decorator | tear away the gown that i'm wearing, this tiara was not meant for me

[ He lets out a small laugh at the sudden rebirth of her sense of shame. ]

Hah... it's a bit late for that, Sai...

[ He trails off into a pause before clearing his throat, making his decision, and starting again. ]

...It's a bit late for that, Ai... but very well.

[ ~~She asked him to call her that, at least for tonight, didn't she?~~ Seriously, after the faces she'd just been shameless baring to him, getting embarrassed now must be the height of comedy. He grins... but it's more genuine than usual. Less sinister, more amusement at her shame.

He sighs and moves to slip under the covers himself, turning his back to her so as to hide the painful erection that aches for relief. He can feel all of the fluids on his tail, the scent soaked into his scales... all of that certainly isn't helping, but it's not as if he's incapable of simply waiting it out and letting it go away on it's own. ]

Sleep well and satisfied, Ai.

[ As if she could even think of doing anything else right now. Her shift might be in tatters but between the sheets and that lovely warmth still buzzing under her skin is more than enough to ward off the cold and she feels so deeply sated and wonderfully exhausted that the idea of doing anything but sleeping is an impossibility.

But then his voice catches in her head, the word snagging like cloth on a nail - satisfied. And it occurs to her much too late that while her greed has been slaked for the time being, she wasn't given the chance to do anything more than kiss him. And she knows full well from how close they'd been pressed together that the Mors King hadn't been satisfied in any way shape or form.

She looks at the solid shape of his back, considerably more at ease than it had been the first time she'd seen it tonight. A little part of her wants to reach out and make contact again, to ask for just a little bit more...

But then she forcefully douses the thought. No. This is more than enough, for both of them. She forces herself to roll over and when she speaks up, her voice is low and drowsy. ]

Mm. Goodnight.

[ And unsurprisingly she does - the well-earned, deep and restful sleep of someone wrung out to the very limits of their exhaustion. She doesn't stir once through the rest of the night. ]

Edited 2024-09-24 21:39 (UTC)

...

[ "Goodnight"... to think that he'd one day be on the receiving end of such words, spoken so softly. He remains still and silent, but... it's not a bad feeling.

Still, what he just did was still tiring... not physically, not for him, but mentally? He feels exhausted. He ignores the unsatisfied arousal deep within him and drifts off to a truly deep sleep.

And yet... perhaps as his body's retaliation for forcing himself to go unsatisfied, his tail unconsciously slips back towards Ai...

Until when morning finally comes, Ai will find herself waking up to his tail wrapped possessively around her waist. ]

[ It takes her a long while to wake up. Like that first night, she sleeps so deeply that it's late in the morning when she finally stirs, much later than she usually wakes and it takes a long, long moment for her brain to properly start back up. She has the slightly hazy thought as she drifts awake that the sheets are heavier and warmer than she's used to them being but it's not until she peels her eyes open that- ]

... Um...

[ Oh. Now she's definitely awake. This would be right around the time that she should start having some very strong thoughts about what happened last night but her brain is being stalled out by the weight of his tail, of all parts of him, wrapped around her. D-did he do that on purpose or something?! ]

...

[ Inexplicably, despite Ai's first assumption... the Mors King is still fully asleep. His tail remains wrapped tightly around her abdomen, but his chest rises and falls in the same way it always does when he slumbers.

This is the first time his tail has ever done this, however... how fitting. Last night was also the first time he'd ever used his tail in that manner as well. ]

[ Ah, this is... super embarrassing. It's not like there's any trace of what they did last night that she can see but she knows and that's more than enough. She waits for shame to bubble up, some kind of guilt or regret - and it's not as if she doesn't feel anything, it's just not quite like she expected. There's no doubt that it had been a bad idea, but she can't bring herself to be sorry, either.

A bitter smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. This isn't a feeling that any Saintess should be proud of, is it?

Her hand drifts down and slowly brushes over his tail, her fingertips gently tracing the scales. The texture is strange, smooth and sleek and warm, but not entirely unpleasant. ... well, it certainly hadn't been unpleasant last night, anyway.

The two of them really are in deep, deep trouble, aren't they? ]

[ Surprisingly, of all things, its her fingers brushing over his tail that gets him to stir. It shifts, scales rubbing against the bare surface of her skin... to think that those same scales were used in such a manner last night. He owes an apology to all those who were felled by a lash of his tail in the past. ]

Hn...

[ Still, for better or worse, he was successful in sleeping off his pent-up desire. There's a low rumble to his voice as he turns over, eyes just slightly open as he glances in her direction. ]

...

[ ...For a moment, there's no reaction. Then, with the realization of where his tail is, his eyes widen.

...he still says nothing, but his tail slowly starts to recede and unwrap from around her as he promptly looks away.

He's not embarrassed, shut up. ]

[ The moment his eyes settle on her, she becomes deeply, deeply aware of just what a state she's in. Her shift is still in tatters and the result is her looking somehow even more immodest than if she'd been left completely bare and that's not even getting into her dishevelled hair and the steadily increasing flush covering her face and down her neck. She parts her lips wanting to - she doesn't even know. Apologize? Pretend nothing had happened? But then the warm weight of his tail unfurls from around her and as he looks away, she realises - oh. he's embarrassed too.

She stares for a moment, then has to press her lips together to suppress the smile threatening to curl up the corners of her mouth. The Mors King, the terrifying creature she'd been sent here to fend off... is embarrassed, just like she is. It's almost...

Well. It makes things a little easier, anyway. ]

... Good morning.

...Yeah.

[ As if they can pretend nothing happened... even if he'd really like to. Just one look at her was enough to make the memories come flooding back, and he's sure that would be the case even if she wasn't dressed so provocatively.

Which is, of course, his own fault. ]

...You're quite the woman, you know that?

[ He lets out a sigh. It's not like he can really talk... though he does have the excuse of this being the whole purpose of her staying here anyway. ]

[ This time a smile does touch her lips, even if it's only a sheepish one. He's not mad at her, at least... ]

Is that so...

[ She's has no idea if it's supposed to be a compliment or a complaint, so that seems safest for now. She carefully sits up, keeping the ruined shift clutched around her as best she can - there's a not unpleasant soreness between her legs and she blushes all over again at the feel of it. It's funny - what they'd done last night had been exactly the sort of thing she'd been so afraid of when she'd first arrived here. But now... ]

Was it... [ Pause. Swallow. ] Were you... satisfied?

[ They both know he wasn't. But it's the closest she can come to asking whether or not that was a single moment of madness or something she needs to anticipate again - whatever form of anticipation it takes. ]

[ As usual, there's no response at first... just silence, as if he's contemplating his answer, but... ]

...yeah, seeing you fall from grace was quite entertaining.

[ Ultimately, what comes out is the sound of his usual jeer as he sits up and grins at her. ~~God, fuck, does she realize that trying to cover herself up with so little is pointless? It actually kind of makes it worse.~~ ]

...Though I suppose from now on you won't be satisfied with any less. Don't worry, if nothing else, your fall will at least be a pleasant one.

[ You know what they say... when you have no idea what to do, the best course of action is to double down. That's what they say, right? ]

[ Something warm and a little shameful unfurls in her chest at that, though she does her best to tamp it down. Last night had been so, so intense, and she knows without a shadow of a doubt that if she's given the chance again, she'd take it - even though that surely makes her the worst, most unforgivably impure Saintess there's ever been. If she can even call herself a Saintess anymore after begging so eagerly for a monster's attentions.

But...

He's right.

There's no way she'll be satisfied with anything else anymore.

Again, she waits for the shame - maybe even the guilt and the disgust. Shouldn't she feel violated? Dirty, used, ashamed? All that really crests is a sense of spiteful satisfaction - Fragaria sent her here to die, after all. How wretched a girl must the Saintess be that they'd be so much more horrified by what she'd done last night?

She swallows hard again and nods. ]

Then I'll do my best not to disappoint you.

[ She pushes the covers back, making to slide out of bed to prepare herself for the day like usual but - ]

... Ah.

[ Oh, uh. She really can't go anywhere in this state, can she? ]

[ He chuckles... but as he turns away, his heart is anything but amused. If anything, it's a raging storm... because despite everything, despite everything...

...he finds himself looking forward to it.

Disarray is the only possible result from having that mixed in... as when faced with the feelings he still has for her...

What would she say...? Would she be upset? Furious with him? Come to think of it, he rarely ever saw her get mad. Upset, sure. Frustrated, with him frequently... but she'd always smiled at him again eventually. If she were to see him now, how would she react? Aside from being horrified at what he's become, that is. ]

...Hm?

[ He hears the noise she makes and glances back at her, confused. ]

...What? Don't tell me you can't walk, I didn't do that much.

Ah, no, it's not that...

[ Though her brain unhelpfully decides to pipe up with speculation of exactly how he might accomplish that before she firmly quashes the thought. ]

Um. It's just, my clothes are a bit...

[ She holds out a piece of the shift, torn beyond saving, with a brittle little smile. It's the same one she's been wearing since she came from Fragaria, made of a cotton blend that probably cost enough to feed a small family for a month - and just a second under the Mors King's claws was all it took to reduce it to worthless rags. ]

I can probably manage without one under my clothes until it's replaced b-but...

[ She really can't walk around naked until she's bathed and dressed...! ]

[ He raises an eyebrow at her, genuinely a bit baffled. Certainly, walking around like that is... well, it's certainly bold but it's not as if there's anybody else to see her... aside from himself.

That, in and of itself, poses it's own problems... but most easily solved by simply averting his eyes. ]

...What, choosing now to have some shame? Deal with it.

[ What does she expect him to do anyway? ]

N-no, it's not that exactly...

[ Though it is at the very least A Little Bit that ]

It's too cold in here for me without anything at all. And it'll be even worse once I've bathed. So...

[ What even is she expecting him to do here, anyway? She has the horrible suspicion that he really might just leave her to suffer through this on her own, and wouldn't that be the perfect payback for her behaviour last night... ]

Huh?

[ It would be the perfect payback, but... is it really that cold? He supposes she did mention it last night, but...

He squints at her, considering whether or not he lets her suffer through this as payback, but in the end... ]

Ugh... fine. You can manage at least getting to the bathroom, so go take a bath. I'll bring you something.

[ It's an acceptable compromise. He gets a bit of payback, but he still gets her a change of clothes... hey, why the hell is he caving so easily anyway!? ]

Ugh... something is seriously wrong with me...

[ Or so he mutters under his breath. ]

... If... you're sure...?

[ That's... unexpected. ... Or on second thoughts, is it really? For all he complains and makes a show of treating her poorly, has the Mors King ever actually failed to accommodate her in all the time she's been here? Tormenting her would be as easy as keeping her half starved and denying her a place to sleep or bathe but he's done none of that. The worst he's done is assign her chores like the maidservant she'd offered to be and made a show of shallowly indulging in her body at night. Last night had been the only time he'd truly crossed the line in that regard... and it was only because she'd asked.

Something has changed. Something has shifted and Ai isn't quite sure what to make of it yet. Instead, she just dips her head with a murmur of thanks and slips out from under the covers, tattered shift and all. As expected, the cold air on her skin is unpleasant but not unbearable, especially when she knows she has a hot bath to look forward to. Quietly thanking whoever attached the bathing area to the Mors King's chambers, she hurries over into them, trying not to think too hard about how much of a disgrace she must look like this. ]

Of course I'm sure. Now get going before I change my mind...

[ Or before he comes to his senses... one of the two. Still, chances of him coming to his senses must be slim, because his eyes drift to her yet again as she runs to clean herself up, and...

Well, she's not wrong about looking disgraceful, but his eyes remain fixed on her all the way until she vanishes into the bathing chambers. ]

Shit...

[ He finally tears his eyes away and sighs, looking out at the perpetually darkened sky through a nearby window. ]

What the hell am I doing, Titania...

[ Like almost everything else in the castle, the baths really are fit for a king - or a dragon. Even as a Saintess back in Fragaria, treated with the same revrence as any noble, she's never seen facilities as luxurious as this. The bath is huge and deep, set low into the floor and far down enough that if she cared to wade out into the water, she's certain she'd end up swimming. Wherever the water comes from, it comes out piping hot and smelling of herbs and flowers she can't name, filling the air with sweet, fragrant steam. She supposes it must be magic keeping it all functional - no need to chop wood to keep the water warmed and certainly no attendants running to and fro. It means she has privacy, which is nice.

But it also means it's quiet enough for her to think, which is decidedly less so.

What exactly is she doing here? Even with the hot water lapping at her, she's still all too aware of that pleasant soreness between her legs. Last night should have been an aberration, a terrible mistake she should be trying to scrub out of her skin even now. Instead, when she thinks about the promise in his sneer and the prospect of another night like the last, something deep in her gut twists and clenches with something that is, undeniably, anticipation.

It really makes no sense. Again, she searches her heart for any sense of shame or debasement but she finds none of it. Maybe he was right to call her dirty - ah, there's really no maybe about it, is there?

She sighs and sinks down in the water up to her chin, untied hair floating loosely around her. If she was a real Saintess, maybe this would be when God or anybody would give her some kind of sign or guidance. But of course, if she was a real Saintess, she wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. ]

[ Oberon still remembers when the bath was designed. It had been Titania's idea, really. Said something about how it wasn't right that the bath couldn't fit his dragon form... but his true form at it's full size would've required something rather absurd in terms of size, which even with magic, was simply unreasonable.

Still, with the level of control he has over his own form, downsizing was easy enough... and at his smallest, the goal of making a dragon-sized bath was finally feasible.

Honestly, he still thinks it was more trouble than it was worth... all the intricate magic at play just for the sake of a luxurious experience, and yet she had looked so proud of it once it was done that he couldn't help but— ]

Coming in.

[ He at least announces himself before pushing the doors open, striding in with the first dress of hers that he could find. Still, he doesn't seem to pay any mind to the loss of her privacy as he sets it down off to the side for her later. ]

[ She'd been anticipating his arrival but if the way the water splashes around her as she jolts up in response to his voice, he still manages to startle her. She turns to face him, loose strands of damp hair sticking to her cheek and neck, and flashes him a slightly sheepish smile. ]

Thank you. ... Sorry to trouble you with this.

[ As if it's not his fault in the first place that she needed the help, but she'll keep that to herself. It probably goes without saying.

She swallows and tries to fix her smile into something a little more natural, though there's no missing the slight flush rising in her cheeks. ]

If... you'd like to wash up as well, I can make sure to hurry.

Hmph. You'd better be, I won't be doing it again.

[ Shit. She's too alluring... well, she was already that, but she's somehow getting even more alluring... was she really ever a Saintess? Or is she actually a temptress that Fragaria sent him in the guise of a Saintess?

...no, no they definitely considered her a Saintess, even if they were completely wrong. There goes the out of discovering that there's magic involved... not that it was ever an option. He's a dragon, he's immune to that kind of magical suggestion.

So the problem lies with him... and with that in mind, there's only one thing to do in that case.

Brute force the attraction out. ]

No, that won't be necessary.

[ After setting her clothes down, he starts to stride... towards the tub, stripping off his own clothes in the process. ]

Ah-?!

[ On pure instinct, the instant she sees his shirt starting to come unbuttoned, Ai whips her head around and fixes her gaze firmly on the water, ears burning. In all the time she's been here and every entanglement they've ended up in, she's never seen the Mors King so much as shirtless before and it feels like the proper thing to do to avert her gaze.

... Of course, proper went so far out the window last night that it's probably halfway back to Fragaria by now. And, well, after last night, surely there's nothing left that would shock her. She's already felt what it's like to have his teeth at her throat and his claws in her thighs and his tail... um...

Okay, maybe thinking about that when they're about to be in the bath together is a bad idea. But she at least allows herself to turn back and peek coyly over her shoulder to watch him undress. Even though she's aware of her face burning, she tells herself that this is just fair and just payback for how often he's ogled her in her state of undress. ]

Are you certain...? I don't mind making myself scarce if you don't want to wait.

Huh? Don't be ridiculous. I'm not waiting, but I won't have you walk around the castle unclean. Otherwise I'd have tossed you in the dungeon.

[ He's glad she looks away, it means she won't be able to see the way his own cheeks briefly start to redden before he shakes his head, fortunately managing to disperse the flush of his pale cheeks before she decides to peek coyly over her shoulder... as if he isn't aware of her eyes on him the instant that they are.

There's seriously something wrong with him... he's a dragon, god damn it. This isn't even his true form, he has no reason to feel shame over it, especially since he'd hardly feel shame over her gazing at his true draconic form. Thinking this, he manages to keep the shame away... ~~for however long that lasts.~~ ]

...It's rude to stare, you know.

[ Said ~~as if he hasn't done the same to her~~ with his trademark smirk as he discards his shirt onto the floor, moving onto his pants next. It's not like he's built particularly large. He's hardly a physique to aspire to... aside from his lanky height, at least. Still, the more important part is what comes once his pants drop, and...

...there's nothing there. His lower body—and legs, for that matter—is entirely draconic and covered in scales, meaning that should her eyes drift between his legs, she'll find herself looking at what seems to be an utter lack of genitalia whatsoever.

He is technically reptilian in nature, after all. ]

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