Angsty teenage boys with complicated feelings about their half siblings and step parents are often driven to make questionable choices. Erik would know. Erik is angsty teenage boys who... well, you get the picture. Why did he want to be close to them? Why does he want Tenshi to like him? Why does he want his younger siblings to thing he belongs, too? Erik can't stay within the bamboo, even though it's late afternoon when he leaves. Initially his plan had been to find Tate and camp out with his older brother, but tracking his scent had led him on a trail that turned out to be... more familiar than he cared to admit.

It was late by the time he got to the Hallows, later than he'd intended. Hell, he hadn't been planning to walk all the way up here, but what did that have to do with anything else? Nah, fuck it. He walked all the way up here. Erik was going to see her, even if he was making bad choices. If he got caught? Fake it until he makes it. Hell, he could tell the truth too, he's never been above playing for sympathy points before.

Taking a small, flat stone, Erik makes his way to the space below Ember's window. It was a long way up, but hell, he'd made it this far. Men really will do anything short of going to therapy, and... here goes nothing. A massive amount of force behind the stone, and there it was. Full send. Sailing through her window, all he could do was hope that she was awake, or it was enough.

"Speech"

Having her own room was still something Ember was growing accustomed to. Having spent the first year of her life sharing space with her siblings and parents, the quiet of the evening to herself was somewhat enjoyable. The adolescent princess had retired to her room after dinner and a bath so she could work on grooming her fur, her tail now grown to its full length of luxuriously flowing silky plumage, just like her mother's. Ember lay sprawled out on her bed, a fire crackling in the hearth to illuminate and warm the room from the cold, rainy winter weather outside while she settled in with her brushes and fur oils. With a tug of her tail, she undid the braids keeping it up and letting it flow out across the mattress. Then she picked up her brush and began to brush it out to a silky smooth sheen.

Ember was no more than a few minutes into her routine when something rapped against her bedroom window. The princess looked up with a start over to the darkness outside, cocking her head to the side curiously. What on earth could be at her window at this hour? Sliding from her bed and padding over to the balcony doors, Ember pushed them open and peeked out into the rainy night. The sound of the nearby ocean made a lovely natural melody with the rhythm of the rain, but other than that she couldn't see anything. At least, not until she stepped out onto her balcony. Peering down over the edge of her balcony, Ember spotted a figure down below just outside the castle, realizing she recognized the wolf skulking around outside her home. A sly smile slowly crept across her face as she lifted her paws over the balcony's balustrades to peer down at her viking boy from above, her long tail wagging happily across the wet stone floor.

"You must be lost, viking boy. The bamboo is back that way," she teased him, pointing a paw back the way he had come. A little rumble of distant thunder overhead forewarned of the evening storm getting heavier, and though it hadn't hit yet, it was clear that the rain was going to get worse tonight before it got better. Ember gestured Erik towards the gate, calling down to him in a measured voice so she didn't attract any unwanted attention to them. "Go through the gate and keep to the walls. The guards will be on the east side right now. When you get inside, come straight up. I'll meet you halfway." Was she inviting him in? Yes, she supposed she was. Was she allowed to? Ehhh, semantics.

Ember slid from the railing and hurried back inside, closing the glass doors and quickly drying off her damp fur with a fur before quietly creeping from her bedroom and scampering down the corridor to the stairwell to meet her midnight caller, not caring about her still drying fur clinging to her body or her long tail left unbraided and half brushed. She was just happy to see Erik again.

"Ember Carpathius"

Something about a pack that welcomed the huddled masses and a soggy boy with a gross cough being out in the cold-- the kind of thing that goes together like peanut butter and jelly. Erik could feel the pressure system moving in, his chest and throat aching in it. He feels it through the back of his neck as well, a stiffness that threatens to set in if he stills for too long. As Ember appeared in the window, the thunder picked up. Erik could damn near taste the lightning on his tongue. Thor swinging his hammer, the vikings would explain. While Erik wasn't wholly sold on them, it's a comfort all the same.

Her instructions are clear, though the heist movie music is oddly absent. Instead Erik is silhouetted by the crack of lightning, his footsteps obscured by the rain. It wraps him up, the man dripping wet by the time he slips through the doors of the castle. Hugging the walls had taken him the long way around, the viking bastard slipping as quietly as he could through the front doors of the castle. For someone not used to being inside at all, it's even harder on his nerves. Sneaking... well, Ember had just invited him in. But still sneaking. It's fine, Erik is the king of faking it until he makes it.

Thankfully, he doesn't need to. Just as she promised, Ember met him halfway. He's struck for a long moment, gaze falling on the girl where she stands. Backlit by another scar of lightning flashing across the sky, she's... damn. To see her in such a state felt near like a privilege. Was that silly? Maybe. But she's always so put together, and this is something not everyone sees. No. Pull your head together, boy. It's getting loud in there again.

The bastard prince moves to her side, his cheek pressing against hers in gentle greeting. She was clean, still damp. Erik is soggy, his breath still ragged and near as wet as his coat. He has control over those breaths, they're just loud. And they sting. A haunting sound for a haunting boy. Clearing his throat, trying to rid himself of it... for someone who usually owned his cryptid nature, Erik would pretend he wasn't a bit embarrassed about it now. At least the handsome face makes up for it. "Sorry I..." the words died on his lips. It was a long story.

"Wasn't expectin' rain." The words come with a rakish grin. It plays across his features... maybe it wasn't the whole truth, but it was part, and that's good enough for now. Partial truth or not, it's landed him here, cold and damp, in her hallway. Erik must be doing something right.

"Speech"

There were several long heart-pounding moments between when Ember got to the top of the stairs to when Erik came quietly (or as quietly as his large frame would allow) running up the stairs and back into view. He's soaked from the rain beginning to pour more heavily outside, looking quite the pitiful sight, but also quite attractive as his wet fur clings to his bulk, every youthful muscle on display. He was clearly going through the same adolescent glow up that she was going through as well, that transition from awkward puppy to regal adult. Thankfully Hearthstone is kept warm all winter long and her room was even warmer and drier with her fire, so he'd be better in no time. Really what Ember was most worried about was his throat, blue eyes moving to the crystals jutting through his neck as he came up the stairs. She remembered the damp and wet irritated them, so right now her only goal was getting him dry and comfortable.

The princess greeted the prince with a sweet smile and a happy nuzzle of her cheek against his in return, feeling just how much wetter his fur was compared to hers. He cleared his throat and that guttural sound just emphasized Ember's hurry to get him dried off. While he might have been embarrassed, Ember didn't shy away from his cryptid nature, his rough hewn behavior just a part of him she'd known since their meeting on his family's mountains. Erik apologized, Ember cocking her head to the side as she fixed him with a puzzled look. What was he apologizing for? When the answer turned out to be the rain, Ember just sighed and rolled her eyes, shooting the much larger brute an amused smirk. "Oh stuff it, you. C'mon, let's get you dry before you lose your voice." Ember gently nudged Erik's shoulder with a bump of her head, ushering him swiftly and as silently as she could down the quiet hallway until they reached her bedroom about halfway down. Smiling up at her friend, Ember opened the door and led him inside.

Ember's bedroom was a representation of her personality painted into the physical world. The space was open, warm, inviting. A large queen-sized canopy bed occupied most of the space, the deep red curtains drawn back to reveal the matching red sheets and bedspread over the mattress. A vanity stood near the bed, littered with Ember's brushes, oils, perfumes, and jewelry. Next to the door was a wolf mannequin, adorned in her leather armor that matched the rest of the Hallows warriors' armor. By the balcony door and tall glass windows that looked out into the rainy night, a desk was covered in books, papers, and quills; Ember's workspace. As soon as Erik was inside, Ember quietly pushed the door shut and slid the latch back into place, guaranteeing them privacy so no nosy guards (or siblings) could come sniffing about. In here, the air was warmer and drier, hopefully making it more comfortable for his throat.

"Come in and get dry," she said as she crossed the room to grab the wool towels she'd used to dry herself off with after her bath and tossed them over to Erik. "Sorry I don't have any fresh towels, but they're better than nothing." She could have snuck downstairs to pilfer him a fresh towel, but that would risk attracting more attention to her technically trespassing viking boy hiding out in her room. Hopefully he didn't mind that they were a little damp and smelled like her. A flash of lightning through the windows lit up the roiling black sea, and a moment later a clap of thunder shook the heavens overhead. Phew, glad Erik got inside when he did! Ember grabbed her brush and moved over to the fireplace to lay down on the plush rug laid out before the hearth, inviting her rugged prince over with a sweet smile and a paw patting the space next to her. "So I'm guessing you didn't just sneak into my family's castle in the middle of a storm to say hi to me," Ember teased him playfully, her flowing tail curling around her shapely hip so she could continue to brush her long fur into a silky smooth sheen while they talked.

"Ember Carpathius"