Duchess may have seemed a little different after their trip to Elysium for the festival. But she had easily fallen back into her regular routine living with Noir. It was easy to find herself hunting, cleaning, cooking, as if she could make his life perfect without him even asking. There were some days or nights where she could wonder where he was and there was an active anxiety in her when she was alone like that. She'd never bring it up and face him though, never tell him how she was feeling. Sticking to him like desperate glue even if not really prominent or obvious had become a lifestyle for her. She didn't want to lose him and for that sake she wouldn't confront him. She'd live like their life was perfect just the way it was, and maybe it was for him.

She woke up beside him, gently wrapping her legs around what was available to her but didn't stir enough as if to wake him up. It was a physical feeling she was used to by now with him, but one that she didn't truly realize how much she missed with Indigo until she was living with Noir. Even after Aslatiel had threatened her, she'd still be laying here thinking about him. Maybe not in the forefront of her mind, but that longing and memory was still there. It was hard but not impossible to drown out the emotions when she was here with Noir. She could make it seem easy.

"Duchess"

Duchess is an !M rated! character for themes of Depression. Please Discord me if you have concerns.

Noir hadn’t noticed much of a change in Duchess after the festival, though she did seem extra affectionate and clingy. Not that he really minded those qualities, and he had no real desire to leave her for long. She gave him everything he wanted, but that also meant he got bored of her. He’d enjoyed a night away and with the Habari queen, but he returned and she was happy to see him. Noir was content to spent the rest of the winter quietly in Duch’s presence. He slept beside her, tangled in her legs every night.

Noir was still mostly asleep when he felt her squeeze his neck and shift slightly in his arms. The sun was already glancing over the sky, perhaps today would actually be nice with spring on the way. As he slowly awoke Noir traced on big dark paw up and down her spine. He hadn’t opened his eyes yet, just indulged in the predictability that Duchess brought. She was a stability Noir didn’t know he wanted.

He breathed in deeply, taking in her scent and that of the brisk morning before slowly exhaling. Noir blinked open his eyes to gaze at the demure woman wrapped up against his chest. ”Can’t sleep?” He asked in a low rumble. With the cool temperatures they could afford to sleep through the morning, but it was still early even for him.

As Noir quietly stirred too, rubbing along her back she made herself more comfortable into his chest with a near silent hum and a smile he probably hadn't seen. As he breathed in around her it did make her feel beautiful and secure, even if she had harsher things on her mind when he wasn't here. When he spoke, her chin lifted to look up at his own focused gaze and she could make the gentle smile seem real when she was wrapped up in him like this.

"I was just getting more comfortable." She spoke in a whisper maybe looking as if she were still tired. She could sleep more through the morning too, but it was almost like waking up and feeling Noir still there beside her was a way she needed to pacify the anxieties she felt when he wasn't here or sometimes when she was sleeping. As if she'd wake up and none of it was real. And she'd go back into her ways of finding that temporary comfort for any man she crossed. Sometimes she still felt that way, but she had enough to keep her stable for now. "Did you want to go back to sleep for a bit?" It would seem they had the same on their mind to either sleep or stay just like this for a while. Duchess could stay like this forever really.

"Duchess"

Duchess is an !M rated! character for themes of Depression. Please Discord me if you have concerns.

He would never admit the comfort that came with having her in his arms. Like a far distant memory stirred within. A time before, when he’d once been innocent. A feeling he had cast off when he left his family to go out on his own. It was almost innately embedded within Duchess herself, and he found it easy to embrace instead of scorn like his kin.

Noir found her sparkling gaze easily, he could never know if her eyes were sparkling because she was about to cry, or because of her happiness. Noir tried to tell himself he didn’t care, but he preferred when she did not cry. Though he was attracted to how vulnerable she was, he preferred the genuine smile playing on her features. She whispered as she looked up at him, just resettling in his arms as the night went on.

Duchess spoke up again a moment later, asking if he was planning on sleeping for longer. ”Maybe a little longer.” He admitted with a subtle growl in his chest while his paws roved her soft fur. Slowly rolling over her shoulder, along her belly, and he grabbed lightly at her hip, curling his claws in against her flesh. ”Or not…” He added, closing his eyes back again to give her the choice. Lay here for a long while, or enjoy each other in different ways.

With how broken she was, all she wanted to be was just like this in his arms. She had really grown used to his presence, but honestly it hadn't mattered if it were him or some other guy, or a new one every night. She felt like she'd never be truly happy unless she was with Indigo again. Maybe that wasn't quite true, but to her no one could be like him. And it's why she settled into the life with Noir, the short times before him. And anything that would come from this point on. She could make herself loyal to him, she'd still not expect the same in return and let him do everything as he pleased. She didn't dig deep enough into his own heart and mind to find out his own damage. She may never know how much she could mean to him even while he still lived his own life outside.

She didn't like to look emotionally weak and damaged to him. He had seen her at one of her worst moments, but she wanted to keep that as far away in the past as she could. As much as she may have wanted to feel connected to him it felt better just to keep their relationship more strictly physical in the way he held her, the intimate times they shared, and nothing more emotional than that. They may have both been filling some sort of void in each other if maybe never enough. They were fooling themselves.

She let off a gentle smile as he suggested more with his roaming paws, just a quiet huff as he moved lower and grabbed her lightly in his seemingly tired and quiet state. Of course the first thought across Duchess' mind was to do anything just for him. He could stay and lay there for a while and they could enjoy themselves. She wouldn't say anything else to him in response, instead pushing the lower half of her body into his own and going to pull herself more on top of him if she could. Every movement was gentle, subtle, just perfect for the early morning they were sharing. She'd lift her muzzle to his just to give him that little taste of both the emotion and desire she always felt with her lovers. He should have had no doubt she was in higher spirits than he had seen once or twice before. She knew him to be more on the dominant side, but she also liked to do the work for him when she could. It could really go any way and she'd go with the moves he played.

"Duchess"

Duchess is an !M rated! character for themes of Depression. Please Discord me if you have concerns.