KD!AU Afterdeath... Brainrotting thinking about how silly and in love these two are.
These homosexuals...
Silly little details about them below the cut!!
Allis(Geno) and Ripid(Reaper) weren't with their current flock when the pups were born. They were still travelling around, and they came to the capitol looking for a place to stay and raise their pups a liiiitttle too late. So, insert rickety abandoned barn nest.
But don't worry, they didn't stay in the rickety abandoned barn nest long! Because somebody went to the guards and was like "uhm, there are people in my old barn. S kinda sus." And so, a guard was sent to investigate. Ripid gets bitey with them, so they send a draconic guard to investigate. That happens to be Laz(Horror). Of course, he sees their pups and immediately understands, telling them not to worry, and that they don't have to stay in this barn (ignoring Allis' offended hissing at the implications that their broken little barn and their scrappy little nest are unsafe and unsuitable. He knows how moody nesting draconics get about their territory.)
Eventually they get put up in one of the spare rooms of the castle (Cain insists they be put with the main flock, so that they're kept safe and have ample access to everything their new pups could possibly need.) Ripid is freaked out about staying with them and having nothing to offer, so he pretty much throws himself on the first sword he sees and tells Cain that he'd be happy to use his abilities to guard the castle and keep the flock safe, in return for them staying here. Cain assures him it's unnecessary, but eventually folds and tells him he can talk to Neri(Dust) about how to format surveillance reports. Allis slowly but steadily calms down from the haze of nesting with new pups, and eventually comes around to meeting everyone and making friends.
And they just kinda... Ended up staying with them. Ripid is insightful and a good source of security and line of defense, and Allis is a great cook, and a great parent, and has some surprisingly sane advice about the majority of things. He makes for a good advisor to Cain(Dream) and Clay(NM).
Also In Ripid's flock, Monarch draconics have polycorpreal abilities. Being able to split up their body into several coexisting forms, while maintaining an understanding of all their bodies' surrounding senses, all at once.
What their forms can replicate depends on their practice and skill with their abilities. Ripid is good at splitting into crows, or some smaller to medium vertebrates like cats or mice, but he can also make two or three of his own body, a useful trick for fighting or diversions. (Or handling the kids on an ordinary Tuesday)
They also hold an ability that allows them to control the life force of draconics. They can take it away or give it back in an instant.
Their monarchs are born normally, just a random distribution type thing. Most Corvid flocks are larger and only have 3-4 monarchs at any given time because their massive flocks are pretty easily protected by a few polycorpreal beings. They're protectors, and they're respected, but not looked up to. Monarchs from Corvid flocks, therefore, very much see themselves as equals to burner draconics. They're careful around smaller draconics, but not repressed or as hurt about it as Clay and Cain were as a result of the teachings from their flock.
This blog is home to KD!AU, DFT!AU, The Retriver Institute, The Horrors in the Wilde, CFK!AU, The living castle, Bugged!Cross(Bug), and plenty of other AUs. Also check out @mofts-evil-reblogs for my evil reblogs!
(check out my AU details list here)
✨We're Proship✨ Well, what does that mean? No one deserves harassment over writing/drawing taboo topics in a completely fictional fandom with completely fictional characters!
✨ We're comship✨ Well what does that mean? We ship some ⚠️CW⚠️ worthy ships! All are fictional and tagged appropriately. Instructions on how to use the keyword blocker are in this YouTube link! (More about what I draw/discuss below the cut so you can block disliked tags)
Two quick rules!
We're a SFW blog here, I will say we've got some suggestive themes, so I'd say please keep our asks appropriate for a 15+ audience, alright?
I'm being so serious when I tell you do NOT come on my page with anti rhetoric, I use the block button as the Tumblr devs intended,
Links↓↓ and about me↓↓
And a quick note, I do not currently take drawing or writing requests, but I do take suggestions. If you would like to suggest something to draw, I do not guarantee that even if I respond I will do said suggestion or finish it if I do start it.
Please feel free to ask questions about my AUs and the characters within them!
Also my DMs are always open to new writers and new friends! I am literally never bothered by messages, please ask me questions, please write new things, and please have fun! I'm not as awesome as some of you think I am, I'm just another silly person, and I love meeting other silly people.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Here's the link to our SFW Discord, make sure to be kind and pay attention to the rules!
You can find me on AO3 at Some_Very_GayMoth, although not everything on there is SFW, so navigate with care!
And on Twitter, where I never post, @TgayMoth
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
As I mentioned before It's important to note that I do write ✨Comship/dead dove✨ content, and as a psych enthusiast, I believe exploring darkness through fiction can be a positive and safe experience! So, hopefully there's no confusion there. There's a list of what I am comfortable writing about vs not below. (That is why I focus heavily on tagging all of my works adequately, and all of my posts! So that you can block keywords you don't want popping up on your timeline, and you —hopefully— never have to run into anything you don't want to see on my page!)
Please make sure to take care of yourself and pay attention to tags on any of my writing, or any writing in general. If you see something you do not want to see, don't click on it. Tumblr does indeed have a keyword filter, and I will always do my best to use keywords in my posts, so if you do not know how to set up your keyword filter with the things you don't want to see on your timeline, I would highly recommend you check out this link on YouTube that will show you exactly how to do that!
Now that I've mentioned keyword filters— here's what I write/talk about frequently so you can block the tags you don't want to hear about! As well as what tags I have blocked because I don't enjoy them personally, because everybody has boundaries and it's okay to have yours. (Just remember you're responsible for enforcing your boundaries by blocking people and tags you don't agree with/enjoy)
I write angst, violence, hurt/comfort, gore, all that good stuff.
I've written twincest(shout-out to Dreammare)
I've written stuff about anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, disability, all sorts of trauma, lots of that.
I've written Major character death, violence, and some mild gore too! A lot of that is for The Horrors in the Wilde, so keep that in mind, lmao.
Also, cannibalism because vampires! Thanks for that one Moon, Snow, and Stars.
You can block all of those, or block #Comship content to get rid of any mentions of that on my page!
Honestly I think that's all I have, which is kinda L, maybe I need to step up my dark fiction game if this is all I've got. (It can get so much worse and istg I will write worse stuff to spite anyone who's tossing around hate like it's confetti. And I'll tag it properly so they don't have to see it if it makes them uncomfortable. I'm just cool like that.)
Oh btw if you're not tagging your stuff properly or make a fuss about tagging things when someone tells you that you didn't tag something properly, you and me aren't cool. Nothing about that is okay. I will never fuss about someone asking me to add a tag, if I EVER miss something please tell me, I will happily add tags for you and keep them in mind for next time.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
As for my good normal tags, I'd recommend checking out the following on my page:
#bad sans poly
#moft asks
#moft reblogs (stuff important enough to make it onto the main or rambles!)
#moft mootland (my silly rambles with moots)
#moft updates (for series updates and stuff about the blog)
#the retriever institute
#dft!au
#the horrors in the wilde
#kd!au
#cfk!au
#fgp!au
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
About me↓↓
I have been writing for about five years now for the fandom, and I've been here since about the very beginning. Like when we were still figuring out that undertale had a genocide route, lmao. I actually got into UMTV through CPAU and never managed to make it out, lmao. I started posting my writing back in early 2020. It's been so wonderful to see this fandom grow and change, blossoming with many fun aus and beautiful ideas, and I hope I can contribute to many more beautiful ideas on my little corner of the internet.
I have some physical health problems that may make it difficult for me to post more regularly, but I will do my best!
Disclaimer; we are a OSDD system, I've known since about 2022, but it's not something we particularly enjoy discussing online unless it's relevant to a topic at hand. But, to my fellow systems, you're always welcome here. If you have questions, we're comfortable answering them, so feel free to ask.
Guys if you can't handle a lil Dreammare back out now (Cain and Clay are referred to as twins, even then, they appeared by a magical tree one day and were never properly born so take that as you will but I'm gonna go ahead and say guys, it's basically just twincest.)
Koda should be so incredibly intimidated by the twins. Like, he's not scared of them... It's just, when they're apart... Sure, they're beautiful, each a majesty of a different kind...
but together?
Standing side by side, riding side by side through town(followed by their guard), or laying together in the common areas, sharing lazy affection... It's unlike anything else. They're both so incredibly regal, so elegant, so soft and warm in their own rights. They balance each-other, Clay always dressed in cool blacks, blues, and purples, and Cain always in whites, oranges, and golds... It's like looking up at gods. He supposes, they aren't exactly like them, in any capacity, but... It could still be so... Startling, at times.
Their relationship ran so deep too, a bond formed over thousands of years (and supposedly millennia without form beyond that). It was truly something to behold, the way they shared soft kisses and the gentlest kinds of affection with such ease... Sometimes, they'd glance at each-other, and it was like they knew something no one else did. It was like they shared all their secrets in the slight moment their gazes met, like they had conversations in instants, ones that no one else could hear.
Once, he saw them dance together, at a ball held in the castle. It was possibly the most amazing thing he'd ever seen... It was such a practiced thing, loose and elegant, like they floated across the dance floor. Both of them had worn soft flowing dresses that night, and when they danced together, it seemed like the air, maybe even the castle itself danced with them.
Anyway the twins evoke a severe case of fearousal in Koda—
Koda gets absolutely hammered at a party bc Vicki challenged him to a game of shots and the twins walk over and...
"Oh my sstrfffars therreesoo bretty"
"Mhm, sure are..."
"Oh my goodness how much did he have to drink?" Cain gasped, grasping his shoulders.
"Ohh hi therr<3" Koda chirrups, grinning like a dope.
"Uhh... Like, 6ish shots of straight whiskey."
"What!?" Clay whisper shouts, growling at him.
"What? Don't blame me, Jay is the one that brought the whiskey!"
"Urrrnssoo hansome"
"Oh, thank you love."
"Whoo raa ou??"
"Who am I? Oh darling... Let's get you to bed. Clay, I may need some assistance, poor dear can barely walk."
"We will discuss this later," Clay growls.
"Fuck, when you talk to me like that I really hope we do..." Vicki purrs, melting a little.
Clay and Cain are busy helping Koda slip out of the crowd to put him to bed. "Have some water, dearest," Clay offers, helping him sip it.
"Wow... Yourrre eeye candi<33"
"What? Cain what does that mean?"
Cain purrs something soft, about an equivalent to what he'd said in draconic. "Oh my, so... he's... Flirting."
"What's yruur name??" He asks again, reaching for his hand.
Clay intertwines their fingers happily. "My name is Clay, darling, I'm your mate."
Koda looks shocked, murmuring tearfully, "yourre... MY mAte??"
"Oh, darling, yes..."
"Holy shit..."
Clay burst out laughing, dropping his skull onto his chest.
Koda gets all flustered, staring at him while he laughs. "Wwow..." He murmurs, looking completely astonished. His gaze switches to Cain, and he thinks his laugh is just as beautiful. "Who asrre you though!?" He asks Cain, who's sitting next to them laughing himself nearly to tears.
"Oh sugarplum, my name is Cain, I'm your husband," he says, smiling through the tears of laughter.
"OH MY FUCK!" Koda cries, wide eyed.
Both the twins are crying laughing at this ridiculous silly.
So, Atra(ink) met Steller(Error) when he was still traveling, long before he'd been initiated into the royal flock. About 300 years before the main storyline. Steller was a troublemaker of a dragon who was ravaging human villages and attracting the attention of the old King's hunters. While Atra was trying to live a peaceful, quiet nomadic life exploring human villages and anywhere in which art and creativity thrived. He lived for festivals and craftsmen and culture. Although he missed his flock, he was so so at peace exploring the world. Needless to say, for that exact reason, he and Steller didn't get along.
Fate strung them together like two threads in a colorful tapestry, together and apart constantly. Atra knew the struggle of losing something precious, the struggle of losing a part of yourself in the process, the confusion of not remembering it all. He understood more than anyone. They were together often by circumstance. Atra always wanted to show him the creativity of all these little humans, and monsters, but Steller never took him up on that.
Some 14 years before the main story, Atra is taken down in a human attack while flying in his true form. The new kings hear about the incident, as it was near the Capitol, and send out aid. Atra stays in the early beginnings of the migrant housing while healing. And while he does, a certain king takes a shining to him.
Atra sets off some months later, with allies in the capitol and fond memories... And as he would come to realize after about three months of travel, a souling. Atra has his son, Datas(Palette) in a peaceful little village, staying there for some months before setting off on a journey again. He doesn't exactly bother to mention to Cain that they have a son. He takes Datas off on all his little adventures to see the arts. Chance brings him and Steller together again, and well, as luck would have it, Steller is feeling a little tired of the same old fights. He asks Atra to show him his silly human arts and culture. Atra is overjoyed. He just so happens to realize, after he's asked this, that Atra now has a three year old child. He's not exactly sure how he missed that happening, but damn, okay.
"you... have a kid?"
"yup, his name is Datas."
"How the — wait — do not answer that. With whom...?"
"Well, his father isn't exactly around, he's a little busy. It was never a romance thing, if that's what you mean," Atra murmurs.
"oh, sorry, I didn't mean to... Ahm," Steller looks away.
"it's okay, he likes the festivals we go to... It's not all bad out here. I think you'll like it."
"I doubt it."
Atra smiles, "don't be so glum, there's much to see."
Atra drags Steller along on his artsy little adventures, sleeping together under blankets of stars, and incidentally, parenting Datas together. Eventually they stopped being co-parents and started being partners. It felt like a slow melt into something inevitable, but pleasant.
Eventually they tire of their constant journeying, and Atra finally deems it worth mentioning that Datas' father was Arcaine, one of the kings. And that he was formally invited into the royal flock about six years ago, but declined the offer. Steller is very unimpressed with him not mentioning this sooner.
(lmao did I forget to mention the errormare? My b Dawgs that too. We have chaos polycules in this au.)
Euclades(NM) knew Steller(Error), when he was younger, still in his flock, still by an entirely different name and form. When things went horribly wrong for him, he ran from his flock, and Steller. A lover he'd taken some 400 years ago. They parted with only a letter, a letter Clay left for him in a fit of fear and confusion after becoming what he is now. He fled from his problems, and didn't allow anyone to follow him or help them. Needless to say, Euclades still thinks of him often, and having him show up on his doorstep, with a mate, no less, is not something he was prepared for.
Steller doesn't recognize him. He looks so different now, he can hardly blame him, but part of him aches. He can barely stay there long enough to greet both him and Atra(ink) before having to spend the rest of the day in his room, shocked to realize he can still take his old form. He didn't know that before Steller came around. But, it didn't take much for Steller to figure it out...
Literally the whole fic I wrote about that ages ago↓↓ (this is old AF I revamped it literally just for this post PLEASE forgive me if it vaguely sounds like garbage in some parts.)
(Important details: trade is the common language used for international trade in this world, dragons propose with giant intricate circles made with stones and rocks gathered sometimes over months, dragons have little balls of flame for souls called soulfire.)
(third person focused: Steller's point of view)
Clay isn't who he says he is. To Steller, it's all but a mystery to whom, if anyone, he's told the truth. It began as morning more than a feeling when they first arrived here. Something felt off, familiar and suspicious. Then it became a hunch, then a conclusion that the king was hiding something. If his mate, his kid— Atra's kid were going to stay here, secrets weren't going to fly with him.
Many things clued him in on the King's secret, and when he uncovered something so personal as this is, Steller found it an incredibly difficult realization to have. He had to confer frequently with Atra, to fumble through what to do and what to think, how to feel. Not that Atra is any good at any of those things, but stars he does his best. And that's something. One thing Atra said stuck with him through all of this.
"If he loved you as you said he did? He left so abruptly to keep you safe, even if it was something you didn't need to be protected from."
Euphe was always the protected, never the protector. Of course he'd want to protect Steller from what he wasn't protected from. From whatever happened to his home, to his people. To him. Thinking about and processing all of this went slow, had been absolutely heart wrenching, and snowballed slowly into more of an investigation into the truth rather than just exploring a hunch or a feeling.
The first hint had been his reaction to his presence here, Euclades didn't utter a word beyond a curt greeting in draconic, in response to Steller's trade. That could easily be mistaken for an old age monarch attached to his ways, but Euphe never learned trade either. Then, with nothing but those words, he disappeared for the rest of the day. Steller had been intrigued, and looked for him, wanting to talk to him more. At least thank him for allowing himself and his mate to stay here, apologize for his lover's foolishness.
Though, he wasn't around. Steller asked his mates, though they told him that Clay was in his room, probably working, and he seemed in a mood about something when they last saw him. In other words, he was best left alone. Though they remarked about Cain handling the political affairs this week, to give him a break, and promised they would check on him later, and relay his gratitude. It left him with an odd taste on his tongues, persay.
The next? Cain. Steller never met him when he was with Euphe. Euphe talked about him a lot. Tall, strong, bright and beautiful. Steller knew without a doubt, that Euphe loved him deeply, but Cain was a protector before all else, he would've kept the secret at first, but Euphe knew it would spill eventually... On purpose or not. His flock wasn't a fan of lone draconics. Nor was any other, really.
To have one of their monarchs, nevermind such a sacred being as Euphe fraternizing with a troublemaker like him, that would give the young monarch's flockmates all the more reason to hate him. Though, now Cain acted the same way Euphe had always talked about him. A beautiful golden social butterfly that was able to connect with damn near anyone. Though he lacked a certain naivety that Euphe described, Steller could guess that was a product of maturity. To find them together now, ruling their empire as mates, was no surprise.
Cain contributed to more than one hint, really. One other being, their origin. Born of the sacred Tree of Connection, twin protectors given to their flock by their deities. It's pretty difficult to miss that one. Euphe never completely explained what they both were to him, but he's not sure that Euphe completely understood that for himself at the time. Nonetheless, you don't get two stories like that one. He was almost completely sure of it then.
The fourth hint lie in the garden. Deep in the garden, in fact. Abandoned and alone. The Tree of Connection itself, and the last source of Empathy magic, a single golden apple, hanging alone within its ancient branches. A story that's also pretty unmistakable for any other, it sat in a well, reflecting golden light onto the water beneath. It was so well kept. Too well kept to be anything but the real Tree of Connection. How the hell they got it here was beyond Steller's comprehension, but still.
Steller would suppose it's fair to count the Tree of Life as a part of that last hint as well. The massive tree in the middle of the castle's main buildings. An apple tree, just like the Tree of Connection. It wasn't hard to figure out that it was grown from the last dark apple of Empathy. Steller put that one together pretty quick after seeing the golden apple all alone on the tree. He had few doubts then.
The fifth clue, was each of Clay's mates. The stories of how they met. Clay's need to help them all... That unmistakable empathy for small, helpless things. That was all Euphe. It was just like him. Steller could see it in his expression as they talked about it, he seemed so nostalgic for the time, but so terribly empathetic, hurt by remembering their pain and helplessness. He still has that same desperation to protect, to provide. Like he has anything to prove after taking an entire Empire by right of combat and creating a safe haven for draconic people everywhere.
The sixth was the library. The moment Steller saw it he had no doubts left. So many books, in so many draconic languages, so many scrolls from so many different flocks. Euphe loved books. He may not know trade, but he knew almost every draconic language near to his own flock. He used to bring many books in whatever language he could find, to their little clearing in the woods and read to him all night long. Memories Steller carries with fondness.
The castle is full of secret rooms and dark passages, and the library is no exception. The library has so many secret rooms, full of old scrolls in ancient draconic languages. In one of these rooms there was nothing but scrolls about his flock... The flock and the prophecy that tortured Euphe until the day they all disappeared. So many of them had the burnt impression of claws on the corner of the page. Steller could imagine it so easily, Clay staring at it with such fear and anguish, wondering why they had done this to him, and allowing his emotions to run away with him.
Between Cain dropping information about their past, Clay's desperate little attempts to hide the obvious, and the clues practically written in the walls themselves... It wasn't long before Steller figured it out. Now, came the hard part. Actually talking to him about it.
Atra was there through it all, content to let Steller know his thoughts on everything. All he had to say when he decided he wanted to talk with Clay was, "do whatever you feel is right. If the dust settles and you want to be friends? That's okay. If you end up fucking on his desk, that's cool too! We can sort stuff out later." Stellar gave him a straight shot to the ribs for that, of course, because that was a very unhelpful fantasy to carry in this situation... But at least he knew whatever way things went, he had the support of his mate.
After hours of pacing and procrastination in my room, Steller somehow end up in front of his door... Holding that old letter like the most precious thing in the world. The purple ribbon that held it was old and worn now, he'd applied sap many times over the years to help the fraying. The edges used to be a vibrant shimmering silver, but now the thin metallic touch had worn and flaked in some spots. The letter itself was corroded and yellowed at the edges. Steller read it often in those first years that his lover was gone. In fact, he'd read it so many times now he's certain that he could recite it word per word, blindfolded.
Now he held it before the door of the one who gave it to him, unsure and fearful. Clay knew he was there, without a doubt. Born of the tree of Connection, he possessed focal magics even other monarchs did not. Empathetic magic, specifically. He'd always been able to feel the emotions of others, but what he understands now is that Clay's abilities have grown much over the years. Steller knocks on the door gently and it unlocks with a small click, opening just a little. He pushes it the rest of the way open, and when he does, Clay watches him with tired eyes.
After all his anxiety and worrying today, it would seem he is an expected guest.
"Steller, what do you requi-" he freezes-no, flinches- when he sees the letter in his hand. His eyelight swirls with an unmistakable twinge of vibrant violet for a moment. He blinks and it's gone, it almost felt imagined.
"Euclades. It's a lovely name."
He was silent, watching Steller wearily. He looks guilty, contemplative, maybe even afraid... The dredge of negativity that flows over his bones seems to drip more heavily around him, roiling like a pond disturbed by rain.
"But it isn't yours, at least... It wasn't always. Was it?"
"No. No it wasn't." The door shut quietly behind him. The sound makes Steller glance back, only for a moment. "Please... Please allow me this moment in private. I... Cannot imagine how you must feel. If I must endure your anguish, let me be the only one to bear it." He pleads.
Steller locks the door on his own, content to give Clay what he asks. He sighs out, "I knew it was you," in a breath. It's difficult for him to tell whether it's a sign of relief or something entirely different.
"You're clever, I knew I couldn't hide it."
"You made quite an effort," Steller counters quickly.
He whispers back, "I am sorry."
"Why?"
"I was afraid," Clay answers. He looks Steller in the eyes with some acrid, visceral emotion that lingers. A terror he keeps buried away in the embers of his soulfire. It's an expression so like one he'd once seen Euphe make, whenever he spoke of his flock... It makes Steller's soul twist with longing, nostalgia, love and care that still lingers after centuries apart.
"Why did you leave." He corrects, "why didn't you even say goodbye?" Steller steps forward slowly, pulling the worn, old ribbon from their letter, and places the curled page gently on Euclades' desk, right in front of him.
"I... was afraid," he answers again.
"Of what?" Steller paces a slow line past his desk and around towards the door, gripping his skull as though he couldn't comprehend any of this. Maybe after all these years, he still couldn't.
"Of myself, what I might do... What the corruption did... It... I hurt people. It made me want to hurt people. I didn't want to hurt you."
"And you thought I wouldn't stop you? You thought I'd ever let you become something you're not? You thought you could hurt me? I am a force to be reckoned with, I've burned villages and destroyed towns, I have faced those which were unbeatable in the presence of draconic armies! I can protect myself!" Steller spits.
"Not from this. You don't understand. The influence of the tree is strong, Steller, it is dangerous, and real. It isn't something you can protect from. It took me centuries to break through it's influence-"
"And I COULD HAVE HELPED YOU!" Steller cries, pausing his pacing near the door, "but no, no you left me alone, and scared, with no clue where you were and no chance of helping you- you fool! I would never be afraid of you!"
"Well maybe, you fucking should be." Clay hisses, standing up.
"Don't try to prove a point, dumbass. I know what you are. What you REALLY are. And you can't ever hide that. You are not, and will not ever be something I fear." Steller growls, wings flaring out behind him. Already a broad, tall monarch, it made for a threatening display.
Clay puffs up right back, purple dancing through his eyes and in his markings. Two eyes... That's... Different. Everything is different. He's so much bigger now, it's startling to hear everything in his voice ring with something from the past, all coming from a form so different. Euphe was beautiful, even without the extravagant marks of a strong monarch. Even now, he's so beautiful, in all the conventional ways he never thought himself when they were younger. It makes Steller ache, but he doesn't let up on his stance.
He's in power here, size and status be damned.
Euclades still can't hurt him.
Clay marches around his desk, a growl heady in his throat. "That's exactly why I stayed away. You're too trusting— too stupid to—" he makes a wounded sound, "if I wanted to hurt you, would you even stop me?" He asks, expression pained.
"If you wanted to hurt anyone I would have stopped you!" Stellar barks back, throwing his hands up in the air.
He marches forward, face twisted into a snarl as he slams a fist into the door hard enough to make the wood tremble. "WOULD YOU?! Would you hurt me to stop it? Would you?" Steller doesn't flinch. Instead, he slides hands up to Clay's face, rubbing the gleaming markings under his right eye.
It has all the effect he remembers. The expression on his face wanes and it's not so difficult to see the tears blossoming in his sockets now. His wings shudder and his eyelights shift to a deep plum, he might notice, given the way he blinks a little harder for a moment, but he seems to give up on whatever he was trying there fairly quickly. Steller lets out a long breath, still holding him gently.
"The entirety of this hypothetical little situation that you've made up in your head, depends on you being able to hurt me. Euclades. You may be a king now but I know you are not but a stubborn child in your embers. I am not afraid of you, I never have been, and I never will be. No matter how hard you try, you can't hurt me. I won't let you, and you would never. You never once won a sparring match against me in our days together, and a handsome set of horns and some height on me will certainly not change that. Euclades, Euphe, neither of them would hurt me, I know that. More than anything, I trust that," Steller whispers to him, watching as Clay closes his eyes.
He leans into the contact as his breathing goes shaky, and his shoulders tense up with quivering little sobs. His expression tenses for a moment before going lax again. When tears fall, they're a familiar purple, not seafoam. They leave smooth trails of ivory white bone visible in their wake, and only more of it is exposed with every moment.
He asks softly, "do you hate me?" and when he speaks it's not the same deep central nation draconic grumble. It's softer, a gentle voice with an eastern dialect. It's Euphe's voice, not his.
"I couldn't ever hate you, I don't," Steller promises, still holding him in his arms, even as the darkness fell away, dripping onto his hands and the floor. "Not Euphe, and certainly not Clay. I don't blame you... Even if you were a stupid jerk for leaving me like you did." He whispers. Clay smiles, and when he opens his eyes, blinking away tears, it's Euphe staring up at him. "I uh... didn't know you could... you know. I didn't know you were... Still... Like this, under all the..."
"I didn't either... Until you came back." He laughs, like it's all some cruel joke.
"You're beautiful. Still so beautiful..."
"You always said that." He's smaller than Steller is now, looking up as he gently wipes the tears from the other's cheeks.
"I'm not talking about Euphe, you're not some relic, Clay. I'm talking about you."
Euclades looks up at me like he's said something profound, something that he hadn't even considered.
"That's not- I'm not..."
"But you are... You're so beautiful. You're strong, and amazing. You always have been, you just didn't see it before. And your horns have grown so much too... I won't lie, it's... attractive." Steller admits, smiling wryly and glancing to the chair in the corner of the room. It's upholstered in a beautiful purple, velvety fabric, and it's clear that someone sits their frequently, likely to keep Clay company while he works.
"Oh..." Clay stares at him wide eyed, flushed a deep plum, a color that's rather ironically fitting of royalty.
"You're... I still..." Steller sighs before taking a deep breath in, "I loved Euphe, and I want to love you too, Euclades. I want to chart every difference, bed our coals and make a new fire together, every new feature and habit as our kindling."
Clay sighs when their skulls press together, a smile creeping onto his face when their horns clink, and it makes both their beads rattle on their horns. "I cherish you Steller... I always have."
"Too much for your own good, dork."
"Hah! Maybe..." Clay admits, sighing.
Steller smiles down at him with an unconditional fondness. Their faces are close, like this Steller can feel their breaths mingling together. The tease of a taste on his tongues, like sweet spices and the love Steller wants to give him. Clay takes a step closer and pauses, seeming contemplative.
"Is this okay?"
"More than okay," Steller murmurs back, sliding one of his hands into the other's.
With the confirmation, he presses a slow kiss to Steller's mouth, chaste and small. The taller leans in again, vying for a deeper kiss. Clay happily reciprocates, squeezing Steller's hand as his other gently squeezes his iliac crest. He pulls away just enough to breathe before searching for more. Steller encourages the closeness with a hand on his skull, pulling him closer with the gentlest insistence. Clay doesn't resist or hesitate, just presses closer, until Steller's back is firmly against the door, wings relaxed out to the side.
After a couple more rounds of kissing he pulls away, breathless. "Wow, spirits I missed that..." He says softly, almost trembling.
"Did you now?" Steller asks, grinning a little.
"Silence, I missed your silence... That's what I missed." He insists, although the soulfire glimmering through his thin shirt does him no favors in confirmation.
"Naturally, of course."
"I- oh stars, Atra, he- did he say this was okay?" He tries to pull away, seeming startled.
"Shh, he's fine... Jerk was literally rattling off about every way this could go and telling me I better at least kiss you," Steller scoffs.
"Oh... Hah! Dear stars... Yes, I can imagine he was as helpful on the mind as Vicki was..." He sighs, "I figured this was coming... I... Thought you would be more... Upset with me."
"Something like that... Ramblings of a horny bastard," Steller sighs, shaking his head. "I was upset, at first. I couldn't fathom why you'd abandon me. Not when we almost..."
Clay pets gently over his hand.
"We were almost mates, Clay... That and I... I know I didn't tell you but I... I'd been working on a circle for weeks before you left."
Clay's expression twists up again, and his surprise is almost something he can feel in the air. "Steller..." He sighs, tearful.
"Shit timing... Huh?"
"My love..." Clay cries, smiling at him. "I would've loved that more than anything."
"would've."
"I still would now."
Steller's soulfire burns cold for a moment, flickering in his ribs.
"We have some catching up to do... and we still need to talk with our mates, together. But I want you to know... really, it was time that wronged us. You, were perfect. Always," Clay says softly.
"You were perfect too..."
Clay smiles wider, and Steller can almost feel the joyful shift of his magic in the air around them.
"So... where should we start, on that catching up?"
Clay grins slyly, "you know, I have been thinking about that. I have some ideas."
When Atra(Ink) returns to the flock he's been away from for nearly 8 years, everyone is a little shocked to realize their kingdom has a young prince, Datas(Palette). Especially Cain(Dream). Euclades(NM) isn't exactly so pleased that he and Atra were so careless, but he'd be lying if he said he doesn't have a soft spot for fledglings. Obviously, Atra always had a home with the flock, even after some years of exploring.
Everyone was a little pissed off that he didn't mention the fact that he had a whole kid with one of their kings, because how the hell do you explain to the public that you did not know of the existence of one of your own princes for almost 8 years, that doesn't look good. In the end they settled on some explanation of saving Datas of the pressure of all the eyes on the crown. Everyone received him with much joy and excitement when he was introduced.
But, both Atra and his new mate, Steller(Error) were brought into the flock.
