middaeg | Deceuer Catch-All

Entry tags:

Deceuer Catch-All

Who: Soren and OTA!
When: Various dates in in Deceuer.
Where: Depends on the prompt!
What: A catchall. Prompts are in the comments.
Warnings: Depression... References to house fires... the rest TBD

If you would like to plot a custom starter for your character, feel free to hit me up at

wingything or my CR plotting meme comment! I love personalizing threads to suit specific characters. Feel free to create your own starter in the comments below if there is something different you have in mind.

I will be writing these in bracket style for accessibility, but while I am flexible, I have a slight preference for prose. Feel free to use whichever suits you best.

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( when he steps toward him, ranulf half-expects the worst. he closes his eyes and waits for something to happen... but only feels comforting and familiar hands taking his own. he instantly squeezes. is he being forgiven? it seems like it, more or less. but it's after listening to soren that he feels like he... he's so mature. that he's grown so much. that he's so thoughtful and wise beyond his years. it's not that ranulf didn't already know these things but witnessing it. experiencing it again and again. maybe he's become a little numb to those feelings, taken them for granted...?

his words are stronger than anything he's experienced before. his heart feels warm. his everything does. the tears well up in his eyes and unlike soren, he's not going to hide them. the dragon is right, per usual, and to not take his advice would be foolish--- after all soren is the brightest tactician in the entire world. and not just tellius, but ranulf's world.

...

his next breath is fluttery. his ears, folded. )

Soren. ( ranulf's voice cracks and he wraps the dragon in his arms, as tightly as he can, though those wings make it a little difficult. a heaving sob leaves him and he can't keep himself from crying. with every choked sound, tension leaves him; the kind that is held onto when keeping something back for so long. ) Soren, I'll do my best. For you. Because I love you.

( the last part leaves him breathless, his face pink. )

[ shock resonates through their bond after ranulf dropped the l-bomb, knocking soren just as windless as ranulf. he'd already been swept away by the rush of tears, fighting his own... and now that he's gone and said that, he's about ready to lose that battle. it doesn't help that ranulf's intense emotions bleed into his own.

he throws a palm against his chest like he's hitting him, keeps it planted there. ]

You...!?

[ that single word of an incomplete sentence tumbles out halting. he's only been told this once before in a way that wasn't facetious. iramaat professed that she loved him before. he didn't take it well. he threw her 'love' back at her face and left her wounded there, for he couldn't fathom the love of someone he hadn't really let in. this time, he doesn't have the same excuse to refute it.

they're bonded. he can't escape these feelings that surround him like his embrace. ranulf really does know him like nobody else here can hope to. he'd seen him stand at ike's side and turn the tides of battles. more potently, he'd seen the darker side of him no one but ike had been given permission to know, and no one but a couple of mirrorbound had glimpsed by chance when everyone's minds had been traversable in the looking-glass house. he even knows where his lineage can be traced to. he'd been by his side affixed to the very soul, slept with him in two ways, and he'd given him someone to share his miserable life here with. and just that... perhaps, had made it all the more bearable. he might even be able to say that he had enjoyed some of the time spent with him.

it's almost as though, in some twisted way, he descries a future they could be having once they left tellius on their own accord. a miserable one like this barren of ike once his beorc lifespan ran its course. this had been his worst and creeping fear: the inevitable end and the despair it would leave in its wake. ranulf could be there at this end with him, and like that... soren wouldn't be quite so pitch-black alone.

the impact of these feelings frightens him. but not enough to make him close back up and try to protect himself. alarm isn't the only thing ringing through him, after all. it's a lot like the sensation of being tickled in his chest. but he's warm, and... he wants to stay. ]

Don't... Don't be ridiculous! [ he sniffles! and his voice is getting a little soggy. he digs his fist into his clothes. ] Do it for you, not for me... Uu...

[ that was a very squeaky sound. not made by anyone who's crying because someone told them they love them or anything! no way! ]

If I do it for you, I'm doing it for us.

( it's been slowly dawning on him that his selfishness was showing. that a return to selflessness and in the same kind that he's used to, brings him a proven and undeniable strength. sure, it may have led him to making poor decisions in the past, throwing himself at the most dangerous enemy wearing armor, but right now? it's emboldening. besides, the way this is going... they're practically trading moments of tenderness while feeling incredibly sensitive. surely it'll bounce back to soren and he will be resolute while ranulf's knees quiver and he collapses into the dragon, looking to bask in his strength.

well... perhaps not the physical kind. not at the moment. he doesn't forget that soren's in a very precarious situation already. maybe this was the worst time to spring compounded issues on his bonded, but maybe it was also the perfect time? who knows, really? regardless he will take care of soren, just like how he took care of everyone--- only with bared feelings and a slowly growing peace.

the peace of acknowledging that his feelings can be reciprocated, and that maybe when he does reach the end of his days, he can find the storybook ending that everyone wishes to have. )

So let me be ridiculous, so that you don't have to be.

( it makes sense. it holds an air of truth. and that sniffling is joined by his own, as he continues to embrace soren with the strength of someone who didn't feel as lonely in the first place but feels more whole than ever. )

[ in the end, they become two pillars supporting the weight of each other, two sources of inner strength propping up their current weaknesses. when it comes to outer strength, however, soren teetered back a couple of steps and held onto the cat laguz with sore and trembling arms, but he's got him. ]

Ranulf...

[ the terrifying, foreign, and wonderful phrase 'i love you' still rings in his ears. would ike ever tell him those words? even if he never did, he'd never need to for soren to understand. for the longest time, he was perhaps the one person soren could accept admitting that without qualm or question, though it would surely take him by surprise much like this did, though not to such an extent. being told something that he had known on a deep, covert level, inflicting shock... who is the ridiculous one around here? their trust and fondness for each other had been growing and developing beneath his awareness and scrutiny, no matter how obvious it should have been to most people who attach themselves readily to others. was it the magic of being bonded? their mutual sympathy, mutual origins and experiences that no one else from any of these scattered cultures intimately understood? how routine physical contact had become, what happens as two people go to sleep and wake up wrapped up in each other? he's not sure exactly how it managed to happen, but ranulf lives somewhere in his heart now, even though it had once been a place almost exclusive to ike, who he loved in a way that transcended simple loves people usually mean when they utter these sorts of sentiments.

but what does he know of love beyond the narrow definition he had built for himself? more than he had, perhaps.

the dragon wrings out the worst of his sobs in soft burbles and hiccups as he clings to him and lets himself be clung to. his chest feels as though it is on fire... ]

I will... I will find better ways to aid you. Better explanations if need be; better materials... For your draconic goals, you may study my body...

[ real dragons are hard to come by for anatomy lessons these days... ]

( a reaffirmation of their bond... through the tears and the warmth on his face and on the tips of his ears, ranulf's heart has never felt lighter. and this is why he can't stop himself from laughing, a trembling but joyful noise that leaves his mouth and throat and echoes through the hall. surely by now they're attracting some kind of attention, but it's the kind he doesn't care about sharing with others. they're happy. happiness is hard to find. it doesn't matter when or where, because it's the single most important thing to him--- and he's found it with soren. that he can share a piece of him to someone who understands the best is relieving and exhausting and everything in between. )

You don't... I've studied your body. I study it all the time.

( with all of his senses, no doubt. even now, during the most precious and sensitive of times, ranulf can't NOT listen to that one particular part of his. the color on his face deepens, his breath catching just once, and... )

But you've given me everything you can. I just have to listen to you better.

( an awareness as clear as day. not that he didn't listen to soren before but acknowledging his weaknesses has shown light on spots untouched. his love for the dragon, the mage, the branded, the everything that soren is to him... enlightening. )

... probably shouldn't loiter around here any longer... we can be stuck somewhere else if we want.

[ 'i study it all the time' - of course he should have expected a saucy comeback like that... it's not completely wrong, given how intimate he has gotten with so many contours of him. and yet, soren manages to pout with embarrassment as the remark hits him. ]

Oh? There are places you've never touched.

[ but the dragon forcibly crawls out of the gutter he'd tricked himself into and thinks that he can give him more. he's not sure what more, but there must be more ways to help him learn faster, whether it's by a little or a lot. ]

I was just on my way home, so - oh!

[ he staggers back in place, feet unable to leave the ground. light giggles tinkle down the hall. he frowns then presses his lips to ranulf's again to satisfy both the mistletoe and those who secretly enchanted it again. ]

Let's go.

Are there? You'll have to show me them so I can give them the proper attention.

( and don't blame him for wanting to hold that kiss longer, while getting his arms around soren's shoulders and his hands on the dragon's back so that he could rest them comfortably near his wings. never hurts to be a little more affectionate, especially after the disorienting feeling of panic and insecurities and fear.

soren is more than just a stabilizing force for him. he's ranulf's world. )

Yeah, let's... get out of here before they invent another kind of spell.

( the kind that might require more than just kissing! taking soren's hand, he's more than happy to go somewhere with a lot more privacy.

and not the linen closet, which could easily be named after them by now... )

[ that closet was very convenient when soren was horny 24/7!!!! except for the cleaning up part.

a remark like that fuels the poor dragon's imagination and sends another heat wave through him. he's a little nervous, but electrified by the idea of him exploring such places, and on the way home he'll have a thrilling prospect to look forward to. his tail sways sinuously. their kiss ends up a just a few seconds longer than intended...

without another word, he follows ranulf out of the coven and to their home. ]

(( thread continues here ))

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Deceuer Catch-All

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