trace faintly over her scars as he goes]

Besides, you can't tell me you don't enjoy it a little~

[shesapir8]

[She smirks, pressing down more firmly as he pushes up, her hands resting on his chest to support her. Like always her metal hand is cool to the touch but really, he should be used to that by now. But it does make it interesting with her body temperature being slightly higher, but still noticeably lower against his.

He's so warm it's wonderful yes. Relaxing she runs her hands down his chest, leaning forward to kiss him]

True... but I was never your teacher, the lessons would have stuck.

And you will never get an answer for that, so stop asking~ [Nips his lip]

[uprisings]

[It had taken him a long time to get used to how cool she was compared to him. Sweeps of experience had taught him that a cool hand against his chest was probably going to end in disaster, but here he is with two making his skin prickle as they trail across his skin. He leans up into the kiss, smiling despite himself when she nips his lip]

I've never heard of a teacher who stifles her students' curiosity...! [Lets his hands settle against her thighs, bracing against them as he rocks up to meet her a little harder as well] Maybe you're uh, overestimating your abilities?

20 days later dfghjkl

[shesapir8]

[She laughs, rolling her hips against her, feeling the responses he's provoking in her slow start to sneak out. There's the slightest hint of warmth between her legs, warmth that's still too low to be his, but higher than her normal temperature.

Ah but I hear these days they don't give away personal information. And let's face it, I was never your mentor, for good reason too. [A low laugh, the sound husky as she leans down, dragging sharp teeth over the lobe of his ear] I never overestimate. I'm always right. Don't you know?