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''Do you seek to harm me?''
The figure's head tilted ever so slowly to the left.
Yunara's eyes narrowed.
A weighted pain settled on the crown of her skull. Searing, pounding, but was this the stranger's doing?
No, she couldn't feasibly blame them for what had grown since that morning.
''Agh, blast… Forgive me, I've—''
The stranger winced for Yunara as she clutched the side of her temple, a shiver shooting up her neck. ''Not looking very good there, sweetheart.'' The stranger spoke sweetly but not softly, the lullaby in her tone wielded like the grip of a blade.
Her guts threw somersaults in her stomach, and cold sweat beaded on Yunara's forehead. There she was: over a thousand years old, her new friend gone and not even buried, her sacrifice for naught, and now she was to die in the most pathetic ways, astray in some unnamed woods and failing to at least bring the news of a great hero's passing to his rightful home.
Her jaw clenched and she took a step forth.
''I'm sorry for my… impudence,'' Yunara said, bile burning in her throat, ''but could I ask you for help…?''
And the world went dark.
Darkness, thick darkness and little else.
Was this… death?
How heavy her body floated in this endlessness.
She could feel it, halfway there. A pulse, steady yet coursing throughout her.
What must have been an eternity in her core, in reality had only been a few hours. Twelve, to be precise. Her eyelids weighed a ton each, but she did not need open them to feel a soothing heat coming from her right, or to watch the shadows walking in front of the light that indicated movement. Blinks revealed a gold-sunset light bathed over, near enough she could discern it as fire. A controlled, crackling fire. A bonfire? No, her surroundings smelled differently, not the overwhelming petrichor but spiced, earthy and rich.
''Is that stew…?''
The entrancing aroma that rouse her to stand as the world swayed beneath her settled nicely in the unknown room. If this was death's doing, then she had excellent taste. Four walls and one room; the plush of the bed she laid on raised from the floor, a table with one chair, a lone window with clear albeit dirty glass panes, a kitchen that covered a fourth of the one-room home, with pans and crude utensils hung on the wall and a single stove out of two turned on, boiling the only pot of the lot. Her cloak hung by the door, almost as heavy as Yunara felt. What wasn't made out of wood was made out of cast iron, and what wasn't made out of iron or wood, was the bedding. Firmer than the old one in her temple, which she changed every so often by trading around the mattresses already set in, plush and quick to rise back up where her weight pushed down on.
But she swore she saw a shadow block the fire's swirls for a moment. A shadow not cast by any of the furniture or belongings.
''Hello?'' Yunara called out to no answer.
Her heart thumped in her chest, and thus she knew that she still lived, but where or when?
Past the window, Yunara peered into a great and vast forest, from which evening peered through the crowns of tall trees and towards the window. The wind ran gently through the leaves, and into the cottage. It was the same forest as the one she was crossing earlier, but less of the thicket's cool, damp air was present.
Glancing around, she saw the cottage's doorknob twist.
Her posture stiffened, back straight and chin facing ahead. Her arms readied at her side in typical warrior-greeting fashion, of closed fists and near-perfect 90 degrees angle. When her eyes happened upon a stare of liquid gold that gazed back, the furrow of her dot-brows heightened.
The sight that greeted her was amidst the most beautiful she had ever seen.
All of her senses undisturbed, Yunara was able to detail the features she had missed when her head had been briefly replaced with a drum. Pupils like slits, hair black like ebony quartz that framed her face, red shadows that accentuated her eyes, her thinner eyebrows which they themselves drew attention to her button-nose, and crimson-tinted lips. She recognized her by the long, obscuring white cloak on her shoulders and concealing most of her, the only shape Yunara could remember from before she passed out.
''You're the stranger from the forest,'' Yunara unclenched her fists, her voice far more amiable than before. In truth, the only reason she had recognized her was the long, obscuring white cloak she carried.
''I am, though my name is not Stranger.''
''Forgive me.'' Heat rushed to Yunara's cheeks, her head bowing ten degrees. ''Please, how should I address you?''
The stranger's mouth parted, hesitant. ''Ahri.''
''Ahri,'' Yunara let the two syllables rest on the tip of her tongue. ''Blessings be upon you for your kindness.''
A smile pushed Ahri's full lips up, only the corners, and Yunara found her gaze fixating on them.
The woman's hand reached from under the cloak to flick the flames of the stove off. Each nail painted crimson red and peculiar in their curve and sharpness, more claws than nails. ''That was quite the scare you gave me, darling.''
''Yunara,'' she said, swift to correct, the pet name sending an odd shiver up her spine. ''My name is Yunara.''
The cloak swayed with Ahri's movements, switching the pot from one stove to the other, her wrist stirring slowly. Was the underside decorated with white fur? If so, it had to be of highest quality, for it shimmered like a wintry sunrise.
Yunara approached, fists unclenched. ''I… must apologize, though. I did not mean to frighten you.''
Her steps shifted with slow, mindful motions. A wave of warmth coursed through her guts as Ahri lifted the lid and let the room be imbued in the smell of cinnamon, fresh tomatoes and venison. The warmth pooling in her gut quickly spread to her chest, a beat skipped.
Her heart… skipping beats?
''You don't look too well.''
Lilac eyes narrowed.
As a hand reached to cup Yunara's face, her fingers shot and grasped a wrist.
''Whatever trick you're attempting on me, it'll be better if you don't force my hand.'' Her face twisted with mild discomfort, teeth clenched as she spoke. ''I have no qualm with you.''
''As if I'd believe that!''
Claw-like nails swatted an inch from her face, which Yunara ducked away from.
The hood that concealed part of her fell back as Yunara rushed to grab Ahri's other wrist to reveal a pair of tall, dark vulpine ears. Little time was granted to appreciate them, however, for Ahri loosened her other hand just enough to slap the maiden's cheek with fox-fire.
''Stop!''
But Ahri only writhed and kicked in Yunara's grasp.
Three fox-fire flames more launched forced Yunara to swiftly move away, energy in short bursts accumulating under her feet whilst the Aion Er'na awoke, spheres floating around her as her breath stilled, stance spread and fists curled.
Yunara watched Ahri pant and sweat bead down her neck, a tail she had not noticed of snow-white fur twitching and swaying, much like a cornered animal's would, but her fist clenched tighter. ''Listen,'' she said, gaze locked on Ahri's magic-imbued hands. ''I truly do not wish to fight you. Don't force me to.''
''Right, not fight, just hunt me down, bring me in like a trophy.''
''Wha— Hunt?! You're mistaken!'' Yunara's voice grew into a desperate plea. Her stomach sat empty, the remnant of her headache mocked from the far ends of her mind and whatever skills Ahri possessed were nothing like she had ever experienced before. ''I was passing by when I felt ill and you found me. All I wanted was to cross these woods, believe me!''
Her laugh remarkably canine, cold sweat rushing down Yunara's neck.
Ahri took a step closer, dug her heel onto the wooden floorboards. ''You're a long, long way from the trail marked.''
Yunara blinked slow and hard, and for an instant, her fists faltered.
''There's a trail?''
Ahri traced her up and down with several glances. Over Yunara's furrowed brow, on the left corner of her mouth that went up, then how her lips pressed in, tight at the ends, once more for her eyes for several seconds, and finally she said, ''By the Gods, you really were lost.''
Not one of her proudest moments, admittedly.
''Will you undo your spells now?''
Ahri's magic faded from her hands, a flicker of pink amidst the fire-blue.
A deep inhale, bringing the spheres back at her side, Yunara spared a longing glance at the still-warm stew, then back at Ahri.
''You're hungry.''
Yunara placed a hand over her exposed stomach. ''I… may be.''
The tiniest of smiles broke into Ahri's face.
In silent motions, Yunara helped the Vastaya woman serve two bowls, one which she set down first for Ahri, and took the second for herself. Sat across from her and in relative peace, though adrenaline still pumped through her veins, Yunara was able to study Ahri. The hooded cloak had been hung on the wall, and she could see all the traditional details of her dress of rich burgundy and milk-white silks; golden details drawn in modern, typical Ionian fashion on the sleeves and the hem of her skirt. She was beautiful, that there was no denying or tiptoeing, from her hair tied in a loose braid halfway down, to the whisker-like markings on each cheek, it made the question pound in her head louder with each passing second.
Who would want to hunt her?
''Do you always stare at people when they're eating?''
Yunara's face burned as she quickly averted her gaze back to her plate, halfway empty. ''Forgive me, I was just thinking about your magic. You possess a great connection to the spirits, I can sense it.''
''I could say the same about you,'' Ahri replied, nudging the 'head' of the Aion Er'na curled around Yunara's feet like a dog. ''Practically brimming with it.''
''You'd be correct.''
Beautiful and perceptive.
Ahri rested her chin on her palm, spoon stirring to pick up a decent chunk of venison meat, which she welcomed and gave view for Yunara to detail two prominent canines, sharper than any humanoid and even most Vastayan would have. ''Where is it you're going?'' she asked.
''To a kingdom I believe is known as Demacia,'' Yunara replied, straightened her posture. ''Made a promise that I have to fulfill.''
''Is that related to the longspear's edge you had on you?''
Lilac eyes grew twofold on Yunara's face.
All this chatting and fighting and she hadn't noticed the lack of weight strapped to her back. Was her mind slipping from her?
Ahri patted her mouth clean with a dry handkerchief. ''Don't worry, it's under the bed. Would've been awful if I tripped on it.''
Yunara shot up from her seat and kneeled beside the bed, shoving her hand under it until she felt a cold, metal surface and a smooth orb in the center, which she pulled out and sighed, returning calmer to her seat. Ahri's tail had fluffed with the maiden's unerring speed, and quickly swatted away yet another charging burst of magic.
Shaky fingertips, cold metal to her chest. Yunara felt the rage and heartache rise to her throat, which she swallowed back down, thick and viscous. ''Sorry, just—I can't really lose it.''
Flat heels clopping on the floor, Ahri knelt to a squat beside her. ''Must've belonged to someone really important.''
A darkness flashed in Yunara's eyes, knuckles whitened. ''To a good friend.''
Fretfully, Ahri reached over to hold and squeeze Yunara's hand. The gesture caught the shrine maiden with her guard lowered, a dash of pink crossing her cheeks.
''I'm sorry for your loss.''
''Thank you,'' Yunara offered her a smile just as light as was her touch, willfully ignorant to how her heartbeat picked up the pace, then stood up. ''I promised him all would be well, and I failed him. If I can do this for the memory of him, he may be able to rest in peace.''
''You won't get very far if you do not care for those migraines, though.'' Ahri's hand left hers to partially cover her giggle.
Ahri's left ear flicked as she laughed, and Yunara found it rather adorable. ''My hubris got the best of me.''
''Then it's a good thing I found you.''
As the shrine maiden took both empty bowls to bring them to the sink, removed the brass bangles and rolled up her gloves and sleeves as she turned the tap water on, Ahri said nothing. She stood beside her, arms crossed and still, watching her slow, deliberate movements as Yunara washed the dishes.
''Hope you do not mind,'' Yunara said and leaned a tad bit closer. ''It's the least I can do to return your hospitality.''
''Not at all.''
The ghost of Ahri's touch lingered deep in Yunara's tendons. The air thick and heated, equal parts unnerved and intrigued her in equal measure. The Aion Er'na within her recognized the wild, unbridled magic within Ahri, and hissed a warning throughout her body. It too recognized her tension, her skittish mistrust in how those long, pointy foxlike ears followed Yunara's every move. Beneath it all, the utter, sinkhole-sized loneliness permeated the whole of her. From the tip of her nose, to her upturned eyes, a type of loneliness Yunara knew from a hundred lifetimes lived.
A warmth assaulted her thoughts, the kind she had learned to push down and away, for what good could it bring to succumb when there was much to be done? Yet, those ideas did not sock her, but Ahri's eyebrows slowly rising, then her gaze averting, did. As if she had read into her thoughts.
''Yunara.''
''Yes?'' the Shrine Maiden replied with the answer hitched on her throat.
''If I asked you to take a look at something and tell me what you know about it, would you do that for me?''
Delicate hands, the same that had held hers, reached behind Ahri's neck and under her hair. Yunara heard a fiddling of thumbs inside a pocket and the rattle of a smooth surface against silk. ''Have you ever seen something like this before?''
It did not take a genius to see what a marvel of craftmanship the object Ahri held was.
The token shone like a flame, glimmering gold and orange shadows. If made to face a light source, it'd bounce within its carved curves and distort off its edges which shaped it as swirling, twin flames. It was Vastayan-made, of that she had no doubt, but it had been long and one day since she had encountered anything like this.
Creases grew between Yunara's eyebrows and before she could speak, Ahri's ears flattened against her head and she took the sunstones back from Yunara's grasp.
''Forgive me, I do not know much beyond what I see.''
''Worth a shot.'' Ahri's tail curled outwardly, and the corners of her mouth deepened. ''Thanks, either way.''
There had to be something, anything, she could say.
Her fist clenched behind her, Yunara stepped closer. ''I— Maybe I cannot tell you more personally, but I passed a market on the way. Have you checked there?''
Ahri inched closer, ears perked up and alert. ''Market? One of food and goods?''
''And more. There's a town northwest of here,'' Yunara gestured with a tilt of her head in the general direction. ''Your woods extend not far from it. I cannot promise that you will find the answer you seek, but it might be a good place to start.''
The distance between them was cut in half as Ahri took three steps closer to Yunara.
Yunara was brought back to her earlier days during the Darkin war, when Bhinan would stare her down to find even the slightest of mistakes and correct her. Ahri's was much the same, but while Bhinan would have, at worst, put her to do a hundred laps, she wondered if Ahri would sink her teeth into her neck or burn her alive. She circled around, behind her, a tail brushing by her arm and hovering her back, until the Vastaya stopped across from Yunara and let three seconds pass with an unbroken, held gaze.
A claw scratched under Yunara's chin. Her heart bolted out of her chest, thunderous SLAM! against her ribs.
Golden eyes narrowed, then softened. ''You truly are trying to help me.''
''Did you think I was lying?''
''No, I could sense you were being honest,'' Ahri sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. ''But I couldn't tell with what purpose. Force of habit, I suppose.''
Yunara blinked slow, head tilting five degrees. Sense? she asked herself.
Ahri rested against the sink counter, and took her tail in her own grasp, stroking it slow and careful. ''Haven't you realized yet? I can sense your emotions and thoughts. If you wished to hurt me, or were setting me up for a trap, and…''
Yunara's throat grew tighter.
All of her feelings?
Every thought she had, every flicker of emotion or spark or doubt or fear? The waves of guilt, the keen interest, the creeping desolation and burning desire when she felt her index underneath her chin?
''Have you been doing that all the time I've been here?'' Yunara asked.
''It's difficult not to, but yours are particularly loud.'' Ahri set the pendant away, rather than back into her pocket. ''Don't worry, at least yours weren't of the bloodthirsty, 'I'll kill you' variety.''
''And you are not… upset?''
The distance Ahri tried to reinstate was swiftly broken by Yunara, arms tight at her sides and fingertips itching for a touch.
Ahri's shrugged, arms tighter around her own waist. ''Would you be if I said I found you beautiful and intriguing too?''
''I'd be flattered.''
''As am I.''
Yunara felt her heart skip another beat. What smile had decorated Ahri's face vanished, replaced by a thin veil of longing, claws sinking into the sides of her own arms.
''But if we act on them, I might hurt you. I don't— I can't control my powers, not fully.''
The shrine maiden, for the first time in forever, reached out first.
Her hand slipped under Ahri's chin and turned her so she'd look at Yunara, faces but few inches apart. ''Tell me. What might happen were we to give in?''
Ahri's bottom lip trembled, hesitant.
It was that grave, huh?
Yunara glanced down at those full, crimson lips and back up, slowing to detail the lower curve, and how it parted until Yunara's hunger overcame her common sense.
''I'll take my chances.''
All of her life had been a gamble. An endless sacrifice interrupted by a burst of freedom, now each choice hers to make. Capturing Ahri's lips in her own and savoring her was her choice, as it was when she pulled her in by the dip of her waist. Spirit magic sparkled out of her fingertips as claw-like nails dragged down Yunara's back, sending shivers throughout her while her arms lifted Ahri onto the bed and pinned her down.
Minute gasps escaped here and there, thighs locking around Yunara's hips as she grinded between Ahri's legs.
''A-Ah, Yunara…''
So long. It had been so long.
Undoing her shirt proved tedious, though it did help in bringing an amused smirk out of Ahri, who pulled it above Yunara's head with considerable ease. Cold night air tickled her exposed torso, the valley of her breasts marked down in a red line by Ahri's index claw, her damp, well—formed arms.
Yunara's breath hitched, one hand curling over Ahri's.
The Aion Er'na hissed inside her as Ahri's fangs glistened under the dim light.
''I can hear it,'' Ahri said, her voice unlike the flirty, high-raspy she had heard before. ''Calling out, scared.''
Yunara pinned Ahri's hands above her head and leaned down to nibble the tip of a vulpine ear.
Her free hand curled over the fabric of the Vastaya's dress, tugged down to let her now-lover's breasts from their support. The maiden's mouth watered as she took one, heavy and plentiful, far more than what her hand could grab, and let her tongue circle around a pinkish-brown nipple.
A moan trickled out as she suckled the mound, peppered Ahri's breasts with kisses and nibbles, making sure she paid equal attention to both. The Vastaya began to squirm under her, smidges of blood drawn out as Ahri scratched the broad of Yunara's back.
Each piece of clothing that fell to the floor did so with a muffled thud.
Caressing the maiden's sides, Ahri pulled Yunara closer.
Dexterous fingers trailed from the last of Ahri's ribs, down the center of her stomach, to be tickled by the fuzz above her now lover's sex. Yunara guided her middle finger slide between wet folds, parting Ahri's snow-white bush to reveal her arousal. A knuckle brushed against the Vastaya's clit, feeling up every sudden jerk of her body.
Ahri's tail wagged.
In the very depth of her bones, in the smallest of filaments, Yunara knew this wasn't a great idea. If her powers were so great to injure or worse, at least for one night, Yunara couldn't bother to care. Her muscles ached with desolation, but not tonight. Not as long as she could help it, as she could keep up the rhythm gliding along that drenched sex.
''Ngh!''
''Hah…'' Yunara shuddered at the sound her lover made, and she pressed herself further.
Her body, so soft to the touch, so warm.
Yunara had almost forgotten what having a body of her own was like. Locked away, her mind had been honed to its limits and her spirit, perpetually tested, remained unbroken; her flesh, though strong, had grown needier. Desperation gasped out, how both chests rose and fell with jagged breaths, and how Ahri rolled her hips as Yunara's fingers rubbed her clit in wider circles, palm flat while a middle and ring finger prodded over to then slowly push their way in.
''Gods…!''
''You're so warm.''
Two fingers pumped in and out. Her face buried in the crook of Ahri's neck; she detailed a path of kisses drawn from the underside of a delicate chin to the edge of a clavicle. Around Yunara's leg curled Ahri's tail.
''So are you,'' Ahri gasped.
Yunara's fingers relished how Ahri stretched around them. Velvety walls beckoning her to go deeper, how the muscles of her arm tensed as she pushed her wrist and let Ahri's wetness coat it, too. Her thumb rubbed the sensitive nub, picking up the pace.
The tail that had curled around her now reached and rubbed against Yunara's sensitivity left the Shrine Maiden no space to ignore her own heat.
''Ah…!''
A jolt coursed through her veins, as the fur pressed to her crotch.
''Ahri, mmm!''
She could burst into flames and Yunara would refuse to move herself away. Not while she could breathe the wilderness in her hair, or feel her claws marking her, nor as she moved away to lie beside her on the bed and nudge her on top, hips at the level of Yunara's face. Fingertips fondled the sides of Ahri's thighs, reddish marks where they sunk, whilst Yunara's gifted a kiss to her lover's clit.
Ahri kept her hands at her sides, clinging no longer to the bare bedsheets halfway knocked to the ground, but to Yunara's head and running her fingers through locks of lilac hair.
Hot breath exhaled against her slit.
A tongue that lapped up and made Ahri lean back, coloring the air with the arrhythmic melody of her voice.
''Oh— Yunara…''
Nose pushed against, her arousal dripped down Yunara's chin as her tongue swirled and slid over her labia.
For a brief moment, the Shrine Maiden opened her eyes to behold the woman on top of her.
Golden eyes tightly shut, sweat rolling over the slight pouch Ahri's stomach made as she leaned forward, playing with her breasts and tugging on pinkish-brown nipples. Exploring herself in ways that made Yunara wonder how often, if ever, did Ahri have a moment to unwind without care. She followed the Vastaya's caresses, their hands lacing together while those hips rode back and forth.
''More…!''
Ahri said. Yunara obeyed.
That's what she did best, after all.
Worship; with prayer on her fists, with rage on her bitter tongue, with hunger as she drank from Ahri's tangy-sweetness as the latter sat on her face, squished her between trembling legs.
Suckling with pouted lips on Ahri's clit, a sharp moan echoed across the cabin.
Yunara sunk her nails to keep Ahri's legs spread, air struggling to come in or out as her mind drifted into bliss. How the minutes bled into each other and how Ahri's orgasm built rapidly, jolts shooting through her sinews and muscles and nerves as it rushed down Yunara's throat, heaved panting whilst both struggled to catch up to the rush of blood in their heads.
Ahri shakily gazed down at Yunara, chest rising and falling, licking her lips. The Vastaya felt a giggle rise out of her at the sight of Yunara, disheveled and drunk on the aftermath.
Her lover shifted away, straddled Yunara's hips.
One hand at each cheek, Ahri took Yunara's face and leaned down to taste herself on the maiden's mouth. Low hum, the maiden's flavor and her own, Ahri lifted her head and spit her saliva onto Yunara's tongue, who eagerly swallowed without flinching.
''You look so pretty like this.''
''Don't tease me.'' Yunara said in more of a plea than a command.
Ahri lowered further, and further. She dared not use her hands, but she did not need to, as her warm and tender mouth was enough to force Yunara to throw her head back.
Brushing through ebony locks, one white tail became three, and three became nine. A blanket of snow-white fur borne from the base of Ahri's spine, the Vastaya purring into the maiden's sex. Her knees buckled, toes curled. The pearly fangs so close to her cunt and her flesh so supple and willing to be devoured by the Vastaya, that Yunara could do little more than bury her face in a pillow to muffle herself.
Gripped where the round curve of her ass sat, Yunara watched as Ahri pushed her legs high, back, and further so, almost as if testing her flexibility, or maybe how deep she could reach within Yunara.
Exposed. Totally and utterly exposed.
''Ahri…?''
Golden eyes opened, pushed up with a smile.
''Oh, spirits— Mmmngh!''
''Is that what you like, sweetie?''
Ahri had flicked her tongue on the maiden's sensitive, long-ignored clit, and it was nearly enough to send Yunara into overdrive. She nodded, eyes rolling to the back of her head as the Vastaya, as she had hoped, devoured her.
Her fists clenched and her back arched up, as one of Ahri's hands caressed over her hardened stomach.
''Keep going— Keep— Ahh, fuck…!'' Arms thrown over her eyes, the words fell out of heart-shaped lips.
Her mind flooded with memories of similar escapades; all before she knew how cruel the world was, how cruel it was yet to become. Of when she was younger, not yet formed, cockier and foolish. Sweat drenched the sheets, down her back, and the roar of the Aion Er'na within her, lost amidst the pleasure of her first of many orgasms that followed. All she could taste, hear, see, smell and sense was her, this moment stretching into the darkest hours of the night, and up until she caught a glimpse of a burning star in the horizon.
Nine tails cradled Yunara, as did a pair of arms that bore markings of her teeth. Most of Ahri bore her kisses, her frustration channeled. A bundle of limbs, of legs thrown over one another and a face nestled into the crook of her neck, Yunara let her chest rise and fall in one slow, steadying motion.
One index tangled with a nightly lock of hair, and the curious urge to pet her arose in Yunara. Urge that she listened to, and was rewarded by the soothe of a guttural purr.
''Hmm…''
She found that she did not mind holding her such, nor repudiated the thought of staying like this for hours to come. To have her face buried in the crook of her neck, to feel her warmth, her heartbeat slowing down and her body relax in her embrace. It was precisely because of this that—
''You have to go?''
Round pupils shot wide open. Right, Yunara thought to herself, and wrapped her arms around Ahri's waist. ''We both knew I could never stay.''
Ahri answered with a scoff.
Of all sounds, the poignant, grumbled sound sent a pang of guilt like a dagger through Yunara's ribs. Pierced every fiber of her being and had her chewing on her bottom lip as she pressed tentative kisses to Ahri's shoulder blades. ''There is much I have to make right, but that does not mean my time with you was mere distraction.''
Ahri's posture softened, turned slowly to face her.
Caressing up the locked muscles of Yunara's neck, hunger on her fingertips, and she welcomed the poking of Vastaya claws. ''You're almost too blunt for your own good.''
A soft laugh escaped Yunara, a smile creeping up to Ahri.
For a bathe done in haste, the pair took their time enjoying the last few moments they'd spend together. Ahri ensured that Yunara's scratched, marked back would not go kiss-less, and the Aion Er'na responded in kind, with a jolt easing into a musical hum. Yunara, ever the diligent, held Ahri and aided with the undoing of her loose braid. Just a little longer to lose herself, indulgence measured, relishing the soft caress of a furred tail coiling around her and those pillowy lips against her own, all the way until they were back inside and with herself planted on the threshold of the unassuming forest cabin.
Yunara tugged the hood of her cloak back around her neck, pulled up to conceal her hair.
Ahri leaned against the door, halfway dressed, and it took all of Yunara's strength to not walk back inside and lock herself in with the Vastaya.
''You'll need a boat to get to Demacia.'' Her dark lashes blinked heavy, tail swaying slowly. ''Boat, and a lot of luck.''
''I shall see if I'm able to find the former, and if I'll be blessed with the latter,'' Yunara sighed as she fastened her top, rolled a tensed shoulder. ''Do be safe in your journey.''
Yunara kept her gaze away, and thus did not see when Ahri tugged her down by the collar of her top and left one last peck over her cheekbone. ''If you ever come by these woods, do pay me a visit, won't you?''
''I'll try.''
There was no telling if she would, let alone when she might return to Ionia.
The people of Demacia ought to be warned, and much destruction would be left in the wake of the Darkin gone unchecked, were she to hesitate. She would repeat the entire path to the coast that there was no staying, not for her, no matter how badly she might desire to be held for a second longer, that there was no staying.
And yet, she looked back.