Lost but found with you

You're so cold

but you feel alive

He read her so well. Every touch, every slow smile and lingering glance seemed perfectly in tune with her state of mind. Was she so easy to understand? Or was he just that observant, interested enough in her secrets that he took the time and spared the patience to dig for them? It certainly worked. He let her take the cord, eased off ever so slightly and handed over control to her, and she loved it when he did that, as much as she loved it when he decided that enough was enough and just took what he wanted.

"Might be," she conceded, the slight edge to her smile melting away. The hand in his hair firmed against the back of his head, pulled him down to her mouth for a kiss, slow and lingering. In the midst of it, when he might be distracted enough not to see it coming from a mile away, she pushed him up, tried to make them turn in the snow until their roles had become reversed. Him on his back beneath her, and she on top. Straddling his waist, the shawl draping over them for warmth. Keeping her mouth locked to his, the cord began to snake out of her hand seemingly by its own, coiling off to lash around one of his wrists.

Then, quite deliberately, it tugged, gently forcing the arm up and away, the loose end zipping off to round a tree before coming back to repeat the process on his other hand. It was a quick process, offering little time to react... and she tried to keep him busy, her tongue caressing his lips in light, teasing strokes.

"I do believe I've caught you, scoundrel," she hummed against his lips, almost purring.

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

don't you know i'm no good for you?

Her hand firms in his hair, and he leans into the touch, letting her pull him down to kiss her deeply, gently, a briefest hint of hunger beneath his lips. But she deepens the kiss, and he gives into her, focusing his attention onto her rather intimately until she pushes up against him and he concedes, letting her take the reins as he ends up on his back with her straddled about his waist. She keeps the kiss going and he’s happy to oblige, distracted as one hand reaches up to tangle in her pale hair.

She wraps the rope around his wrist and tugs hard enough that he smirks into the kiss, his hand pulling from her hair to be suspended and tied to the tree. She gets his other hand as well, and he tugs against them to check their strength. But she’s gotten him tied up fairly well, and with it he hums a hint of laughter against her lips. But he breaks away briefly, a playful nip at her lower lip. “What will you do with me now that you have me?” A playful hum to his tone, a quirk of his eyebrow, shifting his hips a small amount beneath her.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

Caught, like the wild creatures they had set to snare. Oh, she had no doubt Sunjata could free himself if he wanted to, if the need arose. And her knots were not the self-constricting ones, so he could tug on them all he wanted without getting hurt. Leaning back a little to look at him and consider the situation, Maea let her eyes trail over him. Bundled up in layers and furs, that beautiful bronzed skin was nowhere in sight, and his tattoos and scars had been hidden from her along with it.

"Mmh, I'm sure I can think of something," she told him with a gleam in her eyes. There was a flash of pink as she licked the lip he'd bit at, the sensation still lingering while her blood hummed with the heat of the kiss. His shifting hips found a response in her throat, a soft sound halfway between sigh and hum.

Clever fingers began to undo buttons and straps on his clothing with slow deliberate movements. Maea kept hovering over him, close enough that be might be able to reach her for a kiss, but just a breath away from actually closing the space between them again.

"Question is... are you going to stay like that? Because if you do, I might have to take some liberties with you..." she said, and slipped a hand up beneath his shirt; her fingers were cool and feather light as they brushed over the hard lines of his stomach.

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

don't you know i'm no good for you?

She hovers over him, and he loves it when she looks like this — determined, playful, vibrant. His stormy gaze scans her face with a playful gleam time them, to the smirk on his face. At least, until she begins to undo straps and clasps here and there that keep the furs on, the warmth within them, even though it’s unneeded with Ludo’s shawl surrounding them.

But her cold hands slip up along the muscles of his stomach, and his head tilts back a small amount at it, exposing his neck a bit more, arms pulling at the ropes that keep him tied down. “Certainly depends on the liberties, Valair.” He purrs, lids parting half way to look up at her from this position, lips still curled into an amused smirk. “But you won’t find me complaining… Yet.” He waits until he gets to the end of the sentence before he shifts his hips again beneath her, pleased with how this has turned out so far.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

His snark, and the shifting hips that forced her to bite back a groan, earned him a look of mock disdain before she leaned in and nipped at his lips with her teeth, tongue quick to smoothe any hurts.

"Stay still, master rouge," she admonished in quiet amusement, "I'm a little busy over here." Later her expression implied... and then she began to ease herself down, pressing close to his body as she slid down. Her mouth passed briefly over his neck, leaving behind a few well placed nips to remember her by, before she settled over his stomach.

Just barely covered in the shawl still, she resumed the exploration of his torso, peeling back layers until there was ample amounts of glorious skin laid bare beneath the winter sun. It was even more gorgeously tanned against this bleached out landscape, and Maea took her time in admiring it, hands stroking the well defined muscles of chest and stomach with relish.

Kisses followed too, light and lingering, and with tendrils of escaped hair ghosting over him she slowly, teasingly, began to trail her way downwards. Towards his lower abdomen, where her hands came to rest on his hips, mouth pausing just over the waistline of his pants.

She looked up at him then, eyes slightly darker than usual, a sly and almost wicked look about her. Checking to see what kind of reaction she was drawing form him.

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

don't you know i'm no good for you?

He smirks as she nips at his lips, head tilting back as she tells him to stay still. He’s half tempted to rebel against her wishes, but he decides against it to see what it is she does first. But he still peers at her with that stormy gaze as she begins to shift herself down, his head tilting slightly the other way as she kisses his neck, a purr of approval leaving his throat at the marks she leaves.

And then she begins to peel away the layers of his clothes, until bare sun-kissed skin greets her. The muscles in his stomach clench slightly as her hands roam over him, especially the lower they go – paired with kisses and tender touches until she stops at his hips, lips along the v of his torso. He can’t help the smirk that crosses his face as she looks up, his own gaze shadowed and already a fair amount lust filled. He tugs his left arm against the restraint just to test it again, before focusing on her far more intently.

There’s goosebumps in the wake of where she’s been, shadows pulling away from him the further down she goes. And he hums his quiet approval to her at the look in her eye, the way she’s absolutely playing with him. “Do your worst, captor.” It’s a breathy purr, and he shifts his hips a small amount once more out of his own amusement of seeing what kind of reaction that gets as well.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

Oh, his eyes. The dark storm sailing up within them was a threat and a promise, the undercurrents of lust a good indicator that she was accomplishing her goal. Whether he realized it or not, Sunjata was beginning to relax, his mind brought away from whatever ill omens he'd been brooding over since this morning... all according to plan.

But he moved. Shifted his hips again in that teasing, tantalizing way and while she enjoyed the sensation of them pressing up against her body, she had told him to stay still.  "Come now, rogue, you have to do as you're told. Or there will be consequences, understand?" The girl tsked in disapproval and quite promptly let go of him, relinquishing both hands and mouth from his skin and sat up with a cool smile on her lips. Folded her arms under her chest and just waited, to see how long it would take him to realize she wasn't about to resume her ministrations anytime soon.

And while she sat there, straddling his thighs, hands nowhere near him, there was something raking a single, light scratch down in beneath the waistline of his pants. Like a fingernail grazing the skin, lower and lower until... it stopped, just short of where he no doubt wanted it to go. Maea raised a brow at him, her smile still rather wicked for all that her eyes glittered in mischief. "Are you going to behave?"

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

don't you know i'm no good for you?

Oh there were consequences now. His slight movement is met with her removing her hands from him, still straddling his waist, and he smirks for half a second as he thinks to break free of the restraints and push back to her. But all those thoughts die as he watches her fold her arms across her chest and he feels the distinct feeling of something drifting lower beneath the waistline of his pants. Goosebumps radiate along his skin once more and he can’t help the slight arch to his back with a shuddering sigh.

He finds her gaze again, his own dark with hunger and lust and the need to devour. But he can’t like this, and all he can do is over a quiet sultry hum of a chuckle to her, remaining still despite the pulse that beats fast in his chest, a deep inhale of a sigh before he speaks. “Yes.” A quiet answer, voice husky and rough as he focuses on her intently, a crooked smirk forming along his face — wanting nothing more than to burn with her again.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

Biting her lip in an attempt to keep from smiling at the very visceral reaction (it failed, she was definitely smirking) the girl nodded and leaned back down, her hands spreading flat over his belly as she leaned back down again.

"Good," she told him, a purr to her voice and she brought her face down to his skin again, pressing a kiss to the depression just beneath his breastbone. Eager to see more of him, her hands pushed the shirt further up, spread out wide to his sides, tingling from the sensation of his smooth, warm skin and firm muscles... until her fingers snagged on a patch of scar tissue at his side that she did not recall feeling before.

Frowning, Maea sat up again and pulled away the cloth, eyes going to the spot she'd felt... and she gasped at the sight of the scars that marred his skin. Pink and still fresh, it was not only one gash but several, cutting a long and vicious path from hip and up over the ribs. Definitely new, decidedly not 'just a scratch', it looked as something had tried to peel him open and damn near succeeded in the attempt.

"What's this?" she asked, the sultry tones immediately replaced by worry, even fear for what he'd been through. "What... did this to you?" Tracing a finger over the scars, she looked up to his face, needing to make sure they weren't hurting him even if they bore the signs of healing and should not be a problem.

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

don't you know i'm no good for you?

He leans into the touch a small amount as she leans back over him, running those pale hands of hers along his sun-kissed skin, muscles shifting beneath the exploration she takes. He almost doesn’t notice, leaning back into the ground a bit more, head tilting back and eyes closing to leave it more of a surprise – until she touches over the pink scarring to his side, the gashes that have been healed from his hip to under his arm.

He opens his eyes somewhat to look down at her as she becomes worried, tracing a finger over one of the scars featherlight enough to cause a slight tickle that has him adjusting and pulling on the restraints a small amount as if he’s trying to shift away from the touch. “It’s fine, got swiped by a summoned dragon. It’s healed.” A gruff response, gaze still holding those shadows of lust and storms beneath his gaze, figuring that it didn’t matter that much when he was healed, whole, fine.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

"A dragon!?" Maea blurted, clearly very much not fine with this information. Pale eyes widened, then narrowed dangerously as she stared down at him, hands still gentle on him but not quite as focused on their teasing game anymore. "Whose summoned dragon would that be?"

But she already had a decent idea. She had seen one of those before. Had been carried in its claws out of a squirrel-infested labyrinth, and quite learned to love the sensation of flying from that. And if her previous discussion with the mage who brought it out had settled her precious grievance with him, then this would be a whole other bag of magna to open up.

Her focus turned solely on Sunjata now, there was a slight slacking of the ropes that bound him. Not enough that they fell off, but... allowing a great deal more wiggle room than before.

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

don't you know i'm no good for you?

A crooked smile crosses his face as she repeats him, clearly upset with learning about it. But as she lifts the tension of the restraints, he pushes up toward her a small amount with them, to look at her a bit more full on, as much as he’s allowed. “I got into a fight with Loren.” His shoulders rise and fall with a shrug, trying to push his face into her space to brush a kiss to her nose. “But like I said, I’m fine, Maea. He healed me after.” A pause, before he tries to search her gaze.

He doesn’t think it’s a big deal, really, the fight is done and over with and while he might be scarred from it, he knows now to list ground rules when fighting the summoner – otherwise dragons appear. But he knows it does little to alleviate her worries, and with it, the shadows of his gaze lighten a small amount, offering her a small somewhat boyish smile as if to truly prove that he’s fine, that he’s okay.

Though he wonders what she’ll make of it, if she’ll go and seek out the summoner for an argument over it when really the Launceleyn only needed to let off some steam – and with it, Sunjata too.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA

You're so cold

but you feel alive

Loren. She knew it. Nostrils flared as she bit her jaws together, lips drawn into a thin line. She'd told the damned healer to keep his hands to himself, but here he was anyway. Marking her lover like he had any right, as if it was him who would have to see the scars afterwards. Oh, Sunjata might be fine with it, might not care - and really, that did suggest Maea shouldn't take it personally either - but damn if she could just sit and let it happen again.

"And healing you up after is somehow supposed to make it alright? He threw a dragon at you! You could have died!" His kiss to her nose did not make her smile, the way it usually did. Instead she leaned down and buried her face against his neck, muttering hissed curses and almost growling with frustration at the utter stupidity of it. Wasn't fights supposed to be settled with fists? Or if with magic and shifts, then at least by a proper duel? This... this was neither and it frankly terrified her to think they would go this far in attempts to hurt one another.

Her hands shook as she wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers unsteady as they found their way into his hair. "I'm going to murder him," she finally whispered, a little hoarse. Somewhat unsteady. Really, it was as much from fright over all the things that could have gone wrong as from anger - in truth, if Sunjata had taken such a blow then Maea knew she wouldn't stand a chance against the healer. But how could she just let him get away with it? It didn't feel right.

lay your hands on me

one last time

MAEA

don't you know i'm no good for you?

Her lips form a fine line, and he can’t quite understand the frustration and rage that sits beneath the surface. But he can read it on her face, and he tries to alleviate her fears and worries, kissing her nose as she tells him that it shouldn’t be alright, that he could’ve died, and Sunjata can’t help the slight smile that grows along his face as she reaches in to bury her face against his neck. He tilts his head toward her, the best that he can do in this predicament.

“It’ll take a lot more than that to kill me.” He hums to her, despite knowing it likely wouldn’t – that he was mostly useless due to the blood loss. But regardless, he tries to alleviate her worries.

The mention that she was going to murder Loren has him humming, burying his face against her own head as much as she lets him. “I asked him to fight, I should’ve laid out ground rules.” He hums, tilting his head against her lightly. “I wouldn’t worry about it, liefde.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA