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As Ethera continues to pamper his tail, G'raha begins to doze off against her shoulder. He can't remember the last time he felt so relaxed. All of his exhaustion from the past century is catching up to him, crashing and pummeling him into a blissful slumber. His Keeper companion continues to rake the coarse bristles of her brush through his fur even as he begins snoring softly. Pride swells in her breast knowing she's brought her friend such relief after everything that's happened. To him, to her, to the both of them. It was nice to have him back, and to know with certainty that he never forgot her, and maybe, just maybe, they can pick back up where they left off all those years ago. They had so much catching up to do, but all in due time. They've only just barely recovered from their journey through Amaurot.
A little while later after a thorough inspection of his tail, completely limp as he sleeps, Ethera considers it kempt and a job well done. The silver and white hair glistens like tiny crystals in the light. She's reminded of the price he chose to pay to see these recent events unfold. Giving his physical body over to the Crystal Tower to live indefinitely, sacrificing his life to maintain his vigil. "What had his life been like?" she wonders to herself. A hundred years was an excessively long time for a Miqo'te's lifespan. Had he lived a fulfilling life? What sights has he seen? What other feats had he achieved? Had he ever fallen in love? Had he ever started a family? Besides Lyna she wasn't aware of anyone else. Despite being old friends, she felt for a moment she was regarding a stranger. He has resided here on the First quadruple the amount of time he had lived on the Source. He will surely want to remain here after she and the Scions have fully returned to the Source. Her heart sank slightly. For some reason the thought of him remaining filled her with sorrow. She is glad to have him back, but needing to cross reflections just to interact feels like the gods committing a cruel jest. She quickly tries to push her worries out of her head. There's no point getting worked up when plans haven't even been discussed yet. Besides, what she really wants is for G'raha to be happy and alive. Surely. That's what any good friend would want, right? That would be the selfless and heroic course of action. She's already said good-bye once before, she can do it again. "Wait, no, stop it," she thinks to herself again. She looks around her room for something to take her mind off of her worries when she spots the book she began reading the other day resting on the table still. Perfect! She examines the sleeping Seeker putting all of his weight against her shoulder. "Still out cold." She shifts slightly, keeping him propped up with her hands before slowly laying him flat against the mattress, his head coming to rest upon her pillow. With her guest still sleeping soundly in a much more comfortable position, she retreats to the table on the other side of the room and sits down in one of its chairs. She cracks open the tome where the bookmark was placed and quickly gets pulled into the text, and finds her worries quiet somewhat. The story is a fictional tale about a brave hero and their beloved companion saving others from danger. A cliché but one she was admittedly weak to ever since she was little. She had always aspired to be like the heroes in her stories and help those who couldn't help themselves. To stand tall against evil influences. She also loved depictions of strong friendships, deep devotion, and unwavering passion. Again, cliché, but she finds joy in romanticism.
A couple of hours pass quickly as she is absorbed in her reading. She begins to hear tired moans and the shifting of sheets behind her, so she places the bookmark in its new resting place and closes it flat against the table. She turns and sees G'raha shifting and slowly lifting himself off of the downy surface. As he rubs the sleep from his eyes with his non-crystallized hand he realizes much to his horror that he had, in fact, fallen asleep. In Ethera's bed. He jolts out of the bed and apologizes profusely for "such careless behavior." Ethera just smiles from her chair, her arm propped up against the back rest, and chuckles softly to herself. "It's fine, G'raha!" she assures him. "If I wasn't okay with it I could have easily tried to wake you up. But it seemed like you were really tired so I wanted to give you time to rest."
"I see…" he breathes, adrenaline still coursing through his veins in his steadily receding panic. "I thank you for the generous repose, but I fear my languor may have caused me to take much more of your time than intended. I should return to my duties within the tower and begin researching ways to return our companions to their corporeal bodies." He stutters his words slightly as he anxiously shuffles to the door and sees himself out.
As the door begins to close behind him, Ethera—quickly on his heels—reaches her hand through the gap and halts it. He stops and looks back at her as she pleads, "Please be sure to get more rest, okay? You only slept a few hours, your body needs more rest."
His expression shifts through the stages of stunned she elected to see him off, soft for how much she seems to care, to somber as he is bitterly reminded of his physical situation. "As you recall, it is hard for me to refer to this as 'my body'. I am merely an extension of the Crystal Tower now."
Her brow furrows and her lips quirk a smile somewhere between annoyed and a teasing smirk at his response. "Well regardless, your heart and mind still seem to be your own, and you're still the one in control of this 'extension of the tower' that's 'not your body', and it is my wish that you see it gets some well-earned rest!"
He chuckles slightly in defeat at her assurances. "Very well. I shall elect to take my rest when I can get it. Now, I bid you a good night, my friend. May you enjoy pleasant dreams," he bowed politely in farewell before making his way back down the Pendants in a calm stride.
Ethera smiles as she watches him descend down the walkway before she closes and locks her door. It's then she realizes just how tired she is herself. It is rather late, so she decides to begin getting ready for bed.
~Meanwhile~
As G'raha descends down the pendants on his way back to the tower a familiar voice calls out for his attention. "Ooohh, how did it go with my [lovely sapling]? Please, please you must tell me! You two were alone for quite some tiiime~!" they tease.
"What are you implying, Feo?!" he snapped toward the pixie, now fluttering casually beside his head. "If you must know we spent our time simply enjoying each other's company. Platonically. I just...happened to fall asleep in my exhaustion after everything that has happened..."
They lean against his shoulder in a playful manner pretending to be sad. "Ohh, after all these years, I had hoped my precious Crystal Mystel had finally found [love]. You always spoke of her with such [devotion]."
Now approaching the ground level, he straightens his shoulders to maintain face and speaks in more hushed tones. "Pray, I'd rather not discuss such private matters so publicly. Please, do me the courtesy of quieting down." He pauses for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh. "But…I'm afraid you are mistaken. I could never…It could never be me…I am the property of the Crystal Tower. I am…" he pauses to consider his choice of word carefully. "Incapable. Even if I were, I am merely a footnote in her epic journey, not someone worthy of her affection. Just being in her presence is fulfillment enough."
The pixie groans, dramatically throwing their head back as their eyes roll in their sockets. "UGGHH, BOORRRIIINNG! You. Are. BORING! AND DENSE! AND DAFT! I'm going find my enjoyment elsewhere!" they declare in a shrill voice as they teleport away, leaving the subject of their probing alone and confused. Their words admittedly worried him a little. Pixies can be unpredictable at times and can sometimes go overboard with their "playing", but he trusts that nothing Feo Ul would do would be too harmful…at least he hopes.
~Near Lyhe Mheg~
"Tyr Beq!" Feo Ul cries out, still in their standard pixie form to not draw too much attention to themselves. The rosy pink pixie turns toward them in surprise. "Titania! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Feo flies closer with a pleading expression on their face, "I just need a teensy tiny little favor from you..."
~Back in the Pendants~
Ethera had finished her nightly routine and changed into her sleeping garb; a loose tunic and soft comfortable shorts. She climbs into the comfortable bed, pulls the sheets over herself, and as she begins to wind down there's suddenly a knock at her door. She sits up, puzzled who could be visiting at this hour. She decides to wait to see if she was just imagining it. Another knock, this time louder, quicker, like the person on the other side was becoming impatient. She turns and gets out of the bed and hurries to the door. She clicks the latch and opens the door with a soft creak, and finds G'raha suddenly at her door again, more solemn than when he left. "G'raha! Did you forget something?"
"Not exactly," he states vaguely, "may I come in?"
~Events from Lyhe Mheg continued~
"You want to influence Ethera's dreams?!" Tyr shrieks in shock. Feo clicks their tongue dismissively, "Not too much meddling. I fear my precious mortals aren't listening to their hearts, and are believing in falsehoods," they pout," and I thought I'd help my [precious sapling] by planting red-haired Mystel-shaped seed inside her dream and to see what grows. We won't be tending to the flower after the seed's been sown, that will all be my [dear sapling's] own precious mind." The pink hued pixie thinks to themselves for a moment. "It's not every day we get to play with the dreams of adults. Maybe it could be fun!" Feo places their hands on Tyr's and "bounces" with glee. (As much as one can bounce while flying.) "Ohh bless you, Tyr Beq! I knew I could count on you!!"
~Back in the Pendants~
Ethera shifts to the side to allow him passage and he hurriedly sees himself inside. She closes the door again and turns to face him, worry beginning to creep up as something about him seemed off. He stood a few fulms in front of her staring at her, something clearly caught on his tongue. She finds her eyes darting at his various features. It's been quite sometime since she's gotten a good look at his face since he wore a hood for so long, his mouth being the only part of his face exposed for most of that time. An intrusive thought wonders for a moment how those lips would feel against hers, a thought her conscience quickly buries to focus on her friend's situation, "Is everything alright, G'raha? Is something the matter?"
In one swift motion he closes the gap between them and she suddenly finds him directly in front of her, his face mere ilms away as he gently cradles her head in both of his hands, his thumb brushing against her cheek as his dexterous fingers comb through the hairs on her neck. Her breath hitches at the sudden closeness but not a single part of her body recoils or tries to put distance between them. "G'ra—" she's cut off by his mouth interlocking with hers, his hands holding her in place. A muffled moan is the only sound she's able to make to verbalize the audacity of his behavior.
He pulls away a moment later with their lips making a quiet smacking sound as they part. He gazes at her, gauging her reaction. "Would you do me the honor of calling me by my given name?"
Ethera feels like her brain has just short circuited and slightly dizzy. "O-okay," she breathes, still reeling from the sudden kiss.
He smiles and continues to gaze lovingly at her, brushing her cheek with his thumb again. "I hope you can forgive my craven behavior these past few months. To be honest with you, you've always on my mind. Ever since we parted that day—what was three hundred years ago now from my perspective—I've always thought about you. My guiding star, my beloved friend."
Her cheeks blush with embarrassment. She can't help but giggle nervously at the confession, squirming slightly in his grasp, her tail flicking wildly. "Raha…where is all of this coming from so suddenly?"
He gently rests his forehead against hers, his gaze looking downwards in a shy manner. "Do you recall what I told you on the cliffs of Kholusia before our ascent up Mt. Gulg? That it was my wish to talk openly with you without the thought of concealment? As I journeyed down the stairs just now I realized that still I am concealing my feelings from you." His ruby eyes shift upwards, peering through pale hairs at hers the color of emerald, "I wish to bare my heart out to you, if you're amenable of course."
His words cause her thoughts to swirl rapidly in her mind. She admittedly had wondered if he has had feelings towards her, but she wasn't expecting him to be so…forward with them. Before her brain could create a coherent thought her mouth was five steps ahead, eager and breathless. "Yes, yes of course."
He crashes his mouth against hers, with more purpose and intent than before, and found her returning the kiss in full this time around, her hands on the edges of his hood pulling him closer. Gasping and moaning into each kiss, they reach for each other fervently, grabbing and rubbing wherever their hands could reach, like desperate animals trying to claw their way inside one another. G'raha pulls himself away from her mouth only to latch himself onto the soft delicate skin of her neck, eliciting a gasp from the Keeper. "Aah, Raha…"
She finds herself laying supine across the top of her mattress before she even has a chance to realize they've moved. She mentally shrugs it off as they continue to grope and pull each other closer by the folds of their clothing. His hands creep beneath her tunic, grazing ever so softly against her torso, causing goosebumps to stand tall across her skin. Her head falls back onto the mattress as she arches into his touch, moaning and gasping with pleasure. "Yes...more, please!" she pleads. Time seems to move at a rapid pace as she finds G'raha has already removed her shorts and undergarments at some point, and after planting a line of kisses along her jaw line proceeds to crawl his way down her body until his head is between her legs. Reality begins to blur and fade around her. She presumes she's overwhelmed with pleasure, but her grip on reality continues to slip until—
she wakes up.
Her eyes slowly blink open, uncertain what just happened. She finds herself comfortably tucked into bed under her sheets with not a single fiber out of place. She shifts her body to face out towards the rest of the room and sits up to have a better vantage point. Silence. The room was dark and not a single soul was present save her own, which technically was now rejoined with Ardbert's. "Oh, it was just a dream," she thinks to herself. "I suppose that explains why everything felt so unnaturally fast, like moments were being skipped over." She presses her palms against her face and eyes as she collapses back onto her pillow. She can't even remember the last time she had had a sex dream. Her desperation for companionship was beginning to drive her mad. She wanted to curse her body for feeling this way. For a while now she's felt tormented, torn asunder by her feelings and her duty. On paper falling in love and forming a deeper connection sounds great, but too often the world seemed to be in dire peril and she must always be ready to heed the call to action. She sighs to herself as her arms fall to her sides. "You've got to pull yourself together, Ethera. Come on. People depend on you," she thinks trying to will away the feelings of loneliness.
A frustrated sigh passes through her lips. She wishes she had someone to talk to. A part of her was starting to miss Ardbert, but he deserves his rest. Even though their souls share the same origin, they were still very different people. She's not certain this is something they could have freely spoken about. Normally she would talk to Urianger but there's only so much you can confide in a person before it feels like you're just taking advantage of them. At least that's what she was afraid of. Not to mention he's busy assisting G'raha and Y'shtola with coming up with a way they can return to the Source.
G'raha.
Reminded of him, memories from her dream come rushing back to the forefront of her mind. "Ugghh," she groans internally. She hates how natural the dream made everything just fallen into place. She wasn't offended by him suddenly pulling her into a kiss out of nowhere. There was no hesitation, no anxiety, nothing at all like how they are in real life. Events in her brain played out like it was straight out of a steamy romance novel. She groans again in annoyance. Her intrusive thoughts begin to chime in again reminding her of the feeling of his lips, the taste of his breath, his hands across her body, she couldn't help but feel herself slipping away, her mind stripping her of her inhibitions. She begins to realize her dream actually managed to arouse her physical body while she was sleep, and its effect is clouding her usual restraints. "What might we have done had the dream continued?" her subconscious flashes intrusively in her mind. She squirms at the thought, her legs clenched together, applying pressure to her loins. Her mind recounts his breath tickling her nerve endings as he caressed her skin with his lips, his scent surrounded her. The very same scent that gave away his identity to her, even as she lay bedridden in Spagyrics with bandages over her blinded eyes. It was so vivid in her mind she felt like she could still smell it, the scent of him so very close to her. She reaches a hand down to wedge between her legs and cup herself. In this moment she longs to be held, to feel the warmth of another person as she comes undone. She turns her head to the side as she wriggles in her euphoria and realizes more keenly that the pillow she's laying on still smells like him. Of course, he had fallen asleep on it not that long ago, that's why the smell was so vivid. She creeps her arm under the pillow and presses it against her face, imagining she was burying herself in the crook of his neck. "Raha…" she whimpers into her pillow as her hand begins to grind the fabric of her clothing against sensitive skin. A tiny voice inside her mind cries out now and again trying to guilt her into stopping, but the dopamine flowing in her brain prevents her mind from acknowledging it. Instead she continues fantasizing what else could have happened in that dream. She fantasizes about him slowly undressing her, she undressing him. The hand on the crotch of her shorts quickly darts underneath her waistband as she fantasizes about his tongue working her. Her breath quickens as she continues to rubs herself. As she imagines him lovingly and tenderly fucking her her calloused fingers pick up a rapid pace rubbing the sensitive skin of her lips and petting the hood of her clitoris. The rest of her body lays flat, legs splayed open, face still pressed against her pillow as she whimpers and moans into it. Before long she comes with a gasp, moaning as her hand continuing to work her through her high. The ecstasy coming in waves as her orgasm hits her hard.
She hadn't thought about it initially but it had been a long while since she had last pleasured herself for her own enjoyment. There had been so much happening on the Source, and here on the First she had been so focused on her mission, and trying to keep the light inside of her contained caused her so much pain that it never once crossed her mind. Most times prior were just to get rid of annoying sudden urges or to help relieve the pain of her cycles. This time she also had the rare privilege of having a subject to project her desires onto. Guilt twisted inside her gut at that thought. With the lust subsided she was beginning to hear that tiny voice from before loud and clear, shaming her for getting carried away with her emotions, and the more egregious offense of using someone in so doing. Even if it was all in her mind she couldn't help but feel disgusting for doing so without his knowledge or consent. It made her feel like a hypocrite for the times she had shown scorn towards others for lecherous behavior towards a non-consenting audience. She is the Warrior of Light and needs to be an example. She is held to a higher standard by not one but two different worlds. She has to be better, stronger, always in control, never falter, the pinnacle of righteousness and virtue. However, in this moment she feels crushed by the guilt of her transgression. She is weak and fragile for falling for base carnal desire. She's let everyone down who depends on her, even if no one was around to witness it. Swallowed by her guilt she curls herself up into a ball to make herself small. Her fingers smells distinctly of her own lubricant, an apt reminder of her failure. Overwhelmed, she begins to sob quietly to herself, eventually drifting off to a quiet dreamless sleep.