For a long moment, Leo existed only as a point in a calm ocean of contentedness. A new feeling to him, one that he’d never believed he could experience, it transcended the purely physical nature of exhaustion to take on a level of spiritual satisfaction. It was a state in which time itself faltered, and it became difficult to tell ‘before’ apart from ‘after’. Philosophically speaking, it made no sense at all; there was just no way a fire could be standing still. There was no freezing a flame out of time, yet it was exactly the way Eosi was making him feel.
He drank from her eyes avidly, relishing the contact of their souls. She could have asked him anything then, and he would have given it to her, no questions asked. She was a world within a world, one where he would always be at home, one in which every port was his safe haven from any storm. He listened, close, as she made her vow to him. No word was ever random with Eosi, and so Leo knew better than to dismiss her statements as just a declaration of love. She truly meant to follow him through a thousand lifetimes, if only the laws of the cosmos would allow it.
”Let them be bound for the rest of time,” he said softly, caressing her face in turn. ”Let them remain so even if we should be separated by that same fate.” There was another part of him that had wanted to tell her, should he die before her, she owed his memory no faithfulness; but that part of him did not speak that day. It remained silent, humbled by Eosi’s utter devotion. He hoped the gods would grant the undying connection she spoke of; he certainly asked for nothing more.
The champion kissed his love with tender passion, and without a doubt carnal desire was already mounting in him once more. It was not to be, however, as Eosi began to stir and rise from their embrace. The separation felt cold and bitter like a blade, prompting him to pout ever so slightly. ”Work?” he murmured, then added: ”Right. That thing they’re paying you for.” It was easy, very easy, to just forget why they were here in the first place; despite having gotten the briefing from her just a few bells earlier, it felt like a veritable eternity. There was some digging involved for the Society, Leo knew, but as bodyguards of sorts the two of them needed to take care of potential predators in the area. Of which there never seemed to be a lack.
He rose with a soft sigh of his own, looking for his clothes - they lay in disarray, some of them far enough from the epicenter of their love that he had to wonder how they’d made it that far. He took a few seconds to stretch, even though his muscles were never cold for obvious reasons. The champion shook his head left and right a few times to get rid of the last remnants of drowsiness in his system and spring himself into action. This would be the very first time they fought together, as a team. Leo found himself licking his lips in anticipation. Some couples enjoyed things like baking or woodcarving as a bonding activity, but they might just find closeness in slightly more… intense endeavors.
Leo listened to Eosi’s report with his stern calm, nodding slightly at the end. He knew better than to underestimate the Sea of Grass and the creatures that nested there. He still remembered the Zith attack on the Sanctuary, how sudden and ferocious it had been. ”Bless our hearts with flame,” he murmured, raising a short prayer to Ivak, ”for the heat that warms us is the heat that scalds them. There is a time for mercy, and it is not now.” He positioned himself a few paces in front of Eosi and in such a way as to shield both horses, the nature and numbers of their opponents dictating their choice of tactics. Even a lesser foe could become very dangerous if allowed to fight on its own terms and initiative - especially an airborne one. This, too, he had learned from the Zith attack.
”I’ll disrupt them so you can pick them off more easily,” he said, noting that their skillsets made him more useful for crowd control in this battle, whereas Eosi could just focus on being deadly. Leo cupped his hands and formed Res, folding some inside a spherical layer of air. The inner Res he only partially turned into fire, which fed upon the air and made it hotter; this in turn caused the sphere to float gently upwards. He directed it like one might a kite, and began to form several more just like it. The sky was the battlefield, and he was placing his traps. Upon command, he would violently Reify the fire inside the sphere, causing it to flare brightly. Nearby creatures would be burned, yes, but more than that… nocturnals would not like the sight of it. Not at all.
He drank from her eyes avidly, relishing the contact of their souls. She could have asked him anything then, and he would have given it to her, no questions asked. She was a world within a world, one where he would always be at home, one in which every port was his safe haven from any storm. He listened, close, as she made her vow to him. No word was ever random with Eosi, and so Leo knew better than to dismiss her statements as just a declaration of love. She truly meant to follow him through a thousand lifetimes, if only the laws of the cosmos would allow it.
”Let them be bound for the rest of time,” he said softly, caressing her face in turn. ”Let them remain so even if we should be separated by that same fate.” There was another part of him that had wanted to tell her, should he die before her, she owed his memory no faithfulness; but that part of him did not speak that day. It remained silent, humbled by Eosi’s utter devotion. He hoped the gods would grant the undying connection she spoke of; he certainly asked for nothing more.
The champion kissed his love with tender passion, and without a doubt carnal desire was already mounting in him once more. It was not to be, however, as Eosi began to stir and rise from their embrace. The separation felt cold and bitter like a blade, prompting him to pout ever so slightly. ”Work?” he murmured, then added: ”Right. That thing they’re paying you for.” It was easy, very easy, to just forget why they were here in the first place; despite having gotten the briefing from her just a few bells earlier, it felt like a veritable eternity. There was some digging involved for the Society, Leo knew, but as bodyguards of sorts the two of them needed to take care of potential predators in the area. Of which there never seemed to be a lack.
He rose with a soft sigh of his own, looking for his clothes - they lay in disarray, some of them far enough from the epicenter of their love that he had to wonder how they’d made it that far. He took a few seconds to stretch, even though his muscles were never cold for obvious reasons. The champion shook his head left and right a few times to get rid of the last remnants of drowsiness in his system and spring himself into action. This would be the very first time they fought together, as a team. Leo found himself licking his lips in anticipation. Some couples enjoyed things like baking or woodcarving as a bonding activity, but they might just find closeness in slightly more… intense endeavors.
Leo listened to Eosi’s report with his stern calm, nodding slightly at the end. He knew better than to underestimate the Sea of Grass and the creatures that nested there. He still remembered the Zith attack on the Sanctuary, how sudden and ferocious it had been. ”Bless our hearts with flame,” he murmured, raising a short prayer to Ivak, ”for the heat that warms us is the heat that scalds them. There is a time for mercy, and it is not now.” He positioned himself a few paces in front of Eosi and in such a way as to shield both horses, the nature and numbers of their opponents dictating their choice of tactics. Even a lesser foe could become very dangerous if allowed to fight on its own terms and initiative - especially an airborne one. This, too, he had learned from the Zith attack.
”I’ll disrupt them so you can pick them off more easily,” he said, noting that their skillsets made him more useful for crowd control in this battle, whereas Eosi could just focus on being deadly. Leo cupped his hands and formed Res, folding some inside a spherical layer of air. The inner Res he only partially turned into fire, which fed upon the air and made it hotter; this in turn caused the sphere to float gently upwards. He directed it like one might a kite, and began to form several more just like it. The sky was the battlefield, and he was placing his traps. Upon command, he would violently Reify the fire inside the sphere, causing it to flare brightly. Nearby creatures would be burned, yes, but more than that… nocturnals would not like the sight of it. Not at all.
