A Smouldering Fire.. Rapture ..Any

[Rapture]

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Rapture

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somewhere between the sand and the stardust

He doesn’t spare a glance for her, and with each passing breath, she seems to wilt just a little bit more. Finally, a deep breath escaping her lungs, she turns her gaze from him, refusing to believe she had misjudged so quickly. So soon. But then his low words rumble into the air. The timbre causes a shiver to trace along her spine, but the words themselves startle a flinch from her. Ducking her head, she hunches her shoulders as her gaze seeks out something, anything other than her two companions. A single thought is all it takes to shield her features from their sight, to once again the don the mask of youthful perfection.

It cannot hide the memory though, cannot erase what has already been seen. The faded tracks along her dusky blue skin, the small splotch of brown amidst flawless blue. So small, almost unnoticeable, but undeniably there.

So caught up in her distraction, in the unbearable thought of sharing her story, she does not notice the faint interest in Levi’s voice, in his features. The curiosity, the subtle undercurrent of something else, something far more intriguing.

Taking a step back, she hesitates before risking a glance at her father, at the way his features ripple with change, the sharp, deadly teeth lining his mouth disappearing as he focuses his attention on her. Fully, for perhaps the first time since he had interrupted she and Levi’s interlude. She is grateful for that, to have drawn his attention from Levi. She has no fear he would hurt her, but she cannot say the same of her new friend.

But she is equally alarmed by the reason he had brought his attention to her. It is not a tale she particularly wishes to share. Not the least of because she had knowingly put herself into the situation in the first place. A situation she could have so easily prevented.

Her father is right. In that respect, she is too kind. And no less gentle for her desire to keep her assailant a secret. Despite everything, she does not wish to have her father hunting him down. He had been barely more than a child, after all.

So when her father presses, seeking the story, Rapture merely shakes her blue head as she takes another hesitant step backwards. “It’s… nothing,” she breathes after a moment’s hesitation, though she cannot quite meet his gaze.

there is a pulse that echoes of you and I

[Levi]

The green brute continues his posturing, eyes and mouth morphing in surreal ways. But then each stallion abruptly seems to have more interest in Rapture than the other.

 As he watches the beautiful disguise slip over her face once again, Levi knows that he was wrong. In his breast cool fingers of guilt have replaced the fire which burned there only moments before.

The creature which had put an end to their games of discovery is wholly forgotten, once again Rapture holds his full attention. He should have waited. She would have told him everything if he had asked softy when they were alone - and Levi is surprised to find himself thinking of the next time they will be alone. 

“Its nothing” She murmurs, and he knows that is not enough. Levi can see the cunning in the angular veridian face of her father, he will not be so easily diverted. Levi suspects he is outmatched by the older stallion when it comes to wit, but still he find himself wishing there was something he could say, or better yet un-say. But the father looks at his daughter with searching eyes and seriousness for the first time since he showed up. 

He had sought to use her to gain the upper hand, to divert attention from himself and it had worked. So why do I feel like shit? 

He can find nothing to say (not for lack of trying) so, the heavy and and tall he stands there silent as an oak tree when he should be smoothing things over. He is not smooth, nor slick and his lack of on the spot cunning leaves him looking like an idiot and feeling all the more uncomfortable because of it. 

Despite all of this, he doesn't think of leaving. He is far too entrenched in the unfolding drama for his normal way of dealing with conflict to come to mind.

Jaw clenched and brow furrowed,  his gaze never leaves her face.
Real or not. 

Levi

so scream you, out from behind the bitter ache.

[Wyrm]

when the stars threw down their spears and water'd heaven with their tears:

Suddenly, all of the eyes that could not seem to tear away from him are directed elsewhere. Anywhere else. “Sneaky kids.” The shifter mutters to himself, but Rapture’s clear unwillingness to reveal her tender secret is not a concern he’s willing to pry further into. Sometimes, it’s best not to know things. “Then it’ll remain as nothing.” He tells her slowly, though the words are doubly-meant. She could hoard her privacy, but Wyrm would neither be able to understand nor help her should she seek comfort down the road. It does, however, remind him sharply that she was part of him. Wyrm wouldn’t have divulged either.

With a mild turn of his head he peers between them. Levi, who cannot seem to decide on any one thing, so muddled is his face (determination, however, is painted over his features and set into those eyes as they hold Rapture’s likeness) and Rapture, coy now in her wish to be invisible -or, at least, invisible in her discomfort. He’s reached the precipice of his usefulness here. “You should visit your brother, you know.” He tells her, louder now that the change of subject isn’t so dark. “He has things he doesn’t tell me just like you.” The angular stallion sighs, even though his wild gaze flickers with secrets of its own.

He turns his head, directs his attention back to Levi, and offers a soft grin. “Stay safe.” The shifter cautions. From his shoulders two black wings sprout as his body shrinks, legs coiling beneath him. His tail and skin grow feathers like ink; his nose hardens, curves into a beak that protrudes from rounded, beady eyes. Wyrm the raven hovers with a few, lazy flaps mid-air, quorks throatily, and rises to coast away.

did he smile his work to see? did he who made the Lamb make thee?

[Rapture]

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Rapture

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somewhere between the sand and the stardust

That small, insignificant patch of earth and leaf litter has become so fascinating in her desire to avoid her father’s heavy gaze that she fails to notice the way that Levi shifts his gaze to her. The regret and confusion warring upon his features, an expression she might have too easily been tempted to wipe away with a single touch. But her gaze, purposely avoiding him, her father, remains fixed upon that one small point. Quiet and soft and shy she might be, but she has inherited something from her parents. That particular brand of stubbornness that refuses to give in to intimidation.

But then, to her surprise, Wyrm does not press further, instead allowing her her secrets, giving in more easily than she thought possible. Surprise lights her small, delicate features as her head draws sharply upwards, pale blue gaze jumping abruptly to him. A faint frown tugs at her lips as she considers him apprehensively. Mention of her brother, of his privacy and secrecy, serves only to deepen the frown. She has not seen him in person since their father had whisked him away, had taken him to teach and train for a mission he would tell no one of. Rapture would be lying if she said she had not stolen glances. What she had seen had alarmed her though, and there is yet a small piece of her that wishes to remain in ignorance. A small piece that had led to her avoidance of him, for it is inevitable that the truth would come out when next she and her twin met.

Before she can formulate any response, give any reassurances, her father is gone, body melting into that of a raven before he takes to the skies. As she watches him go, she releases a breath she had not known she was holding, her slender body trembling slightly from restrained tension. For a long moment, she does not look at Levi, unsure if she wishes to see how this encounter had affected him. Finally, she allows herself a glance, a quick peek filled with uncertainty.

He is still there, looking at her as though she were the only creature in existence. She quickly looks away again before drawing a deep breath. She sways, drawing slightly closer, as though the pull between them is a magnetic pulse she is helpless to resist, before stilling once more. “I’m sorry,” she breathes haltingly. “I didn’t… I…” The words stick in her throat, her inability to articulate just what she is feeling drawing her lips closed once more, rendering anything she might have said non-existent.

there is a pulse that echoes of you and I

[Levi]

Stay safe.

And with another breath, they are as they were before - alone.  She sways and he is there. Without calculation or forethought, he moves to close the gap between them, pressing his dark shoulder into the contrast of her own.

Her words come out barely distinguishable from the current of her breath and he tilts his heavy crown towards her muzzle, furthering their closeness. But his anticipation is not quenched. Blue lips close over the words she can or will not say and he is stranded, a man with his hunger denied. She seems content to let her statement, apology, request or whatever it may have been fizzle and die.  But he is not.

"Rapture." her silence pulls the words from the tightness of his throat. 
"Say it, Rapture. It's ok." His words are nowhere near right. But the curt words, lacking in eloquence, are softened by their texture. Like hers, they are mostly breath but underneath the substance in there, the grit and smoke in the consonance. 

Her hesitation causes him to back to the sky where the raven had disappeared, scanning for any sign of the strange creature. But the dark stallion suspects his cautious glance is worthless.  Such a skilled shifter as her father seemed to be could probably transform himself into a fly if he wished to remain unseen. Part of his mind to dwell on the possibility of such a skill, and how valuable it could be, but Rapture's warmth draws him back to the scene he is in now.

With the flames flickering behind his pupils he trys to will her unspoken words back into exhistance.

Levi

so scream you, out from behind the bitter ache.

[Rapture]

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Rapture

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somewhere between the sand and the stardust

As though he is reading her mind, he is there next to her, his strength supporting her slender frame, bolstering her in ways she had not anticipated. She is not a creature made for reticence, for coldness, and his heat draws her in like little else could. She presses closer, until blue melds almost perfectly with dark mahogany. Delicate head tipping, she leans into him, her lips finding his skin, as though she might find the words she wishes to say buried there.

For a long moment, she remains silent, allowing the soft press of her body to say what her words cannot. She has never needed to justify herself before, to explain her family, their over protective nature. And Levi is different. Special in a way she cannot quite name. She is grateful he had remained, had seen that messy encounter through. And she is afraid he might yet leave. That he might disappear before she knows if she can find him again.

It is a difficult quandary. One she cannot quite put into words.

Finally, with a brief shake of her head, she withdraws slightly. Just enough that she can find his gaze, though she cannot quite bring herself withdraw her touch entirely. Pale, soft blue meets the fire of his eyes, earnest and true, before flicking away to find something on the ground a few feet ahead of them. Shaking her head again, she attempts to elucidate, “It’s just that… my father… my… family, they’re, well, protective. And I...”

She closes her mouth then, brow furrowing as she considers how else to say what it is she needs to. How to tell him that she is too soft, so very unlike her family. That they worry. They worry because she is so different.

Abruptly, her gaze jumps up, returning to his as she changes the subject. There would be time later for him to learn of her flaws. “Bring me with you,” she pleads, pale eyes wide, almost hopeful. “I want to see where you live.”

there is a pulse that echoes of you and I

[Levi]

Bring me with you.
I want to see where you live.

But he hadn't been home in over a year, and he wasn't going home now. He had something to do, something the last year of his life had been leading up to. 
Something you don't want any part of, soft eyed girl.

"I'm not going home." 
He looks away from her glistening blue eyes, he wasn't a creature meant to be anyone's hope, and that was hard to own when he looked in those eyes. 

"Anyway, I don't think you would like me if you knew me better." He says, shedding the intimacy and softness he had given into with a sarcastic cocked grin.

This is not a soft smile or a smile meant to make another feel at ease. This gesture cheapens what had passed between them, devalued their earlier seriousness with its nonchalance.
Bad boy, bad boy - gentle touches and shared secrets were not for him. 

"There is something I have to do." 
He pulls himself from her side, slowly, painfully - momentarily lapsing in his resolve. The strange blue fire she has summoned inside of him fights this, begs him to pull her close. But he does not. 

The heightening intensity of his feelings makes him even more sure that is doing what must be done, shaking his head, he takes another step back from her warmth and her kindness. He had always looked down on them, the lovers - their vulnerability and their shared whispers. And she made him want to become something he had always despised. Weak. 

'A compromise,' the blue fire of wanting begs. 
"I live in Tephra." Levi concedes.
"I'll be back there by winter and if you still want a tour then, that's where I'll be." 

With his heart hammering against his ribs he turns to leave. 

Levi

so scream you, out from behind the bitter ache.