Homecomings [MadEmperor] [M]

DragonSong · February 10, 2023, 08:06:18 AM

"I--"

She looked up at him, panic clear in her face. "I can't--"

He won't let you fall.

She closed her eyes, took a breath, then used every ounce of strength she had to yank herself up as far as she could before she released the ledge with one hand and grabbed for his. For a single, heart-stopping moment her fingers just barely brushed his and she started to fall back with a terrified yelp.

She flailed, caught his hand, and held on for dear life.

MadEmperor · February 10, 2023, 08:29:29 AM

In the brief moment that she flailed to grab his hand, he felt his heart sink. When she finally caught his hand, he breathed a tentative sigh of relief. They weren't safe yet, though.

"I'm going to swing you up onto the ledge! Get ready to let go when I tell you!" He used his draconic strength to swing her back and forth, then swung her upward with a groan of tremendous effort. "Now!"

DragonSong · February 10, 2023, 08:37:45 AM

She nodded to show she understood, then allowed him to swing her weight to gain momentum before letting go on his cue.

It was a near thing, but she made it onto the ledge. She gave a sobbing gasp of relief as she braced herself on her hands and knees and just crouched there, trembling. Then her brain seemed to catch up with what had happened and she tried to shift back to give him more room on the stable section of the ledge, though she was still panting lightly.

MadEmperor · February 10, 2023, 09:08:33 AM

He climbed over the ledge and gently dropped down to it. He took a moment to recover, breathing heavily from the exertion. That had been way too close.

His heart was still pounding as he embraced her, trembling with relief. "I was afraid I'd lost you."

DragonSong · February 10, 2023, 09:16:30 AM

The moment his arms went around her she burrowed into his chest, whimpering quietly. She'd been in some close scrapes before, but that was...way, way too close. Normally her battles were against something she could actually fight, not fucking gravity.

"I'm here," she mumbled, though her breathing was still a little ragged. "I'm here. I'm okay. We're okay..." She sighed and tucked her head up under his chin. "Thank you."

MadEmperor · February 10, 2023, 09:37:47 AM

Kahroan didn't want to ever let go again. He knew that he'd have to, but for the moment he held on to the illusion that he could. He gently rubbed her upper arm to ease her trembling, or was it he that was trembling?

"I couldn't have lived with myself if I didn't do everything in my power to reach you." He exhaled slowly. "But we aren't safe yet. This storm is picking up strength fast. We need to find some kind of shelter before you freeze."

DragonSong · February 10, 2023, 09:46:43 AM

River nodded, though she didn't seem anymore inclined to let go than he was. She knew he was right though, and lifted her head to take stock of where they'd ended up.

Well. On the--if possible--positive side, they had made it across the treacherous terrain of the rockslide. The proper path was visible just around a slight curve in the ledge. She indicated it with a slight jerk of her head.

"If--If my memory's right, there should be a cave system that lets out not too much further along. It's not the best shelter, but it'll get us out of the wind."

She steeled herself with a breath, then forced herself to stand, though she quickly reached down to take Kahroan's hand and linked their fingers together.

MadEmperor · February 10, 2023, 10:09:58 AM

The storm quickly strengthened as they walked onward. Visibility diminished rapidly, and the two were forced to feel their way along until, finally, the dark mouth of a cave materialized from the wall of white that surrounded them. The dragonman pulled her inside and away from the biting wind.

The cave was deep enough to provide sufficient shelter while also being tall enough to allow for a fire without suffocating from the smoke. Remnants of a fire in the back of the cave showed that others had had the same idea before them. That just left the matter of what to burn.

DragonSong · February 10, 2023, 10:35:08 AM

Resilient as she was to the cold in comparison to most, River was still shivering quite badly by the time they made it into the cave--though whether that was solely due to the cold or a mix of that and leftover fear was unclear.

"We've got s-some rations we can use as k-kindling," she offered through chattering teeth. "We sh-sh-should be far enough into pack t-territory that we won't need to worry about s-saving food..."

It wasn't ideal--if another rockslide happened, or some other unforeseen obstacle, they would be down a day or more's worth of food. But they didn't seem to have many options.

MadEmperor · February 10, 2023, 11:02:17 AM

"The food?" he asked dubiously before sighing, "I... suppose we have no better option."

With her hands all cut up, he took it upon himself to assemble the fire pit. He arranged what few pieces of firewood he still had strapped to his pack and coaxed one to light the old-fashioned way. He added the kindling and gently blew until the flames sprang to life.

He sat, motioning for her to cozy up beside him. "I may not have the body heat to warm you, but I'm still warmer than nothing."

DragonSong · February 10, 2023, 11:14:24 AM

River didn't need any further prompting. The moment he motioned her closer, she had all but teleported across the space separating them and tucked herself securely into his side. Sure, he didn't run warm, but he wasn't as cold as the cave--and she liked the closeness, especially after their little adventure on the mountainside.

She could have taken her wolf shape to combat the cold, but she found that she didn't want to lose the feeling of being cuddled up next to him in human form. She let her head rest on his shoulder and sighed as the fire slowly started to thaw her out, her shivers gradually subsiding.

"I forget, sometimes," she murmured, almost to herself. "How harsh the mountains can be."

MadEmperor · February 10, 2023, 11:43:16 AM

"I've never even been this far north. Before--well, all this--" Kahroan motioned to his body. "I wouldn't have made it in this cold. Too much of an island boy."

"It's enough to make me start to see this body as a blessing. It also brought me to you after all." He nuzzled against her with a happy rumble.

DragonSong · February 10, 2023, 11:51:58 AM

"Mmm." She smiled a bit and leaned into him a little more. "Not to mention we probably wouldn't have made it passed that rockslide without all this."

She gestured to him the way he had, following the path his hand had made, but ending with her palm pressed lightly against his chest. She hissed quietly as her battered hands protested, but didn't pull back.

"We'll have to wait out the worst of the weather," she murmured, glancing to the mouth of the cave. "Hopefully it'll only be a few hours..."

MadEmperor · February 10, 2023, 12:14:13 PM

"Gods. Your hands..." He pulled her hand away to look at the damage. The dragonman clucked like a worried parent. "We need to clean and bandage this."

He started gently picking out tiny shards of rock from the lacerations. "Tell me if I'm hurting you."

DragonSong · February 10, 2023, 12:26:45 PM

She winced, but shook her head. "It's not that bad," she assured him quickly. "I've certainly had worse."

She bit her lip to avoid growling as he began picking bits of rocks out of the cuts, a wounded animal's instinct.

"...That's nice," she murmured once most of the debris was out, staring at her hands in his. The contact of his cool scales against the sounds was a relief, even with the cold outside.

MadEmperor · February 10, 2023, 12:56:40 PM

Kahroan was just about to wash the blood off of her hands when a strange instinct overtook him. Before he could think about what he was doing, his long, forked tongue was already out, cleaning the wound as a full dragon might.

He jerked back, embarrassed, "Oh gods! Sorry! Sorry! I--err--didn't know I was going to do that."

DragonSong · February 10, 2023, 01:05:35 PM

River blinked, a little taken aback—partly because, well, she somehow hadn't realized that his tongue was actually forked, though it only made sense.

Then she laughed, leaning after him slightly when he pulled. "It's alright," she tried to assure him, still giggling. "Trust me, I get it. I'd have been doing it myself if you weren't keeping my hands busy."

She reached up as though to cup his cheek, then caught herself and pulled her hand back, frowning. "Hang on, I've gotta—fuck, I hate hand wounds, bandaging is irritating enough as it is..."

MadEmperor · February 10, 2023, 01:23:33 PM

"Here... let me." Kahroan took out some bandages and resumed gently licking away the blood, bandaging her hands as he went. The whole thing was rather comforting and, to him, oddly romantic.

"Better?" He looked at her with deep affection, and more than a little attraction.

DragonSong · February 10, 2023, 01:36:12 PM

River sighed quietly as the pressure of the bandages relieved some of the stinging in her palms. She idly wondered if dragons had some sort of disinfectant in their saliva, as the throbbing subsided rather quickly once he was done.

And then he was looking at her, still holding her hands, and her moth went suddenly dry.

"Mm—" She swallowed and nodded. "Mhm. Much. Thanks..."

She had started leaning toward him without fully realizing it, until they were a breath apart. She stopped herself as she realized what she was doing and flushed lightly. "Ahm—sorry. I don't—ahem."

MadEmperor · February 10, 2023, 02:01:12 PM

"Don't be." He kissed her before she could say anything else. The passion in his kiss said that he'd been waiting for the first remotely romantic moment he could get to kiss her since they left the caravan. And that he loved her deeply.