"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
She brings a smile to his face, something sparkling and warm, as she makes it clear that she intends to remain a part of him despite his track record for falling into terrible plights. This does not surprise him and even when mentioning it he knew that Vastra would not shy away - she did stay in Tephra for him, didn’t she?
Svedka’s pink mouth huffs gently onto her tawny skin just underneath her jawline in a gentle laugh. “I have never minded your selfishness before,” he toys, pressing a well-placed kiss on her throat. Vastra’s low and husky voice against his sun-warmed skin makes the stallion’s eyes flutter closed, a soft breath of exhalation sweet in her ear. Eyes closed - content, relaxed - he smiles. “As you wish,” comes the heavy reply, tracing his lips down her body to where her neck meets her chest where he places a kiss followed by a startling nip to her skin. “Come on,” he demands, brushing past her with a flash of mischievous blue eyes and that same boyish smile that he cannot seem to outgrow.
He leads her deeper into the jungle of Tephra to find relief from the sweltering in the shade of the broad leaves of the foliage. His prancing would often come to a halt, wait for her to draw near where his mouth would find purchase anywhere he wanted, then he would dart off again. Sometimes the roles changed as the duo sauntered closer and closer to where Svedka was determined to lead them.
A small glade opens up before them, where hearty green grass sprouts in the direct sunlight. The intense heat of the afternoon has now faded into evening, the sound of crickets beginning to echo through the still, stagnant air. As Svedka frolics into the glade, ushering Vastra to follow with a deep nicker, there is a certain spring in his step that hasn’t felt genuine in a long while. The wildness of Tephra coupled with Vastra’s presence seems to awaken something within him - no longer does he feel the remnants of darkness tearing at his chest at this moment, and he drinks it the feeling in heavily. He paws at the green loam, calling to her again when he feels she is not moving quickly enough.
There’s no time to be annoyed between the delightful nip he places on her chest and when he moves away. He beckons her with him, and her skin is still warm from the trail of his lips - it’d take a force of nature for her not to follow him.
Since no earthquake, no eruption from the volcano, no stray bolt of lightning takes her out, she is only a step behind him - her storming eyes bright and locked on him. The game they play mounts her frustration, though in a pleasant way (and she reminds herself she had been trying to be playful). She would have been perfectly happy staying where they were and each time he dances away from her she growls softly, but it is never quite enough to cause the sparkling across her skin to fade. Not when the distances are punctuated with nips, not when she reaches out to mirror the actions on his skin.
She only pauses when they reach the glade, and even then it is simply to enjoy watching him move. The way his muscles flex underneath his patchwork coat, the joy she can see there. He is beautiful, though that had not been the first thing that drew her to him it certainly doesn’t hurt, and she is unashamed in her admiration when he paws at the ground, calling her forward.
And she is all too happy to oblige in this.
She is a lioness for one step, bounding towards him to eat up the distance faster, and then a mare again before they collide - her chest pressing against his skin. Vastra lifts her sparkling muzzle to his ear, which she pulls on before purring into it - the sound shifting to a low laugh after a few seconds. She should say something now, she thinks, something teasing or kind, but words escape her. So instead she takes a moment to press her lips into his skin and holds them there, breathing in his scent and just letting herself be thankful to have him back.
Svedka’s eyes darken as she bounds towards him as the lioness (a shape that he had come to enjoy, despite their time apart) and though he is grinning wildly, his ears fall against his neck as the predator nears him, whinnying sharply as if to challenge her. There is adrenaline coursing through both of their veins as they crash together, a heated embrace that is unlike the tentative one upon their first reunion. Her mouth is across the milk and honey of his neck, warm and pressing as her breath ghosts over his flesh. He draws her nearer (or attempts to, as they are as close as they can physically be at this point) with a low, guttural nicker as his nostrils flare wildly.
The stallion’s eyes flutter closed as her lips finally press against him, his abdomen tightening as his own mouth skates across the nape of her neck, tugging and pulling at the crest of her tawny mane with intermittent and heated kisses pressed fervently in between. Words escape her and the same happens for him, unable to form any of the thoughts he is thinking as she sends shivers down his spine, a gentle and welcoming feeling that only causes him to pull at her some more, needy and wanting.
Tephra’s evening sun begins to filter through the small glade, painting the island grass in molten orange and gold. The scent of the sea tapers over them both, warm and salty. But he does not see the sun nor the grass, not even the burning of the sunset clouds above them - all he sees, hears, and feels right now in this moment is her.
She hadn’t forgotten what it felt like to be with him, to feel how his heated kisses inspire a rise out of her and how much she enjoys seeing her own touches affect him. Vastra alternates kisses and bites across his golden and white skin, gentler than normal until his need inspires more.
A different mare would know what teasing words to say, would be able to tell him how much she wants to show him how she missed him and how she wants him to show her the same. Vastra doesn’t know the words to express the feelings inside of her, but she knows the actions - to brush against his skin what she cannot say. It is a dance she’s enjoyed with him before, one she hopes they will continue to do in the future.
Hopefully sooner than two years from now, but if she must wait again for his touch she will. She’ll hate it, but she will. If they continue to gravitate towards each other now and then, that is enough for her.
For now, though, as her body glitters and shines in the golden light she is only thinking of this moment with him and how truly happy she is that he is back.
VASTRA
@Svedka just a little fade-out closer for this one <3
