A move, from the beautiful island covered with the towering monolithic boats and rotting buildings, where Lailah had given birth, where they had found his family again and some newer additions. But Atreyu was worried, and given what had found its way to the island he couldn't blame her, the image in his head of a massive worm dripping molten rock and slag still fresh in his mind. His leg had not yet healed from his and Ultyr’s encounter with the beast. Different from the one made of plant life that the band had discovered, but if they were the same thing then the move was more than required before someone got hurt or worse…

But he had wanted some space after it all, soft feet moving over cobbled stone as he retraced his steps to a place they had passed in the travels. The open fields provided some comfort that did not suffocate and close in; instead, they were wide and open with softer grass that had not yet turned brittle with the autumn chill. There was hope that the herbs he had seen weren’t dead yet either, or maybe the more hardy winter plants had begun to bloom. Either way, Ganymede picked his way across the landscape quietly along the overgrown path.

It was easy to keep his mind off the always gnawing anxieties when he was surrounded by the delicate blooms and growths of plants. Being alone didn't bother him, though his mind did wander back time and again to Ultyr and Lailah and the newest little additions, a soft smile curling his lips as he picked through a small growth of Arnica he had found. Ultyr still had a long way to come, as arrogant and brash as ever, but there was progress. Lailah was a good mother as well, sweet and soft as always, the babies healthy and cared for deeply. Maybe he could find some Fenugreek here, everything seemed so abundant, and Lailah may need it while nursing at least. Something for himself too, to help with the pain and inflammation.

Moving on from the Arnica, Ganymede made his way over toward another patch but this time it was lavender growing up in beautiful purple blooms. Not yet dried and crumbling from the cold, but wilting some. Settling down into a lay, Gany quickly decided to sit with his back legs stretched out to one side while the rest of his body remained upright so he could gently pluck the flowers. Reaching, he found the satchel he discovered in the crumbling builds on the isle, full of little empty glass jars. He didn't know what it was used for before but now that it was his, he used it to hold different herbs and flowers. One full of mint, another now full of Arnica, several more holding ginger, raspberry leaves, and chamomile. Useful things, just like this lavender would be. Taking out the largest of the jars he had, he set about the task of gathering the flowers in the early dawn light.

"speech"

"other’s speech"

coded by NachoMumma

Ultyr was about to head out on a hunt when he saw Ganymede slip away. Probably for some herbs but he couldn't help the knawing in his stomach that Gany was slipping away for good. He did promise that Gany could do so but he... simply wanted to check. He gave Lailah a nuzzle while she fed the babes, telling her he'd be back with a meal.

He tracked Ganymede at a distance until he came upon a luscious garden. From the shadows he watched the youth gather herbs. More at ease than Ultyr had seen of him before. He must like the plants like close friends. He hoped the boy's leg was healing well and noticed that the boy had lain down to gather the plants. A smattering of white bundle-like flowers was close to Ultyr. He didn't know what they were but assumed Ganymede would be able to name them as he picked a few stalks of boneset and silently stalked forward, into the garden.

He brought the flowers close to the boy's ear and brushed them along his back with a mischievous smile. Then lay them out in front of him.

"Are these useful?" He asked in his low rumbling and amused tone.

It was the warm scent of oregano and the woody smell of thyme that alerted him of someone else joining him in the garden, though he almost hadn't noticed it over the smell of lavender. Jasmine, vanilla, and milk would've meant it was Lailah, but she had little ones to take care of back where the camp was. He had even left his pelt there for her since it was thick and heavy enough to ward off the chill of fall. Instead, this had to have been Ultyr coming to join him or passing through on his way to hunt and patrol in the morning light. A quiet hum came from him as he moved some of the small flower buds to the large jar, half full and only getting more and more full as he waited to see what the other would do.

Ganymede didn't move from his comfortable way of lying in the soft grass, even though he was trying to listen for the approach that he was sure would come. Instead, he heard nothing but silence. Which was fine, it was likely Ultyr had only passed by close enough for the wind to move that enticing scent to him and the other had continued on to find something to hunt. Till he felt the soft drag of something over the very edge of his ear and then across his back, head tilting back so he could look up at the earthen male curiously, soft lilac meeting brilliant pyres before a small smile curved his lips.

"Are these useful?" The question had Ganymede tearing his eyes from Ultyr to look at the bundles of flowers with their bunches of white flowers and thin green stalks. He carefully picked one up to examine it gently, not wanting to knock any of the flowers loose as he searched for its uses and name in his head. "Very, its beneficial for so many things. This is boneset, it can help with everything from influenza, common colds, and lung infections. Even pneumonia and joint pains" He couldn't help spilling the information he did have on the little plant, fixated on it for a moment longer before looking back up at Ultyr, smile still in place. "Thank you so much for finding it, is there any more?" He recapped the lavender jar and placed the boneset bundles into their jar in his satchel before carefully pulling himself to his feet and peering around one of his shoulders to see if he couldn't figure out where the boneset had come from.

"speech"

"other’s speech"

coded by NachoMumma

Those brilliant eyes peered up into his own. The smile that broke over the youth's lips almost had the chocolate male reach to grasp them with his own. He was almost sad as Gany peeled his eyes away toward the plants. But the grief was short-lived as Ganymede recognized the flower as something very useful! His ears perked as he listened to Ganymede tell him all about the boneset that he had picked.

He curtly nodded that yes there was more! Then attempted to gently push Gany back down for a minute, "No no. You've been walking enough on that leg. I'll get them - you keep gathering what you can reach here." He suggested with narrowed serious eyes.

He walked to where he had found the stalks and picked a few more, knowing Ganymede would be able to see where he had found them. He trotted back to the boy and dumped them over his head, like a shower of green stalks and white flowers. A playful smile over his lips.

Gentle pushing had the grey and sunset tinted male settling back down with a quiet huff, rolling his eyes at the treatment and unable to help himself with the playful flirtatious jab he cooked up in his head at the moment. "If you wanted me to lay down for you that badly, asking or pleading would've worked faster." Ganymede hummed, stretching his forelegs out before getting out the jar of lavender again to begin his work anew.

"No no. You've been walking enough on that leg. I'll get them - you keep gathering what you can reach here."The scent of lavender calmed any nervousness he had left after the band had moved, happy and content after so long of being on edge and afraid. It meant much less lashing out, not feeling like he had to remain viciously on guard at all times. And so the jokes and softer nature he had tucked away came easier, ears perking up at Ultyr's comment at being on his injured leg too much.

"My leg is fine, what about yours old man? Is the winter chill making your bones ache yet? I'm sure I have something that could help with that." He chimed, going to dump another handful of lavender buds into the glass container that was nestled in the grass. Before the sudden onslaught of green and white whirling around his head had him sputtering. Jerking his head up to stare at Ultyr with wide eyes before his lips split in a wide grin seeing the playful smile gracing the other's own. "Attacking a prince with flowers? What kind of beast are you? An absolute fiend!" Tone light, happy even, as he lightly smacked one of the boneset bundles back up towards Ultyr.

"speech"

"other’s speech"

coded by NachoMumma

"If you wanted me to lay down for you that badly, asking or pleading would've worked faster."

"Is that so?" Ultyr quipped back with a lingering look before he fetched the flowers.

The shower of boneset had the desired effect! He mock flinched as Ganymede tossed at him with one of the stalks. A hearty laugh erupted out of Ultyr's chest as a rumbling thunderous sound. He grabbed one of the stalks and bopped it over the boy's head. His ember eyes sought the warmth from the pale shining purples.

"Hmm, yes... A beast... an absolute fiend..." He rumbled in low tones, his face coming closer. "The kind that knows not how to plead..." Ultyr gently pushed his maw against the boy's cheek and clasped a tuft of cheek fur and then pulled it through his teeth.

"Tell me more about these plants that might help these old bones from aching." He rumbled with his mouth close to Gany's ear.

"Is that so?"

Ganymede hummed softly in thought as he raked his nails through the lavender buds to pull them into a closer pile past all the boneset bundles around him.. "Maybe not, I haven't taught you to do that yet after all. Give it time though." He couldn’t help the light teasing he gave back, ears perking up at the rumbling laugh that made his chest feel light and fluttering. It was such a nice feeling, settling in his bones and bringing a soft smile back to his lips.

Tilting his head some so he could meet the fiery orange eyes before there was a face much closer to his own and teeth gently carding through the fur of his cheek, smiling widening. "Tell me more about these plants that might help these old bones from aching." A man after his own heart, asking about the plants he held dear. A chuckle bubbled up as he turned his head and reached out to nip at Ultyr’s chin, grasping the fur there and tugging gently before letting go so he could pull a jar of willow bark and ginger from his pouch. "This as a tea will help make those old bones stop hurting, could include some ginseng too if you don't mind some extra side effects." He mused..

"speech"

"other’s speech"

coded by NachoMumma

Ultyr was completely smitten. The playful banter, the easy closeness. The words fell like honey to his ears. The careful dancing he had been tactfully practicing was all coming to a head in exactly the way he wanted it.

The god prince... No, the Demon Prince, languidly lay on the ground next to Ganymede. Feeling the gentle rasp of teeth tugging on his chin. He could barely control the low rumble escaping his throat. Pleased, while taking everything in him to hold himself back. He watched Gany lift up a jar and present him with the details of the contents. He perked an ear and narrowed his eyes playfully with a smirk.

"Why... do I think those side effects might be more enjoyable than bothersome?" He guessed, pulling his head back to look at Gany mischievously. "What side effects are we talking about here?" He rumbled, crossing his paws regally.

Ganymede moved, shifting to a more comfortable lounge as he gently placed the jar of willow bark and ginger down so that it clinked against the one he had been using for the lavender. His focus was solely on how Ultyr had decided to lay down, unhurried, and made his own decision to match the other’s usual forwardness by raking his eyes over the earthen man’s body. Humming as he admired his physique with pale lilac eyes, he was no stranger to the power those muscles held, having fought the other and seen him both hunt and take on opponents. Though he would keep those thoughts to himself, Ultyr had a big enough ego as is without him stroking it further.

Instead, he leaned back and vaguely away from him, crossing one of his long legs over the other with the same practiced grace that anyone of royal lineage would have. He did keep one hand on the jar holding the contents of their discussion though, periodically tipping it just slightly to tap it against the lavender jar. As far as Ganymede was concerned, he held all the cards right now during this playful banter. Was everything that Ultyr had worked for on their travels, and with ease he could simply cut off the sweet talk and give the other the cold shoulder and silence instead. He wouldn't though, he was enjoying this all. If the stormlit boy was honest, this sense of ease and comfort was nice…something he hadn't had for a long time, there was also the edge of it being something he hadn’t ever had for himself. Honest companionship. He liked it.

"Why... do I think those side effects might be more enjoyable than bothersome?" Pulled from his thoughts, Gany grinned wide as he tipped the jar again with a hum. Tilting his head, he looked out at all the other plants that seemed to grow in abundance here, sure that if he went looking he could find some ginseng hidden amongst the other plants. "What side effects are we talking about here?" Mischief sparked across his eyes as he looked back to the smirk coloring Ultyr’s muzzle before putting on a bit of a show with humming as he played up ‘whether or not he wanted to tell him.

"It can make one more virile, and fertile, increasing libido as well for the taker. Though I'm sure those aren't side effects you're wanting, we can find something easier to take with fewer extra effects." Flirtation and playfulness coloring each word as he watched him with a half-lidded gaze, well aware that he was likely pushing buttons even if they would not prompt anger and aggression.

"speech"

"other’s speech"

coded by NachoMumma

Ultyr would have purred with how he could feel those pale lavender eyes rake over his muscles and sleek fur. His lip curled up into a pleased smile. It wasn't often he was the object of another's roving gaze. The last time that happened was...

His fiery gaze would rake in turn, lingering on Ganymede's supple curves. Effeminate and yet the way he held himself was so very masculine. He crossed his legs like a royal prince would too. The tink tink tink of the glass jars together was doing nothing but remind Ultyr of the need to wrap Ganymede in his arms. The rhythm enticing and alluding to something he wanted desperately.

The smirk that played along the boy's lips and that mischievous look sent a wave of tingling sensations over his chest and throat, his claws subtly flexed into the ground to keep him from hitching his breath and pulling himself closer to the stormshine pelt.

He glanced away, the heat unbearable, his teeth pressing against his lip. He had never been on this side of the flirtatious banter that had blazonly sent him reeling before. There were no other strings attached, was this what... was this how it was meant to be?

"I wonder if an increase in...Libido... is something you really... would like... from me... Hmmm?" He rumbled against his throat, his head reeling. His breath is heavy through his nose. With each word, he leans closer and closer. His maw seeking those dark teasing lips. He quested to whisper his lips over the others, testing, seeking. He didn't really need an increase in libido, did he? Woe to his lovers for his insatiable appetite as it stood, would they handle an increase?

He could almost see Ultyr preen under his gaze, ever the arrogant peacock and enjoying being looked over. That was fine though, Ganymede would happily indulge him here after all the traveling and situations they had been through. He deserved it and if he was honest, he was all too happy indulging in his own wants and needs too. Holding his head a little higher when he could feel those funeral pyre eyes lingering over his own frame in turn, enjoying the attention of the other and keeping his gaze lidded while admiring the broad shoulders and well muscled body of the other.

It was the faint flexing of nails into the ground and the other being the first to look away that had Ganymede's lips splitting into a toothy grin. Displaying the arrogance he so often poked fun at Ultyr for having, proud in making the other look away first. This was a sight Ganymede could appreciate, lovely and wanting but displaying the self restraint to keep his hands to himself. He wondered if he pushed enough if he could get him to ask on his own for what he wanted or if the earthen giant would need prompting there too. An almost purr bubbled up from his throat quietly at the line of thought. He would be a handsome picture, asking, begging, or pleading for things Ganymede could grant.

""I wonder if an increase in...Libido... is something you really... would like... from me... Hmmm?" " Ganymede could feel the want and need in each spoken word, the way Ultyr slow leaned forward towards him, the way he seemed almost mesmerized. A lovely picture. "Hmmmm, I've never seen your drive before other than the one with Lailah and the aftermath of another. Only words, do you truly have a libido? Or is it all bluster and fluff?" He purred, leaning his own head closer so he could ghost his lips over the other man's, lips still pulled in a small smile. "यदि मम किमपि इच्छसि तर्हि केवलं याचयितव्यं प्राप्स्यसि, अथवा मौनं कृत्वा किमपि न प्राप्स्यसि।. {If you want something of me you only must ask and you will receive, or stay silent and gain nothing at all.}" It was so easy to slip back into his native tongue, pulling his head away so he would only leave Ultyr with the faint feeling of his lips on the other's. He wouldn't budge on this, the other would ask finally or get nothing and leave them both aching.

"speech"

"other’s speech"

coded by NachoMumma

An invitation? Bluster and fluff? He blinked confused. The sensation over his lips sent a wave of titillating pleasure running underneath his fur. Stoking the fire of deep need at his core.

It had been a long time since he heard the Sanskrit language. Practiced it for hours and studied it for days as a youth. This language and a few others. He had to know them in order to lead them. The last he heard it was that day he and his army and his father stormed the Judlilan birthday party.

A memory flashed before his eyes of his Angel begging before him, how pleased he had felt to be wanted. But here... Was he the one who wanted? His eyes narrowed as he thought. Watching Ganymede recede his head away from the Demon Prince of Archnemes. A demand for a calculated appeal. Ultyr ran the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth. If he lunged, if he took, he'd lose the stormlit boy for good. A little five minutes of action would render him untouchable in the future. He knew this. The boy had a way of weaseling into Ultyr's mind and pulling just the right strings. He was not used to this type of back and forth. He was usually the one with all the power. But here he was, contemplating lowering himself for a taste of the Morningstar prince that took his breath away. Was he lowering himself? Truly?

"Ganymede Morningstar..." He tasted his name, his full name, from a rumble deep in his chest, "Am I not a demon in your story?" He licked his lips, "Since when does a demon ask for what he wants? Since when does a demon get what he wants?" His hungry eyes drank in his figure again, he would drink in those pale shining flashing lavender eyes all day if he could. Drinking, consuming as if Gany were his priceless crown behind bulletproof glass.

"I've felled too many before your eyes to earn your respect. I've slaughtered too many behind your back. I've taken from what was mine before it was taken from me. If I ask you'll surely deny me, if I beg, I might taste only your forgiveness. What Morningstar would willingly lay with the Demon Prince that conquered your home?" He blinked, his head tilted to the side. Have them ask you, beg you, an illusion of choice, then deny them and punish them for asking... A game his father had taught him. He knew that game far too well and had even played it a time or two. "What Morningstar would deign to lower themselves into my sinful blood-soaked embrace?"

He could see the thoughts spinning in Ultyr's head, seemingly lost in his thoughts for a moment. While there was the faint worry in his ribs that he had done the wrong thing, this wasn't something he would let himself budge on. He needed Ultyr to ask, there was some part of him that needed this margin of control to feel comfortable continuing forward. He needed to know that in some way, he held sway over the other and that this wasn't Ultyr looking to replace his Angel, that he wasn't looking to replace Abbadon with Ganymede. That he wasn't a substitute for Atreyu who was unreachable for the other. That he was wanted enough to be asked for something and not just taken.

It felt entirely irrational, and likely was with how jumbled all those thoughts felt when put together, but seeing that look on the other’s face had spiked the anxiety that sat under the surface. Then the words came, and they had Ganymede pausing his own thoughts as they came, and he'd be lying if he said he couldn't feel his own fur beginning to bristle along his spine and shoulders.

"The demon in my story? You've seen my demon and he is by far worse than you have been. A beast who gave me to others when it pleased him to simply watch what was done to me, and those were the easier days! You've done nothing to compare yourself to mine or even Lailah's demons. You're by far better than they are.” He stared at Ultyr with eyes lit by a storm of emotions. ”Here you sit trying to imply that i'm lowering myself by choosing who can finally have me instead of simply being taken, that i would be cruel enough to ask and then not give. " His voice rose in pitch, moving to sit up as he glared at the larger man. He was incensed, angry, at the implications that he was lowering himself by any means by finally choosing who he would want to lay with, that he would be cruel enough to ask and then deny someone, that Ultyr thought he was the demon of Ganymede's stories when he was the one who had saved him to some degree, helped him find his way home to his family..

OOC: At Work, we gonna hope this makes some sense kek

"speech"

"other’s speech"

coded by NachoMumma

At Gany's bristling and his intensive words, Ultyr blinked with surprise. Tilting his head one way and leaning back, still trying to read the boy and having the hardest time of it. Praise? Ulyr had thought he had been painted as some dire beast that razed their home and made him out to be some demonic figure of the Morningstar lore.

Ganymede then laid it out bare. The emotions oozing from his eyes like a wellspring held back. The voice rose in pitch with the anxiety and anger mixed. He was vulnerable before Ultyr, genuine.

Ultyr was silent for a moment, still unable to trust if Gany meant what he said. His brows subtly furrowed as he thought. His cinder eyes sought to grasp the truth. He softly reached his paw out to place it on top of the boy's.

He knew the ways of his father and the company he kept. Passing slaves amongst the lesser men was a common practice. Not even Ultyr could keep his own men from doing until he claimed a slave for himself.

"Do you mean to tell me... That you would choose me if you had the chance?" Ultyr asked in a half-whispered tone, a crack breaking the sentence. No one wanted him. No one wanted to worship him. No one wanted to lay with him. No one wanted to befriend him. No one wanted to serve him. No one got what they wanted... Least of all Ultyr. He was a god, he couldn't turn away from that! A god, a prince, and an heir had responsibilities and duties. The wants of the flesh were simply that, nothing deeper. But... This...

"But asking was useless, weak... Servants make requests. You only ask if you want to be denied." Ultyr finally responded. His deep seeded teaching and warped mindset at the full front. This was his reality.