Haurchefant's fingers graze her cheeks, gently that it drifts close to her neck. His gaze watches her, his gaze kind and soft that he tilts his head. "Come here, my love," he murmurs, offering his arms. "The night is long and cold and you look as though you will need more than the fire to warm you."
she has never liked the cold.
something in this body, something that remembers, beyond the nightmares and the pain of becoming -- warmth, and sunlight, where she blooms and grows. foolish, then, that she would carve home in the coldest place on eorzea, and moreso that she would look on it, chilled in all its ancient ice, and find contentment.
but contentment it is, for there is no other word for the warmth alight in her chest, the high flush of her cheeks as she rolls over in bed -- white hair plastered to her cheeks, looking half a fright in her exhaustion. her nose and the tips of her ears, twitching faintly in the darkness, are cold as the snow outside. his offer need not be voiced, for she is already moving. nose tucking into his side, one leg thrown over his, her laugh soft and mischievous as cold appendages find the warmth of him through the dark to draw soft gasp from his parted lips.
yes, he is far preferable to the fire -- which does not tangle in her hair in the dark, which does not press warm hands to her hips as she straddles him, as her hands find the curve of his cheek through the haze of shadow and sleep. her thumb sweeps, a slow catalogue of his cheekbone to his jaw. tender, and steeped in adoration. “ quickly, before i freeze. “ she murmurs softly, teasing. revenge is swift, as his fingers find tender spot against her side, and she squirms, gasping softly and swatting at merciless touch. between breaths---- “ save your maiden, lord haurchefant. “
until those hands turn to soothing with gentle laughter, and she finds his shoulders, braces, and presses mouth to his. she is pressing soft giggles into the softness of his smile, finding the warmth through the darkness, and he makes it such easy work.
then, it is wrong. the fire is cold. the body beneath her hands is cold as ice, the blankets a tangle around her legs. the dusk is oppressive and weighted. there is snow drifting from the ceiling, a slow steady fall. there is no warmth here, no warmth to be found.
she tries to stand and stumbles instead, and as she hits the floor, consciousness slams into her body----- harsh, jarring, with the taste of blood. she has kicked her blankets off in her sleep, and the bed here is alone, and cold. not warm enough, not cold enough. make it burn, or she has no interest.
he is not here. she is alone.
her hands curl in the blanket, her gasping chest finding purchase in the present. it is a long while before the cobwebs clear, before she comes back to herself. a long moment before ghosts leave her rest, and she can remember anything but the grief, so cloying she can hardly breathe around it. a cold knot, in the center of her chest. unforgiving.
her eyes unfocused in the dark, wet with unshed tears, she whispers his name into the night, and sets him back to his grave.