[ P ] till the end of the end

ANTEROS ABERSENTHE
WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF FAIR?

War was silent, but he wasn't quite sure it was over for good. The lands were being separated, as to be expected with such drastic change, and he feared it wouldn't only change the lands, but its inhabitants as well. He looked over Nora as the sun beamed through the moth hole cloth, shining against his golden eyes as he waited for her to rise. His mind was going a thousand miles a minute since they found Cory, and also while Willow roamed the home with her child. He was glad to know that all were safe and away from prying eyes, but what did this mean for their future?

His cold nose found Nora's nape as he caressed her dark fur. Inhaling her intoxicating scent as he did time and time again, it would never get old. She had brought him comfort and the feeling of what home really was after such a long, long while.

"How did you sleep?" He would question when her eyes finally fluttered opened. She had tossed and turned in it, muttering things here and there as though she was disturbed. He worried for her, and only hoped that she felt safe alongside him.

code by claerie

noraseafarer

As she tossed and turned in her slumber, her mind raced with visions of blood and gore. The war was over, but not for her. In her dreams, or rather nightmares, there was a battle still raging and she could not get the terrors out of her head no matter what she tried to take to sleep at night. Then there were visions of Leo and his ghostly visage she could not quite shake-- his threats to haunt her for the rest of her life still played in her mind over and over despite not having seen him since. Whatever tricks the fae, or something far worse, had played on her that day seemed to be over with. At least, for now. With a start, she awoke.

She found herself cradled in Anteros' arms, safe and sound. The familiarity of their home filled her senses and she blinked away the sleep as she tilted her chin up to look into those warm golden eyes. "Not well," she admitted. If she could, she'd have wiped the sweat from her brow, but alas she was a beast with fur not skin. She drew a breath and buried her face in the soft fur of his chest. She should get up, but she didn't want to yet.

A few moments passed as she inhaled his scent and felt her frayed nerves begin to calm. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she spoke again. "I dream of the war, of the fighting and the the blood and the death. It haunts me," she told him, peeling her face away from him and looking up once again into his eyes.

"I think it's finally over and while we didn't win, we got a slice of something to call ours. We got... enough. Didn't we?" she said, her words ending in a curious question. She felt like Saora was enough, for now, for her family to thrive. But what did that mean for Anteros, who had a paw in both worlds? "Will you return to your estate in the Mainlands or will you stay... with me?" she asked, her ocean eyes growing bleary at the thought of him leaving.

"..."

table by hale. image from unsplash.

ANTEROS ABERSENTHE
WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF FAIR?

He could feel his heart slowly sink when she said she had not slept well and the reasoning behind it. How could she? Death riddled the battlegrounds, but one of them in particular was a man he knew she once cared for, despite the way he treated her. Some deserved death for the most serious crimes, but then there was Leo. While Anteros was not enticed by his behavior he did not think Leo deserving of being swept off the earth entirely. He could have paid a different way. As she curled deeper into his fur he held her close, placing soft kisses atop the crown of her head as she inhaled his scent. "You have endured a lot in such a short time Nora," he exhaled softly. "I feel better knowing the fight was not for nothing. That you all stood your ground, and took back some of your home because of it. It goes to show you are not afraid and that you will never be silenced." He gently placed his cold nose onto hers, his words barely a whisper.

"You are a force, Nora."

There was a short silence before her voice broke through it once more. "Will you return to your estate in the Mainlands or will you stay... with me?" Dark lips curled into a smile, he knew the answer already it was far too easy and one he didn't think twice about. "There is no home without you," his golden eyes rested on her face.

code by claerie

noraseafarer

His words were reassuring and brought a smile to her face, despite everything. She wanted to thank him for all that he had done for her, for everything, but she couldn't find the words to. Instead she simply lifted her chin and placed a tender kiss upon his cheek. It was all she could think to say.

As she drew away, she looked up into those golden eyes as they met hers, telling her that there was no home with her. That he would stay. Her stomach curled into itself nervously and excitedly, bringing forth a teary-eyed smile to her face. "And you, Anteros... you are my home too," she whispered softly. And the girls, too, of course -- they were not a second thought but sometimes she didn't think it needed to be said.

"I love you," she whispered.

She reached up to kiss him again, all thoughts of him abandoning her for the Mainlands gone from her mind. All she wanted was to be near him, to breath his scent and hear his voice wash over her like fresh rain. She closed her ocean blue eyes as her kiss deepened with need. If he had clothes, she'd have begun to peel them off his body with her lithe hands.

"..."

table by hale. image from unsplash.

ANTEROS ABERSENTHE
WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF FAIR?

When he looked at her there was peace. Behind those eyes of burning amethyst there was a gentleness held for him, that every time he lost himself within them he could feel her love for him. It was confirmed with the words, and the kisses placed along his muzzle. He could feel her yearning for him as she pulled him in closer, each kiss left a burning in its wake hotter than the one before it. Love. He felt it once before, but this was different, she was different. Anteros wouldn't have changed one thing if it meant he would be here again, even though he had hurt another heart in the process.

She was meant for him, and he for her.

He placed kissed along her muzzle in return as he drew closer. When he did finally break it was to croon his muzzle over the back of her nape until he reached the velvet of her ear. "And I love you," he used the weight of his chest to position her neatly upon the covers, the dark hairs of her shoulders intertwining with the soot of his chest.

There was a love he shared with her that he hadn't shared with another. He loved to be near her, he loved the way she was able to make him feel, but he also loved how close they would become when their loved fueled into intimacy. There were no other words that would prove his love for her in return as he position her beneath him with a swiftness. Though his hunger bubbled to feel her close, and quickly, he would show her nothing less than a dance of two bodies, slow, and steady, but ignited all the same.

fade to black

code by claerie

noraseafarer

Their dance was one she knew well at this point but also one she didn't think she would ever tire of. As they kissed he moved above her and their bodies twined together in a lasting embrace. She had been through so much but he had been there to pick her up when she needed him the most -- he had been her rock, her reason... and she would show him just how much she appreciated him.

... fade to black ...

Still entwined in his arms, Nora nearly dozed off again but the sun shining in through the window kept her wide away. She stared up at the ceiling for a long moment before turning her body to face him once again. They could spend all day in bed together and she'd think it a day well spent but perhaps another time; she was growing restless and decided in the moment that she would like to go out. Maybe they could head into town together and find something to do there.

"How do you feel about going out today? We could take the girls into town and maybe do something... fun. I think we all deserve it." she said. They all deserved some normalcy.

Because this was life now; this was the new normal. Here in Saora they were finally free and despite the nightmares that still haunted her she wanted to experience that freedom and that joy again. She wanted to live.

exit via town outing?

"..."

table by hale. image from unsplash.