dirth | saltburnt inbox

[ Solas has, at least, survived - which, it seems, is more than can be said for many other guests in this place. He has not quite found himself back to his room, hiding away in the depths of one of the places he had found himself during his escapes, and there's a soft tinge of relief as he picks up his phone to send Helaena a reply. ]

I am, yes. I found an abandoned room to hide myself in. Are you well? Unharmed?

[The relief is palpable. It leaves her in a rush of breath and she closes her eyes a moment. Almost everyone she's warned has come out of this alive, her dreams can help and do some good.]

Where? I want to see you and make sure for myself.

[She starts wandering off down the halls that somehow seem more alien to her when not too long ago they had been feeling like home. She'd spent one month getting used to them and memorizing the corridors, and then one month hiding away from them.]

Please.

[ It's sweet, her concern for him, and he wastes no time in responding. ]

South of the hallway with the bedrooms. I will step out to greet you.

[She puts her phone clumsily into her pocket and speed walks down the halls, trying to recall the layout of the place now, knowledge that hadn't seemed that important when she'd confined herself to just one room. But she finds it, at length, and smiles immediately upon spying him]

Solas! [She calls out to him, picking up speed, grabbing her skirts so they wouldn't hinder her as she runs to him. When she gets close, she drops her hold just so she can throw her arms around him in relieved delight] You're really still you!

[ Solas can say that he is a touch surprised by the intensity of her reaction.

Helaena throws herself into his arms and he catches her, of course, drawing her close and lifting a hand to tuck her into his body. It’s a relief to see her well, too, that’s undeniable, and something soft overtakes him as he leans back to get a better look at her, head tilted.

She looks healthy enough, and his smile is softer, on the edge of warm. ]

Did you imagine I had become something else altogether?

[She has the decency to blush as he catches her, as the awareness of everything comes back to her. There is no one there to see, no servants or family or retainers to tut and whisper and cluck like hens at her behavior. It's all too easy to forget herself and her station here, where there is nothing and no one to actually rule over.

Embarrassed, but still smiling, she laughs shortly] You could have been. If you were bitten before they fell, if you were trying to hide it. You could have been someone else. But you're here, and you're you, just as I hoped you would be.

I was not bitten, I assure you. I wouldn’t allow you to be in such danger.

[ They may not have an audience, that’s true, but Solas doesn’t necessarily want to risk it either. Keeping her close, he turns to guide her into the room, letting one of his hands fall to find hers. ]

Your warning before was appropriate, I think. Thank you.

[She doesn't even glance behind her to make sure everything's alright, eyes on him as she lets him take her hand, giving it a squeeze.]

I'm glad. [Helaena sighs a little, relieved] At home, no one put thought into my warnings. Perhaps they were too difficult to understand, but I think time here has brought about some change to the rest of my family. Good changes.

If I have other dreams, I will let you know. [She glances curiously around the room, but otherwise she's calm and relaxed. Once the zombies fell, it felt like the worry that had been gripping her at every creak of the house had fallen with them-- and Solas would have gotten his magic back by now, wouldn't he? Even if something did show up, she trusted he'd be able to take care of it.] I do not know how often the dreams will come, or if they always will. There is a strangeness about this place and I have no doubt it can interfere with anything it sets its mind to, should it feel like it.

[Which does worry her. What if this place simply stops her from having the dragon dreams when it's needed most?]

It was much the same for me.

[ Different warnings, different dreams, but similar echoes.

No one had listened to him when he spoke of the history of the People, when he had told them what was to come and what he was. The Dalish had turned from him as surely as people turned from Helaena and her words of prophecy - not the same situation, but he understands. He empathises. Did people not treat Cole in much the same way as well?

Things were harder. They might be easier now.

Leading her to sit, Solas hums softly. ]

I do not see the future as you do, but I have walked in the past before. The Dreamers of my world can see memories, echoes of lives in a place. Few listened when I spoke of that, for a time.

[She sits, slow and graceful, not letting go of his hand.] It sounds fascinating and wonderful, if a bit frightening. If you see the past, you see the mistakes that are made, over and over without change. And when you try to speak out, you're ignored, and it still happens again. I understand that. [A heavy sigh and Helaena shakes her head] Terrible things are coming, back home. A storm to overwhelm us all. I fear that no one will divert the course and we will run right into it without a look back.

But perhaps this has shaken things enough to make a difference. Maybe people will listen to you more now too. I'd like to hear your stories, about the things you've seen. You have a nice voice for stories.

[A thoughtful pause. Helaena looks amused] Your mind is in the past, and mine is in the future. [She smiles] Perhaps we can meet in the present then.

It is difficult to move beyond the mistakes of the past, even if they are not your own. To see a battlefield from the side of victor and loser, to see the last thoughts of a man who lost his life for what he believed in...

[ Leaning forward, unable to resist, he touches his forehead to hers. ]

Your eyes see things that the world cannot fully understand. It is a remarkable gift, and I admire the woman who has been given it. Let us meet in this present, and enjoy our time together.

[A giggle bubbles up and she smiles, closing her eyes briefly as his forehead touches hers’. When she reopens them, she watches him for a moment before her free hand moves to brush her fingertips against the side of his face]

It’s strange. I don’t normally like touching or being touched, not unless it’s on my own terms. When I choose. How I choose. But I do not mind it as much when it’s you. I find myself wanting more instead. Touching, being touched.

[This was a strange place with even stranger peculiarities, but she couldn’t find herself disliking it. It instead made her want to explore more and to push the boundaries of her knowledge]

[ It is sweet, and disarmingly tender, and Solas can't help the soft curl of his smile, the way he leans into her touch, careful not to push too far. ]

Touch me as you would like, if that is the case. I will not push you for more than you are willing to give.

[ It's not the first time they've been this close, and not the first time Solas has thought about their kisses, too. ]

[She hums in acknowledgement, laying her palm against his chest, feeling for his heart beat a moment]

I am willing to give you much. If you will have them. [Her tone is light, a tad playful, bot no less sincere.] I'm going to kiss you, then. [Kissing still falls under 'kiss me as you would like' right? At least, Helaena believes so, and she doesn't think Solas will object as she tilts her head to meet his mouth with her own. It's nothing new, but electric still all the same.]

The rooms are still cold, but my blood runs hot once more. [Powers are back, after all, and with it comes her naturally elevated heat. Solas has magic, she knows, but that's not the point.] I want to keep you warm.

[ Under her touch, his heart is beating just a little faster. Solas is a measured man, in control of himself, careful with his emotions - but even he cannot deny the way that his body reacts to a beautiful woman, one who understands and seeks wisdom, leaning in to him and seeking his affection.

Years ago, he might have walked away, but softened by friendship and the promise of his regrets being forgiven... It makes affection easier to accept.

His arm draws her tighter against him, and his kiss is softer, sweeter as he leans into it, to let himself enjoy the thrill of her. ]

I would not turn you away.

[ One hand rises, touching the side of her face gently. ]

As long as you permit me to warm you in return.

[It’s only after he agrees that she realizes she’d been worried about a rejection. In the moment it hadn’t really occurred to her that he would, but he still could have.

The thrill of acceptance makes a shiver go down her spine and startled a laugh out of her] It appears I am in need of it.

[She’s no stranger to this, but it had been quite some time since her husband had bothered to come to her. But she’s had children, she knows how they’re made. She’s not naive. But it feels different in a way that makes her excited and nervous in turn, butterflies beating their wings frantically in her stomach.

She pushes back on him lightly so she can stand, undoing the laces of her dress to let it fall and pool at her feet, leaving her in her slip beneath.] I will be thankful when the warmth returns and I won’t have to wear so many layers indoors.

[Helaena reaches up to undo her braids, to let her hair fall ever more freely down her back before she steps out of the dress and to the bed again, reaching for Solas once more to take his hand and place it against her hip] It’s cold. [She murmurs, inviting him to rectify that]

[ Solas doesn't even think of rejecting her, doesn't even consider it; intimacy is a rare and beautiful thing, especially to him, and he wants nothing more than to ensure that she is treated well. She has inspired such hope in him during their short acquaintance, and if he can do something to make her feel the same in return...

He would have taken her clothes from her if he had been permitted, but instead he is able to witness the view of her unlacing herself, of her fabrics falling away, the soft curve of her body with just her slip between his touch and her skin.

It feels almost too easy to draw her close, to bring her to rest over his hips and straddle him. He lets one hand rest gently on her waist, the other rising to touch her jaw, to bring her close enough to kiss. ]

I will take care of you, Helaena.

[ This kiss is different; he kisses her a little harder, with more passion, pulling her against his body with nothing short of desire coursing through him. ]

[She laughs, breathless and warm and rests her arms about his shoulders. It feels like something out of one of those novels they tell ladies not to read, but they sneak glimpses of my candlelight anyhow. The unrealistic expectations of sex and marriage that always seemed so unattainable. Men do not care for a woman's pleasure, an idea that seems silly at best to think of. Women don't enjoy sex. It's just a necessity. But the fantasy doesn't seem so far away in this place, not in the way heat pools between her legs and her body longs for his touch.

She presses against him, moaning into the kiss, an unfamiliar hunger welling up inside of her. When he says he'll take care of her, she believes it, without a shadow of doubt. There's the distinct feeling she's going to be learning more tonight than she ever had in her years of marriage. Aegon, after all, had never pulled her against him like this, or kissed her like he would devour her.

She squirms a bit in his lap, pressing her hips against his, her hands pulling at his clothes.]

[ Letting her take the lead is easy, simple; Solas lets her pull at his clothes and slide them away, the comforting fabrics of this house allowing easier access to his skin than anything he might have worn in Thedas, the layers of leather and cotton and armour that kept him apart from the world. He had been distant because he had to be, but here, in this strange realm...

He can be himself, in a way he could not before. Not a God, not Fen'Harel, not the Dread Wolf; just Solas, and Solas alone.

Hips rock against hers, grinding against her, as he kisses her and gives her all that he has. One hand strokes down her back, along the careful shape of her spine, and when he leans back to press his mouth along her jaw, her neck, he breathes out softly. ]

Lie back. Will you allow me to please you?

[She sighs, sweet and content as she slides her hands against his skin, feeling the warmth that becomes shared between them. She wants to count each freckle and make shapes between them, hands clinging as her head tilts back for him.]

You're already pleasing me. [There's a laugh in her voice again though she pulls back some to look at him with confused curiosity. She'd been hoping to stay like this a while longer, kissing and touching, but, she supposes, he is still a man. It's only natural he'd want to get right into fucking her.

So Helaena shifts back to lie against the bed, propped up by the pillows there, pulling her slip up about her hips, her knees together out of habit more than a sense of modesty.] How do you want me?

[ Solas hums softly as she moves, watching her - and then he's reaching out, careful. He adjusts the pillows to make her as comfortable as he can manage, stroking his knuckle over her jaw gently before he leans in to take another kiss, and then another. They're slow, careful things, tender, almost in the way that he pushes closer and smiles against her mouth.

She is wonderful, he thinks, and he wants to show her his appreciation for her curiosity, for the way she asks questions, trades secrets with him as if they have known each other for a lifetime or more. ]

Lean back, and stay comfortable.

[ His kisses move to her neck, as his hand sneaks up under the soft fabric of her shift, sliding between her legs. He intends to tease her, at first, before he makes his way down to pleasure her, and two fingers curl against her as he nips gently at the skin of her collarbone. ]

[The kisses ignite her all over again, her thighs pressing together for relief from it. Her body already runs hotter than most non-Targaryens, but it feels like her blood is lighting up in response to him. She longs for it to last, but bites back the words in favor of trusting the process. There's always more to him than it first seems.

Helaena smiles, tiling her head for him once more and allowing her eyes to close and focus on the feeling.] Solas... [She sighs his name before it turns into a gasp as his fingers touch her, her hands clenching in surprise where they've rested on his shoulders. She's wetter than she expected, but not embarrassed as she parts her legs for him,] You don't have to play. [Confused, amused again, as if Solas is somehow going off script (because he is) and she's not sure how to get him back on track]

I am aware that it is not a requirement, but it is enjoyable nevertheless.

[ It would be cruel of him to think ill of her previous partners, but if she doesn't regard this as a natural aspect of two people engaged in sex with one another then... Perhaps he is doing her more of a service than he had originally imagined.

Shaking his head, he leans down, kissing her chest, now, making his way towards her breasts, even as his fingers continue to explore her, carefully sliding his fingers into her, curling them just so. ]

I said I would take care of you and I meant it.

You are-- Ah!-- a strange one. [But it's not said unkindly; she delights in it, in fact, gasping out as his fingers curl into her. It's a strange feeling, but not an unwelcome one. She closes her eyes, sighing out as she squeezes around his fingers, pressing her hips forward in an effort to take more, feel more.] But I like it, I won't fault you for it.

[His strangeness is her pleasure--literally, in this case. It feels nice to have someone take their time and truly want her and not just a place to stick their dicks in. Children aren't the only goal here. Pleasure, giving and receiving, the gentle knowing of each other, the intimacy of it all. It's... beautiful. She sighs again, one hand sliding up over his neck and to his ears, sliding one thumb over the tip of it]

[ His focus falters a little as her fingers brush over the tip of his ear, making his eyes flicker and a soft noise slip from his mouth. It's not necessarily the most sensitive part of his body, but he's already flushed, already excited, and it sends a spark of excitement through him. Turning into her touch, he tries to kiss her wherever he can - wrist, palm, fingers, whatever is in reach. ]

It has been said before. [ And would likely be said again.

Surging forward to kiss her one more time, he begins to sink down her body, even as his fingers continue, thumb pressing to nudge gently at her clit. ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject