Private Tales Clashing Fangs

[Fallon]

Victoria may have been colder than the empty space that she left behind, but it was her absence that gave the Garou an unpleasant chill. The sight of her body caught by moonlight however was a prompt remedy however, and Fallon growled lasciviously as she stretched and rolled to lay across the bed on her stomach, her chin resting on her folded forearms to watch her with a predatory gaze.

How a woman of such fire and ferocity could be so... adorable, was a mystery she would never dare try to solve. The excitement she held over such things as garments was endearing, and the wolf couldn't resist but to grin at her in utter adoration.

"I.. Don't generally wear much." she laughed under her breath. "Such things have never been important to me, but if they are important to you then I will allow you to choose something for me to wear." she smiled and slipped from the sheets to stalk across the room to her, a hand shifting the curtain of crimson aside so that her lips might press a kiss to the back of her neck, her other hand sliding onto her stomach.

"Anything but frills..." she mumbled against the woman's shoulder with a smirk, leaving one more kiss before she continued on to the bathroom, and wasted little time in slipping into the tub of scalding water with a growled groan of satisfaction.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria eyed Fallon's approach through a floor-length mirror in the corner. It was a historic item more so than functional, for when she leaned hungrily into Fallon's arms the cool silver showed the garou gripping at empty air. She felt her knees tremble at the kiss but managed to keep her composure long enough to smile at the thought of Fallon in frills.

Eager to join, Victoria whisked to a different wardrobe. She wanted to find something that suited her love. Something that captured her wildness, yet was elegant and powerful. She bit her lip to keep the grin from spreading over her face as she pulled the sheer thing from its hanger and set it next to the item she'd chosen for herself.

She strode into the bath chamber, leaving the door to the sleeping quarters wide open. She sat on the rim behind Fallon, dipping a leg in beside each of the wolf's arms and pulling the platinum haired head back to rest on her stomach.

Long, ivory fingers coursed through that hair and down the sides of Fallon's neck and shoulders. Victoria purred to herself as she fondled the locks and felt the taut cords of muscle beneath her kneading thumbs. "Is this addiction?" she swept the curve of Fallon's collarbone with her fingertips. "I have touched every inch of you for the last night and a half, but I still..." she slipped a hand beneath the lapping water, "...crave."

 

[Fallon]

Fallon settled back comfortably, a smug smile curling at her lips as she let her eyes drift close and her fingers idly trace up and down the outside of Victoria's calves. The kneading at her muscles was approved by a throaty sound and a frown in gratification. Her body simply seemed to react to her, as though her nerves were magnetised to her icy touch that both soothed the heat of her skin and ignited something that burned far hotter.

"Mhm.." she nodded slowly, a shuddering breath spilling from her lips as a cold hand slipped below the water, causing her back to arch and her body to writhe into the touch. "Addiction is one way to describe it.." she answered breathily, tilting her head back a little more to look up at her as she reached up to sink her fingers into her hair.

How she could ever be away from this woman.. She couldn't. She'd become something that Fallon needed to survive, it was that simple. She could not and would not live without her.

"Marry me.." Fallon purred, her silver eyes studying her face. Whether such a thing was possible, she didn't know, she didn't care, if there was a way to bind them, to make her wholly her own then she wanted it, in every way possible she wanted her and she'd vow to it.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria curled and flexed her toes under the scalding ripples in time with Fallon's wandering fingers. She studied every sinew of the garou's neck and shoulders with her right hand while her left explored other, softer parts of her body.

Silver captured her attention, and the rubies could not look away. Everything was in Fallon's eyes then. Victoria wanted to know every facet of them, every tiny mark of those argent irises, every pulse of those pupils that threatened to swallow her entirely. She leaned her head into the touch without thought and savored the steamy droplets that ran down her cheek and neck.

Then the breath that she didn't know she was taking caught in her throat. Her fluttering heart slammed to a standstill and she gaped at Fallon. All she could see was silver. All she could feel were fingers in her hair.

"Wh... what?" she managed to gasp out. The words they, they couldn't have been real. Marry Fallon? It was too good, too perfect.

Her chest began to heave, her hands tremble, and her heart beat so fervently that she thought her ribs might crack. Fallon was still looking at her and she hadn't woken from a beautiful dream into cold darkness. She began to feel the water again, and the body beneath her hands.

Marry Fallon. Did the garou even do marriage? Did she? It seemed so antiquated, so very out of line with how her life was expected to go but...

"Yes," she said almost imperceptibly. "Yes... yes, yes, YES! YES!" She dove on Fallon, pressing their lips together in an upside-down embrace as they tumbled into the steaming basin. She had stopped thinking any thoughts that were not of Fallon, any thoughts that were not wild and furiously yes. Somewhere in her heart a 20-year-old human girl cried with joy.

 

[Fallon]

"I could soak in all that you are forever and still be right here, wanting more." Fallon whispered huskily beside her lover's ear. She was sure it'd been days since she'd asked the red woman to make vows with her, hours upon hours exploring every inch, of devouring body, blood, mind and soul. They had submitted to one another, each had left their mark; the brand of loving possession, and a warning to any who might dare lay a finger on what was not theirs to hold nor harm.

Her soul was bound to this woman. She knew now what she had denied before, what she had believed was merely myth amongst her kind. The Garou had found her one, the soul that'd been etched into her destiny upon her creation, and the need to be with her, to love and protect her was so overwhelming that at times it hurt to breathe. She had not known it possible to love like this, with everything that she was. Love was not even the word for it, and she was certain that none such word existed.

Fallon was infatuated, intoxicated, and happily held captive by the beams of Victoria's heart and soul.

A deep sigh tumbled from her lips and she propped up onto an elbow, leaning over to graze her lips across hers. "Perhaps, it is time that we left this room." she whispered with a soft laugh as she lifted her head to look around at the minor devastation. There was little water left in the tub, the sheets had been shredded and pillows de-feathered. There were claw marks on wood and wall and more than a few smashed ornaments and paintings tilted at odd angles.

Fallon's throat cleared sheepishly.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria gnashed her teeth playfully in the air before Fallon's teasing lips, but she looked aside to their... celebrations... and agreed that it was best they put things right.

"We'll use a guest suite while this is tended to," she said rising from her lover. As she moved to the wardrobe she absently stroked a finger down her front, feeling the sweat that lingered from Fallon's skin. It was a tiny thing, but to Victoria it was elating. Fallon lived. She sweat, she breathed, she tensed, she pulsed. She responded while Victoria... Victoria remained exactly the same; a stone copy of a young woman from centuries past.

Well... physically. She doubted the young woman from 200 years prior would have been striding through her room naked whilst a werewolf reclined in her bath.

Her musings continued in her head as she set about gathering the clothes she had pulled out some nights previously, before she had been again distracted. Her own dress was predictable. Dark, red, elegant. At least she knew what she liked. For Fallon: light drapings of purest white. Soft silk to hang effortlessly from her powerful body with a fit that would feel as though she wore nothing. Perhaps a small bit of vampiric arrogance had crept into Victoria's choice, but could she be blamed for wanting to put Fallon's full glory on display? "Is it alright? I have others."

Spoiler: For Fallon

Spoiler: For Victoria

 

[Fallon]

Fallon didn't bother with a towel or robe. A fine mist rose from her scalding, dewy skin as she stalked across the room and her muscles shifted and shuddered as she stretched and growled a sound of contentment. Magnetic energy pulled her back toward Victoria, her gaze wandering over her, predator admiring predator.

She peeked the vampire's shoulder and her fingertips grazed down her side to settle on her hip whilst she looked over the dress. Fallon had never cared about how she looked, she was wild, barely human at all, and so clothes had never really been a concern. But this was a new world, and she found herself caring very much about looking part of it.

"It's perfect." she rumbled against her shoulder and pressed a delicate kiss upon it before dragging herself away and letting her fingers graze instead over the fine silk. It fit her exquisitely, the fabric feather light and her legs free to move without restriction, for which she was both thankful and certain that the garment had been well thought out. She stood looking down at it, her hands smoothing over the fabric.

"I've never worn anything like it.." She had never looked so...civilised.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria hooked a pristine fang over her lip as she watched Fallon dress. Though she had seen the full wonder of Fallon’s body many times, there was something about hiding just a bit of it that made it all that more enticing. The way the fabric draped from her powerful and primal frame, the way her muscular legs cut through the fabric as she walked…

Victoria took a deep, redundant breath and blinked away the brewing daydreams. For hell’s sake it had been minutes. She pulled a braided golden cord on the wall and less than thirty seconds later a young woman in servant’s garb entered. She had hair of bottomless black and eyes to match, and she did not meet Fallon’s gaze. Without Victoria saying a thing, the woman began to dress her.

”I’m starved,” she said as her corset was secured. ”Tell Ivarsen I want a feast. Everyone able is to attend. Meat, wine… also actual wine.” She said with a sly glance once more up and down Fallon’s figure. ”And have this restored within the week,” she gestured lazily to the scene of destruction the pair had left of their room.

The maid finished, curtsied, and left without a word. Victoria moved to Fallon, “swept” may have been a more apt description now that she was once more in flowing finery. “My love, my… betrothed,” she simpered. ”It will take them some time to prepare downstairs. Would you like to walk the parapets? Or perhaps see more of the castle?”

 

[Fallon]

Fallon watched the whole display in utter bewilderment, her head tilted as she leaned back against the dresser, fingers tapping on the rich mahogany. It was strange to her that this female seemed so...soulless, and she decided then that it made her dreadfully uncomfortable.

She watched as Victoria was layered with the finest dress she'd ever seen, and slowly she forgot about the odd girl and her lips curled upward at the sight of her in all her glory. Fallon swallowed at the sight of her gliding toward her, her eyes wandering before settling on her entrancing lips, from which she stole a hungry kiss.

"Sounds wonderful." she smiled and took a deep breath of her. "Best be quick, before I change my mind." she laughed under her breath and gave a growl of reluctance as she took her hand and urged her toward the doors.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria purred and gave a playful pat of Fallon's shoulder. They had to leave this room, even she had her limits. How wonderful it was to find someone that tested them, though.

Greyrock was not the largest castle Victoria had seen, but it was substantial. True to its name, heavy dark stone made up everything from the sturdy walls to the expansive floors to the parapets atop its thick towers. It was not dainty, it was not artful. It was a fortress plain and simple, build eons ago against what foes Victoria did not know. It was already centuries old by the time she had been born, and she expected it would stand for many more.

She felt like she was seeing it anew, guiding Fallon through its corridors. A strange giddiness filled her, and more than anything she wanted Fallon to be impressed and happy with it. After all, if Victoria had her way, this would be Fallon's new home. She pointed out portraits here and there, coats of arms and other treasures on display. The library was a favorite feature, and it sprawled across several levels and had large windows for reading light... all of which were currently draped in thick, black cloth.

Up and up they went, until at last they stepped through a rough trap door into the starlight. From the towers they could see across the countryside, and Victoria's unnatural sight let her pick out the small hamlets in the dim. "Everything you can see is mine," she said, unable to keep some pride from leaking into her words. "And... now it is yours, too."

The reality of Fallon's proposal had hit her several times already, and now it hit her again. This was real, she thought. It didn't feel real. It seemed too good. It made her too happy.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon wore an unfaltering smile of pure bemusement as she was led by the hand through the keep, a soft laugh tumbling from her lips here and there each time the vampire tugged in her giddiness and her voice sparked with excitement. She paid interest to the tapestries and grand portraits, but she could only keep her attention drawn away from the woman for short moments enough to oblige in being given the grand tour. Again and again her chest tightened with awe. Getting to know Victoria in the wilderness and on their travels had been incredible, but seeing her here in her home in all her majesty was something all together, and quite unexpectedly, mesmerizing.

Here the woman shone in an entirely different way, lit up with pride and passion and she didn't know whether it was being home or her sudden (and also unexpected) proposal. Perhaps it was both. And like a love sick pup, Fallon couldn't help but drink it all in. It was obsession, and most definitely an unhealthy one, but when it felt the way it did, she couldn't care less. Victoria was hers, and whilst that fact should never have become a reality, it simply was and she wouldn't deny her feelings for a single moment, not again.

The castle was spectacular. Perfect, in fact. She made a mental note to revisit the library when her head wasn't so utterly in the clouds, the room having caused her besotted expression to pause for a brief moment of admiration.

Chill air and fragrant pine caused her muscles to writhe in a pleasant way, the wolf beckoned by it with the impulsive itch to run and hunt. Though leaving Victoria's side right now was simply not an option, and so Fallon's shoulders rolled as she resisted the urge. She gazed up at the moons and down over the lands that Victoria claimed were now also her own, and she laughed under her breath, sending a silvery plume into the air.

"All I want is you." she growled quietly and took both of her hands, entwining their fingers and pulling her close. "Why doesn't that terrify me?.." she asked, studying her face. Victoria was stunning regardless of the time of day, but the moonlight looked particularly good on her.

"I've barely thought about my pack since I left them. I have no... room, for anything else in my heart or mind right now, not even for the guilt I should feel. There's nothing. Just you." she swallowed. "And, I need you to know that should any of your people attempt to step between us I.. Well I won't take that well." she frowned. Fallon had learned to control herself from a particularly young age, she shifted when necessary and often chose diplomacy over violence, but she knew now that the instinct to protect Victoria was something newly unlocked, and if the thought alone was enough to cause her blood to heat so rapidly, there would be no controlling what she would do to anyone stupid enough to get in their way.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria was immensely strong, but Fallon's arms always made her feel weak. She let the garou pull her close, let her keep their faces only inches apart. There was a certain romance in the weakness, or perhaps it was selfishness, to want Fallon to take control if only for a moment. Leadership of her castle, her domain, and her court had hardened her. At times she could feel the brittle cracks forming, but Fallon could soften those edges. Fallon could make her forget, for a second, any other cares.

But Fallon's words were not carefree, and Victoria's face fell to match its tone. She didn't know much about packs, not for lycans and certainly not for garou, but from the little she had gleaned they were closer than most families in existence.

"Guilt?" she asked, soberly reminded of how deeply Fallon's origins conflicted with her own. "I don't want... I won't keep you from your pack." Of course she wanted Fallon all to herself. Of course she wanted to hold on to her and never, ever let her out of sight, but she did not want her to be unhappy.

Human Victoria had been meek, but doted upon. Vampire Victoria had taken everything she wanted with force. She was very poorly equipped for compromise, but she was determined to try. "You could visit them, surely? Maybe not now but... sometime?" They had just gotten here, and she was loathe to separate so soon. Please, let them stay for a while. Let them be married. Then, maybe, she could bear to be apart for a few months. The though of accompanying Fallon did not occur to her. She did not expect the sanctimonious garou to welcome her with anything but tooth and claw.

"As for my people, if anyone should try to come between us, I should very much like to skin them myself. So please be careful when you bring them to me, they won't be any fun if they're already dead."

There would be dissenters, and they would not be difficult to root out.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon's eyes creased in a smile. She knew fine well the vampire would keep her to herself forever if she could, but Fallon wanted that too, and that's where the guilt should have been. Still, that Victoria been prepared for her to go back to her pack said more about how much she cared, and that made her smile even more.

"I'm not going anywhere any time soon. And.. When I do go back, it'll be to say goodbye. There are leaders among them, they'll do just fine without me.. They will understand, but they will never accept you. And I choose you." she frowned.

"A bonding is.. rare. But when it happens.." Fallon's head shook. "Nothing or no-one will keep me from you. I'd lose my mind. Hell I'd slaughter every last living soul in Arethil to get back to you or die trying.. My fate is sealed, and I can only thank the Gods every day that you accepted me, or I'd have had to watch you from the shadows for the rest of my life." she laughed under her breath and grazed at the woman's nose with her own.

As for the fates of those who opposed them, she'd made her message clear and was glad that it wouldn't cause Victoria any upset by the sounds of things. Such things were out with her control, but she'd try her best to resist slaughtering vampires without cause. That would be a struggle in itself, but she'd accepted that she'd have to be in the same room with them, and she doubted they'd like it either.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

As selfish as she knew it was, Victoria's heart leapt at Fallon's professions of love and devotion. While her eyelids dipped into decidedly "bedroom" territory as Fallon described committing genocide on her behalf, Victoria had the good grace to be breathless at just how powerful a bond the wolf was describing.

There was no need for her to ask Fallon if she were sure, Victoria already knew the answer. She tried to respond but her throat would not form any words, so she hoped a long, tender kiss would convey her understanding.

There was a part of her that, unexpectedly, was disappointed that Fallon's pack would not accept her, even enough for a visit. She deeply loved Fallon, and naturally wished to see the family that had raised such an impressive woman. This was not the time for that discussion, however. Nor was it the time to, once again, ponder the implications of loving a creature so completely opposite to her dark nature.

She lost track of how long they remained on the parapet, but a gentle knock on the trap door at their feet roused her from her reveries, and she bade the knocker approach.

The same dark-haired girl from her chamber peeked her head above the stones and said in a quiet, docile voice, "The feast is ready, my Lady."

Victoria gave Fallon's hips a final squeeze before taking a step back. "Shall we?"

On their way back into the castle, she asked "You said a 'bonding,' what did you mean by that?"

 

[Fallon]

Her smile showed a hint of sharp canines at the salacious look in those crimson eyes, and she gladly accepted the physical response with a soft sound of approval. Her hand climbed up the smooth curve of the vampire's neck and she gripped the nape of it, the other sliding to the small of her back and pulling her against her, savouring every second that passed.

The knock caused the muscles around her shoulders to tense where hackles would rise, sending a shudder down her spine and eliciting a growl from the Garou. She watched the girl peek up from beneath and announce the 'feast'. She'd been quietly dreading this part, but she knew she'd have to face it sometime and they'd already excluded themselves these past few days since they'd arrived.

"Hm.." Fallon smiled and let her hand slip down Victoria's arm and into her hand to walk with her. She smiled a little shyly at the question and dropped her gaze to the path ahead.

"It's a complicated thing. It can happen at any time in a Garou's life, but most will live and die without ever experiencing it. It's like a physical pull that doesn't take into account circumstance or personal feelings, so its not exactly love at first sight it's more an unconditional bond, and its life-long. Its like, I woke up, and now everything and everyone else is secondary.. I.. Can't ever leave you." she frowned at the very thought, recalling how she'd felt when she'd done so before.

"It was very likely the reason that I was drawn to Olivia, because she was connected to you. But it was you that I was looking for, or.. My soul was looking for. And now that it have, its my sole purpose to please and protect you. I am also very.. connected, with your feelings and emotions.." she smiled wickedly and shot her a glance.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Well... if Fallon was trying to flatter her she was doing a very good job. Turned out, being the object of spiritual and cosmic desire was quite the boost to Victoria, and she felt tingles run from the nape of her neck down her arms and legs as Fallon described it.

These stone hallways were familiar to her and she navigated them blindly, putting her focus entirely on the blonde, powerful woman next to her. She had devoured Fallon’s figure with her eyes upon the tower, now she looked at her eyes, wanting so desperately to know every little thing that occurred behind them. She blushed when Fallon made that face.

”I don’t think I will ever fully understand it,” she squeezed Fallon’s hand in her own, ”None of this makes sense, but you must have leashed me in to that pact. I knew when I saw you that we belonged to each other. I... didn’t accept it right away... but I think I knew.”

They neared the grand hall, and as they grew closer Victoria leaned in to Fallon and savored as much of her heat and scent and skin as she could. ”You have fulfilled that purpose so well, my love.“ Fallon had, quite literally, saved her from oblivion on several occasions. The bloody memories had fueled many a flight of passion for the redhead, but they carried with them a deep and unyielding gratitude.

She gave a final kiss on Fallon’s cheek. ”Know that I will protect you here.“ She straightened up, but did not release the Garou’s hand. Indeed, its warmth was the only thing calming the heart that rattled her ribs.

She took a deep breath. ”Are you ready?” She offered a smile of reassurance. Whatever trepidation she felt, it was matched with fierceness to guard Fallon against anything the world could send them.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon's head tilted, her gaze a polished moonstone as she looked at the woman as though searching for truth. She didn't know if it was possible for the other party to be, as she put it, 'leashed' into the bond that way, but the thought enthralled her and he heart squeezed in her chest with a few painful thumps of pride. She swallowed, and it was everything for the Garou not to shove her mate against the closest wall and allow the stirring wolf to take control over her senses.

Staying her impulses caused a shudder to ripple through her, those thoughts still very much on her mind and momentarily drowning out all trepidation she had felt mere moments ago.

”Know that I will protect you here.“​

Fallon drew in a breath, her lips twitching as she gave a brief nod. Fallon had always been the protector, and nothing would ever quell her instinct to protect Victoria with her life, but she was also very aware that even in her war form, she would be no match if several of them decided to turn on her.

"Almost.." she answered quietly, her fingertips capturing a tress of crimson hair to push it behind her ear before she captured her lips in a soft kiss. She had no idea how long they'd be in the company of others, or how well it would go, and so she wanted to savour just a few more seconds. She sighed as she grazed her nose against Victoria's cool cheek with a soft growl.

"Alright. Ready." she smirked.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Fallon’s delirious warmth spread through her lips to her face to her neck and shoulders and core. How someone so strong could be so soft was beyond her, and it did take a moment to recollect what they were about to do. The growl stirred her confidence as it always did, and she gnashed her teeth playfully at Fallon’s smirk, fangs facing fangs, before leading her on.

The doors to the grand hall were thick and heavy, opened from within by a pair of vampires. The scene within was modest by Victoria’s standards... and extravagant by anyone else’s. A long ebony table stretched beneath the arched ceiling, lit by three immense cast-iron chandeliers. Candles, newly replaced by the looks of them, burned quietly to compliment the torchlight along the walls. Perhaps half as many burned here as would be expected, but any reduction in fire was appreciated by the Lady and her court.

The table had no less than thirty places set, all of which were occupied by people of various complexion and dress. Most were vampire but a fair few were human. Advisors, lieutenants, spies, and staffers, all had been invited, nay, mandated to attend this evening’s event. Servants lined the sides of the halls, prepared with pitchers and platters.

Whatever quiet murmur had been present before their entrance stilled immediately, and Victoria lead Fallon up the length of the hall. She could hear her heart beating in her chest. Worse, she knew the others could hear it too. The sound of her fine shoes echoed through the cavernous hall until they reached the far end of the table where two places remained unfilled: a tall and imposing chair for Victoria herself at the table’s head, and a shorter yet ornately carved seat just to her right for Fallon. Servants came forward to pull free the seats for the women, though they did not sit yet. Victoria held fast to Fallon’s hand, ice enveloped by fire, and spoke out in a practiced voice.

“This is Fallon, Garou of the Spine. As you no doubt know, she is my partner, my companion, and as far as you are concerned my equal.“ There was a long silence while the echoes of her voice dimmed. Victoria was not modest, she was not meek. To call someone else her equal, in her own home, was a monumentous event.

”While she is here, she speaks with my voice and acts with my hands. I expect, no, require, that all due courtesy is given her.” Victoria wore a pleasant expression on her face but her eyes had lost all of their gleam. Instead they bore through her court, as dark and sanguine as the veiled threats behind her warm address.

”Now, let us feast to my return!”

At this the court finally responded with a hearty toast and the servants from the hall’s perimeter moved in to offer lavish treats. Victoria took a gold and ruby goblet filled with steaming red liquid, and no fewer than three platters were offered to Fallon featuring pheasant, rabbit, and slices of wild boar.

Victoria had still not released Fallon’s hand.

 

[Fallon]

Unlike Victoria, Fallon’s feet made no sound as she walked proudly beside her. Her quicksilver eyes drifted from face to face, some – she noted – were far paler than others, but her stoic expression did not falter despite the numerous crimson eyes boring into her. Their loathing of her was palpable, and it was ground so deeply into Fallon’s nature to hunt and kill the creatures that she now surrounded herself with, that her bones and muscles ached with the natural instinct to shift and destroy as many as she could. Her hand tightened on Victoria’s, though it was the only tell of the battle she currently fought for control.

She would smile to none except Victoria during her announcement. She would not pretend to expect acceptance, nor would she pretend that she was their friend. All that mattered to her was the woman at her side, and that she was safe and sated. That the woman could command an entire hall full of vampires to treat a Garou as Her equal was something of a feat, and the way in which she commanded it was enough to make even Fallon’s skin heat. An almost inaudible groan scraped at the back of her throat as she lifted her cup of wine in toast.

“To your return, My Lady.” Fallon’s lips twitched and she turned to stare at her over the rim of her goblet with a predatory gleam in her eyes. The scent that drifted from Victoria’s chalice stirred at her senses, and once again her hold on the Vampire’s cold hand tightened as they sat. She glanced around at the others as they drank, a muscle feathering in her jaw. In Victoria, she could forgive it. She could forgive anything. It was sustenance, and she wanted nothing more than to see her thrive.. But with the others, the ability to accept it was more difficult.

“This is going to take some getting used to..” she sighed quietly. Some were still staring at her, others were murmuring amongst themselves, but at least none had voiced their disapproval …yet.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria wished now more than ever that she had been blessed with telepathy like some of her cold-hearted kindred. She had so much she wished to say to Fallon, things for only her ears to hear, things that could not be uttered aloud, not yet. Soon, she told herself, soon they would be able to speak freely. Soon they would have no enemies in this castle. While it pained her to think it, Victoria knew that not all of her court, perhaps not even most of them, would accept this arrangement overnight.

The diners nearest Victoria and Fallon at least had the good sense and manners to be amicable. To Fallon’s right was an older human man, who introduced himself as Xavier Welton, and offered a respectful bow of his head to Fallon’s place at Victoria’s right hand.

“Master Welton is one of my advisors, and an old friend. He ensures that our countrymen are well taken care of.”

“My Lady is, as usual, too kind,” he replied with a cheerful crease of his wrinkled face. “The people are protected and provided for by your benevolence, I am only he who reminds them.”

Victoria introduced the woman to her left, a severe and ashen-faced vampire with straw-blonde hair and a golden laced gown, as her military commander. The man directly next to her, with raven hair tied back from a gaunt face, was introduced as Victoria’s financial advisor and tax man.

“Someone must keep the coffers full,” she said as he nodded to Fallon with a simple “My Lady.”

“Lady Fallon, if I may, what is the Spine like on summer nights such as this?” Welton sounded genuinely interested and not the least bit put-off by Fallon’s pedigree. “I have been reading an account by a traveling Bhathairki merchant who described the distant peaks in such loving detail, I should very much like to hear what they are like up close.”

Victoria smiled quietly behind another sip from her goblet and listened with half-interest as her other advisors gave brief accounts of happenings since her departure. Full reports would need to come later, but the castle was still standing so such things could wait until after the meal.

 

[Fallon]

They'd likely expected some sort of barbarian savage, and whilst she was in some respects, Fallon knew how to conduct herself with the grace of a woman born into nobility. She offered polite smiles, dipped her chin in greeting to those who were introduced, she sipped at her wine and knew what utensils to use for which course. What she didn't quite know how to do was to calm the her senses as they writhed in warning, as though they were unaware that she was willingly sitting in a room teeming with vampires. Her bones and muscles ached with the urge to shift, and she was hyperaware of every scent, sound and movement around her.

Whilst those closest were friendly enough, or at least pretended to be, Fallon's gaze shifted several times to two - a male and a female - at the opposite end of the grand table. They weren't speaking, and though she wasn't sure how exactly, she could tell that they were communicating and it wouldn't have taken an empath to know that they were less than pleased with her presence here.

Xavier's question drew her attention instead and she turned to offer him a warm smile as she thought fondly of the Spine. "I'm not sure that I'm eloquent or poetically talented enough to do it justice in words, Master Welton, nor a grand enough artist to recreate how utterly beautiful they are." she laughed quietly.

"My family and I lived high up in the peaks. I loved the silence of the snow, and the way it turned golden when the sun was low or blue when the moon was high. We could watch over the world from up there, just as was intended." she sighed, glancing to the woman at her side, her lips curling. "It's a particularly dangerous place, yes, but it is often the most deadly of things that are the most beautiful."

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria was awestruck by the grace that Fallon emanated. She could see the twitching muscles in her shoulders, and could smell her blood roiling beneath her skin, wishing to shift and tear the abominations of this court limb from limb. Fallon had almost done the same to her when she’d tracked her to that tree hollow. When that silver wolf had buried its fangs in her shoulder…

She shivered remembering their strength crushing through her bones, the intense, exquisite pain. To know that animal was sitting at her side, concealed by a thin layer of pretty skin and gossamer cloth, it made her feel more powerful than she ever had before.

The closest vampires, the tax man and her general, maintained their composure. While the male seemed indifferent at best, the female was stone-faced. Victoria knew she did not approve, but she also knew her general to be a cool and rational thinker, and unquestioningly loyal. Serafina Hexbane was young, like Victoria, but had earned her surname through a dramatic and now-legendary campaign against hostile witches. She could have found a place in any of the Reach’s major covens, but instead chose to assist Lady O’Connor in restoring Greyrock. When Victoria asked why, she had only admitted that “we have a fire lacked by old men.”

Serafina would come around. Xavier was already drooling at the allure of foreign wilds. Overall things were going… well. Victoria finished her goblet and declined a second with a polite hand. She gently caressed the back of Fallon’s calf with her foot beneath the table. You are doing wonderfully. She willed the Garou to hear her thoughts.

“Enough!” A loud voice called from the far end of the table, and though Victoria’s eyes snapped to its source she did not move her posture. Regrettably, she had expected something of this sort sooner or later. Unexpectedly, though, the outburst had not come from either of the two vampires Fallon had been watching. Instead, a third undead in a tailcoat several decades out of style had slammed his hands on the table and stood so forcibly that his chair was thrown over.

“Are we to suffer insult in silence?” He demanded. “Will no one else speak? Our lady has dressed a beast in fine costume and seated it at the head of the table, and now asks us to bow to it?” He waved wildly at Fallon and Victoria, raging incredulity across his every feature. “You disappear for half a year and we, faithful stewards, kept your castle running. We strove, as we always do, to uphold the dignity of our coven, a dignity that you have forever soiled!”

Serafina’s face was so tight it looked like it might crack, and when Victoria gave her a gentle nod she waved the guards forward.

 

[Fallon]

She was a mere half-second away from claiming the red woman's mouth as her mind was caressed by her soothing voice, though her jaw clenched instead at the rude interruption.

"Faithful?" Fallon laughed under her breath and leaned forward, folding her arms on the table as she watched the guards approach.

"I assure you, this is..." she paused to look at Victoria, her quicksilver gaze slowly rolling down the slope of the woman's porcelain neck and dipping to the low cut of her dress before settling once more on her face with a sigh. "Almost.. " she continued, turning back to the male. "..As uncomfortable for me as it is for you. But here I am, a lone wolf in a coven of.. vampires, for which you must either assume that I am simple minded - you'd be wrong - or that I am in fact so irrevocably in love with your Lady that I will face whatever I have to in order to prove my love, loyalty and devotion to her. Something that I suppose you are not so willing to do.." Fallon's head tilted.

"It is fortunate however that you are well aware of the beast that I am. You are less likely to be shocked when I come for your throat for daring insult my betrothed." her lashes narrowed, though there was a half smirk on her lips as she knew how inflammatory her choice of words were likely to be.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria loved watching Fallon like this. She loved the fire in her eyes and the cold, careful precision of her words. She could tear that man to ribbons, Victoria would let her, but she chose dignity and poise rather than lower to his level.

Her jaw tightened for half a second as Fallon announced their engagement. She had planned on revealing that after the court had time to accept Fallon’s presence in the first place. No matter. They should know now… and the acrobatics the aggressor’s face went through as he tried to express his horror were delightful.

Serafina, who had thus far been able to control her face, had her eyes pop wider than Victoria had ever seen and her jaw went slack from shock. She corrected, but slower and less effectively than her usual. Victoria would forgive her, as she would forgive the rush of murmuring that swept across the table.

The guards had taken his arms, and he made no efforts against them. In fact, his legs appeared rather wobbly. “Be-betrothed??” He regurgitated the word as if it pained him to say. “You are lost, you are truly lost.” The guard began to escort him out, and he called back “I have spoken only for our survival. She will tear us all down with her!”

His protestations faded, and when the doors closed every eye was on Lady O’Connor. There was a still, thick silence. Victoria had grabbed ahold of Fallon’s hand during the interruption, and she knew that Fallon could feel her intent. There was no heartbeat through her veins, and her gentle face belied an iciness that could have frozen the very air.

”It is true,” she said plainly. ”I am not required to explain myself… so you may consider my next words a generous courtesy. Lady Fallon is the finest woman to grace these walls. She is powerful, passionate, and has saved my life at risk to her own time and time again. She has earned her place in my home and in my heart. And, though even the simplest among you should be able to tell, she is not a lycanthrope.” Victoria visibly bristled at the word.

Another silence.

“I should love to see golden snow,” Master Welton resumed his conversation with Fallon as though nothing had happened, and the other diners took their cue to resume the meal in a similar manner. “To see something so warm when the air is so cold would be a poetry of the senses.”

”It is,” Victoria turned her ruby gaze to her wolf and devoured her with a look.

 

[Fallon]

Her wild gaze had been fixed upon the male until she felt the cold, silken hand upon her own. She glanced down at it, the ice cold skin still disarming and yet such was the touch that she now craved. She was the refreshing dip in a cool stream in the warmest of summers, and long may she bathe in it.

Fallon's eyes flared as they rose to settle on the red woman's face, studying it anew as she spoke of her, and her grip tightened. Briefly, she wondered how inappropriate it would be to swipe the table clear and lay her atop it right here and now, but she remained with her senses and let her eyes grow drowsy with a promise of later.

A poetry of the senses..

She instantly liked Master Welton as he described Victoria.. or was it the mountains? Either way, Fallon beamed, flashing her own sharpened canines with a husky laugh. "Indeed." she sighed, and drew her cup of wine to her lips that curled so smugly.

They chatted more, and she felt the tension ease enough -at least at this end of the table- for things to be comfortable enough, though there was little denying that the scent of blood on the air was a distraction to all voices but hers. Fallon's thumb continued to brush idly over the tiny hills of Victoria's knuckles, and as the conversation went on around them she leaned close.

"I'm sorry.. I shouldn't have announced such a thing in such a way, earlier. If I've caused you any more grief..." she trailed off with a soft sigh.

"What'll happen to him?"