Been watching the Dark Crystal : Age of Resistance and maaan have I fallen in love with the characters!! Sketched out my absolute favourite - Princess Brea of Vapra , the brave curious princess who fights for truth over everything else.
summary: after a long day of apprenticing, cadia looks forward to spending a quiet night with his beloved.
a/n: to make my life easier the librarian's placeholder name will be valian (also uhm au where nothing happened between them and they lived happily ever after 🤧)
By the time Cadia stumbled tiredly out of the tent and in the direction of the docks, it was well after dark. The stars twinkled brightly above him, punching brilliant holes of light into the velvety night sky. But his focus wasn't on the stars in that moment. The only thoughts filling his head were of a warm cabin and his lover wrapped in his embrace.
It felt like ages had passed before he'd finally been dismissed by his elder for the day. His fingers ached from sorting and organizing and restocking and just about every other tedious task meant to keep him busy and out of the way he could think of. A slow churning dread formed in the pit of his stomach at what the next morning would bring.
The faint glow of a lantern illuminating the darkness in front of him made it die out as quickly as it had come.
"Cadia...?"
It was as if the metaphorical clouds over his head parted. Cadia stood up straighter, his hands fidgeting with barely contained delight. He hadn't even realized how much distance he had traveled until a cursory look at his surroundings revealed that he was already at the docks. As his gaze fell to his feet, he also realized that he was only a mistep away from falling right over the edge and into the frigid waters below.
"Goodness, I was wondering who that was stumbling around like a drunkard outside our ship." Valian cautiously brought his lover away from his precarious position and set the lantern down at his feet before pulling him in for a tight hug. "Poor thing...."
"I'm just... happy to be home..." Cadia sighed, returning the hug as best he could, burying his nose into Valian's robes and inhaling its flowery aroma. "I assume the rest of the crew is asleep?"
The Vapra nodded softly. "Yes, they all turned in hours ago. But I couldn't find it in myself to do the same. Not when you weren't at my side."
As they spoke Valian led the tired Sifa to their private quarters, anxious to get him out of the frigid night air lest he catch death of cold. They made sure to tread lightly so as to not disturb the other inhabitants. Or at least Valian did. Cadia trudged across the hardwood floor of their rig without a care of who he managed to stir awake. He found he was far too exhausted to be concerned about much at that point.
Once they were safely tucked away in the privacy of their bed chambers, Valian made quick work of sitting Cadia down on the bed and throwing a blanket over his shoulders.
"Perhaps if I sneak down to the galley, I can brew you some tea?" He offered, releasing his lover's hair from the once neatly woven braids he'd done that morning.
Cadia shook his head. "I just... want to lay with you..."
"Are you sure?"
A low noise of agreement, and Cadia slumped his forehead against Valian's. The corners of his eyes crinkled in a weary smile.
"It's all I've been thinking about today."
The Vapra's cheeks flushed a shade of red to rival the Rose Sun. He bashfully tucked a bit of silvery hair behind his ear as his eyes were cast to the floor. "Well, I suppose if that's the case..."
Cadia chuckled heartily, swiftly discarding his tunic to the other side of the room before taking his lover around his waist and pulling him down onto the mattress. Sun-kissed fingers started to slip under the hem of finely tailored robes, but paused as pale green hues looked to their owner for confirmation.
"Don't get me wrong love, these robes are beautifully made. However, it'd be a lot nicer if I could actually feel you against me." Cadia said, a faint playful lilt to his voice. The pads of his thumbs rubbed small circles into the pale flesh of Valian's hips. His skin was always cool to the touch, no matter what temperature the surrounding area was. At first it was something he felt rather insecure about, which amused the Sifa greatly.
"Aren't you cold at all?" He had inquired of him the first time they had cuddled.
"Admittedly yes," Cadia had replied, yet he made no moves to put any distance between him and Valian.
"But I'm sure I'll get used to it. After all, I would hate for it to be a deterrent to cuddling with you."
He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of fabric rustling. Apparently the Vapra had decided to forgo his robes while Cadia had been lost in his head. Soon, a bundle of white would join his lover's top in whatever corner of their chambers they had been tossed to.
"Hmm, much better" Cadia hummed quietly, enveloping his beloved in a warm embrace, who tucked his head into the space beneath his chin. The soft glow of the lanterns above them, combined with the silent night ambience made for a very peaceful atmosphere. He nearly dozed off right then and there when the presence of an open book on the nightstand caught his attention.
"Mm, been doing some reading have we?" The Sifa shook his with a fondness reserved only for Valian. "Hopefully this time you haven't been doing any of it in the dark. You'll strain your eyes that way."
"N-no, all in the daytime with ample lighting I assure you." Valian said as though he'd been caught doing something wrong. The Sifa chuckled lightly, curiosity compelling him to lean over and flip the book shut so he could read the title.
"This is.... about runes... and symbols..."
The Vapra tucked his blushing face even further into the crook of Cadia's neck.
"I figured.... it would give us something else to talk about..."
"Love, I appreciate your enthusiasm to learn but trust me - after a long day of runes and symbols and scrolls upon scrolls of the same information being regurgitated at me, I would prefer to... discuss other things with you."
Cadia was in no way admonishing his love. In fact, it warmed his heart to know that he was making an effort to immerse himself in the Sifa ways. That being said, when those particular ways were drilled into his head day in and day out as part of his apprentacing work, it was a welcome respite to entertain literally any other subject the other half of the time.
Even more so when that time was spent in what he considered his safe space with the person he loved most.
Valian didn't seem to take any offense to the statement. Instead he shone a pair of sympathetic brown hues at him and combed his chilly fingers through dark russet curls.
"I understand. What would you like to talk about instead?"
Cadia smirked, giving him a brief tap on the nose.
"You."
The flush on Valian's cheeks spread to the tips of his ears, enticing a loud guffaw out of Cadia that he didn't even try to stifle.
"M-me?"
"Yes, you," He insisted earnestly. "How was your day, dearest?"
"Oh, nothing too exciting. I did my usual chores around the ship. Luckily I managed to get them finished early today, so it gave me more time to catch up on my reading."
Unconsciously did his pale digits lace with his Sifa's.
"I missed you terribly...."
"As did I," Cadia brought Valian's knuckles up to his lips and tenderly brushed them over each one. "You're certainly better company than that old gasbag any day."
"Cadia!" Valian hissed, though his features remained lighthearted.
"It's true! Thra, when he's not complaining about how I'm apparently not doing my job correctly he's off getting high on vapors somewhere! Sometimes I think they just give out the title of Elder to anybody."
Lines of frustration formed along the creases of Cadia's brow, some of his earlier irateness returning. These were the moments where he wondered if becoming a soothsayer was really worth all the grief.
"Well, at least that part of the day is over." Valian's sweet voice filled his ears, and the fleeting stress he felt had flushed itself out almost immediately. "You're here with me now."
"Indeed I am...."
A comfortable silence had settled between them, neither gelfling feeling the need to fill the empty space with words. Of course, it couldn't last forever. Sooner or later the suns would rise and Cadia would have to make his leave once more. But the more he gazed into the mesmerizing pools of brown, the less attention he gave to those thoughts.
For now, for however long he had left till morning, he wanted to savor this peace.
"Cadia, it's getting late...." Valian started almost hesitantly, like he didn't want to break whatever calming spell had been cast over them. "We both need to be up bright and early tomorrow, so it's best we get in our rest now..."
"In that case," The Sifa grabbed the ends of the blanket and pulled it up over their semi nude bodies. He would've changed into his regular nightwear but tonight simply didn't call for it.
"There, much better." He smiled, blinking his bleary yet loving eyes down at his Vapra. Once again there was a brief quiet that had materialized in the still of their shared gaze.
"I love you-"
"I love you-"
They stopped themselves simultaneously, letting a few seconds pass before bursting into soft laughter.
"It seems we're on the same page." Valian tittered.
"Thank goodness for that." Cadia teased, giving his lover's sides a playful squeeze. That received a swat to the chest.
"Oh shush."
The twin smiles that stretched across their faces remained long after they had dozed off in a mess of tangled limbs.
