Sigil: The City of Doors

"I thought you liked the space to be tight. Over my dead body would any bones get loose." With martial acumen, she exercised her body control to upend them by a clever lever than tangled them closer together. "Hence I'll put you under, just to be sure."

/Fade to Bones

His grin was in danger of turning feral as he slid his hands around her hips. "I intend to keep you that way." He said with a soft growl. Then bucking her towards him he turned and guided her down onto the bedroll. The act sent the un-expense-able receipts flying and got the coffee mug rattling. Thankfully he managed to stop it from spilling with his foot.

[url=https://orokos.com/roll/989184]Fluff roll: "Shenanigans | Getting the crap rolls out of the way"[/url]: [u]1d20+13[/u] [b]16[/b]

His eyes were wide as saucers as he lay over her splayed like they were playing twister. "We really need more space, Akh." He laughed relieved.

"I guess this is what happens when a sexually repressed nun is revived into having a unified craving." She said in a gentle voice belying the message just as she pinned him down and drew a line across his chest with her long nail without breaking fabric or skin, but with a promise of both. "And it's too primal to be imbued with emotional complexities. My only worry is that my long-cultivated ability to restrain myself is weakening with you being so close and willing, my sweet Cyprian. I haven't been so well-nourished in decades."

The sudden movement caught him completely by surprise. What followed was intensity and heat, frenzied motion and release. He'd grunt as his body went where she directed. His face betraying a grin between kisses. But he wasn't letting go anymore than she was. And as they rolled over and under he'd let out a laugh finding himself pinned beneath her.

"You know! I'm starting to think your appetite far outstrips my own!"

"I suppose we can spare a moment for some casual alleviation?" She freed her hands to grasp his collar and pull him in. The impulse she acted on manifested lightning quickness she rarely showcased, and the ease she did it with betrayed a martial artist.

"Akh." his eyes were downy soft and swimming with emotion. He beamed at her kiss, then laughed quietly at her quip. "I don't know," he joked, "fear of certainty?" He could have easily stayed their all day looking at her with loving affection, never getting bored. "If we didn't have a full schedule today I'd suggest we alleviate some of this anxiety." He teased back taking her hands in his. "Oh Akh, you've made me so very happy."

He really didn't want to let her go. Especially knowing that they were diving into the abyss later that evening.

"Exactly. We won't resolve all this today given our limited ability to peer into the future." She smiled gently. "My point, Cyprian, is we both have time. If disillusionment or a sense of futility creeps on you at some point, or my inability to respond to your hopes starts being too much to bear, it may still not be the end of the road for you. Don't forget my cardinal goal is to have a shot at going gently into the quiet night. But everything that leads to it can be ours. I'll have you and cherish you as long as you want to stay with me, I won't judge you, nor will I turn down your help in addressing my predicament."

She leaned in to kiss the tip of his nose.

"How is it that taxes infuse a sense of anxiety and finality into conversations? Divesting oneself of monetary burdens shouldn't be too hard." She offered an expressionless tease, assuming he liked them.

He didn't understand and it really bothered him.

"I can't be the judge of whether or not I'm deserving. You've... seen my life up until now." He winced, "No doubt I've left many broken hearts in my wake. But were I to apply the same litmus to your life as I have mine. You are more than entitled to want it," he smiles, softly caressing her cheeks, "and having it given to you is the very least you deserve." He plants a soft kiss on her forehead before pulling her into a warm embrace. "I want to help you find that part of you that's missing, Akh. Please let me keep trying for as long as it takes. Whether death yields new life. Or whether I try in vain for years to bring the pieces back together again. I believe I would do so and be happy for it."

He hoped his words and warmth were like a sun to her. That he might pierce the grey skies and be the harbinger of that new life. But were his efforts doomed, and should an indeterminate amount of time pass without change? He could at least go to his death knowing that he's not the man that was absent at his mother's death. He could at least go confident that his blood didn't define him. [i]'You hear me Strahd? I am no kin of yours.'[/i]

He eased off on the embrace and brushed the gold from her eyes, "Besides, there's no telling what the future holds for us."

"You are special to me." She whispered with trembling lips, having found the words that described her mindset without delivering a lie. Her symbols dimmed, and a fog of despair drew over the grey skies. "My own doubts and discomforts stem from having memories of the time when I had a breath, a beating heart and I was capable of loving, as misappropriated as it was for me. I don't know if I am ever to retrieve that part or even if I am entitled to want it. My soul has been a stump for so long that I no longer can fathom what happens if it is ever complete again. I must assume that there are some things truly gone for me, and so never to be given, even if you deserve them, Cyprian."

Her closeness, her touch, her smell, her golden locks caressing his cheeks, tickling his nose. The feelings brought with them sensations of warmth and desire. He listened, thought as he listened, snickered softly at her joke. "No, I don't suspect I will." He answered. Then he thought some more.

While he thought his face turned taciturn. The part about illusions bothered him.

"Akh," he said softly, pulling her body closer to his own. "there's more to this warmth than heat. Tell me your desire is artificial. Tell me that you dislike having me around." He breathed, "Tell me that you don't relish my kisses, the touch of my hands, my smile." He continues as he traces her form. "Tell me that you don't feel any differently for me than you would for... say, Thaddeus or Fein."

His eyes are pleading and soulful when he says.

"Do you truly not care for me? Is that an enchantment too?" He swallowed. "I'm not afraid of the truth. Say it and I'll believe you. If not then I'm under no illusions."