#luxoned

[chaosmoved]

♗ SAVE ME FROM SADNESS

send me a  ♗ and I’ll use my icon style to make an icon of your muse

[firemourn]

＊     ESSEK     ﹠     ❛     READ. SILENTLY READ A BOOK BESIDE MY MUSE  .

          comprehend languages is only so useful in deciphering the the unique system of notation used by the ancient aeorian wizard who owned the spellbook.  not for the first time , caleb considers learning draconic to at least take a step in the direction needed to read aeorian without using a spell.  he has his own open in his hand , comparing his notation to that of the book the two of them found.  the wizard went on for pages describing what amounts to a proof of the usage of transmutation and dunamancy to achieve what caleb could only have dreamt of years ago.  everything he needs ... right in front of him.

          and there isn't even a name on the spellbook indicating who it belonged to.  there's something awful about that  —  the idea of being separated from your life's work in death.  the book hadn't even been near a mage or a person for that matter when they had retrieved it.  there's an intimancy to reading another's spellbook , and right now he feels like he's trespassing through the anonymous wizard's mind.  he swallows thickly and closes his spellbook , tucking it in under his coat just to have it rest against his ribcage as a weighted comfort.

          as he sees @luxoned reach to flip the page , he breaks the comfortable silence they had fallen into.     "     centuries from now , when you die ,     "     a wonderful and extremely appropriate way to start conversation with a friend , but at least essek was used to it ,     "     what do you wish to happen to your spellbook  ?     "     caleb knows of powerful wizards who spent their remaining years ensuring their spellbook remains safe , out of reach of others who wish to claim their power.  rarer , benevolent wizards hand theirs off to a pupil to learn and teach others from.  he's already had discussions with veth to leave his own in her , and later luc's , possession to do just that.  he told her that essek is also welcome to look through if he so wishes , though he doubts there's a single spell in his inventory that is missing from essek's.

[hellesfeuer]

      *      LUXONED      /      ft.   essek      —      “      i’d   appreciate   it   if   you   wouldn’t   distract   me.      ”

caleb   can’t   help   himself   from   toying   with   essek’s   hair   while   he   works.         his   husband   may   be   reading,   but   @luxoned​   is   the   one   who   put   his   head   in   caleb’s   lap   while   studying      —      what   else   is   he   to   do?

“      i   can   see   your   smile   there,   schatz,      ”            he   replies,   gently   twisting   one   of   essek’s   soft   ringlets   ‘round   his   finger,   leaning   down   to   steal   a   kiss   all   the   same.            “      you   cannot   fool   me   .   .   .      ”

[trinketh]

it's been a very long time since someone's done this for her . but not long enough for her to forget the very someone that had done this last : her own zuala , now lost . and though a piece of her heart will always miss her late wife , she has a family now that she never thought she'd have again ( including the little one growing inside of her , too little to be much of a bump even though both yasha and beau's hands fall there more often than truly necessary ) .

so she's comforted , warmed by @luxoned sitting behind her on the chair while she sits on the floor and allows him to braid her hair with familiar movements and tugs that she still knows as much as she knows how to breathe . she'd never thought that she'd know someone that could do these braids for her again , and even further had never thought that she and essek would form a friendship like this , spent in days together while beau and caleb are at work bettering the empire .

" you do this often ? " she asks , a quarter joke , a quarter serious , and half just looking for something to say . the silence was nice , but this is one of the times that a conversation may be just as good .

[trinketh]

it isn't rare for rune to spend the day at caleb and essek's house -- less rare as the years go on , though they haven't fully spoken about it ( they've talked about it more than rune has with her parents , though -- but that certainly isn't saying much ) . it isn't rare either for rune to garden with essek -- something that she does at home with eadwulf as well , and loves just as much in either place .

she's taking a break from weeding , and so has @luxoned , drinking apfelschorle and enjoying just being together . rune's head falls to her father's her uncle's his shoulder , and it is not long before she feels a gentle kiss against her hair .

she doesn't bother to suppress the small smile that forms at the touch , snuggling slightly closer against his side . " we've done a lot of work today , " she says softly , if only for something to say .

[hellesfeuer]

      *      LUXONED      /      ft.   essek      —      “      what   if   something   happens   to   you?      ”

essek   has   struggled   during   this   pregnancy,   perhaps   even   more   than   the   last.         caleb   is   not   a   man   of   faith,   but   he   finds   himself   praying   from   time   to   time      —      to   whom   he   does   not   know      —      for   his   husband’s   labor   with   this   child   to   be   easier   and   smoother   on   his   body   than   it   was   with   nym,   their   firstborn   child.      no   matter   his   prayers,   however,   essek’s   fears,   exaggerated   by   poor   sleep   and   the   trials   of   carrying   a   babe,   are   not   assuaged.

“      schatz   .   .   .      i   mean   for   nothing   to   take   me   away   from   you.      ”            he   kisses   @luxoned​​   gently   before   pulling   him   close   into   a   snug   embrace   in   their   bed.      another   nightmare   .   .   .            “      but   you   are   in   rosohna,   ja?      if   the   worst   were   to   happen   to   me,   you   would   not   be   alone.      you   would   still   be   safe,   and   so   would   our   children.      ”

[viburni-archive]

@luxoned

rumour has it ⸻ and mind you, she's heard plenty of rumours in her travels, most of which had proven untrue, and which ought to have taught her a lesson around the three hundred years mark. but nevertheless, rumour has it that the people of the kryn dynasty have found a way to cheat death. of course, there is much of the burden she carries tied to the physical body, but if there is a workaround, a back door, a ⸻

the queen had been gracious enough when she'd heard the story. the gods of this world are different, but her power still flowed through her veins, and that seemed proof enough. gods who turn on their own kin seems to be a story everywhere she's been.

which explains this : the drow who was ordered into accompanying her on a study session looking not pleased at all, and lina elbows down in tomes. ❝ ⸻ so your god ... ❞ brows furrow, a flash of blue as she looks at him, then away. undercommon is still heavy on her tongue, even after weeks of learning it. ❝ the god your people worship. what is he the god of ?? ❞

[hellesfeuer-a]

      *      LUXONED       /      ft.   essek      —      “      i   would   give   you   anything   you   ask   of   me.      ”

caleb   shuts   his   eyes   and   breathes   deeply   in   this   moment.         the   house   is   quiet   just   now,   the   two   of   them,   caleb   and   @luxoned​​,   tucked   away   in   the   secluded   garden.      he   holds   onto   his   own   biceps   in   a   vice   grip,   arms   crossed   over   his   chest.

“      i   don’t   want   to   give   me   anything,      ”            he   hisses,   blue   eyes   flashing   with   a   bit   of   flame.            “      this   cannot   be      —      don’t   you   understand   that?      how   are   we   suitable   for   one   another?      how   would   this   work?      ”            and   why   would   you   ever   want   me?