SWIMMING/SINKING

[RED&BLACK !]

PRETTY GOOD AT BAD DECISIONS

    Nerissa's throat is closing, and she does not think she has ever felt so tired.
    Not crawling back from her fights, long after the sun has set. Not after arguing with Sansa until her throat gave out. Not after Maddox left. Not after her parents died. No, this is different - exhaustion so pure that it feels as if it is breaking her bones. Gravity is suddenly a threat. She can feel her eyelashes fluttering, heavy with fatigue. Her muscles are tense, stiffening her movements, and tightening a throat so dry that she feels as if she cannot breathe.
    All that way for Sansa. All that way to lose her again. Nerissa wants to drop dead.
    Even sighing the sadness out of her lungs takes away energy that is slipping by the second. Still, she trudges forward. It is nearing nighttime, unusually cold for a summer night, and ropes of pale gray fog are stuck like sweat to her skin. The forest is wild with sounds from the breeze, the leaves howling, animals chattering - a bird is singing some too-high song from a branch close to her head. Nerissa heaves. The air is cold and fresh inside her lungs, and for a moment sharp enough to keep her eyes open, but it fades as soon as she dares to let out the breath. Gravity grabs her again, mountains of sable hair and a muscle-bound body pitched downwards.
    The forest breaks open just as she stumbles. Here the trees are not so packed together; the ground is flat and cushioned with grass, beyond that the stream gurgles, and she can make out sleeping figures pressed up against the foliage, their sides made silvery with moonlight. She counts them, her blue eyes sharp and dark. One, two, three, then the numbers going sharply upwards until she breathes out a even nine and is satisfied. Then - she forces her legs forward, past the huddle, to the edge of the river she knows so well.
    It is gurgling softly, everything still, but Nerissa does not feel at peace. In the glassy surface of the rushing water, she can see her face - dark and beautiful and broken by the years. Her heart starts hammering louder than it should, and she tries to push down the pulse, but instead tears flood her eyes. There is no one to catch them, and so the water swallows up her sorrows. And her heart does not stop hurting.

★SPACED <333 for rhaskos

[★SPACED]

IT'S ALWAYS HAVE AND NEVER HOLD,
YOU'VE BEGUN TO FEEL LIKE HOME.

Rhaskos no longer feels the profound loneliness that used to haunt him. Instead, he feels as if he has a purpose, a life of giving and purpose - and all of this wouldn't have been possible without his Queen, Nerissa. He's not the adoring type, but Rhaskos can't help but to feel indebted to her and he's loyal to a fault - should Ness need anything, he would have been there right away. In truth, Rhaskos could have tried to break Nessa's bones and taken position as King of Bears Den - but he'd never have wanted it, and all emotions aside, Rhaskos wasn't really the bone-breaking type. 

He certainly could have been. He was a grown man now - and reflected very little of his families usual traits. He was not slender, delicate and graceful. He was sturdy, muscular and strong, with a thick jaw and round shoulders, built for strength over speed. In fact the only real resemblance between him and his famous sire were his golden eyes, lupine and sharp lashed. He stands watch over the herd, satisfied as the sleeping bodies around him let out only the deep breaths of dreams, glad that Isa was sleeping without nightmares. Isadore was everything to him… not that anyone knew. Rhaskos kept his feelings hidden, for fear of ridicule and also simply because he could not bear to tell them. He wanted Isa to be happy more than anything, wanted her to know that she was the only one he wanted in his bed, wrapped in his arms night after night. He wanted to kiss her eyelids and let her know nothing would ever hurt her, he'd never let anything happen to her. Alas, he was no silver tongued wolf like his brothers and sisters, and so he remained silent, lupine eyes watching her from afar. 

A noise startled him and Rhaskos jolted, eyes going immediately to Nerissa's swaying figure - she moved almost silently, yet some of the grace she had always maintained had been lost. He watched, concerned. She hadn't been the same since Sansa had left - and he hated seeing her shoulders so burdened, his own heart heavy with the grief that was so plain in her eyes. With a glance to the sleeping Isadore, he followed his Queen to the river. 

He arrives at her side in his usual manner - silent and strong, albeit a little awkward. Talking wasn't his strong point. He notices the tears streaming down her face but doesn't mention it; instead he says in his kindest, baritone voice; "We'll get her back. I'll get her back, if I can."

<3333 I love these two! RED&BLACK !

[RED&BLACK !]

The river offers her little solace, but at this point Nerissa will take what she can get. She sucks in a huge breath, her chest burning with the influx of air, and then exhales it bit by bit. The ache lessens slightly. Behind her head the moon sheds bits of silver into the water and through her hair; she watches light dance over her reflection and across the grass on the other side, for half a moment, distracted. It is enough to keep her attention, for her thoughts to dim. And this is why she does not notice Rhaskos creeping up behind her, until he is at her ear, his baritone voice ringing through her head - and she jumps. Her heart soars upward, pounding erratically, until she recognizes him. His eyes dark and warm, the face that she has watched grow through seasons - he tugs at her heart with that look of love, and Nerissa wants to start crying all over again.

She doesn't, though. She takes in a breath like window shutters closing and matches his gaze, as well as she can. Never in a million years would Nerissa have thought, taking him in, that she would care so much for the golden-eyed boy. He is silent and she is still learning to read him, but it is times like these where she can see how his heart is lent to her. And every part of her is filled with gratitude for him; she hopes he knows so. There is some sort of reverence in her gaze, she knows, but it is too late to care about being soft. Thank you, slips the words from her mouth, finally, and Nerissa gives him a sad smile. Her teeth flash in the dark, and she can feel her heart lightening, ever so slightly. Rhaskos' presence lifts some of the weight from her shoulders.

The queen bites her lip, considering. There are no words to describe how she feels or what is happening, or even what she wants to say about Rhaskos being here, and so she resigns herself to silence. There is so much trapped under her tongue. What she manages is less than beautiful and maybe not the right think to ask, but it is something better than the rustle of leaves. It will get better. Won't it?

It can't get worse, she thinks to herself, quietly.


★SPACED this sucks but i adore them!!