Private Tales What Wolves Hide Their Teeth?

He managed to behave... enough. Hands loosened, one remained at her hip while the other lifted to push his own hair from his face, revealing the charmingly mischievous grin he'd given the shop keep as she waggled her finger to step away once more.

The grin remained, but he put his pointed canines away for something a bit more warm and fond for Vi.

"Maybe not, but I'm sure a Lady can have as many as she wants."

Need and want... was having that choice not the main differentiator between those of means and those without?

"I would like you even if you wore a potato sack," he murmured back at her, leaning in to playfully nip at her ear through her hair before pulling himself away to take up one of the chairs. When the shop keep returned again he caught her eye and look no less chastised for her humor. Rather, he looked well pleased with himself.

The jacket landed splayed across him, partially covering his face. He did not immediately remove it, but instead sat there smiling to himself.

"As you wish," his muffled voice sounded from under the coat before he slowly lifted a hand to pull it away from his face ... but not before taking a moment to drown himself in her scent. To his credit, he sat quietly and made no further mischief. Musings and daydreams, mostly of himself and Vi, took over his mind while she made the painstaking process of selecting the perfect fabrics in the best colors. No doubt whatever the Modiste made for her would look splendid.

He could not recall seeing her dressed in anything that did not.

"What do you say?"

He definitely had not been paying attention, but Vittoria looked intrigued and even somewhat excited. How could he say no?

"Absolutely," Kilien smiled. Whatever it was he agreed to was surely worth the mystery. He pushed himself up from the chair, took a moment to straighten out which way was up with her jacket, and held it open to assist her redressing it.

"Maybe if you have time to make a matching vest or tie?" he asked of the seamstress, "Something subtle."

He did not need reminding of the phase of the moon. Kilien knew it in his bones. Could tell just how many days or weeks he had from a full moon even if he were locked underground. It was an innate sense. A ticking timepiece, counting down.

The concern about this was not lost from him. It remained, even present in the back of his mind while the rest of his thoughts centered around far more interesting things.

"Mmhm," he replied, not even bothering to look. Didn't need to. Could see it whenever he closed his eyes.

Feel its pulse against the tides in his blood.

Kilien covered up a twitch of his head as he heeled mentally against the itch of instincts by lifting a hand to run through his hair. The walk up here hadn't winded him in the slightest. In fact he was feeling the desperate need for a long, long run.

His hand found her thigh and there it rested, squeezing gently as he turned his attention from the one thing he did not want to look at, to the only thing he wanted to see more of. Hazel eyes looked her over, brow knitting faintly as his other hand lifted to brush hair from her face, "Elbion looks good on you."

Sometimes he really hated how she brought up the inevitability of their departure from one another. Like the moon, he didn't need a reminder of the time between them slowly ticking away. It brought to light just how much he truly felt for her.

With anyone else, he would have rushed into things in order to take advantage of the time they had left.

Vittoria didn't deserve to be rushed, nor did he want to. She was a rare, fine vintage and even if he did not get to savor the entire bottle, he would savor every drop given him. From quiet talks in an Elbion garden terrace to nights spent falling asleep snuggled against her while she pored over texts for classes. He'd regret nothing.

But he'd also not deny walking with her through a dark garden pathway if she so desired.

Elbion provided plenty of opportunity for spending the time together.

"Let's shall," his smile stretched his beard as he took up her hand in his own and stood, purposefully replying with improper grammar, "there might be snipicks and grumpkins in the dark, but don't worry I know just the spell to keep them away."

Because Vittoria was still without her magic, though he suspected that by now some of her mana may have begun to trickle back. Mostly he just liked to pretend that she needed protection at all. She didn't, but he'd do it anyway. Off he lead her through an arch of roses and into a beautifully manicured pathway through trees and flowers.

He stopped readily, attention shifting to her, moony eyes reflecting light that should not have been in the darkness of their pathway. His senses picked up on a war of emotions within her, though on the outside she looked rather calm.

With all their time spent together, Kilien could tell she was anxious. Discomforted with herself. Hiding something. His immediate instinct was to comfort her and tell her that she didn't need to say anything that did not come forth willingly. But her reminder of their time running out and the deep want for her in his veins pushed that empathetic malarky aside.

He knew what she was tripping over and he wanted her to say it.

Needed her to say it.

Kilien turned to her and closed the distance between them, skull craning until his forehead rested against her and the coils of his hair tickled at the sides of her face.

"I think you do," the words were quiet but held a low rumble to them, not a threat but an insistence. Now was not the time to discover cowardice.

"Tell me."

Please.

This was by far the pushiest admission of love he'd ever heard of. Kilien didn't take love lightly, even if he fell fast and hard himself. His life prior to entering the Academy two years ago hadn't exactly provided many opportunities for ... lasting relations. He'd gotten by with brothel visits or the odd one-nighter with a farmer's daughter in the hayloft...

...or a Dreadlord in the Falwood.

But none of the stories he'd heard of or read had produced something like this. He supposed it was only fitting. Vittoria wasn't like everyone else. She was her own person and she was in control of herself and her life (to a point). This might have verged into that gray area where she'd somehow lost control and maybe she was upset about that. Being someone else's punching bag to get out their frustrations was nothing new to him and Kilien would more than willingly allow Vittoria to use him that way if it made her feel even a smidgen better.

She could have started stabbing him with his own dagger during this monologue of emotion and he wouldn't have taken it any worse.

His feet gave ground and his eyes remained locked on hers while she unfolded the thousand-folds paper swan that was her lovesong. In his chest his heart began to beat like a war drum, egged on by concussion of his back against bark. When those three words finally left her lips, he felt a surge of emotion rise through his chest and crash against his better sensibilities. Overwhelming happiness bloomed behind his ribs, stinging into his eyes and threatening to form tears.

For several long moments, he froze, he stopped breathing, he just stared at her and took her in. All trembles and fists and shaky breath and staccato heartbeat of her. When he finally remembered to breath again he was so overcome by his own emotion that he could not even bring himself to say it back even though he felt it.

He'd felt it for a while now, but he'd always been a person of action over words.

His arms reached forward, pulling her back in for a tight embrace that he could nuzzle into her hair and finally release the breath he'd been holding as near a gasp of relief as anything. He wasn't sure they'd make it to this point before the world tore them apart and now he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not.

Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all... that's what they say.

The fuck did they know?

He pressed a strong kiss against her temple and decided not to let the future ruin the moment, "You're... just..." perfect, he thought as he kissed the side of her head again and squeezed her once more in his arms, "say it again," he mumbled with a smile.

Gods... those whispered words in his ear could make him go weak in the knees if his blood wasn't singing with his curse's ramped-up power right now. Why couldn't they have had this conversation and reverie in a week's time? The hand on his jaw, tugging at him to make eye contact elicited a low rumble from deep within his chest.

She may have claimed his lips after that but he could feel his own control beginning to slip. His arms curled, one clutching around her waist to pull her up to him while the other shifted toward her shoulders. There his hand came to clutch the back of her neck, grasping to hold her against him as he reciprocated and deepened the kiss.

Vitt had said before she hadn't quite preferred this, but he could not help himself and he wanted to taste her.

The grip on her neck loosened, allowing his fingers to shift up into her hair and over her scalp as she continued to speak into his lips. Words that soothed the hunger - truths and the unburdening of secret thoughts holding a strange balm against his wants. To be loved was certainly powerful.

His other hand smoothed across her back, stroking and petting as he leaned back against the tree, now finding the will to simply enjoy her affections rather than devour her whole.

"Mmm," he smiled, squeezing her again into the kiss, "I for one am glad you learned how to catch blueberries in your mouth."

It was a necessary skill. Everyone should know how to do it.

"And whisper sweet nothings to me ..." he said between kisses, his hand at her back now venturing south, "what else can I teach you..."

There were plenty of things he could think of, but he knew that was mostly his moon-mind talking.

Mostly.

"I know," Kilien nuzzled his nose against hers, "billiards."

"I swear it is..." he grinned, a chuckle joining her own small laughs, and squeezed at her hip for good measure.

Eyes closing against the touch on his face, Kilien leaned into her hand, his own along her neck coming to rest, to draw small circles at the base of her skull with his thumb. When his eyes opened again, they were soft despite the light within them, watching her with a fondness he'd never had for anyone else.

"Never," Kilien whispered back. She didn't have to command it, he never would forget such a thing.

He turned into her hand to kiss at her palm, wanting after her touches and soft words like a child wanted after sweets. He was addicted and simply couldn't ever have his fill.

"You..." he kissed her hand again, shifting his from her hair to the hand on his face and holding it so he could continue trailing kisses along her wrist and arm, "make ... my heart ... sing." His other arm cinched her against him at the waist as his lips progressed up toward her shoulder.