The evening grew late, and the party didn't end. The Hallows certainly knew how to throw an event. There was food in abundance, and music played on an ancient looking piano. People danced and enjoyed themselves. Their children got into trouble, and wore themselves out. He saw Citadel snoring beneath a table. More importantly, he saw the exhaustion on Ignitas face. On his wife's face, as the social event wore her down.

He kissed her check and tugged at her with a hooked paw. “Come on” he whispered urgently. “Let's make our escape while no one's looking,” he grinned, pulling her away from the party. Back to the library where he has gotten permission from Art to sneak off to.

It became a blur. The faces melded into one, the voices a hum in the background, the strange music she had never heard before played its melodies in one ear and out the other. Several guests ago she had lost her ability to say thank you, or speak any words at all. She had nibbled at the copious amounts of food but was too busy trying to respond to the guests and give them nods of greeting before she could sit down and enjoy the delectable dishes. The wines she tried still didn't sit right with her, she avoided the sweet red wine unfortunately, even though it seemed to be the drink of the night.

Suddenly her... husband kissed her cheek and tugged at her, whispering something she could barely make out. She dolefully followed him into a quiet corridor, not altogether aware of what was going on as she wasn't altogether aware of anything such was her overwhelm.

Suddenly they were in a room and it took a minute for the quiet and the smells to permeate her consciousness. It was familiar, and it drew her tired eyes up slowly slowly up to his face. She blinked as if she was waking from a dream. She took a deep breath as her awareness came back to her, waking her up to the gentle surrounds. Books towered over them to the side... Books! The Library! Her eyes sprang back to life as the spines called out to her. She sighed with a truly happy smile.

"Books..." She mumbled dreamily pulling herself closer to the shelves. The smell of the books welcomed her, "I like books." She mumbled, only able to speak in short sentences, "I like you..." She blinked as she turned to...her husband.

"Basilisk" | "Ignita"

He led her to the castle’s library. He could see the lost, overwhelmed expression on her maw. He understood, to a degree. He had found himself growing frustrated more than once at the attention. The constant noise, movement and people. The sudden still and quiet around him was a balm to his overtaxed soul.

Ignita… Ignita did not overwhelm her. Her presence was not a frustration, but a comfort. Seeing her smile loosened the last bit of tension against his heart. Ignita, however, still seemed overwhelmed. Overwhelmed, and tired. Perhaps the library had not been the best choice. It was still someone else’s room, and she didn’t seem to have the wherewithal to read.

He gently grabbed her paw again, and led her away. Not back to the crowd, but through the corridor again. This time, to the room Artorias had put aside for them. He nudged open the door and brought her inside. Privacy, and quiet. “Here, little one.” He said, gently pulling a blanket across her shoulder. He tugged her head into his lap as he sat. “Rest.” he whispered in her ear.


"Basilisk" | "Ignita"

Oh, they were leaving again? He tugged at her paw as she reached out to stroke a spine. She was waking up! It'll be fine! They entered the corridor, where was he taking her this time? Before she could process fully he had whisked her away into a private bedroom. It wasn't that time already? She didn't know if she had it in her yet. The quiet deepened and she found she felt like she could breathe again. He heard him call her little one, and she was, it was cute. She didn't mind, too much like putty to truly protest the blanket of her shoulders and the pose of her head coming to rest in his lap.
"Oh... Alright.... Just... just a little while. Just going to close my eyes. Then we can go back. Can't leave... your own party too early... right?" She asked dreamily as she faintly blinked and relaxed into him.

A little time later she blinked and drew in a wakeful breath. She was able to think clearly and her mind returned to her.
"What kind of book would you read, Husband?" She asked into the stillness. The murmuring of the party still going on strong. She reached up and stroked the fur she could reach on his chest.

"Basilisk" | "Ignita"

Ignita really had gotten overwhelmed. It affected her differently than it did him. Where he got grumpier, she seemed to disassociate, and became confused at what was going on around her. He rubbed a paw gently through the fur around her forehead as she accepted her nap with some grace. “Of course not, dear one.” He agreed. There was no point arguing with her, or pointing out that it was late enough that no one would miss them.

His mind drifted as he remained there, his wife asleep on his lap until he heard the change in her breathing and the little movements. She was awake. He looked down at her, easily able to make out her form in the dark. What book would he read? He let out a soft chuckle. “Perhaps a book on fortification. Or tactics.”


"Basilisk" | "Ignita"

She hummed agreeably, "Fortifications... Tactics." She repeated with a quiet and honeyed tone. Her claw playfully twirled the locks of fur on his broad deep chest. "I wonder if they... Have a copy of that one book, of medieval war tactics. I used to read it front to back over and over." She mused aloud, shifting her head in his lap to get a better view of the man she could now call...

"Husband..." She said, reaching herself up into the darkness to pull his face just a little closer for her to clasp her lips over his. Taste him. Somehow he tasted sweeter as her Husband than as her fiance. She had a feeling they weren't going back down there until morning.


"Basilisk" | "Ignita"

She mused some wonderings about books, but Basilisk was already distracted by the playful tug of her claw in his fur. She seemed far more awake now, alert and present. His eyes seemed to catch on fire as she moved closer, pressing her lips to his.

With a playful growl, he moved one of his paws behind her, tugging her closer still. Holding her to him. Wife.” He whispered into her fur, dragging his tongue across her cheek, towards her ear which he playfully tugged at. “Mine. And now the whole world knows it.” He said proudly, possessively. A fate she could never escape now.


"Basilisk" | "Ignita"

He brought her closer, and his playful growl had her blush while he whispered into her ear. Wife... it sounded sweeter when he said it, it made her heart rush with pride, beat ever faster for him. She giggled as she felt his tongue over her cheek. She pulled away with a laugh as he tugged her ear.

Her smile was broad and playful as he proclaimed her his, how the whole world knew it now. How there would be no denying her place in it. Secure, safe, enshrined, protected. She sighed contentedly, oblivious to the fate she wasn't all that opposed to.

"The whole world." She repeated with whispered awe. "No one and nothing could rip me away from you now. I'm yours." She purred for him, her paws reaching up to his face.

"Basilisk" | "Ignita"