[ Be mindful, rather than don't. He's almost taken aback, despite the fact that they're here, like this, tangled in each others' arms. The aftereffects, he supposes, of having spent so long actively trying to hide what he is — it'd been a shock, even, that he'd been allowed to stay in camp after the truth about his nature had come to light. To have her allow it, embrace it — it's a gift.
The significance of tenderness runs both ways, after all — just as easily as he could tear her throat out if he so wished, so too could she turn him into ash with a single incantation. (It's a little ironic, he thinks, that she's arguably the one in their camp who would have the easiest time of dispatching him, emotional attachment aside.) And, with all they know of their respective pasts, the choice not to defer to what they've found easiest throughout the long years is a significant one.
It makes the arch of her spine all the more enticing; as intoxicating as the sound of her breath had been that night, it's even more so now, given more freely, coupled with the feeling of her frame against his, the lovely blush of her skin, the way her fingers curl in his hair — neediness, but more importantly, neediness that's reciprocated. He feels drunk on it — yet another surprise, something he hasn't felt since he was living. There's a hint of that sensation in his gaze as he looks up to meet hers, a smile pulling his lips back over his teeth, a half-joke in the same vein as her own. ]
Woe betide the poor soul who'd dare leave even the faintest scratch upon your skin, [ he murmurs, as one of his hands finds the dip of her waist, the band of her breeches. The other draws a path along the inside of her thigh, a hint as to his intentions as he eases his frame further down her own, all slow enough to ensure he's not rushing things. Even now, he seeks permission, despite the invitation issued, as though each movement required its own affirmation.
She can handle herself perfectly well, he knows, but that isn't the point of such a comment — it's an offer, a contract, an acknowledgment of care expressed in a way that comes easily to him, namely, the threat of violence against anyone who'd hurt her, or even simply inconvenience her. ]
lmao we've all been there
The significance of tenderness runs both ways, after all — just as easily as he could tear her throat out if he so wished, so too could she turn him into ash with a single incantation. (It's a little ironic, he thinks, that she's arguably the one in their camp who would have the easiest time of dispatching him, emotional attachment aside.) And, with all they know of their respective pasts, the choice not to defer to what they've found easiest throughout the long years is a significant one.
It makes the arch of her spine all the more enticing; as intoxicating as the sound of her breath had been that night, it's even more so now, given more freely, coupled with the feeling of her frame against his, the lovely blush of her skin, the way her fingers curl in his hair — neediness, but more importantly, neediness that's reciprocated. He feels drunk on it — yet another surprise, something he hasn't felt since he was living. There's a hint of that sensation in his gaze as he looks up to meet hers, a smile pulling his lips back over his teeth, a half-joke in the same vein as her own. ]
Woe betide the poor soul who'd dare leave even the faintest scratch upon your skin, [ he murmurs, as one of his hands finds the dip of her waist, the band of her breeches. The other draws a path along the inside of her thigh, a hint as to his intentions as he eases his frame further down her own, all slow enough to ensure he's not rushing things. Even now, he seeks permission, despite the invitation issued, as though each movement required its own affirmation.
She can handle herself perfectly well, he knows, but that isn't the point of such a comment — it's an offer, a contract, an acknowledgment of care expressed in a way that comes easily to him, namely, the threat of violence against anyone who'd hurt her, or even simply inconvenience her. ]