When he climbed into the bed the last thing that she had expected was his arm around her. He was warm, very warm. Her cheeks flushed a bit as she thought about it and she scooted herself closer to him and put a hand on his chest so she could snuggle her head into his arm. It was nice, at least she thought so. Her blue eyes closed for a moment or so. She pondered what he asked her and peeked a blue eye at him. “Hmm…” She thought about it longer as both blue eyes were open now. “No, I think I am capable of it but I don’t think there has been a soul that has wanted to try to break the wall I’ve made for myself.” She gripped at his shirt with her hand that was on his chest and thought about his other question. “I think… I like it much more than what Xunatar showed me. That’s all I know for sure.”

Soon he rolled on his side and they were so close together. Her hand was still balled up on his shirt keeping a light hold on it. “You are the closest person I’ve met that has gone through similar things. It might not be with the spirits but you fight your sin. You also think you’ll eventually die to it like I do.” It wasn’t down to the line perfect what she was saying but she was hoping that he could help her piece it together.

She was pondering his questions when he kissed her. She jolted back almost immediately but it wasn’t far. Her blue eyes were wide and she soon pushed herself against him returning it. She didn’t want him to think what he had done was unwanted. “All you have to do is ask…” Her voice was hushed as she watched him a bit more carefully now. Not that she was upset with his actions it was quite the opposite. It was more like she was studying him.

Her hands moved finally as she adjusted herself and she was hesitant. Her hands flinched a minimum of ten times before she put her hands his shoulders and rubbed his shoulders and arms contently. Moments went by and she just laid there silently. Her eyes were more eying his chest for the few minutes she was quiet. Her heart, however, was beating loudly. Her eyes flickered back up to him. “Not die. I haven’t really thought about what I want to do with my life. Most of it has been spent trying to survive.” She tilted her head a bit and she struggled with her fears. “On pitch black nights, despite how at home most of my Court feels… I’m terrified of it. I think it is because that is what I saw when I died. I fear truly being alone. I fear never finding someone who will take genuine interest in me without having a motive.”

Her hands caressed his arm softly in more of an absent minded way. “I want to be able to walk the fields of Arri again. I want to feel the sand between my toes on the beach, I haven’t been to the beach in a long time.” She mused. What would she have done? “I don’t know… Most Rosenites have babies and mates…” Her eyes looked up at his. “I think I would go to every city… every landmark… I would paint them all. At the end when I’m finished… I’ll pick something new to do and paint that. I’ll continue the cycle. If I didn’t have the spirits maybe I would have had someone, maybe I wouldn’t have lost all the decades I have.” She mused a bit more now.

Her chest seemed heavy and she realized she was sad. Her eyes reflected this as her mood dipped just a tad. “I want to be loved and to love. When I am upset I want someone to be there and listen. I want someone to understand what I am saying and why I feel the way I do. I want to be warm at night when all of my warmth is seemingly sapped away.” She moved closely to his body and pressed her cheek against the warmth of his chest. “I want to be vulnerable and not feel like I need to lock myself up. I want someone to tear down this wall I’ve built but only so they can get in.” She closed her eyes and gripped at his shoulders.

“Anyone can lust and have sex. That’s not what I want. I’ve missed one thing my whole life and that thing was love. I want to understand it… but I also want to drown in it because it seems so nice. I want to be vulnerable for just one person and that’s it.”

Steele looked at her sincerely every since the kiss happened. He hadn’t expected for her to jolt back quickly but then she came back and returned it which kinda threw him for a loop as well. There hasn’t been a plan or thought before of being so close to her, and yet he wasn’t displeased by it. It was rather…intriguing. She was intriguing since he had first got sight of her. She had been surprised herself- was it because she hadn’t expected him to be so forward, or was it because it was different from what she may have experienced previously.

“Fair enough”, his words trailed off when she offered him some advice. He assumed that it meant that Eldora didn’t mind it at all, but then again he was willing to try and help her understand all of this. Little did he know that he was also learning about it as well, whether he wanted to admit it or not. A small smile crept up to his face, one that had eluded her eyes before now. He felt her touch against his arms and shoulders, slowly she seemed to be moving more sensually. Whatever storm was rolling about in her head could have felt the same to what he was feeling. Either of them were the sort to open up and expose themselves to the world freely like their siblings could. He’d imagine it was among these similarities that made it more comfortable to speak with her about them.

His own hand fell onto the top of her waist, slowly caressing it in return. She was much smaller than he was, a good foot for certain. “You’ll find someone. You can’t let fear drive you away from such a thing. I am more absent minded about the matter mostly. Out of all your fears, that one may be the easiest to deal with the right person with you.” He sounded like he was often repeating himself, but it was all he could do to keep from rambling nonsensically. It was the half-demon’s honest attempt to help her. “I do not see the beach in being that hard to come across, given our location”, he spoke with a tilted look. “I’m surprised that you haven’t been to one recently.”

The hand slid down towards her stomach and remained there for a moment before he brought it back up to her side. The feeling of her form felt…nice. It felt even nicer when she drew herself nearer towards him and fell into his chest.

“Your request isn’t an unreasonable one. In fact, it’s one that you do deserve like everyone else does”, he spoke as his hand came to the back of her head and petted the dark locks. Lust and love were very different things to go through. There was no emotion needed for lust, it was an easy thing. Love, on the other hand, felt like it was a much difficult situation to deal with, let alone thrive in. Swallowing hard, Steele moved her head up so that she could look straight up to him before he shifted himself down so that his face within inches of hers. “May I?”, he asked, hoping that she remember what she had said before he brought his lips against hers again , this time the embrace was longer and more…wanting. Before it went too far, he broke it. 

“I don’t know what will happen. I’m not sure if I can promise you that world, but I can try. I didn’t think there would be anyone for me either, being as what I am. Of the sins I carry. I forget at times that I shut myself away from a world that doesn’t understand me, when I don’t understand myself.” He was a far more honest individual than his father ever could, not that the god had minded to anyway. His arms wrapped around her body and drew her in as close as possible. “I don’t really get love…but with you, I don’t feel as though you are just some woman. You relate to me and vice versa, otherwise I wouldn’t have cared to share anything with you. I don’t know…I’m confused about this whole matter…”

He closed his eyes and took a deep sigh, his tongue felt like it was getting tied around before he continued speaking. “There only thing I am certain of is that ever since I kissed you…I didn’t want to stop.”    

Eldora nodded just a tad as he put his hand on her waist. It felt nice. “Most of the time when I travel I do not pay attention to how I get to a place. I could have tracked the beach and not even noticed. When I am seeing my visions… when I am carrying them out… I don’t know where I am. I just know my destination.” She gave a frown to him.

His hand petting her hair was relaxing and she liked it. She couldn’t explain why it made the fear roll off her shoulders. “Do I?” It was more of a hushed question like she was questioning herself. When he pulled her head back away from him she looked sad at first. She didn’t understand why he was taking the warmth away from her. Soon though he was shifting himself so they were laying equally with each other. When he asked she took only a half second to recognize and nod. Gingerly her arms went around his shoulders and pulled him as close as she could as they kissed.

When he broke it Eldora let her blue eyes watch his for a few moments as she processed what was going on. It was an odd thing and nowhere near what Xunatar had done. He had been gentle at first that was sure but this was different. Steele was different. “You can try.” She echoed him. That was all they could do.

Now it was his turn to pull her in closer, not that she was sure that they could get any closer than they already were… but it was nice. “I’m not really sure anyone really gets it.” Her eyes closed and she thought about the words as she felt his body’s heat against her. Listening to him she gave his arms a comforting rub as she thought about his words. “We’ve never had anyone we could relate to before.”

His last confession puzzled her and she leaned in and kissed him gently. “Then don’t stop.” She couldn’t see his eyes because they were closed but her hands came back from around his shoulders and she cupped his face so she could kiss him again.

“Yes”, he spoke without hesitation. Perhaps Eldora had felt her life had been cursed since before she was born. Honestly he could not blame her, but even so, fate wouldn’t be so unkind to deny her even a glimpse of happiness. Steele hadn’t bother to wonder about whether or not he deserved it, like her, he didn’t quite believe it was for him. It was more of a liability with his sin still being able to escape at times and gods knew what it could happen when such an episode occurred. He couldn’t be sure if he would be able to fully control and not endanger someone he could care about.

He lacked the great charm that some of the other males in his family held, but he had some form of honor that they didn’t. He wouldn’t try to seduce Eldora for the sake of it; his intentions were more pure despite who they were coming from. The kiss was…exciting. It brought to him a thrill that the fights he’s been in, the slayings he had done could not measure up to. Why was it her that brought him this? Confusion and caring about it was pushed away from the front of his mind as they broke away.

She gave permission and he followed through in short order. He suppose that it felt like the closest to heaven that he would ever be allowed to have, surely he would not be heading there in the afterlife. She still felt cool to the touch, something that bothered him only a little. There was strangely still some comfort taken from being this near to her. He hadn’t thought about it until now, but his mind wandered to that of his father and how he would had felt about it. It didn’t seem like he was possessive of her. No, that wasn’t Xunatar’s style. It was surely a one time ordeal and even if it had, wouldn’t she had stopped this from continuing? In any sense of the matter, Steele started to care less and less about his father’s approval and focused on this moment. “Suppose you are right… I just wonder if there’s any more to it than just that.“ 

Him admitting what he did was confusing not only to her, but himself as well. There hadn’t been a feeling like this in him in so long, perhaps not ever. But rationality and fear were both flung from him as she kissed him. He meet her lips with equal ferocity and passion. His arms grew more confident as they wrapped around her, his lips meeting with hers before they found themselves pressing against the side of her neck. With one quick motion, he moved onto top of her, yet careful as to not place his full weight on her. Instead he was over her on his hands and knees as he kissed back up to her lips.

He didn’t wish to ever stop, and he wasn’t sure that even if he did, she would let him.   

“Perhaps but for people like us who don’t know… How can we tell?” She cocked her head to the side a bit which was a feat for someone laying on their side like she was. She was genuinely curious if there was something more to this attraction that Steele and herself found themselves in. She told him not to stop and they continued where they had left off.

They never did fully stop. Not one peep from either of them as they laid into each other. It was more on instinct as they unclothed themselves in haste. With Steele’s strength, he was able to quite literally rip the clothing off. In tatters on the floor, they were, not that it made Eldora sad. She didn’t really see the point in clothing too much. She just knew she had to wear it to appease people around her.

Before they got too far she waved her hand and the door slammed with a bang. She let Steele have whatever he wanted. She gave as much as she could right back. It was far different than with Xunatar, Steele tired. It wasn’t just that, it was the ferocity behind everything that Steele did when he was lost in the moment. He was lost in his sin.

When he went too hard or was overly rough there was a spike in his mind from Eldora that brought him back just enough to know he went too far. She knew that he didn’t have full control over it but a person like Eldora? She could bring him right back and she wasn't afraid too.

At the end, she was curled up into him. She had obvious bruising on her skin but it was quickly disappearing with each moment that she had her eyes closed. She wasn’t asleep but she was resting on him. Her nose was pressed lightly against the nape of his neck. Her breathing was much softer than it had been and her warmth had begun to return and she found herself stretching to reach for the blanket.

Her blue eyes opened and she leaned away from his neck just enough so she could her short length to reach the blanket that they had so eagerly pushed off. Using her foot she grabbed a hold of it and lifted it up with extreme flexibility on her part. She wasn’t one to ask for help unless she absolutely needed it. She grabbed the blanket from her toes and laid her leg back down and pulled it up over them.

“Stay,” it came off like a command one would give to a dog but when her blue eyes looked at him it was clearly read to be a plea. She wouldn’t lower herself to beg but she couldn’t find the words to ask so that was all she had.

Words were not needed between them, not a sound left either of their mouths as they mingled with one another’s. Fate was a strange thing; he had sworn not to fall into the trap his brother had, and yet here he was with the sister of Dante’s lover. Yet, there wasn’t a thought that delved in his mind other than that of Eldora right now. More and more he opened up to her, physically and emotionally as his kisses became more driven with want. His touches and caresses traveled down her form. Somehow, someway, articles of their clothing were removed and though she may have seemed flawed, he only saw the beautiful in her, scars and all. Soon there was nothing left but their bare skin and he hungrily savored every inch of her. For the next few moments, he was lost, drowning in ecstasy and perhaps he was being too leisurely as his sin was coming out. Anger pent up within him too a new form as he was starting to get rougher with Eldora, nips and bites replace the sensual kisses and his hands grew rougher with his grips. But he stopped when he felt the pain resonating from his head and one look from her told him everything he needed to know. If he couldn’t stay in control then she would do it for him. Rather than it fueling the fires and making him more upset, he nodded before kissing her again and his aggression ceased save for a moment or two of weakness.

They kept going for as long as the both of them could handle, in the privacy of her room without prying eyes. Lust filled the air around them, making it hard to breath for him. But he kept going until the end and before long he found himself out of breath and fell back first against the bed. She soon joined him while he was still thinking about what had transpired just now. Were there any words strong enough to explain what had happened? Steele very much doubted it so but he didn’t care. He felt the warmth in her growing stronger while he held onto her. His body felt much heavier now; he had expended a lot more energy than he had thought at the time. He felt her warm breath kissing his neck up until she left momentarily to grab the blanket to cover them up.

Steele, with all of this still fresh in mind, started to sit up. He was planning to leave the room and think more about what had happened between them. But he froze once he heard her. It seemed like she was commanding him to, which normally wouldn’t bold well for someone that wanted him to obey an order.  But there was something in her eyes that screamed something else. Knowing her like he did, she meant something entirely different from her word. He stared at her for the longest time before slowly falling back down. “Yes”, he spoke in agreement. “I’ll stay as long as you wish…”

He took her back into his arms and for what seemed like forever, he held onto her, holding her close to him. It was odd yet comforting to the wolf at the same time. This thing they had started was weird and frightening but it was satisfying at the same time. “What now…”, he asked out loud as he turned to face her. “Do…you feel any different? I kind of do…” 

Eldora looked pleased with him as he said he would stay. She softly rubbed her nose against the first skin she could reach that belonged to Steele. It was relaxing for her, it was comfortable. She felt safe overall.

She was happily back in his arms and snuggled up to him. Tilting her head her blue eyes looked up at him and shrugged a bit. “I’m not sure.” She mused how she was feeling and her cheeks seemed to flush. “I do.” She kept close to him and laid there with him for a long time. Eldora looked happy maybe even happier than she had ever been but something made her startled as she pushed herself off of Steele.

Her eyes were horrified for a moment. She scrambled off of him and ran for the doll that Xunatar had given her. She got as far as the last bedpost before she held onto it. A crimson tang filled the room as blood began to fall to the floor. She wasn’t making any noise as she gripped her nails into the wood of the post. Wood shavings fell to the floor as she stifled a cry. It was more like a whimper.

She put her free hand on her stomach and held it up in plain view. The blood was thick and it was making her dizzy. By now she was sure that Steele had jumped up too. She was too dizzy as she finally got to the doll except she slid on her on blood and landed on the floor.

Deep heaves left her lips as she held the doll close. It began to glow and terrified screams of what sounded like Colden left the doll. She rolled over just enough for her stomach to be in plain view. Despite all the blood, it was obvious that it was a message. In deep cuts along her stomach from hip to hip. “It’s not over.” She was in pain but not as much as when she was feeling both Colden’s and herself. She finally let out a wail as she tried to ground herself. It stung much like salt to a wound. She was actually pretty sure that Cyprus had put salt in the wound.

That wasn’t all though. She whimpered at Steele before she blacked out either from the blood or from the pain.

Steele felt as ease that he wasn’t alone in feeling this strange and wondrous thing in him. Neither of them knew what they would do from this point and it was rather out of both of their territories. Needless to say though, he felt as though he didn’t mind it as much as he worried about. Heaven knows that Dante would be humored once he learned on this, after all the grief Steele gave him about falling for a Rosenite. Now look at the wolf demon himself. Internally he groaned to himself while still holding onto Eldora as if she would slip away from him.

But soon that would become a reality as he felt her pushing away from his hold and quickly got out of bed. He fling up in a sitting position, confused about the issue she had. “Eldora? His eyes looked about as the room shifted in color. What was going on? He watched on as she brought up her hand from her stomach and he saw the blood. Was it hers? How? He scurried off the bed and rushed to meet with her as she collapsed with the doll she sought out.  Reaching her, he immediately saw the message written in her blood and then looked to her eyes. It was clear that someone had gotten to her, and it wouldn’t take long before he realized who it was. That bitch! He could feel his anger spiraling out of control and perhaps that’s what reached his father’s attention as he appeared sitting on the now soiled bed, one leg rested on top of the other. There was no smile across his lips; instead he looked impassively at his son and Eldora. Snapping his fingers, he ceased whatever magic or curse Cyprus placed onto her. “Father…”, Steele said through gritted teeth before Xunatar place his hand up to stop him. “She continues to test those that are against her. And now she wishes to do so in my home.” Red inked his normally blue eyes and soon the place shook a bit, mirroring his own rising temper. “If she thinks Parvpora will protect her forever…she’s in for a rude awakening. Calm your anger boy. Bring the girl to me.” Steele huffed and tried to do as his father said, but he was still livid with what happened. Still, he did as he was told, lifting and carrying Eldora over back to the bed while the doll was still clutched in her hand. Xunatar’s finger traced along the words carved into her stomach before they melded away as his touch left spots of her skin.

“She will be fine. I am more worried about your brother. I do not know if he is still safe or if she is doing gods know what with him now. If she ends his life, I will find her, even if I have to sink the world around her to do so.” Xunatar looked to Steele and blinked the red ire away from him. “You wish to be with her, then so be. I care not either way, but do not lose sight of your objective. Surely if Dante hasn’t, then that will be easy for you. She is still useful to me, so watch her.” He didn’t wait to see Steele’s nod of understanding as he left the room, unknowing of what his father was scheming. Slowly he got dressed and kept his attention onto her as she rested. He still wanted to tear her mother apart, but this served to make such hunger so much stronger now.

She hadn’t been focusing hard enough to hear Steele calling for her. She was too busy trying to get to the doll before the vision hit her full force. It was worse than what she had imagined but she had found herself unconscious.

It wasn’t a long nap after Xunatar had healed her but in the distant lands of Iria Lotus looked up from the pile of books she was looking through. There was a worried look on her face. Dante asked her what was suddenly wrong, they were having a good outing. “Eldora’s been hurt.” The two of them left Iria almost immediately to make their way to the Hollow Cradle. Lotus informed Dante that she was no seer but she had her intuition and it was quite good.

When Eldora did wake up she let out a groan of pain. She found Steel petting her face and it relaxed her greatly. While the wounds were gone the pain was still vibrating through her, it wasn’t something that she had been expecting. She reached up and pulled at her black hair as if making sure everything was grounded where it should have been. Her eyes had hints of tiredness in them as she turned her head to Steele.

“Colden is fine.” Well fine as he could be. She let go of her hair and left her arm where ever it had landed. She was out of energy again but her eyes were wide awake. “She had a healer there making sure that he wouldn’t die from his wounds. Though I doubt he was a willing participant. She wouldn’t be dumb enough to kill Colden if she still wants her plan to happen she needs him alive.”

She was less concerned about herself it seemed as she struggled to pull herself up to a sitting position. “Lotus and Dante are coming home.” She rubbed her head as if trying to get rid of the headache the visions caused. “What a mess.” It took her a few moments but finally, she looked at Steele and realized he wasn’t worried about Colden but her.

Her blue eyes were wide a bit and she frowned softly. “I am fine. Just tired.”

It had felt like ages after his father left him with Eldora in the silence of the room. It disturbed him greatly as he could do nothing but watch as she rested from the traumatic experience. If anything else had happened to her, then Steele would do absolutely everything in his power to find her mother and rip her apart, piece by painful piece. No person had ever made him want to kill as much as Cyprus had.

He felt torn between his emotions- he felt anger, sad, pain…He was a whirlwind of emotion as their tumbled around inside him. He had no idea of what his father was planning on doing, and honestly as long as he didn’t have to worry about this happening again, he didn’t care. The moment she stirred from her endless slumber, he immediately went to her side and sat nearby. He was happy yes, but he was still fighting inwardly to keep his temper at bay.

“Father had came and healed you. He knows it was her that did it, somehow.” He was a bit thrown back by the mentioning of Colden and then as she further explained, he frowned deeply. “What in the name of the gods’ did she do to him? To you?” The boy may have been alive for now, but until they could save him from both Cyprus and himself. “I’m aware of the idiotic plan she wants to carry out, but I don’t think even she will be strong enough to control that which she wants to bring to this world. Does her madness know no bounds?” Slowly his hand crept up to take onto hers and held it tightly.

When she went to sit up, he instantly came towards her to try and stop her from doing so. The event had harmed her in many ways and he didn’t wish for her to overexert herself. But he refrained; she seemed determined enough to do so. His frown was renewed towards her and how she was able to stir these feelings in him. Before he didn’t need to watch anything more than his anger, but now he was struggling to keep much more than that in control.

His hand remained with hers with precious care. “The next time she does something like this, I will rip her beating heart from her chest and devour it right before her eyes.” That was the wolf within speaking as he looked into her eyes, dead set serious on his promise. “I suppose it won’t be long before those two arrive. Especially since Dante is blessed with being Father’s Avatar.”