Mine? Yours.

The two assassins walked hand in hand, such a simple freedom once denied to them under threat of death. It was amazing just how satisfying it was to take advantage of that feeling...fingers laced together.     They walked to his house from the ruins, easily avoiding any possibly leering eyes, as the two of them were currently wearing drying blood as another layer of clothing, quite a bit also on their skin. Torture and murder usually wasn’t the cleanest activity to take part in. Of course he always cleaned up his play space. Once Ashetta had taken the man’s life, they burned the body, ridding the area of any evidence of what they had done. It wasn’t difficult, but a part of him wanted to leave the body on display for anyone to see his handiwork. They didn’t need unnecessary attention just yet, though.     Kalt had ensured that Theea was kept out of the house all day with her sitter. The last thing he needed was to come home covered in blood and have to explain the reason to a three-year-old. He locked the door behind him and removed his boots before walking fully inside, telling Ashe that he was going to draw a bath for them to get cleaned up. Her bloodstained hand was brought to his lips with a grin, before he walked to the washroom.     The first thing he did when his magic steadied and adapted was give himself a clawfoot tub. Well, the first thing was actually silk sheets and a feather comforter, but the clawfoot bathtub was second. When in the Guild and even before, he had become accustomed to a certain way of life. Said way of life continued in Northaven, so being denied that lifestyle had been a truly obnoxious change of pace. Thankfully, everything was set right in the world with the return of his magic.     The bath was drawn, the proper scents and oils were added, any soap needed was set within reach, and Kalt grinned to himself, watching the steam rise above the hot water. Skin-melting hot baths weren’t really his preference, but they were absolutely Ashe’s, so there was no way he was going to fight her on that. Two robes were hanged on the door, and he removed his bloody tunic, tossing it into the hamper to take care of not right then.     If she wasn’t in the room with him by then, he would call for her. If she was, he would simply flash a grin. ”Join me,” he said, removing the rest of his clothing and climbing into the tub. Kalt dipped his head under the water quickly then came back up and smoothed wet hair back on his head with a slightly playful smirk. He extended his hand out to her, encouraging her to come into the excessively spacious tub with him. kalt ”I’ll just wing it.”

ashe I gave my body to the riptide Maybe it’ll put me back to sleep    Ashe and Kalt had slipped through the shadows of the ruins and back to the house in some kind of dazed high. She’d had some time to ride it out as they took care of their work, burning the remains, taking care of the blood - none could connect the pair of assassins to the victim, why would they? - and through it all a part of her wasn’t quite sure it was reality. She had almost started to let herself wonder at what her family would think if they knew, if they would finally understand the monster she was after seeing that this part of her was quite alive. It was right about then that Kalt took her hand, began leading her towards home, and she gave herself over to the moment.    She wasn’t exactly sure when they made it back, the last hours bleeding together with violent screams and lively whistling, gleaming snow and secret smiles, now the gentle warmth of the dim house. She was snapped back to startling clarity when lips were pressed to her red-coated hand, and those lips came away bloodied and smiling.    Snow from outside had to have been used for the bath, and while Kalt got that sorted and heated, Ashe tended to the fire with logs and a touch of magic until it was blazing again, orange firelight flickered against red hands. It was only the wafting scents of bath oils and the curls of steam from the washroom that drew her away from the fireplace. If she was being honest, she was startled that Kalt didn’t take the time to sit down with his knives to clean and sharpen them before he could function at all.    Ashe dropped her cloak over the back of a chaise, her blood rushing with electricity at every pulse of her heart. She kicked off her boots by her cloak, and she was slowly peeling away bloodstained clothing as she followed the steam, discarding her clothes as she did until she found him waiting for her, beckoning to her. She was down to her undershirt and pants, weapons discarded, and she watched him with sharp eyes as he undressed and climbed into the absurdly large bath. If there was one person in the world that rivaled Ashe in a love for luxury, it was Kalt.    ’Join me.’    Ashe obeyed, smoothly removing the last of her clothing before she climbed nimbly into the searingly hot water. Every nerve was alive with the heat, seeping into her and complimenting the embers still sparking in her skin. Her eyes fell shut with a soft groan as she sank deeply into the water, until she submerged her head. When she came back up, she was just in front of Kalt, her eyes still holding something sharp and predatory that just hadn’t quite glimmered out yet. She hadn’t found her voice again, so she reached for the soap without a word and moved herself forward in the water until she settled into his lap. She swore his skin was warmer than the water.    Ashe looked up at Kalt with an almost-smile, so at odds with the wildness crackling in her eyes as she washed the blood from him. Her hands moved over his scars without pause, a roadmap of the twisted life that built them. She kept glancing up from where she sat, just barely smiling as she lifted her soapy hands into his head, massaging her fingers into the dark copper hair. Still, no words lived on her lips, not yet. She focused on her task, massaging soap into his hair and over the back of his neck, deeply into his shoulders. With magical encouragement, little balls of water drifted upwards like bubbles, and it was through his hair she sent those, washing the soap from him as she slowly, slowly, began to relax in his lap.

Kalt watched her undress and easily climb into the tub with him, sliding into the steaming water and submerging herself briefly. As Ashetta came back out of the water so near to him, he didn’t move, a gentle smirk on his face. He locked into the feral storm continuing in her bright eyes, his own having relaxed on the way home. It was easier for him to calm the storm spurred by his addiction to violence, since he had fed his inner beast steadily the past two years. Ashe hadn’t, so he wasn’t shocked that she was still riding the wave of the kill.     She settled over his lap and reached for the soap, and Kalt simply remained where he was, feeling her slender fingers move over his skin. He flickered a grin, always finding her eyes when she glanced up at his from the movements. She massaged the soap through his hair, her hands followed by magical water bubbles, which he hadn’t seen before.     He brought his arms into the water, smoothing his hands over her legs and settling with a gently firm grip on her hips. There was a small sigh released through his nose, a flicker of a smile at Ashe, as he reached over to take the soap in his hands, mimicking the movements she made on him on her body. Cleansing the blood from her and moving his hands over her skin, through her hair.     Sitting up from his lounging position, Kalt traced the back of his finger down her cheek with a soft smile. ”We’re free,” he whispered. It might have been a small statement, since the Guild had fallen when they were in Northwind, but they were really, truly free. No more bowing to their Master; no more watching their backs every second; no more hiding their feelings from each other. They were free.     Back in Northwind, he never doubted for a moment that they would get here. After she married Alistair, doubts sprouted and clouded his mind, so the fact that they were here, that they made it, free... It was such a beautiful trip that he was almost afraid would end in a crash. He was riding this high for as long as he could, though. kalt ”I’ll just wing it.”

ashe I gave my body to the riptide Maybe it’ll put me back to sleep    There was a quiet in his eyes whenever she found them, one that was punctuated by his hands on her skin and the way he gently washed the blood from her. The little bubbles of water drifted around them now, and she let out a long sigh with his fingers in her hair, her eyes falling shut for a moment. Her hair being washed was a sensation she didn't realized she missed until just then, and she was almost disappointed when hot water rinsed the soap from her head.    Ashe opened her eyes as she felt Kalt move beneath her, and she watched his every move with gleaming eyes. She felt so weightless with the way he looked at her, his smile. Her smile was soft with the brush against her cheek and, and she rested her hands over his chest as she looked him over.    Free. The word clanged through her like a keening bell, and her racing pulse slowed almost too quickly. Twice that word had been given to her. Both times it had been a curse, a harsh kick when she'd already been bleeding on the ground. Be free, Master had written on that note left with Jasper's body. You're free, Alistair had said as he handed her soul back to her.    We're free.    There were times where she still didn't believe she was. How could she be with the way mere memories ruled her entire life? And back in the guild… she had so badly wanted to believe Kalt, that they would one day leave the Guild behind them.. but she wasn't sure she ever truly thought they could leave with their lives. But somehow, here they were. The leather cord around her neck, the rings hanging from them, suddenly felt heavy. They'd held hands coming home, smoothly moving under the cover of shadows.    Ashe smiled and leaned forward, her hands resting over his chest as she claimed his lips with her own - deeply and slowly and softly, for they were free, and they had all the time in the world.    She parted their lips, gently nipping at his lower lip as she drew away and adjusted herself in his lap. The sound of water lapping against the tub filled the soft air, and she drew her tongue over her own lip as she looked him over entirely. She didnt't care to think about anything beyond this moment suddenly - nothing beyond this night. She was tired of punishing herself, and for once, she let herself feel free.    Ashe leaned against his chest and tilted her head up at him, her lips and nose brushing over his throat and jaw. ”We're free,” she echoed with a whisper. She sat up with her forearms braced over Kalt's chest, laying against him where he sat and keenly aware of everywhere their skin touched. She pressed her tongue to the back of her teeth with a grin, little bubbles of now red-tinged water still hovering about them. ”Don't think that frees you from getting your ass handed to you when we train,” she sassed quietly, scraping a fingernail down from the hollow of his throat to the center of his chest.

Ashe leaned forward and touched her lips to his, then drew away - too quickly - with her teeth toying at his lip briefly. He sneered playfully at her, gently tightening his grip on her skin for just that moment.     Kalt eased back once again against the back of the tub, as she adjusted herself over him, laying against his chest. His eyes closed, taking in the scents of the bath, the sounds of the water gently lapping, the feeling of her skin pressed to his, of her breath against the sensitive skin of his neck. His fingers combed briefly through her hair with a soft smile as she repeated his acknowledgment, and he found that any lingering desire to move, to fight, to do anything other than lay right where he was with Ashetta over him had completely disappeared.     She shifted herself again, and he raised a brow at her words, a huff of a laugh escaping him. ”Whatever you say,” he muttered with a crooked smirk. ”The last two times we trained it was the other way around, so we’ll see about that!” She had a little ways to go before she could best him like they used to do. Her health had deteriorated, and she hadn’t had anyone skilled enough to train her, so he wasn’t holding his breath at the thought of getting his ass handed to him any time soon.     His fingertips trailed down her arms softly, and his eyes flickered over her face. ”You doubted me,” Kalt said in a hushed voice, lightly tapping the tip of her nose with a grin. ”Didn’t really think we’d get here, did you?”     There had been plenty of times when he doubted it, but to challenge someone who had pieces themselves together from broken was a dangerous thing. Even if Master was still alive, even if he was still tormenting them from afar, he wouldn’t have true power any longer. They were their own people. Free. Sometimes he didn’t truly recognize what the world tasted like. kalt ”I’ll just wing it.”

ashe I gave my body to the riptide Maybe it’ll put me back to sleep    Ashe rolled her eyes with a huff, dropping her chin down to his chest to look up at him with narrowed eyes. ”Those don’t count,” she grumbled crossly. She was still sore about those sessions, the fucking prick. She lifted her head again and her eyes softened at his touch. The smell of the bath oils, of him, the heat of the water - it was all enough to make her want to melt entirely into him, to never leave this.    Her smile wavered, though she managed to hold it as she wrinkled her nose just slightly at him. But she cast her eyes downwards to the rusty red water, her fingers curling over his chest. ”I thought I would die in the Guild,” Ashe admit quietly. She had dreamed, of course she had. She had imagined a great manor in the eastern mountains of Northwind, a place for her father to live, a home. Fantasies. Dangerous wishes she never voiced out loud. She worried her lip between her teeth as she looked back up at Kalt with round eyes. ”I thought I would die going head to head with Master in Northaven,” she went on. She took a deep breath as her blood ran cold suddenly, and she lay her head down over Kalt’s chest.    She listened to his heart for a quiet minute, bringing herself back into the moment. Nothing beyond this night - there was nothing beyond right here, right now, with him. She lay there for a moment longer before she slowly pushed herself up to sit again, smiling gently as her arms lifted and her back arched into a stretch. Ashe let out a long sigh as she settled once more, peering down at Kalt. ”Good thing nothing can kill me,” she joked, knowing full well she didn’t believe that.    Her hands were beneath the water, settled over the rippled plane of his abdomen with her thumbs gently moving over his skin. Her eyes were glancing him over, and she could still see him looking down at her in the dim light, blood splattered over his face. ’Your turn.’ Her heart plunged and sent shock waves sparking and tingling in her blood, and she leaned down once more to fit her lips against his. Gods, the feeling of his mouth, the taste of him was enough to drive her mad on the calmest of days. But after what they had just done.. she could spend forever like this.    It wasn’t until she was out of breath that she pulled away again, she leaned her forehead against his and flickered a smile at him. ”The water is getting cold,” she muttered. It wasn’t really, it was still warm, but it had lost the skin-reddening heat she preferred. Her water bubbles started drifting down and settled back into the water stained with blood, and she brushed her lips against his with a feather light touch. ”There are blades to care for and bloody clothes to sort out.” She hardly had any sort of conviction for the necessarily post-job responsibilities, her mind entirely on Kalt, his arms, the scents of this room and the crackling fire in the next room.

Kalt scoffed with exaggerated offense at her dismissal of their previous two training sessions. Didn’t count? Didn’t count? Fuck that! He didn’t jump through a fence of lightning with nothing but a shield of shitty rocks for them not to count. They fucking counted!     One of his hands remained where it was on her arm, while the other moved to her waist, fingers moving delicately over her skin. He listened to her confessions, a gentle smile at her when she took her lip into her teeth and laid down against him again. There was no need to speak, to acknowledge the talk of death against their Master. He had fought that man fifty-three times and walked away from it. Whether she thought she would die from it or not didn’t matter anymore. Master was dead... Dead and gone in a whole different world. It didn’t matter what reminders of him they had around them. It didn’t matter if he still haunted them in their sleep. It was no longer their reality.     Ashetta picked her head up again to face him, and Kalt smirked at her comment. ”Don’t bet on it,” he said, quirking a brow over gentle eyes. ”Piss me off enough, and we’ll test that theory.” Her lips were then against his, and he could’ve remained there forever. At peace, together, free.   His eyes rolled about the water temperature. It was actually just finally getting to the temperature he enjoyed, but her ideal bath was lava, so he wasn’t going to argue with her. ”Yes, because you’re so wonderful at cleanup,” he mocked with a crooked grin, as they would get out of the bath. They really didn’t need to wash the blood from their clothing, as a simple wave of his hand could take care of it. His blades, however, was a hobby he enjoyed. That being said, it would be over an hour of cleaning and sharpening them all, which he wasn’t remotely focused on.     Kalt took a slow breath and shrugged one of the robes on. ”Come on,” he muttered to her, once she had hers on. ”We’ll take care of cleanup after getting warm and dressed.” With that, he would walk out of the washroom and start for the sitting room, leaving wet footprints as a trail. He prodded at the fire gently and decided it didn’t need another log yet, so he backed up and sat in his plush chair with a small grin. kalt ”I’ll just wing it.”

ashe if you be my star, i'll be your sky you can hide underneath me and come out at night    Ashe smoothly moved off of Kalt as he lifted himself from the bath, water falling from him and catching the dim candlelight like bits of metal. She leaned back against the tub as her eyes tracked him with a soft smile, watching every move, and half-frowning in disappointment as he slipped a robe over himself. Cleanup later. She liked the sound of that.    She didn’t speak, she only watched him pad lightly from the washroom on silent feet. Normally, it would take Ashe near an hour to convince herself to leave a hot bath behind, but tonight? She extracted herself from the water, just barely toweling herself off before she slipped on the extra robe - magic made, she was sure. There were no craftsmen or seamstresses here who made things as fine as the assassins preferred. While Ashe was perfectly capable of living by steeply lesser means, she still sighed and relished in the feeling of rich fabric over freshly bathed skin.    She glanced behind her at the tub before she left the washroom, and she paused at the door. The water was stained a deep and rusty red, entirely still now. She thought she should be horrified at what she’d done, isn’t that what everyone would expect from her? What she should expect from herself? It had been two years since she’d taken a life with her own blade. The blood on her hands was immeasurable, the amount of people that fell to her was insurmountable. Every night terror she wore gloves of red, blood of the innocent people she’d been forced to fell. But she did not balk from the killing of those who earned it. She didn’t feel guilt.    She felt satisfied.    With a soft breath, Ashe walked down the hall on the balls of her feet, barely closing her robe with a loose tie. Her steps slowed as she came into the sitting room, the space aglow with orange and golden light, long shadows dancing over the walls. The pianoforte she’d yet to play gleamed with reflected fire, but it was Kalt her eyes settled on where he lounged in a plush armchair.    She didn’t say a word as she walked across the wooden floor, her eyes never leaving him. She was tired of thinking now, tired of wondering if she was allowed to have this or not. She decided she didn’t care what she deserved just then. She wanted, and so she was taking.    Smiling, Ashe let out a slow breath as she lowered herself down to sit in Kalt’s lap. She didn’t settle right away, instead reaching her arms behind her and arching her back over the arm of the chair. She let out a soft groan into the long and luxurious stretch before she curled into him, loose and relaxed. She moved her hand beneath one side of his robe until she could lay her palm flat over his heart, and she nestled her head against the crook of his shoulder. Her lips brushed his neck as she breathed him in, letting his presence fill her every sense until there was nothing beyond this.    ”Help me figure out how to take down the barrier,” she murmured against his skin, her eyes drifting shut with a small smile he would feel. ”We’ll take Theea, and then we can stretch our legs and see a bigger world.” The very same freedom they had always wanted in Northwind. She would always find reason to return, to see those who stayed here, but the moment she found a way out, she was getting out. The raven-haired girl brushed a feather-light kiss over his neck as she melted with the wamth of the fire, the solidity of him against her. "When will Theea be home anyways?" Her voice was soft and almost drowzy. While a part of her was always keenly aware of the girl's absence, she didn't want to move from right here, content to remain nestled closely to him before the fire. "We'll need to clean before then."

Kalt shifted himself just barely, as Ashetta lowered herself onto his lap, stretching like a feline lover him. He smirked with a slight roll of his eyes at her. For a wolf, she was remarkably cat-like.     She curled her body into him, and his arm instinctively wrapped around her back, the tips of his fingers on his other hand absently strumming over her shins. He felt her hand slip into his robe, felt her lips brush his throat, her breath against his skin, which sent chills down his spine.     He breathed a small laugh through his nose and nodded, his eyes still on the fire. See a bigger world. It seemed like a distant dream. How long had they been saying that? Everywhere they went, they ran into some kind of barrier. In Northwind, it had been their life in the Guild: in Northaven, it was a literal wall: here, another barrier which literally killed people who got too close for too long. What would they find when they finally did get out of this one? Would there just be another barrier? Another cage they had to figure out how to escape from... Where did it stop?     His thoughts were – thankfully – interrupted by Ashe asking about Theea, and Kalt took a slow breath. ”We have about two hours before Sylvia brings her back. She brought her to the Glade to look for glow stones or whatever they are.” One of those Deepfrost traditions for kids that his babysitter mentioned to him. It piqued his interest, but not enough to hold his attention when she told him about it.     He turned towards her, closing his eyes and gently touching a kiss to her forehead. His fingers pulled her hair away from her face, accidentally brushing the leather cord around her neck.     ”We’ll get out of here soon enough,” he said with a flickered grin. ”You, me, and Theea. Promise.” The way it always should be. kalt ”I’ll just wing it.”

ashe if you be my star, i'll be your sky you can hide underneath me and come out at night    Ashe nodded gently and kept her eyes shut. "Glow stones..." she murmured softly. She'd seen mention of them in that posting. Maybe they could take her too, if she didn't come home with any with that babysitter. She tried not to let her hackles rise at that - Kalt trusted the woman with his daughter. That would do for her. So she let out a slow breath against his neck and settled in better against him and near melted against him.    She smiled softly at the kiss against her forehead and finally opened her eyes, turning her eyes up to him as her damp hair was moved away from her face and.. there was the quiete clink of metal as his fingers moved over the leather cord around her neck, the rings dangling from it moving together. Her heart stumbled for a moment, and she pressed her self against him as her brows furrowed. He promised they would run together. The three of them, they could go and see whatever this world had waiting. You, me and Theea. Promise. It was painful how much she wanted that.    She didn't speak, but she hummed her approval, brushing her lips against his skin before she shut her eyes again. The cord around her neck felt heavier since he touched it, drawing her attention to it. She remained where she was, not moving, simply breathing him in. She swore she sank further and further into the warm, solid mass of him with the way he enclosed her in his arms, but her mind was too alert to drift and doze the way her body wanted to. She remembered what he said the first time she offered all of herself to Kalt, remembered the way he'd told her no and closed her hand around the rings.    Her hand found them now as she adjusted herself, her fingers moving the rings back and forth on the cord. They'd have lost their minds, their lives, if they had shares such a thing in the Guild, she understood why he had rejected the offer when she was seventeen. It had stung at the time but.. she understood now. And she also was starting to understand that they were free now. Free and together, a possibility she had never once dared hope for after the fall of the Guild.    Ashe sat up in Kalt's lap slowly, silk robe sliding over skin as she reached her arms back and untied the knot at the back of her neck. Without looking at Kalt, she slid both rings of winding twigs to her palm. Her brow creased as she looked down at them. She had impulsively given this to someone once. She had given everything to someone because she had been so desperate for him to just understand... but he never had, not really.    Ashe reached out and took the hand over her legs, opening turning it over until Kalt's open palm faced upwards. She took a careful breath.. and she placed the larger of the two rings in his open hand. For a moment, she left her fingers on it, more aware now of the weight of this than before. She couldn't find any words to say, her voice fleeing her as she drew her fingers back and curled them around her smaller ring. She cradled it close to her chest as she finally turned round eyes up at Kalt, silent and searching.