The Princess and the Blade

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren was standing with the wall for support, but he looked spooked and pale. Tears wanted to creep into his eyes. To see a Yurivis suffer was viscerally upsetting for an Ivis's nature. Artisuren was often scolded for having particularly sensitive instincts, even among Ivie, but it still astonished him that Thvoros was handling it so calmly, especially when he bore one of her rings. Unless he got that somewhere else? Or maybe the rumors were true, and Thvoros possessed defective instincts.

"Havitharon, you're hurt. We should take care of that," Laurius's voice said.

"It's fine. Stay there, or the hound will react," Havi warned. "It's fine," he repeated, to Tenara, as if they were the only ones in the room.

Artisuren turned his attention to Laurius cautiously.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius eyed the wolf and then Artisuren again, catching his gaze as he looked his way. “You look like you need to sit,” he said, coming to guide Laurius down to the chase. He sat next to him. “Does the sight of blood make you ill?” He tuned Artisuren’s face away from the bed.

Tenara was so far into her own head and the comforting feel of Havi’s arms, that she didn’t much hear them. It was all a swirl of noise against the raging thump of her heart and the soft sound of her tears.

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren blinked as Laurius's warm fingers turned his face away from the bed. He didn't properly remember coming to sit on the chaise with the man, because his attention had been so affixed to the Yurivis. Now that his gaze was averted, he took in the features of Laurius's face inches from his. It was the first time he'd bothered looking at him up this close. "Well, it's because the Yurivis is-," he tried, trailing off in confusion. "You don't seem very affected. What happened to her?"

Havi ignored them, focused completely on the precious woman in his arms. "Is it because of the ship?" he whispered into her hair, stroking her.

[Emora Deen]

“Well, it’s because the Yurivis is… You don’t seem affected…”

Laurius glanced at the bed and what he could see of Tenara’s silver hair. Were males affected by female emotions on his world? At least, on a biological level and not just an empathetic level? “I think she had a nightmare,” he said quietly. More like a night terror, he thought. He pursed his lips into a frown. It wasn’t his place to ask what had scared her so much, but then, he heard in the faintest whisper, “Is it the ship?”

He stiffened, feeling like he was listening to something he shouldn’t.

“Human men are not so in tune with the opposite sex,” Laurius told Artisuren. “In truth, I feel out of place right now because I don’t know what to do with her fear.”

“It sounds the same,” Tenara said to Havi, her voice sounding dry. Of course it sounded the same. All ships sounded the same, but for Tenara it was different. Sound was almost all she had. She remembered the sound—the creaks and groans and waves and voices—more than anything else. She heard so much, and her memories mostly revolved around what she’d heard. The flickers of visual memory she had were all warped from the drugs and only in the fog of it beginning to wear off before they poured it down her throat again.

But even in the darkest of its paralyzing, sleep-inducing effects, she could still hear everything. Much the same way they say people can hear in comas.

“I dreamed of it and… and I woke up and I could still hear the ship. I couldn’t hear them anymore but I could hear the ship and I thought…” She had felt his heat pressed alongside her and had thought he was one of them. She hiccuped a sob, wiping at her clothes as if she could wipe away hands she didn’t remember. “I’m sorry. I’ll be okay in a second.”

Laurius shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The ship pitched and he almost slipped out, along with Artisuren. He caught the man by his waist and pulled him close, holding on to the chase and thankful it was bolted to the floor.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi's heart hitched at the sound of her sobs. Her tear-soaked words called to the deepest parts of his existence. A small corner of his senses reminded him they had an audience, but it didn't matter. The ship pitched, and he could see Laurius and Artisuren scrambling against the movement. The walls groaned and creaked. If it was the sounds that troubled her, then...

He placed his hands lightly over her ears, taking care to smear the bitten one on the sheets before touching her with it. Then he tucked her head under his chin, so that her forehead brushed his throat. He closed his eyes, and began to hum softly in a minor key. The sound was low and uncertain, like a machine left out of use for too many years, but he found enough vocal footing after a few bars to part his lips and sing. The words were in an old tongue, a famous song of courtship, separation, and reunion. His low voice vibrated into her through his chin and neck, softly as if the notes were meant only for her. The sound echoed hazily in the space between her covered ears.

Artisuren began to scramble against Laurius's sudden closeness. He began to push against the man's chest, but then the sound of Thvoros's singing took him off guard. What the hell? The low sound was hard to even hear amidst the sounds of the wind and the waves, but there was no doubt about it. "The hell? Thvoros is singing?" the Ivis scoffed, but somehow he couldn't put real scorn behind it. The coldest, most arrogant and willful Ivis he'd ever heard of was singing to his Yurivis.

A pang of loss went through him. He looked away from the pair on the bed, his hands knotting in the fabric of Laurius's shirt.

[Emora Deen]

The tension in Tenara’s body eased as Havitharon covered her ears and settled into his song. She curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of his voice, feeling its vibration against her face. She pressed her nose into his neck, taking in the smell of him, and for a moment, she was not on the ship.

She thought of the cabin she so often longed to go back to, the little garden out front, the strange peace that had, momentarily, been theirs. They had still been strangers to each other then… But they had been together and it had been so quiet…

Tenara took a deep breath, all the way to the center of her being, and sighed.

The uncomfortableness in Laurius hadn’t eased. He thought about taking Artisuren for a walk to get some tea for them all, but he was certain they’d be scolded for leaving the room in such dangerous conditions. Instead, he curled his hand over Artisuren’s—the one knotted in his clothes—and listen to Havitharon’s song.

“Why don’t you ever sing like that for me,” he chided with a playful smile, nudging the man’s shoulder.

[Soran Nightblade]

The ache in Artisuren's chest gave way to focus on the man in front of him. "Ha. Dream away. If you ever wake me with a fit like that, I'll just slap you until you come out of it," he snorted. Unkind words or not, it felt strange to speak of the future with Laurius. Maybe he was getting too complacent here. He began to loosen his grip on Laurius.

A book slid off the bookshelf and landed on its spine right where he'd been sleeping earlier. Artisuren's fingers closed again on the man's shirt. It was excusable now, right? "Perhaps I should stay beside the chaise. Within slapping distance."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius smiled at Artisuren’s concern, glancing to the hand knotted in his shirt. “Perhaps you should,” he said. “How about you take the chaise for now, and I will take the floor. It will be easier to slap me from above.” He patted Artisuren’s thigh, giving it a squeeze high up before he rose and half-slid over to Artisuren’s abandoned pillow and brought it back. He laid on the floor alongside the chaise, throwing an anrm over his eyes.

The lantern swayed back and forth where it was bolted to the wall, warm light flaring and dimming as it did.

Havitharon’s song was soothing enough to lull him to sleep. He might have found it easy if he could get the image of Tenara with her hellish red eyes blaring in the dark from his mind, or the memory the pressure in the room threatening to blow out the ship walls and let in the sea.

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren sat awkwardly as the man gave up the favorable resting place to him and lay on the floor. What had just happened? His thigh buzzed with warmth where the man had squeezed him, and he hadn't retaliated. His so-called Master was sleeping trustingly at his feet, and the air was softened by the low song of the Ivis he despised. "Are you out of your mind? What kind of master sleeps on the floor?" he grumbled to the sleeping Laurius. Or maybe to himself. He eased slowly down on the furniture. Even bowed on his side, his legs hung a good foot past the edge of the cushion. He found himself wondering what it would be like to sleep on the ground next to Laurius. Had he even brought a pillow with him down there? He glanced over the edge of the chaise at the spot where he'd been lying earlier, with the fallen book next to it. The pillow was still there.

An idea came to him. Before he could think it through too much, he rolled over, dislodging the back cushion from the chaise as he did so. He gave it an 'accidental' shove, and it landed squarely on Laurius's face.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius startled, sputtering as he shoved the cushion off his head and down to his chest. He eyed Artisuren a second, the weary gears in his mind trying to determine if he had done it out of kindness or malevolence. After a moment of appraisal, Laurius decided kindness, and tucked the cushion behind his head. "Good night, Arti."

He would remind himself to ask the creature tomorrow what nickname he preferred.

Tenara had settled against Havi. Her tears were dry, her breathing even. She was calm again, and the world felt right. He was blotting out the sounds of the ship for her. Singing this song... for her. She wanted to cry for an entirely different reason now, but she felt all out of tears. Instead, she burrowed closer to him, nuzzled into the warmth of his neck, and murmured barely above a whisper, "Thank you, Havi. My sun." She nodded off a little while later, growing heavy and quiet against him.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi relished her soft words. When her breathing grew even, he ended his song by drifting silent. He was embarrassed, but satisfied that the distraction had actually helped her. Apparently it had helped the others, too, because he didn't hear any signs of waking from Laurius and Artisuren.

A sharp pain in his hand startled him. He managed not to move as he realized the sensation of Stalker's tongue scrubbing over his wounded hand. The animal's coarse licks were far from comfortable, but he turned his hand over for the creature to clean until it was satisfied. "Thanks," he muttered when his hand finally felt stiff, but dry. The two fell asleep with Tenara securely sandwiched between them.

The seas had quieted considerably by the time the morning light began trickling through the cabin's single porthole window. Artisuren woke groggily, a familiar feverishness dulling the back of his brain. "Fuck," he muttered to himself. He needed taming again. Irritation flooded through him. He rolled over and fell, more than climbed, off onto the man sleeping on the floor. Ok, maybe he landed on him slightly harder than he planned. But waking up grumpy and magically dependent on subservience to a total stranger was a new form of torture to him. "Oi," he grumbled, putting too much weight on the man's bladder on purpose. Being yelled at would be easier to handle than trying to make sense of the baffling kindness Laurius dished out the night before. He didn't think his brain could process that this early. "What do you want for breakfast. Master."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius grunted loudly when the weight landed on him. His eyes fluttered open to find Artisuren above him. He rubbed his eyes as the question spilled out of Artisuren. But, despite his exhaustion, his wit was very much awake.

"What do I want?" Laurius asked, a smile on his face as he combed a hand through his curly red hair. He propped himself up on an elbow, bringing himself a little closer to Artisuren's lips. "I know one thing I could have for breakfast," he said, and a hand patted Artisuren between the legs. He gave a wicked grin. "Though, this isn't exactly a private room..."

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren paled. It was becoming clear that he hadn't thought this through. Or he'd forgotten this man was a pervert. He shivered, but pride made him stand his ground over the man. Then his treacherous brain started remembering having each other for "dinner" the night before.

"Both of you, shut up," Havi barked from the bed. Apparently, Thvoros was not much of a morning person today either.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius chuckled and slid out from under Artisuren, rising slowly. He felt along the man's head, brushing fingers over his hair and horns and then resting his palm across his forehead. "Hot already?" He tapped his chin. "Go to the galley and fetch a pot of tea, four mugs, and a tray of pastries." If he had to give him orders, he might as well get breakfast out of it.

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren flushed, retreating off of Laurius. The man's practical contact and reasonable orders settled over him like a just-warm bath. No teasing, no humiliation, no extortion. Just the simple taming needed to maintain his health. Well, the dagger's health. "Yes," he acknowledged the instructions, and let himself out.

Havi grumbled something incoherent and burrowed his face into Tenara's hair.