Tempting My Trouble

The initial dull pain from the cut either mellowed out after a moment or became entirely unimportant in comparison to everything else. As he motioned down toward his paw she remembered how Vale had placed his paw together with Elias' during the blood oath earlier and felt silly for getting so lost in the sight of her own blood to forget such a thing. Her gaze dropped down to where Elias' paw was waiting for hers and she lowered her now blood-stained forepaw down next to his. Her blood joined his in the small puddle that was forming there. Her black-dipped paw seemed so much more delicate next to his, but somehow against the background of deep, red-hued blood they both seemed equally powerful in her mind.

Her sapphire and aquamarine eyes lifted once again to find his face as he began to speak. The words felt so familiar. She told herself that it was because she had heard the same ones just a few hours before, but it felt like more than that. "I am blood of your blood, bone of your bone. I give you my spirit, and with you, I will run- in life and in death." Her words echoed in unison with his own. As her tongue formed the words there was a sense of fate in those words, almost like they were just waiting to be said. Her body was humming with emotion that she couldn't quite understand. Her skin felt like it was on fire under her fur, the feeling swirling across her form in waves. Her heart sounded like it was in her ears and even the earth under her paws felt like it was far away.

The moment the last word left their lips Zuriel saw him stand and soon after he disappeared from her view. She was hyper aware of his presence near her as he shifted to her side. Her ear flicked toward him as she listened to the sound of his paws shifting against the ground and the soft whisper of his breath in the otherwise quiet den. She could feel the stinging protest of her paw as she lifted it away from the pool of blood their combined wounds had produced to rest it on the ground in front of her again. The last portion of her mind that was still functioning in its normal, logical capacity told her to go seal up both of their wounds and clean up the blood that was staining their paws, but the moment she felt the gentle graze of his teeth against her cheek all of her desires overwhelmed that small, rational voice.

She stood as well when she felt his muzzle begin to move up to the back of her neck, feeling herself subconsciously lean into his side. It was subtle, but she noticed the way he stopped for a moment when he brushed aside the chain of her necklace. His tongue lapped over the thicker skin that formed the scars that dotted her scruff and she understood. That sensation combined with the feeling of his breath filtering through her fur pulled those distant memories that she had burried deep within herself back to the surface. She closed her eyes for a moment, the moment when his teeth had gripped her skin the first time replaying on the back of her eyelids. A flash of panic squeezed her chest, forcing her muscles to tense for the briefest moment. She forced herself to take a breath. She opened her eyes and looked down at the blood just inches away from her and it brought her back to the present. Zuriel turned her head so that she could see Elias out of the corner of her eye, even if she couldn't quite see his face.

This was her Elias. She couldn't quite separate the man in her memories from the one that was standing here with her now, but this was completely different than that first time. She wanted this- no. She needed this. She could feel that hum of desire from deep within her soul and she knew that this night would set the ground work for everything they were going to create here. Her tail brushed his flank and her shoulder leaned into his, hoping that the touch would convey her apology for giving him any doubt, if indeed it had, and to urge him to continue. For the second time in her life she would meld together with him. The first time she had focused on anything other than what was happening - her heart beat, the snowfall. This time she gave into the rush of desire, lust, and - what was possibly strong enough to overpower every other feeling - love.

- fade -

"Talk"