#✝︎ . ⌜ ic ⌟ . 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬.

[cldhrbour]

" i didn't want you to think i was one of those [ ... ] you know , the women who just sit in their castle all day ?? i don't know. coming from a place like this , well [ ... ] it's not really me. i hope you can believe that. " - @bendwill liked for a starter

[cldhrbour]

"are you perhaps feeling...peckish? a can hardly allow you to waste in hunger." ah. gale's a point, of course, but to offer so readily... his voice falters. - @recitedemise

head lifts. even in the dark of the tent , made worse by the shadow lands gloam , he'd see the unnatural shimmer of her eyes. scents of ginger and spice still linger within the threads of his clothes , memories of the meal the rest of them had eaten. except for the undead pair. there have been few and far between things to reliably feast upon. especially for the elder. never would bovine or rat sustain her enough , not like astarion. if the wizard were paying attention ── and she assumes , due to this comment , and nothing else !! , he certainly has ── her skin and hair have lost luster. " oh you say that to EVERYONE before dinner. . . " the smile on her lips coy , the light that bounces off of the small pond they were near glints the tip of fangs.

she should not be looking a gift wizard in the mouth.

" only if you're aware of the erm. . . side effects. " folded legs open , a pale hand reaching out to take his. " it won't be only fatigue that our beautiful cleric can wash away. " when he hands himself over , she's gentle but firm in guiding him. in bringing him in so that he can lean his back against her chest. all in an effort for his comfort , despite it's admittedly intimate form. serana's chin now perched just above his left shoulder. hands so polite rest on his arms ( gods they want to roam. to caress. to thread through hair and─── ) in a form of reassurance. of support. she'd make no move unless he gave his say. " we'd. . . be bonded. you and i. " his blood flowing in her veins. animating her.

[cldhrbour]

" we've got enough to worry about right now. you stay focused , and i'll worry about me. " - @satellitewar liked for a starter ; din !

[cldhrbour]

" actually , now that i think of it [ ... ] i'm going to come along with you. i've been really wanting to get out and explore a bit. " - @vulpesse liked for a starter

[cldhrbour]

❝ don’t even think about it. ❞

glass eyes reflected in the full moonlight blink. silence. the pair locked in an ephemeral staring contest. she hadn't intended on the unsaid. promise. yes she had carefully began to stand once it seemed like the two dragonborns were asleep. and yes , she'd started sneaking around the camp - feet bare , armor off - so to the bare eyes it may have looked rather [ ... ] SUSPICIOUS. serana can hardly fault the caustic tone in which the other ancient nord had just spoken to her. still. it's hard not to feel rather accosted at the accusation. " a bear smells much more appealing than [ ... ] whatever you're poisoned with now. i wouldn't get ahead of yourself. " porcelain hand waves , as if dismissing @bendwill and his incriminating words. " now if you don't mind , i'll go back to taking care of the bandits circling the camp and my hunger in one fell swoop. "

[cldhrbour]

" my mother had a bit of a thing for magical constructs. not [ ... ] NOT what you're thinking. she just found them fascinating. " - @recitedemise liked for a starter

[cldhrbour]

" you'd figure a couple hundred years locked away with one would have given me some insights , but no. turns out you don't learn much from just sleeping with something. " - @tidesfate liked for a starter

[cldhrbour]

" it's not that simple. i guess it never is with families , is it ?? what about you ?? what were your parents like ?? " - @satellitewar liked for a starter ; hypatia !

[cldhrbour]

" i can't think of any reason i'd want to lose my gift. especially after what i did to get it. it may have driven my family apart , but i'm still here , and i'm alive. i won't give this up. " - @maidmyth liked for a starter

[cldhrbour]

" if you think I'm going to let you have all the fun , you're crazy. i'll let you lead ahead , but i'll be keeping an eye on you. " - @lamourstre liked for a starter

[cldhrbour]

" oh , wonderful. a war of succession. good to know the world didn't get BORING while i was gone. " - @abysswarden liked for a starter

[cldhrbour]

" you're getting blood on the carpet. " - @dustwife

oh. well. looking up from the floor , serana breaks from her meal. surprised. and a little amused. the few times she's been caught in this rather private and compromised position , it was something more akin to screams of horror or gasps of shock. followed by a chase. some influencing to forget what they saw. in truth , it was a whole ordeal. one she was , frankly , glad she wouldn't have to repeat this time around. that thrill of chase had been quelled over the past few centuries.

" apologies. . . " is muttered after a dramatic swallow of her meal , finally looking at the supposed mess she was creating. not particularly large , this one , but there was certainly a small pool forming. with care , she lifts the body with ease , bringing it first to a part of the floor where there wasn't carpeting , where the cleanup would be easier , then returns to assess with a better eye. wiping the corner of her mouth in the meantime. " if you find someone to clean it , i can pay the price. " there's a particular nonchalance to her tone. as if she knew it'd be an easy fix through years of practice. of making the same mistake before.

[cldhrbour]

“ I could not be caged. ” // I’m going TO CRY - @mortange

no. no he couldn't , could he ?? there's so much of armand that serana had come to admire , but most specifically it had been this. a rather indomitable will. whenever he'd been kind enough to indulge her curiosity , provided the quid to her pro quo , she'd found herself rather ENRAPTURED to his every word. whether she agreed with the paths he'd narrate that he'd take , the journeys he'd recount [ ... ] was inconsequential. who sat next to her now , fingers wrapped around his own glass of crimson , amber eyes locked onto the fireplace before them that crackled brilliantly , punctuating moments of silence as they spoke ;; this man , unfettered by inexorable chains that wished to wrap about his ankles , she quite liked.

" can not , not could , " she politely corrects. wine glass lifts to her lips , her own eyes , like his , fixed on the MESMERIZING dance of small inferno she'd started when he'd arrived. only when she feels that he's looked over to her does she return in kind. a warm smile lifting nacreous-skinned features. " what ?? you've grown only stronger with age , wouldn't you say ?? i can't see a world in which someone could contain you. "

[cldhrbour]

[ 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 ] : sender takes a hold of receiver's both hands. - @recitedemise

the elevator SHUDDERS to a halt. gates opening with a screech. the only sounds that broke an otherwise agonizingly quiet ride from grymforge to. . . well wherever the hells this was taking them. their friends begin to file out of the small space , and as serana begins to follow suit she feels a hand reach out and clasp to her own. keeping her from moving. a silent beg. please. talk to me. i did it for you. i only ever did all of this for you. and when she looks back , those eyes like fire gazing into warm pools ( they remind her of chocolate or more appropriately the polished wood of a walnut bookcase lit in ambient firelight ) for the first time in a couple days her resolve cracks. just enough. just enough for him to pull her in ; he waves the party to keep going , that they'd catch up , and he keeps her here by encompassing pale fingers within his own.

she refuses to look down at them , no she's holding his gaze. because all it is , is proof. veins black with tar. tips of his fingers darkened and she knows it's only worsened over the hours. ( a battle with some spawn sent by harkon had ensued on the way here and she watched him so closely. would purposefully cast before he could. still without a word spoken to him. ) he'd notice by bringing her close that there was a significant change in temperature. he'd see , even in the dark that now surrounded them as they neared the shadowed lands , the pale stone sitting pretty in the gentle dip between her collar bones. THIS. CURSED. THING.

you've battled with yourself these past few days. you've wanted to RIP IT OFF and throw it into the molten fires of the forge because maybe , by the blood just maybe the fates would be kind enough to pull the weave from between it's melting molecules and give it back. drip a few measly droplets back into his well. but you can't , can you ?? because if that doesn't work you've wasted what he's given up and you could never do that because you ───

he sings songs of apologies. waxes on about how lonely the past couple of nights were without her there. they're pretty words. if he were a bard , they'd tug sweetly at her heartstrings. " gale , please. . . " how could he not understand ?? this isn't what she wanted. as gracious as the gesture was , as they all had been , if she'd known the cost she'd never ─── " it was never about what it was. . . gale. it was about what it meant. maybe to you it was a kind gift to a friend ─── " something done to show how much you care about someone , how much you listen. " ─── but to me. . . now all i can think of is the LOSS tied to it. "

a hand pulls from his grip , gently and delicately , reaches up to cup the cheek of her sallow-skinned wizard. he's fading , there's hardly any light behind his eyes anymore and your heart so full wails inside. " i don't want . . . gods gale i would have NEVER asked for a trinket to keep me warm , nor a spell to see myself again , nor any other moment you've given me if i knew it was at the cost of you. it's a price i'd never pay. " and you took that choice from me. ever since the night. that one. where they traded the most delicate ice lace. when her hands pressed the dirts of coldharbour into his. it wasn't about the magic. it never was. no , this was about two souls lonely and desperate for someone to understand. two people who only knew value of what others wanted from them. two wielders of magic , no matter its source , just sharing a moment together. falling.

silence again. they hold to each other , fingers grasping tightly. ( she'd press kisses to each one if she could , how she was desperate to take the pain away. to give him back that which he holds most dear. ) here she feels a moment in the space between them , a flicker as if the weave were finally giving out. her forehead presses against his , thumb running along the dark shadows beneath his eye , trailing down the delicate lines and she wonders if she'll ever see them grow brilliantly purple again. lips whispers away from each other. his name echoes around them. breaking the tension. like the snap of a piano wire. were they to take a couple steps and peer out of the elevator they'd see their friends. and in the dark , in between the small semi-circle the group had made ─────

───── there stood a rather elderly man giving the most gentle wave.

[cldhrbour]

[ 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 ] : sender is asking if they can touch receiver sexually. - @wolfbrawn

heavy breaths fill farkas's room. gentle kisses a percussion that breaks soft moans. perched in his lap , the wolf's face is cradled by pale , cool hands. it'd been best. leaving the party behind. there was no need to heavily pet each other in front of the others , despite the shadows they'd kept to. and her wolf was hungry tonight. she could tell. maybe she was a little bit too. RAVENOUS. clothes had been discarded in an attempt to get as close to each other as they could. it wasn't working. it wasn't enough. days and weeks and months had passed , yet their appetite was growing and growing.

how polite he'd been. temptation digging its teeth in. every once in a while she'd feel him. the way his hands , on her thighs and the round of her buttocks , would twitch. would grip just a little harder. keeping them from wandering without her say. press her in to him as her hips would roll. by the gods he was addictive. blood of fire and freedom , of wind in his hair and adrenaline. he'd been so patient with her. up until now they'd steal themselves away with promises of laced kisses and whispered words. in some moments delicate and soft. in others , esurient as if nothing would satiate until they had every molecule of each other. always ending before they completely consumed the other. even on the roads by themselves. nothing but heated kisses. skin against skin. up until now it'd been enough. something about tonight , she needed more. more of him. to give more of herself. she feels the way his hand skates up. nestles right at the crease of her hip and grips into the plush , soft skin with a soft 'please'. whimpered in the same way she's heard so often before. and denied.

no longer.

reaching between their bodies , serana takes his hand and instead of leading it politely back to where it had been , she brings it to waters uncharted. " yes. i want to feel you tonight. . . i need to. " calloused fingers that knew battle and rage are pressed into the sweet apex of her thighs. she sings for him. the softest sigh , prettier than anything she's moaned against him before. honey dripping. where before the rolling of her hips was lazy and unguided , the moment his thumb circles around her clit she finds her purpose. " that's it. . . " she groans. head dipping back. he takes the opportunity. lips wrapping around exposed skin , teeth digging in. of course he elicits another rippling moan. he's found his too. the feast could begin. her claws grip to his hair , letting him lead the pace as she rides his fingers.

[cldhrbour]

❛  we'll just have to make do.  ❜ // bg3 verse? making camp somewhere sucky maybe like the bog around ethel's house or smth nsdjfks ALSO HI HELLO <3 - @maremortus

she'd how unfortunate some places above ground could be. the red hats were the furthest thing from what she'd had envisioned as her first meal after waking even after all these years , their blood kept the rather sour taste you'd get from rotting milk. yes , valora was right. they'd have to make do. the outskirts of the swamp were better. there was a freshness amidst the suffocating dank as if the sea were doing it's best to penetrate through the evil of the hag.

blood was blood. any and all kinds will do the same thing. what had stalked in the night a sallow-skinned corpse , encased in shriveled flesh and lackluster hair , came back with plump cheeks and filled out form , eternally sealed in the summer of her years.

little did she realize that the problems had only just begun. as everyone was beginning to set up camp , it dawned on her that she'd have nowhere to rest. sleeping tonight would be out of the question all things considered , yet it still meant there was no tent , no set of blankets to call her own space. the same thought must've hit valora as well , because as serana cast her eyes up to the shimmering stars for the first time in eons , she feels a set of fingers brush on her shoulder [ ... ] tentative as if not wanting to interrupt her moment. the other hand sweeping to what serana assumed was valora's own tent. two bedrolls set at a respectable distance. we'll just have to make do ringing out again. there's a tight nod of acknowledgement , eyelids sliding closed in thanks as her chin dips down. " you're too kind , thank you , but i think i've had enough sleep for a while. i'll keep watch while you lot rest , hm ?? a chance to prove you can trust me. "