This was completely uncharted territory. Never before had he maneuvered the mark's immense potential to such ends, and in a state of absolutely no control over himself. Had his mind been in charge, he would have rejected this as folly. As it was, his usual mind lay in tatters with the clothes on the floor, and the creature underneath had no such qualms. To his deepest ego, power was part and parcel of being alive. With that side of him having taken over, the release turned out higher and more potent than when he actively sought to control the reaction. He embraced Eosi tightly as they embarked in that voyage together, his vision going blurry from the sheer intensity of the experience, and for a moment he was convinced that they both might die from it.
Every lance of reward left a gaping hole in his mind while the rest tried desperately to piece itself back together, to no avail. He was distantly aware of Eosi's own shivering, signifying that she was going through a very similar ordeal, but her joy echoed in the middle of his back as if it was his own. It took them a full minute to even begin having rational thoughts again, but his heartbeat did not slow down until several chimes later. He had walked a very fine line there; he had, in fact, risked their sanity. Tomorrow, the thought would hit him in full seriousness, though it would not discourage him from trying again. After all, if it had worked once, it would most likely work again when he was more experienced handling Ivak's gift. The notion of getting addicted touched him briefly. Even if that was the case, they couldn't help it any more than they could help breathing, so the thing was a non-issue from a logical point of view.
He took pleasure in the residual heat of love, enjoying her skin against his as desire turned to perfect ataraxia. Right now he wanted nothing either in this world or the next. Supremely contented, the flame was resting under the ash, alive but in hiding for the time being. An immense exhaustion was making way through his every fiber, the scorching heat replaced by a pleasant fuzziness. He grinned weakly at her supposed protests, happily receiving the kiss from her lips. He straightened himself as best he could, every motion slow and sluggish in his own eyes. Eosi's compliments elicited a smile. "Where do you find all that energy, I wonder?" He planted a kiss on her still warm forehead. "I feel the same way about you. I have tasted of sunlight and now I can never go back to the dark again." He could feel himself dimming little by little, like a star running out of cosmic fuel and collapsing into its core.
His arm wrapped around her back and a leg draped over one of hers, he allowed her to explore him, his skin enjoying every pass of her fingers. Curiously, she was attracted to the most solid-looking and realistic of all his marks. "That one is from Glav," he said absent-mindedly, the grogginess having overcome part of his sharpness. He realized she had none of the context required to make sense of the sentence. "Sylir," he explained, "the new one. Glav is the old Sylir's son, and has now taken his place in the pantheon. He was my mentor throughout the quest for Ivak. I couldn't have done it without him. He ascended alongside three others when we freed Ivak, and all but one of them marked me." He left out Ssena's part, but would explain if Eosi only asked about the disquieting mark. Still, it was a topic best discussed with a fresh mind.
His own fingers were tracing lazy brush strokes along her skin. There was nothing else he would have wanted to do but bury himself in her breasts and sleep, pretending there wasn't a world beyond. One thing did attract his curiosity enough to stir him from his sleepiness. "Where did you learn... you know, how to do... that?" She would know what he was talking about. She had all but crashed his world then, and with such skill that made him doubt he was dealing with just another young, innocent girl from the rural countryside. In a way, it was an excuse to probe deeper. He knew so little of Eosi Barlowe. Who was she really? He wished for a small piece of the puzzle before he consigned himself over to Nysel's realm.
Every lance of reward left a gaping hole in his mind while the rest tried desperately to piece itself back together, to no avail. He was distantly aware of Eosi's own shivering, signifying that she was going through a very similar ordeal, but her joy echoed in the middle of his back as if it was his own. It took them a full minute to even begin having rational thoughts again, but his heartbeat did not slow down until several chimes later. He had walked a very fine line there; he had, in fact, risked their sanity. Tomorrow, the thought would hit him in full seriousness, though it would not discourage him from trying again. After all, if it had worked once, it would most likely work again when he was more experienced handling Ivak's gift. The notion of getting addicted touched him briefly. Even if that was the case, they couldn't help it any more than they could help breathing, so the thing was a non-issue from a logical point of view.
He took pleasure in the residual heat of love, enjoying her skin against his as desire turned to perfect ataraxia. Right now he wanted nothing either in this world or the next. Supremely contented, the flame was resting under the ash, alive but in hiding for the time being. An immense exhaustion was making way through his every fiber, the scorching heat replaced by a pleasant fuzziness. He grinned weakly at her supposed protests, happily receiving the kiss from her lips. He straightened himself as best he could, every motion slow and sluggish in his own eyes. Eosi's compliments elicited a smile. "Where do you find all that energy, I wonder?" He planted a kiss on her still warm forehead. "I feel the same way about you. I have tasted of sunlight and now I can never go back to the dark again." He could feel himself dimming little by little, like a star running out of cosmic fuel and collapsing into its core.
His arm wrapped around her back and a leg draped over one of hers, he allowed her to explore him, his skin enjoying every pass of her fingers. Curiously, she was attracted to the most solid-looking and realistic of all his marks. "That one is from Glav," he said absent-mindedly, the grogginess having overcome part of his sharpness. He realized she had none of the context required to make sense of the sentence. "Sylir," he explained, "the new one. Glav is the old Sylir's son, and has now taken his place in the pantheon. He was my mentor throughout the quest for Ivak. I couldn't have done it without him. He ascended alongside three others when we freed Ivak, and all but one of them marked me." He left out Ssena's part, but would explain if Eosi only asked about the disquieting mark. Still, it was a topic best discussed with a fresh mind.
His own fingers were tracing lazy brush strokes along her skin. There was nothing else he would have wanted to do but bury himself in her breasts and sleep, pretending there wasn't a world beyond. One thing did attract his curiosity enough to stir him from his sleepiness. "Where did you learn... you know, how to do... that?" She would know what he was talking about. She had all but crashed his world then, and with such skill that made him doubt he was dealing with just another young, innocent girl from the rural countryside. In a way, it was an excuse to probe deeper. He knew so little of Eosi Barlowe. Who was she really? He wished for a small piece of the puzzle before he consigned himself over to Nysel's realm.
