Ancient Haven (Reuniting)

[Vexademus]

From the purest scent of the rushing falling water to the spray that landed on the blades of lush grasses and the trees that shaded those tufts; this was a delight to any creature living. And might even be so to those of past tense. The old stone was lichen-covered, mosses strewn along the trunks of trees and hanging from the rich leaf'd branches. The sturdy plant of the scattered plots of forest hung on the steppes of the somewhat mountainous twists. Flowers swayed in the winds created by the rush of water and air, most likely spirits needling playfully through each element, leaving the ash of memories calmly in their wake. The temperature was placid and bearbog pollen floated through, soft and wispy. The nuance of spring was constant here, as if by divine ordinance.

She had come a long way atop Big Sugar, the silly named mephos of the preternatural coloring of onyx scaling and crested of that shining silvery line of mane. The creature wound and swooped over treetops and through majestic curls of stone, clothed of emerald froth and brushed by nature. Those midnight wings billowed and held steady to make sure that the landing of the two was as gentle as a feather fall spell, alighting on a cropping of turfed lapidate. It was here that the mount dipped low, quiet. She knew her rider's apprehension and the excitement that surrounded the caster was palpable. Vexademus paused, eyes rolling over the scenery in study before she slowly turned and slid off the saddle, fluttery length of her riding gear raining in her wake. An ombré of blue sky and saturated cloud, her garments were padded close to her uneven figure, keeping her warm. Brunette hair of marked linear black shadow was tangled in silver thin wire and adorned with hanging tiny trinkets of the same sparkling ore. Cross-tied soft boots stopped at ankles, short kerchief dress corseted around the waist while spread of diagonal sash that covered her chest drug behind her. She began to pull each fingertip free of the gloves and meet them to one another before plying that holding fist to her hip and running her other hand through the heavy fringe of bangs away from her heavily lashed eyes. This was where she had tracked that crumb-laid path of familiar aether. Blotting the back of her hand on her upper lip, around went that gaze, turning her a full 360° degrees slowly to get a full view of this place. Of all the lands that she'd visited, this one was absolutely stunning. Give it to the drak sen for being able to again sublimely impress her with something so naturally created. A strain of hearing as she closed those eyes and tipped her head back to the partial soft sunlight minutely.

It had been a mere couple of months when the sudden urge had fallen upon him to forsake everything. The constant struggle to maintain balance, as natural to any drak sen as breathing, had no end. It was as if Gaea herself was against him in taking the throne of Dethsiris despite his respect for the life portion of the natural cycle of things. He had enough with everything being taken. The bridge, the land, everything he has striven to bring out the best of a world preserved in time was stripped and stolen. He had enough. With his departure from the world he had known for so long, he had thrown away nobility, notoriety, and any sense of respect he perhaps held onto and all but ostracized himself from the Empire. Wraith.. as it pained him to even consider such a thought.. the drak would never leave him. Wraith was, in a strange sense, like a son to him. He raised him from the moment his egg tooth breached the shell into the void colored alpha that he has become to this day. Days and days of blind travel, going where the wind would carry them until something extraordinary had revealed itself. A land unspoiled, untouched, unseen. Archways, waterfalls, sparkling blue pools of the purest water. A virtual paradise locked away from the world. A haven.. perhaps.. and it was to this place that he would send away a small missive to his mate to find him where the wind would carry to a paradise lost until found. On a peninsula of land that juts itself out, surrounded by that selfsame water, a large blot of darkness and a figure nearby could be seen below. It was there... He would be found.

The message was still fresh in her mind, along with the connecting tug at her psyche. Unconsciously, her right hand's fingers touched her left wrist, pads grazing the wizard mark of her beloved. So many tiny details worked in tandem to help her locate the necromancer. The scent of Wraith was unmistakable, and the muddled sound of a short purring snort; there.
She turned and squinted, the wind shifted to spray mist across her face as she tucked away her gloves and preened hurriedly. A slink of hand into her satchel to retrieve a small mirror, looking at her face vainly and fixing a few small locks along with an adjustment of the circlet. Not that she needed to make herself pretty to him but there was always that superficial need. A cute flaw of her humanity.

Stuffing away her mirror, she smiled widely with genuine affinity and began a half-jogging walk toward the drak's location. Once she saw him, her heart climbed into her throat and her innards felt like they suddenly launched in glee. By the time Vexademus was upon him, she literally vaulted herself from her now sprint to throw that body at the four-winged creature, giving her greeting in a strange tainted yelp. The mage's emotions had infected her chords and the sound imitated a choked peacock's call.

It wasn't without notice that the odd and extraordinarily peculiar mephos came bounding behind her, tongue-lolling and snorting merrily toward her target. Those frisking heavy leaps were intended towards Wraith, Big Sugar looking like a beautiful mistake - nothing but happy emptiness glinting in those eyes as the female frantically sought to reunite with the familiar large elder. It was comical since mount usually resembled the owner. In this: it could be seen as true.

In that self-same anticipation, as if he were the hourglass, and everything around him equated to the sands of time slowly and peacefully trickling down, an image appeared in the air that came closer and closer. The drak smiles as he knew that his love would come as soon as the word reached her. He'd watch as mephos and rider found the earth, landed, and then rushed towards him and Wraith. It was a little amusing to watch Sugar follow suit, and despite Wraith's darkness, he was thrilled to see Sugar. With wings and arms opened, he'd meet his wife's charge with stood ground and opened arms. Bodies thud together, and he'd tumble to the ground with her, laughing in response while Wraith and Sugar about do the same, chirping and chasing one another around the Eden of land surrounding them.

"My love, it is good to see you once more." he'd say after some composure, lying on the ground beneath her with a smile, "I am sorry that I disappeared so suddenly without a word. Things had become far too chaotic.. and I feel as if I had failed."

That feeling of failure is perhaps seen in that fiery red eye. Failure was something he did not enjoy, especially of this magnitude.

After the greeting and her heart filling where the jagged torn gaping hole had been, she barely pulled herself back enough to speak, face plundered of pink blush and dreamily blinking eyes. If one could see the expression on her face, one would guess that she was highly blissed out of her mind. And though she wasn't, Love had such an effect on humans that were completely devoured by it. It was barely contained that she simply wanted to melt against him the same way some creatures mated; by searing their bodies to their intended and eventually losing themselves to their host.

"Ah `kwi..sia `seoyl si ll`ewarina wux..", she breathed. She was drowning. Those eyes had already shaded crimson in iris and were welling wetly as she tried in vain to contain herself - it simply wore on worse, "S-sia `seoyl..~sniff~..", And this was all she could manage for the time being. It would eventually calm; but being back inside his arms, wings, and very aether-writ aura, she was overwhelmed.

Pulling herself together while still somewhat atop the drak sen, she replied further with common, "You are always forgiven if it was even warranted. Ever always. ~sniff~ Listen," her voice quivered, "I bring great news. I've come to fetch you for the bonding of our friends, Alexis and Kable. I know you wouldn't want to miss their joining. And, it will serve you to see some familiar faces once more. Good for my Dream," she nuzzled down into his throat and began to recount all of what had been happening, all that she'd been able to accomplish in a muddled and muffled explanation as well as whom had taken over for the head of Umbara, what land she'd purchased, a tower being built and so many other details that seemed to mute and blur into one another. Eventually, she would run out of air and adrenaline but still subsist on her excitement to be with the necromancer. The plans to unfold for a quick return to Nanthalion to attend the momentous occasion were set in motion and she hoped that this would be one of the best bonding presents that the nymph Alexis and her knight, Kable Syranos, would receive.