Valentine and The Dragon

Part 7: Calm Before The Storm

  It had been hours, it felt as if days had passed, but the day was fast approaching, their mettle tested and their bonds truly given light to shine. It appeared as if they were apart, quiet, merely reflecting on these developments whilst their feline mage had departed a long while ago. Near most of the equipment in the corner, sitting upon his bed with the light of lanterns illuminating his defeated expression and hunched body as he cupped his face in his hands, Sarko sat, weapon on the bed beside him. Even for being with this mysterious woman for a week or so, his feelings to protect her had grown to a near obsession, one that had been shattered into pieces once he heard that the efforts to sever her ties with Soul Edge were for naught. The glimmer of hope that Y'shtola had spoken of had little to affect the mood of the young man who was destroyed by recent developments. Finally, in the cold darkness of his shielded eyes, a few clicks of heels growing louder and closer with every step stopped beside him until the individual sat beside him and a hand rested upon his back, a calming quiet voice speaking into his ear.

Ivy: "Speak to me darling... please..."

  Valentine couldn't bear to see her only companion in such stress, let alone about her but once his hands were moved from his face, those hazel green eyes were running with tears and puffed pink but there was little to hear from him, not even a sniffle or quiver as the woman scooched closer, nearly embracing the lad to comfort him. Her warmth was enough to somewhat ease Sarko's ever plummeting demeanor, even removing her coat and setting it down beside her as they sat within the comforting silence of the room. 

Ivy: "Why do this... why put yourself through such pain... There is a reason I prefer to venture alone..."

Sarko: "Ever since I lost my family... my friends... everyone... I was simply awaiting the day I'd expire and wallow in my home, rotting in my regrets and failures... Then you knocked at my door, a second chance to right the wrongs of my life... Even then... in a cruel sense of misfortune, I am yet again shown that I will be alone..."

Ivy: "Dear don't say that... You are-"

Sarko: "A monster..."

Ivy: "What?!"

Sarko: "When I was exiled, I took the form of my deepest, darkest, raw emotions and formed into a dragon that was of my own soul... I felt betrayed by everyone I knew... I lashed out and... a-and... I-..."

Ivy: "Ssssshhhhhh..."

  The young man felt something that he had never been blessed with in his years of life, the loving feeling of a head resting against him with an ever so gentle kiss on his cheek to quench the growing flames of his inner hatred. To add metaphorical steam to this situation, the chiseled heroine began to remove his outer coat and even set his weapon with hers on the neighboring table beside a box or two. Then she stood before him, looking down on the defeated warrior before giving a passing glance to the door, returning it back to Sarko, taking the moment to slowly sit on his lap and look him dead in the eyes. Her hands rested on his shoulders before running up his neck, cupping the sides of his head, even taking a hand to briskly stroke his bangs out of his face. 

Ivy: "Remember when we sat together in the rain...?~"

Sarko: "Yes... you hesitated again and-"

Ivy: "And now here we are... alone in the warm comfort of refuge and a perilous day ahead of us.~"

Sarko: "Isa-... Ivy... aren't you a handful of years my elder?"

Ivy: "Aren't you the one that started flirting first and holding me from behind?"

  With that point, she managed to get him to crack a smile, even feeling comforted and compelled to return the favor, his gloves sitting with his coat, merely an armored top between his torso and her form-fitting outfit. His hands hesitated, possibly believing that further action shouldn't be done until he felt her grasp on his wrists, guiding them to her hips and all that remained was their faces. One, a look of compassion, pity, desire, and possibly love, the other was simply that of a broken man, fashioned with a smile and hiding the pain deep within. However, in defiance of expectation, their lids slowly closed, and their foreheads met, silently embracing the other with nothing more than the sounds of relaxed breathing and gentle coos from Ivy. 

  As the feeling began to set it, both aiding in removing the warrior's top, in the process of revealing his bare chest, it revealed a few more hidden scars, and finally a dragon tattoo that stretched from the side of his neck all the way down to his wrist. The clothes and equipment out of the way, our heroine was bordering on anxious since this was the first time she was ever held by a man but decided to let her more dominant trait do the acts, cracking a smirk and gently pushing the young man down against the soft mattress. Her bangs hung down and her baby blues were lost in his hazel green, however, she refused to kiss him, instead just resting her head against his warm chest. In a turn, his hand began to stroke her back, even running his fingers softly through her beautiful silver hair which caused him to hum a tune, a shanty normally sung by pirates. Despite her lineage, mainly her father being a pirate and attempting to end her life before she ended his, she didn't mind such a tune, simply resting peacefully against him. His voice was soft, smooth, and turned an upbeat shanty to rouse a crew to stations with cheers, into a quiet lullaby that could drift a room of crying young to peaceful slumber.

Sarko: "Cloaked in folds of midnight waters... Side by side we sons and daughters... We set forth for no king's orders but we'll sail together..."

Ivy: "Mmmmm... hhmm hhhmm hmmm...~"

Sarko: "Hold fast, tides are turning... Flames roar, fires are burning... We'll all be returning... if we sail together..."

Ivy: "..."

Sarko: "All on the waves shall know our story... Sing of the battles fought ashore we-... all shall thrive on fame and glory... When we sail together... Words of warning have been spoken... Ancient creatures have awoken..."

Ivy: ~A quiet murmur and a quiet snore accented with a shimmy of her body, gripping tightly at his torso~

Sarko: "Still until our bond is broken... We shall sail... together..."