Follow the White Rabbit

She eased her face lower into the water as anxiety ate away at her, expecting a harsh response and for his sass to come back fully swinging. Truth be told, she kind of hoped he didn’t hear her at all, oh so tempted to close her own eyes so she couldn’t witness his answer. It wasn’t hard to picture how it would unfold. Probably a lot of telling her everything that was wrong with her and then some, much like her mother had when she was still alive. Nobility seemed to be good at that. Ripping someone’s soul out from their very chest with a smile so easily on their visage no matter the horrors of which they had unleashed. It was one of the reasons she hated parties of notoriety, they were full of such drab and cold individuals just as Mithras was up till a hour maybe ago? She wasn’t sure how much time had passed with nothing to count for it. No sun or moon to dance above. No tides like the ocean that might rise higher at night. Nothing but that serendipity she was all too intoxicated by.

Still, her fear didn’t stop her eyes from searching him, pleading in silence for him to say yes. A no was truly not the harshest thing that could be said in the moment but she could only beg the non existent gods and fae to not shatter her heart.

His silence, the lack of movement made her watch him with scrutiny of the fearful kind. Her heart felt like it was doing jumping jacks as her limbs ached for her to withdraw. He wasn’t moving away. That was at least a good sign she would think. If he loathed her as much as she believed, she would think he would show it in a repulsed display. Her tongue felt exceptionally dry as she was starting to think he wasn’t going to answer at all.

Everything was still, it seemed like even the mist had stopped moving as she fixated on his lips and demanded to turn away once his lips did move. She wasn’t sure how to take his answer. To be hopeful or to feel rejected because honestly, feeling like both were very much possible by how he worded it. It wasn’t a no. It wasn’t a yes. It was barely a maybe.

What she wanted? The question seemed so unusual.

“I…” she paused, clenching her teeth, not wanting to be any more vulnerable than she already had been. “I think I’ve already fallin for ya.” She reluctantly replied, feeling like just drowning herself now. The boisterous woman was long gone, sounding more like a shy mouse. “Maybe that’s why ya talkin so mean all the time hurts more than when others do it. Normally I couldn't care less what others think o me. All I can think about doing right now is kissin ya,” She swallowed, drifting away from him as if trying to flee but she would keep at least close enough to where she could see him, too concerned about losing him in this haunted landscape to truly vanish.

-attempts to exit without exiting lol-

Deep within there was certainty over what she wanted to hear though twisting to snare that notion came how easily he could lie. Tell her it was an impossibility, to give up entirely on ever winning him over with her peculiarities and antics. Tease over how wine ‘helped’ to sway the mind. Hells the draconian could even grant the simple utterance of a yes, give way to what could be and yet he hardly did either. Mithras refused to crush her entirely yet upon the same breath neither confirmed nor denied all she may wish.

Love was a double edged sword, with him it could never be promised for at times he questioned what such a thing was even meant to feel like. The concept of it understood in passing phrases, in the faint flickers thought to ignite in the depths of his subconscious once upon a time. But now? Now one was left to wonder if anything experienced thus far truly was ‘love’ or the undying romance others whispered of. Doubtful.

It was all rather confusing, however, this was not something the serpent planned to admit out loud. He’d allow nothing more than a slow breath to flee his lungs as instead a query was issued in return. Hoping to keep up the momentum of this back and forth, pry for something in turn after offering forth at least a portion of what another asked. Just as they’d been doing for a majority of their time within this intoxicating dreamscape. Even still he could feel it clawing at the mind, attempting to coax forth things he may have never said without this strange sensation of inebriation. Ever more still lingering upon his tongue, jaws daring to part…

Only to hear her own lyrics falter before his could rise anew. Phrases swallowed back as he focused in on how her own found pause, faded out only to trickle upon a whispered breath. Something so unlike her and yet nothing went unheard. How could it? Her admittance bid ears to swivel back and lips to draw thin, “Oh… shit.” Curse fell under his breath, a flash of fang as a muzzle turned in ways where she would not be able to garner what was said. If he were more himself such a thing would have been brushed off, a flourish and tease of knowing just how irresistible he could be.

But there was nothing. Nothing but silence as he listened, allowed pale eyes to drift from where he knew her own to linger as if taking into consideration all she said. And in truth, he did. The subdued quiet of her tone was a far cry from what so often filled the senses. All of this was different, unnatural compared to what one so often displayed; it was clear more than his own boundaries had fallen here. Whatever shields were held slowly cracked until hers alone completely shattered - there was hope his was not so close behind.

For a moment eyes fell closed, steadying breath slipping from dark lips before that starlit crown turned toward her in full. Just in time to witness the way she drifted away from him. Undulating ripples a dead give away as the rolled against his throat in slow rhythm, giving way to how water shifted about her form. He would not chase her. Gauging the depths before him was hardly a task he wished to take on, not when so much else fluctuated within his thoughts. And while there was uncertainty on just how far she wandered - or if she even still faced him - it would not halt the askance that surprised even him.

“Then why don’t you?” Something he felt was already known and yet perhaps he could at least grant her this. See if whatever spark, whatever brewing notion she supposedly felt within may rise from that simple act. One which held chances of setting nerve endings alight, press past the tolerance granted by this numbing haze into something of discomfort or jolts of pain. However, this was a small enough gesture, it could be stopped as easily as it may begin with but a turn of his head. Redirection toward places hopefully less sensitive lest he pulled from her entirely.

Besides he still wanted to know something of her. Even if it may seem to be stalling, and perhaps it was, but nevertheless this could be the easiest chance to discover the rise and dips of her visage. Now there was no other conversation that may be derailed when all seemed to focus on this, “I only ask one thing of you first.” A matter they’d already discussed prior, one he had denied in the moment, “If you would allow it, I still wish to know what you look like. Nothing more.” Nothing that strayed beyond her neck.

He wanted more to go off of not just rely on the descriptions she offered. How she saw herself was not how he or any other may… and she didn’t exactly go into much detail other than an array of colors and how tall she stood. That underlying musculature something already felt over her hide yet none of this spoke over the contours of her face. How skin and fur clung to shifting muscle and constructs of bone. Even with this there would be so much still left unknown - but it would be a start. So long as one gave approval, so long as all a serpent hissed was even seen or if it would fade into obscurity upon her silence. That would be enough of a sign to drop it entirely.

A deep breath would be drawn in to try to calm her nerves as her skin prickled with a timidness she didn’t really like showing but at least he couldn’t witness it with his own eyes. That only made it vaguely better, but he was always staring in her direction, empty as it might be, so it wasn’t entirely like she was alone right now. He could probably hear each waver in her consumption of oxygen, each anxious flick of her tongue slapping against her nose to wet it, as if she wasn’t soaked enough crouched in water. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised he was still trying to locate her despite her retreat, feeling he might be scared in this unfamiliar place with nothing to go on beside hearing and even that was lacking as far as she knew. There was no wind, that she could tell meaning water wasn’t likely making much sound and he mentioned the lack of animal noises.

Her heart ached a little at the thought it must feel like he was dead here. Maybe that should have been a question she asked in their game, if no sight was like how death was told to be. It was a little late for that game any longer, she just wanted to sink into the water and die right now. How ironic, wondering if it was like death and wanting to be dead. She nearly snort laughed to herself at how ridiculous she must be to allow herself to get this flustered over just talking about a dream of romance that wasn’t even really an option.

If her gaze hadn’t been on him, she would have missed him speaking to her but what she could make out didn’t sound like reality. “Cause you hate when I do anything physical, especially making you covered in MY spit,” she murmured, feeling her ears warm, only answering the question as if to verify he really just said that, and it wasn’t just her eyes playing tricks on her. This place was one riddle after the next, it wouldn’t be that strange if it started to distort more than just sensations and cognition, though she probably was being more reasonable than she normally was in his view of things. She was quieter, softer, more reachable just like he was being today. There was no denying it was easier like this, where they weren’t fighting every moment of everyday. Though she knew he already said it wouldn’t stay this way, she had hoped it would once they were free of this dream state.

A bargaining chip was played, and it suddenly felt more normal and not just some fantasy she was having as he wanted something in return. There was mild hesitation to move, still kind of wanting to run from this whole situation but her body would inch forward toward him. At first slow as she resisted but as desire overwhelmed past reprimands, she would float to him, feeling that intense longing that dared her to break the void between them without holding anything back. “Go on, I’m right ere,” she said timidly. Still, she was gentle, lowering her muzzle to him, tempted to take her part of the deal first but instead her nose would brush his cheek so his own muzzle would find its way into the delicate hairs of her face. Lowering her head slightly more so that he’d be able to reach every part of her head; be it with paws or his muzzle. Closing her eyes proactively so he wouldn’t poke them out and because it would be easier for her if she didn’t have to focus on his expressions, at least until she was more comfortable.

Creeping silence was all that filled his ears at first as everything seemed to still and stretch into an eternity even if it lasted for but a few moments. Nature was as silent as ever amidst the peculiarities of the lagoon, leaving nothing but the ever present caress of mist to fill the senses. There were no ripples cascading against his frame, no movement in the water to even conjure them into existence. But most of all, there came no voice; only her breathing and the fluctuating beat of her heart.

Perhaps she truly had looked away, been fixated upon unseen horizons in search of an escape that this realm seemed so set on denying them. Leaving him to nothing but his own thoughts. Those which brought a jaw to tighten as unspoken phrase huffed through his mind, ‘Forget it.’ There was nothing to be done if permissions were not granted… at least not until a softened murmur shattered the quiet. Lyrics refusing to pierce his skull as vividly as they did outside of this intoxicating haze, almost as if she did not wish to be heard.

Yet even the faintest whisper did not oft escape his ears as they swiveled upon her in fixation, for so easily did the serpent linger on her words now. Those which soon bid attentive gesture to preen back with a sigh. That… was a fair point. He’d never found pleasure in being adorned with spittle even should it come as a side effect of another’s care. Always it would be a part of chewed poultices - no matter how unsanitary in his eyes - or laced over the very tongue which dared to drift over the worst of injures whenever they may decorate flesh. All of it done in an act to clean away excess blood and debris without drenching a hide in water under claims of it being ‘too cold’.

Proclamations Mithras still refused to believe no matter how truthful, just find a way to heat the waters without needing to drag him to steaming springs. How troublesome could it be? Very. It was a question he need not even ask and yet still it sprang to mind. Maybe he could get an renowned historian or architect to figure out a way to implement such a thing into the reaches of his very own estate. Then there could be no excuse, and better yet, he would not have to share such waters with disgusting strangers. An idealistic notion. One that may be impossible but even complaints cannot remain at the forefront of his mind for long as gentle coaxing drew him back to what unfolded before him now.

All thought lingered on what was wanted in these moments. A rare craving for touch, for the information that only it could provide to him. They could make a deal. Each gaining something they desired the end. If only she agreed for it was hard to tell if she would give in after denial had been issued over this very matter within this very lagoon. Yet the telling lap of minuscule waves betrayed her motions as each delicate brush grew shorter and shorter. Until a muzzle brushed to him and nearly brought a figure to jolt. If it had not been for the soften whisper of her voice then perhaps a start may have become obvious, for now it remained subdued. Quieted beneath the way he near froze instead.

The draconian was slow to move at first, a crown tilting into her own allowing the tender touch of his own muzzle against her as if testing the waters. Seeing if nerves sang out in their wavering symphonies upon touch, see if receptors would scream as if bitten… yet there was nothing but a dull ache. Enough of a sign to coax him further as delicately dark lips trailed her jawline, the chill of a nose soon dipping against her throat only to hover there for a moment before pulling back. Slight readjustments made as a figure propped itself up a bit, allowing paws to take over.

Pressing to her visage with the subtle drag of claws, those which never pressed hard enough to snag or tear at skin; only delve into each dip of those unknown structures. It was she who would be committed to memory through the delicate tracings that touch alone could craft in a minds eye. Digits brushing through furs to rove against the delicate flesh hidden beneath. Ever careful not to harm as thumbs traced her cheek bones, drifting to feel the gradual hollow toward her eyes without daring to sink into them.

Without so much as lifting his touch it slid up over fluffed ears where fingers wrapped and dipped before finding the edge of her jaw. Trailing the path taken mere moments ago by his own features, steadily moving toward her chin with a slow pull as touch splayed. Softened scales running over her lips all while nails held in slow drag against what could be reached of her neck in the same motion. Again he would linger, longer this time as those resting against her lips trickled to their edges. Soon dipping to join the rest in a mix of cradling her jaw and offering the teasing brush of talons to her throat.

She remained in place, holding in a breath as he returned what she knew wasn’t affection, but her body would argue it was, feeling her heart quicken from the first delicate brush of his muzzle. Each hair that moved could be felt, senses heightened tenfold in an instant. Internally she was giving herself pep talks to stay calm, it meant nothing and was just a little touch. On her face, where she was rarely physically caressed. Intimate as each breath sent a chill down her spine as it laced into her fur and pranced deeper still to her skin. She could handle this, she could cope. See it as nothing different than one of their occasional snuggles in the winter nights that grew too cold.

All her sanity would shatter when he glided that touch down along her jaw and into the curve on her neck, making her let out an audible gasp at each little tickle. Each tiny electrical jolt that it triggered to travel down her spine. It was like an adrenaline rush and her legs were suddenly loaded with energy that she couldn’t dispel without destroying the moment at hand. There was an odd craving to run in circles for an hour as if chasing her tail, just as much as there was a desire to pin him against the wall of the lagoon and dine on his every delicate curve. She wasn’t sure which direction was more tantalizing in the moment where flight and desire argued with one another.

Just as soon as that trail of a muzzle had ghosted her neck, it had retracted and left unsheathed wires to short circuit along her skin. Her eyes blinking open frantically, confused why he stopped or perhaps expecting this dream to end and for her to be back in a world of reality. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust but there he was, suddenly perching up raising himself from the dripping waters that clung to his fur. Had her fur not been soaked, tufts might be standing on end as she took him in, unmoving as paws mindlessly found her. Not surprised he wasn’t clumsy; he was as elegant as he always was and all the more beautiful where he rested so vulnerable before her.

As damp pads gained purchase, she smiled a little, finding this a little less stimulating than his nose and lungs dusting her in kisses. Her eyes only breaking from his when talons were dragged along them, causing a giggle to crack the silence of his world but not her own. With it came a sentiment that she allowed to escape her thoughts. “I wish I could 'ear each rise and fall of your lungs, each strum of your 'eart, alongside that voice that evades me foreva,” she humored with her eyes closed as he brushed fingers along them. All she had was this feeling and his wintery perfume to sate her in knowing he was still there.

Once he moved on from feeling her sockets, she popped them back open. Gaze lingering on his lips as she felt fingers moving away from her face and along her ears and neck, making her want to fluff up like a cat over such sensitive places that made her squirm a little subconsciously as heat radiated like a thousand suns in her ear tips.

Her ears perked up when he came back to her face, feeling a jolt as he reached her lips in a rather playful fashion. Her ears splayed; flustered and mildly annoyed by him clearly trying to make her panic. Problem was it was working. She in some ways wanted to run again as her chin and neck were caressed, feeling like her heart might give out on her any second. Instead of listening to that flighty response, she wanted to get back at him for making her feel this way. Raising her own hinds, she’d hook one paw around his back as a cushion to brace him from touching any mud as delicately trapped him between her arms, chest and an earthen wall. Despite the bold action, as she brought her head to him in the process, she would press a timid but tender kiss upon his dark lips with full anticipation of him slipping away despite her efforts to create a little cage or alternatively biting her in the face even though he had already granted her kissing permissions.

This was nothing new. A though he clung to no matter how untrue it may be for while there had been passing touch between them, it was never as purposeful as it were now as one took in every detail. Each divot of bone, every fibre of flesh and muscle as it twitched, how plush fur parted so easily to expose what lay beneath. All of it taken in to construct what could not be seen. Yes, he had felt her before whenever a hide burrowed so near to soak in the warmth which always seemed to radiate from her being… but not like this.

Yet it is a familiar sensation the draconian hopes to link it with though so unlike those moments that heat seemed to echo ten-fold as it dared to permeate through his skin with each passing caress. Warmth settling within, mixing with the steaming brush of the very waters the lagoon offered from below. Though no matter the building discomfort which nearly bid him to squirm, Mithras held no plans to withdraw from a self made mission as every fluctuations of another lay felt. That stuttering breath, those hardly subdued gasps unmistakable as they graced his ears with an unspoken symphony.

At least until such a song lay broken entirely. Hushed tones chasing after gentle laughter, sound which bid that sightless gaze to flicker. To stare in silent wonder of just what she found even the slightest bit of humor in or, perhaps he were over thinking things, and it were merely a huff of nerves. A calming breath to break through the tensions that no doubt built within in her very core. Every hitch which stalled her breath, every time a heart skipped a beat; her body betrayed each falter beneath a serpent’s delicate ministrations. Though never did she ask him to stop, not once did she pull away; instead she came closer with that shaken breath.

He could do nothing to grant her even an echo of his voice, the rest… well those could be felt whenever one drew near. Lingered with hardly a space to themselves to feel how ichor thrummed in another’s veins, how ribs rose and fell with each intake of breath. It was not the same as hearing just as this was incomparable to simply seeing what perched before him. Though no matter the wild thoughts which stir, the draconian says nothing. There is nothing to say now, until each had taken their fill. If nothing else he would ensure she was something remembered. A woman one could describe once a vision of her lay crafted through the slow drag of talons.

It mattered not how closely she drew. He would never see the way she flushed nor how ears preened back with nervous agitation, all that reached him was the rush of a quickened pulse. That ever rising heat that lingered, oh how it echoed in his ears and lay beneath the very touch which trailed down her neck. Such a venture halted in one swift moment as another shifted in place, readjustments made tp her posturing before limbs coiled about his much smaller frame. Pressure settling at his back in this woman’s makeshift prison, a snare between the undeniable warmth of her body and the very grounds he’d once fully braced against.

This ‘imprisonment’ not one resisted, no matter how a figure stiffened at first; his frame steadily relaxing when it were not a ignition of flaring pain that echoed beneath his skin but that same peculiar heat. Sensation which hoped to bid him to slip from her embrace, to remark that perhaps he had not been through with his side of the bargain; yet the moment lips pressed to his own such thoughts fell silent. Long ears turning back in a mix of embarrassment toward the improperness of it all - they were outside for heavens sake, any fool could stumble across them out here - and… disappointment?

Is that which rose alongside everything now or was it something else? He was not certain, everything lay drowned beneath a haze, beneath the inescapable warmth that refused to leave him. Surely it were not a rising spark, no undeniable craving like he was certain she felt. Whatever it was it could be ignored until one could attempt to make sense of it all though even now she would not be denied. If nothing else he was a man of his word. One that would not turn back from a deal already agreed upon. So it is without much more thought on the uncertainties of strange feelings that he allows limbs to drift.

Release a hold to settle about her neck, wrapping atop her shoulders in a rather welcoming embrace before returning her timid gesture in full. A crown tilting to better meet this offered tenderness, pressing a touch harder than she dared all while attempting to ignore what rose to mind. Thought of how easily a tongue could flick in a tease touch alone did not grant. An act he does not carry through with as he cages the notion behind his own fangs. One would not actively try to entice her further nor work to push her away until she too had drank her fill of him.

The expectation of him pulling away or even dodging her were heavy on her mind until the interception of skin on skin as lips brushed gently against one another. He didn’t recoil or threaten to hurt her should she not stop, rather he sunk deeper into this little game of bargaining. She could feel each little twitch that his face made and it would cause her eyes to flick back open to look into his sightless stare. A tail would dance in place for but a moment as she took in his eyes, dazzled by their ghostly radiance and in turn forgetting why she was so close to him to begin with. That was until a pair of small paws gripped at her, drawing her closer and her eyes became heavy, falling deeper into this first true kiss they shared. This wasn’t just some treatment this time but she couldn’t say it was one of passion either but the way he breathed and allowed her to linger, she was under that spell of thinking it did mean something.

Her tongue ran along the supple leather of his lip, eager to push forward as she pressed him further back, keeping him well encased by her massive frame. A low hum that was nearly a growl buzzed in her throat before suddenly space suddenly shifted. The edge of the lagoon had vanished, and she was without leverage to hold herself upright and his back no longer having a support, causing them to both tumble and the cold winter chill to seep back into her bones more violently than ever. “Oh fuck!” she yipped trying to catch her weight before it could crash on top of him as even liquid no longer lessened gravity. The weight jolting into her paws sent a shuttering pain to shock the muscles up into the elbows. She prevailed in not crushing him, but her heavy breathing made it clear she was bewildered and out of breath.

A mind is finally clear.

Jolting upright, she swiftly extracted herself from his resting form, creeping away to look around. The cold was quickly gaining on her wet form, shivering in place as she took in that they were back home somehow. Has the prophecy been true? Love was what it was after? She didn’t dare believe in such corny fairy tales and legends of her homeland, not when the one on the other end of that shared moment was Mithras.

He couldn’t possibly love her. It was just to humor her but all the same, the more she thought about what she had just done, the more anxious her body crawled with a desire to run off and hide the blush that burned her ears. “We’re home, love- i mean uh heh,” she cracked past the embarrassment, resisting the urge to lick her lips, knowing how weird that would look. “And it’s dang freezin in here,” she huffed, as if trying to completely draw away from anything that had transpired.

Abruptly she took off to grab a linen to drape over the man of blue, ignorant of if he had said anything in return to her nervous yapping to fill the air with noise.

“Here ye go Pretty Princess, all nice and warm,” she chuckled, nestling him into the sheet then pausing as she lingered a little too close. Without thinking, he nose gently brushed his before sprinting off to find her own room to dwell in her rising dystopia she was creating for herself. "Night!" she called over her shoulder. She was sure he was tired of her at this point and imagined after so long of talking he’d want to be alone and well away from her like usual. Though if he came after her for warmth, she wouldn’t offer any protest.

-exit bell-

Even that ever growing haze could not keep one from registering the ways she pressed back, could not banish the gentle lap of a tongue against his lips as if seeking the invitation denied to delve further. How she shifted ever nearer to heated flesh impossible to ignore. Efforts of trapping him between herself and the lagoon’s edge never resisted. There was no escape offered in the moment lest he bit into the very features he’d just felt and yet, beneath all which thrummed to life in his veins there was uncertainty on if he wanted to. A kick drum beat a resounding feeling in his ears but whether it came from the hammering within her chest or his own lay clouded beneath a blur of uncertainty.

What was known, however, came from the low growl rolling in Bellatrix’s throat. A mind soaking in the steady vibrations deep in her chest, drinking in the sensation it sparked as flesh shivered despite the warmth which crept through him. Lips slowly parting to grant the access she craved… until that illusion came crashing down. Everything shattering in an instant - including that undeniable closeness - the moment a spine made contact with cold unforgiving stone. A less than amused hiss slipping from his lungs as sodden coat dripped over the floor, Bellatrix’s own raining down atop of him to chase each warm puff of breath.

And with it all came the bitter cold, so eager to devour those drenched.

The draconian’s mind cleared surprisingly fast beneath the chilled caress of the night, wet fur hardly mixing well with winter’s bite. Though there was but one thought which now coursed through the depths of his cerebrum, what the hells had he been thinking? A grimace tugged at darkened lips before forelimb rose to drag against his features as if it alone could hide away the flush that dared to color his skin. This was no place for proximity, the public did not need even the barest peek at entanglement - intimacy - no matter how feigned it all may have been. He would not be caught dead entertaining such a notion of public displays.

It was improper, inappropriate, matters better kept in private where no other could intrude; this was anything but and it was all one could think of until another backed off. Her breath no longer huffing into his face as instead the resounding click of nails took its place, helping to drown out all else that had once dared to fill the senses with foolish ideations. The barest hint of reassurance surfacing when she announced they were home. Gods above, at least they were not out on the street. Hopefully Kaveh had not already caught wind of their sudden intrusion upon the estate. Not even he needed to see all of this, not until he could collect himself.

Small hide pivoted, legs nesting beneath him as that luminous gaze dared not meet her own. Not until she drew nearer once more, heavy linens tucked to cradle his sodden frame before the barest touch lit against skin. Though in the next moment she was gone, running off with surprising swiftness to leave the star marked with nothing but his own thoughts. Reflection upon all each had said, what had been done. A quiet murmur all that slipped upon his breath, “Goodnight Bellatrix.” Then any tenderness was wiped away as a sneer of frustration took its place, a figure freeing itself from new found confinement. He would not be soaking his bed like this.

With a huff of disapproval, lyrics called out, “Kaveh!” Wherever that little butler had gotten off to, there was something Mithras needed to ask of him other than assistance in collecting things for a proper bath. Something to ensure what drug induced haze had gripped him did not return with an unknown vengeance… maybe after he would seek the autumnal woman out. Surely it would be much warmer at her side than locking himself away in unnecessary seclusion.

-exit mith-