The Darkness Within

36 - Cake, Turmoil, and Late Night Snacks

Ciara and her companions from the day went their separate ways once they arrived back at the castle. Ciara, as she walked down the hall with Tala's harness's handle in one hand and the slice of chocolate cake in the other, felt an itching under her skin. That sensation was completely different from the slight nerves she had because she was bringing Lucienne cake. Her very bones and muscles itched with some unknown need and it was becoming all-consuming. But, in an attempt to make it go away like a normal itch, she ignored it and focused on bringing Lucienne the cake.

Tala stopped before what Ciara assumed to be the door, and went to open it herself. However, the moment her hand touched the door, it opened of its own accord and she was hit with the ashy herbal scent of her power-bound.

"Hello," Lucienne said as Ciara stepped into the room, a small smile forming on both their faces. "How was the outing?"

"It was good, I haven't done something like that for almost two years now so it was really nice to go out with friends again," Ciara admitted, letting Tala guide her to the couch she usually sat on with Lucienne. "I brought you cake, I hear you like chocolate," Ciara held up the packaged slice of cake.

"I do," Lucienne said happily from beside Ciara as she sat down too. Their bodies were close, and Ciara leaned into Lucienne's shoulder. It made the strange itching sensation better, cuddling with Lucienne. "Thank you, I appreciate it, little warrior."

Lucienne took the slice of cake and Ciara listened as the container was opened and Lucienne began to eat the cake. The female felt exhausted from the day's events and truly felt much better being back with her power-bound.

"I missed you," Ciara whispered softly, her words muffled further by the other Goddess's shoulder.

Lucienne's movements paused for a moment. "I missed you too. Next time, I will come with you, I didn't like you being so far away."

Ciara was too tired to do much more than nod.

"Thank you for the cake, it was delicious."

Ciara smiled warmly at that, "I'm glad. I wanted to bring something back for you, Sola helped."

"I'll be sure to thank her too, then."

"Do you want to go to bed?" Lucienne asked the younger Goddess. Ciara hummed an 'mhm' but didn't move to stand; instead, she hugged the female close, inhaled her ashy scent, and nuzzled her head on Lucienne's shoulder. "Alright, sleepyhead."

Ciara was lifted by Lucienne's warm hands and carried close to her power-bound's heart on the way to the bedroom. Then, she was placed in the bed that was technically Lucienne's, but one they had shared every night since they had gotten here.

"I'll be right back with pajamas, or do you want to take a shower?" Lucienne asked, knowing the female was tired.

Ciara grumbled in response, somewhat incoherently, but Lucienne didn't ask again, grasping that Ciara wanted to wait till the next morning to take a shower, too tired to want to do much more. The new Goddess listened as Lucienne moved around and then felt a new set of the soft clothing she regularly wore to bed be placed in her lap.

"I'm going to go change as well, I will be back momentarily."

With her power-bound gone, the strange itching feeling came back, and it was becoming very hard to ignore it as she changed into her pajama shorts and shirt. When she was done changing she climbed into the bed with a groan. She scratched at her arm and stomach, trying to find some sort of relief but there was none to be found. The sensation came from deep within her body and simply scratching was not helping whatsoever. In fact, Ciara was so consumed with trying to stop the burning itch that she didn't hear Lucienne return until the female grabbed her hands gently and stopped her frantic scratching.