[In silent thanks he turns his head to press a kiss to her face. He cannot help the wry smile at her comment- having thought much the same of all the beds he's had since he joined ALASTAIR almost a year ago.
But the tale is not yet done- so with a sigh he continues:] When I faced Malekith again I was reckless and angry as I had not been since I was youth. I challenged him alone, foolishly, and I was lucky that I only lost my arm before-- [she arrived. Thor.] help came.
[And there. It is done. A sigh escapes him, long and deep.] When I return I hope the chance come for me to pay him back in kind.
[Beds themselves are still new to her in general, but at least Hathaway had been considerate enough to provide her one large enough. If they were there, she thinks... she could both hold him and also be at ease in her shape. Perhaps... on the ship.
She looks at him properly until the sigh, when she finally lays her head on his chest and spends a moment just listening further. To the movement of air in lungs and the pump of blood.
Emotions were a double-edged sword. She knew it well. Knew too well, what pride or recklessness could do to a warrior, so that... it isn't hard to imagine. Nor is it hard to make the leap to what it might be like, to carry the proof of that mistake always. Most of her own were hidden by the dun coat of her hide- at least, when she wasn't in the human shape lacking such advantages.
The story comes to its end (for now).]
... then for your honor, I hope it so.
[Even though she dislikes thinking of the future- she can hope that for him.]
[It feels nice, and she cannot help but lean into it, eyes closing a moment. For reasons she has never been able to accurately pin down, Hayame has always loved Odinson's hands. Large, capable of both strength and gentle acts both. (Like his had been.)]
You do not need thank me for such a thing. It is-
[There's a pause, perhaps somewhat awkward, before she forces herself to speak over the blushing desire to rely on silence and the implied, to say the word aloud (even if it was yet something only possible because it was the two of them alone).]
Odinson's been using the term himself, talking to his brother and a few others he's close to about their relationship. It's the first she's said so, however-]
Ah-- are we lovers, then? [Hopefully she knows him well enough by now to understand that the gentle humour in his voice is fond rather than mocking.]
[Hayame is... very well aware that it is the first time she has said such a thing. She has managed to discuss him, (somewhat), with Otaka... but she has never used a word to describe their relationship. Nor asked him to define it, perhaps... a bit too scared of defining it.
She colors a bit more impressively to be teased even just slightly, struggling to come up with something equal in answer, but all she can manage is a somewhat sharp poke at his rather bare chest, eyes averting.]
I- I certainly do not have another word for what we are doing here.
[Namely, lying in bed together naked after a rather physically exhaustive round of intimacies. That and. The rest. All that.]
[He can't allow such an attack on his person to go unprovoked! Laughing and squirming a little, he reaches to try to take her hand to prevent any further assault.]
[She's not going to, she is definitely not going to, she is a mature and stoic woman who certainly does not...
Poke him again.
Because it had made him laugh, and she likes the sound. Wants to give him reason to smile, after he has shared something that had momentarily stolen that expression away.]
Agree? When you're set on bruising me so- [Still laughing, Odinson reaches for her hands, hoping to prevent any future assaults. He is prepared to wrestle if she fights back, though he's not particularly set on winning if she chooses not to go peacefully.]
[It is easier to forget her discomfort in human body when she is distracted so, by his laughter and the fact that she allows (allows, mind!) her hands to be captured by his, flushing in indignation. (Not just indignation.)]
With that tough skin of yours I do not think you've right to complain at all. I have not left a single mark upon you.
[And not for... well, she wasn't trying to, but. Though he'd been red as an ogre with lizard venom in the labyrinth, he was unburned. Though he'd been bruised by the Vakdir, he was again unblemished. (And really... it was a comfort. To not need worry for his safety as much, outside of apparently the equally powered forces of the likes of his world.)
Still... she finds herself slinking steadily more atop him than beside.]
If not my body, then it's my poor spirit that's brusied. [He may or may not be helping the shift from beside to above.]
What a lover I have, who does such things to me! [But his smile and laughter give him away, enjoying having the word between them now. Enjoying that she is the one who brought it up.]
For a moment, Hayame thinks she has made a grave error, using that word. Looking slightly down at him, seeing the smile as he says it... it causes a rather shameful surge of emotion somewhere in her chest that she is certain she cannot hide. To have such a weakness-]
And if... your lover [possessives] happened to damage this bed, would that bruise your spirit further?
[She realizes a bit belatedly that it's phrased... rather oddly, but- can't take it back now.]
[He still has her hands, which he takes full advantage to bring a hand up so he can press his mouth to it. His eyes are bright, reflecting the enjoyment he feels.]
If I had- [It takes a moment to work out the question, then another moment to get over the surprise.
His eyes are still bright, but his expression is curious as he studies her. There are jokes to be made about how nice it could not be not to be the one hogging the blankets, but they can wait.]
I'd be just as fond, so long as you'll be comfortable. [She wouldn't bring it up unless she wanted to, he assumes, but this is something new between them. It pays to be clear.]
[It has hard to draw her eyes from the ring flashing on her finger, but she returns to his face to study his reaction. Though he has always proven more likely to give her teasing grief for her lack of knowledge about silly things such as dwarves than the anxiety she feels over sharing touch between jinba and human (Asgardian), she still cannot help but look for the negative on his features.
But still... she does not find any. So she situates herself better atop him, and begins to maneuver her hands to take them back from his grasp. She was wanting to touch in ways she could not within the capture of his fingers.]
Perhaps... if you manage to tire me.
[Not now, or she'd crush him. Or- would if he were a human. But more than that... she has his answer. Whether she will find the courage for it in herself this day or another... she simply finds herself far less inclined to go back to sleep just yet.]
[After her thumb spins the ring on her finger about a few, brief turns... her fingers trail down his face, lingering in his beard before she braces herself against his chest, begins to sit up in the clasp of his hands, If he can manage teasing... she can try. Even if her facial expression completely ruins the effort by making it clear she really has no doubt that it would be so.]
I am not sure... it is said a mare in heat is at her most insatiable.
[It was that which had driven her to even be able to take his hand that night in the first place... and though she had always resented her female gender for her body and those urges... she cannot be angry when he is here. (And with Hathaway's constant travel throwing off her seasons... well.)]
[A grin spreads across his face, confident as he takes in the sight of her above him.]
Then this god will do his best to satiate her. [Perhaps he should match her caution, but the challenge has been set and he is determined not to be found wanting.]
[How easy it seems to forget certain things when they are alone together. When he smiles, and says such things, and she cannot help but pull him up with her, to kiss and claim in action and body now that she has somewhat managed in word. Now that he has given her a glimpse into past, that he had chosen her hand. Even if she wasn't heading into heat again... it would inspire her, stoke the fire in her loins that she explores with him, learning intimately each motion and sound as he goes and she follows- and as she learns... begins to lead.
She certainly cannot claim that he did not meet her challenge, even in jest.
It's tempting to simply fall asleep again, the curfew and their faces being known to the Vakdir making it all to easy to remain abed. But the ring is calling to her, though she groans somewhat weakly in protest even as she stretches sweat-streaked muscles and pulls her heavy hair off her neck, panting softly in the aftermath. She wanted-
Perhaps... not too fast. Not too much. Just a little... just a touch. Carefully Hayame extricates her borrowed body from his with a fleeting kiss, slips from the too-warm sheets, and lowers herself to the floor, shivering when bare flesh touches it. (Human bodies... so unprotected.) Hesitates... but then carefully pulls the ring from her finger.
This way... tucking up her hooves and curling on her side, puts her at just the right height to lean her upper body on the mattress. To pillow her head on her arms and watch him, both sets of lungs expanding in slow, even rhythm as she settles back into the form that feels more natural, despite it not being the one that was most natural to be with him. But like this... just maybe.]
[Odinson is almost asleep when the bed dips. Hayame stays or doesn't at her discretion, so Odinson accepts the kiss and extends a hand to caress whatever part of her is in reach in farewell. But then it seems only a moment later when the bed dips again.
Too set on sleep to be surprised, he shifts and moves to welcome her back to bed. If the bed's dipped more than it did before, he won't notice until the morning]
[Despite her intent, her attempts at resolve... Hayame never makes it fully back into his bed that night as jinba. She blames it on logistics in her mind, on not wanting to break the furniture or steal the mattress space after all, for all her earlier boast and bluster, but a part of her knows that... it's more than that. It's the things she'd seen in her own world, age old fears lurking in the back of her mind.
But she shifts until her long mane and tail are spread out in an inky fan across the floor, legs tucked up under her heavy body to create a comfortable angle at which her spine can rest and allow her more human half to rest upon the bed, pulling one of the pillows close for support, nestling into it. One arm stretches out, just until she can slip it around his.
With a long, shaky exhale... she closes her eyes. Tail swishes softly, sleepily, until it stills and she joins him in sleep.]
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But the tale is not yet done- so with a sigh he continues:] When I faced Malekith again I was reckless and angry as I had not been since I was youth. I challenged him alone, foolishly, and I was lucky that I only lost my arm before-- [she arrived. Thor.] help came.
[And there. It is done. A sigh escapes him, long and deep.] When I return I hope the chance come for me to pay him back in kind.
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She looks at him properly until the sigh, when she finally lays her head on his chest and spends a moment just listening further. To the movement of air in lungs and the pump of blood.
Emotions were a double-edged sword. She knew it well. Knew too well, what pride or recklessness could do to a warrior, so that... it isn't hard to imagine. Nor is it hard to make the leap to what it might be like, to carry the proof of that mistake always. Most of her own were hidden by the dun coat of her hide- at least, when she wasn't in the human shape lacking such advantages.
The story comes to its end (for now).]
... then for your honor, I hope it so.
[Even though she dislikes thinking of the future- she can hope that for him.]
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It's for all the innocents who suffered and would still suffer at the hands of Malekith that he would fight.
As the silence draws out between them he smooths a gentle hand through her hair.]
I thank you. For listening.
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You do not need thank me for such a thing. It is-
[There's a pause, perhaps somewhat awkward, before she forces herself to speak over the blushing desire to rely on silence and the implied, to say the word aloud (even if it was yet something only possible because it was the two of them alone).]
It is normal to... expect from one's... lover.
[Right???]
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Odinson's been using the term himself, talking to his brother and a few others he's close to about their relationship. It's the first she's said so, however-]
Ah-- are we lovers, then? [Hopefully she knows him well enough by now to understand that the gentle humour in his voice is fond rather than mocking.]
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She colors a bit more impressively to be teased even just slightly, struggling to come up with something equal in answer, but all she can manage is a somewhat sharp poke at his rather bare chest, eyes averting.]
I- I certainly do not have another word for what we are doing here.
[Namely, lying in bed together naked after a rather physically exhaustive round of intimacies. That and. The rest. All that.]
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Certainly, it's a good word.
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[She's not going to, she is definitely not going to, she is a mature and stoic woman who certainly does not...
Poke him again.
Because it had made him laugh, and she likes the sound. Wants to give him reason to smile, after he has shared something that had momentarily stolen that expression away.]
Then I shall use it, if you agree with it-
[(Which is redder, a cherry or Hayame's face?)]
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With that tough skin of yours I do not think you've right to complain at all. I have not left a single mark upon you.
[And not for... well, she wasn't trying to, but. Though he'd been red as an ogre with lizard venom in the labyrinth, he was unburned. Though he'd been bruised by the Vakdir, he was again unblemished. (And really... it was a comfort. To not need worry for his safety as much, outside of apparently the equally powered forces of the likes of his world.)
Still... she finds herself slinking steadily more atop him than beside.]
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What a lover I have, who does such things to me! [But his smile and laughter give him away, enjoying having the word between them now. Enjoying that she is the one who brought it up.]
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For a moment, Hayame thinks she has made a grave error, using that word. Looking slightly down at him, seeing the smile as he says it... it causes a rather shameful surge of emotion somewhere in her chest that she is certain she cannot hide. To have such a weakness-]
And if... your lover [possessives] happened to damage this bed, would that bruise your spirit further?
[She realizes a bit belatedly that it's phrased... rather oddly, but- can't take it back now.]
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Nay, the contrary. I'm fond of breaking beds.
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Her eyes catch on the ring on her finger in his hands, eyes avert briefly. If it were him... if it were now-]
And if you had far less room to sleep after... ?
[Asking, without really asking, watching his face.]
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His eyes are still bright, but his expression is curious as he studies her. There are jokes to be made about how nice it could not be not to be the one hogging the blankets, but they can wait.]
I'd be just as fond, so long as you'll be comfortable. [She wouldn't bring it up unless she wanted to, he assumes, but this is something new between them. It pays to be clear.]
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[It has hard to draw her eyes from the ring flashing on her finger, but she returns to his face to study his reaction. Though he has always proven more likely to give her teasing grief for her lack of knowledge about silly things such as dwarves than the anxiety she feels over sharing touch between jinba and human (Asgardian), she still cannot help but look for the negative on his features.
But still... she does not find any. So she situates herself better atop him, and begins to maneuver her hands to take them back from his grasp. She was wanting to touch in ways she could not within the capture of his fingers.]
Perhaps... if you manage to tire me.
[Not now, or she'd crush him. Or- would if he were a human. But more than that... she has his answer. Whether she will find the courage for it in herself this day or another... she simply finds herself far less inclined to go back to sleep just yet.]
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His newly freed hands reach for her waist, holding her against him.] I think you mean when I manage it.
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I am not sure... it is said a mare in heat is at her most insatiable.
[It was that which had driven her to even be able to take his hand that night in the first place... and though she had always resented her female gender for her body and those urges... she cannot be angry when he is here. (And with Hathaway's constant travel throwing off her seasons... well.)]
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Then this god will do his best to satiate her. [Perhaps he should match her caution, but the challenge has been set and he is determined not to be found wanting.]
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She certainly cannot claim that he did not meet her challenge, even in jest.
It's tempting to simply fall asleep again, the curfew and their faces being known to the Vakdir making it all to easy to remain abed. But the ring is calling to her, though she groans somewhat weakly in protest even as she stretches sweat-streaked muscles and pulls her heavy hair off her neck, panting softly in the aftermath. She wanted-
Perhaps... not too fast. Not too much. Just a little... just a touch. Carefully Hayame extricates her borrowed body from his with a fleeting kiss, slips from the too-warm sheets, and lowers herself to the floor, shivering when bare flesh touches it. (Human bodies... so unprotected.) Hesitates... but then carefully pulls the ring from her finger.
This way... tucking up her hooves and curling on her side, puts her at just the right height to lean her upper body on the mattress. To pillow her head on her arms and watch him, both sets of lungs expanding in slow, even rhythm as she settles back into the form that feels more natural, despite it not being the one that was most natural to be with him. But like this... just maybe.]
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Too set on sleep to be surprised, he shifts and moves to welcome her back to bed. If the bed's dipped more than it did before, he won't notice until the morning]
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But she shifts until her long mane and tail are spread out in an inky fan across the floor, legs tucked up under her heavy body to create a comfortable angle at which her spine can rest and allow her more human half to rest upon the bed, pulling one of the pillows close for support, nestling into it. One arm stretches out, just until she can slip it around his.
With a long, shaky exhale... she closes her eyes. Tail swishes softly, sleepily, until it stills and she joins him in sleep.]