More Dazzling than the Lights

Saracyn's smile widened and his blue eyes lit up with mirth when he saw the flustered shyness cross over Avacyn's features as she was pulled back into reality. The two of them had gotten so swept up in one another and the sudden dramatic shift their relationship had taken that everything else, including where they were, had been wiped from their minds. Not that he could blame Avacyn, of course. Kissing her had stirred things inside himself that the young male had never felt before, and suddenly he realized why their parents always seemed to be all over one another and so outwardly affectionate. Kissing had felt good—really good! Already the red-furred wolf was thinking about doing it with his violet-hued sister again and again, ready to explore this new depth and dynamic to their bond to the fullest. As if reading his mind, Ava suggested they head back home. It was a good call, given they were both still pretty beat up. They'd be able to tend to their injuries and not have to worry their parents with their unexpected absence.

"Good call," he said while wading through the water after her to reach the stony shore. Once his paws were treading dry pebbles and gritty sand, Saracyn paused just long enough to shake the water loose from his coat as well. The last thing either of them wanted was for the water to turn to ice crystals in their fur. No sooner had he finished drying, he felt Ava slip up beside him, her weight leaning into his frame while her slender muzzle brushed through his fur on his neck. Again those tingles flared up from her touch, making butterflies stir in his belly as an excited smile made itself at home on his face. His sister's words made his pulse quicken in his veins; so their minds were in the same place. Avacyn wanted him to spend the night in her room, and after the romantic moment they'd just shared together, something told him it wasn't just for warming cuddles. "It's like you read my mind," replied Sara with a husky chuckle, leaning in to nuzzle the top of his sister's head in return. "Anything for my Avacyn." Avacyn's words were more of a gentle command than a request, and one he was all too happy to obey. No one would suspect a thing of the Mendacium prince and princess, least of all their parents or caretaker. The two had been sharing a room for almost all their lives until they became yearlings, and snuggling through the night had been a regular fixture of their routine for just as long. Call it twin bonding, but now it was evolving into something far more intimate.

With a kiss to his cheek and one to her forehead, the pair set back off for home, Saracyn leading the way but maintaining his place at Avacyn's side for every step. He barely shifted away from her, most of their strides causing their sides to rub together with gentle jostles. Every now and then he would steal little glances and smiles down to her, admiring the way her marking glowed in the starlight or the way the auroras seemed to make her obsidian eyes glow iridescent. Avacyn was beautiful—stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful. The more time he spent looking at her and considering her, the more Saracyn was convinced that this was always meant to be. He'd thought his existence had been a fluke; a trick of fate or a cruel joke of the Ancients to give him gifts worthy of life when someone as perfect as Avacyn was the one who should have survived. But maybe he had been looking at it all wrong. Maybe the reason for his existence wasn't to lead, but to be by Avacyn's side with love and support. Maybe... just maybe... he'd been allowed to live for her.

It was late into the evening when the twins crossed the land bridge back to Alias Island. Elysium was silent, its inhabitants sleeping. It made it easy for the pair to surreptitiously slip unnoticed back into their familial den, Saracyn pausing just long enough to double check and make sure their parents and Irilyth were all asleep before he followed Ava into her room. The larger twin wasted no time in making his way over to Avacyn's plush and spacious bed of pelts and furs, settling himself down on it and stretching out his lean body and tired limbs with an appreciative groan. He was usually the big spoon whenever they cuddled, and he doubted this time would be any different. So, lifting a foreleg, he silently beckoned Ava over to join him with a casual yet eager grin, already imagining her arms around him and her lips on his again.

"Saracyn Mendacium"