⠀ ⠀

ID: @halfsgod          * his silence was different this time. it came in a cold, dreaded rush that gripped her chest with fear. sverrir was a man of few words, known for his quiet and his ruthlessness upon the battlefield. yet she had learned to distinguish the shades of his silences, to tell what kind each held. in this moment she listened to the steady drum of his heartbeat, and even as his arms held her close, her mind screamed finality  [ .. ] she had penetrated the walls wrought from the tragedies of his past. she knew little of them, only fragments gleaned from the way he bore himself. yet her heart broke all the same. she released him, letting her arms fall away, prying his from around her. *
            
            you.. did mean to leave me behind. this—  * the words faltered upon her lips as her gaze fell to the canvas bag filled with logs. she swept her eyes across the clearing, and it was as though she had been blind. in truth, she had been, lost too far within the tempest of her own heart to perceive it before. and the fact that he remained so eerily silent? at last it struck her with sharp clarity, and a soundless laugh trembled free from her. she brushed her cheeks with the back of her hand, lifted the lantern, and turned, marching back toward the cottage, each step trembling with grief. *

wordlessly he froze.         palled devotion born of pure love was unmatched in ferocity. it could never be shaken, regardless of how much one tried. lost, even she could be in the trenches of this pure love, he knew for certain she would find her way out, and reach her⎯⎯so be it even in death. sverrir moved his hand away, both dropping to his sides. he wasn’t used to touch, or how he ought to comfort her. he was guilty inside, adamantly so if he were to admit, therein in which he had left.. in made up efforts of mind to abandon her. he deemed it better for her own safety, for he was a dead man, both inside and outside, having possessed nothing to offer her. but this.. whatever force this was, it shook him, breaking the shackles of his mind, and he did what he hadn’t in years of imprisonment. he let her be engulfed in his embrace, cupping the back of her head, his fingers pressing gently into her hair. a shiver ran through him at the closeness, the weight of her presence both grounding and fracturing him. the quiet inhale she drew echoed against his chest,         and for the first time in so long, he felt the fracture of his own solitude soften.
            
            ⠀⠀    ⠀⠀  ﹟  @necromanics.

ID: @godsIayer            * alara had believed her entire life in love’s encompassing power. it bore more weight than mortal passion, more endurance than fleeting spirit. thus, mankind was [desperate,] she was [desperate] to stand at his side. pain racked her into silent sobs, shoulders trembling, breath unsteady, until through the blur of her grief, he was there. alara nearly faltered at the sound of his approaching footsteps, lifting the burning lantern higher to behold him clearly. relief poured into her soul, settling tenderly within the narrow chamber of her heart. she set the lantern down with care, flame wavering, and without another thought she leapt into his arms. she was rendered wordless at the firm touch of his hand lifting her chin. her arms wound about his neck at once, tightening with desperate strength, and her other hand rose to cup the back of his head, fingers threading into his hair. actions may be judged, yet she cared not. she held him as tightly as her body allowed, refusing to release him, as though the night itself might steal him away again. despite his words, tears streamed unbidden, and she shook her head against him, fingers curling into the strong line of his shoulder blade, clinging as though to anchor herself. *     can’t.       * feelings were not easily spoken, but her soul was bound fast to his. *     i thought i—i had lost you.

⠀ ⋆ her  eyes  caught  flashes  of  movement,  white  wolves  too  large,  tearing  huntsmen  apart  with  precise  efficiency.  she  did  not  scream.  she  only  observed.  war  cries,  curses,  bodies,  noise  without  meaning.  she  had  gone  numb  long  before  this  moment.  if  death  did  not  take  her  now,  it  would  later.  the  timing  held  no  significance.   ⋆
            
            ⠀    ⋆ arrows  whistled  past  them,  several  disappearing  into  the  storm  of  wind  and  rain.  her  right  arm  twitched  as  one  arrow  aligned  directly  with  him.  her  hand  fluttered  against  his  back,  a  warning  that  failed  to  form  into  sound.  then  something  black  intercepted  the  arrow.  jaws,  smoke,  ooze,  limbs  too  thin  to  support  weight.  it  dropped  the  arrow  and  looked  at  her.  eyes,  unmistakably  human,  inside  that  shifting  shape.  her  mind  stalled.  a  single  raw  scream  tore  out  of  her  as  she  clutched  his  back.  the  creature  lunged  toward  the  others,  but  she  did  not  see  the  rest.  darkness  struck  her  like  impact.  a  splitting  sound  filled  her  skull.  pain  followed,  sharp  and  absolute,  and  then  everything  dissolved.  ⋆

⠀     ⋆ her  legs  mount  over  his  large  thighs.  a  frightening  tremor  rippled  through  her,  muscles  reacting  without  intention.  she  noted  the  movement  the  way  one  observes  a  failing  mechanism,  detached  and  distant.  fear,  resentment,  hatred,  none  of  it  surfaced.  only  a  sharp,  unfamiliar  spike  of  something  she  could  not  classify.  the  velocity  of  the  gallop  distorted  her  balance.  rain  struck  her  face  in  cold  uneven  intervals.  grit  and  mud  smeared  across  her  skin.  each  sensation  arrived  separately,  as  if  her  body  were  reporting  information  she  no  longer  needed.  despite  his  command,  her  rain  slicked  arms  locked  around  his  neck.  not  trust.  survival.  falling  meant  death.  a  simple  calculation.  wind  tore  at  her  raw  skin,  pulling  at  hair  plastered  to  her  cheeks.  the  scent  of  rain  mixed  with  blood,  metallic  and  sour.  ⋆

⠀“fasten your arms around me and hold tight. don’t look back.” his voice was nearly drowned by pounding hooves, chanting curses, and the hiss of arrows slicing through the storm. he reached for the sword sheathed along his left forearm and struck down a man lunging for her. the scent of blood curdled the damp air, mixing with wet earth, sweat, and the metallic tang of lightning. chaos erupted behind them—-rage, pursuit, the guttural language of men who would not relent. bodies fell in their wake, and the madmen cursed his name, but sverrir only urged his horse faster. he whistled sharply, a reverent chant threaded through the storm, summoning his creatures. claws scraped bark. roars split through the night with teeth snapping, and the screams tore through the forest.      sverrir sheathed his sword back into his left forearm, pulled the reins tight, and with a final surge of speed, vanished with her into a realm unknown to mortal eyes. the air folded around them, swallowing the storm as if it had never existed.
            
            ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀    ⠀⠀  ﹟  @ophthalmology.

@crims0nblack    &.     of course.     i’ll spam you in a bit.  >3 

@godsIayer / !! I’d love some please

(*)  yes, please.