Oh, eyes like wildflowers.

They spent the night together, the first since their reunion, and by morning Quicksilver felt as though he'd been made new. He curled himself close to @Reiko while they slept, waking multiple times to groggily check that she was more than just a dream.

By morning, he woke to Springtime sun rays. Eyelids fluttering, Quicksilver inhaled deep the soothing aroma of warm lavender beneath his chin. Without a moment's hesitation he shifted to bury his snout between the alabaster furs of his dove's nape, wishing he could prolong the cuddle session before duty willed them to surface.


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Sleep didn't come easy in the Pass. The dens lacked any comfort, the pelts that were so endearingly prepared by Gyrfalcon, the cold that brought them together for warmth, and of course the snow that helped make their beds more comfortable. The stone had no warmth to it. It was harsh and hard... but with Quicksilver now returning by her side, it was easier at least this one night over the past few predecessors.

His movements roused her from sleep. It wasn't too deep to begin with and so any shift had brought reality back to her senses. With his weight upon her nape, she smiled. Groggy, but pleased at the comfort she was so starved for. Taking in a deep breath, focussing on his scent and not the empty earthen tones of stone, she sighed softly with an exhale that naturally followed.

“Sleep like that has been rare these days.”

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She roused, shifted, and Quicksilver's lashes fluttered. He peeked by them and withdrew his snout from among her alabaster ruff to part his jaws in a yawn, then blinked the sleepiness from his eyes. “Mmm,” he mumbled in tired agreement, and set about preening the silken furs at the base of Reiko's velvet lobe.

He let silence linger between them for a little while as he groomed her cheek and side of the dove's neck. “Soooo,” the druid planted a kiss between Reiko's ears, “should we start making arrangements soon?”


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Even if sleep didn't come easy these past few months - nightmares, anxiety, frustration and worry kept her up for the better part of most nights until fatigue was just too strong, in this moment she felt relaxed. Despite the fights, the ugly words shared, confusion and hurt - they would work it out. They would figure it out together from here on out and no longer did she have to do anything alone.

And one day Hotaru would be old enough to help as well when she was ready. Ira was here too as an ally once things were official. No longer was this only her battle, but something they could do together to create the safe environment she had hoped to create since day one.

Quicksilver began to groom her fur in delicate hard-to-reach areas, an action that had almost lulled her back to sleep to catch up on what was so desperately needed to feel like herself again - only for anxieties to bubble back up again. “So soon?” A shiver ran uncomfortably down her spine. “Are we —” A pause, a sharp breath taken in. “Are you ready?”

Just days ago they were fighting. He was concerned about being pushed too fast - was this something Quicksilver wanted or was he saying this just because he thought that was what she wanted?

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She was startled by his suggestion, and Quicksilver's expression wavered. Her concern was understandable, considering their arguments - but would there ever be a right time? He'd spent recent days thinking about it, wondering and fretting over wether their union would come at all, and he'd come to realise that he was done putting barriers between them.

He wanted to be her husband, more than anything - even if it terrified him.

“Honestly,” he said, managing a small smile in a soft effort to encourage her, “I don't think we'll ever be ready.” He pricked a sterling lobe, hopeful as he sought to hold her gaze with his. He'd lingered for so long, waiting for some magical moment when he'd know, but it'd never come. How many more months or years would he need to spend hoping for happily ever after, when he could make an attempt at steering himself toward it? “This might just be the most important decision we'll ever make together. I want it to happen, but I understand if you have doubts, and... and that's okay. I'll wait for you.”

He paused. His pale eyes glistened.

“For as long as I have to.”


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He was right. There was no telling if they would ever be ready, not fully at least. There was still so much they had to talk about, so much for her to share with him before they were bonded with children of their own - after all... if he knew of everything, would Quicksilver still be interested?

“I — I am concerned.” She spoke softly, slowly. Uncertain of the pace this was all moving at. “Would you still feel the same if you knew of my children's father?” It was only fair he knew, of everything. The baggage she lugged around behind her, its weight - especially if Quicksivler was so ready to help her this soon.

“We have not had much time to know one another on a deeper level...” And this was important. “To know them and... understand how fragile they are.” Especially Hotaru as of late.

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His instinct was to reassure her, to say that all would be well - but Quicksilver had learned how quickly change could be upon him. His own insecurity bubbled to life and he began to doubt himself. He straightened himself at Reiko's side, tongue snaking between lips nervously as she made mention of the man who'd sired her children.

He had wondered of him on more than one occasion: had he been strong but kind, handsome in ways Quicksilver could never compare, held her in the manner she deserved? His thoughts of the snowflower's mystery man were innocent enough, though the perfect image he'd conjured of him sparked jealousy and concern that she might yearn for him instead.

“I...” he hesitated, both wanting to ask her for details but afraid to know the truth, “I won't pressure you to tell. If you want to share, I'll... I'll listen.”

He wanted her to be safe with him. He wanted her to know she could be.


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She could see the hurt in his eyes. The nervousness she tried to push away. The signs were clear. She had seen them before time and time again.

Not certain where his discomfort lay, whether it was the fact he'd learn things about her he wasn't ready or wanting to find out - or something completely different, she would try to comfort him. Gently running her muzzle under his chin, reminding him that he was who she wanted to be with despite the difficulties they shared.

“Before... here.” Before this new world, they all seemed to wake up in. “We were a part of my first attempt at making a home. I wandered from pack to pack after my sister banished me from my birth pack, and after each of them fell I grew tired of wandering.” The words stumbled out. Slowly, but freely. A trickling stream from her maw as there was no secrets to withhold. If he wanted to be with her, he had to know who she was in full.

“Individuals from home had followed my path - one a close friend, the other, someone more.” Remembering Takeo, she slowed for a pause. “Not long after, a man my parents promised my hand in marriage to found his way as well.” To this, her figure flattened. Ears falling back at the memories as though trying to shut out any invasive thoughts. “Together we gathered the lost and made a budding Empire... but things quickly fell to ruins. I was forced to follow the tradition my parents began. That man I will not call my husband was wrathful, selfish. He did things... to me... To Hotaru and others.”

“She is both fragile and strong. I need you to know that... to know she may not be so accepting right away.”

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She slipped her muzzle beneath his throat in a gesture of comfort, but it brought him little. It should've been him reaching to assure her, the druid recognised guiltily, but he did not withdraw. Quicksilver accepted Reiko's touch and lifted his gaze to seek her face when she withdrew to begin sharing her secrets.

He felt his pulse thrum strong in his ears, heart wild against his ribs; there was no way to prepare himself for the wave of emotion that began to rise over him, threatening to crash. Reiko had loved someone, once - but had been betrothed to another against her will. It roused a discomfort in him, for Quicksilver struggled to understand how she could've even considered offering her own child in such a manner after the trauma her in experience had brought her.

He reminded himself to let the thought go as quickly as it invaded his mind.

“He... he did not deserve you. Any of you,” the healer frowned deeply, averting his stare to glance out with a brow furrowed in frustration for what Reiko and her children had been through - especially Hotaru. “I understand,” he answered, “I-I hope I can earn her trust.”


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It all felt so far away now in time. A different time, a different space, a different life even it felt like. So much has happened since then - some good... others not so much. Though it was something she could not forget, another scar to add to the growing collection, she was ready to not let that affect the new relationship that was slowly blossoming between her and the druid.

Pressing herself against him for both her and his comfort, his words were soothing... his min didn't chance on them. It didn't steal his desire to build something together now which was relieving beyond understanding. “I am certain you will.” Especially now that he knew it would just take patience... knowing there was trauma hidden behind those lilac eyes of hers. More than what Vera had left for them, more than Kuhn and his wolf companion had in recent time. There were layers that needed to be peeled back, to know there was much deeper.

“If... knowing this has not changed your mind... I do not oppose advancing.”

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Reiko leaned in against him, and Quicksilver pressed his shoulder firmly to her own. He collected himself to turn focus entirely on her, on being who she needed him to be, and sought only to support. Her past was her past, not something for him to judge.

“I love you,” he reminded the dove softly, tracing the feathery edge of her cheek with the bridge of his nose, “and I'm sure of that.”

Quicksilver was in no great rush to wed, but after everything that'd happened between them he wanted to at least set plans in motion - show that he wasn't dragging his heels.

“Reiko?” Quicksilver had one question, though, for he feared the possibility of paranoia creeping into his being if it was left unanswered: “what... what happened to them? Your...?”

Will they ever come looking for you?


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Warmth flooded her features with his declaration. It felt nice... sincere. Lately, she had been frigid, guarded as the Empress put up walls not only around herself but the ones she loved as well. Desperate to keep them safe from what was deemed as harmful and dangerous. “I love you too.” Even now, perhaps more than ever as they worked their way through the damage and poison.

Then the inevitable followed. How long did he hold that question to himself for? Certainly, he knew she had someone else before... Quicksilver knew how children appeared.

“The one I originally desired... after we...” She fumbled through the words, remembering the hurt. The pain it all caused. “Chose our mutual friend.” Silence grew once more as she steadied herself. “And perished, after objecting to my betrothed and mine's union by his fangs.” The screams, the silence that followed, it all flooded back as she recounted the moment.

“That man, I believe he too has drawn his last breath. After we saw him... with Hotaru - I took her and Haruki and ran while a guard went after him. After that... I just remember waking up here.”

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They were gone, and the reasons why disturbed him. The first, he who Reiko preferred, had chosen her friend - then objected to her union with another. The discomfort was clear in Quicksilver's faltering expression and he glanced off to the side, ashamed.

He had very nearly courted her companion, following the rejection that nearly brought him to ruin.

“I'm so sorry, Reiko,” he said, sincerity in his voice, and he exhaled a sigh.

She'd been through hell and made it out the other side, only for him to wreak havoc on her peace.


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Surely he had drawn the parallels between what had occurred between Izumi, and the two of them as well. There were key differences between both occurrences despite their bare common grounds when striped of all detail.

“That is all the past.” This was a new chapter. One of many, but it was new none the less.

“With you, the future is now much brighter.” Her wounds had scabbed over, and she was now licking new ones that had replaced the pain with something fresher to occupy her thoughts. The knowledge of this had however, brought Quicksilver some pain... in her attempt to ease this, she'd kiss his chin gently with a flick of her tongue.

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The past. Quicksilver, comforted by the snowflower's reassurance, glanced her way again - shy, almost. He mustered a watery smile for her and leaned into her gesture of affection.

She was right: the future was brighter. They'd have each other. They were each owed some stability in their lives, and the druid was ready to embrace it.

Draping a slender forelimb over Reiko's slim shoulders, he reached to pull her close into his embrace once more. Without words, he set about kissing the base of an ear and nibbling fondly at the fine furs of her throat.

Let the world wait for them to rise - just a little longer.


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