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destinyfell2016-07-18 12:16 am
meteorrains) wrote in destinyfell2016-07-18 12:16 am
» Action Four | Cloud And Tifa «
[It seemed as if the world was spinning impossibly fast, twirling rapidly around it's axis in such a way that made time seem to move much quicker than average. Somehow, without truly realizing it as he had lived it, the entirely day had passed within the blink of an eye. Party after party, all which absolutely required his attendance. Each with a multitude of people who had not seen in years, all welcoming him home, all congratulating him on leading their army to victory. All praising him for managing to make it through a nasty war which had claimed many lives unscathed.
Learning that he was being gifted his own household located in the city as a present from his father had come just as dinner was about to begin, everyone raising a glass and cheering as the news was announced. He had nodded in acceptance, had thanked his father profusely for this grace and generosity, had listened to endless speeches of how lucky he was to have such a noble and wealthy family.
All he wanted in the entire world was a soft place to lay his head, to sleep knowing that peace had fallen over the land, that despite the previous years of suffering, he was finally safe.
Slipping his shoes off, he placed them upon the mat directly inside the door, closing it behind him and moving further into the house his father had chosen. It was well decorated, tasteful and bright, perfect for someone who would soon be searching for a wife. His chamber was easy enough to locate, the door slide back into place carefully. Each garment was peeled from his body slowly, until nothing the pants remained. Something cracked along his spine as he moved, muscled sore and stiff and for once, he wished he had stayed at his fathers estate. At least there he would be able to take a warm bath, or have one of his fathers servants message the area for him.
Sighing softly, he lifted a hand to rub gently at his neck, stretching slightly, before resuming the motion, trying to ease away the ache.]
Learning that he was being gifted his own household located in the city as a present from his father had come just as dinner was about to begin, everyone raising a glass and cheering as the news was announced. He had nodded in acceptance, had thanked his father profusely for this grace and generosity, had listened to endless speeches of how lucky he was to have such a noble and wealthy family.
All he wanted in the entire world was a soft place to lay his head, to sleep knowing that peace had fallen over the land, that despite the previous years of suffering, he was finally safe.
Slipping his shoes off, he placed them upon the mat directly inside the door, closing it behind him and moving further into the house his father had chosen. It was well decorated, tasteful and bright, perfect for someone who would soon be searching for a wife. His chamber was easy enough to locate, the door slide back into place carefully. Each garment was peeled from his body slowly, until nothing the pants remained. Something cracked along his spine as he moved, muscled sore and stiff and for once, he wished he had stayed at his fathers estate. At least there he would be able to take a warm bath, or have one of his fathers servants message the area for him.
Sighing softly, he lifted a hand to rub gently at his neck, stretching slightly, before resuming the motion, trying to ease away the ache.]
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So her eyes were still a little young and warm and without covers when she lifted them to him and smiled at his request, somewhere between a little innocently playful and a little softly seductive.]
Please.
[She offered it back to him and then turned, head bowing a little to expose the back of her neck to him. Her hair was already up in its elaborate coiffure and so there was only the slender column of her throat and a few small wisps of stray hair, dark against that snow pale. The way she turned but her easily in the circle of his arms if he stretched them out and her dark lashes rested on her pale cheeks, waiting. Tonight she had been everything that had been required of her, worn dozens of faces for dozens of people and now, tired and satisfied, there was very little mask left to her. Just - her. And the quiet, pleased, content peace of both a job well done - and a gift given from the heart from someone she cared deeply for.]
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Was it meant to be like this? Was there meant to be this electric spark that flowed more intensely with each moment that passed? Was his heart supposed to be pounding within his chest while thousands of butterflies danced about his stomach?
Nimble fingers carefully undid the clasp, closing the short distance between them, front almost flush against her back. Taking a deep inwards breathe and holding onto it, he laid the pendant upon her collar bone, dragging it back to secure the chain, fingers brushing against bare skin for a moment too long before retreating. It looked as beautiful against the paleness of it as he had imagined.
Nothing would ever come of this moment. Nothing ever could. There were certain lines that were not to be crossed, certain boundaries that had to be respected.
But here, in the dark of night, it was easy to forget exactly what they were.]
It looks beautiful on you.
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It was a dangerous thing, for a geisha to love one of the few Great Lords.
The play writes wrote beautiful, aching tragedies about that kind of thing that always ended with falling snow.
His fingers brushed her skin, the dark note to the light stroke of the necklace across her collarbones, juxtaposition.
And despite herself, her lips smiled for him, wished a formless secret, something quiet and subtle and tugged at the edges of bitter cherry and snow.
She did not try to move away from him. Did not lift her eyes or open them. She intentionally stayed in the shadow of his warmth. One hand did come up, pale long fingers, to rest over the new weight at her throat. Warmed by the touch of his hand and her skin.]
It is a beautiful gift, danna. [Subtle and lingering in the night, intimacy in the shadows at the end of a long day. Her fingertips stayed on the charm against her throat. Read what was there in his gift.] You did not chose it lightly.
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But all those who remained knew their place, knew what benefits would come from their loyalty and closed mouths. And so this pocket of peace and calm would remain between only them, like a secret that would be buried deep once it had passed.
It was a dangerous thing, for a lord to fall in love with a geisha. For a lord to fall in love with anyone at all was dangerous. Those who you loved were weapons who could be used against you.]
It seems I am not the only one who's been paying attention. [Voice a mere whisper, akin to a soft caress pressed close against her ear, meant entirely for her.] Dragons are cunning and intelligent, powerful and strong. It is a blessing to be within their presence. And they will devour anything which stands in their way.
[Upon each of the swords he had carried into battle was the image of a dragon, the same in which appeared upon the crest which bore his name., conjuring fear, respect and pride.
One dragon was an immovable, unshakable force. Finding another was as if a hurricane had run headlong into a volcano.]
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Heady.
Life was fleeting, each moment balanced precariously, butterfly wing and sword strokes. This one would never come again. Surely she was allowed to dip her fingers into this stream, at this moment, just for this breath.]
Being devoured by something created by storms and fire does not sounds so unpleasant.
[Her eyes opened and she looked at him from the corners of them, through her lashes and her eyes were very, very dark. One long pale finger stroked the dragon at her throat and then its twin.] But you have given me two dragons tonight, my lord. I am not afraid of devouring.
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It sounded like something you could fall into so easily, could become lost inside of, could get drug so deep and so far from shore that there was no hope of ever returning. All concentrated within the dark, swirling depths of her eyes, barely visible with the given angle, but one did not have to see temptation to feel it's effects.
You always desired what you couldn't have.]
Then we will devour everything. [Thunder and lightning intensity wrapped into five singular words formed into a promise, one that would shape the future of the path they currently walked.
Destiny chose direction, forced you into an unstoppable flow of time. For so long, he'd thought that his was to be a great warrior, to be remembered for the lives he had saved and the battles he had won. But if that was to be nothing more than the beginning of his story, if he was to be a lord, great and powerful and humble, then he was going to take it on with the same with fierce passion with which he fought.
Change didn't come from the battles fought upon the field. It came from battles fought and won between men who had little idea of what was war actually was.]
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She had not thought - when she had given her contract to his father, so that she could serve his son...
She had not thought that it would lead to drums in her bloodstream. That it would lead to the exquisite pleasure of the torture that was the lack of his touch. Her head bent a little more, pale white, vulnerable, tempting, and her head turned a bit more, watching him over her shoulder from the edges of her eyes.
We will take the world...
She could shiver with that too, though she was too controlled. He was a Lord. One of the highest in the realm when his father seceded to him. But he was more than that. He was the StormCloud, the Wolf, the Dragon, the House of Strife, the Warlord of Nibelheim. And he was Cloud, the man she had chosen as her danna because she had known that he would need her. And because she had known that his was one of the Great Destinies. Because he did not break, no matter what fell on him, and he did not turn aside when he had made up his mind. She had seen it as children, she had heard the stories as a teenager. She saw it and heard it now in the man that breathed fire across her skin without a touch.
We he said. We. And he gave her two dragons. Twins meant to twist around each other until the owned the sky itself. Perhaps she should have feared that. She did not know that she, low-born and forgotten, had ever been born for a destiny that had lead beyond the dirt of her village. But that girl had died in the fire and what had been dragged out had been something other. Something that, perhaps, if she stayed clever enough and brave enough and strong enough, could be the dragon match to a Lord that had the determination and impetus to remake their world.
And there were so many things that cried to be remade. So many that could shelter under a shadow as great as a dragon's.
Would she be his shadow? His second dragon to match his own? Could she? Her callused fingertip stroked the second dragon again. Felt its beat in the hollow of her throat. Felt the fire from her danna across her skin even though he didn't touch her. Could she?]
Yes. [Her eyes flicked up to meet his fully. Making her pact, binding her destiny irrevocably to his in that moment.] Everything.