[se] tell me that i'm better now

The skyport and the boats made traveling easier. While it took much longer than using a portal ever did, it came without the entangling of the Voice and her cronies. Noah endured the length of the travel with his wife and children settled next to him. Cordelia carried Marcus in the wrap carrier he preferred, whereas Margot preferred to be in the arms of either of her parents, so Noah held her. By the time they arrived to the Greatwood and unloaded, his arms were weary with the, albeit small, weight of the child for so long.

He persisted on, however, knowing carrying the girl in his arms would keep her from screaming like she did when her mother tandem carried her with her brother in the wrap. "Thankfully we don't have to travel far." Noah said as he adjusted the pack on his back and balanced Margot in his other arm. He smiled to Cordelia with warm blue eyes wrinkling in the corners.

When they found a clear spot near a large tree, Noah set everything down, including his daughter on a blanket. "The captain said the weather should be nice for tonight." He said as he pulled the sleeping mats from their ties around his pack. "We should stay warm and dry together." He was so glad he had coaxed Delia into this trip.

Noah Olson

the sentinel of the north

Cordelia

Getting Cordelia to leave the safety of Halo now that they had the twins was a task unto itself. Her husband had practically gone down onto his knees for her, imploring her to join him on this trip and while her reluctance had nothing to do with her husband, but everything to do with taking the twins out of Halo, the Shrike had eventually agreed. Only after he'd gone over the preparations with her, including scouting out the area beforehand, and bending to every stipulation she put in place.

The trip, thus far, had been a fairly easy one. Marcus was swaddled against her chest, snoozing happily as her hand rubbed over his back, the other grasping onto her husband's arm as she drew in a deep breath. How long had it been since she ventured out into the wilderness? Too long it seemed as a part of her stirred, coming to life with each inhale, the crisp air expanding her lungs.  "Are there still many who are living within the area or have they dispersed?" She asked at the mention of the captain, following behind Noah, her own back balanced easily on her shoulders.

It was lighter of the two, but Cordelia insisted on carrying something, refusing to allow Noah the job of holding all of their supplies. If they'd had a sled she could have easily shifted into her Luxere form, but the children weren't old enough to ride just yet and thus this was easier. Unwrapping Marcus from his carrier, the babe came to, stretching out his limbs as soon as he was freed and reaching for his sister once he was on the blanket within grasping distance.

Smiling softly, Cordelia turned to her husband, catching him by the front of the shirt and bringing him down for a kiss. She sighed against his lips, smelling the scent of pine on his skin and the changing leaves still hanging in the air, "Thank you for arranging this. I think I needed it." Delia murmured before she released him, turning her attention to setting up their camp for the evening.

Say something, something like you love me
Less you want to move away from the noise of this place

Noah was encouraged to push Cordelia a little bit after talking with Remi. While he wanted to be gentle with his wife's heart, especially now that the motherhood lioness roared within her, he also wanted to encourage her to do what was healthy. Staying only between their home and their hunting cabin had not been what Noah had imagined for their life, knew it wasn't what Cordelia wanted either. So, he persisted in his asking. Made sure the area was safe. Made sure to choose a spot where they would be close to the skyboat if needed, and assured her that his compass could bring her and the twins to the safety of the Citadel within a heartbeat.

And it worked.

His heart swelled as he leaned down to kiss her. She still had a way of making his breath hitch in his throat and his chest expand with the reverberating, wild beats of his heart. "Phoebe is the leader here now, but I don't think much has changed. There are still some fae around, but I think they mostly keep to themselves. Phoebe is trying to keep this place from becoming industrialized, but also encouraging citizenship." Which was something that had never been done, really. Even when Remi was the guardian of these woods, he wanted to preserve the lands for the fae and their kin.

With Margot and Marcus comforting each other, Noah could focus on setting up the spaces for them in full. He handed his wife the stretch of canvas that would work to give them some shelter, before he walked into the surrounding wood. He was gone only moments, for what he sought was in abundance. He found two thick, tall-enough saplings. Bringing them back, the thrust them into the ground as the poles for Cordelia to stretch the canvas over. "Sleeping under the stars will be cool, huh? We don't usually get to do that without being shifted."

Noah Olson

the sentinel of the north

Cordelia

It was easy to pick up on the sudden quickening of his breath, catching the dilation of his pupils as he looked down at her and she couldn't help the twitch of her lips, feeling the stirring of the vixen within her chest as her partner clearly appreciated the attention of her gaze. "I see... I wasn't aware that Phoebe had taken over." Having not cared too much about the things happening beyond the Citadel walls, Cordelia didn't bother to keep up with who was leading what outside of Noah shared with her. "I'm assuming her ties with Frey have much to do with that." The Shrike hummed, taking the canvas from him and stretching it out as he disappeared to find what they would need to string it up.

He returned mere moments later, mission successful and she wasted no time securing the canvas, creating a slight lean to structure that would keep them from getting rained on, but still give them a view into the night surrounding them once the time came. "Not when we're home, no." She huffed softly, a laugh bubbling up in her chest as amber eyes caught his own, a twinkle shining in their darkening depths. "I think the last time we were in the woods like this it ended up with you chasing me down and pinning me against a tree. If I do recall correctly, the stars were very pretty that night."

At this her grin turned nearly feral, brows lifting as she recalled the memory. One of their many hunting trips that often ended up turning into way more than just hunting. If there was one thing she has learned about her husband it was that taking him out into the woods might as well be the equivalent to foreplay.

Say something, something like you love me
Less you want to move away from the noise of this place

Working alongside Cordelia made Noah's chest rumble and crackle with warmth. It reminded him of their time together in King's End, when their love started as mere embers compared to the raging fire it was now. Though they had been there together under the worst of circumstances, it was the opportunity that the gods provided for them to meld into each other. Had they not been otherthrown in Halo, Noah honestly wasn't sure he would have been able to look up from his desk, from his work, long enough to notice the way she looked at him. but in exile together? It was all they could do to survive, to tangle in on each other, to strengthen the other and kindle the burning flames of their love that would then fuel the ability to bring them home. "I'm sure it does, just as much as mine with Vi will have me working in both Halo and the Hollowed Grounds." He said, reminding himself and her about the words of his deity.

Crouching down, Noah pulled their rolled sleeping mats nearer him. He unrolled them and placed them close together. Then he reached for the wool blanket in Cordelia's pack. Her words were like honey dripping, and Noah nearly purred with every syllable. Turned away from her, albeit briefly, Noah's lips curled into a twisted, cunning smirk. He did remember. He would never forget the way her body had ground against his once he had lifted her up by her thighs, how her mouth softly groaned against his neck with each thrust. But as he turned, Noah gasped a soft, appalled gasp, and his eyes twinkled with boyish delight. "Now, now, there are children present." He said, gesturing broadly towards their twins that had fallen asleep curled in the presence of one another.

Noah Olson

the sentinel of the north

Cordelia

Their exile had been a blessing and a curse. Despite the fact that they'd been pushed out from their home, unable to return for seasons, it had finally put them in each other's paths. Cordelia would be forever grateful for that time together. For the stolen moments that allowed them to bloom. Never did she imagine they would end up here, but she was forever grateful that they had. His words cut through the haze swirling around her and she almost snarled, still feeling unsettled by the fact that he'd be leaving Halo. That they'd be leaving. Not yet. There was still time and Delia knew that Noah wouldn't ask it of her, but she vowed that they wouldn't be separated again once the war ended.

Where he went so did she.

"Of course." Cordelia nodded, glancing back towards her husband, letting the cloud of uncertainty roll away to be replaced by that sticky warmth that was swirling in her stomach instead as his own thoughts of that excursion trickle along the bond. She has to roll her shoulders, steeling herself as her lip caught between her teeth, knowing that she was all of five seconds from pouncing on him.

Scoffing at his chastising, Cordelia rolled her eyes, "Children who will have to put up with us being like this for the rest of their lives. Might as well start them young." She drawled, stalking towards him where he was still kneeling on the ground, on all fours herself and moving with all the grace of the vixen shift that hid beneath her skin.

Say something, something like you love me
Less you want to move away from the noise of this place

Noah could feel the shift in her emotions over the attuned bond. He didn't press on it, though. He had promised her they would wait until the twins were older to take any form of extended absence from Halo. In the meantime, he made frequent trips to the Grounds and got the feel for the people. He had approached Vi's direction the same way he had the influence and leadership he had within Halo: starting frrom the bottom. Getting to know the people and what they wanted. Something Morgan, despite her time as Captain, had always lacked as Warden, much like the failed Wardens before her.

Noah tilted his head and shrugged some, conceding to his wife's point. "I guess you're right." He said, standing to immediately grab her by the waist and draw him in to her. "Imagine how they will feel the first time we kiss while their little friends are over at the house." Noah said, his grin drawing up each side of his face and exposing the teeth that threatened to half-shift to fangs as he leaned down and pressed open mouthed kisses along her throat. "How embarrassing it will be to them to have parents as madly in love with each other as we are."

Noah Olson

the sentinel of the north

Cordelia

It was only his promise that kept her from going off the deep end. She could withstand it all. As long as they waited for the twins to grow. To take them out of Halo was to remove them from a place so quintessential to their being that Cordelia wouldn't allow it. Noah knew that, too. Hence her willingness to accept the task laid on him by Vi. Just as she had with every other one. Knowing all of this was an open book to her husband, the Shrike didn't bother to hide it, he knew how she felt on the matter and he thankfully let it lie as she pushed those thoughts aside.

"Of course I'm right. That was never in question." She couldn't help the almost girlish giggles that fell from her lips as she snatched her by the waist, pulling her taut into the hard line of his body, head tipping back to his opened mouthed kisses that found home along her throat. "They're going to hate us." Cordelia huffed, fingers tangling into his hair, tugging lightly as she brought his lips to her own, wasting no time in deepening the kiss. It was like she was tasting him for the first time all over again and she groaned as it spread over her tongue, heat sparking in her chest as her teeth did shift, fangs nipping at his bottom lip. "But they'll never doubt that their parents love each other."

Delia murmured, drawing back just enough to meet his gaze, adoration shining in her amber eyes as her hand cupped his jaw.

Say something, something like you love me
Less you want to move away from the noise of this place

Noah

if there's a reason I'm still alive
when so many have died

The stars began to twinkle overhead. Noah didn't notice at first, though. Thankfully he had already set out the vial out next to the twins when he first set Margot down. The twins did not sift in their slumber despite their parents' flirting, their kissing, their touching.

Noah held her closer as she kissed him back. He let a low and gentle moan escape from his mouth as she nipped at him with her sharpened animalistic fangs. A shiver rolled down his spine. "We better stop or I'll show the whole Greatwood how in love we are with each other." He said in a husky voice, letting her cup his cheeks for only a moment before shaking her hands from his jawline. But he didn't seem to stop. He kept kissing her -- on her lips, along her jaw, down her neck, across her fur-covered shoulders.

It was only after several moments of making out that the twins did finally stir, igniting into the world their hunger whimpers. Noah shifted immediately to gather them from their sleeping place. While Delia prepared, he held and shushed gently each twin. Once their mother had her pillows ready, Noah handed them to her one at a time. They latched quickly and hungrily. ”I will double check the perimeter, then we can settle down for the night.” He said, eyes warm and loving as they fell over his family. Kissing Cordelia’s forehead, Noah then set off.

With a pack slung around his shoulders, Noah found an open spot to leave Safrin’s vial. It was safe enough as he stuck it in the crook of a branch, but still in perfect view of the stars above. Then, he made his way around their camping spot. Everything was just as it should be. Before he headed home, he went to the shrine. Kneeling before it, Noah shifted his pack off his back. ”Thank you, SAfrin. Thank you, Vi.” Noah said, taking his offering from his bag and leaving it at the altar. For Safrin, a mirror with a Luxere horn handle. For Vi, a set of throwing daggers forged from the finest steel.

When Noah made his way back to his family, Cordelia was finishing up the meal for the two of them, and the twins were sleeping soundly. Settling in, Noah ate with his wife and they fell asleep watching the stars.

FIN

then I'm willing to
wait for it