believer, believe it

Back through the portal, back from King's End; the trip simultaneously feels as though it takes an age and an instant. But as she finally parts ways with Nate and Azrael, as she's left alone with her companion - and gods does it feel strange to have that presence in her mind after so long - to meander back towards the house she shares with Varus. She has given the Prince her coat to wrap about his waist, but it's still very much a naked man following after her, and she smiles apologetically to him as she approaches the door. "I am sure there will be some clothes here that will fit you," she says, though in reality she's not all that confident. The Prince and Varus are not similar builds, and though her companion's smile is warm and grateful, and she's sure he can make anything look good, it's still a problem. Opening the door to lead them inside, Isla calls out for Varus. "I'm home! Don't freak out... we found a relic. And the Prince. Er... the relic is the Prince." Isla the flesh is weak

VARUS

In the middle of building yet another thing for Isla while she’s away, Varus seems deeply involved. No sweat to be seen, but there’s certainly the smudges of dirt, the way his metal arm has torn through the arm of a shirt he’s worn, crumpled up beside the new set of drawers to add among her own so they have more organization space.

And mostly so he can keep his knives and things out of her very important doctor things.

She calls and he peeks out from the bedroom with a cloth over his shoulder, his bright blue gaze bright as it lands on Isla. “My girl made it!” He chimes his appreciation, before the realization hits him and he notices someone standing behind her. Instantly his brows pinch, head tilting as he steps into the house toward the front door to see. “The Prince was a relic this entire time?” He reiterates, confusion glaring in his gaze as he focuses on looking behind Isla to scan the naked Prince with all of the surprise in the world. “Oh shit, uh, hi?”

So much for elegant introductions.

and you ease my troubles with your hands, like the night puts a calm on the valley

"The Prince was a relic the entire time," Isla confirms, unable to keep the smile from her face as she spots Varus peeking around the bedroom door as the picture of domestic charm. "And now he looks like this. And, uh..." "And I am honoured to be her companion. It is a pleasure to meet you." The Prince offers a rather princely bow to Varus by way of greeting. Silver colours Isla's cheeks, and it's a combination of awkwardness and embarrassment that she shrugs her agreement. "Apparently," she murmurs. "But he's really quite naked, so do you think there is anything around here that might fit him until we can get him some clothes of his own?" And, because as weird as this is, she has still missed Varus, Isla steps forward to hug him hello, planting a kiss against his cheek. "You're a sight for sore eyes," she adds with a smile. Isla the flesh is weak

VARUS

Well the Prince certainly isn’t a ball of snot and slime anymore, and Varus’ brows rise in quiet surprise as he takes in the form the Prince is in. “He’s hot? Damn.” Comes the surprised chuckle, one that cuts off immediately when the Prince speaks. Should he be surprised? Likely not. Considering he doesn’t realize that he’s his girlfriends companion. Not until the Prince tells him himself.

Oceanic eyes drift to Isla and his smile turns crooked and playful. Instead of saying anything though, he looks back over her shoulder and flashes the Prince a fanged grin. “The pleasure’s mine.” As for the request of clothes, he nods, and makes to step back toward the bedroom again when she stills him when she hugs him tight, a kiss to his cheek, and he certainly isn’t going to let that be the only kiss he gets in this moment.

One metal arm slides around her while the other pairs with it, hooking his wrists together easily and he nuzzles his way in to press a longer kiss to her lips, pulling away with a nuzzle before reaching for her hand. “I missed you. I was so bored when you were gone I ended up making too many things.” In fact, one of them he’d even given away. But he takes them toward the bedroom and the dressers, searching through them for a pair of clothes for the Prince that would likely hang on him, and ends up finding a seafoam sweater and a pair of dark colored pants that he hands to Isla with a bright smile. “Try these. They’re not very Princely but they should do.”

and you ease my troubles with your hands, like the night puts a calm on the valley

"Right?" The agreement spills from Isla's lips without her permission, and she has to hide her laugh behind her hand. Trust Varus to be the one to bring up the elephant in the room - because the Prince is hot - and she melts into his arms all too willingly. The Prince, for his part, stands by with a polite smile, admiring the house as if he, too, is part of the furniture at present. "Cal, we won't have any room for any more things if this keeps up," Isla complains through a smile, letting her fingers run across his stubbled cheek and following after him into the bedroom. "You'll have to come with me next time I go anywhere, I think." Accepting the clothes, the Prince smiles and carefully moves to hang up Isla's coat before pulling them on. "That is much better, Cal. Thank you very much," he says with another bow. "Would you like me to assist with anything here?" Isla the flesh is weak

VARUS

It’s absolutely surprising just how good the Prince looks now. And from it, Varus can’t help but to snug Isla closer, a part of him jealous and a part of him rational. “I already gave some away.” The Ascended whines in protest, parting from her and her touch to his jaw as he guides them into the bedroom.

He spends a bit of time figuring out what to get the Prince, and when he decides and hands it to the companion (man?) Varus waits patiently for him to fry them on. They’re loose and they’re somewhat baggy but it’ll have to do. Perhaps he has some hidden clothes in the house he grew up in that might fit the Prince better until they can have something made.

Regardless, his brows rise a fraction as he takes in the Prince, snorting lightly. “You’re welcome. Uh… Maybe you can help me move this out of the bedroom for now?” Because it feels a bit crowded and honestly he’s not entirely sure how to have the Prince help him. Something that is evident in the way Varus walks past Isla with a bright smile that’s a tinge confused and a hint surprised.

and you ease my troubles with your hands, like the night puts a calm on the valley

Jealousy, at least, is something that Isla anticipates, and she drops a kiss against the side of Varus's neck and lingers beside him as the Prince dresses himself, as they exchange words with one another. "Mm, this does seem more like a living room conversation," she agrees with a grin, the Prince smiling between them and following dutifully out into the wider space. Silently, given their companion bond, he moves to sit in the soft armchair near the fire. Isla, meanwhile, sinks down onto their comfortable sofa. "He's a relic," she explains to Varus, furrowing her brow. "He has been this whole time. Nate, Azrael and I had to go through a portal at the Last Step to find him. There were a lot of dragons out there, too." Isla the flesh is weak

VARUS

Oh yes. It’s certainly a living room conversation. It’s already awkward enough as is, he thinks, but he swallows everything down – there is a hint of pride in how his clothes seem to drown the Prince. And if Varus is being honest with himself, he thinks he pulls off the sweater vibes far better than the Prince does.

Either way, they’re in the living room once they’d moved the drawers, and he’s quick to slip over toward the comfort of the couch, drawing an arm around Isla to tuck her in beside him, angled toward her as he scans her for any signs of injury. So far, though, it seems like she’s alright and her head is still rightly on her shoulders. “A portal at the Last Step?” He hums thoughtfully, working his jaw. “And dragons?” It comes out in an amused whisper, shaking his head before he lets his oceanic gaze focus on her. “So obviously it went well, given that you’re back home fine and you have the Prince? What all happened? How are Nate and Azrael?” He asks, wanting to ensure the rest of their Ascended family are doing alright from the adventure.

and you ease my troubles with your hands, like the night puts a calm on the valley

The Prince busies himself with one of Isla's medical textbooks, leaving the couple to talk. And Isla wastes no time in getting comfortable, pulling up her legs to tuck them across Varus's lap, leaning into the arm he slips around her. "Mmhm. We were very surprised," she murmurs, annoyingly pressing a kiss against his chin for the sake of it. "It went well, if not... entirely to plan," she agrees with a smirk; it going to plan implies that there was ever a plan. "We ran into a green and purple dragon - little ones. They were cute, but they very much wanted to hurt us, so we had to attack them. And I think Nate must have had a shift from Sunjata, because he ended up fighting a much bigger yellow dragon." It's all very draconic, she knows. "Az and Nate are fine, I think. They seemed fine, anyway, when we got back through the portal. But how are you?" Smiling up at him, she lets a hand trace affectionately along his jawline. Isla the flesh is weak

VARUS

“Mhmm…” Varus trails off, head tilting into her lips slightly as she presses a kiss to his chin. Amusement dances in the blues of his gaze as he leans into her, keeping her close while his other arm drops to tuck in against her legs, keeping her essentially pinned against him. “So how many dragons in total were there?” He murmurs, a brow rising as he imagines the shift she mentions Nate had used had also been a dragon.

It fits the overall theme he thinks. Princes and dragons. And rather than a princess in distress, well… He can’t help the way his gaze flickers over to scan the Prince briefly before returning to her, the metal hand tucking a bit of her blonde hair behind her ear. “Good to hear.” And some relief does slip away from his shoulders, his head dropping into her hand as a smile tugs at his lips. “I’m good. Better now that you’re home and safe. I helped Wessex train with some of her shifts at the Barracks while you were gone. Aside from that? Not much.” The hand tucked around her legs rises just enough to hook a thumb over to the drawers he’d built.

and you ease my troubles with your hands, like the night puts a calm on the valley

"Four in total, I suppose. Including Nate," Isla informs him, very content to be pinned against him and letting her head nestle against his shoulder. "I ought to have kept a dragon shift stored - then maybe there could have been five," she remarks with a grin. "Though I suppose I can hardly complain, having walked away with a new companion." An unexpected one to say the least, but the Prince seems as content as any housecat in his chair with his book. "Mm, you're so handy," Isla purrs as he tells her what he's been up to, pressing further kisses against the side of his neck. "We should go out and do something, before either of us gets pulled into any more war related ridiculousness." Unbeknownst to Isla, of course, she'll be running into Sunjata very soon. And doing each other counted as doing something, right? Isla the flesh is weak

VARUS

“Sounds like some kind of fairytale.” He snorts, hand rising to run through her blond hair in gentle, easy strokes. “Perhaps you should have. It would’ve been quite a party.” He hums a laugh, trying to imagine young little Azrael surrounded by so many dragons, as if they were some type of royalty. But he shakes his head, casting a glance toward the Prince with the acknowledgement from Isla.

Her lips press to the side of his neck and he hums a soft laugh, tilting his head toward her to nuzzle his way in to steal a kiss. His arm around her tightens, nestling her in closer and when he pulls away to brush his nose by her own, there’s an amused smirk playing on his face. “Oh we absolutely should. Did you have any plans I should be aware of for tonight given your recent adventures?” He asks, pulling away to let his oceanic gaze focus on her face. “Or can I help you relax?” After all, he’s got quite the amount of pent-up energy.

and you ease my troubles with your hands, like the night puts a calm on the valley

"Mm, I prefer our parties," Isla informs Cal, grinning up at him. The parties where it's just the two of them and neither of them are wearing any clothes, she means. No one needs to be a dragon and there doesn't need to be anything fairytale about it, but it's nonetheless a party; she'll defend that to the last. Giggling as he nestles in the way of her kisses to steal her lips himself, the medic melts against him, her fingers twining up and through his dark hair. "No plans, other than what we're already doing," she murmurs into the kiss, shrugging against him. "And I all but demand that you help me relax. The only caveat is that I also get to help you relax." That seems like a fair deal, right? Isla the flesh is weak

VARUS

A chuckle leaves him, a low hum of agreement as Varus steals her lips, keeping them locked in a kiss for a moment before they break and he nestles in, pressing against her more and more in both relief and excitement. He nuzzles his nose against her own, his lips skating across hers as his long hair falls against her forehead, and when his offer is taken and hers is given, the grin that cuts across his face is playful and vibrant.

He presses against her more, aiming to cover her a fair amount, if only to be able to slip his arms underneath her, distracting her with more and more kisses to her lips and cheeks and neck and collarbones. “Well, Miss Lockwood. I think you have a deal.” He purrs against her lips, lifting her up, fully intending to take her up on her return offer.

All in the name of relaxation.

- FIN <3

and you ease my troubles with your hands, like the night puts a calm on the valley