#Haurchefant has all her focus

[whatsthisascianbullshit]

Hands rubbing together to warm them up for the Catte and the Scientist :3

Thank you @lilbittymonster ^^ please enjoy the useless witches before they get their shit together later on in Endwalker lmao

Muireann was woefully unprepared for the cold. It was, admittedly, her own arrogance that had left her with just her mittens to protect her hands and they did not facilitate much in terms of spells when the convoy had come under attack. She had ripped them off after a vanguard breached the line she was holding. Thankfully, Haurchefant had known her well and his first gift to her – now mended and re-mended several times over – had ribbons that let her attach them to her coat.

With the adrenaline of battle and the heat from magitek and thaumaturges dispersed the cold had made itself known again radiating in aching waves from her shoulders. She leant against one of the pillars trying to steady her breath as her body registered the stabbing pain in her fingers, wincing as she rubbed them together to warm them up enough to pull the mittens back on.

“You’re more likely to cause harm to yourself like that.”

“Just need to get ‘em able to move again and then I can get Ifrit to handle thawing the rest of me.”

Y’shtola tutted, stilling Muireann’s hands with her own. With only the slightest narrowing of her eyes indicating any channelling of aether, Muireann felt Y’shtola’s hands warm slightly over her own, “I thought you had concluded that a slower thaw was less painful in Ishgard, I’m surprised your patience was cut short.”

“I – huh. I wouldn’t have thought you remembered.”

“Why? Because my current focus is not healing magics?” Y’shtola, evidently satisfied that Muireann’s hands had thawed sufficiently to withstand friction, started gently rubbing over them.

Muireann resisted the urge to snap her hands away. While their words played through a casual conversation, it was the first time Y’shtola had held her hands since before that thrice damned banquet. It was…nice. Familiar. Missed.

“Just has been a long time is all.” And longer again for you specifically. “Thanks, Y’shtola.”

Muireann received what could be called a smile in return though Y’shtola’s eyes remained somewhat distant.

“I would advise against Ifrit till we have reached our destination – it would not do to lose your firepower due to your construct being occupied. Remaining near a thaumaturge should be sufficient, if they are talented enough to have been accepted to the contingent they should be able to channel fire to a gentler extent.”

“As you are demonstrating?”

Y’shtola’s hands stutters slightly in their movement as she fought to contain a smile, “Precisely as I am demonstrating.”

“Then I must thank you for gallantly volunteering your services.”

Twenty-Four Touches prompt list

[roguelioness]

fables from the field

Day 9 - Lend an ear

[written for ffxivwrite2024]

Rating: T Words: 1236 Pairing: none

“I can never understand how you people tolerate such weather,” Alyzen complains as she settles on the ground next to the beautiful marble headstone. “So much for always watching over the city. You can barely see Ishgard with all this snow.”

As though right on cue, the snowfall slows, and gradually comes to a stop, the clouds clearing up just enough for the city, with all its towers and spires, to come into sharp focus.  She shakes her head. “Must you prove me wrong at every turn, my friend?” she teases, but the ache in her heart is as heavy as lead.

She sits in silence by Haurchefant’s grave for several minutes, watching as the day grows darker and the city turns its lights on. The sun is but an orange blur in the horizon; before long it has gone to slumber, and the first of the night’s jewels gleam in the sky.

“I met Francel on the way here,” she remarks. “It was nice seeing him again. I have not had the chance to visit Stephanivien yet, I should stop by the manufactory soon…” she trails off. “Aymeric has been elected temporary leader in place of the archbishop,” she starts again, rubbing her chilled hands together. “And his first act in office was to join the Eorzean alliance.” Her gaze turns distant, a small, melancholic smile lifting the corners of her mouth. ‘Though I suspect you must already know that. And must be unsurprised by the announcement. You always did have faith in him-” a sob tries to work its way out, but she forces it down. 

It takes a few seconds to regain her composure, but when she does, she continues. “The ceremony was… she tries to search for the right words. “Well attended.And quite moving. You would have enjoyed it; everyone smiled and cheered, and there was so much hope in the air…” Her tone turns bitter. “You should have been there. You should have had a chance to see what Ishgard will grow into, you should have been there to guide the people along their new path.” Rising in volume, her anger causes Espoir, the sensitive bird he is, to move to her side and coo softly at her. “You should have been there to celebrate with me! To- to- to be my friend, damn you! Where was my cup of hot cocoa when I returned to Ishgard, Haurchefant?” Her tears, barely restrained, flow freely. “Why could you not have just pushed me aside? Why did you have to take the blow meant for me? Why, Haurchefant?” 

She wipes haphazardly at her face; her damp skin freezes in the blustery wind. “I ask Hydaelyn why she took you, but I get no reply. I ask why Ysayle had to give her life, and she remains silent. And now, when Estinien is-” the words seize on her tongue; she has been so filled with terror over his fate she cannot bring herself to say them out loud.

But Haurchefant has always heard her secrets and her fears, and this too she shall share with him. “Estinien is- taken. By Nidhogg. And-” her mouth and chin tremble; she has to grit her jaw to calm herself. “It is my fault. I should not have left him hold both the Eyes, especially when I knew that he had been struggling with Nidhogg’s influence. But we slew him,” she murmurs to herself, “we slew him in the heart of his lair, how could we have known his soul yet lingered?”

Alyzen falls into a troubled silence. Espoir settles down next to her, his weight a comfort pressed against her side. His presence, much like his former master, warms her up in the cold evening. He chirrups as a gust of wind ruffles his feathers, shaking them out elegantly before tucking his wings close to his body. She can’t help but smile; he is so endearingly loveable. 

Attempting to organize her thoughts, she recalls all she has experienced. There have been many revelations and she has not had the time to process any of it. Only now does it strike her that Lahabrea, the ascian who very nearly killed her, is dead. That his accomplice is dead. 

That she has slain yet another primal.

What are you, Thordan’s dying words reverberate in her head. 

The archbishop did not know. Could not have known. She has not breathed a word of what she’s done – what she’s become – to anyone; she did not think any of her companions could understand. But here, in the frozen Coerthan air, Haurchefant’s tomb serves as her confessional. 

“When I was Ul’dah to rescue Raubahn,” she begins haltingly, playing with the edges of her tunic’s sleeve, “I met a woman. She was quite strange, Drusilla. She gave me a soul crystal – a reaper’s soul crystal, she said, and that I would have to…” she clears her throat and stares up at the sky. “That I would have to forge a pact with… with the avatar within.” Exhaling, she starts to stroke Espoir’s feathers. “The avatar was a voidsent. Becoming a reaper, she said, would grant me great power – but I had to make a pact with the voidsent.” She smiles when Espoir coos contentedly as she scratches the top of his head. 

“I refused, of course. Voidsent are dangerous creatures; only a fool would choose to join their essence to one. Althyk preserve me, I had every intention of forgetting about… but then Zephirin killed you,” there’s so much rage in her tone, “he killed you and I could not stop him. I’ve fought primals and garleans and the Twelve-damned Ultima weapon and won, but I couldn’t stop him. I was- I felt so weak. So powerless. I am no healer, Haurchefant, it is… I have not the capacity to practice the white magicks, but fighting? That I can do. And yet, when it mattered the most, I failed.”

She takes a deep breath. Espoir senses her change in mood, and lightly butts his head against hers, making a soft, concerned chirp. “So I decided I would not be powerless. I would have my vengeance against Zephirin, against Charibert, against every one of the Heaven’s Ward, and on that blighted, voidspun bastard of an archbishop. I used the crystal. I called forth the avatar. And I forged a covenant with it.” Raising her chin, she adds defiantly, “I do not regret it. I slew every last one of them, watched as their bodies were eaten away and they turned into dust. I ground the dust of Thordan’s body beneath my boot and cursed him to damnation, and I would do it all over. And yet,” her shoulders slump, and she leans against Espoir. “Why do I not feel better? I have had my vengeance. I should rejoice. Instead, I am… empty, Haurchefant. I have killed Thordan and his Knights, but doing so has not brought you back. It has not brought Ysayle back. Estinien…” her throat clogs as she thinks of what has become of him, as she wonders where he is and if he is yet alive.

A soft breeze washes across her, lifting the ends of her hair, carrying with it the scent of chocolate. 

Though her eyes fill with tears, Alyzen smiles.  “I hear you, my friend,” she whispers, pressing her lips to the top of the cenotaph. “Thank you.”

[voidsentprinces]

I enjoy Jullus. Here is a character who joined the Garlean Military to protect his lands from what he was taught was the "Savages" coming to drag his friends and families away. He stuck to his guns and stood fast against rumors of Zenos's death and being possessed by the Ascians. He keeps to his values even though they are clearly flawed because that is what his family needs. And then, Zenos kills the Emperor and the Capital is razed with his family inside it. He is drenched in the colour palette of the expansion, despair. But, there is a sliver of hope, word has it the Emperor's voice can still be heard on the radiowaves. There is something still worth fighting for, he can fight against the monsters who are overrunning the capital, he can serve Garlemald and the memory of his family against the invading Savages who have finally arrived on his doorstep.

He pushes himself in the roll of a soldier, who is ignorant of the Eorzeans. But Alisaie and Alphinaud both show us how greatly they've grown. By trying to break through his indoctronation. They are the perfect candidates to break through to Jullus but they are not just bright and kind individuals. But they might also been the same age as his siblings were before their untimely demise. They carry with them, a want to aid and a hope that someday they'll break through. And slowly, overtime, going to do chore after chore. We slowly learn of Jullus and what he had gone through.

We are the Warrior of Light, the daemon who wiped out the Praetorium and many Castrums, the nightmare that haunts his fellow soldiers. But still, he sees how the people in other provinces gather around us as a legend of hope and light through the dark. And dark through radiant blight. He confides in us, warms to us, gets to know us and the twins. But he still clings harshly to his sunk cost fallacy. He still wants to do right by his nation and his family's memory. So he reluctantly arms the Twins collars and prepares for a suicidal attack on Camp Broken Glass. Only to learn that no reinforcement is coming. There is no one else to defend the nation of Garlemald. Just his skeleton crew of the remaining 1st Legion. And so, he surrenders as his own Legatus uses his blood to strengthen the remaining chain of what remains of Garlemald.

He comes face to face with Zenos and fosters his grief and rage at the Prince who caused him so much pain and suffering. And in return, he is met by apathy and indifference and a question, that had Zenos had a good reason for throwing Jullus' and so many others' lives in turmoil, if it would of justified it all? Jullus is confronted by this and sees that the atrocities were without purpose only the boredom of a man seeking to reach the Warrior of Light for a duel. It is absurd and yet it clears Jullus's mind, his last act as a soldier for the Empire is to exile the prince and denounce the Royal Family more or less. He then follows Alphinaud and Alisaie's example and turns his focus to build a brighter future for Garlemald. Welcoming their help and our aid in the coming conflict. And when we bring another exile who is closed off from the world in Zero who is beginning to open up, he offers her the same kindness and understanding as the Twins gave him. He then continues their mission by trying to convince the old rigid remaining Garlean council to see that they cannot remain closed off from the world. Something that Vrtra rekindles by opening trade with the fallen Empire now budding independent nation.

I look forward to see what they so with Garlemald. This Empire founded to sow misery and chaos by Emet-Selch's design. Now having to bear responsibility for the past sins while kindling good alliances where they can to make what little amends they can. Since they're now burnt to the wick.

Side observation: In a way, Haurchefant's hot chocolate gesture is repeated throughout the MSQ. First the cup of cocoa is given to us, then Alphinaud picks up the torch in finding a way to use it to look forward to the conflict with Nidhogg and Estinien, then we give the Garleans a cup of warm soup and a hearty song, and then Jullus offers up Buuz to Zero. Zero then offers her own power to Golbez to turn the Thirteenth around and return it to as it was before.

[ladyramora]

The Consequences Of Catching Villains

Kaoru (Nonbinary Miqo'te WoL) x Villain Haurchefant PWP ❤️

Final Fantasy XIV, Heroes and Villains AU

Nonbinary Character,Trans Character, Kaoru Has Top Surgery Scars (Breast Removal), Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Named Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), They/Them pronouns for Kaoru Yasugo!!, Nonbinary Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)

Relationships: Kaoru Yasugo (FFXIV OC)/Haurchefant Greystone, Haurchefant Greystone/Warrior of Light

Characters: Kaoru Yasugo (FFXIV OC), Haurchefant Greystone, Germanotta "Ger" Lionheart (FFXIV OC)

Additional Tags: Villain!Haurchefant, Size Difference. Oral Sex, Overstimulation, Vaginal Fingering, Cunnilingus, Pet Names, For the purposes of this fic - the use of the pet name "kitten" is a bit demeaning for miqo'te, Haurchefant uses the petname "kitten" affectionately, Vaginal Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Cum Eating, safe words, The Safe Word is "Dragonhead", Asphyxiation, Choking. Love Confessions. Obsessive Behavior, Cumming While Soft, What's A Refractory Period?, Unrealistic sex maybe but this is fantasy, Sex While Haurchefant is Flaccid. He just came. It's not a perfomance issue I promise!!, Grinding, Dry Humping, Is it dry humping if they're both naked and messy, This Will Be A Series, Explicit Sexual Content, Body Worship

Kaoru knew they probably should have cut their losses and turned around as soon as they saw Greystone slip into a dark, nondescript alleyway. Certainly so as soon as their quarry disappeared behind a lone door on the side of a shady looking building. It seemed like blind luck that they had caught sight of him at all, walking the streets of Limsa Lominsa. So they had followed him, successfully tailing him throughout the city to where they find themselves now: an exceedingly seedy establishment.

What was more surprising was the lack of security here. No secret password, not a soul guarding the door. Kaoru had slipped right on in, following behind their villain, and spotted him making his way through the crowd deeper and deeper into the first room.

The lighting was dim, the air of the room heavy with smoke and the smell of alcohol. The shadows seemed to swallow up all the light, making it seem all the more eerie and dangerous.

They clutch at the cloak they wore, tugging the cowl down over their head as the eyes of several well known villains look their way.

Kaoru does not allow their sudden nerves to put a stop to their mission, their eyes sweeping the room and catching sight of Greystone as he weaves through the crowd.

They hurry after him, their eyes trained on him, feline ears perked under their hood and their tail hanging low.

A miqo'te stalking prey…

Unfortunately, they do not pay enough attention to their surroundings with their focus narrowed down to Greystone, and find themselves smacking into the person who suddenly appears in front of them.

Kaoru grunts, stumbling back and clutching their hood so it doesn't slide off their head. In doing so, they step on the back of their own cloak, upsetting their balance and nearly falling back when a pair of hands snag their arms and pull them upright.

Their wide eyed stare catches and holds on a pair of piercing grey eyes as they gaze into the face of Greystone's right hand woman, the Lion.

A female midlander of average height with fiery red hair and piercing grey eyes, the Lion had a commanding presence. There seemed to be a sense of carefully restrained power about her that never failed to make Kaoru's fur prickle with awareness.

The Lion's face is blank of emotion as it usually was, her thoughts and feelings at finding Kaoru here a mystery.

At least until she says in her usual calm, low voice, "You should not be here."

Kaoru straightens up, so close that they were nearly in the woman's arms with the Lion standing near enough to speak to them over the din of the room. It was only fortunate that they were of similar height and build, so Kaoru need not strain their neck to look into her eyes.

The woman was only a few ilms taller than them, at least.

"Ger," Kaoru greets, knowing how to call her thanks to Greystone. "I was just—" They start to say, only for Ger to interrupt.

"—Following my lord Haurchefant?" Ger asks with a tilt of her head, the intense red of her wild mane lit like flames under the dim glow of the lighting of this seedy establishment. She reaches out, nonchalantly, to straighten Kaoru's cloak. She tugs sharply at their collar and sweeps the fabric over their shoulders as she warns them, "Do be careful here, hero. You walk straight into a lion's den."

Kaoru flashes a grin. "But are you not the Lion? Is it not you I should be most wary of?"

Ger gives a low hum at their cheek, the backs of her fingers perhaps incidentally brushing Kaoru's face. Near enough stroking along the soft brown of their markings as she smooths out the wrinkles of their cowl. It was too purposeful to Kaoru to be mistaken as mere accidental touch, but to any onlookers it might appear so.

"You are safe from this lion, Kaoru. For now, at least. The fondness my lord has for you grants you a certain measure of protection. From myself or any other who would wish you harm."

Kaoru bites back the impulse to say they do not need protection. "Well, good to know."

They clear their throat then, adding, "I should probably get going…" as they attempt to furtively glance over Ger's shoulder, searching for that familiar flash of silvery-blue hair, but Greystone had disappeared.

"Do not think I doubt your capabilities. I know who you are," Ger says as she steps smoothly around them, her face hovering near their cheek.

Kaoru was distracted for a moment by the comforting warmth she gave off in the uneasy chill of this place; the faint scent of something earthy and sweet wafting from her, like lemongrass, leather, and expensive hard candies that only nobles could possibly afford.

She pointed her finger in the direction of a darkened corner that looked to house a hallway, her breath a soft puff of air on their skin that made them shiver, "Go that way to find what you seek."

Kaoru looks in the direction she points, and when they look back to offer their thanks, Ger is gone.

Hah. How mysterious.

Kaoru never could understand Greystone's right hand. Ger claimed unshakeable loyalty to Haurchefant, but always seemed willing to help Kaoru, the would-be enemy of the both of them.

Kaoru shakes their head and presses forward. They had a villain to track down.

….

The hallway leads deeper into the so-called lion's den, and Kaoru does their best not to draw more attention. They knew they surely looked suspicious, wearing a cloak in this establishment, but perhaps any curious onlookers thought them to be a client seeking the employment of a certain villain.

There seem to be no doors in this hallway, but rooms sectioned off by curtains. The hum in the air tells of sound dampening magicks, to keep conversations private. Kaoru gives a guess and picks a curtain to peek behind. Their ears perked under their hood with the sound of voices.

Kaoru's heart thunders and they hold their breath, not wishing to be found eavesdropping. To start a fight here would be to take on every villain within the area once they knew a hero was in their midst.

As they try to hold still and quiet their breathing, a shadow sneaks up on them from behind. A hand creeping forward from the darkness, reaching out over their shoulder to slide firm over their mouth, silencing their sound of alarm before they can make it. An arm like an iron band winds itself around their waist as they tense up and prepare to struggle, to fight if need be.

In one smooth motion they find themselves pulled up against the body behind them, then pushed forward and pinned against the wall. Aught to stop them from squirming, they surmise, as a familiar voice purrs in their feline ear through the fabric of their cloak, "Well, what have we here? A cute little kitten that has come to play with me?"

Kaoru should be concerned about how their tense muscles instantly loosen with the sound of his voice. Practically falling limp in the cage of Greystone's arms as the relief of his presence has them immediately much more at ease.

Kaoru tries to speak, squirming and mumbling into the firm press of his palm over their mouth, only to fall still and quiet as Greystone dips his head near their cheek and shushes them.

"Hush now, my dear," Greystone's voice is a smooth, velvety whisper. His fingers press into their jaw as he tips their head back and buries his face in the fall of fabric covering their shoulder and neck. "Hahh, how I've missed you, my cute little hero. My adorable kitten."

Kaoru feels suddenly too warm in their layers. Their cheeks flush hot, hearing the affection and blatant yearning in Greystone's voice.

He had been a flirt from the very start, admiring and intense even though Kaoru had come to apprehend him. It had thrown Kaoru off balance, flustered them. To be called "kitten" as a miqo'te was usually something considered demeaning—they were a proud feline race, after all; he might as well be calling them baby—but hearing it so obviously sweetly meant from Greystone's lips made Kaoru feel strange in a way that was not unpleasant. It always left them feeling hot, and tingly.

All his affection and flirtation ever made Kaoru's heart pound, their skin flushed warm. Oft times accompanied by something of a throb in their lower belly, aught that made them press their thighs together just to ease the ache.

"How long has it been? A fortnight? A moon?" Greystone muses still in that low, soft whisper, and Kaoru's feline ears twitch under their cowl with the phantom feeling of his breath. Aught that they do end up truly feeling as Haurchefant tugs their hood back, catching the fabric with his teeth and sending it falling free to bunch at Kaoru's shoulders.

His lips brush the fine, velvety fur of Kaoru's ear as he hummed in thought.

Kaoru shudders with the feeling, making a small sound into the palm of his hand.

"Far too long since I have been graced with the loveliness of your visage. I should like nothing more than to gaze upon that face of yours. May I, sweetheart?" His voice made them shiver, his body so warm where it was pressed up against them. Kaoru can only nod their head, their mouth still covered by his hand.

Greystone gives a soft, content sound at their acquiescence. Pulling away from them for a moment as he set them down. Kaoru feels a little bit wobbly kneed as their feet once again meet the floor, so they rest their forehead against the wall to try to find their bearings.

All for naught as Greystone grasps their shoulder and spins them around to face him. One of his hands resting just above their shoulder as he presses the pointer finger of his other hand to his darkly glossed lips in signal to remain quiet. His eyes are a deep, compelling blue that glitter like glimmering gems. Kaoru could not croak out a word if they wanted to, so caught do they find themselves in the intensity of his gaze.

His darkly painted lips curve into a grin, his eyes flickering away from them for a few moments as his elezen ears twitch and listen for sounds that even a miqo'te might not hear.

Kaoru could not help but notice that alongside his usual clasps, he wore a pair of eye-catching, dangling earrings that gleamed in the light.

They suited him very well.

With his silvery-blue hair slicked back as he seemed to favor wearing it, his ears were more prominent. Large, pointed, and elegant. Kaoru wondered if they were as sensitive as their own ears were.

Kaoru's cheeks burn. What were they thinking? Certainly not about touching Greystone's ears, or, or… k—kissing them…

Kaoru's eyes squeeze closed with bashful feelings at the thought, let alone picturing it. Their fingers caressing his ears, followed by the press of their lips. Their head shakes, their cheeks burning hot.

"As I thought," Greystone says in a low, quiet voice.

Kaoru cracks one eye open. "What?" They say, forgetting to measure their voice.

Greystone presses his finger to their lips, shushing them. His pretty eyes intent on their face as he leans close. His arm lifts to rest over their head as he trails his fingertip over their lips and chin to tilt their head up with his finger under their jaw. "You are a sight for sore eyes, my dear."

Kaoru forgets entirely what their purpose had been in following him here as Greystone's thumb sweeps over their bottom lip and presses inward to expose a peek of their bottom teeth. Their throat visibly bobs as they swallow hard, any plans they might have had to confront him or whatever they planned to do lifting straight out of their head as the elezen gazes at them with naked want.

"I should very much like to kiss you," Greystone tells them, his face hovering so close to their own that they can feel the warm puff of his breath. Kaoru feels their stomach swoop, filled up with jittery, fluttering nerves like a kaleidoscope of flapping butterfly wings.

His lips were so near that Kaoru only needed to close the distance between them by leaning slightly forward.

Kaoru makes up their mind to do just that, shifting towards him a moment too late as Greystone suddenly draws away. They stumble a step forward, their wrist engulfed by Greystone's much larger hand as the villain grabs hold of them and pulls the miqo'te along with him as he turns to stride down the hall.

"Not here, kitten. I'll not chance being seen nor heard. Mine own loyal knight aside, there is not a soul here worthy of licking the dirt from your boots, let alone bearing witness to such a splendid moment between us two."

Kaoru flusters. Did Greystone truly consider a kiss between them something so grand? And what was that about Ger? The miqo'te stumbles behind him in their distraction, their legs much shorter than his. Only for a moment, however, as the elezen took note of their struggle and shorted his stride to better accommodate them.

"Come quickly now, my dear," Greystone urges them as he keeps hold of their hand, hurrying through the corridor. Only to come to another abrupt stop as they were about to turn a corner, Greystone's elezen ears twitching a moment before he turns to them.

"Forgive me my impertinence, sweetheart," Greystone says, and in one smooth motion kneels down and picks Kaoru up at their knees with one arm, bracing them at the backs of their thighs with his forearm and carrying them like that as if they weighed nothing at all to him.

They give a soft yelp of surprise, clapping a hand over their mouth as they clutch at the gathered fabric at his shoulder where his cape was pinned in place. With a great deal of embarrassment they cling onto him for dear life as the elezen had already begun to move.

Greystone shoots them a devastating smile, his face so close that they could see the different specks of blue in his eyes and count all of his long, pretty eyelashes if they wanted. This close, they could see the scar that marred his handsome face was clearly made by something—or someone—with claws.

The villain moves quickly with them in his arms, his long legs carrying them farther now that he does not need to wait for Kaoru to keep up. Even so, being carried in his arms was a smooth ride for the miqo'te, the elezen holding them steady as he crept through the shadowed halls to his apparent destination. An unmarked door that he opens up and then swiftly closes behind him as they slip inside.

The click of the lock sounds loud to Kaoru's twitching ears as they realize they are alone, locked in a room with a devilishly handsome villain.

Kaoru's heart quickens its beat as Greystone lowers them from their perch on his arm. Their palms slide over the elezen's shoulders and pectorals to his abdomen on the way down to solid ground. Kaoru does not realize they are holding their breath until the elezen moves, inspiring a gasp of breath from them as Greystone looks them over with glittering blue eyes as he prowls towards them. Every step that the villain took in their direction was two that Kaoru took backwards.

The smirk that curls at that darkly glossed mouth sends shivers up and down their spine. Their fur prickles and near stood on end, though they did not know if they felt nervous or excited.

Perhaps both.

Greystone was dangerous, but to Kaoru he posed a different kind of danger.

The man was fixated on them, clearly interested in the hero in ways that only lovers should be.

"Why so skittish, kitten?" The villain coos to them in a voice like rich molasses, dark and sweet. The sound of his boots clicking over the wood floor echoing ominously as he backed the hero into a corner. "I will not harm you."

Kaoru startles, glancing back as their back hits the wall. Having cornered themselves without realizing it, they jump a bit as Greystone closes the distance between them, his arms slapping the wall on either side of them, caging them in.

"Were you not about to kiss me back in the hall where anyone could have stumbled upon us?" The villain murmurs intensely, pressing close.

He is half bent to whisper into their feline ears, his nose brushing the tip of one.

"Or was that simply to distract me? You are well aware of my attraction to you. My interest in you. I have been more than plain. What of you, my sweet? Do you intend to play with my feelings? To hold my heart in your small, delicate hand whilst you slowly squeeze?"

Kaoru sucks in a breath as Haurchefant grabs their wrist and yanks their hand forward to touch his chest. Their fingers and palm meeting bare, warm skin where the elezen's shirt was unlaced, the beat of his heart thumping under their hand.

"It is yours if you want it," the villain offers, pressing their hand firm to his chest. His grasp on their wrist was almost bruising as he pinned them to the spot with the intensity of his gaze alone. "If you do not, I will bother you no longer. Tell me, which is it?"

Kaoru stares at him, wide eyed and flustered. They feel short of breath, dizzy. Their mouth was dry, and their voice croaked as they struggled to speak. Put entirely on the spot, how could they possibly answer? "I…"

Kaoru's eyes squeeze closed, a whimper rising in their throat as they turn their face away. This was too much! They could not think, they wanted nothing more than to flee this moment.

"I don't—" They start to say, to confess their uncertainty, but Greystone reaches out and covers their mouth.

His blue eyes are wide, a little manic.

It hurts a little where he grips their face, but Kaoru cannot feel fear in the face of the expression that he wore.

He looked more afraid than they themselves felt.

"Forget I asked," he tells them, a desperate edge to his voice. "Please, Kaoru," he whispers fervently, shocking them with the use of their name—spoken so sweetly, as if he were savoring the sound of it even as he said it, "Do not deny me just yet."

Kaoru stares at him, stunned into silence. And then they can only give another choked little gasp as Greystone drags his hand down over their mouth to instead fist it in the collar of their cloak, dragging them forward as he dipped downwards.

They meet in the middle with a crush of lips, Kaoru's clothes pulling on their body uncomfortably and their feet dangling above the floor as they were kissed senseless.

The gloss coating Greystone's lips feels slick as their mouths slide over one another, and Kaoru groans in their throat at the addicting sweetness of it. The taste was something fruity that they could not quite place as their tongue accidentally slid over Greystone's lower lip.

Greystone gasps with the feeling of their tongue, groaning into their mouth.

"Kaoru," he murmurs, his voice desperate, pleading as he draws them nearer, lifting them up and into him as he presses their back into the wall and licks into their mouth, "Kaoru..!"

Kaoru reaches back for him, dark lipgloss smearing sticky and sweet between their mouths as they kiss, passionate and messy. They wrap their legs around his waist, squeezing at his hips. Their hands cup his jaw firmly as they melt into this embrace, pulling back from the greedy slide of his tongue to suck at the sweet, fruity taste of the gloss lingering on his lower lip. Savoring that sweetness on their tongue.

There would be no forgetting the taste of it now.

"Kaoru," Greystone groaned, pushing them into the wall as he rocks forward into them.

A bolt of pleasure zings through the miqo'te with the grind of their hips and they tip their head back to cry out with it. Gasping with dark gloss staining their mouth as they became aware of that familiar throb that this dangerous villain inspired in them.

With Kaoru's head tilted back, Greystone takes the advantage to kiss over their jaw and throat, leaving sticky imprints of his lips on their skin.

He set them down on their feet, then he slipped slowly downward. Their difference in height made a non-issue by the villain in his willingness to bend for them. First at the waist to kiss their lips, their jaw, their neck, and now on bended knee as he moves lower.

If he wanted to kiss over every ilm he'd have to sit on the floor, or perhaps even lay on it. Kaoru feels flustered with the ridiculous imagining. Yet here was a villain kissing his way down their body. For some reason Kaoru could not doubt that Greystone would even kiss their boots if they wanted him to.

Proverbial boots, that is. Kaoru was wearing sandals.

His hands stroke over their back, his fingers spanning wide as he braces them. He buries his face against them, breathing them in as he kisses his way even lower. Only pausing as Kaoru grabs at his face, their fingers framing around his ears as he trailed kisses down towards their chest.

"Wait," they say, and Greystone instantly stills, looking up into their hesitant face.

Kaoru takes a breath to steel their nerves, and says, "I am not a woman."

Greystone furrows his brow. "I know that, dear, you have said such before. You have informed me how to call you. Have I erred in any way? If so, I would apologize."

Kaoru shook their head, and their hands trembled on his jaw with nerves. Their bright, mismatched eyes of red and yellow-gold bore him, silently imploring him to understand. "It is only that… If you have certain expectations—"

Greystone shook his head. "I have none, kitten," he says gently. "I only want to touch you, to taste you. To show you what pleasure I can bring you, if you let me."

Kaoru grows red in the face, near as vibrant as the color of their hair. Their eyes squeeze shut, their hands loosening their grip on his face. "If you change your mind…"

Greystone cups his hand over the back of theirs before they can pull away, nuzzling into their palm and kissing over their lifeline. "Rest assured, my sweet, I will not."

He pauses then, and the look on his face is gentler than they had ever seen it. He seemed an entirely different man.

Or perhaps this was closer to the man he had been, before he had become the villain Greystone?

"If you are uncomfortable, or wish to stop, pray tell me. I want you, Kaoru, without a doubt. I am a greedy man. But… I will not continue if you do not want it. If you do not want me. You can walk out that door, and I would have Ger assist you in leaving here without trouble."

Any feelings of trepidation that Kaoru might have been feeling all but evaporated as the elezen did his best to reassure them, to bring them ease.

They could not help but feel that the villain holding them was naught but an elaborate mask, that the man underneath was more than worth knowing. If they were brave enough to stay and get to know the man he truly was.

The question was, were they willing to take that leap of faith?

Trailing him here had been beyond reckless, following him blindly even more so. Yet even within a den full of villains, Haurchefant had made them feel at ease.

Kaoru takes a breath, a gulp, and says, "Haurchefant. I want to keep going."

If the man was not attractive enough, he was transformed into someone beyond dazzling with the genuine smile that comes over his face when hearing his name from Kaoru's lips.

Kaoru's cheeks burn red at how handsome this man was. They feel flustered and… touched by his consideration and the obvious respect he held for them; and so very hot and bothered by how desperately he seemed to desire them that he would beg them not to deny him.

"Show me," Kaoru says to him, mustering up their own confidence and courage. To blurt it all out before they could become too shy and embarrassed, or chicken out entirely. "Show me how you will touch me, how you might please me, and… and then I will make my decision. Show me your all," They say, so very bold and mayhap more than a little reckless in their word choice. "Convince me."

What was said, was said. And with that, all traces of sweetness and gentleness on that handsome face were wiped clean.

Haurchefant's eyes are a piercing, heated blue as a wicked smirk tugged at the villain's glossy mouth. "As you wish, kitten."

Kaoru finds themselves staring down at the top of Greystone's head as he promptly slid down their body, their skin flushed hot as he knelt at their feet.

Gods, he was so tall that he was practically the same height as them kneeling down!

They felt strangely bashful as the elezen took off their shoes first, his blue eyes gazing up at them under his eyelashes. The curve of his smile makes them all tingly.

They feel positively dainty as he holds their bare foot in his large palm, the miqo'te making a small sound of embarrassment in their throat as he kisses the top of their foot like he would the back of their hand.

"So tiny, my cute hero," Haurchefant coos, taking off their other sandal and setting it aside.

"Maybe you're just big," Kaoru replies, to which Haurchefant flashes them a grin that was downright lascivious.

"Compared to you, my sweet, I am quite large."

Kaoru flushes hot with the implications of that. The direction of their thoughts must read on their face—or Haurchefant simply catches the way their gaze drifts towards his lap—because the villain laughs and lifts his hands to their hips to squeeze, his fingers sliding under their waistband to touch their warm, smooth skin.

"You will see all of me soon enough, my curious little kitten. First I would do my very best to please you. Pay close attention, dearest Kaoru, for I will convince you of the sincerity of my feelings."

Kaoru gasps as Haurchefant yanks down their trousers, having already deftly dealt with the ties holding them closed when they were not paying attention.

"Such a pretty portrait you make, my Kaoru," the villain compliments them, his hand sliding up from their knee to the inside of their thigh.

"Well, what have we here?" Haurchefant murmurs in a velvety voice as the smooth glide of his hand catches on their skin where the slick trail of their arousal had coated the insides of their thighs.

Kaoru squirms with embarrassment, their pulse throbbing as Haurchefant pulls back for just a moment to rub his fingers together, smiling wickedly.

"So excited for me already?" The villain purrs, continuing on by stroking over the fabric of their smalls—a boy-short cut that suited them well—and admiring the shade of red they were. He particularly liked the darker spot he could see as he cradled the softness of their plump inner thighs in his hands and spread their legs open to look.

The adorable squeak they let out in response inspires something of a maniacal giggle from him.

Ohh, yesss… Kaoru was wet!

He kneads at their inner thighs, chuckling in his throat as he feels Kaoru squirm.

Looking up at them gifted him with the utterly adorable sight of them hiding behind their hands, their multicolored eyes peeking out at him all wide behind their fingers.

"Hahh, you are so cute, my kitten, it makes me want to do wicked things to you," is all the warning Haurchefant gives to them before he lifted one of their knees over his shoulder and buried his face in the crotch of their small clothes.

Kaoru gives a choked little gasp, stunned speechless.

The hot, moist puff of his breath washes over them as he breathes them in with perverse delight; before he licks them through the red fabric separating his mouth from their wet, heated flesh.

Kaoru's soft cry is nearly drowned out by Haurchefant's lustful groan. Kaoru whines in their throat, one hand pressing to the wall, and the other fisting in Haurchefant's hair as the elezen's tongue licks over the patch of wetness that was plain evidence of their arousal.

"Kaoru," Haurchefant moans, lapping at them like a slavering beast, further wetting the red fabric of their smalls with the way he drooled for them, quite obviously enjoying himself for how he panted and made such seductive sounds.

"Kaoru..! Ohh, kitten, I could live between your thighs," Haurchefant tells them without an onze of shame between his cute endearments for them and moaning their name. His hands pawing at the plump flesh of their thighs as he licks and licks and licks at them.

"Mmph, sweetheart," he continues on, in lustful ecstasy, sucking their juices from the fabric as if to savor every last drop, "Just a taste of you and I am already addicted. Fury, I could eat you morning, noon, and night!"

Kaoru has no words for that, still stunned speechless and trembling, their hips jolting as the damp fabric creates friction against their sensitive flesh. The red-haired miqo'te mewling out as Haurchefant's nose grinds against their clit, their head thumping back against the wall as he pressed his mouth there and sucked, hard.

They cry out with pleasure, their fingers scrabbling against the wall as their hips grind against his face for more, more.

"More," Haurchefant says what they were thinking aloud, and Kaoru has only a moment to catch their breath as he pulls back to say, "Forgive me, sweetness, I'll replace them," as the villain gripped the fabric of their smalls in his hands and ripped it in twain to expose them to his hungry gaze.

"Haurchefant!" Kaoru exclaims, but forgets entirely what they mean to say at the worshipful expression on the villain's face, and the feeling of his touch gliding over their slippery folds.

They watch, wide eyed and chest heaving as Haurchefant coats his long, elegant fingers in the slick of their arousal. His fingers slippery with it as he rubs at their clit with just the right amount of pressure that had Kaoru bucking into his hand as he lowers his head to taste them without fabric barring the way.

He acted like he was tasting ambrosia for the ridiculous, lewd moan he lets out as he licks over them. Sucking at them ardently and savoring their flavor on his tongue like a sweet, melty treat.

"Haurchefant," Kaoru whimpers breathily, then gasps out as the man lifts their other leg over his shoulder, grasping at their bottom with both palms as he pressed his face against them. Holding them upright with such ease, as if they weighed nothing at all to him.

"You say my name so prettily," Haurchefant slurs against them where they were so warm, wet, and aching for him. "I wonder how many ways I can hear it from your lips before the night is through. Shall I start? Kaoru."

Kaoru whimpers in their throat as he looks them in the eye and opens his mouth, his tongue spread wide and flat as he laps at them. Quite obviously savoring their taste on his tongue for the languid way he licks over them, his deep moan thrumming through them.

Kaoru's hips twitch into every slow, firm swipe of that wicked tongue. Their mouth hangs open as Haurchefant licks and licks and licks over every ilm of their soft, slick flesh.

By the blissful expression on his face and the twitch of his ears that caught their every gasp and slightest sound, Kaoru could tell he was enjoying himself immensely. Perhaps even more so than they themselves were.

Kaoru clutches at his head between their thighs, their heart pounding in their throat even with their back to the wall as Haurchefant holds them up off the ground with their legs over his shoulders and treats them to pleasure they had never felt before.

He treated them like a decadent feast; and ate them up.

Kaoru's legs squeeze around his head, their hips gyrating against Haurchefant's face as he thrust his tongue out and licked inside of them. His tongue sinking into them again and again with wet, lustful stabs. A mimicry of what he would soon do with the hard, throbbing length sitting heavy between his thighs.

Kaoru had yet to get a good hard look, but it seemed to be a sizable bulge. True to what Haurchefant had said, it looked large compared to how small Kaoru was.

Would it even fit inside of them??

No doubt Haurchefant would make certain it fit, if they went so far.

Kaoru feels hotter for thinking such things. Their multicolored eyes squeeze shut as they blush and whine out loud with embarrassment and lust.

Haurchefant chuckles with his tongue still buried inside of them. The sound vibrates through their body and makes them tingle and throb all the more.

Their mouth drops open, their voice crying out as Haurchefant closes his mouth around their clit as sucks fervently.

"Hhh—Haurchefant!" They call his name, gasping and heaving for breath as they thump their head against the wall. Their waist jerks as Haurchefant cradles their back, their shoulders pushing hard to the wall as they ride his face and his tongue through their first orgasm of the night.

Some incomprehensible stretch of time later, Kaoru falls limp. Their body shaking and trembling all over with pleasurable aftershocks as Haurchefant caught and held them.

Their limbs sway in the open air as the elezen carries them, holding them aloft as he walks to the bed in the corner of the room.

They drift back into awareness as Haurchefant lays them down gently, their eyes still hazy as they blink them open. Their face blushes hot, a wave of bashful feelings washing over them as they watch Haurchefant strip himself down.

He was already bare from the waist up. His long, elegant fingers loosening the ties of his sinfully skin tight trousers as he gazes at them with lust darkened blue eyes.

"No need to be shy," the elezen says in a deep, velvety voice as he prowls close to them, settling between Kaoru's spread thighs and slipping his fingers under the cloth still covering their upper body from his view. Their shirt slips up over their hips and belly as he kisses his way over their skin, higher and higher.

Only pausing to press a worshipful kiss to every freckle, dimple or scar.

He lingers a little longer over the one that curves from hip to hip across their lower belly. It was long faded, barely different from their surrounding skin, but still smoother to the touch as some scars tended to be. Still visible even though it had healed some time ago.

There was an obvious story for this one, but such tales could wait for later.

He continues on in his path, kissing their abdomen and chest through the fabric of their shirt, and then looking into their face as he tugs the bunched up material. “May I?”

Kaoru pauses in consideration, then nods their head. Why should he not see them as they are? They had already done so much together.

Haurchefant wanted to learn more of them, did he? Well, Kaoru would not hide who they were.

Given permission, Haurchefant wastes no time in ridding them of their last layers, finally stripping them entirely bare.

Kaoru finds themselves holding their breath, gazing into his face to catch every micro expression.

Haurchefant gazes his fill of their bare form with that same look of admiration and naked want. Unchanging. Accepting them for who they were.

“You are a vision, my Kaoru,” he murmurs, trailing his fingertips over their flat chest. Tracing the scars from their top surgery, and then dipping his head down to kiss over them as he had done every other scar.

These ones were more special. These scars were neat, clean lines. Done with clear precision and care, and obviously more recent by the difference in color to their other scars.

They were a reflection of Kaoru's own happiness. A decision they had made of their own volation, for their own body.

How could Haurchefant be anything but glad that Kaoru would share this with him?

It was a show of trust, and perhaps a gauging of his own character.

Haurchefant could only show them again and again that he would accept them for who they were. That he would love them as they are. He could only hope that they would do the same in return.

“I told you, my Kaoru,” Haurchefant murmurs, kissing their chest right over their heart. “I open my heart to you. I will love you for all that you are, if you will only let me. I await your answer with great anticipation.”

Kaoru swallows the lump that had risen in their throat, blinking their misty eyes. Relief draining the sudden tension that had come over them. Why had they expected his reaction would be any different?

Haurchefant smiles, dragging his lips up from their chest to their collar bone, over their neck to their jaw. His lips pressing kiss after kiss there as he worked his way back to their lips.

Kaoru can feel the curve of his smile as he kisses them—full force in ecstatic joy—before it melds into the intensity of his kiss.

Their mouth fell open in a gasp as his hand slid down over their body to settle between their thighs again. His fingers gliding through their wetness and petting over their folds as he kisses them hungrily, his tongue slipping into their mouth to tangle lazily with theirs. He teases them slowly just like that, one finger slipping into them to the first knuckle.

Kaoru clutches at his arms, mewling in their throat as Haurchefant works them open slowly with one finger sinking in and out of them. His finger gently curled to press and rub against their soft, slippery insides. Seeking out the spots they were most sensitive as he slips a second finger in alongside the first.

"So tight," the elezen hisses as the miqo'te claws their fingernails over his shoulders and squirms into the motions of his fingers. They whimper in complaint as he pauses in his kisses to them, his lips pulling down at the corners and eyebrows furrowing.

"...Kaoru," he murmurs with a dawning realization, "Have you…never—?"

Kaoru's cheeks flush a ruddy red, their mismatched eyes hidden behind their lashes as they shook their head. "No."

Haurchefant makes an inarticulate sound in his throat, the sudden crush of his lips over theirs making the miqo'te let out a squeaked sound of surprise.

They feel hot as he kisses them with deep, dizzying passion, stealing the breath from their lungs with his fervent affection.

"I'll make it so good for you, Kaoru," Haurchefant promises against their trembling lips. He sucks at the soft flesh of their bottom lip, cradling the back of their neck in the crook of his arm as he kisses their lips again and again, his fingers moving inside of them with more care.

Kaoru whines in their throat, burning up with embarrassment and arousal as Haurchefant looks at them like they were the most precious to him. As if they had given him a priceless gift.

Kaoru did not think it was that special—that they were that special—but apparently Haurchefant did.

"I'll make you feel so good," Haurchefant repeats, obviously now a man on a mission to make this an unforgettable moment for his miqo'te lover.

It was already so good, but Kaoru had no real basis for comparison. Haurchefant was their one and only at this point. There was no way that they could deny him or reject him after this, he was simply too sweet and considerate. His feelings for them were plain in every touch, in every kiss, every lingering look that was shared between them.

"I already feel good," Kaoru tells him with a flustered whimper.

Haurchefant presses his lips to theirs again, lingering with such blatant affection that it flusters Kaoru even more effectively than the feeling of his fingers sinking inside of them. At least, until Haurchefant lifted his head and gazed at them adoringly. Holding their gaze as he pleasured them slowly and carefully.

Kaoru squirms, struggling to maintain eye contact as their skin reddened as deep a shade as their hair. What was with this sweetness, this sudden gentleness? Not that they weren't enjoying it, but his early rough passion had made them hot like nothing else.

"You said you would show me your all," the miqo'te says, reaching out to grasp his face and tug him close as they looked him in the eye and demanded more with all the assertiveness they could muster. "Do not treat me differently now over something so inconsequential when moments before you were ready to ravish me. I would experience all that you are, Haurchefant Greystone. Not just gentleness and sweetness, but the depth of your desire. The passion you showed me before. Is it not your intention to convince me? I did not stay here—in a den of villains, locked in a room with a man with a reputation such as yours—with the expectation I would be treated to a gentle night of passion."

Haurchefant gazes at them in surprise for a moment, but then that wicked smile tugs at his lips as his eyes light up with manic glee.

Kaoru shivers as Haurchefant slips his hand up to stroke their cheek, his voice like velvet as he purrs, "Your wish is my command, kitten."

Kaoru's lips part in surprise as Haurchefant wraps his hand around their throat, his fingers positioned to press at the sides of their neck, his palm curled snugly to their neck but not uncomfortably so.

"How's this then, Kaoru?" He asks, his breath fanning over their lips. Hot and heavy, just like the breadth of his palm and fingers as he slowly starts to squeeze.

"Yes," Kaoru chokes out, squirming with a flood of arousal. Feeling the bob of their throat as they swallow, the warm weight of his hand as he cradles their throat in his palm. Of his fingers as he positions them just so on the sides of their neck, cutting off their air with a careful, practiced pressure that has Kaoru very much aware of the excited, lustful throb of their pulse. "I… like it."

They imagine they could taste his desire on their tongue with his every heated exhale. That he could taste their own in their answering gasps.

"Good," Haurchefant smiles roguishly, exuding wicked delight. Then he slips his hand upwards to cradle their jaw, holding their gaze with serious blue eyes. "Before we continue any further, give me a word, Kaoru. Any word of your choosing. If you become too overwhelmed or wish to slow down, or stop entirely, you need only speak this word and I will abide by your wishes."

Kaoru can barely think with the feeling of his fingers still inside of them. Though his movement had come to a stop, they still throbbed around his fingers, squeezing tight around them with the lust he had so far stirred in them.

"A word? Haurchefant, I don't… I can't… Can we not continue without it?" The miqo'te asks, squirming. Feeling far too hot and bothered. Was it really necessary?

Haurchefant shushes them, leaning forward to kiss their lips, soft and sweet. "It is a safe word, my dear. I do not wish to push you too far or to frighten you with the depths of my desire for you. I must insist you pick a word, or allow me to choose one for you. It must be one that we do not commonly use in casual conversation."

Kaoru blushes up to their finely furred feline ears, unsure if they wanted to hide their face from him or pull him closer for more kisses.

His words and his fingers have their attention divided. It was honey sweet, hot seduction. So heady that Kaoru felt dizzy with it. So much that they squirmed, and then moaned as his fingers ever so slightly curved inside of them in response.

"Will you… pick one for me?" They ask, already feeling somewhat overwhelmed by all that has happened so far. By Haurchefant declaring his feelings and desire for them again and again.

There would be no denying his sincerity.

Kaoru had never been pursued quite like this. Had never felt half as good, and nowhere near as lustful and wanting.

Haurchefant graces them with another one of his soft smiles, plainly adoring as he dips his head to kiss them again.

Kaoru sighs as his lips move over theirs, whimpering softly in their throat as he curls his fingers inside of them and teases at their clit with swipes of his thumb. If this was their reward for doing what he wanted, Kaoru was most certainly in danger.

"Good, good," Haurchefant murmurs in a heated breath against their lips, keeping them on the torturous, delicious edge of ecstasy even as they speak.

Kaoru did not know whether to curse him or beg him to keep going.

"You… keep doing that… you're making it so…! Hah… hard to think," Kaoru gasps, their hips jerking with the movement of his fingers.

Haurchefant laughs in his throat, favoring them with his evil, sexy smile.

How was it that his smile could be so wicked but his gaze so soft that Kaoru felt their breath caught in their throat? They swallow with effort, their heart thundering in their ears, their pulse throbbing all throughout their feverish, overheated body.

"Do you… desire me so much?" Kaoru asks breathlessly.

Haurchefant gives a low hum in his throat, grasping their small wrist in his much larger hand and lifting it towards his face to kiss at their palm. His lips feathering so very gently over their lifeline, his breath a hot puff of air over their skin.

"So much that it scares even me, my Kaoru," he tells them in a deep, throaty voice.

Kaoru shivers all over, staring at his face. At the elegant fan of his eyelashes as he kisses their hand with his eyes closed in a fleeting moment of reprieve from the intensity of his gaze.

"You don't even know me. Not really," Kaoru replies weakly, their stomach swooping as Haurchefant drags his lips over their fingers, his lips parting to nip at their fingertips.

"Call it what you like, kitten," Haurchefant says simply, staring back at them under the fan of his eyelashes as he holds their hand and nuzzles his cheek over their knuckles. "Infatuation. Fixation. Obsession," he kisses their hand with every word, "I merely know that I cannot stop thinking of you. That I desire you, that I must come to know you more completely. Your likes, your dislikes, what makes you smile or laugh or cry. What brings you pleasure. I want to know everything. I want to taste every ilm of your skin. I want to bring you so much pleasure that you think you cannot handle any more. I want to convince you that you can. I want—"

Kaoru covers his mouth, wide eyed and heart pounding so very loud in their own ears that they are certain Haurchefant could feel it. Hear it.

"Too much," they gasp.

Haurchefant licks their palm, teeth scraping their skin. "Yes," he agrees, his voice muffled by their hand before he tugs it away. "I want too much. Forgive me if it frightens you, Kaoru. Such is why I must insist upon a safe word."

He pauses then, taking a deep breath and sighing it out. He presses their hand to his chest, allowing them to feel the rabbit-quick thump of his heart. "I get ahead of myself," he says, head ducking and looking downright sheepish with the upturned arch of his eyebrows. "I can be over-excitable, and reckless. You need only ask Ger, she would confirm my words with emphatic agreement. I can become much too intense with the things that interest me. With the people that interest me. You, Kaoru. You have become someone I cannot ignore. I am out of my head with thoughts of you. My heart quickens with the very mention of your name. With every moment in your company, the depths of my desire only continue to grow. I want more of you. All of you. Far from denying this desire, I gladly surrender myself to it."

Kaoru stares at him, speechless.

Haurchefant clears his throat, allowing their hand to slip away from him. "You needn't feel pressured to respond. My thoughts, my feelings and wants are all my own responsibility. I do not speak them aloud to burden you, Kaoru." He takes another breath, the dangling jewel of his earrings swaying with the shake of his head. "Given this opportunity, I simply cannot help myself."

Kaoru bites their lip and reaches out to cup his face in their hands. "I… don't really know my own feelings yet with all of this," they tell him with all honesty, feeling flustered and abuzz with nerves staring into the blue of his eyes, "but you are often in my thoughts, too. Foolish as it is to trust a villain at his word, I feel now… that I can believe you have been honest with me from the very beginning."

Their heartbeat quickens watching his eyes widen, and then become soft with his feelings for them. They feel overly warm, cheeks burning and pulse throbbing. "My chest swells and I feel dizzy with your openness about your desires. How readily you speak your mind and share your feelings. It was hard for me to trust your sincerity at first, but if you have been playing me for a fool then you are the most talented actor I've ever witnessed."

Haurchefant frowns. "I am many things, my dear Kaoru, but I am no liar."

Kaoru lets out a shaky breath, smiling a little. "I believe you."

Haurchefant gazes back at them, then sighs. Smiling back at them. "Then I must needs continue to prove to you that my intentions are true."

Kaoru swallows, wiggling a little. "I would like you to continue, yes."

That brings back the spark of heat to their lover's eyes. "As you wish, kitten," he says with a dip of his head, his smile curving wickedly.

Then he sweeps his gaze over them and says, "Dragonhead."

Kaoru blinks. "... Dragonhead?" It was an encampment in the central highlands of coerthas, they knew. They had been there.

Haurchefant nods, "You know of it, yes? Dragonhead will be our safe word. Repeat it back to me."

Kaoru swallows. "Dragonhead."

Haurchefant grins, all teeth. "Good."

Kaoru clears their throat, asking curiously, "What made you decide on that?"

Haurchefant hums, leaning forward to press his lips to theirs as he resumes where he had left off in teasing them, his fingers moving at a lazy pace that had Kaoru twitching and stifling a whine.

"It is a piece of my past. A place that might have been our first meeting, had things been different."

Kaoru squirms, gasping as Haurchefant puts more intent behind the movement of his fingers. Stirring them up again so quickly as if to make up for the time they had spent coversating.

"Nnnghh! D…—different?" Kaoru mewls out, only to whine as Haurchefant covers their mouth and smirks at them.

"Let us leave such conversation for the afterglow, my sweet, I would much rather use my tongue for more stimulating things."

What, again? Kaoru's feline ears perk, their tail shivering. How many times did he intend to do so? Was he aiming to thoroughly exhaust them? Kaoru doubted they'd be able to talk at all after Haurchefant was through with them.

"You are so expressive, kitten." Haurchefant laughs softly, trailing his hand away from their mouth in a downward stroke to pet over their neck. "Your thoughts are nearly written across your face. Yes, sweet Kaoru, I intend to savor this moment. To savor you. In every manner, so long as you allow me."

Kaoru swallows as he settles his hand on their throat again.

"You remember our safe word?" He asks.

Kaoru nods.

"Let me hear it," Haurchefant murmurs, lightly running his fingers over their neck while his palm stays in place where he had laid it.

"Dragonhead," Kaoru breathes out.

"Good," Haurchefant praises them, "Remember it. Use it. Rest assured I will allow no harm to come to you, not from my hand or another. Know that I am yours to command, Kaoru."

Kaoru does not know how to respond to that, so they say nothing.

"Now, take a deep breath," the villain softly instructs them, "and hold it."

Kaoru does as he bids, taking a breath and holding it. Their heart pounds in their head, in their ears, in their throat as he positions his fingers just right and applies pressure.

"Speak the word if you need to," Haurchefant murmurs to them even as his fingers twist and curl and press inside of them. His thumb slides slippery around their clit, swirling in a tease that had them twitching.

Kaoru could sob with how quickly he puts them on the edge again. He could easily bring them relief here and now, but instead he was teasing.

Taking his time.

Bringing them to the edge and slowing down to torture them with pleasure, with such wicked delight in those blue eyes of his. It was clear he was not going to allow them to reach another peak until he was good and ready.

His blue eyes bore into them with laser intensity as his fingers curl inside them, at the same time rubbing roughly at their clit with his thumb. Allowing them to catch their breath in short bursts as he does so, but the more their pleasure builds, the longer he waits between breaths.

"I admit to some surprise at your preferences, but all the better for me that you enjoy this. Shall I treat you roughly? Manhandle you? Satisfy you so thoroughly and completely that you cannot leave this room on your own two feet? Hmm, is that what you desire, my cute little Kaoru?"

Kaoru gives a strangled groan in their throat with embarrassment and desire as their body flushes hot with his wicked, teasing laugh. Their hips buck into his hand and their eyelashes flutter as Haurchefant licks at their mouth and proceeds to suck on their tongue. They could still taste themselves on his mouth even now. The heady flavor of their own arousal lingering even after so many kisses shared between them.

With Kaoru's preference in mind, Haurchefant puts forth more effort to prove himself a worthy lover. He plies them with deep, lustful kisses that have them gasping into his mouth as his fingers twist and thrust into them more quickly and forcefully than before. His thumb sweeps over their clit, rubbing roughly, and Kaoru is once again worked up into a frenzy of lust.

"That's it, kitten," the villain breaks their kiss to trail his lips upward in a hot, sultry path over their skin. Pausing only to feather velvety kisses across the soft brown markings that curved over Kaoru's cheek.

"Give yourself over to me, sink into pleasure until all else drifts away but blissful ecstasy," Haurchefant breathes into Kaoru's feline ear, tracing along the finely furred shape of it with his far too talented tongue.

Kaoru shudders, biting at their lips to muffle their cries. Their ears catching every wet, lewd sound that they made together as Haurchefant stirred their pleasure up to new highs.

"You're close," Haurchefant purrs. The puff of his warm, moist breath ghosting over their ear making them shudder as their skin prickles with shivery bumps, their fur standing on end with anticipation of the pleasure that was to come. "I can feel you squeezing around my fingers. So wanting, so greedy. Worry not, my dear Kaoru. I'll give you all that you desire and more."

Kaoru sobs out as Haurchefant finds that pleasure spot inside them with two fingers, their muscles contracting with intense pleasure as he finally allows them release.

They tremble and shake, their eyes squeezing closed as they ride out the rush of sensation.

Their ears lay flat, their hips jerking and thighs shivering as their every nerve lit up with ecstasy.

Ah, hah, ahh!!

…!

Kaoru does not know how much time passes by in that blissful haze, but when they come back to themselves, Haurchefant is gazing at them expectantly, hungrily.

"Have you any words for me, my Kaoru?" The villain asks them in a low, rumbling voice. "Or shall I continue?"

Kaoru's voice comes out in a squeak of sound as they watch Haurchefant stick his fingers into his mouth—the ones that had just been inside of them!—and slowly suck them clean. Savoring their flavor with a moan in his throat.

Why was it still so shocking? Haurchefant had stuck his tongue inside of them!

That far too talented tongue in question drags over Haurchefant's lips, the color of his sticky lip paint long faded, the evidence of his ardent affection a map over their skin. His blue gaze sears into them, his greed palpable. Greed for more.

For more of Kaoru.

Kaoru gives a startled whimper in their throat as their body throbs with renewed desire under the heat of his stare, an ache inside of them that had yet to be satisfied. What had he done to them? Kaoru had never felt like this before!

They reach for him and Haurchefant comes into their arms eagerly, pressing his lips to theirs to steal their breath with his impassioned kiss.

They gasp and groan, shivering pleasantly as their elezen lover trails heavy kisses from their lips over their chin and down their throat. Leaving no ilm of their neck unkissed, as if to make up for wrapping his hand around their throat.

It made Kaoru feel warm and tingly, soft sighs leaving their lips as they were once again kissed and caressed.

"You are so cute, Kaoru," Haurchefant groans, burying his face in their chest and breathing them in with deep, heady breaths. "I want to touch you more and more. I cannot get enough of you."

Kaoru squirms, burning with bashful feelings as well as their own desire. "I… want to touch you, too."

Haurchefant lifts his head, his blue eyes blinking in surprise as Kaoru reaches out to sweep his bangs back from where they had fallen over his face. The neatness of his slicked back hair had become messy and loose, falling over his forehead and into his pretty eyes.

"Is this ok?" Kaoru asks, so adorably shy as they bring their other hand forward to touch his face with gentle, hesitant fingertips.

Haurchefant leans into their hand, a pleased grin stretching across his face. His hand cradled the back of theirs as he sighed in bliss and nuzzled into their palm.

A shiver traveled through them as Haurchefant kisses and licks at their palm, his teeth grazing their skin.

"You can touch me however you like, kitten," Haurchefant positively purrs, "Whatever you want, whatever you need, it is yours. I am yours."

Kaoru flusters at that. This man truly was too much. "You can't mean that," Kaoru says reasonably, their voice weak.

"Oh, but I do," Haurchefant says, an intensity coming over him. Manic glee in his face as he grasps their wrists and tugs their hands to his face, kissing over their fingers and palms between words as he declares,"For you, I would do anything. If you desire it, I will make it happen. If you want to touch me, you have my permission from now on. If you feel too nervous, I will lie entirely still and let you have your way with me. I'll be your plaything, your toy, whatever you want. Use me, Kaoru. You can have whatever you want."

Kaoru's heart thunders in their chest, their skin buzzing with the heat of their blush. Taken aback and entirely bewildered, their mismatched eyes opened wide in shock and their feline ears laid flat.

"So there is some truth to the rumors about you," Kaoru mutters, "you are mad."

This man utterly was bonkers.

Haurchefant giggles at that. Giggles.

"Mad for you? Most definitely, my sweet Kaoru," Haurchefant agrees.

He smiles at them, entirely besotted. "Here," he coos, "shall I help?"

Kaoru is utterly helpless as he tugs their hands towards the sides of his head, guiding their fingers to his bejeweled pointed ears. "You like my ears, don't you? I saw you looking at them. Did you want to touch them?"

Kaoru did want to touch them. Haurchefant really noticed everything, didn't he? He may act foolish, but the man was smart as a whip. He was sharp. He…

"You knew I was following you all along, didn't you?" Kaoru realizes.

Haurchefant blinks, then grins at them toothily. "Do not doubt your capabilities, kitten. It was simply luck that I spotted your reflection in a passing window."

Luck? Ha! Kaoru was certain that Haurchefant was playing to their ego, but instead of calling him on it they sigh and indulge themselves in touching his ears.

They cup them in their hands, following the outer shape of his ear with their fingertips. A curving line to a pointed eartip, then following the rounded line to his earlobes where his glittering earrings dangled, swinging to and fro with the slightest twitch of his ears.

Haurchefant had fallen quiet at Kaoru's touch, and the miqo'te is much too flustered to meet his gaze as they fiddle with the shiny, dangling jewels that dripped from his earlobes like drops of clear, blue water. They tap them gently with their fingertips and sway the jewel around their fingers like the rotation of an aetheryte.

"These suit you really well," Kaoru says shyly, glancing at him under the fan of their eyelashes. Startled, then, to see his heavy frown.

"You are too much," Haurchefant huffs, and Kaoru gives a squeak as he pounces on them, kissing them intensely.

"You said you'd hold still!" Kaoru yelps in surprise and not a little delight as their overzealous villain pins their wrists over their head and kisses them through their words.

"It was true in the moment," Haurchefant tells them through panting breaths, before catching their tongue between his lips to suck on, hungry and wet. The loud, messy sounds of their smacking lips ring through the air as the villain makes up for the time they had spent just talking by making quite certain their lips would be bruised from his attention by the time they left here.

"Scold me if you wish," Haurchefant groans, squeezing at their wrists. Rolling his hips against them. "Use your words if you want me to stop. I am yours to command."

Kaoru mewls, saying no such things to make him stop or slow down. They strain their wrists in his iron grasp to enjoy how strongly he holds them, wrapping their legs around his hips to squeeze and encourage him to grind more against them.

"Dear heart, you look a little overwhelmed," Haurchefant chuckles between panting breaths. The movement of his hips not faltering even as he speaks. "Are you certain you have no words for me?"

Kaoru's head jerked from side to side, not even considering using that word. Rather, the helplessness of it all made it all the hotter, amping up the intensity of their desire. Something had awakened in them, and Haurchefant was partially to blame.

"Don't stop," Kaoru moans.

Let him take the lead, Kaoru preferred it.

This was much better for their nerves.

Not having to think, only feel.

Haurchefant gives a lustful growl in his throat at their moaned encouragement, rutting against them. He rolls his lower body into theirs, giving them such delicious friction that had Kaoru making helpless little noises that they could no longer stifle.

With their wrists shackled in his iron grip and their body pinned by his full weight, Kaoru could only write under him in pleasure.

"Consider it incentive," Haurchefant groans, a beautiful blush painting his fair skin in rosy hues that only deepen the more he exerts himself.

"What?" Kaoru gasps, lust addled.

Haurchefant laughs. "Next time, I shall allow you to have your way with me however you like."

"Oh—ohhh!" Kaoru moans out in understanding and bliss as Haurchefant rubs them just right. Right there, there, there!

Their mouth hung open as their eyes rolled back, their limbs haphazardly jerking with pleasure.

"Ah, ah. Not yet, my pet," Haurchefant croons to them, laughing in his throat at the whine they let out as he rises up on one arm to lift off of them.

"Look here, Kaoru," he directs them, releasing their wrists to drag his hand down his chest, over his abdomen, to dip into his unlaced trousers.

Kaoru stares, wide eyed and flustered as his hand plays under the material. Curling around the bulge that stretches the crotch of his leather pants taut. Stroking along the length of it as he moaned softly in his throat.

"You are welcome to touch me here, my kitten," Haurchefant purrs, hooking his thumb into the material at his hip and pulling down as he draws his hand out.

How did those leather pants contain that thing?!

For elezen, perhaps it was a little above average, but to Kaoru… Well, it seemed massive!

Haurchefant laughs at their expression—eyes wide and feline ears perked at attention—and almost seems embarrassed at their reaction. Color rushing to his cheeks and ears, peculiar smile tugging at his lips.

He clears his throat, then, and says, "Does it make you feel nervous? Shy, perhaps?"

Kaoru gulps.

Haurchefant bites his lip, starts to say, "If you wish to stop here—"

Kaoru interrupts him, blurting out, "Will it even fit?"

Haurchefant barks a surprised laugh. Then he is all smoldering heat as he purrs, "Oh, kitten, I have made certain you are ready for me."

Kaoru's mouth drops open, plainly gawking as Haurchefant takes their hand and leads it forward to touch him.

Oh. The feel of him. His skin was softer than they had imagined, he felt…

"So warm," the miqo'te mumbles.

More than merely warm, he felt hot to the touch.

Their fingers circled around him, fingertips not touching with the girth of him. He was not too thick, however, but longer than Kaoru had ever seen.

Not that they'd seen much but short glimpses here and there! They weren't some pervert peeping on others!

They marvel at the smooth quality of his skin here, the weight of him in their hand. Their heart drums in their ears as he twitches with their touch, his pulse throbbing where their fingers pressed to him.

Their own heart jumps at hitch in his breath as they ever so slightly squeeze…

"That's it, kitten," He breathes, his pretty eyelashes fluttering with his pleasure. Pleasure that Kaoru had given him with the touch of their hand.

Hahh…

Kaoru swallows hard, breathing shallowly as Haurchefant coaxes their hand into stroking over him, guiding them with a hand laid over theirs.

Kaoru was quickly drawn into touching him. Captivated by his reactions, every peek they took of his expression was exhilarating. His obvious enjoyment by their hands made their belly clench and throb with a rush of heat that made their thighs slick.

Kaoru wanted to feel more of him. To know what it felt like to meet him skin to skin, down there….

Kaoru shifts restlessly, their thighs rubbing together as they squirm with unspoken desire. Too shy now to speak their mind, when before they had been so recklessly bold.

It was different when they were holding a… a…! Well, you know! In their hand! All the while looking into their enemy-turned-lover's face as they touched him so intimately.

Kaoru gives a squeak of surprise as Haurchefant dives in without warning to kiss them, pinning them underneath him. Their hand reflexively squeezes around him, and the elezen moans into their mouth.

"It's alright to be shy, sweetheart," Haurchefant murmurs against their lips, coaxing their tongue out to play with his between loud, wet smooches. "I look forward to showing you all the pleasures you have not known."

He takes over in their distraction, squeezing firm over the back of their hand and using their palm and fingers to stroke himself.

Kaoru mewls against his lips as he directs their hands lower, gasping out as he rubs the tip of his erection against their hip, leaving a trail of moisture on their skin from the pearl of wetness that beads at the slit of his mushroom head.

"You can let go, kitten," Haurchefant laughs softly. A gleam in his blue eyes as he spoke with satisfaction coloring his words, "I have you now. I'll take care of you."

Kaoru only flusters at that. Did he think it was decided already? That they would become his—no, that they were already his?

"You still have to convince me," Kaoru mumbles, feline ears pressed flat as they avoided his confident stare. He was sure of himself.

Their embarrassment only deepens as Haurchefant takes the hand they had just been touching him with and kisses it. The back of their hand, their knuckles, their palm to their wrist. The man did not possess an onze of shame, it seemed.

"I will, I will," Haurchefant's grin is bright, pressing his face into their palm as if he were seeking their praise.

Kaoru pinches his cheek instead, feline ears twitching. "Cocky," they huff.

"Indeed so, but I think you just might like it," Haurchefant laughs, and purposely nudges his cock between their thighs.

Kaoru jolts, gasping. Their hips twitch upwards as the villain does not stop with just one motion, but continues it by rubbing the tip of his prick over their mons and against the slick softness of their folds.

"Close your thighs, sweetheart. Mmm. Hold them like that, nice and tight for me," Haurchefant purrs.

Kaoru obeys, flushed to their ears and pulse throbbing as Haurchefant reaches out to squish the soft flesh of their outer folds that were made plump by the squeeze of their thighs.

"So cute," Haurchefant coos even as he paws at them possessively. Squeezing their outer folds between his fingers and dipping inward in seek of their wetness, to rub at their clit in slippery swipes of his pointer finger and thumb.

"This position makes you look even more inviting, Kaoru. Mmm, I want to eat you. Devour you again and again until you're shaking and begging. Until all else fails away and you only know my touch and the ecstasy it brings you."

A whimper builds in Kaoru's throat, their hands grasping at the sheets below them as they try to hold still. Why did something so simple feel so good? He wasn't even inside of them yet, but he was already making them lose their mind. He really knew what he was doing, didn't he?

"Gods," Kaoru gasps out, staring helplessly as Haurchefant straddles them, pinning them to the bed as he presses his cock against them—braced with only his thumb under the mushroom head of it—and rocking forward slowly to tease against their folds. The tip of his prick kissing their clit with every forward roll of his hips. The length of him gliding over them in delicious friction that was driving them to the brink.

Haurchefant laughs. "The gods care not for mortal pleasures, kitten. I am the one dedicated to bringing you such endless bliss. Again and again, you need only ask. I am your willing slave."

Gods, this was crazy. He was crazy. It only made Kaoru want more. Need more. Knowing what they did now of the pleasure Haurchefant had given them, this teasing touch was not enough.

"More. Harder," Kaoru mewls, squirming under him. Seeking friction seemed impossible with his weight pinning them down, but the struggle somehow made it all the more tantalizing.

Haurchefant laughs, tutting at them. "Not yet, my pet. I want to play with you a little while more."

Kaoru whines for a moment, but Haurchefant is not without pity.

He parts their folds with the tip of his cock, rubbing up and down, stroking himself with their wetness as he does so. Giving them a little more friction, but this time skin to skin without his leather trousers barring the way.

It felt amazing.

Kaoru gives a soft yelp in surprise as he suddenly takes his prick in hand and uses it to slap against their clit, giving them a burst of sensation that had them clenching their thighs together and moaning in need.

"Please, please!" Kaoru pleads.

Haurchefant gives a put-upon sigh, and lifts off of them. "How can I possibly deny you when you beg so prettily, dearest? Hah, it seems you already have me wrapped around your cute little fingers."

Kaoru squeaks out in embarrassment as the elezen grabs them under their knees and pushes their legs up, their calves resting easily over one of his broad shoulders and putting them very much on display for the man.

Kaoru covers their face, too stunned to make noise except small sounds of fluster.

"So lovely," Haurchefant sighs, running his fingers over their soft folds, squished together so plump and cute for him.

He wraps a hand around his cock, guiding it forward to rub against them, once twice, but then he slips between their arousal slickened thighs instead of sinking inside of them.

"Look, Kaoru," he purrs with plain glee. "This is how deep I'll reach inside of you!"

Kaoru peeks between their fingers, flushed as red as their hair as they take in the sight of Haurchefant's cock sliding in and out from between their closed thighs, rubbing up against them with every leisurely thrust of his hips.

It was long, for certain. It reached upwards towards their navel with a slight curve to the right. Kaoru thought it was surprisingly pretty. Large and elegant like the man himself.

Yet there was no time to admire it for long before Haurchefant was pulling back, rubbing up against them with intent, his fist wrapped just under the tip of his prick.

"Forgive me my impatience, dearest Kaoru. Much as I would prefer to please you for several bells longer, I fear I may burst if I cannot have you now!"

Kaoru offers no such complaints, aching as they were for more of what Haurchefant offered them. They had asked for more and Haurchefant was finally ready to give it to them.

"So wet, Kaoru," he purrs approvingly. "Worry not, I have more than prepared you to take all of me."

Kaoru gulps, their mouth falling open as Haurchefant presses slowly forward, the bulbous head of his cock spreading them open as he slips forward ilm by ilm.

Kaoru thought it would hurt, that there would be pain, but there is nothing like that after the lengths that Haurchefant had gone to in preparing them. It felt like stretching a muscle they had not used very much at all until this night, a mild ache that soon gave way to a feeling of fullness as Haurchefant sank into them ilm by ilm.

"Tell me… if you feel… any discomfort," Haurchefant grits out, hissing through his teeth in quick, heated breaths.

It felt like it took an age for him to fit inside, when in reality it must happen quickly.

"Are you… feeling alright?"

Kaoru's mouth hung open, no thoughts springing readily to mind to answer him. They nod blankly, fur prickling with feelings as their whole body trembles with this new sensation.

"I think…" Kaoru mumbles, because it was mostly strange. It was different from his mouth, his tongue, his fingers. He felt bigger than he had looked, bigger than he had seemed in their hand. It felt like he was opening them up impossibly wide. Did it feel good? Kaoru wasn't quite sure yet.

Haurchefant's hips pressed flush against the backs of their thighs. He rested there for a prolonged moment with their legs over his shoulder, gripping their ankle in his hand as he turned his cheek to press his lips to their leg.

"Kaoru, the way you feel," he groans, his face twisted up, in agonizing ecstasy. "I fear I will not last…"

Kaoru could feel his restraint, his struggle to be considerate for them. His breath was shaky, his grip firm where he held them. Every slightest shift they made had him groaning like he was in exquisite pain. They could feel him throb inside of them, his whole body trembling with strain.

"You don't have to," Kaoru reasons, slowly adjusting to the feel of him inside, and trying very hard to hold still so as not to torture him. Admittedly, it was a little thrilling to have this sort of power over him after how easily he had manipulated their body, but Kaoru was a hero, not a villain. They did not relish his struggle.

…Well, at least, not too much.

"Can't we just feel good together?" Kaoru offers, taking slow breaths as they slowly shift their hips. It wasn't bad at all. They could withstand this. "You still have time to convince me."

Haurchefant looks surprised.

Kaoru can't help smiling and laughing a little. Surely, he hadn't thought…? "Did you think that tonight would be it, that's all? I am not so unreasonable… Oh!"

Kaoru lets out a squeak, anything more they might have said cut off as Haurchefant pulls back and thrusts into them. The sound of skin meeting skin piercing the air, sharp and wet, as Haurchefant responds with passionate vigor.

Kaoru clutches at the bedding beneath them, writhing with pleasure as Haurchefant does not stop even as he changes up their position. He pulls them in closer, one of their legs falling from his shoulder as he turns them on their side and grips their hip. His fingers shift lower to dig into the meat of their thigh, their skin dimpling with the strength of his hand.

Kaoru's ears twitch with every lewd smack of his skin against theirs, their own voice leaking out in impassioned cries they cannot begin to stifle as they tossed their head to and fro with overwhelming feeling.

"Ahh, haha, hnng… ahh!"

The bed had seemed so sturdy, but Kaoru could hear it creaking with their combined weight and movement.

They can barely catch their breath as every snap of Haurchefant's hips has their whole body rocking, ilming up the bed until their head pressed firmly into the pile of plump pillows. The only thing saving them from knocking their head against the headboard.

They wanted to be closer. To feel his weight bearing down upon them, to share his breath and drown in his kisses.

"Closer, closer," Kaoru gasps out, curving their legs around his. "You're too far away like this. I want to feel more of you…!"

Haurchefant laughs, breathless and giddy. Spreading their thighs open and pressing them onto their back as he crowds close, pinning them beneath him.

Kaoru whines as he slips out of them, but cannot give voice to their complaint before they find their mouth too busy to do so. Haurchefant's lips seeking theirs, insistent and hungry.

They gasp into one another's mouths as their lips slide over each other in a string of lip smacking kisses.

He nibbles and nips at their already kiss bruised lips, soothing the sting of his bite with fleeting swipes of his tongue.

Just enough to slick the way for the glide of every intense smooch he plants on their lips.

Kaoru mewls with the intensity of his dizzying kisses, heat building up inside of them again. How did something so simple feel so good?

They moan out in delight as he pins them down with his full weight. Rutting against them, his cock teasing over their dripping folds.

At the same time, his kisses find their cheek, their jaw, his tongue trailing over their neck.

"Kaoru, Kaoru," he moans and sighs their name. As if they were the answer to all his prayers. A deity on bended knee that he wholeheartedly worshiped, that he would gladly pay tribute to over and over.

"You feel heavenly," Haurchefant groans as he slipped inside of them again.

Kaoru whimpers, flinging their arm over their burning face, but crossing their ankles behind his back to keep him inside of them.

Haurchefant laughs, rolling his hips against them strongly even as their legs restrain the distance of his movement.

"You're so cute, Kaoru," he murmurs in a voice dripping with adoration.

Kaoru flushes hot, their whole body jerking.

Haurchefant let out a strangled moan, hissing through his teeth. "Ahh, kitten, you were squeezing me so tightly already… but you get even tighter when I compliment you. You like being praised, don't you?"

Kaoru hid their face and shook their head, but their body was entirely truthful as Haurchefant heaped on the praise with the wicked relish of a villain all too tickled to gain the upper hand over his hero.

Kaoru did not know what was worse, to be tortured so affectionately, or that Haurchefant was so plainly truthful in the words he spoke to them.

"It was only inevitable that you would steal my heart away, my Kaoru. Your strength, your conviction, your kind heart…" Haurchefant tells them through panting breaths. "I was fascinated with you since the very moment we met. A wondrous hero one had only heard of in the fairytales, yet beyond that a person who was so lovely, so kind and thoughtful. So utterly dazzling."

Kaoru hid behind their arm, head shaking. Embarrassed and terribly stubborn in their refusal to accept his favor, "I'm not. I'm not what you say I am."

Haurchefant an irritated grunt in his throat, tugging their arm away from their face and pinning it to the bed, his fingers slotted through theirs in a passionate grip. "You are! You can deny such things all you like, but I am no fool. I know my own mind, my own heart. I love you for the person you have shown yourself to be. You say I do not truly know you? Then let me get to know you! And watch, then, as I fall deeper and more completely for all that you are."

When Kaoru has nothing to say in response to his vehemence, Haurchefant's hand squeezes at theirs. Still they refuse to look into his eyes, so stubborn. Haurchefant gives his second best villainous chuckle, thoroughly charmed even now by their heroic levels of obstinance, "Have you no words for me, kitten? Well, it matters not. If I cannot convince you with my words, I will do so with my body…"

Kaoru yelps as Haurchefant spreads their thighs wide and folds them in half, bearing down upon them with his full weight as he pins them to the bed and grips their ankles firmly.

"Haahh… Feel it, Kaoru," He groans fervently, far more vigorous in his movements now as he sinks into them again and again. Stirring them up inside until all Kaoru could focus on was this, was him, inside of them.

"Nng… Feel me, my desire for you! Is this not true, not real? Can you… hah!... deny this? Mm… Speak your words, if you would reject me now. Ah! I would… respect your wishes… no matter the circumstances."

Kaoru was undoubtedly feeling it. They could not think of the word Haurchefant had given them, let alone speak it. Words were far from their grasp as they bucked and whimpered and whined.

They could feel that telltale sensation building up inside of them again. The way their whole body trembled and tightened, begging for release. So close, so close. Almost there…!

Haurchefant chuckles wickedly, guiding their hand down between their thighs. "Touch yourself for me, kitten."

Kaoru mewls, rubbing at their slippery, throbbing clit with shaky fingers.

"That's it," Haurchefant croons, "that's my good little hero. So obedient for me. Don't you want to cum now, hmm?" Haurchefant moans for them. "I can feel you squeezing around me. Do you want me to fill you up so badly?"

Kaoru nods senselessly. Yes, they wanted that.

Haurchefant hums in approval. "You first, sweetheart. I'll follow."

Kaoru nods, rubbing at themselves more quickly. Yes, yes… They could feel it! There, there, there…!

Their whole body tenses up as they reach yet another peak, squeezing Haurchefant mercilessly in the process.

The villain let out a long, guttural moan. Pinning them helplessly to the bed as he drops down on top of them, his hips jerking into them as they wring pulse after pulse of his spend from him.

It pours into them, thick and hot. More than they had expected. Was this not excessive??? Kaoru thinks as he fills them full, too full, overfull…! It was so much that it spilled out of them, pouring down their thighs.

But then Kaoru realizes that their villainous lover had not brought himself pleasure even once up till now, his focus had entirely been on theirs alone.

Their arms felt like overcooked noodles, but Kaoru lifted them up to wrap around the elezen's back, embracing as tightly as they could manage.

"Kaoru, Kaoru," his whole body was heaving with the breaths he was struggling to catch, but he gave more only to speak their name. Or slur it, rather. He sounded drunk, his voice shaky.

"Just a little more, Kaoru," he murmurs, shifting on top of them. The bed creaked as he started to move again in earnest.

Kaoru clutches at him tight, ears perked and eyes wide. Again, so soon?

It was different from before, he did not feel so hard inside of them. His movements were shorter, more constrained. He seemed almost as if he were in pain with the way he groaned.

"Are you ok?" Kaoru asks, enough wits about them to understand he was pushing himself.

Haurchefant trembles, his head shaking.

"Sensitive," he grits out, clutching them to him and burying his face in their neck.

Yes, it was the same for them, Kaoru realizes. "Me too," they squeak out, their fingernails digging crescent shaped indents into the skin.

"Sorry, sorry," Haurchefant moans. "I just, need…"

"I didn't… say stop," Kaoru whimpers, just as overwhelmed, but willing to ride this out wherever it went.

This time around was more a grinding of their hips, the slippery mess of their combined essence slicking the way. The friction was almost too much for Kaoru to bear after rubbing themselves so furiously, but they could feel the pleasure building behind the discomfort.

A slow burn that intensified with the insistent bump and grind of Haurchefant's pelvis against theirs.

They jerked under him, twitchy with sensation. Squeezing him inside involuntarily.

Haurchefant moaned deep in his chest, his pace increasing ever so slightly.

Kaoru whimpers in response, clawing down his back to grip at his backside, bucking their hips up to meet him in this lustful haze.

Every breath, every rustle of the bedclothes, every creak of the bed, it all sounded so muted. Far away compared to the pounding rush of blood in Kaoru's ears.

Even with how much slower this was, it felt even more intense…

Overstimulating, but oh so good…

Still so sensitive as they were, it was not long before another orgasm was rolling over them in a frisson of tingly, overwhelming heat.

"Ah..!" Haurchefant jolted against them, his muscles rippling under their hands as he spilled into them again.

They both took a moment or several just basking in the afterglow and catching their breath before Haurchefant lifted carefully off of them.

Kaoru hisses ever so slightly as he slips out of them. Aching from between their thighs, that place had seen more activity this night than all their life.

"Are you hurting, kitten?" Haurchefant asks, his face creasing with worry.

Kaoru bites their lip. "A little."

"Allow me," Haurchefant murmurs, his hand outstretched and hovering over the place where they most assuredly ached.

The cool trickle of healing magic that washes over them is met with some surprise from the miqo'te, but it is not unwelcome. It was refreshing, gentle, like the smallest pop of bubbles over their skin.

"Ger is far more skilled in the art of conjury than I am," Haurchefant says as his hand falls away, "but I can manage this much. How do you feel?"

Kaoru focused on flexing their muscles, ahem, down there. In doing so, they push a good bit of Haurchefant's cum out of them.

Haurchefant stares. "My, look at the mess I've made of you, kitten. Shall I take care of that, too?"

Kaoru blinks, confused. "Huh, yes??"

Was he going to get them a towel to wash off with? There was definitely no way they could walk after all that…

Haurchefant grins. "I am no brute, my dear. It is only natural that I should show you care after engaging in such activities as these. Of course, you know your word if you wish me to stop.”

“...Oh!” Kaoru squirms, covering their burning face with their hands as Haurchefant crawls to settle again between their thighs.

"You're so cute, Kaoru," Haurchefant chuckles, his warm breath fanning over the sticky wetness that coated their inner thighs.

Kaoru cannot help the small sound they let out as his tongue presses to their skin and glides over them in long, gentle swipes of his tongue. Clearing away the sticky, rapidly tacky feeling of their combined juices and the salty, musty tang of sex and sweat.

He takes his time with it. His tongue swirling over their inner thighs in a warm, wet, ticklish feeling that had Kaoru shivering again and holding their breath in anticipation. They shift and squirm all the more as he draws nearer to the apex of their thighs. Lapping at the surrounding skin, his tongue so soft and his breath so heated.

Kaoru covers their mouth, staring down at him wide eyed as he takes a pause to look into their face and licks slowly over his lips, any traces of the dark gloss that had once painted his mouth long gone with all their sexual activities.

"After all we have done, you're still so shy," he says with a besotted smile, but with a wicked gleam to his blue eyes, "Hahh. It makes me want to ravish you all over again…"

Kaoru blushes to the tips of their finely furred feline ears, their tail floofing with embarrassment and flickering with nerves on the bed as Haurchefant returns his attention to his chosen task.

"Worry you not, my dearest, I intend to let you rest and recover before I do so again," he reassures them, pressing his lips to their mons in a trail of soft, feathery kisses before his tongue slips again from between his lips to resume cleaning them up with his mouth. A warm, wet towel would work just as well, but Haurchefant seemed so invested in licking him clean, and Kaoru—well, Kaoru was just laying back and letting him do as he pleased. With no lack of enjoyment besides.

Their fingers knot in the covers of the bed as his tongue maps out the shape of their outer labia, a small whimper leaving their throat as he ilms closer and closer to the aching softness of their inner folds.

They jerk, a low whine pouring from their lips as he opens his mouth wide to suck at their folds. Kaoru's ears twitch with the lewd, wet sound it makes as he slurps at them, their face burning hot as his tongue dips in between to lap up his own salty spend, so very much that he had poured into them, filling them full to the brim and spilling over. Twice!

His healing magic seemed to have done the trick to take away the sting, but there was still some sensitivity there that had Kaoru gasping and twitching, arching upwards into the soft suction of his mouth.

"Haurchefant," Kaoru whines.

Their elezen lover hums appreciatively, slurring into their folds, "I do so adore the sound of my name from your sweet, delectable lips."

His hands were busy, they realized. Stroking himself slowly as he licked at them, savoring their combined flavors and getting himself off to it. Quite obviously getting off to the sounds Kaoru made for him. Did the man never tire? Was he, perhaps, something of a… what was the word again?

…Masochist?

The oversensitivity had clearly pained him a moment before, but now he was putting himself through it again!

Kaoru squeaks as Haurchefant leans up to kiss them, then, their body flushing hot with his fervent, passionate kiss and the salty taste of his spend as his tongue licks over theirs. They wiggle beneath him, clutching at his sides as he kisses them deep, deeper, deepest. Stealing their breath and their words, their very thoughts fled from their mind as he kissed them dazed and dizzy.

Then he is gone again, slinking down their body as they struggle to catch their breath through buzzing lips, resuming his post betwixt their thighs. Returning to his faithful service as he cleans them up with his tongue. His hand moving over himself oh so torturously slow.

Kaoru whines as his tongue swirls over their clit, the gentle wiggle of his tongue driving them mad. Their hips bucking into his mouth as he closes his lips around the sensitive bud of their clit and sucks at it.

"I… gonna… hahh…!" Kaoru struggles to articulate with their heady so foggy still with lust, throbbing with arousal as they clench down on nothing. He is so gentle, so careful with them in their oversensitivity, but still he is so close to making them peak again.

Haurchefant's moan is all too stimulating to their twitching feline ears as he licks and sucks at them, lapping up the fresh gush of their juices as they edge closer to another orgasm under his gentle, dedicated attention.

Their hands fall to his hair, their voice whimpering his name as he buries his face against them and sucks at their slippery folds. Kaoru was certain he must have cleaned up the mess he had made of them by now for how enthusiastic he was about it. For how strongly they could feel themselves pulsing for him, clenching around the shape of his tongue as he thrust it inside of them.

Kaoru gives in, letting go as they cum on his waiting tongue. Their hands pull at his hair again as he pins their hips with his hands and laps up every drop. His moan is muffled against them as he finds his own release for the third time. A small number compared to the incredible pleasure he had given them this night.

"No more," Kaoru begs, twitching with overstimulation. Tears prick at the corners of their multicolored eyes as Haurchefant pulls back with one last suck of their folds.

Wiping his messy hand on the already soiled bedding, Haurchefant leans up to hover over them.

"Was it too much?" Haurchefant asks, crowding close in instant concern as he spies the glossy shine of tears in their eyes. He cradles their face in his hand, his eyebrows furrowed and lips frowning in contrition. "Did I hurt you, my dear?"

Kaoru shakes their head, their feline ears laid flat as they reach for him, burrowing into his embrace and clinging to his neck as he wraps his arms around them. It had been so good, but they felt overwhelmed by it all.

"You were so good for me, Kaoru," Haurchefant praises them sweetly in a warm voice. His hand stroking over their back as they nuzzle into his chest. His lips pressing kisses to their red hair as he murmurs to them with obvious affection, "You did so well. Thank you for trusting me. For granting me the great honor of showing you the pleasure I can give you, for allowing me to express my feelings."

Kaoru squeezes their arms around him, their ankles locking behind his back to hold him tight.

"I have you, my darling, my Kaoru," Haurchefant continues in that soft, gentle voice. Holding them firm in his arms as he slowly strokes along their back until Kaoru begins to relax.

Kaoru pulls back, red faced and avoiding his eyes.

"If you wish to go, I will call for Ger to escort you out," Haurchefant says, just looking at them with such an open, vulnerable expression that Kaoru could hardly bear it. "Though the selfish, villainous part of me so desperately desires to make you stay… I want your comfort and happiness above all."

Kaoru's eyes close as he cups their cheek in his palm, his thumb rubbing at the salty trail of their tears. They give a shaky sigh and lean forward to kiss him, a mere brush of lips compared to how intense they had done so throughout the night. A sharing of breath as Haurchefant stays close even as they drift back, his blue eyes sweeping over their face in search of their answer.

"Will you stay, Kaoru?"

Kaoru nods their head. Blushing as they admit, "I doubt I could walk right now. Besides that, I… want to stay with you a while longer."

Haurchefant beams, his expression so utterly adoring that it flusters Kaoru all over again. They duck their head, cuddling close to bury their burning face in his chest.

Haurchefant's laugh rumbles through him and into them as he pulls them in to snuggle. "Forgive me for laughing, my dear, I mean no offense. You are simply too endearing. I want to stay by your side for a veritable eternity."

Kaoru huffs. “Forever is a long time. Besides, we can't stay here forever.”

Haurchefant says. “Can we not? No, I suppose this place is a danger to you. It is not as if I can assign Ger as your personal shadow, though perhaps…”

Kaoru balks, slapping at his chest. “Don't you dare! Besides, I can never tell what Ger is thinking. What if she doesn't like me? You'll make it worse.”

Haurchefant laughs. “What? Doesn't like you? My Ger? Kaoru, she is quite fond of you, all things considered. If she didn't like you, you never would have made it far beyond the entrance to this place. She's quite protective, you know. It is a show of her favor that you came into my arms, unscathed by the many knaves frequenting this establishment.”

Kaoru's ears perk. Well, they had thought it was surprising how easily they had snuck in. Ger… likes them? Well, that was… good to know. It certainly relieved them of some anxiety.

Speaking of relief. “Haurchefant, help me up,” Kaoru says, clearing their throat.

Haurchefant grumbles, squeezing them tight. “Don't tell me you intend to leave me so soon? At least stay the night with me!”

The hero shakes their head. “I'm not leaving! I need to use the washroom!”

Haurchefant pauses. “Oh. Of course.”

Kaoru squeaks as they find themselves promptly swept up into Haurchefant's arms, to be carried like they weighed nothing at all, all the way to the washroom and inside of it.

It is with some embarrassment they must ask for his help to move about, but Haurchefant does not seem to mind lifting them up or lowering them down. He even insists on wiping them down with a warm, wet washcloth.

“Do you have something I might borrow to sleep in?” Kaoru asks, feeling rather exposed just standing here in the nude. With the washcloth and hot running water, they might freshen up a bit before sleeping. “I'd like to freshen up a bit.”

Haurchefant beams. “But of course! Whatever your need. All that is mine is yours, my dearest!”

Well, that was a bit much, but Kaoru had come to realize such was on brand for this man. He was, simply put, rather outrageous.

Haurchefant leaves them, returning a moment later with a clean shirt.

“Would you like assistance?” Haurchefant asks, handing them the shirt.

Kaoru pauses, then shakes their head. “I can do this much alone. Maybe you can see about the… mess we made on the bed?” Their cheeks blush just thinking about it, but they could hardly rest comfortably in such a large wet spot.

Haurchefant grins toothily, far too smug. He gaze sweeping over them with satisfaction, a pleased gleam in his eye. “I'll go change the sheets. Call my name if you need me, kitten.”

Kaoru waves him off, still so flustered to hear that endearment from his lips.

Left to their own devices, Kaoru strips out of their remaining clothing and washes up the best they can.

They can barely look at themselves in the mirror without blushing red from head to toe. Gods above and below, Haurchefant had covered them in hickeys! He might as well have spelled out his own name with how excessive it was!

Kaoru stares down at the bundle of the fabric in their hands and lifts it to their nose, smelling clean laundry soap and a hint of Haurchefant's cologne. It was oddly comforting. If Haurchefant was so keen to give them things, perhaps they would hold onto this as a keepsake…

As if on cue, Haurchefant returns to them with a polite knock at the washroom door. “May I come in, kitten?”

Kaoru’s ears perk, tail floofing with fluster.

He had finished quicker than they expected, but Kaoru clears their throat and calls him in.

“How are you still so energetic?” Kaoru sighs as he joins them. They felt so tired, cleaning themselves up had drained what remaining energy they’d had left. They could hardly lift their arms to slip on Haurchefant's shirt.

Haurchefant laughs. “I do not doubt this is a high that will wear off before long. Shall I help you with that, my dear?”

Kaoru nods, taking a moment of reprieve by leaning against the sink.

Haurchefant takes the shirt from them, gathering the fabric up in in his hands to slip it more easily over their head.

Kaoru needn't do any work at all with Haurchefant on the job. He lifts their arms himself to slide them through the sleeves one by one, allowing the bunched up fabric to fall down over their thighs.

Haurchefant's shirt is huge on them, but the collar doesn't hang down too much.

“You are so cute, Kaoru,” the elezen says with feeling. That adoration shining through perhaps even stronger after the intimacy they had shared.

Kaoru ducks their head and fiddles with the sleeves where they hang too long over their hands, embarrassed but rather pleased by his affection. They were still getting used to it, but it was not an unpleasant feeling.

Haurchefant chuckles, brushing the soft brown markings curving their cheek with the backs of his knuckles. “I will take you into my arms now,” he says.

Kaoru gives a squeak as he does just that, sweeping them up into his arms to carry them out to the to the freshly remade bed that was waiting for the both of them.

Kaoru gazes up at him as he lays them down gently, their head coming to rest upon a plump pillow. He makes to pull the sheet over them, too, but Kaoru touches his wrist.

“Are you not staying beside me?”

Haurchefant goes still. “Would it please you, should I stay?”

Kaoru nods, lifting the sheet and patting the bed. “Lay down.”

Haurchefant smiles, kissing their forehead. “Allow me a moment to freshen up, and I shall join you post haste.”

….

Kaoru must have dozed off while Haurchefant was washing up, because they stir awake as he joins them under the covers.

They sigh, curling into the warmth of his body in their half-awake state. He smelled good, the scent of sweat and sex washed away. Had he reapplied his cologne?

How unnecessary, Kaoru thought, even as they breathed in the subtle scent with feline enjoyment. Their cheeks rubbing up against the super soft fabric of his sleep shirt. Mmm.

They were so sleepy, so sleepy.

“Is this alright?” Haurchefant asks, curling his arms around them.

It strikes Kaoru as somewhat funny, considering all the many liberties he had taken with them this night.

They nuzzle into him, curling their leg over him and smiling sleepily. Already drifting back into the realm of slumber.

“Rest well, Kaoru,” Haurchefant whispers softly, kissing their hair and closing his eyes.

Kaoru drifts into wakefulness slowly. A bright beam of sunshine shining on their eyelids. They grumble, turning away from the dazzling brightness and burying their face into their pillow.

…..

….

…

It smelled like Haurchefant.

And laughed like him, too.

Wait, laughed?

Kaoru jerks awake, their hair a wild mess of the well rested.

Huh? Huhh?

“Good morning, kitten,” Haurchefant says, looking far too chipper for so early in the morning.

Kaoru blinks. “...Good morning?”

The miqo'te jolts as they sense movement, their head whipping around.

“I brought breakfast. My lord Haurchefant suggested you might be quite hungry after your evening activities,” Ger says in complete deadpan, holding a tray that was stacked high with delectable goodness that had Kaoru’s stomach instantly rumbling.

Kaoru jerks their head to stare at Haurchefant, stunned silent with embarrassment as Ger places the tray on the bed within in reach for the both of them.

Pop!

Kaoru flinches, blinking as confetti rains down on the both of them.

“This was also requested,” Ger says.

Haurchefant shrugs sheepishly when Kaoru stares at him incredulously.

“I was only joking. I did not expect Ger to take it so literally!” Haurchefant says, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Ger clears her throat pointedly, “Congratulations on the new stepping stone in your relationship. I will be close by if you have need of me. Enjoy your breakfast.”

Haurchefant coughs. “Actually, Ger. If you would not mind checking Kaoru over after we eat? I would be most appreciative. I tended to what I could, but I am by no means a healer.”

Ger glances to Kaoru. “If you are comfortable with it, I will do so.”

Kaoru could only nod, feeling a little overwhelmed. They were still processing yesterday on a groggy brain, let alone the activity of this morning.

Ger nods, giving a far too formal bow, and takes her leave.

Haurchefant sighs. “Well, that's Ger for you. Always so polite, so formal. A habit I cannot seem to break her of even now.”

Kaoru rubs at their face, yawning. This was too much to deal with right now, and they were hungry.

Haurchefant laughs as they drag the tray towards them, blowing bits of confetti off the platters that lined it edge to edge, keeping their breakfast perfectly warm.

“Shall we eat?” Haurchefant suggests with a grin, lifting the lid to a platter and fanning the delicious smell their way

“Feed me,” Kaoru agrees, feeling quite ravenous.

Everything else could wait.

[agent-yolk-writes]

FFXIVWrite (Day 19) - Taken

this was an idea that i had brewing for a while, and it meant to be longer...but then a certain vtuber oshi decided to announce she will be ceasing her streaming activities the same day...so you can imagine i was a bit distracted

ill try to make this a proper fic one day

By the grace of Halone, Haurchefant found out where Riida was hiding.

She had disappeared from the holiday ball his father was hosting at the manor. After some gentle questioning of some of the mutual guests she might know, it was only when his younger brother pointed to a door that he went searching. Emmanellain made a passing comment about a vintage he totally borrowed from the wine cellar, but Haurchefant didn’t hear the rest of it.

After searching through all the public and private rooms, he eventually found her inside one of the manor’s libraries. There he could see a curled up Riida on the couch near the fireplace, giggling through the hiccups at whatever she was reading in the dim lighting. As he approached the loveseat, he could make out an empty glass and wine bottle reflecting off the fire light on a nearby end table. At a closer glance, he realized what his brother was talking about. The missing bottle in question has been rumored to have the ability to knock out even the likes of the First Brood, and it costs no more than a small fortune to obtain. Oh dear. 

Sensing someone else in the room, Riida nonchalantly rolled her head back to see who it was. “Ah…greetings, good ser!” To no surprise, her speech is as slurred as you’d expect. “Fear not, I’m not intruding. I was simply just…just…” Her glassy eyes squinted in some attempt to focus. “...I was simply just. But then I found this interesting tome, and the time simply ran away!” Fury, even her drunken giggles were adorable. 

Haurchefant cocked his head a bit, an amusing grin forming on his face. “Oh? What kind of tome would have you so entranced?” 

He circled the couch. The heels that were prepared for her earlier that day were strewn about on the carpet. Riida held up the book in her hand. It was the Ishgardian dictionary held upside down. “It’s a fascinating tale of a knight saving a damsel in a high tower. The ink is…um, a bit hard to read in some places…but the pictures really help lay out the scenes. Here.” She turns the tome over, revealing the incomprehensible writing. She started gurgling something that might sound intelligent, but it was clear that she was too deep in her cups. Her drunken analysis was then interrupted by a yawn. “Ah, hehe, forgive me. This must sound boring.”

“Not at all, my friend. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.” Haurchefant moved even closer, standing right in front of her and blocking out what was left of the fire’s light. “Although it is getting late, and the couch was not built for a comfortable night’s rest. Allow me to escort you to your room.”

Riida giggles again. “Oh, how valiant of you.” She closes the book and tosses it to the other side of the couch. She made sure to stretch her limbs out, most likely numb for who knows how long. Haurchefant stepped aside as she started to get up. After a few false starts, the Miqo’te manages to stand on her two feet…only to quickly stumble. Thankfully Haurchefant was there to catch her before she made her hard impact. Once he fully had her in his arms, he corrected his form to make sure he was carrying her in his arms properly. 

“My friend, I hope you permit me to personally escort you to your room this time.” He said. 

Riida, in response, simply puts her head against his shoulder. She looks up at him with those unfocused glassy eyes and a small smile. “I would like that, o’ brave knight.”

[koukouture]

I have decided that I want to be obnoxious so I will be compiling all of my favorite Gposes in this post + context as to why I like it so much.

Also I miss gposing (I'm unsubscribed bc I need to focus on school rn)

This is one of my oldest screenshots from when I first managed to get Anamnesis working on the FFXIV free trial. I've had this idea of Elysia in her dragoon armor falling above Ishgard ala Spiderverse style and I actually tried to draw it once but ofc it kinda sucked ass and this screenshot turned out wayyyyy better. Might just be one of my favorite gposes of all time tbh. Anyways after taking this I kinda came up with a little headcanon that it's a rite of passage for new dragoons to jump off the top floor of the Vault and kind of parkour their way all the way down to the lowest point of Ishgard. So uhhh yeah dragoon supremacy.

I love this one a lot just by virtue of how unexpectedly hard this pose was for me? I has also just finished Stormblood when I started getting into Gpose so I was super Zenos pilled at the time. Anyways, this pose was really hard because a) I was still learning Anamnesis and b) you have no idea how hard it is to make this height different work even when Zenos is lying down 💀

This one was a part of a little photoshoot partially inspired by the hand scene in Perfect Blue where the stalker pretends to hold Mima in the palm of his hand except with my OCs- but it turned out I like the solo shot of Elysia better because idk man LOOK AT IT. The aura is unmatched. Simple composition but it's still so perfect.

These are from the same photoshoot and I'm really only including them because of how hard it was to line this up. But yeah anyways I think I did pretty good.

Uhhhh I really love the Royal Menagerie okay??? Anyways yeah once again just finished Stormblood and I thought Zenos and Elysia deserved a fight scene with a lot of sexual tension so these are like hypothetical shots of that.

AGAIN WITH THE ZENOS- Yeah so- I actually have a lot of more romantic/intimate shots but I feel like they never turn out quite as cinematic as my uhhh normal/more action based screenshots I guess? But I really love this one because the lighting and framing seems so intimate~ Also Zenos being almost reverent with his beast? Hell yeah

Okay I cropped this one that's how you KNOW it's good. What can I say? I really love dragoons. Also I was kind of stressing about this shot because I was worried that maybe Estinien's lance wouldn't be held the right way (I was using the dragoon victory pose) but thank god it was because look at this shot!!!! I have a couple more dynamic pictures where they're both on top of the statue of Haldrath but I think this one takes the cake. Also I captioned this shot "A legacy written in blue- Ishgard's Azure Dragoons" and idk I think that eats.

Okay this one was sooooo fucking hard to get mostly because Anamnesis doesn't let you spawn in actors like Brio does so in most cases you only have your player character, carbuncle, and maybe a training dummy if you're doing a photoshoot in duty finder mode. In the overworld I actually had to use NPCs as extra actors and that is NOT fun. I trailed to nail a more horror-esque vibe but idk maybe this could have benefitted from a little tweaking in Photoshop or a better shader preset because I could NOT find one I liked for this photoshoot. Obviously I love the DRK quests because who doesn't??? Don't worry, I have more DRK themed screenies to come

Oooo okay so this one is inspired by my Hellbound AU fanfic and tldr all you need to know is that Haurchefant is in the Heaven's Ward and DEDICATED to his wife. How dedicated? How about breaking his oath of celibacy and being ready to throw away his nation for her?

Once again super simple composition but immensely impactful. A general tip for taking screenshots in video games is to keep your character either in the center or closer to one of the corners of the frame AND NEVER OFF TO ONE SIDE KIND OF HOVERING IN THE MIDDLE (unless they are framed by something closer to the camera or if there's another character to help draw the gaze/balance the picture) Another things I guess for gpose specifically is to really think about the way your character's outfit will look in the environment. Do you want them to match or really stand out? I should probably make a post of dedicated gpose tips no? Anyways- I really love this one because she just looks so ominous lmao. Btw this is L'hamara! She's not a WoL OC but I still think about my lesbian bunny girl constantly.

Oh Zenos is here again. I promise I ship Elysia with other characters Zenos just has better screenshot potential. Yeah so I think Zenos should have skewered WoL Sephiroth style.

Mmmm okay I know I have a cropped version of this laying around somewhere but little known fact about me is that I LOVE Nier Automata so after I finished Shadowbringers before ANYTHING else I did the Nier raids STAT. The white haired girl is named Saji btw- she's my friend's OC and Elysia's (sometimes) girlfriend :)

God I wish I had nicer screenshots of my other WoL Xia but I don't think I have any cool ones :(. Anyways please perceive my stylish kitty cat daughter and her loser (affectionate) boyfriend. I don't really post about her and I should change that lmao- I keep thinking about how hard it would be on her as a literal teenager being the WoL. I need to do more stuff for her man.

Another cropped one so it bangs ofc. As you can see, I got some mods for Elysia which is really just using C+ to edit her face and hair bones a little lmao. I captioned this one "Hades could not help but hope- for he saw her in the folly of man" which I think is a BANGER fucking line. Something about WoL ultimately proving to him that sundered souls ARE a people worth living... it gets me man. Sometimes it just takes a girl that looks like your dead situationship from 12000 years ago to make you realize that all life is sacred. I will say though I do wish that there was a neat water shadow while in Amarot. I think there's one in other parts of the Tempest but don't quote me on that. I just wanna sell the underwater vibes sometimes yk?

Ugh these... I told you I had more DRK screenshots. This was actually for the entry of this glamour on Eorzea collection and obviously I took versions without the mod but come on man... my girl deserves her luscious long locks. Oh also yes you can pose shadow Esteem!!!! Search "Esteem" when you go to load in NPC appearance and they'll load in- just be careful because the smoke effect doesn't follow them once you've posed them so make sure to position them before you move any bones.

I didn't actually pose Elysia much or anything I just took this before I did the Zodiark trial lmao. I just think it's neat how he peaks between the beams of light almost like they're imprisoning him. I do wish I had changed Elysia's outfit tho because the only think you can really see is her sword while her dress blends in. I had a nice DRK winter glam for the expedition into Garlemald maybe I should have kept her in that.

Oooooh okay these two- The idea behind these two was Elysia and her co-tanks- and obviously Elysia is the off tank because DRK is a DPS job at this point.

Soooo this one is obviously more on the comedic side but this is 100% one of my favourite screenshots ESPECIALLY after adding the text box. Glorious. Imagine your older brother and your pseudo older brother figure fuck I would literally become homophobic too /j

[dawnslight-aegis]

9. lend an ear

“How could I possibly lend someone an ear? I don’t even have ears.”

“It’s just a saying, Marz.”

“It’s a stupid saying. What is wrong with the word listen? Everyone understands what that means!” The xaela threw her hands in the air before crossing her arms over her chest and scowling. Stupid Eorzea, full of stupid people who had never met a person without ears before.

Kaede sighed and shot her a look that clearly said you are ridiculous and you are acting a like a child, but she managed not to vocalize it for once. “If it helps any, I think that lalafell might have been senile. Or blind. Certainly deaf. Either way, I doubt he noticed our ears or lack thereof.” She shrugged and resettled her pack on her shoulder, squinting out at the harbor. “At least he told us how to get to the Isles of Umbra.” Not that she sounded thrilled about that prospect, and Marz did not understand how a girl who had grown up next to the ocean, raised by pirates, could be so afraid of it.

“I swear to Nhaama if this turns out to be another – what did you call it?”

“Wild apkallu chase.”

“Thank you. If this turns out to be another wild apkallu chase, I say we ‘borrow’ an ear from that horse’s arse of a professor, that way we have one to lend out to the next person who uses that line on us. He has plenty to spare.”

That was something else that was deeply obnoxious about Eorzea – elezen. Sure there had been a few nice ones, but on the whole, they were smarmy and self-absorbed and a lot of them lived in the snow. And they looked silly, like someone had grabbed a hyur by their ears and feet and stretched them. She hadn’t the faintest idea what Kaede saw in them that she spent so many of her evenings lately in Camp Dragonhead – she claimed she was “training,” but combat training didn’t normally leave a girl with a markedly sunnier disposition than she’d left with, in Marz’s experience. And it wasn’t like Haurchefant had been subtle about his interest.

They had better things to be doing than whatever Kaede wouldn’t admit she was up to, or the nonsense Alberic kept spouting at her about a dragon eye and some runaway Ishgardian in spiky armor, and especially better than running all over Eorzea doing pointless errands.

Kaede snorted, the sound pulling Marz’s focus back outwards, but she didn’t disagree with Marz’s plan. “Well, time to get on with it, then. Not that I’m overly thrilled to go behead a bunch of shambling corpses, but at least it’s better than Sahagin, or Leviathan’s thralls.” The raen shuddered, and then marched down the docks to secure them passage.

One afternoon of running around asking questions of a bunch of glassy-eyed adventurers and dealing with an infuriatingly evasive lighthouse keeper later, Kaede was looking paler than a sheet at the stories they’d heard about undead walking into the waves, lured by some sort of song.

Annoyed by the fact that no one around here would just say what they were thinking, Marz planted her hands on her hips and glared at her traveling companion. “What’s got you all freaked out anyway? You clearly know what we’re up against, so spit it out.”

“I don’t know for sure, but… it sounds like a siren,” she replied, with enough gravity that the word was clearly supposed to mean something. Marz just tilted her head and waited for an explanation. Before Kaede could explain, however, the sound of heavy, trundling footsteps caught both of their attention.

The deaf old lalafell had followed them to the Isles, and explained – if you could call it that, cluttered as his ramblings were with expletives and colorful phrases that Marz could only assume referred to women – the nature of the siren and how she lured men to death with her song, then handed Kaede a pair of brass earplugs and marched off to the beach before either of them could get a word in edgewise.

Marz and Kaede both stared at the useless pieces of brass in Kaede’s hand, and promptly dissolved into laughter at the absurdity of it, before Kaede threw them over her shoulder into the sand.

“Navigator’s tits, he is senile. What in the hells are we meant to do with these?”

Marz shrugged. “Bet I could sing louder than it. Maybe that would work.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“Do you have a better plan?”

“…No. I don’t.” Kaede sighed, and rubbed her forehead with her hand. “Maybe… the Echo will protect us? Sirens aren’t primals, but they still enthrall people…”

Marz grinned and slapped her on the shoulder as they walked. “Don’t worry, if you start looking all loveydovey and wandering into the water, I’ll fish you out before you drown.”

“Wonderful. Thank you so much. I’m not worried at all now.”

The look on Kaede’s face when the siren’s singing had abruptly stopped after taking an arrow to the wing – an arrow that Marz had liberally slathered with a silencing potion – had been worth every moment of grumbling and pacing and endless fruitless strategizing Marz had had to endure that afternoon.

As soon as Kaede had finished dutifully beheading the wave of skeletons the siren had called up from the depths, she walked over and grabbed Marz by the shoulders, shaking her a little. “Why, in Azeyma’s name, didn’t you lead with that plan.”

“Because, sunshine, I wouldn’t have gotten to see your reaction when it turned out that I planned better than you did, for once.”

“…You are the most annoying person I have ever met,” Kaede grumbled, but there was no real venom in her tone. “But... that was very resourceful of you.”

Marz shrugged. “We have some similar stories back home, of creatures that lure people to their deaths, by singing or mimicking the voices of loved ones. Just so happened I remembered it. And had the reagents handy for the countermeasure. You're welcome, by the way.”

Kaede was saved the indignity of having to express any further gratitude by the appearance of the lighthouse keeper, who handed over the warded pot full of corrupted crystals.

It wasn’t until they were on the skiff returning to Aleport that Kaede spoke again. “Marz.”

“Yeah?”

“What element would you guess that the crystals that make up that formation are?” she asked with a wave towards the brilliant, glowing orange spikes that shot out both sides of the lighthouse, like a giant lightning bolt. Or an explosion, frozen in time.

Marz wrinkled her nose as she stared up at them. “Well. By the color… fire? Maybe earth? Though since it was a lighthouse, I'd probably guess fire.”

A deep sigh echoed into the night as Marz turned back to her in confusion. “'Fire is extinguished by Wind. Ice is melted by Fire. Wind is obstructed by Ice.' That’s what’s called the three submissions – and if we’re trying to counter wind, well…”

It was all Marz could do not to pitch the pot of useless crystals into the ocean as she groaned.

[lily-ohfally]

📍 Pinned

Lily Oh'fally Born to the Chief of a village within Golmore Jungle, Lily and the other surviving viera kits were forced to flee after an Imperial attack. They has now lived in Thanalan for more than 10 years. Even though Lily's easy to talk too, he tends to keep people at a distance. Lily is a hard worker and takes care of 4 younger viera he has come to call his family. His work mainly consists of helping the merchants of Ul'dah's streets as he has become well known as a reliable assistant, despite his lack of education.

⚠ BEFORE YOU FOLLOW -> R18 content, if you're under 18 kindly leave👍 -> Follows through ieatsoapdotcom! -> FUB free, I'm not responsible for your browsing experience, if you don't like what I do just unfollow/block me♡ -> Potential triggers and spoilers will be tagged with the following: [Expansion] spoilers, ie. #Heavensward spoilers #6.5 spoilers [Potential trigger], ie. #violence #blood Tag list found [Here]

Despite being a humble man, Lily is all about earning gil. He is a bit of a workaholic and has a tendency to push himself to the point of falling ill when it comes to working. Though he wants the best for his siblings, he ends up worrying them with his, somewhat, narrow minded view of their roles. Since Lily is uneducated and nearly illiterate, he wants his siblings to do well with learning and studying he forbade the oldest, Layla, from getting a part-time job as she "should just focus on studying", while Lily would make sure there was food on the table and a roof over their heads. Though, after a few incidents and lots of arguing, he eventually told Layla she could find a part-time job if she wanted to. Despite being unable to read and write properly, he is very good when it comes to managing his finances, always trying to save gil.

Strengths: Ability to lead, strong, kind, caring, motherly, dancing, cooking, cleaning, hugs. Weaknesses: Worrywart, stubborn, pessimistic, emotionally constipated, cold weather, poor mental health.

The Oh'fally family:

Lily: He/Him, ARR: 25, DT: 37, 186cm, Rava. Layla: She/Her, ARR: 21, DT: 33, 190cm, Rava. Kanna: She/Her, ARR: 18, DT: 30, 173cm, Rava. Rose: She/Her, ARR: 14, DT: 26, 169cm → 189cm, Rava. Violet: He/Him, ARR: 13, DT: 25, 167cm → 175cm, Rava.

Additional information:

Main ship: Haurchefant Greystone/Lily Oh'fally → HaurcheLily / HaurcheWoL 🔁🚫

Lily's forest name was Raeja. He changed it to Lily without knowing it isn't usually used by men.

Somewhat innocent. Appears modest, but prefers easy-to-move-in/light clothing.

Lily's favorite color is purple. I dress him in Regal Purple / Metallic Red most of the time.

Trivia:

Compared to in-game, Lily's body is very built and wide, it's obvious he's build for function rather than form. His muscle definition is faint, rather than prominent.

Before Endwalker, Lily was close to illiterate, but after having been to Old Sharlayan and suddenly had a lot of free time, he has since then become better at reading and spelling, but still struggles with longer texts and complicated words.

His ears droop forward because of a birth defect, he still has a keen sense of hearing, despite it being poor for a viera.

He gets anxious when he's still for too long and often exercises during his free time.

His inner clock works alongside the sun, so when in places were daylight hours are sparse, like Ishgard, his daily schedule get's messed up.

His feet are paw-like and he also has a tail. His toe beans are calloused, rather than soft. His hair, ears, and tail are soft and always well groomed.

[redwayfarers]

cold nights in ishgard

Fandom: FFXIV Ship: Nika/Artoirel, Nika/Minfilia Characters: Nika Perseis (WoL), Artoirel de Fortemps, Emmanellain de Fortemps, Minfilia Warde (mentioned), Haurchefant Greystone (mentioned) Rating: Gen Spoilers: Heavensward spoilers Words: 1664 Read on ao3

Ishgard is oddly pretty at night. Colder, sure, but fucking Coerthas is always cold, day and night, and layers are not an issue whatsoever when you’re an honored guest at a noble family’s mansion. It also makes streets less crowded, as much as a city of Ishgard’s size can be. Nika avoided walking outside alone to places beyond the three he’d instantly memorized the path to when he first came to the city and when he had few means to ask around for directions. 

Thankfully, he now has a guide. A handsome one at that, but he refuses to do more than just acknowledge that sentiment. In the days following the grand melee, he and Artoirel have taken on a rather pleasant ritual of evening walks. Nika’s been Ishgard’s champion for a lot more than he’d intended now and his duel with Raubahn is on the lips of all of Eorzea. He also happens to have a very recognizable face thanks to that faded, large scar that Thancred once joked now made them equal in handsomeness. 

Years ago, he might’ve taken a slight offense to that. Now, Nika has so little energy to dwell on minor edges of a friendship he himself massacred beyond recognition. Fuck that, he has so little energy to do anything beyond self-pitying and wanting to crawl out of his skin to escape the pressure in his chest. 

But Artoirel helps. The tapping of his shoes against the stone promenade brings Nika back to reality every time. It makes him focus on the rhythm of his own footsteps - click, click, clack, clack, an off-beat song of two bodies who lost things, lost people. Haurchefant had been a brother to both of them. Now his ghost lingers over the whole Fortemps household and the souls who lived there. 

Nika looks up. Wind’s playing with Artoirel’s hair, tossing it this way and that. It matches the night sky, blue where Nika’s own is black, a subtle difference. When the fuck did he acquire that particular nugget of information? The whole effect Artoirel has on him blurs the minutiae of it. They have matching earrings tonight. The thought makes him weirdly happy. Suddenly, he needs to feel the weight of Artoirel’s clothed palm on his own. 

Same way he yearned to feel Minfilia’s. 

Except he’ll never feel Minfilia’s hand in his again. 

Artoirel’s hand is as rough as hers; there’s no gentle skin where war is your generational legacy, or when you work at mines. It feels like a suitable replacement at times, until he remembers that Minfilia could have comfortably placed her head on Nika’s chest, and with Artoirel, the roles are reversed. What a looming presence, his brother de Fortemps. 

Brother’s never felt like a shittier word. 

But hey, he at least has equal entertainment watching him fight with his hair. “Told you to tie it back,” Nika says in a strained, casual voice, because he can’t speak like a normal person these days. 

“An advice I had staunchly decided to ignore,” Artoirel replies, and then, in a lighter, almost intimate tone, “maybe to my own detriment.” 

“At least I’m enjoying the losing battle,” Nika shrugs and looks at his offensively expensive walking boots. “You’re fun to watch, count de Fortemps.” 

“Do not call me that,” Artoirel sighs. “I am still growing accustomed to it.” 

“If I say it enough, it’ll get to your head faster.” 

“You’re impossible.” There’s a smile in Artoirel’s voice, so suited to ordering men on the field, deep and even and perfectly trained to be so, but then there are smiles in it that break it. Nika wishes to curl against his side like an indulgent cat. But they are in public, and they are brothers. 

Nevertheless, Nika offers what he can. It’s small, it’s brittle, but he feels brittle anyway and he’s nothing if not honest to a fault. Haurchefant was too. Except he sparked hope and happiness, whereas Nika’s honesty is more like a knife. “I am glad to be of service.” 

“That you are,” Artoirel says. He then turns all serious again. “How are you doing these days?” 

“Me?” 

“Yes. These recent events have been.. Tumultuous for all of us. Most of all for you.” 

Nika frowns. “Losing people feels like absolute shit, Artoirel.” 

“That is not an answer to my question.” Artoirel stops and crosses his arms. He looks at Nika with such worry in his eyes that it makes him squirm where he stands. “You don’t have to answer me now. I merely wanted to assure you that you can rely on your friends in your time of need.” 

“Assurance noted, now don’t–” Words die on his tongue when he feels long fingers on the crease between neck and shoulder, ruffling the white lace cravat.  Part of him wants it gone, and for those fingers to tease the skin beneath. But another, the one that suddenly burns in shame and pain and grief, kicks it away like a stray puppy. 

“Do not brush it off,” Artoirel repeats. The lull of his voice and the weight of his touch steadies Nika. He had no fucking idea he needed steadying at all. “It is genuine. Fury, I am genuine. I don’t find pleasure in seeing you shoulder this burden alone.” His eyes find Nika’s. The calmness of his words does little to stop the whirlwind in his eyes, and it’s a pain Nika knows. It’s a pain they share. 

It’s a pain they will both have to live with for the rest of their lives. The dead don’t come to life. 

Nika raises a hand and holds Artoirel’s wrist. The fabric beneath his fingers feels exquisite. “The woman I loved is gone, Artoirel,” he says gravely. “My friend - your brother - is gone, trying to save me. We almost lost Aymeric, too. Nothing will make the pain go away.” He blinks to stave off tears. “Have I ever told you about my father? He died when I was a kid. I don’t remember him well, I was that young. I feel his absence even today. My mother and I have been feeling his absence for the last twenty years. It will never go away. The sooner I get used to it, the better.” 

Artoirel looks around. Then, moments later, he crushes Nika against his chest. Nika lets out a small oh, looking up at his face. His eyes are wild, locking on Nika’s like his life depends on it. He imagines Artoirel’s heart to beat just as wildly as his is, or maybe it’s not imagination, not with the way his lips part slightly and his gaze falls lower. 

And gods help him, he’s looking at Artoirel’s lips too. They’re small and tight and he’d kill just to be able to chew on that lower lip– 

He isn’t Minfilia. 

Nika looks away, refusing to let go of Artoirel’s wrist. The moment falls as treasonously as it began and he’s painfully aware of where he is, what he’s doing. Artoirel’s touch burns, but it mixes with shame so well that he can’t will himself to part. Not truly. He holds his wrist like a lifeline, like it will chase the shame away. 

It won’t. Nothing ever will. Nika closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. 

“Nika, I apologize, I– Nika? Why are you crying?” 

Nika’s face feels like hellfire. His eyes prickle, and he tries to snarl at the sensation, but finds he doesn’t quite have the strength to. He opens his mouth to speak, but his voice struggles to swim to the surface. When it does come, however, it sounds broken beyond repair. “She loved Eorzea more than me,” he says, tight and small. It’s a tip of the dagger under the skin. It’s embarrassing, but he can’t make it work any other way, which only makes him cry harder. “She loved Eorzea enough to sacrifice my devotion to her to save it. I’m betraying her memory, Artoirel, there was no fucking chance of anything, yet this feels so dirty–”

Artoirel’s face crumbles, too. “I’ve made you uncomfortable.” He lets go of him, but Nika wraps his arms around his chest and presses his face against the ends of his cravat, as if trying to melt into his skin. “I assure you, I haven’t any–” 

“No, no, you remind me of her, and I want, I want–” Nika sniffles. His words come out rushed, beaten out of him by the pain in his chest. “I want so much, but Minfilia–” He hiccups on the name, pressing his fingers into Artoirel’s coat, and he cries, and cries, and cries, and Artoirel wraps his arms around him and just holds. At some point, he says something to a random passerby, but Nika doesn’t care. 

He’s pathetic enough anyway.    

They stay like that for a while on a cold Ishgardian night. Artoirel leads him home later and guides him to his bedroom. “Sleep now,” he says, and Nika feels too drained to do more than nod and obediently lay down. Sleep finds him rather quickly, and moments before Nika drifts off, he sees Artoirel linger by the door. 

Whatever dreams find him tonight, maybe he’ll be the star in them. Or more likely, Minfilia. 

Maybe it’s all one and the same. 

Nika falls asleep. 

**

(It takes no more than a day for rumours of the new Count de Fortemps and the savior of Ishgard hugging on the street to reach the ears of Emmanellain de Fortemps. For the sake of his brother, and Nika too, he fights them when he can. He tells Artoirel as much, and he rewards Emmanellain’s efforts with a small smile and words of gratitude. Nika just squints and refuses to engage in conversation. 

But Emmanellain knows. He knows what’s afoot. And apparently, Artoirel and Nika know too. It may take them some time to accept it, however. That is alright. Watching the love unfold is very, very entertaining in the meantime.)

[myreia]

Bitter Frost

Rating: T Characters: Aureia Malathar, Alphinaud Leveilleur, Haurchefant Greystone Words: 2216 Notes: Frozen and lost on their way to Camp Dragonhead, Aureia and Alphinaud must contend with the events that lead them there. Spoilers for end of ARR patches. Read on AO3

A bitter wind howls across the frozen hills, biting at her cheeks. Aureia bows her head and clutches her scarf around her face, seeking whatever meagre protection it offers. Snow cracks beneath her feet, the drifts so frozen she doesn’t even sink through them. Though she has wandered the highlands many times before, even becoming accustomed to the harsh climate, this time is different. The cold is in her teeth, her lungs, her bones, unyielding and unending. But as awful as it is, at least it has given her an advantage. This way she doesn’t have to feel the pain.

She doesn’t have to feel anything at all.

Alphinaud stumbles beside her, hands stretched outwards as he treads uneasily across the icy terrain. His cheeks are chafed raw from the wind, the tips of his ears rubbed red. He hasn’t said too words to her since they struck out on their own. No complaints about the cold, no questioning her lead or choice of path. He has slipped more than once, falling painfully on his knees. When she extended a hand to help him up, he brushed her away and dragged himself to his feet, plowing forwards with dark look in his eyes.

The flight from Thanalan left little time to prepare for Coerthas. No staff, no rapier, no focus, and dressed in rags and with boots more appropriate for the desert sands than snow mountains. Filo, her faithful chocobo through thick and thin, remains stabled in Ul’dah with the Immortal Flames. The moment she chose to leave her gear and equipment at the Quicksand is seared in her mind. Why would she need it? She was attending a banquet as a guest of honour and invited to a private audience with the sultana herself. If anything, she assumed the audience was reason enough to leave her weapons behind, lest she be accused of attempted assassination.

Fool.

With her description spread like wildfire and the bounty on her head rising by the hour, it was only a matter of time before someone recognized her. Sitting in Brendt’s cart, she took a knife to her hair and hacked away the dark locks, cutting her identifiable red streaks free. Once in Black Brush, she barely had time to breathe. She shed her banquet attire as soon as she could, exchanging the beautiful dress and jewelry for a ragged coat and boots.

It wasn’t a moment too soon. She had only just faded into the background as yet another adventurer on the road when the area swarmed with Ul’dah agents. With Pipin’s help, they managed to escape and board the Enterprise, taking off for Coerthas. Cid flew them as far as he was able, but issues with the engines and high winds forced an emergency landing. Fearing they would be found if they remained, Aureia and Alphinaud set off into the snows on foot.  

Alphinaud slows, inhaling sharply, and comes to a halt. The air around them is eerily still—no sound to be heard save their trembling breaths and the crunch of snow underfoot. Even the local fauna is scarce. They are well and truly alone.

Aureia glances at him. “What is it?” she asks quietly. “What’s wrong?”

He shivers, shoving his hands into his armpits. “It is nothing,” he replies, shaking his head. His breath puffs across his lips, rising in the air. “Simply the result of the overactive imagination of a child. I would not trouble you with it.”

She presses her lips together, uncertain how to respond. Though she herself is reeling from their loss, the weight of what happened is breaking him. She’s powerless to help—nothing she can do or say will absolve him of his guilt. The Crystal Braves betrayed them, yes, but it was his blind naivety that allowed for it in the first place. Even if she did have the right words, they may not be what he needs right now.

“Here,” she says, unbuttoning her coat.

Alphinaud’s eyes widen. “Aureia, I—”

She shrugs off the coat and proffers it to him, goosepimples running down her bare arms. “Take it.”

“But…” His shoulder sag and he lowers his head, staring dully at his feet. “But you will freeze. I do not wish to be responsible for any more harm done to you.”

She seizes his hand and pushes the coat into his arms. “Take it,” she repeats. “Please. What would your sister say if you perished from the cold on Camp Dragonhead’s doorstep?”

“I…” He nods and accepts the coat, pulling it on. His frozen fingers struggle with the buttons. “Thank you.”

She smiles, privately thanking whatever gods are out there that the boy has finally seen sense. She may be brutally cold without the coat, but it is better this way. She has survived worse. “Besides,” she continues, pulling down her scarf and wrapping it around her shoulders like a shawl. “You need not worry about me.”

Aureia steps back, snow crunching beneath her feet, and pulls a hand into her chest. A flurry of snow spirals around her, dusting her hair and shoulders, clinging to her eyelashes. She closes her eyes and tugs on the aether around her, breathing it in, letting it course through her veins. Fire-aspected aether bursts between her fingers, spinning into a small, burning orb balanced perfectly in her palm. It doesn’t amount to much—without her staff to channel, it is barely more than a parlour trick—but it will keep her warm for now.

“There,” she says, opening her eyes and extending the orb to Alphinaud. “See? I have my own methods.”

With the orb pressed to her chest, Aureia pushes on, taking one hill at a time. Alphinaud follows, a little stronger and more assured on the ice now he isn’t chilled to the bone. The winds shift, bringing with them more snow and greyer skies. She clutches her scarf, anxiety gnawing away at her. She can taste the storm coming. If they don’t make it to Camp Dragonhead soon…

“Not much further now,” Aureia calls over her shoulder. “We’re almost—”

She crests the hill and halts, her stomach sinking. A sea of white stretches out before her, masking the trees and landmarks. They are too late. The storm has come and the path forward is lost to the snows. She curses, her fingers cramping, spasming from their curled position. The fire orb flickers and goes out.

“Shit,” she mutters. She rubs her hands together, desperately trying to get some feeling back into them. They remain curled, refusing to relax, and she pulls on the aether, commanding it to bend to her will.

It does not answer.

“Aureia?” Alphinaud appears at her side, his pale face lost in her coat’s hood. “What now?”

Should have stayed with Cid, that’s what. It was a foolish decision to leave and go on foot. “Shelter,” she says through dry lips. “Shelter is the priority. We can weather the storm, then make our way to Camp Dragonhead once it clears.”

He nods. “Where? The trees over there, perchance? ‘Twould be good to remain on the path, no?”

Hells. It has been years since her defection from Garlemald, but her time in the frozen Imperial capital has stayed with her. She should know better than this. She should know how to adapt.

Aureia raises an arm, shielding her face from the brutal wind as she peers through the endless white. A broken wall rises some feet away, its outline little more than a hazy shadow in the falling snow. “This way!” she shouts, her voice lost in the wind, and veers off the trail. “We need to get out of this wind.”

He follows without comment. That he doesn’t argue is either a mark of his unconditional faith in her, or that he is too exhausted to object. Gripping his frozen hand with hers, she wades through knee-deep snow, leading him to the wall. Once there, she drags them to the far side and hunkers down. She doesn’t know if this will be enough to survive, but it’s all she has.

Aureia and Alphinaud huddle together with their backs to the wall. The snow falls with fury, piling up around them. Though the wind is not as fierce, the brutal cold makes her teeth ache and her lungs burn. She’s freezing. He’s freezing. They were brutally unprepared for this. How laughable would it be if they perished in this storm. A pitiful end to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.

“Aureia?” Alphinaud’s voice is quiet, so soft she almost misses it. The snow crunches as he shifts beside her, pulling his coat tight. He exhales a shaky breath and rests his head on her shoulder. He looks so young… Too young. With all his bright-eyed idealism and sheer determination, it’s easy to forget how young he is. “This is my fault. I’m sorry for what I’ve wrought. If I hadn’t.. If I had…—”

She wraps an arm around his shoulder and pulls him close. “Don’t think of that now,” she says. It’s difficult to get the words out—her teeth are chattering. “There will be time for that… later…”

“There’s… time for it… now,” he interrupts, stuttering through the cold. “At the very least, I would… apologize… for what I’ve done. The others are… unaccounted for, perhaps even dead because of my ignorance.”

She looks down at him. “Yes.”

It’s a bitter truth, but to soften it would do him a disservice. Even now, she can picture that night’s events as clearly as one of her visions. Nanamo, collapsed and struggling to breathe as the treacherous cup rolled across the floor. Raubahn’s rage as he cut down Teledji Adeledji. Escaping the banquet with the Crystal Braves hot on their tail, losing her friends one by one as they chose to stay behind… And most painful of all, the look on Thancred’s face as he bid her farewell, shooting her one final lopsided grin as she turned her back on him and fled into the night.

“How… how do I contend with that?” Alphinaud whispers.

She pauses. “You press on,” she says after a moment. She cups her palm between them, subconsciously pulling on the aether around her, a faint flame sizzles to life, warming her fingers. “Guilt can only carry you so far before it bleeds you dry. Just know that the next time… the next time will be different. Better.”

He’s silent for a long time. “Do you… blame me?”

Aureia closes her eyes, snowflakes crystalizing on her lashes. “You are not responsible for our enemies’ actions, Alphinaud. You did not kill Nanamo. You did not frame the Scions. Take comfort in that.”

If he answers, she does not hear.

Her body is stiff, her limbs numb. A small sphere of warmth With the world gone white, it’s too easy to lose herself to the exhaustion and the cold. To submit herself to the bitter frost…

“…Aureia!”

She stirs, forcing herself out of her stupor. She can’t open her eyes—her eyelashes are frozen shut. Though she has not yet lost all sensation. A small sphere of warmth licks at her palms, her flame still burning against all odds.

“Aureia!”

The voice cuts through the haze. Someone seizes her by the arms, unearthing her from the snow. She groans, wobbling on uneasy feet, and a strong arm wraps around her, putting a cloak on her shoulders. Warmth floods her from the embrace and she lets out a desperate gasp, lungs aching as she inhales frozen air.  

“Easy, my friend,” the voice says. “Easy. You have taken a terrible turn.”

“Haurchefant?” she breathes, tilting her head up. She pries her eyes open and a familiar face swims in her vision. She would know that smile anywhere. “What are you… how…”

“Scouts saw your approach on patrol,” he says, easing her through the snow. “When the storm swept in, we did not hesitate to commence a search. The snows in Coerthas are not to be trifled with. I would not lose you to them. If not for your abilities…”

The flame. How in the hells did she keep that going on the brink of unconsciousness? If she had slipped into darkness completely, it would have gone out.

Aureia stifles a cry and clutches at him, her heart aching with gratefulness. “I’ve been stupid, Haurchefant,” she mumbles. Her lips are stiff and blue, frost clinging to her skin. “So damn stupid.”

“You can tell it to me in time, once you are warm and recovered. For now, rest. We will see you safely to Camp Dragonhead.” With one arm still supporting her, he turns and shouts to his men. “I have her! Young Master Alphinaud, too!”

A flurry of activity flickers on her peripheral vision. Knights crowd around them, clearing a path to the nearby carriage. She spots Alphinaud some distance away, wrapped in a cloak and leaning on a knight as he struggles through the snow. He glances over his shoulder and meets her eyes, a grave smile on his face. He nods, silently showing his thanks.

She returns it. Somehow, they have survived this. Where they go from here, she does not know. But whenever it may be, it will be up to them to pick up the shattered pieces of the Scions and find a way forwards.  

[bydusklight]

It's the nerdiest imaginable thing but I made a little bio for Aramond for a roleplay server I'm in! You can read it below the cut. (To be edited, probably, as I play through the game. I wanna be lore compliant but I don't know all the lore yet lol)

Aramond Ouraux -- (ah · rah · mohn ooh · roh) Age: 31 Nameday: 28th Sun of the 4th Astral Moon Race: Elezen (Wildwood) Nation of Origin: Ishgard Languages: Eorzean Common, a bit of Old Elezen (the Brume accent has been carefully clipped away, but it peeks out every now and then) Height: 201.93 cm Class: BLM | DRK Crafter: Alchemist Gatherer: Botanist Most Likely to Find Him: In his study, in desperate need of sleep, food, or both. Backstory: Aramond was born and raised in the Brume. He doesn’t remember his father, who was killed in battle shortly after Aramond’s birth. His earliest memories are of his mother. She did all she could to care for him, but they struggled. Aramond often went without shelter or food. This hunger evolved into something deeper as he grew older. He was sensitive to magic even from a young age. That, coupled with his lack of means, left him with a sense of otherness; of never quite fitting in. He longed to better understand himself and his abilities. When his mother became ill, burning curiosity blossomed into desperation. He sought training, hoping that his innate talent for magic might yield something that could stave off her illness. He found a teacher in a local apothecary, an older Elezen named Thibodeaux, but even the most potent magic was not a cure-all. In the end, there was nothing Aramond could do to save his mother. She passed when he was fourteen. Thibodeaux took him in following his mother’s death, but Aramond was in no state to appreciate his good fortune. His mood darkened, as did his tastes. He became fixated on power, on the kind of magic that came more naturally to him than healing – but Thibodeax forbade even the theoretical study of black magic. Frustrated, Aramond fled Ishgard when he was sixteen, setting out for Ul’dah, where he joined the Thaumaturge’s Guild. Having a purpose, a focus, tempered the anger Aramond felt at his father’s abandonment, his mother’s death, and Thibodeaux’s disdain. He worked for many years in service to the Guild and to the Brass Blades, and learned the merit of using his magic, feared as it might be, for good. Especially following the Calamity, when there were suddenly so many souls in need of aid. Perhaps that was why the Scions appealed to him so strongly. Joining came with the promise of knowledge and power, yes, but also a chance to use that power to defend the helpless. He was never comfortable with the amount of positive attention he garnered under the Scions, but he was always proud of the cause he was serving. Being ousted after the death of the Sultana was a devastating turn, and being forced to flee back to Ishgard was like salt in the wound. The only silver lining was his liaison to House Fortemps, Haurchefant Greystone, with whom Aramond was quickly forming a firm bond. His fondness for the other man only grew during his time in Ishgard. He gained a new appreciation for his home country, seeing it through Haurchefant’s eyes. Haurchefant’s death has left Aramond reeling, and he is still deeply mourning the loss. (TBC as I complete the expansions.)

Personality: Aramond comes across as quiet and aloof, especially upon first meeting him. He carries himself rigidly and tends to speak in clipped, matter-of-fact tones. His intelligence is obvious, but he is not the most congenial Elezen around. The truth is, he’s painfully introverted and unaccustomed to dealing with people. He craves connection. Once he opens up to someone, he can prove insightful, generous, and unfalteringly loyal. He has an obsessive personality, which can be a blessing and a curse. His acute focus and resolve have seen him through many an impossible challenge, but he has a habit of sacrificing his physical and emotional needs in times of stress. He often prioritizes his work, or the tasks others place upon his shoulders, over himself. He has a romantic streak. When sufficiently inspired, he begins to think and speak in metaphors. He has a soft spot for beautiful flowers. In combat, Aramond values precision and efficiency. Better to carefully cast the right spell in the right place than to hurl all of his energy into a quick barrage of less effective magic. As he has taken up training as a Dark Knight, this calculating approach has stuck with him. A strange calm takes over him when a fight begins; almost as if someone else is guiding his hand.

[jakey-beefed-it]

Garlemald obviously owes a lot to the Empire from FF6 in terms of inspiration and aesthetics, but until this point really only the magitk armor has been a direct one to one comparison (with the Yoshitaka Amano art, rather than the in-game model). The Othard uniform on the other hand really does look like a modern update of the old Imperial Soldier sprite but with better helmets

Anyhow I’m always a slut for FF6 references so this pleases me, even though lots of other aspects of Stormblood are kinda falling a bit flat. Minor spoilers for Stormblood and Heavensward both, so, below a cut.

The other big thing I noticed is that I got a nice scene where I got to have a bit of a heart-to-heart with Yugiri about her past, about her hopes for Doma and her home both, and I found myself thinking the whole time- “This is nice, but can I get something similar for Lyse? Who is ostensibly the focus character for the expansion? Maybe?”

Don’t get me wrong, she’s great, I am enjoying everything they do give her to do, but I can’t help but feel that Lyse’s emotions and goals and things get kinda brushed over and rushed through in contrast. Yugiri and Gosetsu are great, I love them, too, but like, they’re not Scions. And even among the Scions, let’s be real, only my precious children Alphinaud and Alisaie (and now Lyse) are written to be close with the Warrior of Light, all of the other adults are written to be Colleagues at best, they’re not written to be Your Pal the way that Lyse is. The way that Haurchefant was. 

The narrative might not be doing her justice, but I get it, Lyse is a character with lots of unused potential. I hope they don’t waste it, but if they do, I have a long history of dusting off characters who got done dirty by their narratives and carrying them with me as my emotional support character. 

Anyhow yeah changing topics since Lyse is the best-realized of your female friends, that immediately bumps her to the top of the list for shipping with Varian. Ordinarily his type is a lot more ‘quiet determination’ and ‘sharp intelligence’ but there’s a definite charm to two disaster jocks plunging into dipshit ideas together, friends or romantic partners. We’ll see how things shake out but as of now, yeah, top candidate for OC x canon ship which, as anyone who’s been following this blog since the early days when I was still working my way through the Mass Effect trilogy, is always at least on the table.

[shivasdarknight]

The...the devs admitted to killing Ysayle because they didn't know what to do with her? We were denied Scion Ysayle because they figured the best way to handle being at a loss for her was to kill her off?????????

Y e a h. And there's a bit more to it when you look at some of the behind-the-scenes stuff beyond her, but yeah that was it. Instead of shelving her for later (like they did with Estinien), they just killed her. Despite talking about how she qualified as a scion and would be a good ally, and despite all of her present relevancy especially with Thavnair and Vrtra. Estinien is a good enough example of how they saved a male character for later, but they went further and killed Zenos but brought him back through - need I remind - the Echo (ik his is a resonance but regardless), which Ysayle had, and kept him around for two more expansions (more minor in one, but regardless he lived longer than she did).

The devs did this to Yotsuyu, as well, but the thing about Ysayle that makes this one so telling is that she is one of three characters designed by the same person to die one after the other; those being Moenbryda and Haurchefant, who were all designed by Natsuko Ishikawa, the writer of the rog/nin & drk job quests, the Doman half of Stormblood, and MSQ for Shadowbringers and Endwalker. She - as the only main female writer on the team - has gone on record saying that the deaths of those three in quick succession felt targeted. And out of those three, it's only Haurchefant that gets to remain relevant, has a permanent grave, gets emotes and allusions to him, and DSR is centered around saving him (while Ysayle is alive by consequence) because Yoshi-P likes him. Sections where Oda takes over (eg parts of post-stb involving Yotsuyu and Tsuyu) plus the post-arr to hvw stuff is where it's really clear something went fucky here. They have stated they didn't know what to do with Ysayle, but her death in conjunction with Moenbryda's - as both were designed by Ishikawa - along with their lack of acknowledgement in story reeks a deeper level of sexism on the devs' parts.

So, yeah. She's dead because:

The devs didn't know what to do with her, so they just killed her off - had she been a man, she would've just been shelved (like Estinien)

It seems to be something personal as she's the third of Ishikawa's characters to die immediately after introduction, especially since the only man in the group gets tons of focus while Ysayle and Moenbryda are sidelined constantly

It's only during content written by Ishikawa that we see allusions and direct references to Ysayle (and Moenbryda) and it feels like the devs are trying to ignore what they did and just move right along. If the fucking Resonant and what that Sahagin priest did to stay as a soul and around could keep Zenos and a Sahagin Priest alive, then there's no excuse with Ysayle. And I'm saying this as someone who is actively writing a fix-it fic tackling many of the aspects of her character that they just left unresolved and unexplored - like this isn't even getting into the fact that Estinien has had 4 different stories going into his background and where he's been this whole time, while Ysayle's only story was just a beat for beat rehash of her death scene.

Also, as I feel it needs to be said since this Is tumblr: my bringing up any male characters is not a condemnation for anyone Liking said characters. Estinien's one of my favs in this game, but the guy was wrapped in death flags and he's still around as of 6.4?

Really?

[joiedecombat]

Thinking a lot about your unravel fic and what those kind of scenes might have looked like earlier in their relationship. Since Aymeric's interrogation by the Heavens Ward happened before they were together, how and when did the subject of his nightmares arise? How much detail has he shared with Raine? Has the Echo shown her anything and how does she feel about seeing/not seeing his trauma?

It took quite a while before they could have that conversation, for sure.

I've talked before about how Aymeric is accustomed to not really being able to show weakness. Raine always had a very general idea of what he went through at the Vault between going in to speak to Thordan and when they rescued him, but especially with everything else that overshadowed that whole sequence of events, they didn't talk about the specifics or the lingering effect the experience had on him. Even if he'd been inclined to talk through it with her - or anyone, to be honest - there were simply too many other things to focus on.

(Shadowbringers and oblique Endwalker spoilers and some tldr below the cut.)

Raine's Echo primarily shows her scenes that were/are heavily charged with either aether (use of magic or other forms of strong aetheric activity) or dynamis (strong emotion). His interrogation at the hands of Ser Charibert and the Ward definitely falls into the latter category, so yes, at some point not all that long after the Vault she undoubtedly had an Echo vision of some part of that experience. She wasn't in the best emotional state herself at that time, and her response was essentially to pretend that particular vision never happened. I imagine Aymeric at least suspected, but it was pretty much a "let's never speak of this" situation for both of them as they channeled their coping mechanisms into dealing with the crises in front of them.

The two of them didn't begin sharing a bed until after Raine returned from the First, which was over a solid year and a half at the absolute minimum from the Vault.* By that time, Raine was dealing with some recurring nightmares of her own, mostly dealing with Sin Eaters and her experiences with Light aether corruption nearly turning her into a monster, with some Final Days soul flashbacks for extra flavor. She spent at least six months in Ishgard after wrapping things up in the First, so once they started sleeping together it became inevitable that one of them was going to disturb the other's sleep… and Raine's nightmares were considerably fresher than Aymeric's.

That's what finally opened the door for Aymeric to admit to having nightmares about his time at the Vault. Talking about it was a way for him to let Raine know he understood something of what she was going through, encouraging her to let herself be vulnerable with him by allowing himself the same. Broaching the subject opened the door for some heart-to-heart conversations that both of them, and especially Raine at that time, badly needed.

He's still never gone into detail about the content of those dreams - except to explain that it's not always the interrogation; sometimes it's centered on Haurchefant's death, which he will always carry a sense of personal responsibility for - but he doesn't have to. Raine was extremely uncomfortable at the time to have experienced his trauma through the Echo, but with the distance of the intervening time to dull the edge of the experience, she's kind of grateful that it allows for that kind of understanding between them without forcing Aymeric to verbally relive the whole thing to her.

*(My personal rule of thumb is that each expansion takes about a year of in-game time, but I haven't quite worked out how the time differential between the Source and the First affects the timeline.)

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

I am a little bummed from all the drama from Twitter. Can I ask for some Haurchefant and Agni for the Just the three of us Au. How would Agni react if Haurchefant is super cuddly in the morning and refused to let Agni out of bed

Agnes's eyes slowly blinked open, sunlight shining through the window. Hmm, Estinien's gone for the day which means the very large warm man behind me is...

"Good morning, dearest heart." Haurchefant murmured, squeezing her tightly.

"And how did you know I'm was awake, ser?" Agnes teased.

She heard him chuckle. "An uneducated guess, sweet lady. How did you sleep without our little one here?"

Esme is with Mum in Costa del Sol for a few days so we can alone time. Thanks Mum! "Good, love. Though honestly, she's started sleeping through the night quicker than I thought!" One of her hands gently rubbed the top of his. "How about you?"

"Fine I suppose...though waking up is much better." Haurchefant sighed happily into his wife's neck, his hand caressing her ample belly. "So, so much better." When Agnes began to shift a little, his maintained his hold on her. "Nay, my love. Stay."

"Alright, love." She giggled. You're lucky I don't have to pee right now! "Feeling more cuddly than usual?" She whispered, smiling to herself. If anyone can find new levels of cuddliness, it's Haurche.

"Mmm, how could I not feel this way when my very cuddly, very soft, so very warm, so exquisitely pretty wife is so close? You make it easy, dear Agi, to stay in bed with you all day."

She snorted. "Well, easier without having to take care of Esme."

"Ha! Tis true, darling, but let us focus," his voice lowered. "on the present, shall we?" His hand slowly moved to a breast and ever so gently squeezed. "Do be a good girl and stay with me a while...I swear to make it worth your while, dearest wife..." OH GOODNESS!

When Estinien returned home from training the Radiant Host, he found his spouses still in bed.

[aotopmha]

Some more FFXIV thoughts:

I think this might become a series, actually.

With this post I actually want to talk about how women are written and handled in the story. I'll probably write separate posts for most of them at one point or another, but with this post I'll go over the more general thoughts I have.

The biggest criticism I probably have for how the story writes women is that so many female characters are killed off.

I think they are killed off in satisfying ways, completing their character arcs and stories in satisfying ways, but so many are just written with the end point in mind to be killed off.

Y'sayle, Yotsuyu, Minfilia and Venat are fantastic characters with if not massive plot significance, then at least powerful stories.

Much effort is put into depth when they are there (well, with Minifilia, we have to wait for that a little bit), but with that kind of story writing, their focus is limited to designated sections of story.

Alisae, Y'shtola, Ryne, Lyse, Krile and Tataru are the only ones that show up for fairly large swathes of story.

But at the same time, there are many male characters that are written out of swathes of story, too.

For example, Estinien was basically gone for all of Stormblood and Shadowbringers.

Thancred was barely there in Heavensward and Stormblood.

I'd argue all of the ancients had their arcs and now we're done with them. (At least I very much hope they are, I feel like giving them more screentime beyond tying up the remaining loose ends would feel unnatural and take away from the weight of their characters. Also please let Zenos finally stay dead.)

In fact, most of the individual crew from previous expansions at most get little cameos and are written out in much the same way any of the female characters are, which is to say focused on in sections of story, the difference is that there are much fewer female characters and female characters well, as said are killed, so it sticks out.

If we look at deaths in general, we have Haurchefant, Nidhogg and Thordan to balance out Y'sayle in Heavensward for example, but Lucia and Y'sayle are the only truly prominent female characters in that story and this exapnds to all the other expansions.

Stormblood had a balance in letting Lyse, Krile and Fordola live in comparison to Yotsuyu and Asahi is the companion death to Yotsuyu.

Endwalker is especially obvious with Emet, Hermes and Hytlodeus balancing out Venat's death.

It's probably the biggest issue with the female character writing I have, but there is also so much good in here.

This story makes me happy because it defies so many female character tropes/stereotypes.

I love that the Oracle of Light is dual-wielding daggers (Ryne and Gaia are both really cool, also Gunbreaker Ryne incoming?), I love that Urianger's archtypal childhood friend is an axe-wielding scholar. I love that Lucia and Lyna get to be cool fighters AND have feelings. Zero goes under there, too. Fordola's redemption arc and inner conflict are fantastic. Alisae's journey to become her own person with separate principles and someone with a strong will to do good is great.

Venat has a motherly aspect to her character and is the goddess of light, but is also an incredibly powerful fighter.

Yotsuyu's archtype is often so poorly done because female characters of her archtype turn out to either be just a crazy woman or turn good after a scene or two of someone being nice to her, but the empathy surrounding her situation and the struggle surround her identity is so powerful and most of all, substantial.

I think her dying actually respects her as a villain because despite of all of her suffering, she was still a horrible person and I'm happy the narrative didn't downplay that.

I love that Lyse is allowed to not be as intelligent as others because it's so unique among the main cast in general. Her arc is about learning tact and restraint and becoming more confident in herself. She's allowed to be frustrating and say dumb stuff. She's such a breath of fresh air as a character. I take issue with some of the execution of those aspects at the start of Stormblood, but I'll leave a more detailed analysis of her character to another post.

Final Fantasy 14 lets women have feelings and weaknesses without removing their strengths and generally avoids putting them in specific boxes and I appreciate that a lot.

There are so many great, fun side characters, too!

Drusilla from the Reaper questline. Cirina and Sadu. All of the female characters among the twelve gods. Nashu is fantastic comic relief. Barbariccia has a really neat backstory with a surprising amount of depth in just a few cutscenes. Emilliance is a great mom. Nidhana is a great inquisitive scientist character.

How about Giott and her drinking habits and dirty mouth?

Merwyb's arc about taking responsibility for the past and taking steps to fix the racial divide in Vylbrand/Limsa is fantastic.

How about that Tataru's Grand Endevour series or the entire Eureka storyline for Krile?

And I feel like if there is sexualisation, I feel like it's usually in good fun. Though there are a few instances where it's a little less fun and more wierd.

The game has a way of making really entertaining base personalities for characters and that absolutely does translate to its female cast.

Now if you'd write fewer to be killed and either make a few more mainstays or give more consistent relevance to the mainstays you have, that'd just be great.

I think there could be stuff to do with Krile, Y'shtola and Ryne and Gaia in particular.

The thing with the story of this game is that I never even expected to like any of the characters ever because it starts out so simple. Whenever I revisit sections they always end up more substantial than I remember.

Like, how about Dulia-Chai defying the whole overweight, 'ugly' evil person trope?

I appreciate that although Tesleen was another character to be killed, she gets enough depth to her to make her an actual character with feelings and principles.

And then there's stuff where the story just tells gender to fuck off.

Like this year's Valentine's Day event or the Dotharl or Omega. Or the non-binary faes. Not perfect, either, but I just enjoy the accepting and respectful vibes because there is so much unnatural 'checkmark writing' around this stuff currently. You never actually know, but it absolutely at least feels like whoever writes this story actually believes in it.

But that might just be material for even more posts.