Private Tales In the Wake of the Raging Flame

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane scrunched her nose up in the way she often did when she did not believe he was telling her the full story but she did not press it. Not when she could see with her own eyes the bruises and cuts that looked fresher than the rest. With a soft sigh instead she pivoted herself at her end of the bath so as not to hurt him with her wings, then wriggled backwards until she could feel the warmth of his torso against her back and that sensitive spot between her wings which draped once more over the bath.

"He was... gentle," she conceded. "And I think he did a reasonable job on my wing, though he definitely seemed to believe me to be some harpy thing," an insulted sniff punctuated the end of that sentence then she turned solemn once more. "I thought I might go insane if he kept me in that cage another day though," a shudder ran down her spine. Even now the memories of the months she had spent in captivity haunted her and they had come racing back in the last few days with vengeance.

"I can't leave the others there, Erën. Nobody should be a slave."

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

He sat up to help accommodate her as best he could, and wrapped his arms around her as she settled into place against him. As she began to explain how things had been for her during their time, he began to gently work at her aches and wounds as carefully as he could manage.

He was surprised at her initial response, but relieved. It seemed the fears the Centaurs had tried to instill in him were empty, or at least, not as imminent as he had been lead to believe. Even still, her shudder told him all he needed to know about where he mind had lead her - back to a time before he'd known her, before he could ever have been of any aid. There was a sting of his own in that moment which he hid, a quiet lament of his failure to keep her from such a thing again. But at least they got away...

He held her more tightly now, and he pressed his hand against her chest and felt her heart beat beneath his palm, and said, "then, we go back."

They need only gather their strength, then the monsters would answer for their transgressions.

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane let out a breath and relaxed into his embrace. Knowing he would be with her to see this through and take revenge on those who had imprisoned them was a comfort; there was nothing she felt she could not do when she was with Erën. Maybe that was the foolish heart of a woman in love speaking, but even the Soulfire resonated with that truth, like it too was called to him as surely as she was.

Naturally such thoughts made her think about the far greater evil they had yet to battle. They had barely escaped this time and Lazule had... the thought of losing Erën too filled her with a horror she tried to bury.

"Do you ever think about a normal life like this? Running an Inn, doing something ordinary?"

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

He smiled at her question. Of course, once, he could think on and ponder the very thoughts of those who took up such livelihoods. In the collective there were many walks of life, but she knew this of him. He knew she meant different, not simply to think on or know a thing from another's experience. But instead to lay down his sword for himself and live quietly. In times past, for over six hundred years, the thought had never occurred to him in such a way.

It wasn't until the distance between her and he had closed, and her smile and touch became as frequent and sought after as his next breath. It wasn't until he'd met her in that distant village now long ago did he ever want for something... different. It was the light of fire in her eyes that drew him from the depths of his darkest nightmares into those fleeting, blissful dreams. She took him where the Sun's light was warm and fields were green. They went where they laid amid the grass, entangled with one another in love and laughter and... more.

His hand, once pressed firmly against her heart, slid carefully down to rest on her abdomen as his head leaned forward and he nestled his cheek against her.

"Yes," he almost whispered, as if admitting it at first for himself, "I do."

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Did he know?

The innocent touch against her abdomen combined with the sweet confession made her think of the vision she had had in the throws of death all those moons ago. Of the child she would carry going into the fight against the great demon. She warred with herself over whether to tell him then and there, but the future was made up of so many things that any small change might render that future void. It was too precious a grain of hope for her to risk it so she closed her eyes and brought a hand up to gently caress the side of his face.

"I could imagine you as a carpenter," she teased in a low, hushed tone reserved for dreamers. "Or what about a farmer? We could grow fresh vegetables and fruits, perhaps our own little shop..." Each scenario brought the scene to her mind as clearly as if she were seeing it with her own two eyes. It might not always be an easy life; their feet might hurt, their backs might be sore at the end of the day, but they would come home to their hearth and sit on their sofa and laugh and drink and not look twice at the shadows in the corner of the room.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

If he'd had any awareness of what Caliane knew, he did not show it - his gestures idle and indeed innocent. But they did speak to things he dreamt of, things he perhaps knew without knowing.

He hummed at her spoken musings with gentle nods while he remained pressed against her, "we could build a place for ourselves to sow the land," his smile deepened, "we could set our home near the cliff-side, with a river in the ravine below."

He imagined himself set there on the balcony, watching her disappear down and out of sight only to ascend high above only moments after. He imagined a smile of freedom and joy, turning only once the worry of rodents or harsh winds were made mention. As his days with her went on he imagined them more and more, and every time with all the more clarity.

"We could live along the road, and spend our winters renting rooms, like this..." helping those in need.

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane thought back to the house in the valley up above the small village that had been the only outsiders to know the Avariel still lived. That had been cleaved into the mountainside too with a wide open side for those with wings to be able to fly in and out of with ease. She had known Eren had admired its beauty but it filled her with warmth that he had thought of it so fondly that he now could picture their home being similar. She continued to gently caress his skin as he painted his own picture, her smile growing and growing.

"I would like that. I still feel as though there is so much of this world I have yet to see," how did mortals suffer such short lives? She could not imagine living without the freedom of knowing she had centuries to discover every experience this existence had to offer her.

"Though we would definitely have to rent rooms - with big fires, I hate the cold," she gave a quiet huff.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

He hummed in response to her distaste for the cold. He imagined the Soulfire had some influence in that regard, and a small smile crept across his lips at the thought. Caliane's complexities often if not always roused his affinity for her.

Teasing, he replied, "I will make sure you stay warm," though he felt that he and the fire inside her might compete in this, to an extent.

"One day, when we have done what we feel we must, then perhaps we will do what we feel we can." Erën, having lived abroad for centuries, had seen much of Arethil, but it had been far from all of it, "I hear of strange new lands in the southern sea, and a grand empire in the west. I might like to see those," he thought aloud to her.

And as they sat in the warmth, Erën's fatigue grew great. She could likely feel this in the weakened softness of his touch, but he said nothing of it. Instead he continued to tend her, grateful for the peaceful moments they were able to share. Surely, knowing them, they would not linger long in this peace. They sought for one that was lasting, fearful to remain still for too long in those moments that were fleeting lest they grow too accustomed. Or, at least, that was how Erën thought of it.

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

It was a novelty to dream of something more than fighting. Unlike Eren she had never chosen the path of a warrior. In fact, she had run from it and her fathers legacy. Yet now a life without fighting seemed a fairytale and her father had gotten his wish; his child's name would be sung for centuries to come for her feats on the field of battle. When would it be time for her own dreams? She mulled in those murky thoughts for some time leant against her lovers chest until such a time as he began to grow slack. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips and with quiet urging she got them both out of the bath tub and he into bed.

"I'm going to go get some dinner, rest hbeeti," she placed a kiss to his forehead as she smoothed his hair back from his face. "I'll be but a moment."

Caliane wrapped herself up in a few towels, fashioning them into a toga of sorts to fit between her wings and then ventured from the room to find Wendy or William. She found the former in the kitchen where Caliane had wandered, following the smell of food and her complaining stomach. The pair chatted a while whilst Wendy prepared a tray, informing her William had returned to see to the inn and that she too must be heading back.

"Please though, you and Eren are welcome to stay as long as you need. First thing I'll see if I can't find some clothes I might be able to alter to fit those wings."

"Thank you... you and your husband, you have been very kind. I want to repay--"

"Nonsense, child! All we ask is that you pass it on when you have the means to do so yourselves," she patted Caliane's cheek in a way that reminded her of her mother. "Now run along, I'll leave the leftovers here should you need anymore."

Wendy all but pushed her from the room amongst her attempts to thank her again before returning to their room, easing the door shut behind her with her hip.

"Lamb stew and fresh bread," she announced with a smile. "And a slice of cheery pie."

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Even if he wished to protest with her, there was little strength in him to. His fatigue paired with the soothing sound of her voice only deepened his contentment, and his eyes slid shut only a moment after she'd departed. He'd not have enough time to truly drift off into sleep, but as fleeting as it was as he began to descend, he caught a glimpse, or so he thought, of something he did not expect to see in his dreams again...

His eyes became open as he drew in a quick breath at the sound of her voice, and he contrasted his sharp inhale with a relaxed breath out and a smile resting on his lips. As tired as he was, a meal sounded far too good to pass up. Propping himself first up onto his elbows, he managed to slide himself up to sit and he took the tray from her to allow her to sit there beside him. He didn't often eat dinner in bed, but there wasn't so much as a though given to it tonight.

"This looks wonderful," he said as he looked over the tray before looking back to her, "thank you."

Tasting first with his nose, it wasn't long after Caliane too got settled that he began digging into the stew. In this moment, it was by far the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. All the same, even before he'd finished he playfully teased with his eyes by glancing between Caliane and the pie that awaited them.

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane stole her own bowl off the tray to cradle against her chest. Even for an elf the bowl should have been hot but for the being of fire it was merely pleasant. She tucked straight into the stew with a shared smile with her lover and tore off hunks of the warm and buttered bread to dip in. She hadn't quite realised how hungry she was until the food touched her lips. Despite her captors care with her wing he had been less caring about feeding her. She could feel the Soulfire rousing. Food, she'd just needed food. That realising was a relief.

Caliane snuck twice more to the kitchen to fill her bowl and his if he wished it and happily polished off her portion of the pie too. By the end she could sense the Soulfire once more insider her mind like a comforting weight. She nestled back into the pillows with a content sigh.

"I wonder what breakfast will be," she half joked.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Bathed and well fed, it seemed there was only one part of the equation that they lacked. Rest. Like her, he could feel the strength in his body rekindle, though it would need his sleep to burn brightly once again. With his belly full, he lazily set his empty bowl on the tray set on the nightstand beside him, and joined her in laying back. He slowly slid down onto the pillows, and somewhat uncharacteristically sprawled out, though not so much as to encroach on Caliane... much.

He shot her a humoured look, reaching with his hand to brush it gently against her arm, "I'm so full... I won't need to eat for a week." It was only half a joke, Aeraesarians really were infrequent eaters.

He let out his own restful breath, studying her as she lay there beside him with no real intent in his eyes other than to simply see. Their moments in safety and privacy like they were able to share here were few and far between, and he found himself - for the first time in a while - focused only on the moment at hand as his eyes followed where he gently dragged his fingers against her.

Erën was a man like most others, fueled with lust and desire for the beauty of the female form. Guarded and held as it was in those such as he and his ilk, it remained a part all the same. And though she did rouse in him those carnal things, she could do so in a far deeper sense, so much so that it was not always what fueled him. Bewilderment sometimes, and awe. Humbled even. Like any other man when he looked upon her he saw first her outward beauty, mesmerizing and compelling. But also too, like he felt no other man could, he saw her inward beauty, enlightening and fulfilling.

Peace.

She was his peace. In the midst of the swirling dark of the world, she held him still.

"I love you," he whispered, meaning it just as much as ever before and more.

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

With her eyes closed Caliane had no way of knowing the silent appraisal she was under. Her thoughts were still caught up in their earlier discussion and the warm feeling of being whole again. For all their difficulties and internal battles, it felt as though finally she understood the Soulfire and that gave the young Avariel a sense of inner peace she had not known since she had first discovered her gift. His words made her crack an eye in his direction and then with a smile of purest love she rolled onto her side so that they were face to face and their noses the barest of breaths apart.

"I love you too," and oh did it give her such joy to say those three words. Joy that she did not think would ever diminish no matter the eons ahead of them. No, with her Eren she would always be this girl. This girl in love. Her wing came up to enfold him in a snowy dome of down feathers and she wriggled her body as close to his as she could get whilst still being in position comfortable enough for sleep. There was a muffled goodnight said against his chest and not long after the deeper breaths that indicated she had fallen into her dreams.

I've been here before...

In another dream. When the earth had been torn and broken and the sky had been in turmoil. Today, the skies were clear and long grass waved in the gentle breeze. She had the urge to fun her fingers through it as she walked towards the shimmering city before her. What was she doing here?

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

He did not know when he drifted away. He remembered wrapping his arms around her, placing a kiss against her cheek... what happened after, he could not tell. The warmth of her against him was the last thing he could recall before the spinning dark took him, and he descended into his dreams...

He remembered the ground passing by underfoot, his arm held up high overhead...

---

There was laughter.

Watching the playful youths frolicking in the meadow was something one hardly grew tired of. Little more than flashes of blonde locks and pointed ears, they darted to and fro as they played their aimless games. Or, only so aimless. These foggy foundations would be molded and built upon in time with greatness...

The Sharyrdian Valley was a place of marvel and colour, and as he strolled through he was reminded of those things that were... or would come to pass...

His hands swept down and felt the tall, breeze-bent grass, and he stopped and lingered with a flower caught in his fingertips, bent over to smell of its scent.

None were so fine as...

"My lord?" a voice beckoned, and his eyes turned to so see.

But a blur of time and space...

And then his eyes lifted from the ground before him. There ahead, set in amidst the lush of the meadow that parted in a plain path, he saw her...

Wings of brilliance. Beauty, unbeknownst in its truth.

"Eilidh," his own voice said, as clearly as if he'd spoken in person, but it said a name he did not know. He regarded a person he could not recall... but he recognized her as clearly as if...

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Who was he? This man who made her heart beat faster and a grin spread across her face...

Finwë.

Of course it was Finwë. Eilidh shook her head to expel the sudden lapse in memory; how old was she getting if the sound of her own mate gave her pause? She hadn't eaten much today and had been stood out here for hours in the sun watching the children play - The Fireheart did sometimes make her forget that whilst heats did not bother her really, her body still needed to be hydrated. She laughed at her own foolishness as she walked towards him, fingers still trailing in the long flowers.

She ran the last few steps to embrace him as though they were young lovers once more and were at the beginning of their courtship instead of settled into the tenth century of their mating bond.

"I thought I might cut the trip a little short to return here sooner," she murmured against his lips.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

His smile grew with every step closer, and as she departed from any inhibition and rushed into his arms the sound of his joy left his lips in happy laughter, dimming into quiet only once they'd drawn in so close. How he had longed for these small moments, her breath against him. There were so many questions, so many things to tell, but he could muster only a gentle hum before he pressed his lips against hers, the only reply he could truly give.

He hesitated to, but he did withdraw so that he could speak what he already quite clearly displayed, "I have missed you." Finwë studied her face, lifting a gentle hand beneath her chin, "how is it that after all this time, you continue to grow more beautiful? I am only ever as I am, and yet you are always more..."

If it could be, he'd have remained with her in those meadows and sang her praises for all of his days...

"Come," he finally relented, far from ignorant of the great distance she had covered, "you must be eager to rest."

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Eilidh's laugh was one songwriters would weep as they tried to recreate it, immortalise it, for the generations to come. A few turned in their direction at the noise and smiled to see the lovers arm in arm stepping through the wildflowers.

"You speak as though staying the same is not as glorious. Are not the steadfast Redwoods beautiful, or the mountains of the Spine?" immovable, unshakable, dependable. She would swap her beauty for those qualities she saw - was so attracted to - in him. Those they passed paused to bob a bow or a curtsey, murmuring their names before carrying on. Eilidh greeted them all by name and a warm smile.

"I am eager to be in bed with you if that is what you mean by rest," she murmured when they stepped inside the spiralling citadel and gave him a wicked, secret smile.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

He replied first with only a gentle hum paired with his smile, and then said, "there is of course no arguing with such wisdom." Ever the obvious one with his flattery, it was only true. She always knew what to say to him.

Finwe's delight was found easily in how engrossed he became with his lover's attention. Those people around them, his people, paid no mind if he neglected them as they passed. There were a few he had, but only ever in times like this when he'd been parted from whom he held most dear for any length of time did he forego his people in any way. Rather than take offense, one was only ever delighted for him and her both to see them reunited. For an Avariel and Aeraesarian alike, yea likely any elf-kind, these bonds were most precious.

Through the meadows they went, until finally coming to the grand arches of Sharyrdaes' great gates. Sharyrdaes had grown into the sprawling beauty it now was over the span of many, many centuries. It was a source of great pride for all of Aeraesar and had long been his home. And though the city was built by and for Aeraesarians, it was clear given the architecture that it was built with their winged brethren in mind. Such was most clear upon the Temple's soaring tower, with a design that resembled an eyrie at its pinnacle, often shrouded in the midst of the clouds.

It was there, high above in the tower, where he as Patriarch and she as his Queen dwelt.

Entering into the citadel he shot her his own, half-surprised and enticed smile. It has been some time, he thought, failing to control where his eyes fell upon her. He caught himself and shot her his own wicked grin before leading her onward in toward the lift stone. There was a bit of a bustle in the Temple's bright halls today. It'd be a little safer once they'd started on their way up...

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

As if sensing his thoughts about the crowds, Eilidh Fireheart tugged her mate to a sudden stop and spread her wings. The twist of her lips into a smirk was the only other warning she gave before she wound her arms about his waist and pushed. The sound and power of her wings was a soft boom within the hall that sent courtiers stumbling and the papers they were carrying scattering. The guards who had been trailing Finwë gave a loud curse but their only answer was the Avairels musical laughter drifting down. Of course, the citizens were rather used to Eilidhs antics by now. She glanced down once to see the children squealing as they tried to catch the sparkles of harmless fire she had let shower down like stars.

She flew like an arrow up towards their suite and only snapped out her wings when they drew level with the jutting platform, her wings beating several times to make their landing smooth and gentle. Eilidh was still laughing as she let him go.

"Do you think Thúrin may actually clip my wings this time?" She mused of the guard they had left behind red faced. Yhúrin was Finwës loyal second and godfather to their children, but he had threatened her the last time she whisked off her mate that he would pluck her like a chicken if she did it again.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

The sudden and gentle jolt urging his pause. Her arms wrapping around his waist.

He grinned.

It wasn't that he was expecting what came at that moment's notice, not exactly, but he was far from surprised. He was far too fond and familiar with the freedom of her spirit, teacher of joy. In contrast, he could already feel the frustration welling in those around them as they, in all too much tardiness, realized what was about to take place.

And then it did.

Paired with hers, his laughter filled the halls as she took him away in a display far too rare in this place as of late. There were shouts of despair as papers flew and cries of laughter and joy from others at the sight of them as Eilidh carried him away, high above...

…even a wry smile from one captain of the guard.

With his feet set once more upon the ground and her grasp on him released, he turned to her with a smile and chuckled, "he knows as well as I that even with wings of light he could never catch you," his hand brushed gently against her cheek.

---

Sharyrdaes' grand tower was no small thing. The tower itself encompassed a great span across, and its pinnacle was enlarged to a great degree, described by some as a mansion in the clouds. And indeed, even in the midst of all of the beauty that had been fostered and grown in Aeraesar, it was a truly marvelous place to call home. It was, however, quieter now, and had been for many, many years. It was here that many of their children had been raised, but now it was home to only they two. And in this there was no sorrow, as time must change all things.

Even he, someday - he knew.

He stepped onto the balcony, and before him all of Aeraesar and out into the Falwood stretched for as far as any eye could see. He breathed a contented breath, and sipped from warm tea. The comfort he felt to know Eilidh was once again here with him, to feel her presence so close, was something Finwë hid away and reserved for only her. None would ever see how lost he could feel without her, and when she returned he was always reminded.

The sun sat low on the horizon, and lit the evening sky in a swirl of colour. Shadow grew across the land, and the light of the city below began to grow. And there was music, for all of Sharyrdaes rejoiced with Eilidh's return.

"Melmë," he whispered.

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

A whisper of sheets, the rustle of feathers, and then the soft padding of footsteps came before her warm arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

"Come back to bed," she mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep, and nuzzled her face into his back to breathe in the scent of him. The scent of home. For it did not matter to her whether she dwelt beneath this roof or the one in Thyasari, her ancestral home, as long as he were there it would be home. Of course, her mate preferred this city to the one in the clouds where he was less confined with where he might roam alone. She did not begrudge him for it, did not mind going where he chose, even though as she grew older the trips between were more draining. For her love for him eclipsed all else and, if he had asked it of her, she would have travelled to the very edges of the world to be with him.

Eilidh rocked onto the tips of her toes - so tall, her love was so tall! - she pressed a kiss to his neck, the side of his jaw.

"Leave the partying to the children."

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Comfort.

Her touch roused a contentment in Finwë that he yearned for without knowing. He hummed as her lips pressed against his skin, and he smiled at her behest. Finwë would, of course, listen to Eilidh's words. It was only that he could not help but to look down from their high place with joy to know that in these days his people prospered, and dwelt in blessing. He could not help but enjoy it so much more in having the light of his soul by his side once again.

He'd been restless of late, without even truly knowing until now...

He turned down to face her, and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her lips, his breath fresh with the warmth of his tea, "I would not dream of leaving from your company," he lifted a hand to her chin, his fingers brushing softly against her skin, "you are my guiding fire, to you shall I always look," another gentle kiss, and then her hand in his, brought up for his lips to be pressed against it, "forever."

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Forever...

The word, that promised, chased her all the way to the waking world. Her eyes cracked open and as she beheld her loves face it swam with the face of another. For several breaths she did not know who she was. Caliane or Eilidh. Eilidh or Caliane. The dream clung to her not wanting to let go and a part of her... a part of her didn't want it to go either. That had been Eren's homeland. She had recognised the tower from the Consciousness he had once taken her to when they had lain in a meadow on rolling hills and shared pieces of themselves for the first time. But what she had seen in that Dream had put even that image to shame. It had been bursting with life and with power.

Its prime. It had been in its prime.

Caliane dragged herself back to her own body and rubbed at her eyes to try and clear the last of that Dream from her mind. It had felt so real but it couldn't have been. Perhaps it had just been a wistful dreaming of the future brought on by what they had discussed in the bath. Stretching she groaned to feel the aches and pains of the battle with the demon and their escape from imprisonment. Her stomach was already growling but she made herself lay there in their nest a little while longer to enjoy the peaceful look on her mates face in the morning light.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

His oath was then uttered, and his lips pressed against the warmth of her flesh. Words left his lips then, but he did not hear them. And gently did the imagine fade, and he drifted away as the world became as nothingness around him, and he lost sense of space and time. He forgot who she was, who he'd held so dear...

He fell in through sifting memories, touched not by their feeling, but intrigued by their passing. He saw faces and places he did not know, and could not comprehend the meaning of images of both good and ill, fleeting as they were.

And then the quiet dark.

His eyes slowly parted.

And they opened to look upon a countenance wreathed in the light of the sun, shining brightly in beauty and grace. He was blinded by her for a moment, and a smile took his lips as his head fell back in contentment. He drew in a deep breath, and said a thing without meaning to...

"Melmë," he whispered with a smile, still half asleep.

His hand reached out to her, and his other arm rested over his face, shielding him from the morning's light which his eyes were not yet ready for.

---

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Melmë.

Funny how she had not heard that word before and now had heard it twice. She grappled with the slowly fading edges of the dream to remember what it meant, for whoever she had been - the Fireheart - in that Dream, had known the word. Caliane's brows knitted together as his hands stroked down her waist and over the hills of her hip. Her own fingers reached forward to trail her fingers over his arm, unable to resist the urge and need to feel him.

"I heard that in my Dream, too. What does it mean?" she wriggled closer, raising her wing to entomb them both and block out the dazzling rays of morning sun. The light still leaked through her feathers but it was muted, softer.