The Princess and the Blade

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi was worried about disappointing her, but the excitement in her eyes was a clear welcome. Just looking at her desiring him tore the last of his defenses to shreds. He slipped out of her, already pulsing, and came across her stomach and chest with a sharp cry.

He looked down at her worshipfully. He wanted to burrow back inside her and stay there as long as she'd let him. But the idea of the other two finding them in this state was enough motivation to stay his instincts.

He bent down and kissed her gently. Stay here. I will clean you, he murmured before tearing himself away to go get a washcloth.

------

Artisuren scowled at the very suggestion. "Ivis do not tame Yurivis," he growled. "Why does your face look like that? Don't tell me you want Thvoros in your bed as well ."

[Emora Deen]

Tenara nodded, watching Havi depart. His release was hot against her flushed skin, making the air around her feel cold and, now that he was gone, exposed. She swallowed, resisting the urge to pull the blanket over her to hide in case Laurius or Artisuren returned.

--

Laurius grinned, following the tilt of the ship. He leaned his shoulder into the wall, and didn't straighten when the ship did. Yurivis meant woman, he gathered that much. Ivis must have meant males. Men did not tame women on his world. How fascinating.

"Oh, Ivises on this world tame Yurivises more often than not," he said. "Though it does go both ways, I prefer to be the tamer than tamed—which I'm sure you remember." Laurius took a bite of the scone, making a mental note to ask why Artisuren called the being Thvoros, when Tenara called him something else. "And as lovely as Havitharon is, I don't plan on pulling him into my bed anytime soon. I probably wouldn't kick him out of it, but I'm not pulling him into it. I try not to mix business with pleasure, no matter how beautiful someone is." Tenara’s pretty face was in his mind, flushed and wanting. Not happening, he told himself. Not advisable. Not wanted (by her). Not. Happening. He took up the teapot and poured tea into a cup, scooped it up, and drank. Artisuren had walked around a while, the tea wasn't cold but not as hot as he liked. "Besides, he doesn't belong to me. You do." He gave a wink to Artisuren before glancing back toward their room. It had gone quiet. He imagined them tangled together beneath the sheets, sweating and spent. He should give them a few more minutes, but he was tired of waiting out in the hall. "Alright. Serve them breakfast."

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi returned quickly with a damp cloth and cleaned his Yurivis with care. He had the strangest desire to lean down and lick her clean, but they would certainly not be ready for company if he did so.

"I am sorry we could not take our time as we pleased," he said, placing a kiss on her stomach. He gathered up her clothes from where they'd discarded them and handed the bundle to her.

____

Artisuren glowered at his 'master' as he served himself from the tray. What was he, some kind of butler?

Despite his annoyance and bafflement at the things the man had just told him, the command to serve breakfast relieved his itching nerves. He walked pointedly around Laurius, ignoring him, and headed up the stairs to the room. From what Laurius had just said, the two were mating. The idea of walking in on such a thing had no effect on him. He'd lived in a harem for close to a decade; if anything, it would be practically normal.

He heard no sound from inside when he reached the door, so he knocked once, then waited for the Yurivis inside to acknowledge him.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara smiled at Havitharon, sitting up when he was finished cleaning her and taking the nightgown he offered. She slipped it on over her head, pulling it down as she stood out of bed. Her legs rattled beneath her, and she felt the pleasant ache of a woman who had been thoroughly taken. Tenara leaned into Havitharon, resting her forehead against his chest.

A knock sounded at the door, making Tenara jump a little. She ran fingers through her mussed silver hair, stole one of Havitharon's shirts from their shared trunk to wrap over her thin nightgown like a robe, and waited until Havitharon's trousers were on before clearing her throat and inviting them back in, "Ugh... Come in."

Tenara sat on the bed and then thought better of it. It felt odd. All of this felt so strange. She stood, leaning her back against the wall and folding her arms over her chest.

-

Laurius watched Artisuren walk away, appraising the man as he headed up the stairs and down the hall. He wondered what they were to each other. For all his antagonizing nature to Artisuren, he did feel a fondness for the being. Was it because he'd conjured him here? Was it because of what they'd shared? He brushed his fingers over his lips, remembering Artisuren's bite, and then the ship's hold. The two events were completely apart, but they bled together, a mixture of confusion and desire.

He followed Artisuren and stood behind him, waiting for the door to open. Two weeks of this, all four of them cramped into this room. They would either need to develop some sort of strategy for handling... flairs or ruts or... whatever this was between them or get a lot more comfortable with each other.

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren opened the door with care once the Yurivis acknowledged him. He found the princess standing against the wall. Something about her pose made her seem uncomfortable. Artisuren turned his gaze to Thvoros, who was seated on the chaise.

"People sleep on that, you know," he snipped at the other Ivis, but at the same time, didn't have the courage to approach him to set the drinks down. He'd heard horror stories about the man's temper. Was his personality just as twisted with women? Laurius's words echoed in his head. Had he really tried to tame his own Yurivis? His disdain for their authority was well known, and she did look uncomfortable. The thought curled a hook of protective anger through his better judgment.

"Are you well?" he asked her tensely, his gaze held below hers.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara shifted her gaze to Artisuren. It had momentarily been on Laurius, who slipped in behind him. She'd expected him to make some wisecrack, but he hadn't. He closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall. He didn't look at her any differently, didn't poke fun at them, didn't make some joke to Artisuren...

She nodded. "I'm fine. Thank you. Thank you for getting the tea," she said. She found the courage to leave the wall and go to the tray, taking up one of the cups and pouring herself one.

Laurius took the only other seat in the room, a chair near the bathroom door. He pulled the dagger from beneath his shirt and laid it on his lap. It was getting warm again. He glanced at Artisuren, watching him.

"Can I pour you a cup, Artisuren?" Tenara asked, setting her cup on the small table in the room and angling the teapot to an empty one. "Havi?"

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren glowered at Havi as if Tenara had just shown him a bruise. "You allow her to serve you?" he accused.

Havi blinked at him. Artisuren was the type of Ivis that irritated him the most, but his head was still floaty from the pleasure they'd just shared. "You wish to question her actions?" he tossed back with a smirk.

That silenced the man. He looked on with a frown while Havi set out plates. He served a scone to. Tenara, only to have Artisuren suddenly swipe it right from under her nose.

"No! That one's.... uh, mine," the man struggled while Havi gaped at him.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara blinked at the scone and then laughed softly. "Did you lick it?" she asked. She poured Artisuren a cup of tea and then some for Havi. Then, she reached out and took another scone from the pile and placed it on the plate that Havitharon had picked for her. "When I was little, kids licked the food they claimed so other people wouldn't want it."

Laurius dragged his chair forward to the table, and they gathered around it for breakfast. He placed the dagger on the tabletop between them, tapping it. "How long does it last? How long does he last like this?"

"Like what?" Tenara asked, sitting on the chaise next to Havitharon.

"Solid."

She shrugged. "I'm not certain. Havitharon can go a few days, depending on what happens. If he gets too far from the sword, he returns to it and is spirit or... like spirit. Then, I have to make him whole again. Once, he became a sword, and... and I used him to kill some creatures who were going to eat us. For a while after that, when I made him whole, he would return to being a sword when he slept. The next day I would have to make him whole again."

"That must have been exhausting," Laurius said. "Fun, but exhausting."

"Fun?" Tenara asked, brow furrowing.

"Well, given... the side effects for you and him."

Tenara shifted uncomfortably. She glanced at Havitharon warily and remembered every morning making him whole—the uncomfortableness of it, and how he thought she'd been doing it for her own pleasure. She'd thought he hated her then. Maybe he had. He didn't now. Was that her magic's doing? Or... had he come to care for her on his own?

[Soran Nightblade]

Tenara's discomfort unnerved Havitharon. He wondered if she was feeling pressured to maintain them both. He didn't even want her to continue maintaining his own body right now. Not until they understood what it was costing her.

Artisuren was still trying to think of a way to clear up what he'd done with the scone, but then he realized they were discussing him. "So, in a few days, I will be formless again?"

Havi cast Laurius a warning look to remind him of what they'd discussed before.

[Emora Deen]

"Maybe," Tenara said. "I've only ever helped make Havitharon whole. It might be different for you. I can try again, though, if that happens—"

"Perhaps you can show me... how?" Laurius offered.

Tenara arched a brow. "But, you don't have magic."

"Maybe magic isn't needed?" He took a bite of his scone. "Maybe you just need intention and sacrifice? What do you do when you make Havitharon whole?"

"I touch the sword. Sometimes—a lot of times—I cut myself because it's easier. At least, it feels easier. My magic is unpredictable and volatile and cutting myself centers me somehow..." She showed her hands and arms, rolling up the sleeves of Havitharon's borrowed shirt to reveal the crisscrossing of pearlescent scars. "When I do it, it heals. I think it's the sword. Like I'm giving it a gift. I don't know. I don't know how any of this works. That's why we need you."

Laurius nodded, sitting back. He took up his teacup. "Maybe, once more. When he fades, if you can show me once more, I'll understand." He looked at Havitharon, expecting an argument. "I need to observe a few times, to understand. I'm not trying to force her to sacrifice herself for him."

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi shook his head, declining the argument. A faint blush colored the tips of his ears. Like I'm giving it a gift? Was that what it felt like for her?

What was he thinking? Those words shouldn't make him excited. "It is her choice."

Artisuren's eyes were like saucers as he looked at her arms. Had she cut herself that way when she made him real? He'd been so immersed in his own pain at the time that he'd barely noticed what happened. "Why would you do that for me?"

[Emora Deen]

"You were burning up," Tenara said softly, her eyes kind. She pulled the sleeves down over her hands again and tucked them under the table "And you were in pain."

"You cut yourself to heal Havitharon earlier. Does that work the same way? Have you ever tried to heal anyone else?"

Tenara met Laurius's gaze. "No. I haven't. I prefer not to."

"If I cut myself, would you heal me?"

Tenara frowned. "No. Because you did it on purpose. You can sort that out on your own."

"If I were hurt, not of my own accord, would you heal me?"

"No," Tenara said softly, though it didn't sound like the truth.

Laurius chuckled. "Why is that?"

Tenara glanced at Artisuren remembering the tears in his eyes after Laurius had been with him. "Because I don't trust you to stop."

Laurius frowned. "Stop? Stop what?"

She sighed. "More tea?" she asked Artisuren, though his cup was mostly full. She poured more into it anyway, topped off Laurius's and then her own.

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren touched the cup she'd topped off for him. It was warm and fragrant, but he didn't dare to pick it up. His hands were shaking. A Yurivis was injuring herself for him and serving him. An Ivis was mastering him. It was wrong. WRONG.

The air in the room felt suffocating. "May I be excused," he said, not even sure whose permission he needed.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius's gaze left Tenara and swept to Artisuren. His brow furrowed, noting the shake in the man's hand. He reached out and touched the blade, but it didn't feel any warmer than it had a moment before. "Sure," he said. "Don't wander off too far, though."

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi's eyes followed the other Ivis closely as he bowed to no one in particular and rose to leave the room. Artisuren didn't look at any of them on his way out and closed the door swiftly behind him.

Havi pinched between his brows and sighed. "It's not your fault," he said to Tenara before she could start to worry about it. "That one held steadfast to our society's values his entire life.
We come from a world of absolutes. He's bending more values than he probably knows how to cope with."