[private] and I never saw you coming

[Altissima]

Spending every night together had been a pleasant but unrealistic dream. They needed to spend some time apart, and Altissima had discovered that saying goodbye had not been an easy feat. Almost every day she thought about going to Loess to find him, even though she had promised she’d be there in the winter. Just to see the hot springs though, she teased him, before moving her lips across his skin. She wondered if and worried that the feeling might fade before she saw him again, worried that if she drifted away and then back to him he’d change his mind about everything he had told her. He’d discover that she wasn’t what he truly wanted or she’d find herself rebelling against the idea of him having her. Because he did. As she roamed Beqanna, as she practiced bending the light, she thought of him almost constantly - catching herself smiling or blushing as she remembered the way it felt to have his silver muzzle brush against her blue-tinted skin. Finally, on an early morning, she decides there’s nothing for it. She wants to go, wants to see him and find out if everything she’s still feeling is still true. This is new to her, after all, and maybe the pain in his leg had messed with his ability to think clearly. That damn leg better be feeling better, she thinks with a grin that keeps her eyes a warm shade of violet as she lands. It’s still early in the day, the light from the sun cool and grey as snow falls lightly around her as she Altissima lands near the springs he had taken her to that first time. She’s so nervous she nearly fumbles the landing but a quick glance tells her she’s arrived first so she relaxes and after only a small hesitation, she slips into the water - biting her tongue against that same sound that rises up at the delightful heat. If she needs to wait, she might as well be comfortable, after all, and her wings disappear from her sides as her eyes close.

image by yoricade

@Tarian

[Tarian]

Tarian had been loath to part with Altissima. He hadn't wanted to but there was still Loess and the duties that awaited him there as its Champion. A few hours of rest and keeping weight off his injured leg had worked as the winged stallion hoped it would and then the young Loessian protege - Cheri - had done the rest, setting the bone that had afflicted him for years.

But it's funny, because as much as he hated to part with Wildling, Tarian never doubted this moment.

She's found his favorite spring - the one he had shown her the night that he had lost their 'bet' - and the silver pegasus thinks she looks right at home in the warm waters. There hadn't been much of an expression on his face before, just the neutral one he wears during each patrol. It keeps most of the Southern residents away from him and Tarian doesn't particularly mind that. Apart from his brief interactions with Lady Oceane or Ashhal or Cheri, the gray holds no real desire to make small talk about the weather or learning the latest gossip.

He's had his fill with the recent diplomatic trips to the newly thriving Pampas and eerie Sylva.

With a night of patrolling behind him, there is no better surprise than finding the light-wielding Altissima taking advantage of what the Southern Kingdom has to offer. She looks so serene that he almost hates to disturb her. But he's even more glad to see her and if she is here, the winged stallion thinks (that perhaps) she might be glad to see him, too.

"Are you trying to get me out of a job, Wildling?" Tarian calls out to her and his voice rings as warm as the day promises to be over the shimmering water that he approaches.

@Altissima

[Altissima]

The warmth of the hot spring water against her skin helps Altissima relax, helps ease away her insecurities and worries. He’ll find her soon, she’s little doubt of that - and if it takes a while, she’s chosen a pleasant spot to wait. The air around her shimmers with light and she’s even forgotten that there is snow falling from the sky. Her expression had already been peaceful, but when Tarian calls out to her her eyes flash open and there is a brilliant smile as she looks at him. No, their time apart had not changed how she felt about him at all and the warmth in his voice is as pleasant as the water she is standing in. “Maybe.” She moves around in the spring, her silver hair trailing along the surface, and she does not break eye contact with him as she continues with a smile. “Then I could have you to myself.” The words are bold and she can feel embarrassment try to take her gaze off of him but she refuses to let it win. She isn’t sure she really means that, and she would never dream of asking him to turn away from his job (just as she believes he would never ask her to stop her Wildling ways forever). But she enjoys teasing both of them with the idea because it is a pleasant one. And then, she pauses her movement and decides he isn’t moving fast enough for her. “Well, are you coming in or not?” The words come out with a bit of an edge as she struggles with that same feeling telling her to flee. The same one that puts her defenses up whenever she asks a question that could be denied. She hopes this will fade in time. Altissima does not want to change herself completely, but she thinks it could be worth trying to temper the worst of her tendencies for Tarian. Especially the ones that want to place distance between them when they've only just begun their reunion.

image by yoricade

@Tarian

[Tarian]

The smile she gives him is far more radiant than the glare of the winter sun or the rainbow sheen from the new-fallen snow.

Tarian is a hot-blooded creature, descended from a line of horses that made a tropical home for generations. Winter is the season that always grates on him most; the days are too short and he has no love for the bitter breezes that blow through Loess. One does now and ruffles his white weathers but the pale stallion draws his wings closer to his sides and pays it little mind.

He has nothing to complain about when Altissima is so near.

With her so close, he forgets about the chill in the air and the lack of sleep he's had the last few nights (from thoughts about Obscene and Sabra, worries that extend from Lady Oceane to young Cheri and always end back on Wildling when he finally drifts off to sleep). It's easy to forget about everything else when Altissima looks so at ease among the springs, like she has always been here. That she is always over the hill or just around the bend, always someplace near where Tarian might find her.

Her bold words are invitation enough and the winged horse makes his way down the bank, an easy stride that makes him appear like he could be floating rather than walking.

(Though he has seen almost two decades, there is something about Altissima that always makes him feel young. Like the carefree youth he never was. Tarian loosens his wings and drags them against the warmth of the steaming pool he wades through, taking an equally brazen stride to match Wildling's tone. They cut through the glass-like surface of the water and then the gray stallion slows just enough to smile at her with a boyish grin. The wing nearest to her extends with playful push and sends a small wave towards the blue-tinted mare. Just a small wake that he hopes might push the worried edge out of her guarded voice.)

Still smiling, he reaches out to her white chest in hopes to trace the lovely curve of muscle there.

"And what would you do?" Tarian asks huskily, becoming distracted by their proximity. His dark maw goes to graze against her captivating skin and the pegasus murmurs low: "If you had me all to yourself?"

@Altissima <3

[Altissima]

Relief eases through her when Tarian moves into the water, her bright violet eyes unable to focus on just one part of him. The way the wind plays with his feathers and the strands of his hair, the muscles that move beneath his coat, the way he makes brazen strides towards her and she sees no hesitation at all and then extends a wing to send a small wave towards her. She laughs softly, noticeably relaxing, and his touch eases away what little of the doubt might have remained. She almost doesn’t hear his questions, so distracted from the brush of his mouth against her blue-tinted skin and the way it makes her sigh. So it takes her a moment to clear her head enough to respond. Fortunately, she does not need a particularly clear head for this. “It’d look a lot like this, I think.” She says as she brushes her own muzzle against his skin, greeting him properly. Altissima had thought of a dozen things to say first when she saw him again - mostly to give him the chance to vent about whatever nonsense a Champion has to deal with if he’d like an ear that doesn’t care or know anything at all. But her focus isn’t anywhere except this hot spring and the rest of the world might as well not even exist. “I’ve been brainstorming ways to make you blush, you know.” A small way to admit that even though they were apart, her mind had been on him. Nearly constantly. Enough that it made her wonder whether she should have come to Loess even before winter began, but those what ifs can’t find traction in her mind right now.  “Would you like to see what I’ve come up with?”

image by yoricade

@Tarian

[Tarian]

He loves the way that she relaxes against him, loves it in a way that he has never loved anything else before.

Hearing her sigh makes the tension that had been coiling in his gut smooth out and it feeds a surge of adrenaline that floods every corner of his body. She brushes her muzzle against his gray skin and every inch that Altissima touches sings in response. She chases away his aching muscles, his lack of sleep with a mere touch - a magical caress that Tarian thinks every Magician in Beqanna should envy.

Tarian contents himself with running his dark mouth over the lovely arc of her neck, playing with the fine silk of her pale mane before he replies: "Well, there's a family of dingoes that lives over there." His head inclines distractedly to the gently rolling hills on one side of them. Then his dark lips quirk in a wicked smile when it returns to lightly graze against Altissima's skin, "and don't get me started on the koalas."

It is all nonsense; Tarian enjoys teasing her but not as much as he enjoys having her close.

When Wildling explains that she has been dreaming of ways to make him blush, he (very badly) wants to tell her that he has been thinking of much more than making her blush. But where it concerns Altissima, the pegasus knows he will always be a willing participant. (Though he wonders if she had been paying attention to the tales of his youth. Tarian had never blushed but as a boy, conversations with the opposite sex had often left him flustered and taught him early that he much preferred the sparring field than the 'banter' his peers called flirting).

"Certainly," Tarian hoarsely tells her and then realizes the thundering in his head. It had nothing to do with the way that he moved closer to her or lifted the wing nearest her so that it might pull her close. It hadn't been the splashing steps he had taken to approach her or the way that the warm water rippled around their movements. It was his heart, Tarian realized, and though he had felt it plenty of times - hammering like a war drum before battle, soaring at the highest pinnacles that his wings have ever taken him - never before had it beat like this.

@Altissima

[Altissima]

Though she rolls her eyes at his teasing, mentioning the animals that are around, she’s far too distracted by his touch to respond at the moment. She doubts koalas or dingos are going to bother them right now, as the cool snow, warm water, and presence of Tarian all work together to send delightful sensations across her skin. The hoarseness of Tarian’s voice feels like a victory already and there’s a glint in her violet eyes. She doesn’t let him sweep her under his wing but she takes advantage of when he lifts it to brush her muzzle against the spot where feathers meet shoulder, knowing how sensitive this spot is for her when she wears her wings and she traces the muscled frame - encouraging him to keep it stretched as she runs feather after feather through her lips, causing gentle waves in the spring as she moves. She has no idea what she’s doing and she still feels it yet again, that tug to leave rather than make a fool of herself. Altissima may have a daughter but she has never done this before, this mix of sweet and intoxicating touches that tries to turn all thoughts, even her fear, into hazy things. Still, there is a moment where she pauses, lifting her pale blue muzzle away from him - her eyes shifting through a myriad of colours before she tries to settle that fearful part of her, not letting it have the control over her actions that it wants. Some things are worth the risk, isn't that what she's been telling herself? She assumes Tarian notices the small break but hopes to distract him from commenting on it as she resumes. Altissima’s heart is racing as she touches him, explores him, forgetting to keep an eye on his reaction - forgetting the excuse she had made and simply enjoying the twitch of his muscles under her mouth. She shifts her attention from his wing to his neck until she brushes it softly against an ear as she says in a low voice “I see your leg’s feeling better. Though testing it in here might lead to more injuries.”

image by yoricade

@Tarian

[Tarian]

He catches the sparkling glint in her violet eyes and it strikes something in his blue ones. His dark gaze darkens and while Tarian had always carefully managed his expressions around others, there is no denying the desire that she will see burning there. It smolders and he keeps it on Altissima as she moves to touch the skin where his wings meet his broad shoulders.

Tarian closes his eyes while he stretches his wing up, letting the contact she makes with his skin sear to his very core.

The world around them is filled with sensations. There is the warmth of the water below them, the crisp winter air surrounding them. Tarian doesn't feel the light flakes of snow that come to rest on his pale hide and then melt. His only awareness is on her - on Wildling - and how Altissima in the flesh is far more than he could ever dream or even fathom.

His eyes are still closed so Tarian doesn't see the shift of colors in her eyes. He notices that she has paused but says nothing.

This would always be her choice; Altissima could decide that she preferred the wilds to his company and he wouldn't begrudge her that (though anyone who might would have him to contend with). But she resumes touching him and Tarian comes alive beneath her touch. It moves from the base of his wing and goes up, up, up - a soaring touch that is befitting them as creatures of the sky. Feeling her breath blowing gently past his silver ear causes a sound to emit from the back of his throat, one Tarian tries to cover with a short, groaning laugh. "Magic," he murmurs back to her, opening a blue eye and tilting it to peer down at her.

(It was the truth. The injured leg had been set by Loess' young heiress, Cheri, with her healing abilities.)

"Good as new," he continues and then unable to resist her so close, Tarian moves to touch her while drawing his wing back against him. Moves near enough to so that she might feel the tremor of his voice as it reverberated across the lovely blue sheen of her coat. "Perhaps all the more reason to test it out here," the pegasus murmurs against her, wanting her as he has never wanted anyone else.

@Altissima

[Altissima]

She hadn’t known these feelings even existed before him, the particular brand of delight caused by seeing desire in someone's eyes when they look at her or feeling someone else’s voice against her skin. Altissima doesn’t think it would matter much what he was saying, though a grin is easy to coax from her at the words he does share - and how easy it is to tease him about them. Her touch is whisper-soft in response, a gentle tug on his mane punctuating her first sentence. “Hmmm I don’t know, you should probably take it easy. I’m not convinced you can handle it.” She says as she searches for the spot where her breath caused that delightful reaction from him once again before she takes a purposeful step backwards. That single step goes against everything singing inside of her right now, though her violet gaze is fixed on him. All she wants is to crash back into him, to spend the rest of this day and many more to come with as much time spent with their skin in contact with one another as possible. But she also isn’t sure she wants him to feel the trembling in her legs, or for him to know how nervous she feels because of him. It is the good kind of nervousness, she knows - the jump-off-the-cliff nerves that make her heart sing before she flares her wings out to catch herself. She’d thought that they would go away after those first few days but they are here still, reminding her that this is the first time she has ever wanted someone like this. It is still so new, such a strange mix of alarming and exciting, so she finds some familiar ground in this new terrain by teasing him, the words tumbling from her even before her weight has settled from that single step. Altissima wonders if he’ll even be able to hear her voice over the thunder of her heart. “Maybe I should stay over here, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for leaving Loess without a working champion. That’d hardly endear me to the kingdom I plan on spending all winter within.” She’s rambling now, she becomes aware of it too slowly to stop herself but her smile is still burning bright while her wild eyes roam his body. Already thinking that though she enjoys teasing him, she’s not going to keep this space between them for very long even if he doesn't move.

image by yoricade

@Tarian

[Tarian]

"Is that a challenge, Wildling?" Tarian rumbles pleasantly back to Altissima, drawing warmth from the hot spring they were in and feeling each charged touch placed between them like an approaching summer storm. It's intoxicating to Tarian and each time his dark lips meet her skin, he is already dreading pulling them away. He doesn't want to. And as the pale woman presses herself into him, Tarian knows he would fight a thousand battles if it meant winning her affection. The silver pegasus knows that the moment her maw grazes against the base of his wing that there isn't anything that Tarian wouldn't do for her.

It is an equally thrilling and terrifying revelation.

His lips linger at the base of her lovely sloping withers and his teeth tentatively grab a few strands of her white mane. Tarian gives a tug - hard enough that she would feel it - when the coquettish creature takes a graceful step away from him. A physical protest of the space that Wildling had just put between them. He snorts softly and lowers his head, watching the spotted mare over the top of the water with burning eyes.

Tarian waits a moment but he has never been a particularly patient man.
Having Altssima like this so close makes him even less so.

He takes that step towards her, reaching for Wildling. His mouth hopes to lightly skim across her blue-tinted coat and it rises, hoping that she can feel the reverence in his touch. There isn't a demand in it but rather an unspoken epiphany, something that could shock them both to their cores (the stalwart Champion and the fearless Wanderer). It could make a hypocrite out of Tarian, who had promised himself only to Loess. "Don't you know?" he murmurs against her, finally speaking the truth out loud. "You've already rendered me absolutely useless."

@Altissima