Tales from the Faelands

Hyacinthus · June 17, 2022, 11:48:44 PM

Sophie, by this point, was running almost entirely on autopilot. Her brain had essentially shut down to just the barest, most autonomous of functions, and as such she couldn't so much as comprehend exactly what was happening. Her body, however, knew what it wanted-- and it wanted it bad enough to send her heart into overdrive at the thought of it happening. Sophie trembled with a barely held-back need; Her shocked, wide eyes settling into a glossed over, unsteady gaze. By nature she wasn't the aggressive type; Perhaps it was simply the floodgates of overstimulation that had flipped some switch in her. Whatever the case was, close as they were, Sophie her own body pressing closer, and closer still-- edging closer and closer to his face, when--

"Ahh!!" Once more, the jittery boy had reacted without warning; Forcing Sophie backward and down in a sudden display of strength in response to something her mouse-like ears heard, but her brain didn't comprehend; With a thud, she found herself once more awakened from her instinctual-driven stupor and once more on her back, her legs still wrapped around the boy's waist, one arm above her head-- thrown there by the falling impact-- the other firmly holding his torso for support. "I..." She attempted to form words, the scent of her own self-made honeydew hair wash filling her nose as her silver-blond hair fell over her face in a mess-- the only other scent she could smell being the man laying atop her. He... he also smelled good, though she fought desperately not to manifest that thought, the combination of their rising body temperatures bringing a light sweat to Sophie's caramel skin. She wanted to say yes, she was fine-- heck, even a nod would suffice at this point, but something had caught her attention-- no, demanded it... Something else she fought desperately not to manifest in her mind, but the physical nature of their current situation demanded it.

They were so close, and prior to now there had been at least a little bodily separation from their opposing sitting positions... but now he was flat atop her. And now she could feel his waist, against hers. "...U-um..."

visualspice · June 17, 2022, 11:56:39 PM

All he could feel and hear was heat. He needed to pull away, to get out if thus tangle! At her stuttering, he jerked away, breaking the tension trance and stumbling back some as he tried to calm his heavy breathing.

He grimaced, gripping at his chest as he felt his heart hammering inside his chest. What kinda rotten luck was THAT!?

Hyacinthus · June 18, 2022, 12:58:27 PM

Laying awkwardly in the grass, Sophie was motionless. Her clothing had been left in disarray; Her shirt slightly unbuttoned and completely untucked from the last few minutes of shifting and jostling, her hood coming unlaced and revealing her sternum a bit. Her skin was flush; warm to the touch, though gradually cooling now that she and the winged boy had come untangled. Her hair covered her face-- particularly her eyes, though strands long enough to reach her mouth had fallen into and across her lips here and there. Her breathing was deep, and somewhat labored, but mostly stilled. She was silent, motionless, save for the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest.

And, admittedly, there was a good reason for that; One that Sophie couldn't bring herself to speak of. Or even imply. For upon closer inspection, one would find that somewhere between their most recent collision of bodies and the youth finally separating himself from her, Sophie had... well, Sophie had fainted! The stimulation proved too much for her to handle in the end-- from the closeness, to the feeling of the winged lad's body, to the rush of being pushed down by him-- She'd passed out, practically all the blood in her body have rushed to her head and forcing her unconscious.

visualspice · June 18, 2022, 01:10:30 PM

It was only after a time did he realize she wasn't moving-... and then he felt panic grip him. What if she wasn't breathing.

"Ah, acorns!" he growled, scrambling over to her side and shaking her. "Hey.. hey girl.. wake.. wake up will ya!? Come on!" He shook her again. He wasn't exactly that gentle, but he also wasn't dramatically rough either. "You alright? Hey! Say something!"

Hyacinthus · June 18, 2022, 01:41:31 PM

Sophie didn't stir; At least, not at first. She was in a rather deep haze; her body still warm to the touch, though little by little it died down even now. As he took to shaking her as a strategy to rouse her, he was met with varying degrees of success, first by a docile shifting of her ankles, then a twitching of her head-- as if she were experiencing a bad dream. Before long, Sophie did stir to some degree, raising her head and barely opening her eyes.

"...I... where..." She began, the last few minutes of her life a mess of static in her mind; She struggled shake off the fog of her confusion, and the proof of this was in her eyes-- Originally clear cerulean orbs were which were now clouded over and unfocused. "My head..." She felt weak, dizzy; She needed support. And so she slowly leaned into the winged boy's grasp, trying to steady herself for a bit. She closed her eyes; the world was far too bright, and his arms felt warm. She just needed a few more minutes...

visualspice · June 18, 2022, 01:50:36 PM

Miersck felt her lean into him as he caught her, supporting her as she ground his teeth.
"Flying acorns," he grumbled, shifting her weight more evenly against him as he looked around. He licked his lips. Well wasnt this a fantastic mess? He sighed, still looking around to see if anyone else was nearby before returning his attentions to the small mousey girl.

"Err.. I think you.. fainted," he went on, blushing at the recollection of probably how it happened. "Just.. take it easy, okay?" He really really didn't want to have to baby sit this strange girl! His wings even bristled at the idea and sensation of just holding her.

Hyacinthus · June 18, 2022, 07:02:51 PM

The world was still spinning; Sophie was certain that if she lifted herself off the boy, she'd fall flat again. Some part of her knew it was probably immodest or indecent to rest so openly on someone she didn't know, but that part of her was taking a very far back seat to her psychological need for stability in a moment of weakness. He spoke, and to an extent she listened to his words-- they sounded more or less like white noise as her head pounded, but it was soothing white noise. It helped that he also smelled nice; Like the forest, or the breeze of the open field. Sophie took in a long, deep breath of that smell, hoping it would relax her a bit more.

"...Pretty. Your wings..." She she murmured without really thinking; The first thing coming to her mind as she slowly opened her eyes again and spotted them fluttering just beyond her reach. In the coils of light beyond the hair covering her eyes, she could swear she saw them glitter... "...Like... a fairy."

visualspice · June 18, 2022, 07:29:44 PM

Miersck's face skewed at her words, his once gently moving wings stiffened.

"Your.. your head must be funny," he deduced, ignoring the blush about her compliment. He shook her , a little gentler this time. "Come on." Another shake. "You gotta get up. Really open your eyes, mousey girl." Because well, he wasn't quite sure what else to call the petite young woman in his arms.
"Raspberry bushes..what a day," he muttered. Thankfully the affects of the fire were wearing off. He never had such a terrible reaction and attraction from fire before. And to think.. the flame was small and contained! He'd have to be cautious.

He looked to where the lantern was extinguished, just to be sure. Licking his lips, he then turned back to the mouse girl.
"Come on, girl. I never even got your name! You just gonna faint away and die or something? Great rose thorn bushes, that would be pathetic ! Come on!"

Hyacinthus · June 18, 2022, 08:27:19 PM

The gentle jostling of her shoulder rattled Sophie's head a little, but not so much as to shock or harm her. Sophie moaned, but otherwise resisted stirring from her restive state. Yes, yes, she knew that eventually she'd have to get back to her senses... but it was a nice state of relaxation she was experiencing. She didn't really want it to end... alas, she could feel the grass beneath her legs, the light breeze on her arms; The light of the midday sun no longer a glare, instead a proper-focused glow.

"It's... Sophie. My name is Sophie." She managed, the sound of her own words no longer reverberating in her head-- yes, she was more or less back to relative normality. "Sorry... I must have, erm... 'overheated', a little." She tried to explain, shifting away from the winged boy at last, granting him his personal space. "Can I... can I ask your name, ser?" Her voice was close to normal again now, though she struggled to look him in the eyes; After the last few minutes, despite having calmed down, Sophie still couldn't beat back the redness in her cheeks at the thought of what either of them had done.

visualspice · June 19, 2022, 03:47:20 AM

Ahh.. finally the mouse girl was coming around. He took in her name with a nod, stepping back to give her her space. He was still cautious around her, but for varying more reasons now. At her name request, he nodded stiffly.

"My name's Miersck." He almost seemed to snarl it, but he was trying to be polite. But it was daytime and he hadjust been subjected to some flame poisoning.

He studied her a moment more before asking, "Where are we?. Does this place have any kinda name the locals call it?"

Hyacinthus · June 19, 2022, 10:20:56 AM

"Miersck... I see." Sophie nodded, rolling the name around in her mind, saying it a few more times in her head to ensure it stuck properly. She took very little offense to his tone-- Her former masters were far worse, as she often struggled not to recall. "Well... I do wish that we could've met under... less... problematic... circumstances," The girl's eyes shifted about, an attempt to keep her mind off of the last few minutes of her life as she carefully navigated the conversation, "But it's a pleasure to meet you all the same. I'm sorry for being... aggressive, earlier; I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Sophie leaned back and sighed; What a mess she'd made of things, just trying to do what she thought was right. In response to his question, she looked back towards the settlement; From which, surprisingly, no one had seemingly been watching them. "This place is called La'marri; It's often called the Free Lands, as it isn't governed by any of the major kingdoms. The people here live simple lives, but the land itself is particularly rich with magic-- though in-depth research into why has never been conducted on a large scale. There are theories, but-- Oh, I'm rambling... sorry." Sophie chastised herself mentally; She really did have a bad habit of talking too much about things that interested her.

"Speaking of magic... Miersck, by chance, are you...?" She began to ask, before trailing off. Was... was it considered polite to ask someone if they were a Fae? He certainly wasn't... 'normal'... but then again, neither was she.

visualspice · June 19, 2022, 10:35:03 AM

Miersck lived a rather simple life, away from the politics of the human kingdoms. So any names or settlements were lost upon him. Sure he may have heard about them but it was something that just existed but in his lifetime, wasn't really a tangible reality. Like the ocean. He still wasn't sure THOSE were actually real.

He was brought back from his thoughts at her question and he frowned.

"Am I.. what..?" He asked, critically skeptical as he eyed her. Was she questioning his magics? And.. why? His brows furrowed.

Hyacinthus · June 19, 2022, 10:54:48 AM

Sophie paused, debating going any further. At the very least, he didn't... seem, particularly adverse to questions at this point, so perhaps? It just seemed... odd, asking someone if they were, well... not human. She'd had dealings with such folk before; An undead lad, on a trek through an ancient ruin. Nice enough fellow, but he wore a mask to hide his decrepit face. He didn't seem particularly interested in talking about himself, so Sophie never pushed the subject. But this was... His beautiful wings were on full display, and his pointed ears impossibly white hair begged the question.

"Are you... actually a fairy, Miersck?" The eastern winds blew slightly as she asked, trying as best she could to hide her anticipation of his answer. She was expecting a sound 'no'; She'd never met a member of the fae in all her travels, and their penchant for glamours-- as well as La'marri itself being known for being a place that attracted... unusual characters, gave her reason enough to believe otherwise. But if he was...

visualspice · June 19, 2022, 11:00:16 AM

Miersck blinked. Any irritation in his demeanor seemed to vanish and be replaced by confusion.

"I'm a moth fae," he told her, brows furrowed before he pointed a finger at her critically. "Aren't you..", his eyes looked from ears to tail. "A fae too?"

Surely she didn't think she was human! Or he, for that matter!

Hyacinthus · June 19, 2022, 11:36:32 AM

"...Me?"

Sophie blinked. What on Earth gave him that idea? He was the one with wings here, not her! She was just a normal... oh. The mouse girl closed her eyes in realization of exactly what the confusion was. "No, no-- I'm human... sort of, although most humans don't have the ears or tail that I do." She tried to explain, suppressing bitter memories of being treated differently for looking differently. Yes, she was 'human'... though sometimes she truly wished she weren't.

The warmth of the midday sun had softened the ground and the contrast of temperatures between the heat above and the cool, light grass beneath her caused Sophie to shift her legs from underneath her and to the side, that she might bask in the sunlight a bit more. "Most humans look... more like you. Without wings, of course. And a less pleasant--" She began, before her face went slightly red and she shifted her eyes again. "Th-that's not important. I-- Oh, your injury! How is your hand? Do you... still want to try my medicine, or are you feeling better?" She asked, changing the subject to a more important, less embarrassing matter. "I've never treated a moth fae's wounds before-- or even met a fae, for that matter, but I'd be willing to try."

visualspice · June 19, 2022, 12:10:59 PM

Miersck's face really didn't have a filter. Perhaps he didn't know how, but so many obvious emotions were displayed on his face as the young woman spoke.

She was... human? He blinked. That was strange. And humans looked more like.. he lifted his arms to examine himself, fluttering his wings some before he raised a single, speculative brow at her.

At the mention of his hand he looked down at it and suddenly tucked it behind his back, cheeks growing hot. Oh no.. the dark mark..
He would have 'burned' that hand.

Miersck grimaced.
"It.. it'll be fine. Flame poison will eventually go away," he growled, hastily. "Oinments.. don't.. don't work on my kind that way. Not.. for burns."
Err, how was he to explain that?

Hyacinthus · June 19, 2022, 02:28:07 PM

Sophie raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised. "Ointments... don't work? That's... well, that's certainly..." She began, trying to find the words to respond. She noted his behavior-- the way he hid his arm, his seeming desire to move past the topic-- with some concern, but didn't directly speak on it. There weren't any-- none that didn't come off as her trying to further interrogate him. That wasn't really a rabbit hole Sophie wanted to go down-- not after what happened earlier. Not... not in public, at least.

"Um... w-well, if it doesn't, and the pain gets worse, don't hesitate to tell me; I promised not to do anything that would hurt you, after all. Er... hurt you further." It was all an attempt to smooth things over following her relatively out-of-character actions earlier, for Sophie-- She had a very, very strong personal need to not be hated by others, which she really needed to work on at some point. Oh well.

Her mind drifted back to another note in his words that had concerned her, and with his reluctance to let him treat her, as well as their... well, actually being able to hold a conversation now, she figured now was as good a time as any to ask. "You mentioned 'poison'... I'm, I'm not terribly familiar with Fae terminology, but were you referring to the burn... or something worse?" She asked, watching for a reaction of some sort. Moths, by nature, were drawn to firelight; There was research that implied this was due to the fire interfering with their ability to navigate when flying... But surely a Moth Fae wasn't affected in the same way?

visualspice · June 19, 2022, 02:36:17 PM

Miersck bristled at the subject, but it didn't deter him from answering.

"I avoid fire. It.. doesn't just burn my kind we.. er.." Oh. He wasnt sure how else to explain it as he looked away, ears red.
"Fire does.. a lot of things to my kind. It's a quick way to kill us, fire works like a poison, clogging our minds of all logical thinking. But we're... drawn to it and we.. kinda need it to.. survive.. in a way.. moth fae need it to breed." He added the last part quickly and avoided her gaze.

"So er... sorry about earlier. I.. I'm not really in control near fire. And the bigger the fire, the.. worse it gets."

Hyacinthus · June 19, 2022, 03:02:37 PM

"..."

Sophie lost her train of thought the very moment he uttered those fateful words. Her face went bright red and her heart skipped a beat as only then, with the context of his answer, did everything make sense. Everything, from their sudden collision, to his reluctance to be anywhere near her afterwards, his reactions to her... m-mounting him... Everything clicked into place in that moment. He did a far, far better job of hiding or downplaying what this meant than Sophie ever could; Slowly, she lowered her face, and covered it with her hands... The implications of exactly what just happened weighing heavily on her soul. "...I... I-I see..." She meekly replied from behind her hands, barely able to take her mind off of it now.

"S-so you... when the lantern... A-and I..." She, officially, couldn't. She had to remind herself to breathe, lest the blood rush to her head again. Slowly, she removed her hands from her face, an extremely timid look in her eyes-- though it was hard to tell as she, too, did everything she could to avoid his gaze. "Well.. um... I'll just... put the lantern away for later. F-for when I travel, not-- not for... Erm. S-so, Miersck, you're, um, you're not from these woodlands in particular? The people of La'marri tend to forage out there, but I've never heard of any of them coming across a moth fae before." With the dexterity of a drunken frog, Sophie re-routed the conversation to something that didn't make her wish it was 10 degrees cooler.

visualspice · June 19, 2022, 03:11:30 PM

He frowned, shifting uncomfortably. He would feel better if she just threw away the damn lantern. He looked at her grumpily when she asked her next question.

"No, there probably isn't many of my kind here. We don't live anywhere near humans." He shook himself to his wings, as if shaking off dust or something discomforting . He then eyed her again.

"Are you sure you're human?" Frankly, all he saw was fae in her. Strange.