+- Court of the Fallen (https://cotf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: Out of Character (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=26)
+--- Forum: Important (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=27)
+---- Forum: Archives (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: if it falls, I would hold on for all it's worth. (/showthread.php?tid=11290)
RE: if it falls, I would hold on for all it's worth. - Everest - 05-10-2025
Everest exhales slowly as Isla settles against him, his arms instinctively curling around her with a gentleness that belies the quiet, unyielding hold he’s kept on his own restraint until now. The feel of her cheek against his shoulder, the heat of her body aligned with his—these are stimuli he might’ve once needed to block out or segment into manageable pieces. But now, they’re simply data points in a moment he doesn’t want to end.
He turns his head toward her, not to speak just yet, but to inhale slowly, pressing his nose into her hair as if the scent alone might anchor him more fully in the now. His hands smooth slowly across the small of her back, not coaxing, not rushed—just there, as present as the steady pulse under his skin.
[SAY]"I’m glad it’s just me,"[/say] he says quietly, his lips brushing against her temple. [say]"Even if it means being different to how I was."[/say] There’s no embarrassment in it, just the same careful honesty that threads through everything he does now.
After a moment, one hand lifts, brushing wind-tossed curls away from her face. [say]"When we both feel ready,"[/say] he murmurs, [say]"Perhaps we could extend our experiment timeline. Test overnight conditions. See if they have any impact on...results."[/say] His voice dips a touch lower, dry but warm.
RE: if it falls, I would hold on for all it's worth. - Isla - 05-10-2025
[say]"Don't put yourself down,"[/say] Isla says softly, smiling a kiss against the side of his neck. [say]"I prefer the real version of you to anything the void might have made you into. Once I know your boundaries a little better, though, you best prepare yourself, because you're going to struggle to go anywhere without me. At least for a bit."[/say] It's a threat ruined by her quiet laughter, Isla peeking up at him and seeming utterly at ease to sit here in the dappled light of the afternoon, their picnic abandoned around them for now.
At the idea of overnight conditions, the Remedy gently bites the inside of her cheek and reaches up to cover Ever's hand with her own. [say]"The second you feel ready to spend the night, consider it done,"[/say] she assures him. For Isla's part, she was of course ready yesterday, but this isn't about her. And so, leaving that decision with the aviator, she finally and carefully begins to sit herself up from him.
[say]"Much as I know none of this will go to waste, you still worked very hard on it,"[/say] she says, gesturing again at last to the food. [say]"So I feel perhaps we should enjoy it while it's at its best, no?"[/say]
RE: if it falls, I would hold on for all it's worth. - Everest - 05-10-2025
Ever lets out a soft, huffed laugh as Isla presses that kiss to the side of his neck, the faintest shiver running down his spine despite the warmth around them. [say]"I’ve certainly received worse threats,"[/say] he murmurs, voice low with something undeniably fond, his arms briefly tightening around her before she begins to sit up. [say]"I’ll try not to make a habit of walking off without you, then."[/say] A pause, then drier: [say]"Though fair warning, if you do try to follow me onto a skyship, I will insist on basic safety regulartions."[/say]
When she covers his hand, when she promises, something in Ever visibly relaxes. Not because he’s ready now, necessarily—but because there’s no pressure in it. No deadline. Just permission, quietly and simply given. He nods once, and though he doesn’t say thank you, it glows in the way his fingers thread briefly between hers before he lets her go.
[say]"You're right,"[/say] he agrees, glancing toward the untouched array of food like it's only just come back into focus. Ever shifts, sitting upright with all the precision of someone who’s resisting the urge to pull Isla right back into his lap. [say]"It would be a waste of data not to try everything."[/say]
~FIN