Every sweet has its sour
Requiem
With their direction decided, Lurid made her way south from the S.S. Antiox, sadly leaving behind her beloved metal beast. Over the course of their trip, Lurid had taken the time to hunt out her brothers and sisters, making her way slowly through the lands with Requiem in tow. The climate changed, morphing from snowy and wet to dry but cold. Not as cold as her old home used to be, nor as cold as the north, suddenly Lurid was homesick. She knew the move south was for her health, but that did not mean she had to like it. Perhaps it would grow on the pale goddess, one never knew. It was well into their journey when Lurid finally noticed their surroundings. While most of the plants were dormant, Lurid could tell this place was a paradise in the spring and summer. A few plants held on, maybe Requiem would be able to find a few that would help her cough. It had yet to loosen its grip on her lungs, which made travel slow.
Turning to her mate, Lurid gave a half-smile, trying to cheer herself up from the loss of her ship. It was for the best. She would keep telling herself that while she looked around.
A s they wandered into a lush valley with greenery just beginning to peek up through the snow and slush, Lurid looked to him and suggested they take a break. If that cough that broke up her lovely dual vocals was any indicator, Requiem was in full agreement. "We will, but first we need to find you some water and get some medicine in you," he said, scouring their surroundings for the resources he needed. Spotting a small stream just down an embankment, Req nudged Lurid with his hip and motioned for her to follow him. The dire brute led his mate down to the edge of the mellifluous stream, leaving her to get a drink for a moment so he could go find what he needed. With how lush the plant life was here, it didn't take him long to find some young valerian root and fresh watercress, all helpful with coughs and lung conditions.
R equiem returned with the small bundle of fresh herbs and set them down at Lurid's paws. No time to mix them into a decoction for easier consumption, sadly. "Eat these. They'll help with the cough," he instructed her, reaching into his satchel to pull out his last bit of ginseng he'd collected so long ago—an energy boost for his beloved. "Chew this too. It's bitter, but it'll help." A moment of pause to allow her to consume the herbs before he asked, "How are you feeling, my love?"
"Requiem" | "Latin"
A few sprigs of early blooming plants rose up from the snow, giving the ground a spotted look that entertained the pale goddess. Holographic white-to-lavender eyes shifted to her mate as he spoke in response to her request for a break. Her dry throat loved the idea of a drink and she searched the area for a stream or creek, her eyes landing on the same stream of water that Requiem had spotted. Nudging her hip, Requiem silently requested that she follow him, moving with him instead. The babbling of the water was music to her ears, and she paused just long enough to watch with a smile as her love went to find the medicines he spoke of. If they were anything like the herbs and concoctions Atropos tried to give her, she would not take them voluntarily. Lurid lowered herself to settle in and drank slowly, that first sip of icy water hitting her throat like a jackhammer, but it felt so good to have something to drink.
When her crimson shadow returned to her, he had a bundle of herbs in his mouth and laid them at her feet. He wished for her to eat them. For a moment, Lurid simply stared at her beloved, wide-eyed with disbelief.
After a while, she began to breathe easier, the valerian root and watercress doing their work on her lungs. She still coughed a little, but it was nowhere near as severe as it had been when they first arrived. The ginseng lay untouched aside from the single bite Lurid had refused to swallow. Requiem asked how she felt, and Lurid gave a sassy smirk at him,
L urid held his gaze in a silent challenge, holographic lavender searing into the impassive resilience of his silver and obsidian. She wished to have a battle of wills, did she? Well, Requiem was loathe to back down from a challenge—even one presented to him by his beloved queen. Requiem broke their intense staring contest just long enough to peer down at the mostly intact ginseng root between them, picking the herb up in his paw and turning it around as if studying it. "Lurid, my darling, for you I would do anything. I would bend the heavens and burn the hells if you wished it. I have been your soldier, your confidant, your judicator, your quick solution to dirty problems, I've even been your friend and now your lover. I want to spend all my days with you, supporting you, loving you, fucking your brains out and raising a family together, building your perfect empire with you." Those piercing silver eyes shot up to meet Lurid's once more, smoldering from below his lashes as he peered up into her with an unwavering intensity. "Right now, that means keeping you alive long enough to do all of that, and I won't let any force compel me to fail. That includes your own distaste, my darling."
R equiem handed the ginseng root back over to Lurid, his fixated gaze never wavering from hers. "I am not Atropos. I am your Haihefa. Now eat this gods damn root so I can make sure you won't die the next time I try to make love to you. Or you can resist, and then I'm going to have to hold you down while I force this down your throat." The crimson brute's eyes flashed with mischievous naughtiness as the double entendre in his words, making it known the root wasn't the only thing he was thinking of putting down her throat. But for her to get this spoonful of sugar, she would need to take her medicine first. And Req was prepared to dominate her and pin her down if that's what it took to make her take it.
"Requiem" | "Latin"