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najatsguitar · 3 years ago

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8-12-21

It was midday and with nothing else going on, Najat took the opportunity to get a little extra practice in. So, with some juice in hand, Najat walked in to the music room in Home. The room had become her escape place in sorts, she was really the only one that came in here, unless they were looking for her.

Najat picked up her guitar and began tuning it into key. Since the competition she wanted to work on using her magic to help tell the story she was going for, and since she got a place to practice alone, she had been working on it every day at least a little bit. Whatever she could make time for. Najat was still working on getting the timing right between the music and the illusion, they were still noticeably off from one another. It was frustrating and tedious, and she desperately wished to move on from the small story her mom told her long ago when she was a kid. Najat knew starting small would make it easier to go bigger, and that was the goal.

Dakota hadn’t meant to spy but, when he heard the familiar music drifting out from the practice room, it had been second nature to tuck himself into the edge of the door to listen.

Turning his head towards the open door, a small grin pulled at the corner of his face as he heard her tune and play, and then play again when she was not satisfied. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he could see shadows dancing along the wall. It was good to see her song weaving, even if the process of finding the right magic looked slow and frustrating. He could still remember the way she had clung to him, after she had performed for the Dean of the Bard’s College. Her bright eyes had seemed dull and glassy for the rest of the day, and her fingers had nearly knitted themselves into his shirt. It had been hard to quiet the impulse to wrap her up in his arms and carry her away, but he hadn’t known where any of this had been leading. She might have been more confused if she had come back into focus and found him curled up around her.

Of course, like anything with Najat, it had ended with him being stepped on in the middle of the night, but it had been worth it. It had been one of the first times she seemed to find safety in his presence. Even then, when he had started to gently hope for something beyond the banter, it had made his chest flutter.

There was also a hazy place in his memory, where he thought he had reached out to her in the same way. Pulling at the back of her shirt, asking her to wait for him. But any time he thought he had caught the image, it slipped away like smoke in his fingers. It wasn’t the only one, of course. Memories that had once been so sharp had just… gone gray. Like water after a day of washing. But thankfully, all the important ones with Najat were still there, in the foreground where they belonged.

Letting his thoughts drift with her music, Dakota stayed there for a time, listening and fiddling with cords on his belt, braiding and unbraiding them just to keep his hands busy. Then once some time had passed, he did want her to have her time to practice, he wrapped a knuckle on the door frame and peeked his head in. “Am I interrupting?” he asked quietly.

Najat was starting to get a little mad. She knew she could do it, just at the cost of exhausting herself and she wasn't going to do that to herself. Najat tried a few more times to get it right and what felt the millionth time today, she watched as the illusion started to come to life. A man and a woman started to form out of the pale rose mist if her magic and they began to dance in circles around each other just has she heard a knock on the door. Just like that it was gone. 'Dammit!' She turned toward the door to cuss out whoever interested her then she saw his face and all her anger washed way and she smiled.

Najat then remembered what she had just been doing and her cheeks flushed. "How long were you standing there?" Her voice filled with embarrassment and a bit timid as she set her guitar down.

Dakota visibly winced as he watched the magic dissipate, immediate regret pricking into his chest. For the brief moment it had seen it, the illusion had looked solid and alive. “Just a little while,” he admitted quietly. His blue eyes caught her hers before sheepishly moving to the polished floor.

“I didn’t want to interrupt, but it looks like I managed it anyway.” He tried to upturn the wince into a light smile. “It’s nothing important, I was just checking on you. Should I go?”

Najat tries to hide her blushing cheeks. Absolutely embarrassed that he watched her fail time and time again, she fiddled with the loose papers in her notebook gathering them up to put them away. "Well shit" she mutters.

Najat gets up from her bench and walks over to him and puts herself in his eyeline again. She places her hands in his and gives them a squeeze, "Eh, I was almost done anyway. My fingers were starting to hurt" she shrugs "Besides I was going to find you after, you just beat me to it" she smiles at him.

“We certainly can’t have that,” he says softly.

Dakota cups her hands together, rubbing them gently between his palms. He was glad they weren’t so rough, at least yet. “What did you need to see me about?” He asked, massaging his thumbs into her hand and all the little, scaly joints. “Am I in trouble again?”

He smiles to make sure she knows he’s joking, and continues to massage her fingers. In a whisper, he also adds. “I really am sorry for interrupting. That last one was wonderful.”

"Did you do something to get into trouble again?" She looks at him with mock suspicion.

Najats cheeks flush again "It's all good. Don't worry about it. That was one of my better attempts but I'll get there eventually. My mom always did say that practice makes for better" she smiled. Najats heart twisted a bit as she mentioned her mom. She missed her, even if she drove Najat crazy sometimes.

Dakota’s smile broadens as he leaned down and left a kiss on her forehead. “Not yet. But there’s still plenty of time left in the day.”

Sliding his hands up her arms, he then gently puts them around her waist and pulls her towards his chest. Just enough that she can tuck in her head. “I think it’s not too far off. Illusion magic is just… strange. I really could only master sewing it into the ground to make cover. I could never make any creature or sounds, like you can.”

Conjuration had probably been his best art, or enchantment. It helped with calling pieces of the world for help, or changing just enough so that he could speak to the wilds. But illusions, on some level, meant giving into a lie, and it had never sat well inside of him.

Najat chuckles "Careful. If you get in all the trouble, there'll be none left for me" she wraps her arms around him and tucks her head into him.

"I'm getting better. Hold it a little longer, or make it a little brighter but it's still hard. I know I'm making progress but it's frustrating how slow it's going." It felt nice getting her frustration off her chest. Though she didn't really realize how much she needed to vent about it.

“Depends on the type of trouble,” he teases, kissing the top of her cowl.

He slips his arms around her middle, cradling her against him. For a moment he wondered if she could feel his heartbeat, the steady drum in his chest that always quickened when she was near. “Slow magic is better than being dead with no magic,” he chuckles. “But I suppose it must feel different, when it comes from inside of you, rather than something else.”

Dakota tried to think of something he could suggest, but all he knew was magic with prayer and focus and drawing from nature. The occult was the opposite end, an opposing force, even when wielded for good. He had no idea what it felt like, so stayed quiet as he rubbed a hand against the small of her back.

She softly chuckles "What if, and hear me out, what if WE stayed out of trouble? Just for the day, see what it's like." She held him a little tighter for a moment.

"I guess I could be a little more patient with myself. It's just hard because music and magic both came pretty easy to me, but for whatever reason when I try to combine the two..." She tries to figure out how to describe it. "It's like they come from two different parts of me and don't like to mingle with eachother.. It's like trying to get the twins to play nice with eachother after they got into a fight." Najat sighed softly. "I keep thinking maybe I'm doing something wrong but I don't know if that's just my own doubt or not" Najat got hopeful whenever she was able to make the illusion come to life but it still was more draining then she thought it should be.

"Anyway," she shakes her head softly. "What have you been up to? Other then spying on people?" She joked

“Are you sure that’s something you can do?” He laughs, the sound rumbling in his throat. He playfully lifts a hand to her forehead. “No causing trouble? You’re not sick again are you?”

Dakota’s laughter continues on for a bit, until he quiets, keeping a broad smile. “I can’t say much, since I have no magic now, and I sound like a frog when I try to sing, but I wonder if they are so different.” He pauses, trying to gather his thoughts. He knew what he wanted to say, just not a smart way to say it.

“It’s like… trying understand an animal by just seeing the teeth or the claws. They are the same creature, and the pieces work all at once. But if you set them side by side, you might they were from two different animals.” Dakota trailed off and a faint flush appeared on his skin. “Never mind, that sounds ridiculous. I guess I just, think maybe you can let them both just be? Gah, Skodi that sounds worse.”

Dakota laughs again, still flushed. “Sorry, I should have kept my mouth shut. It’s not like I can really help with any of this. Besides listening.” He gives me a small squeeze. “And I’ve not been too busy. Just looking after the animals and helping Krow translate something in Giant. He found a book on the Kings of the Ocean Giants. I’m not a fan of reading, but I might try it when he’s done. It looked like it could talk about the line of Osa.” His blue eyes spark with excitement. “He’s in one of the old Obaryian legends. The one about the black dragon?”

"You know I just might be" Najat fakes a cough that turns into a laugh.

"I don't know why you gotta be so mean to the frogs, they didn't do anything to you" she teases him, playfully pushing him a bit.

Nanat listens to him talk, trying to make sense of what he was saying. She smiled and felt a little relieved has he struggled to say what was on his mind. It made her feel like he kinda knew how she felt when she tried to talk about her feelings. Her smile grew a little when he cheeks changed the smallest shade of color. "Like they're two notes that make up a whole cord? If you try to hard they don't sound right, but if you ease up they come together to make the right sound?" 0nce the words left her mouth she realized while it might have been what he was trying to say, it still wasn't the right apology for him.

"No its fine, I like that your trying to help." Najat gave him a reassuring smile. "Sounds.. interesting? I think? Maybe you'll just have to tell me about afterward. Has long has your just reading about the dragon and not trying to play with it." She laughs at her own snark.

Dakota chuckles. “That’s fair. When they sing together on the river it sounds nice. Maybe I’m more of a toad then, though I don’t think my kisses will give you any warts.” He playfully kisses her neck, being silly and puffing out his cheeks to look just a bit more amphibious.

Dakota listens to her comparison, smiling as his eyes went blank. “It sounds right,” he says with a shrug. “I know what a cord sounds like, I believe, but not what it looks like. But yes, taking the whole apart to only see the pieces. I meant that.”

“It is interesting, it was one of the only stories that…” The excitement faded a bit from his eyes “that Cameron liked to tell me, when I was little. I’m afraid he likes it for the wrong reason, but the giants in the story’s were nothing like him.” Dakota added the last bit a bit too quickly, almost an apology. “The Sand giantess had a line that still works with the Citadels. I thinks she’s a High Monk of Irori. And Osa’s line still watch over That Which Dwells Below.”

Dakota’s expression then creased slightly. “But I must have told you this before when I showed you the graves, right? Sorry for repeating myself.”

He had shown her the Giant Graves, hadn’t he? He put one hand to his temple, feeling confused. They had gone to Pharama’s Citadel twice. He remembered that, but they were hazes between Najat being woken up in a terror by the celestial ripping something from her body. Dakota remembered wanting to show her, but had it happened? He squinted, trying to pull the pieces together, but the memories were gone. He had gone, used his two early visits up nearly side by side. That was the clearest part he knew.

Dakota tried to keep the smile on his face, but it had strained. “Sorry,” he apologized. It seemed like the only thing he could do now. “Don’t mind me, I’m sure you’ll correct me if I said something wrong.”

Najat laughs and rolls her eyes "I'm pretty sure we'd know if they did." She reaches up and pokes one of his cheeks "Even if they did, your kisses would be worth it"

Najat watches him talk and tries to keep her face calm but she could feel a small wave of anger rage inside her when he mentions his uncle. Then she watched him grow confused as he tried to recall memories that happened what felt like so long ago to her, she couldn't imagine what it was like for him. To remember things from before... She knew they had kind of talked about what he lost but Najat wasn't sure how much he kept.

Her heart breaks a bit as he grew more confused and she wished there was something she could do to help him. "Kota, sweetie, I never went to the Giant Graves. I went and did..." She tired to remember exactly what she did "I think I went shopping or something frivolous of the sorts." Najat said softly.

Dakota stomach went sour. “You didn’t? I could have sworn…” He pulled again for the clearest part of his memory. Najat holding his shirt, the bloody dagger, being in the Citadel. He knew that had all happened, but they were a hazy line of ideas with large, gaping holes between them.

“That’s alright, I’ll just have to show you when we get back to Obaryian. No… we have to wait until next year, don’t we? We all used our two visits for the year. I won’t be able to go back there for months.”

That’s right. He could just barely remember feeling guilty, knowing that he wouldn��t be able to go and see his father’s memorial until the winter. And he wouldn’t be able to bring memorials for Kane or his aunt either. Wait, had he even done anything for them since they had died? Their bodies were eaten, so they couldn’t be given back to the river the way they should have been. Oh gods, how could he have forgotten something so important?!

Something leapt until inside of him and made his skin quiver.

Panic.

It was a feeling that he had learned to suppress, to tuck deep into himself. When one was the hunter, they had to understand the running, flighty prey, but never give into the same impulses. Panic also gave way to fear, and fear was something that made evil men satisfied. It made them smile, or it made them raise their fists for one fine, satisfying crack.

So, when the strange feeling seized him, he when stiff, the hairs on his body standing on end. For a moment he felt like a stag, cause wide eyed in a night hunter’s torch light before an arrow or spear met their mark. Dakota looked down and could see Najat, and almost feel her next to him, but the sudden ringing in his ears and the dark fading at the corners of his vision made everything numb. The ringing grew louder, and the shadows thicker, coming in towards the center as his knees buckled.

“Najat, don’t…”

let me fall on you.

Dakota couldn’t quite finish, as his legs gave out and he slumped hard onto the floor. Immediately, he tried to get back to his feet, but they were too heavy, and they slipped back under him. It left him folded in on himself, panting. Was this… was he having a panic attack? He held up his hands, the only thing he could do to show that he was still conscious. I’m okay. He tried to say it out loud, but it just sounded like wheezing between breaths. Dakota tried again, and still nothing. He put his head between his knees and hid his face in his hands.

Now she would worry after him again, and he’d have to see her twist and fret on the inside. Why couldn’t he just be normal, why couldn’t…

“Why can’t you do anything right, Oka? Hmm?”

A familiar, deep voice rumbled from somewhere in the fog of his memories and it made it start to shake. No no no nononono. The ghost of a hand, one that had been big enough to cover his whole back, dripped over one shoulder. What’s the matter, nephew? Did you hurt someone again? You know, for something so small, you really are a monster.

Dakota’s fingernails dug into his scalp. No, it wasn’t real. It didn’t happen this way.

Are you sure?

No, of course he wasn’t. Those memories were the ones that were just… missing. It was a relief but, sometimes, he remembered just enough. The catch of hands on this throat, or a sneering voice in his ear, that it made him sick to his stomach. They were dead, why couldn’t they both just stay dead.

Through the gaps in his fingers, the blurry, colorful shape that was Najat loomed above him. His eyes were getting wet. This wasn’t fair to her, to be like this. “..rry.” The word caught in his throat. “I…m s-sorry.”

Najat got down on the floor next time him and pull him into her. "Hey you're okay, you're okay.." She held him tight and laid her head on him. "You have no reason to apologize Kota, you've done nothing wrong. You're okay." It did pained her to see him like this, but only because he was hurting. Najat knew there was going to be some overwhelming feelings for him, she had prepared herself for a reaction like this.

Najat was content just sitting here reassuring Dakota, holding him, and telling him he is okay. She hoped his brothers words were has affective from her.

Dakota’s head dropped into her lap, his arms wrapping around her waist and squeezing. He clung to her like he would a raft in a violent squall, his face pressing into her knee as the shaking grew worse.

Why did it always have to come to this? Why did it always circle back to his pain? Because he was a terrible partner, that was all there was to it. If he could keep his mouth shut, for just a second, maybe he could listen better and give them what they needed. That was what it all came down to, wasn’t it? He always did something to disappoint them, and they ran away from in disgust. Perhaps Ammerlyn had been right all along. Maybe there was a hole inside of his heart that he needed to fill before he could start living.

No… no that wasn’t right. He could feel Najat’s breathing under him, her voice slowly hushing him. The snake woman had never held him like this the few times he had cracked, and all the self-loathing and doubt had come pouring out of him. She had coiled around him, yes, but only to better let her rubbery fangs slip into his neck so that her hot, dream time venom could rush to quiet him. That had always been her way of loving him. Tending to him in the way that was most efficient.

Hot tears stung at his eyes, beading through closed lids before they ran down his face. Dakota wasn’t sure why he started to quietly sob, but the more the tears fell, the more the tightness in his chest lessened. It was just like when he needed Amber’s poison out of him, squeezing the wound so that the clear venom dripped out until there was nothing but blood. There was just so much, from so many different sources, inside of him. How could he ever get it all out?

Slowly, his breaths steadied. His tight muscles relaxed and he was limp in Najat’s lap. His vision was still hazy, but now from just from the strain. One hand stayed at her waist while the other searched for her fingers, lacing them together and gently bringing them to his lips so he could kiss the back of her hand. “Sorry,” he said again, his voice hoarse. “It’s been… a while since that’s happened. I didn’t know something like that could trigger it. It used to only happen when I was angry.”

Angry and young and spitting at the world until he collapsed in on himself, filled with nothing left but the hate that festered inside of him like maggots in a corpse. At least that was one thing had taken out of himself. No more hot, terrible rage that made him lose control, or do something he would later regret. He could remember that, and that had to be good enough.

His lips ghosted her hand a second time. “Thank you for staying,” he whispered. “It must have been hard.”

Najat held him and kept reassuring him that he was okay, they were okay, everything was fine. She could feel the tears on her knee and her heart twisted in her chest.

Has he relaxed and calmed down, Najat grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze "You have nothing to apologize for Kota. Whatever causes it, whenever, I'll be right there with you. Always" Najats voice soft, almost humming. Her other hand stroked the side of his face, wiping the few tears off his cheek. "Always looking out for me," She chuckles softly "I'm good love. Is there anything I can get you? Some tea maybe?"

Dakota nuzzled his cheek into the side of Najat’s leg, letting out a tired sigh. “I think I should just get myself up.”

With a grunt, he pulled himself into a sitting position, his shoulder pressing against hers. He rubbed at his sore eyes with his palms, smirking. “What a mess,” he murmured. “Well, at least I know all of that is in working order. Guess now I just need a decent cold, and this body will be fully broken in.”

Dakota took her hand and kissed it again. “And I know…. You’ve always stayed. I’m grateful.” Round blue eye turned to meet her gaze They weren’t round with panic or fear, but still softer, more fragile then their usual, steady warmth. “Still, it’s not easy getting someone through that.” He gave he hand a squeeze. “I’ll just try to be sure it doesn’t happen too often.”

Najat rests her hand on his knee rubbing her thumb in soft soothing circles. "Just don't go and try to get yourself sick" She chuckled and gave his knee a squeeze. She chewed on her cheek away from him and worried that he might try to hide it from her if it happened again too soon. "I'll always stay, no matter what." Najat pressed her beak into his shoulder softly.

She really wanted to trust that Dakota wouldn't shut her out. She couldn't blame him for not wanting to feel that way, and she hated that she doubted him. The way he was talking though, it sounded like all the reasons she had given herself to shut everyone out before.

"You don't always get to control it Kota." She took a deep breath, she didn't know what to say or how to make him understand that it didn't matter to her. Whether it never happened again or happened every day for the rest of their lives, she'd be there for him every time.

A small laugh escaped him, though it sounded as strained as his voice. Maybe he should have taken her up on that offer of tea. “Well, lucky for you, I’m not one to catch sick. Giant bloods of any sort are hardy.” He looked at his free hand, turning it over to see the slightly off-color palm. “Maybe even more so now. Storm giants aren’t one of the diminished, so they’ve never needed to worry about growing smaller or weaker.”

“I know,” he then answered slowly, slipping his hand away from hers, only to rub the ridges along and down her back. “I’ve never been ashamed of the attacks or the dreams, not once I understood why they happened. Even the fear about choking always admitted to, if I was asked about it. I just worry that I’m not being… fair?” Dakota wasn’t sure if it should be a question or not. “Once I trust someone, I don’t feel the need to hide anything from them. But I know that that being so blunt can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to darker things. I don’t see my life as a tragedy or try not to at least. So why avoid what’s already happened?” A prick of guilt pricked his insides, and he couldn’t help but think of his brother. If any of them could claim a tragic life, it was Maka.

He let out a long sigh, closing his eyes and leaning to put his back against the wall. “I just need to be sure you tell me if it’s ever too much. I won’t be upset by that, I promise.”

Najat moves to her knees and gets in front of him. She puts both hands on either side of his face so he has no choice but to look at her when he opens his eyes. Her face calm but more serious then he'd ever seen her. "You listen here Odokata. Nothing, and I mean nothing, you could ever show me would ever be too much. Nothing." The only thing she knew she couldn't handle was the thought if her not being there for him if she could help it.

After her little sort of outburst, she let go of his face and set back on her heels and maintained eye contact. "Now, would you like a drink? Or are you hungry?" She always felt better about things when she had a snack, maybe it would help him too.

Dakota looked deep into Najat’s serious expression, and a drop of warmth fell inside of his chest, slowly spreading the more she spoke. It came with a strange mix of comfort and admiration. Najat had grown so much over the past few months. She still was easily flustered, and a bit childish, but the growing confidence shown through the most. Perhaps he had been treating her too delicately.

He leaned against one of her palms, smiling and nodding. “Okay baby,” he said softly, and followed by a small “thank you.”

At the mention of food, he rubbed at his throat. It was starting to feel sore now. “Something to drink, maybe, but mainly I’m a bit tired. I might actually need a nap.”

He chuckled. How long had it been since he had slept in the middle of the day, and not due to an injury? There had always been something to do, or something he should be doing. But with Home taking care of the feeding and the shelter, and probably the animals if asked, She handed all of their basic needs. It was enough to put an honest ranger out of work. “Well,” he said with a sigh. “Time to see how my legs are doing.”

Dakota still felt a bit wobbly, so he braced himself on the wall as he climbed back to his feet. His knees buckled momentarily but settled after few moments. That was the downside of being one of the tallest people in the room. It was easy enough to scoop Najat up, or someone who was tiny and thin, like Angelique or Sena. Heck, if the sky fell and they were in terrible trouble, he could probably carry Keda away from danger. And Sofia, who would be light but awkward simply due to her height. But being both tall and burly meant getting everywhere under his own power.

He looked down towards Najat with a smile. “I should be able to get back to the room. It’s not too far-”

The door to the music room suddenly shut on its own accord, then swung back open. Dakota jumped, almost falling back again. What in Skode’s name…? He looked through the door and found that, instead of the hall, he was looking straight from the music room into their bedroom. He blinked and then looked to Najat, bewildered. “Has She done that before?”

Najats cheeks flushed and was a bit shocked. It seemed her words had gotten through to him and she couldn't help but feel a little proud of herself. For once it seemed she was able to say the right thing. "Of course love" She gave him a small smile.

"Well then, we'll get you back to the room and then I'll fetch you whatever you'd like and you can nap" Najat stood up after she made sure he could stand on his own.

She went to go wrap an arm around his waist so he could use her for support when the door closed and opened again "She's just trying to help but not to my knowledge, no." At this point in her life there was very little that Home could do to surprise her. She grapped his hand and began to lead him to the bed.

Dakota gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, letting himself be shepherded over to the mattress where he managed to pull off his boots before he sank into the soft bedding. His head hit the pillow and already started to nod. This wasn’t helped when he felt a sudden weight push down on his chest, and found the squat, black and white stripped animal spirit making a nest out of his shirt. What was it been called again, a badger? He reached out and ran a hand down it’s back, and it’s thick, digging claws dug into the linen as it made contented grunting noises.

He struggled to keep himself awake, reaching again for Najat’s hand and giving it another firm caress. Dakota suddenly didn’t want to be asleep, but it was too late now. A warm animal now dozed on his ribs, and the bed was so soft. Almost too soft. He still wasn’t used to something this comfortable…

Despite his best efforts, the man dozed, his head lolling to one side in a halo of messy, blue-black hair. From under the covers, long, furry bodies, made of pale, green smoke, stuck out their whiskers out and wiggled them at the Saurial. They had mostly kept themselves to the nature folk that had arrived but, in this case, they thought it appropriate to show themselves. One of them scuttled and curled up into Dakota’s neck, becoming a ball of gaseous fur and tiny claws. The other stood on the large man’s hip, standing up on tiny legs and starring at the bard with big, opaque eyes, while a pointed noise twitched curiously.

Najat put Dakotas boots at the foot of the bed where they wouldn't be a tripping hazard later. She then grabbed her quilt from her side of the bed and went to drape it over most of his body. it didn't quite reach all the way down to his feet but she figured he'd sleep better if he could smell her scent.

Najat got distracted by some movement, and then she saw the sweet little creatures. She rubbed her eyes and when she opened them again she was being watched by curious eyes. "Hey there little guy" She squeaked with excitement.

Najat could have sworn there were two of them. When she found the second one all nestled up next to Dakotas neck, she giggled "That's a good place to sleep." Najat turned her attention back to the one on dakotas hip and slowly reached a hand curious to see what the creature would do.

The otter by Dakota’s neck yawned its agreement and wriggled in closer to his neck, grabbing strands of his hair to hold in the small paws. The badger, unseen to the bard, snuffled and dug in deeper, laying clear claim to the warm nest he had chosen a top the ranger’s chest. The otter that stood on Dakota’s hip watched as the scaled hand came towards it. It reached out and grasped curious paws around one finger, investigating with swishing whiskers. Its touch slid just a small bit into Najat’s skin, though the otter paid it no mind. If flesh things or big people didn’t like its cold touch, that was their issue and nothing anything the creatures in the Lady’s grove bothered themselves about.

Pulling Najat’s hand closer to it’s face, it brushed a quasi-solid cheek against her knuckle, the whiskers dancing along her skin. It sniffled and rubbed and made small, exploratory nibbles. Not enough to break skin, even if it were still alive, but to test the curious object now in its clutches. After a while, it found her good, or good enough for the time being, and it let out, plopped down to the floor. Like a banner of wriggling, green silk, it then scampered to the door, waiting by the door frame with a chirp. Now the door, still open, had returned to its view of the main hallway, as though nothing had ever changed.

A few other animals took notice of this odd display, though it was always odd with the otter couple: the rabbits in the hall peeked from their burrow in the base boards, as did the mice from their knot on the wall as the birds gossiped loudly about it all in plain view. One of the shy deer stuck her head out from her hiding place just enough to see what was going on, but then dashed away into one of the rooms. All but the otters, of course, were unseen now. Like the dryads and satyrs, the animals came and went as they wished. Even the big bulky centaur cook, who thundered up and down the halls on the regular with her powerful, shaggy hooves, was often not even a whisper to their guests.

One of these ghosts to notice of the otter in the door and paused. She was a dryad braided from long willow branches and leaves that wept to the floor until they became gray and frayed with scorch marks. She looked at the otter with suspicion, her arms folded around the mending she had taken from the elf brother and his celestial. Or at least, that is what he whispered when the night came outside the walls. She tilted her head, her hair full of water lilies and lake grass passing over a shoulder. Are you trying to get into the baths again? she asked the water beast.

The otter shook her head. The giant cub had emotions that went too many. But he’s sleeping now. The scale bird needs to get something for him.

Watery blue eyes narrowed. And you’re helping?

Smiling with bushy whiskers that pulled up towards the sides of her round face, the otter chirped. Helping!

Najat gasped at the cold touch of the tiny paws, but she was way too excited to even care. She let the animal explore her hand as it pleased and couldn't contain herself when it pulled her hand closer and rubbed its cheek against her knuckle. "Aren't you a curious one?" She giggled as the otters whiskers tickled her and it nibbled her skin. Najat sat happily until the otter was done.

She watched the otter jump off the bed and head toward the door. Najat started to follow the otter, she wanted to watch it some more. Besides she wanted to get some water for Dakota for when he woke up, his throat would be all sorts of dry between how hoarse it already sounded and the soft snoring he was doing now he was going to need it.

The otter perplexed her when it seemed to be chittering toward something she couldn't see. Najat stood there and watched the otter that had been distracting her from taking care of her ranger, she knew he'd understand.

When the otter noticed the bard was coming towards her, she did a small jump, turning in a circle then scurrying down the hallway in a flash. She scampered and wiggled from corner to corner, pausing just enough to see if the scale bird was following, before rounding a corner or surging forward. She allowed herself the most minor of distractions, like chittering as a squirrel who was being too nosy for his own good, or rubbing up against the old fisher who had been taking a nap in the sunny place. The dryad made of lilies and willow wood also followed behind them, picking up mending or a shirt thrown on the floor, but always stayed close behind them.

As the entered the kitchen, Avalon was there in the hiding space, though the apples he was cutting could still be seen. He was slicing them, a tongue between his teeth, into thin pieces, the way the bard had shown him to cut cucumbers. When the otter came, chirping for water, he turned around to see Najat had come as well. He grinned and willed himself out of hiding, appearing just by the counter.

“Look et!” he said, pointing to the lumpy, but circular, apple slices. “I did it again!”

Najat watched the otter with curious eyes and followed her friend through the hall. She watched as the otter would look and talk to things Najat couldn't see.

Najat didn't see Von at first, maybe she was distracted by the cute fuzzy noodle, or maybe he wasn't there to begin with. Either way Najat was a bit startled when the curly haired boy started talking to her. She walked over to see his handy work. "You're doing a wonderful job!"

Von hoped from one small hoof to another, his curly goat tail wiggling behind him in excitement. If there had still been color in his skin, he would have been flushed pink. Instead, Najat would only see how pleased he was from the broad flash of his smile. “I’ve been practicing! But Holly says that I should be do’n wedges for apples. And lemons. And limes. I tried to slice up the pomegranates, but that didn’t go so good, so I’ll leave those to her.”

Seeds and blood red juice had been everywhere, and Von had not resisted one bit when the lady centaur had scooped him up and handed him through the walls to his older brother. His brother had just sighed and ruffled his hair. It was times like that that Von thought he saw something tired and scary in the older faun’s eyes. Scary because it spoke of something unknown and scary that he was scared to ask about. Unless it was a bad day. He always asked a lot on bad days, because he knew the forgetting was coming and he would be forgetting all over again.

He looked up at the Saurial and something like a pain pricked him. He hoped the forgetting wouldn’t be for a long, long time. He liked these people. They talked to them.

He pointed to the otter, who was pawing as the curly fur that bunched at his hooves. “She says you need water. You wanna aaahhh….”

Von looked to Miss Willow, who was standing in the door frame in the hiding place. His bottom lip stuck out as he tried to remember the word. She mouthed it to him, and his floppy ears perked up from the nest of curls on his head. “A pitcher! You wanna pitcher?”

Najat beamed a proud smile at him and looked back over to his apple cutting. "Well Holly has a point. It'd be easier to cut those fruits into wedges, but," she grabs a piece of what's already been sliced and takes a bite "I like my apples sliced, it's how my dad would do it." Hopefully she wasn't stepping on Holly's toes by encouraging the young fauns cutting techniques. Najat only wanted Von to be proud of himself.

Najat imagined what it looked like when Von had tried to cut a pomegranate and seeing has she couldn't do so without making a mess she feared the blood like disaster the kitchen had become.

Najat looked back at the otter at their feet. She'd completely forgot her mission to get some water. Between the otter playing as she lead Najat toward the kitchen and Von being so excited to show her his growing chopping skills, it had slipped her mind. Most troubling things did when she was around Von though. It was easy to remember to live in the moment with the kid around. Most kids... why did that word put a pit in her stomach.. "Water.. Yes! Right! A pitcher would be great Von! Somehow I think he'll drink it all." She kept her smile friendly.

Von’s tail wiggled in excitement. “You have a dad?” he asked, eyes lighting up with curiosity. “I think I had a dad once, though I can’t remember him too well. I mostly remember he told me about my mom being a pretty lady from an apple tree, that’s how I got my name!” He then caused to think. “Or maybe my brother old me that story? He said his mother was actually Miss Laurel but ssssssh.” He hid his mouth behind his hands, whispering loudly. “We’re not supposed to know that!”

Clip clopping over to where the dishes were stored, he tried streeetching up towards the pitcher on the far self, teetering on the tip of his hooves, but still unable to put his fingers over the sculpted glass. Miss Willow let out a sigh, and the sound of wind through long, weeping branches filled the kitchen. She glided towards shelves, plopping the clothes into a basket for washing. They fell out of the hiding place and into the large, wicker container with soft ‘thump’. With her long, brown fingers she reached above Avalon’s head, taking the glass and handing it down to him.

Both hands, she reminded him before ruffling curls.

He grinned at her. “I remember!” Then he rushed towards the sink and the water pump.

Von was just barely able to get the water going by using both hands and throwing his full weight against the mechanism. “You know I asked Mary once about his dad, since he’s a faun too.” Von said, picking up the earlier subject like it was a marble he had dropped on the ground and rushed to retrieve. “Cause fauns always stay with our dads until we’re big enough. He just laughed at me and said he only knew that his father had big, swoopy horns like he did. And snow colored hair too. He didn’t know anything else. Something about him only seeing down to his neck?” Von held his breath, just for a moment, while the water rose in the pitcher. It almost flooded over but stopped just before spilling. The faun grinned his satisfaction.

Reaching down he tried to lift the full pitcher, but Miss Willow quickly put a stop this. She took it in her arms, the item seeming to float in mid-air until it was presented to Najat. For a moment, the air smelled of damp, loamy earth, rainwater and the sound of small waves lapping against a distant shore.

Najat listened eagerly as the young boy talked about his family. She felt it rude not to answer his question. "Yep I have a dad, I even have an older bother like you." Najats heart twisted when she mentioned Nile, kind of wishing she hadn't let Keda talk her out of reaching out to him. 'It's for the best. Nile could get hurt if you tried' She reminded herself. "And I'll keep the secert" she winked at him.

Najat went to go help Von reach the pitcher but someone neat her to it, she thinks, and based on the basket she saw appear out of the corner of her eye, she was right.

Najat listened to Vom as he talked about the assassin. She was still a little bitter they has ripped into her loves chest but she was trying to move past it. They made Duncan happy and was almost enough for her. Najat gave the appropriate hmms and ahhs but was a little more focused on the water filling up, making sure he didn't make a mess.

The dino watched the pitcher, as a nice familiar scent wafted through the air. When the pitcher was right in front of her no longer moving she took it into her arms and whispered a "Thank you" to the invisible person. Then she turned to Von "Mary told you all of that?" She still hadn't really heard them say more then a few sentences at a time but she wasn't going to push them to open up more. Mary seemed to not understand making a connection like that to anyone but Von was different even to them. "If you'd like, when have time to sit, I can tell you about my dad and all his goofiness. If it's okay?" She added the last part more toward the wall asking his brother, not wanting to get the young one in trouble.

Najat could feel that a bit of water had soaked through her shirt and tried to remember if there was still a cup on her bedside table

Von took her elbow and joined her in going back down the hall. He wasn’t sure where they were going but wanted to follow her anyway. “I would really like that!” he said, his stubby tail fluttering. “If you have a mom, I’d like to hear about her too! Moms seem neat! Marys always sounds scary, but cause she’s too strong, and Duncan said his mom used to help him find shells on the beach. Stories like that are the ones I like the best.”

When she spoke about mary, his grin grew as big as it could be. “Yeah, Mary has lots of interesting things to say if you can get them to talk. It took them a while to talk to me, even though I always thought they looked cool. A red faun with wings!” The ghost eyes glittered and he did a little jump in the air, trying to catch a breeze. “But one day the sword people were bad, and Duncan… was also with bad people” the joy in the boy’s eyes faltered just a bit. He missed Duncan. When was he coming back?

Von then perked up again. “Anyway, Duncan was gone and the sword people weren’t being nice. The sword lady is always whispering bad things, and the sword man is always hugging them too much. My bother says you shouldn’t hug someone if they don’t want you to, but the sword man never listens, he’s really rude! And when they start talking together, it used to be waaay to loud. But that’s okay, cause I told them to

GO AWAY.”

The boy’s voice deepened, and the soft, boyish sparkle crystallized into a dark, sizzling flash. Home went silent, as if the entire space sucked in a tight breath. Miss Willow, who had been following them just in case, dived into the wall, trembling, and the animals scattered. Only the otter stayed, but she followed behind them, tail down looking nervous. For a moment the Avalon looking at Najat warped, like a reflection in water being disturbed. Something shifted inside of him, raising its head, testing then air, before ducking down into sleep. And then, in a blink, Von looked just as he always had. Small and bright and curious.

“So they went away.” He giggled, not noticing the gap in his thoughts. “They come back now and again, but they know not to be so loud. This isn’t their place, it’s our place. So, they need to learn their manners! And Mary really liked that, so they started talking to me. Mostly to ask questions at first, but they started telling me things. And now we’re friends!”

Von squeezed her elbow and nuzzled, lamb like, against her shirt. In a softer voice he added. “I like having friends.”

Najat slowed her pace so that Von could keep up with her, a habit she developed for the twins. "I do have a mom. She's super nice, and she's the one who taught me to play music. I also have a brother and sister just a little older then you." Talking about her family was a little bitter-sweet and made her heart ache a bit. "But yeah moms are pretty neat"

Najats heart melted a little bit when Von was all smiles. "Well maybe then Mary and I can find something to talk about." She'd try if it made Von happy, and she was certain it would. Najat giggled when the boy tried to fly. She listened to him talk about Mary's swords and the more he talked the more she was glad they were put away. "It is always nice to make sure someone wants a hug" she confirmed for his brother.

Najats step faltered a bit when Von changed. It scared her a bit. Before she had fully processed what Von had done, the sweet, innocent boy she knew was back. "I'm glad the sword people learned a lesson." She kept the small amount of fear out of her voice. "And I'm glad Mary has a friend like you!"

Najat smiled when she felt the slight chill of Vons touch against her hip. Matching his tone "I do too"

When Von realized they were going back to the bedroom, the room that had once been Duncan’s but was now Najat’s, Von clopped forward and made sure the door was pushed back for her. The otter bolted pasted him, leaping onto the bed and wrapping herself around her mate. They became a fluffy nest tucked into Dakota shoulder, who shifted slightly in his sleep. The badger, now under the quilt, grumbled again but just dug deeper into the folds of the fabric. Von, feeling and seeing the animals, laughed. “They really like your person,” he said in a low voice, pointing towards the sleeping half giant.

He clopped forward just a bit, pulling himself up on the massive bed frame so he could get a better look at Dakota. His hooves now dangled, causing a bit of green mist to gather around him. Somewhere, in hazy images from a long, long time ago, Avalon thought he saw giants. Big, brown and green skinned people who lived deep in the forest and tended the old trees near the lady’s grove. He found it sad, sometimes, that none of them could be with them, but they probably would have been too big to help. And if they pulled the carriage, that would take away the job from the oxen, which wouldn’t be very nice.

Easing himself back onto the floor, Von turned to Najat. “I should go back to helping now,” he whispered. “But next time you see me, can you tell me about your… family?” The word was a question. Von understood fathers and mothers, people who helped make you, and brothers because he had one, but a unit that combined it all was a foreign concept.

With a wave, he giggled and ran into one of the walls, the sound echoing slightly before fading into silence. Home, ever watchful, made the walls creak with her sigh. Oh, her dear boy. What was she going to do with him?

In the bed, Dakota stirred again. He tried to roll over but jumped awake when the badger nipped at his stomach. Bleary eyes cracked open, making the blue eyes sleepy and hooded. He spotted Najat and smiled at her lazily. He then scooped up the badger, which grunted and fussed, turning towards the middle of the mattress. The otters chittered and dover under the quilt, taking up a new spot in the small of his back, while the badger made a new bed in the warren that Dakota’s arms and the soft blanket made.

Najat giggled has she watched her otter wrap around her mate. They reminded her of her and Dakota. "He's a pretty great person" she beamed at her half giants sleeping form. Hearing Von call him her preson warmed her heart.

Najat walked over to her nightstand and put the pitcher down, watching Von to make sure he didn't wake Kota up. Looking at the two of them on the bed gave her heart a warm feeling, but her stomach went a little sour. Like she was forgetting something important, she just could put her finger on it and it was a bit frustrating.

"Of course, has long neither of us are too busy. I'll tell you all about my family and I'll even show you pictures of them" There were a couple of drawings in her notebook. Najat was afraid of forgetting what they looked like early on in her adventures so she drew them, their faces, all of them together. Her mom in the kitchen, her dad playing with the twins, different things like that.

Najat waved back at the young boy and sat down on the bed, and sat in the silence for a moment.

Najat turned toward Dakota when he jumped and smiled back at him. She watched the otters scurry under the blankets and giggled softly, "Aw, you scared my friend and her partner" she fake pouted

Dakota’s eyes peeked back open, smiling and reaching out for her. “They’re still here…” he mumbled, feeling their ghostly prickly at the small of his back. He shivered, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.

His mind fought to stay above the surface. But Dakota’s thoughts were heavy and kept wanting to slip back down to the warm depths of sleep. He pulled himself up onto his elbow, hooded eyes blinking hard as he rested his chin against his palm. But all the helped to do was prop his neck at an odd angle as he started to doze again, his head nodding dangerously forward.

Najat took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. She moved to sit crossed leg with her back toward her pillow.

"Easy there love" Najat softly pushed on his shoulder, pressing him back down to the bed. "You still look exhausted Kota." No matter how much she wanted to spend some time with him, she knew he needed to rest.

Dakota grumbled something unintelligible in giant. He reached out and took old of her waist, tucking her in so he could use her lap as a pillow. In a few breathes he was sound asleep.

The badger, tired of all this moving, finally appeared. He made grumpy growls at Najat before burying under her pillow. The next cub that bothered him would be getting a slap across the jaw!

Najat chuckled and stroked his hair softly. "We'll try that again when you wake up" Najat didn't plan on going anywhere when he fell back asleep but with his head in her lap it was going to be impossible for her to move. She was content with it though.

Najat yelped when the animal appeared to her. He seemed angry, though if he'd been here the whole time she could imagine why. "Sorry little buddy, I didn't know you where there." She whispered

After a time, Dakota’s eyes opened, a bit groggy but no longer heavy. He let out a long sigh. His sleep had been empty and black, which he was thankful for. Mostly. In a way he had wished for… something. But what he couldn’t be sure.

Feeling a familiar softness, he nuzzled his cheek against Najat and looked over to her. “Did you find your way in here or did I trap you?” He laughed quietly, his voice pitched low from sleep.

Dakota gave her a light squeeze. Trapped probably. He was a hunter after all. It did feel wrong letting things go once he has them in his grasp.

Najat could feel her ranger starting to stir. Not a moment to soon, her legs where beginning to go numb. "Is it trapped if I just let it happen?" She laughed with him.

"Did you get enough rest? Do you need a drink? How are you feeling?" She realized by the third question that she sounded like her mom and she laughed a bit.

Dakota laughed. “Some creatures enjoy the chase,” he let out a playful growl that tumbled deeper then normal. “There are jack rabbits and carp that like setting off traps just to play games.”

Pulling himself up, he leaned against the head board so he could be shoulder to shoulder with Najat. “Some water would still be nice,” he said, rubbing at his throat. When he swallowed, it felt like his throat was made of the rough paper Maka used to smooth out the surface of bow shafts.

With a smile, he then added. “I think so. Normally an hour or so and I’m fine.” Dakota then let out a long breath. “Better. I know you said to not apologize, but I’m still sorry.” He smiled as best he could. “I think it was just all catching up at once. I’m still not sure how to feel about my family and… all of it.”

“It’ll be settle in eventually. It always does.”

"Yeah? Well I guess I need to work on not getting caught in the trap" Najat laughed

She reaches over and carefully pours him some water and hands him the glass "Here drink up." She was glad she had decided to go for the pitcher instead of just a glass.

"That's good, though I think you need to apologize to your little cuddle partner. He didn't seem to happy with us earlier." She pointed to the pillow She watched the animal escape under "The reason I said not to be sorry is because I don't want you to feel upset or guilty about something you can't control. Like I said earlier I'm here and I'm not making anywhere. No matter what." She emphasized her last sentence and gave his shoulder a peck with her beak.

Dakota took the glass and slowly drank, not wanting to choke. It helped soothe a bit, but it might take a full day to feel back to normal. Giving back the glass he chuckled. “I’ll have to practice making stronger traps then.”

His muscles coiled suddenly, and he snatched Najat up to set her on his lap. Dakota kissed her horn, smiling. “I just want to be fair,” he answered softly. “I’ve been used to taking care of myself for years, so it’s nice to have people I can rely on. That aren’t my family at least. I just don’t want it to be too much. And,” he added, before she could respond. He could almost hear her take in a breath.

“I’m not saying I won’t need you to be there.” Dakota brushed a thumb along her cheek. “I trust you. I just don’t want you to be over vigilant. Does that make sense?”

Najat sets the glass on the nightstand "All that will do is make me more clever and do you REALLY want that?" She joked

She yelped as she was scooped and placed on his lap. Her cheeks flushed when he kissed her horn. She opened her mouth to say something but she didn't expect him to continue.

"Over vigilant? How could I be over vigilant when it feels like I'm not doing enough, like I can't do enough." She took a deep breath "You've done so much for me, I only want to try to do the same for you" she finished quietly

Dakota grinned broadly. “But I like a clever fox. They’re the best kind to play with.” He chuckled. “But I guess I you would be more a clever lizard.”

His smile then softened, and both hands moved to cup her face. His thumbs traced the small grooves of her scales. “You absolutely do enough.” Dakota leaned forward to press his forehead against hers. “I know that it must not be easy, watching me be hurt. And I would be lying if there used to be a part of me that didn’t feel like it was necessary. Like my life had to mean something or everything that had happened to me was a waste.”

Like his father has died for nothing. That was the biggest fear.

“I can’t promise I won’t be covered back in scars again, but I don’t feel I have anything to prove anymore. All I want to do is help you and the others get through this year in one piece. And I know it must help them, having someone along who takes time to sing and make them smile. It’s just a different way of taking care of people.”

"Fox, lizard, either way I'd still figure out how to out smart your traps" Najat giggled.

She tilted her head into his touch and let out a sigh "It's definitely not a walk in the park but.." Her thoughts trailed off, she wasn't sure how to say what she was feeling. "But, sometimes I don't feel like.." She was getting frustrated with herself "Ugh! I can't do this. I don't know how to describe it or say it or whatever."

Najat wanted to just lock herself away but knew it wouldn't slove anything.

Dakota gently kissed her bottom lip. “That’s alright. Words are better if you take a while to find them. That’s why we have song writers, hmm?”

He voice went lower, kissing her again before whispering. “And you don’t always have to tell me how you feel. You can always show me.”

Dakota’s hands wandered up to support her neck and the back of her head, leaning in for a deeper kiss. His dark skin flushed. She was going to get sick of him soon if he kept this up, but he found he had missed this. Wanting to be affectionate with someone, and Najat make it all the sweeter.

When he broke away, he grinned and rubbed the side of her face. “So, clever girl.” Dakota showed all his white teeth. “You going to try to get away?”

A sense of relief washed over her. Not talking about her felt like a good idea. At least for right now. Najat giggled "show you huh?"

Najat put her arms on his shoulders and links her hands together and returned his kiss. It felt deep and passionate. It was sweet and loving. Her cheeks and chest felt warm. She loved how affection he could be.

She giggled as he gave her a toothy grin and got up on to her knees. "If I do, what? Are you going to set a trap and catch me?"

“Mmmhmm.” He gave her another kiss, humming as he did. Dakota’s fingers then, slowly, started to work their way down.

Carefully he traced the grooves at the back of her skull, the dip of her throat, and then worked down to her shoulders, ribs and finally came to rest at her hips. As he did so, gently, he let himself slip down, parting his legs so that they spread on either side of her. Soon he had his back on the mattress, his hair spooled around him, and his knees pulled up so that they touched the side of her arms. “I really think you should,” he said carefully, one hand moving from her waist so he could hook a finger on the front lacing of his tunic.

Pulling the knot apart, he continued until the first cross came undone. It would be just enough to show a window of the firm pectoral muscles underneath. Dakota was not terribly smart, or a good actor, however, he knew Najat always grew flustered when she saw his chest. Even when he had not been quite sure how she felt about him, seeing him shirtless and chopping firewood in the fletcher’s yard had been enough to turn her an entirely new shade of pink. It made him feel slightly guilty but, when it came to prey, you had to be precise with their bait. Hyenas liked fresh, easy meat and Najat liked his abs.

“You can always try,” he said softly, smiling up at her and sliding one of his knees against her elbow. He hoped it would be just distracting enough so that she wouldn’t notice his feet coming closer together. Dakota then dragged another finger on the lacing of his shirt, threatening to undo the next cross section. “Unless you have something better to do?”

Najat could feel every nerve in her body come to life. Every touch sent electricity through her. She stayed on her knees, getting ready to make her run for it.

Then suddenly her mind stopped working right. Looking at him with that look in his eyes, like she was his prey, it stirred something in her. "What if I don't?" She joked.

When the fabric opened up and exposed his perfectly sculpted muscle, she had to stop herself from drooling a bit and her face went bright pink. He knew her weakness and she couldn't do anything about it.

Najat fought to get her mind straight. He wanted to play games, fine she could play. Maybe.. At least she could try. She slid her hands up his thighs to his knees and pushed herself onto her feet waiting for the perfect moment to jump away from the very dangerous hunter "Something better then running?" Has She finished speaking she lept over his knee and rolled to the other side of the bed.

Dakota was almost disappointed when he didn’t feel her put her hands on him. He wanted to feel her run her fingers up his stomach. Had he gotten uglier in the last few days or was she just finally realizing that he was just a brute with long arms? Then she ran her fingers up to his knees, and all wheels turning in his mind stretched to a hault. He swallowed down the sound that wanted to escape. She was already starting to learn how to make him warm and bothered and it made his heart flutter.

The distraction was just enough to let her skip, out of his reach and before he could lock his legs around her like a vice. Dakota smirked, looking up at her with an evil grin. Well then, onto plan B.

Najat’s quilt was still dangled off of him. Grabbing it, he turned and threw it at her face and used the momentum of the throw to pull himself forward. He dove at her knees, locking his arms around them and throwing his full weight at the mattress. Dakota then corkscrewed, shifting so that he would send her crashing into the pillows. For a moment, he marveled at the coiled muscles in his back and arms. He had always been quick and lean, but his new form was nimble like a panther. And with no old injuries to catch in bones, it was like there was liquid steal running through him. It made his face flush with a thrill.

When they had landed, he grabbed for the hem of her shirt on both sides and yanked it up towards her face, trying to knot it together quick enough to bind up her hands. Dakota could, of course, have shifted his weight on top of her and pinned her down, but was having too much fun with the chase. Besides…

An old, deep anxiety plucked at his chest. Najat trusted him with her body, but he knew that trust could be shattered with a single touch. So, he must always think of his size, his weight, his strength, his… his everything. Because if he ever looked down and saw her staring up with him in blank terror, his heart would rend, and he would die at the spot.

Najat was proud her plan of escape had worked. Unfortunately for her, she started her victory celebration a little too soon. She wasn't quick enough to catch her flying quilt and as she removed the blanket, her legs were caught. The room supn and she found herself under Dakota. She knew he was stronger, and with his long legs, he was faster then her, but she still couldn't help but marvel at him. The scars and old injuries were gone but was it possible that in his new body he was even stronger and faster? It just ment she'd have to reevaluate her next escape.

When her back hit the pillows, she knew if he grabbed her arms she'd have no more free limbs and she be truly trapped.

Najat kept her arms moving, wiggling all about. Anything to keep her hands free, she wasn't going to make this easy for him. He could try to tie her up but he'd have to fight her for it, and she was throughly enjoying it. Najat was laughing and smiling and planning.

She had an idea that might give her an edge but wasn't horribly set that it would work. She wrapped both arms around his shoulders and used her elbows to pull his hands away from her. If she was strong enough to. Otherwise her next plan was to use giggle warfare and try to tickle him off of her.

Dakota couldn’t help but laugh as her arms flailed under him. He had to keep himself from grabbing her wrists. It wasn’t sporting, since even prey got to keep their claws. So, he would let her have her fingers. But, of course, that didn’t mean she needed her legs.

Pulling himself close, he pressed his hips against hers, locking his legs over her thighs and crossing them behind her knees. He let go of her shirt then, putting on her waist and one on the small of her back. They were there to both keep her still and to keep her from falling off the bed. That last thing they needed was her smacking her head on the nightstand or, worse, the floor.

“Going to claw yourself free, little fox? I’m sure it won’t take me too long to find the new warren.” Dakota chuckled, slipping the hand on her waist under her shirt so he could roll his thumb around her navel. He made the movements nice and slow. “But while I’m here, I might as well assess this interesting tail of yours.”

Moving his hand down from the small of her back, he stroked the bumps on her tail before slipping his fingers to the softer under side. Dakota had always wondered just how sensitive it was and now seemed like the best time to tease her. So, he ran his hands along the scales before digging in his palm and going against their grain from the tip of the tail to the base.

“Do you like that?” Dakota almost purred. It was a teasing question, but he meant it. He sneaked a kiss onto her neck. “Or should I stop?”

Najat tried to wiggle her legs free but they weren't going anywhere. His hands on either side of her body was going to be trouble for her. Not that she minded the kind of trouble it caused.

"Foxes have also been know to bite, so I'd watch yourself" she smirk. His warm hand on her skin shorted her brain. Has his thumb rolled across her skin it sparked a small fire in her belly to life.

Najats back arches just the slightest has his hand moved to her tail. Her eyes closed and her head lulled to one side. She had no thoughts, no plan of escape, her mind was empty. All there was was Dakotas hand on her tail. It was all she needed. Then has the scales pulled a little her tail twitched and as a sinful noise escaped her mouth. "No, please don't stop" her voice was breathy and almost sounded like a whine.

“You can bite me any time you want, little one,” he whispered into her ear. “And would you like to know a secret?” A playful grin brushed against the side of her face. “I’m a fox as well, only I can hide my tail. The people at the Crown of the World chase after me when they see it, because when it brushes against the ice it lights colored fires in the sky. Even now, when you go far enough to the north, you can look up into the night sky and see them. Would you like to come back and see them with me, lovely lady? Now that I’ve caught you?”

Dakota whispered the old frost giant story in a soft, warm voice. His face was flushed, and he could feel his blood rising elsewhere as the lovely noises pour from Najat’s throat. He released her legs before tucking a loose arm around her body and putting a knee gently between hers so that she could move how she needed. All throughout he continued to rub her tail, increasing the massaging and the speed but being mindful to not pay too much attention to the same spot. He didn’t want the friction on her scales to be painful.

Dakota kissed a line along her neck. He wasn’t sure if this would be enough for a full pleasure, or just enough to excite her. “Just tell me if you need more, baby,” he soothed her. “Anything you want, I’ll give you.”

Najat kind of had to force herself to focus on his story. His voice smooth and warm drove her crazy. "I'd go anywhere with you, you just might have to catch me again." She teased him smirking as she did.

Najat barely noticed he'd free her legs. She could feel his arm wrap her up but it wasn't tight enough. She wanted to to be pinned against him. She wanted to feel him on every inch of her body. The more he played with her tail the more that want grew to need. Najat wrapped her arms around his back, pulling him closer. She raked her fingers up and down his back. Her voice caught in her throat and all that came out of her mouth was those sweet noises he liked so much. His lips on her neck drove her right over the edge, she needed him bad.

Najat pulled at his shirt and ran a hand under the fabric, across his abs and up to his pecs. Her other hand still pulling him closer. Anything to have her hands on his skin.

Dakota managed one last playful grow before her hands were dancing all over him, and all thought of gods and foxes tucked themselves deep into his brain. He let out a sharp cry, lost for a moment as she seemed to desperately pull at him. It made his heart hammer and soul glad all at once. To be supported and wanted all at once.

Gathering her up, he pressed them both down as hard as he dared as he kissed and rocked their bodies together. He wished he could spend just a little more time cherishing the feeling of her skin, but he knew she was close and didn’t wish to deny her the release. “Wrap your legs around me,” he panted, then pressed her hard to his chest and pulled them both up.

Then again, he had her in his lap, his lips on her neck as he held in both arms. “Now I can hold you as tight as I want,” he managed to whisper before working free the last bits of clothing that kept them apart. “And you can feel everything.”

Dakota made sure to care for his love, one arm locked against her back while his big hand cradled her head. Once her muscles relaxed again, he carefully guided her into place before linking them together. Both arms stayed fixed around her, holding her neck and waist as he was gentle and slow. Almost too slow, but he pressed his forehead into her collar bone, almost sobbing his desire as he waited for them both to start moving as one.

And then when that time came and it, along with all the kissing and calling and pressing her heart so close that it seemed to merge into his, was done, he rested limp against the pillows. Reaching up, he stroked her face and caught his breath. “I wish…” he said with a soft smile “I could always hold you that close… But your ribs might not enjoy that.”

A gentle smile then played across his face and he took up both her hands and kissed them. “Thank you for being silly with me,” he breathed on her skin. “It means so much.”

Dakota then looked up, his eyes wandering and checking for any sign of harm. “Is your tail okay?” he asked, softly petting it and going with the scales. “It doesn’t hurt when I touch it?”

Najat held him tight in her arms and let him move and rock her body with his. She did as she was told and wrapped her legs around his waist , keeping herself up against his muscular body. Her voice a melody of cries of his name and other noises.

Her hands wondered all over his body, feeling secure and euphoric in his grip. She help discard clothes throwing it away from them. "Good, that's exactly what I want to do"

Najat could feel a coil tighten in her core before it snapped and she felt herself relax into his arms. She put a hand on the back of his head when he put head on her shoulder has she rock her hips.

Everything was said and done, Najat focused on catching her breath and relaxing her tenses body. She leaned into his hand "Who needs ribs anyway?" She gave him a big smile.

"Being silly is just who I am, but you're welcome." Why wouldn't she play a d be silly with him? She poked his cheek and giggled "Besides I has to prove you wrong!"

"My tail is fine, great even." She didn't know just how sensitive it could be, but this was a good way to find out. Dakota was the first person to ever really play with it, and she was glad it was him to help her discover herself. "I don't think so. Everything is still kinda tingly." She chuckled and she hid her cheeks as they went pink, slightly embarrassed.

Dakota chuckled. “Your heart.” He leaned up to kiss her sternum. “I think your heart very much needs your ribs.”

“Good,” he then added. Dakota��s hands found her shoulders so that he could pull her stomach to be flush with his. “I want to help you find all the hidden places.” Though his body was relaxed and boneless, they were still connected, so he rolled his hips while his mouth took the time to appreciate the parts of her skin he had neglected in their frenzy. Hopefully it would be just enough to add to any lingering tremors in her body.

Dakota opened his mouth to say something, but the words stuck tight in his throat. He coughed and swallowed, the lingering soreness making it pulse all the way down. He nuzzled her shoulder, still gently moving, and tried again. “And I know you are, ástin mín.” The flush that still lingered on his skin deepened. He loved that she had taken the time to learn his language. Usually, it was only other giant bloods or the rare Ulfen that could understand him. But she had taken the time to care, even if that care originally came from the tinniest bit of spite.

“You’re silly and sweet and I just…” He stopped, holding her close and breathing her in. “I’ll never stop being grateful, for the way you remind me I don’t have to be so serious all the time. It’s exhausting.”

Dakota rested his head on her shoulder, arms and legs tucked around her. He needed to break away soon or they would be in trouble, even if it was the fun kind, but he wanted to stay close just a bit longer.

Najat knew this was going to sound cheesy but she couldn't help it "Why would my heart need my ribs when it's in your hands?" Cayden, she was a dork!

Najat laid her head on his shoulder, nuzzling herself into the crook of his neck. "I might just take you up on that" she chuckled. Her nerves were still tingly and alive. His lips danced across her skin setting those nerves on on high again.

She became a bit concerned when he coughed and sat up "You okay? Do you need a drink?" She wanted to get up and get him some water, instead she let herself stay in his arms not ready do be even an inch away from him.

"About time you figure that out hjartað mitt. I tried telling you, I don't know how many times. But, I'll remind you everyday if you need me to." She wrapped herself around him holding him a little tighter the she planed but she was a little afraid he'd let go

Dakota couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll be careful with it then, but I can’t promise anything about your lungs.” He let his head rub against hers, being careful of budge ridges and feathers that tickled his nose. “Bards have to handle them all on their own.”

As she pulled herself tighter to him, he let out a happy sigh. “Just a bit hoarse, nothing to worry about,” he said softly. “And you’d better. I’d feel neglected if you weren’t reminding me of something.”

With her wrapped so tightly around him, Dakota was able to carefully able to ease her onto her back. “Say that more time before you leave me,” he whispered to her, rocking again, moving to be just a bit deeper. He knew she really wasn’t leaving him, just that they needed to come apart, which at that moment felt like it would be forever. “Just one more time before I have to hunt you down again.”

"I think it's worth the risk" Najat shrugs her shoulder and smiles.

She nods "If you're sure" Najat sighed still a bit concerned but she trusted him "Neglected huh? Guess it's a good thing I have a pretty good memory."

"What? hjartað mitt?" She laughed to hide the bit of insecurity has she said the Giant words again. Insecure that her pronunciation was a little off or the accent wasn't right. "Are you sure you want to let me go? You might not catch me this time?"

Dakota smiled broadly. “Yes, that.” He kissed her throat. “Keep calling me that.”

He had started to breathe in swallow pants again and knew that in only a few more moves she’s feel him rising again. She might be delighted, she might not. He needed to be sure. “Depends,” he whispered. “Do you want more, baby?” Dakota’s voice was soft but serious. “Would that be too much?”

Dakota then kissed the side of her beak, holding her face as looked into her eyes. “Because I’m not worried about finding you. I know I’ll always find you.”

There was a certainty that crackled in his eyes like the lightening in his new blood. If his soul could drag itself back through the river of souls to stay in a broken body, just for the chance to see her… Well, what force on this plane or any other could stop him from finding her again?

Her heart melted at his smile. She would call him that a thousand times if that what he wanted, anything to see that look on his face. "Alright hjartað mitt. Anything for you" Her smile was soft but jubilant.

She could feel him grow a bit tense, and her smile grew to more of an evil smirk "Finding and catching are to VERY different things hunter." She said in an alluring way.

Dakota leaned into her, a breathy chuckle on his lips. “What am I doing to do with you, foxling? Didn’t your mother teach you not to tease your mate?”

Still holding the sides of her face he pressed against her, drinking in a deep kiss. “If those are my choices…” His voice was barely audible “then I suppose I should keep you while I can.”

Dakota sank into her, voice now a string of soft murmurs. Now that they were both warm and relaxed, he loved her slowly, attending to the finest details on her skin while he pressed himself in as deeply as her body would allow. This time, he wanted to feel embery passion that was breathed tenderly into a flame, rather then quick, lusty zeal. Both had their place, but this time Najat could savor every last breath that moved in and out from her lungs.

He worked with her to make sure their pleasures would rise and fall as one. As his own crashed through him, he saw stats and white space.

When his vision swam back into focus, Dakota pulled himself away before tucking Najat inti his arms. He kissed and soothed, whispering her name and making sure she has not been overwhelmed or pushed beyond any unknown limits. As he kissed her, sweat pooled on his brown before dripping down his neck. He was a mess and would need a good bath when he found his legs again.

“Still with me baby?” He asked quietly. “Do you need anything?”

Najat giggled "yeah no, she was to busy teaching me how to play guitar and making cookies."

She returned his kiss with a deep passion. "Whos teasing who now hmm? It's not nice to play with you prey like that."

Najat relaxed as he moved through her. Her hands wondered across every inch of his body she could reach. She enjoyed the time they were taking this time. It was nice being able to enjoy themselves not that she didn't enjoy the fast pace needy time either.

As they worked together and she reached her peak, her vision spotted and went tunneled to blackness.

She kept a hand against his body until tucked herself under his arm and into his side. She kept her eyes closed, slowly catching her breath and steadied herself. It took longer then she liked. She was fine, good, just couldn't find her voice to let him know. She felt warm and loved and like nothing could go wrong in this moment.

She pulled herself closer into him. She was smiling and almost looked asleep but her breath was still a bit to fast. She took a deep breath and in a scratchy voice "I'm here, I'm here."

Dakota smiled and kissed her temple. Or as close as he could get. “Good.” He reached back for the pitcher, glad for long arms and fingers as he filled a glass and gave it to her. “I always need you here with me.”

Gently setting her aside, he flopped down on the covers. His hair was stuck to his back, so he racked it forward and tied it in a sloppy knot at his neck. Where has he put that brush again?

Thoughts wandering, he turned to watch Najat with a lazy smile. “You know,” Dakota chuckled, his eyes growing soft with distant hopes. “This means if…”

Dakota let the thought slip away before it could fully form. No, don’t even speak it into being yet. It was too early and he was deliriously happy. One day, though. When the thought slipped her mind, and she asked him, that was when he should say it. Until that day, if that would be a day, he’d just tuck that thought away into a safe part of his memories.

He laughed suddenly, seemingly at nothing, his face pink with the giddy thought . It really did seem like a nice name: Kit.

Najat took the glass from him and drank about half the glass in one gulp. She smiled at the glass "Good thing I don't plan on going anywhere then."

She watch him play with his hair. Usually so flowing and free, it was clingy to him until he pulled it up away from his face.

She couldn't help but to giggle with him "Means what?" She hated it when he did that, start a thought out loud then stop himself. Most the time when it happened one of them was to tired for the matter to be pushed but not this time. This time she was going to push.

Najat sat up and put the glass on the night stand. "Whatcha think hjartað mitt?"

Dakota rolled onto his stomach and smiled at her. There were still long strands of hair sticking to his neck along his jaw. Did it really need to come back this long? “Oh, nothing really.” Dakota’s grin was thin and sneaky, a ghost of that old, sarcastic smirk his other face had worn so well.

“I was just thinking about the fox spirit. I was trying to remember if he has a family.” Not a lie as such, it was where the thought had been taking him after all. “But I don’t know if Kane ever mentioned one. Such is the way of spirit stories, I suppose. Lots of large, lonely animals wondering the world.”

Fruitlessly, he tried to look around for that brush. He stood up, looked down and made a face. Maybe he needed a towel first. Dakota looked at the bed and rubbed the back of his neck. “One of those dryads is going to be so fussy when she finds this mess, she’ll have kittens.”

Or saplings maybe? Which worked better.

Najat ran a hand through his hair, tucking it behind his ear. She rolled her eye when he said nothing. "You might wanna tell your face that then"

She looked at him. It wasn't like him to lie but she had a feeling he wasn't being forthcoming with all of his thoughts "Poor fox, why were you thinking about the story again?" She was curious has to what exactly was going on in that mind of his.

She watched him stand up, getting slightly distracted by his physique. "I'll ask Von how to make it up to the unlucky dryad. Hopefully it'll be enough for her to forgive us. Do dryads have kittens?"

Dakota let out a sigh, well at least the tubs were… downstairs? Was that right? Never mind. As long as he didn’t wander in and scar Sena for life. Stepping over to Najat, he bent down to kiss her forehead.

“I needed someone grand enough to be worthy of my clever foxling,” he explained. “He was the best I could do.”

Dakota then stretched, muscles rippling in his back as he pulled his hands over his head. “Technically Dryads give birth to fauns and saytars, but they raise saplings. So they would have kids, I suppose.” He yawned, a tad sleepy now.

Popping open the trap door, he turned to her and said “I’ll just be in the bath if you need me. I’ll be sure to see if they ever built that stream for you.”

Dakota winked a blue eye at her, gave her a last, loving glance, and then slipped down, out of sight.

Najat couldn't help but smike when he kissed her forehead. "Because a fox who can light colorful fires in the sky compares to a small town bard?"

She watched his muscles pull and strain as he stretched, eyes lingering a little too long on his chest. "That's kinda interesting" it got her thinking about the dryads in Home and made her heartbreak for them. How many of them where ripped from their saplings?

Najat grabbed a pillow and tossed it at him. "One tiny freak out and you'll never let it go" she thought about taking a bath but decided that maybe a little distance would be good for them right now.

She stuck her tongue out at him and when he was gone flopped on the pillows, and stared at the ceiling letting her thoughts drift.

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najatsguitar · 3 years ago

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1-31-21

When Najat notices Dakota in the room she looks up with a gloom and doom type look on her face " I'm sorry, I didnt mean to wake you up"

Dakota smiles gently, his eyes almost glowing with their new electric blue. “I’m glad I did.” He looks at the guitar and then back to her face. “What’s wrong?” The question is soft, he doesn’t want to push too hard. He just knows that look, and the way she drifts away when she’s like this.

She look at him, her expression softens a bit and she can feel herself calm has she looks into his eyes. "Draum visited me in a dream again and it kinda shook me" she looks back down at her guitar as the feeling of self hated washes over her again

He bristles slightly at the mention of the Demi god but let’s it pass. Carefully, he steps into the room and goes to sit next to her. “From what you all have told me, he’s a monster. Anyone would be.” Dakota reaches out to softly touch a shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She leans into his touch trying let that clam feeling he gives her sink into her " He said we made a mistake, a grievous error, and has granted me one perfect lie because he feels there will come a time when I will wish to use it. He also said that he sees potential in me and a bit of him in me. Am I a horrible person?" Her eyes feel with tears " am I truly that selfish?" She begins to spiral down this dark path of thought

Dakota carefully takes the instrument from her grasp, then moves to hold her head in his hands. He brushes away a stream of tears with his thumb, leaning in to kiss the crown of her head. “He sees potential because it’s obviously,” Dakota whispers. “You’re talented, and smart. And adventurous.” He pauses, trying to find the right words. “Men like him see the tiny cracks life leaves behind, and make them feel like fissures. They enjoy watching you rip yourself apart. But having those flaws just make you a person, not horrible.” Dakota presses his forehead against hers. “If we’ve made a mistake, we can fix it without him. Just... don’t shut me out. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

"I dont know if it can be fixed.." she takes a steadying breath "He wouldnt come right out and tell what it was but he gave me a hint. He said "one life traded for another" and made an image of Sena appear has he said it." She feels her chest tighten a bit as an image of Sena dead on the ground pops into her head and her breathing picks up a bit " I cant lose her. I cant lose anyone because of him."

“Sssh,” he says softly. “Let’s try not to think about that. Not ignore it just... don’t over think it. So much has happened, it could mean a hundred things. We won’t know what to do until find the truth.” Dakota pulls her in close, moving to wrap his arms around her. “And we can’t lose you to him, either.” He let’s out a long sigh. “So don’t... don’t do what I did, please?” It was something he’s been trying to put into words for a while now. “Don’t break yourself against a problem because you think it’s best. You can’t always undo what you do to yourself.”

She wraps her arms around him, breathing in his scent with slower breaths trying to calm down. " I dont know what else to do, how do I fight him when he uses my own flaws and personality traits against me?" She tries not to let her emotions take over her again but tears keep leaking from her eyes

“I can’t speak for what to do against something like Duram... but when someone like that tries to make you feel so awful about yourself, you have to find away to find peace with who you are.” Old memories, that feel so far away now but still twist his insides, flicker at the back of his mind. “It’s not easy, and they always make it hurt as much as they can. But you don’t have to do this on your own. I can’t stop him from being in your head. But I can be here when you wake up, to remind you why you can’t listen.”

She nuzzles into him a little bit " I love you.. I cant imagine doing this without you here by my side reminding me of the good in me. I'd hate to be a monster like him and I hate that he sees himself like a father to me. He cannot win" images of Draums twisted body and the rye field flash back into her mind and she cringes

“I love you too,” he whispers, kissing forehead again. “They... they do always want you to be as miserable as they are. Just being happy is enough to show them you’re different. It’s probably the hardest part, but that what makes it worth it, I guess.”

She grins softly at him "Well, it's hard to not be happy when I have such a great guy by my side" she kisses his cheek softly

Dakota grins. “We rangers are pretty good with fighting monsters. Got to be useful for something.” He brushes against her cheek. “I’m just glad to be here with you. As long as you’ll have me.”

She chuckles softly stifling a yawn "Hows forever sound?" She snuggles up to him feeling relief and relaxed in his arms "that is if you dont get sick of me by then"

He holds her close, resting his head on top of hers. “I think you’ll find me a pretty patient person.” Dakota took to a moment to feel her breathing near him, smiling.

"Then forever it is." She says quietly into him. Taking a moment to appreciate his arms around her, she begins humming a lullaby her mom used to sing to her softly.

Dakota smiles at the humming. It’s a sign she’s feeling better. He rubs her back, slowly. “Want to come back to bed?”

She pause her humming to think about it. "I'm kinda scared to go back to sleep.." she says kind if sheepishly "I dont want to have another nightmare"

He grins impishly, a rarer sight in his old body. Dakota leans in to whisper in her ear. “We don’t have to sleep~” He pauses then chuckles. “But I’m fine wherever you want to be.”

She blushes at his words and hides her face in his neck. " I think we better go to our room" she leans back and kisses him

Dakota kisses her in return, supporting the back of her head. It takes a moment to remember but he moves his lips along the smoother part below her beak. When he pulls away he grins. “What ever you say.”

"Lead the way ranger" she chuckles at his cheekiness has she waits for him to stand up

He takes her hand and gets up, closing his fingers around hers as he leads her back through the hall. Strange eyes glow in the dark at them, but the presence of the animals is more comforting than not.

She squeezes his hand once as they walk back to their room. Feeling nothing but their shared love in her heart more certain about their relationship then ever before, she smiles as she looks at the man who could bring her back from the brink and then squeezes his hand again.

Dakota squeezes her hand back, smiling and twirling her close for another kiss. He’d forgotten what this side of himself felt like, the younger, more playful side in his childhood that had been left at the roadside. A new life and Najat pulled it out of him. He thinks briefly of what he can remember, after dying. The images were hazy, but knew that part of the reason he came back was for her. To enjoy a time not trapped by old wounds and just be. He just hoped it would be enough to make her happy.

She kisses him back, and giggles. She loves seeing him like this so playful and enjoying himself. Suddenly she remembers breakfast, "There better not be any ferrets in our bed." She chuckles and looks lovingly into his eyes

He laughs. “No, only badgers. At least I think that was a badger. I’ve only seen them in books about Avistan.”

She laughs with him as she rolls her eyes at him. "Wouldnt know I cant see the creatures so I'll just have to take your word for it."

“Well, I’ll ask any I see to stay away. I mean, can’t have any otters or the like cuddling with you, can we?”

"I only want animals we BOTH can see in bed with us, and if otter so HAPPENED to end up in bed with us I'd only be mad if it was hogging your attention" she smiles clearly trying to figure out how she could get an otter in their room

He shrugs . “My magic might be gone, but it looks like I’m still an otter magnet. Can’t help it I suppose.”

She kisses him "I must really be an otter then because I'm pretty attracted to you"

“Hmm,” he considers. “You do have a tail, and you were raised by water. I suppose that works.” He grins into the kiss, then saunters over to the bed. “Suppose we’ll need to get tired then, or those otters won’t be wanting to wonder over.”

"Also I'm pretty cute which is another otter trait" she bats her eyelashes at him as she walks back to his side hating the distance between them "if only we were tired huh." She smirks at him "I really do hate keeping the otters waiting"

He grins and grabs her suddenly, tilting his weight so they would both go tumbling back on the bed. For a moment he worries about breaking the frame but, after no snapping sounds, laughs again and pulls her close. “Whatever happens,” he says softly. “I’m happy I have the chance to love you. I know things...” He trails off and rubs her arm. “Will be different, but I hope it’ll be for the better.”

"Ahh!" She yelps in surprise as they tumble back then burst out laughing when they land. She wraps an arm around him "I love you too, and whatever happens we'll be there for eachother no matter what" she moves her hand to lay it on his face has she leans in to kiss him.

He closes his eyes at her touch and returns the kiss, holding that smooth place behind her crest to hold her head and neck. He feels goose bumps and enjoys the shiver. Dakota wonders, briefly, if the want for more affection was in part due to having been so broken. Going from being filled with shattered bones, to touch without pain, was novel now. He tries to push that aside, back with the rest of the fuzzy memories he can’t quite reach. He wants the chance to just be happy, not over thinking which was a bit hard now that he was... smarter? Was that possible? He certainly felt like his thoughts were a bit clearer, as one track as they were right now.

Najat get closer to dakotas body allowing her self the comfort. She pays attention to everywhere they are touching really notincg the slight change in his touches and she wonders how much he was changed has they have never really had a chance to be this close to eachother. She made bite but pushed her thoughts aside wanting to truly be in this moment with him.

His hair stands on the back of his neck as she gets closer, taking a moment to breathe before kissing her again. It’s not that he had never wanted this, it had just always been... a struggle to get back to this point. After Ammerlyn. A single cold finer ripples down his back, tensing his shoulders. Skode he was glad Sena hadn’t wanted anyone to go into the temple with her. Even if she never recognized her again, he could never look into those cool, reptilian eyes ever again.

Najat feel Kota tense up and she pulls away just enough to look into his eyes. "Everything okay my love?" Concern sweeps over her face wondering if maybe he wasnt has ready has he wanted to be.

He grins. “It’s nothing awful, I promise.” Dakota looks off to the side. “Do you remember when I first told you about my dad? About not wanting people to pity me for it?” His grin turns a little sad. “Let’s just say the first person I was... serious with, thought she needed to fix me. It made me a little skittish.” Saying that was like letting out a long breath he had been holding. The smile brightens again, and he runs a hand down her arm, slowly, then kisses her neck. “I know you’re not like that, though.”

She mulls over what he said a moment and though she appreciates the distinction between her and this other woman she still cant help but to wonder "Are you sure about this then? I dont want to push you.." she places her and in his face and strokes his cheekbone with her thumb.

Dakota leans into her touch, smiling. “I’ll tell you if we need to stop,” he answers quietly. “Which reminds me, I suppose now is a good time to ask if there’s anything I need to know about?”

Najat grows bright pink at his question and kinda looks away from him. It reminds her of what her mom said about their age difference despite Najat never giving it a thought before.

Dakota was always amazed at how pink someone already technicolored could turn. To keep things light, he gently tucks his hands under her hips and rolls them, end with the Saurian sprawled on to of him. He chuckles and touches her hand. “It’s okay if you’re not sure, it’s okay. I’m not one to always be in control. I want you to be comfortable with everything first.”

She covers her face with her hands and mutters through them. "I've just..." she takes a deep breath "I've never.. been THIS serious with someone..." as excited has she is and as much as she loves her half gaint she cant help but be a tiny but scared of what hell think.

Dakota laughs, but not in a mean way. “If it helps, everyone is always terrified at first. They’re lying if they say otherwise.” Or well, young and toxic and self hating, but she didn’t need to know about that. He practically didn’t count that one. “Would this help?” Dakota carefully peels off the simple white jerkin, showing the full purple skin beneath. He takes one of her hands and touches it to his chest. “Just do what feels alright, but I won’t be offended if it’s too strange.”

This man, this beautiful, patient, loving man is the best thing Najat could ever ask for. She for a moment just feels his skin under her hand. She let's the warmth of his skin warm her hand and, has she gets more comfortable with the idea, slowly she traces the muscle of his pec.

Dakota let’s out a small gasp, smiles to make sure she knows it’s a good thing. He closes his eyes lightly at her touch, let out a deep breath. “That’s good...” he murmurs.

She smiles knowing that it's her making him feel this way and slowly traces her hand up his chest and around his neck to pull him in for a kiss.

Dakota hums pleasantly into the kiss, his hands running up her back to her shoulders. He tries to keep his touch light and encouraging, just enough to let her know he’s there, but not enough to make her nervous. Or hoping not at least. He opens his mouth slightly, inviting a deeper kiss if she wished to try.

She let's off a soft coo as his hands move along her skin before she takes his invitation and deepens the kiss playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck

Dakota let’s out a soft, happy sound as her hand plays with his hair. Well, at that to a new spot. This was going to be interesting. He moves his lips against hers, smiling a bit as he moves slightly around the beak. When he takes in a breath he murmurs her name and cradling her neck with one hand while the other playfully ghosts the spot just above her tail.

She hums softly and melodically as pure happiness fills her chest. She pushes into him slightly wanting to feel more of his touch as his hands move

Dakota felt her press closure, that and her voice causing his heart to start hammering in his ears. He continues to touch the base of her spine, the other running up the base of her skull. He inspects any feathers he finds, being careful not to break any off.

The feeling of his fingers on her feathers is new to her that makes her grin and make a soft happy coo. With her one hand still in his hair she uses the other to trace the muscles of his abs and along his hip.

His back arches slightly at the feeling of her fingers drifting lower . Her fingers ghost near where the sword scar used to be. There’s an odd part of him that will miss that, but he would rather not repeat that performance. When she lets off the soft coo he whispers breathlessly. “Doing all right so far?”

Panting slightly she answers "better then all right" she smiles " and you?" She asks has she continues to feel his smooth skin under her fingers almost waiting for a scar to jump out but relieved that reminder of her hatred is gone.

He grins. “I think we’re getting this new body broken in.” Dakota takes a moment to catch his breath. “You’re doing great...thank you.” He jumps slightly at her touch and curls his fingers into the hem of her shirt, letting out a deep breath, trying to slow his body down a bit. Najat was eventually going to notice certain... sensations eventually, but he didn’t want to add any pressure. Slowly was just fine.

She laughs a bit "Yeah I guess we are" she takes a breath because she needs to remember how to breath because every new sensation takes her breath away. "I really hope so.." she giggles nervously as her fingers trace a little heart on top of his hip bone.

Dakota takes her free hand and kisses her fingers. “Don’t be nervous,” he says softly. “It’s only wrong if it hurts, remember that that alright?” He traced her palm with his thumb. “It’s why I like doing it this way. People hear giant and they get nervous. Shouldn’t be like that.”

She smiles and looks away from him for a moment. "I just.. I guess... dont want to screw up.." she trails off kinda in thought still tracing different little shapes across his skin

Dakota gently takes her hand so it lingers over his heart, which is still lighting drumming in his chest. “Feel that?” He says softly. “Trust me, that means your doing it right.”’He lets out a long sigh then adds. “Look Najat... my first time, not a relationship, my first being intimate with someone.. that was a screw up. We were young and stupid and just doing it out of spite.” Gods, he still felt terrible he couldn’t remember her name. “Even if we stopped right now, this would be right.” Dakota squeezes her hand, smiling. “If I can make you laugh and feel good, that’s worth it for me. The rest of it is just... later.”

She kisses his hand on top of hers softly. "I guess I just cant stay out of my head.. so I get a little nervous about screwing this up somehow. I mean for hells sake I made you pants out of a damn curtain because I didnt think about looking in the dresser, so I'm making sure every move is thought about and carefully decided upon because I dont want mess this up" she closes her eyes so he cant see the pain of her own self doubt because maybe one day hell see her the way she does, just an awkward kid who has no idea how the real world works.

Dakota chuckles. “That was pretty bad. I think we should keep those, though. I kinda liked them.” He then reaches up to touch her face. “Hey.” His voice is soft. “Look at me.” He wants her to see his eyes, see how he thrills with each touch. “I’m right where I want to be.”

"You're just saying that" she opens her eyes slowly looking at him leaning into his touch because it's the most comforting feeling in the world before she leans over to kiss him. One day shell figure out a balance between thinking too much and not at all but perhaps not today, not in this moment because she desperately wants her brain to shut off so maybe just maybe she can enjoy herself and be happy. She deserves to be happy, right?..

“You know I would never,” he whispers before the kiss connects. Stay with me. He wants to scream it. He wants to pull her back from that place she goes where her eyes go glassy and she stops talking. He takes both hands cup the back of her head, kissing her hard enough to make him a bit dizzy. “I crawled back for you.” He whispers between breathes. “Every day, I crawled back into those broken bones to make sure I could tell you how I felt before...” Dakota doesn’t quite finish before going in for another kiss. Stay with me... The thought repeats. Finally he forces out the words. “I love you.” His voice his a touchy needy, if only to help her see. “If you want me, please stay with me.”

Najat caught by surprise takes a moment before she kisses him back. She listens to his words mulls them over in her head. Here she had not only a man asking her to stay with him but man who definitely deserves happiness who fought his way to her and somehow found that happiness in her. She knows he loves her, she knows her fears aren't formed in fact but slefdoubt and she wishes she could be free of these fears. She looks into his eyes looking for any proof that maybe her fears are right but finds nothing other then the man who came back to her, who loves her and wants her. Najat takes a deep cleansing breath trying to shake her worries away. "I love you too Kota." Her voice soft with a hint of a crack in it. "I want you here, I want you in my life, I want to stay here." She wraps herself in her arms trying not to break down. She so desperately wants him, and wanted this night to be special for them both but she let herself slip up. In being intimate she became vulnerable to her own feelings and while she knows just how deep her love for her half gaint runs she now knows how deep her self hatred has ran itself into to her heart. She would give anything to have it not hurt. Hurt her own feelings. Hurt her Kota but she just doesnt have the words to express what has happened to her tonight, she can only hope her love is strong enough for Kota to feel.

He looks up at her and let’s out a long breath before carefully sitting up and wrapping himself around her. He curls her to his chest rocks her gently. “You’re going to be okay.” They had been the only words that had pulled him through his own loathing, and were the only he could give. “I promise, you’re going to be okay.” Dakota takes the blankets to wrap them around her to keep her warm. “It’s not a one time thing only thing.” He adds softly. “I’m right here, whenever you want me. All you have to do is ask.”

She takes a deep breath trying to steady herself against him but it only breaks the dam she tried so hard to keep up. Najat begins to cry and sob has she clutches for her Kota, her love. She wants to feel grounded and secure in herself but she cant. It hurts so much, she feels her chest tight and her throat like its closing. Though her eyes are closed she still feels the pressure around her eyes that would be tunnel vision. She gasps for a breath bearly successful and her body tenses and coils. It feels like she is dying and theres nothing she can do about it.

Dakota ignores the knife twisting in his chest as he continues to soothe her, gently kissing her forehead and rubbing her back. He can feel tears running down his skin and each is a new stab of pain. He knows no amount of pleading or begging will pull her out of these feelings, it has to be her. But the want to do the work for her aches. “Sssh,” he whispers. “I’m right here. I’m always right here.”

Between broken sobs and shallow breathes she just mumbles out "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" repeatedly like a broken record. She managed to screw up their wonderful night after all, she knows it. It's her fault shes hurting, her fault.. "my fault, my fault" she sobs out. Hoping her broken apology is enough for Dakota to forgive her, enough that if she survives, he'll still love her.

He gently tilts her head up, kissing her eyes. “Why are you apologizing?” Dakota knew why, but he just tried to smile. “It’s not the end of the world, I promise.” He did his best to brush away the tears. “Not a one time thing, remember? One night you’re going to be ravaging me and I’ll won’t know what to do with myself.” ‘Please laugh, please something,’ he thought. ‘Please just stop hurting yourself.’

Najat takes a few shaky breaths and opens her eyes, crying still, just to look at the angel of man in front of her. She knows shes hurting him. She tries to smile, to grin, to do anything but cry and fall apart. How can someone love someone so deeply only to show it by hurting them.. only to hate themselves just has much? "I'm so sorry" the only words she bring herself to say. Maybe if she was stronger or kinder. Maybe if she hadnt been so selfish shed have the courage to not hurt him. To get up and stuff everything back in to it's dark closet it came out of, but she cant. Her legs feel has heavy has lead, her arms like limp noodles. It feels like Sahillia is on her chest but she wont get off. "I'm sorry" she cant keep hurting Kota like this she cant keep being selfish. Najat tries to move. Move away so maybe just maybe one of them doesnt have to hurt so bad.

He can feel her shifting away from him, so he loosens his grip. He doesn’t want her to feel trapped. “Nothing to be sorry, about. It’s been a rough few days.” Dakota carefully lays down, patting the mattress. Maybe at least she’ll still stay next to him. “Let’s try to get some sleep, okay?”

Najat desperately wants to lay down next to him, it had been a long night for them and maybe shed feel better after getting some sleep. HIS evil disgusting face pops into her head. NO that monster cant win. Najat screams out in agony. Why, why did HE have to ruin this for her? Why had she let HIM in and ruin her?

Dakota watches helplessly, only able to reach out to take her hand. He can see her in pain, in the now, and in the memory of her holding onto his shirt, wordless and so far away. It all spiraled so far, but he tries to hold onto that brief moment of her lost in exploring him. Maybe in the morning she can remember how much he had just enjoyed being with her. But now he can only squeeze her hand and hope the exhaustion will let her sleep.

Najat sways a little before having to lay down. She can feel her head spinning a bit so she tries SO hard to find her grounding, her comfort, her Kota. She gives in to her selfish desire not being able to handle it anymore "make it stop" she whimpers "please..." her voice down right begging.

He wraps himself back around her, kissing her gently. Dakota then tucks her head into his shoulder and whispers. “I can’t take that feeling away.” He wishes he could. That it could be purged like poison. “But I know what it’s like to live in those thoughts.” The new, deeper voice finally cracks. “I know how they make everything dark, and they claws at everything you care about. And I know it hurts to try and stop it, because the lies feel comfortable after a while.” After the nagging lies sit so long in your head that they feel like your own. “But I can be here to help you, and I won’t stop reminding you that it will get better.” A few hot tears finally squeeze through. “Because I love you too much to watch your hurt yourself anymore.”

Najat shudders has she tries to take a deep breath. She tries to focus on kotas words and her breathing. She desperately needs to feel normal again. She needs herself to get grounded and pick herself back up off the floor of her mind. It all Najat can do to focus on her breathing, to listen to Kota speak. She shudders in another deep breath

Dakota lets the last few tears leak out, cause he can’t let himself spiral after her. If they both go into the water, they’ll both drown. There’s one last thing he can think of, he just hopes he can remember the words. Dakota strokes the back of her head and starts singing in Giant, the melody steady and sleepy. The words are old, but speak of the first rivers, traveling towards the sea before becoming rain and cycling back again. It’s a rowing song his grandfather’s father had fitted into a lullaby years ago, and one of the only pieces he had from the Sphinx River giant part the family. But it was music. He just hopes it was enough.

Najat shudders out a few more breaths before her breathing steads out. Her eyes still leak but it's not long before she starts humming along with the melody, softly and gently getting softer until shes breathing heavy and deep as she is pulled into unconsciousness wrapped up in Dakotas arms and her face still covered in tears.

When she’s finally asleep he whispers a soft prayer to Skode of gratitude before the exhaustion takes him. The dreams that night are bitter sweet. Dreams of the River bank of his childhood, before the family was ripped apart. Before his uncles revealed themselves monsters. His grand father, his aunt. His father. All the true giant kin there, all now dead. Maybe it was a reminder from the Hunstress of the past she has buried inside of him, best to be left there. Or it was a vision of all that hate could poison and destroy, and why he couldn’t afford to lose anyone else to it.

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