Betrayers of the Horde

Together At Last (Zekhan/Teresiana)

Goblins have big mouths, but the unceremonious chatter was to be expected when travelling by zeppelin, and it only took maybe an hour or two to be able to tune out their shrill voices entirely.

Teresiana spent the majority of the trip sitting at the cramped below-deck desk writing. Zekhan had bought her another blank book before the skipped town. This one was made of more expensive leather and the page edges were covered in a golden shine. It was one of his favorite pastimes to watch the look of concentration she assumed and the graceful strokes of the pen while she got the beautiful expanses of her mind in writing. Oftentimes she would be completely unaware of his watchful eyes until something brought her back to reality and she gave him a bright smile.

He couldn't help his own smile that flowered in return or the growing warmth he felt in his chest. She was just too good to be true, like a rich pastry that made most people's stomachs turn. It was a good thing he had an enormous sweet tooth.

A cozy cabin was much easier to acquire than either Teresiana or Zekhan had been prepared for. The people in Everlook were practically giving one away, claiming that the icy weather chased off any potential buyers.

The space felt so large without any furniture besides the sofa in the front room and a king bed in the bedroom, and those were the only two rooms after all. But the emptiness could be filled with time.

Teresiana lit the fireplace instinctively. A feeling passed through Zekhan's body that he couldn't quite place. The raw power she brandished near-flippantly startled him at times. He supposed that he could do comparable things with electricity, but it would never be the same as the flames that lived within Teresiana.

"What do ya tink?" Zekhan asked, crossing to the fire in an attempt to banish the goosebumps on his skin.

"It is better than i could have ever imagined." She was beaming when he turned to see her expression. He couldn't help but go back to her, entangling himself in her arms. It was hard to believe this was real. That she was real.

Before the fire could even begin to dim, Teresiana had his body pressed into the sofa, straddling his hips. Planting fiery kisses down his neck and approaching his collarbone, Zekhan could hardly do anything but watch--and feel--with pure ecstasy.

As Teresiana's finger slipped under the edge of his shirt she asked, "is this okay?" which was of course met with an enthusiastic "yes." She did this before each new article of clothing she touched or action she started. He guessed she understood what it was like to have her boundaries violated. She was like the sun. No, not like, she was the sun. The thing his life had come to revolve around. The thing required to sustain life itself.

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Teresiana could hardly sleep while her mind struggled to make sense of how she had managed to have her life go so perfectly in so little time. From traitor to war hero to...what did it matter what she was now?

Zekhan was so unlike the fire she was used to. he never flickered or burnt out. Wasn't tossed around by wind or whim, no he was solid and permanent. Occasionally thoughts would creep into the cold corners of her mind, whispering of his looming mortality, his lifespan stunted compared to hers. The sorts of abominations any children of their's might be...

"Ya up?" Zekhan shifted and stretched beside her. Admittedly, his tusks required many a creative work around, but it was a small price to pay.

"Yeah." She rolled over to face him, a chill forming in the space between them. The fire must have gone out hours ago and both their bodies were still bare from the previous night. 

Zekhan reached his hand out and ran it along the shimmering arcane runes that twisted on her skin. "I swear deese 'tings move," he said, staring intently at the one that sprawled across her collarbones. 

"And I swear they don't. The most that they 'move' is when the arcane energy runs through them." Teresiana moved in to touch a light kiss against his collarbone.

"Ya can't fool me," he laughed in response. She felt the reverb in her lips where they rested in the hollow below his neck.

"What do you say we climb the nearest peak today?" Teresiana said, barely audible against his skin. 

"I'd love dat," Zekhan replied, his hands working deftly into his her hair. She let him experiment with the smooth, silvery strands until he settled on a single braid down her back. 

"Where did you learn to braid?" she asked when she could bring herself away from him. 

"Ma sista's were always needin' it done for somethin' or anotha," he shrugged.

Lifting herself into a sitting position, she said, "tell me about them." Being an only child, siblings fascinated her, and Zekhan had yet to mention anything about his family. 

He had apparently had three sisters, all older than him. They always needed help with their braids and taught Zekhan so he could help. The youngest of the three had been his best friend as they were only a year apart, but she had gone missing when she was sixteen. While Zekhan told his tale, Teresiana had gotten dressed in a warm, fleece-lined robe. She had also retrieved Zekhan's clothes for him.

"Maybe she's still out there," Teresiana said of the youngest sister.

"Maybe."

Teresiana conjured snacks, Zekhan dressed, and they were off. The snow had calmed since they'd arrived and now only a few flakes dropped lazily toward their brothers on the ground. The peak behind their cabin loomed hundreds of feet above, but there was little left in the world that could still scare them.

The sun slowly began to pierce the clouds, setting the snow alight like thousands of glittering diamonds. Having his first experience in untrodden snow, Zekhan leaned heavily on Teresiana. She didn't mind though, it reminded her that he was still there.

The summit offered a breath-taking view of the now-glowing valley. She watched the light hit Zekhan's face and take his breath away while she set out a blanket on a flat piece of land--after burning all the snow away, of course.

"Dere ain't not'in like dis in da echo isles," he breathed.

"You're right," Teresiana answered, resting her head on his shoulder from behind. "And some day you're going to have seen as much of the world as I have. I'll make sure of it."

They picnicked on the peak. She told him of all the places they would go together, the things she longed for him to see. He listened intently, not daring to miss a word. 

And they lived happily ever after. Well, for a few months, at least.