She ran.

First as a panther and then changing into a woman when she lost the strength to hold onto the form, her bare feet pounding the ground, her black hair streaming out behind her. She didn't notice the sting of the branches as they whipped across her skin, didn't notice the stabbing pain as stones and sticks jammed into the soles of her feet. She ran until the air burned in her lungs, until her legs cramped and sent her stumbling, her foot sliding in the mud at the edge of a stream and sending her to her hands and knees in the middle of it.

And it still wasn't enough.

Angeline knelt in the stream, her breath wheezing in and out of her lungs, the ice cold sting of the stream water meeting the cool breeze washing over her sweat sheened body. She barely had the strength to hold herself up out of the water and she didn't care, her hands curling into the streambed, clawing up gravel and mud. The run had done little to cool the rage burning inside her. She wanted to rend and tear and shriek to the sky, but her traitorous body wouldn't let her.

Her breath came out in a low hiss, her dark lips pulling back from teeth that still had a slight point to them from running so long as a beast. She gave up trying to keep herself up and rolled over onto her back in the stream, letting the water run over her. Her head sank below the surface, resting against the gravel, submerged except for her nose and mouth. She tried to ignore the sting of her cuts, the ache in her limbs, focusing on the fury coursing like sweet poison through her veins. It was a slow pulse in the darkness behind her eyelids.

The water near her cheeks grew warm and Angeline slowly lifted a hand up near it, realizing she'd started crying at some point, making her angrier. She let her hand drop, keeping her eyes closed.

Why couldn't people just leave them alone?

They didn't try to prove anything; they didn't try and force people to accept them. She'd learned from her father the pointlessness of trying to be accepted on the surface, especially when traveling. They avoided towns when they could, especially small ones. She had Valen. Valen was all she wanted; when she had him she didn't need anything else. Insults rolled off like water.

So what had been so different about this time? Angeline allowed herself to think over it logically for the first time, slowly calming herself down. She thought maybe it was because of where it had been. Her father's library was supposed to be a sanctuary. A place where one could go and not be judged because of what they were, with a drow running it, who would think to sit back and judge anyone who passed through such a place?

The visiting priests from the local temple could, apparently. From the moment they'd stepped inside the library the sneers had been permanently fixed on their faces. Maybe they'd known Raal, her father, wanted to make it easier on them all by staying in good terms with the temple and figured he wouldn't throw them out. They'd looked down on her father, all but called her mother, Evelain, a traitor for marrying a drow, and would barely even acknowledge her, half drow abomination that she was.

But then they'd seen Valen. No subtle insults or cool looks for him. If they'd had weapons in their hands the first time they had seen him they probably would have just outright attacked him. They never got the chance since Valen worked to avoid them, but she'd seen the flash deep in his eyes when they'd made some kind of vicious remark just within hearing range.

Angry all over again, Angeline rolled to her knees and sprang up, the sudden movement making her sway on her aching feet. She shifted, her rage carrying her into a restless pace, and turned…

And saw Valen.

The tiefling was leaning against a tree not far away, watching her expressionlessly. Angeline froze, not ready to see him again, and stood, oddly awkward at this sudden appearance, taking in the sight of him feature by feature.

They made an odd, beautiful picture, the lovers, facing each other across the stream in the dark woods, lit only by patches of moonlight through the trees. Valen with his almost unnatural calm, his red hair and pale skin making him look more at home in the forest around them than the dark skinned, black haired druid in front of him. Valen finally spoke, his voice light. "Don't start running again. It took me a while to track you."

"I needed to get away," his lover replied, turning her face away to look through the trees.

"So I gathered. I take it running yourself into exhaustion out in the middle of the forests without a word has helped you sort through things? Because leaving myself vulnerable in a place no one knew where to find me is the first thing that comes to my mind in that situation."

The sarcasm in his tone had Angeline whipping her head around to hiss at him, her lips pulling back from her teeth. "Don't push me, tiefling."

"Pushing you is what I do best," Valen shot back without missing a beat, his own temper starting to show in his eyes. It had been on edge from the moment those idiot priests had walked into the great library and had only increased as he'd fought to keep from making a scene. And then when he realized she'd run off into the wilds in a blind rage, fear had honed his temper, and it only increased as she'd gotten further away. And now...seeing what kind of state she'd allowed herself to sink into…well it wasn't helping to calm him down. In fact he was about ready to start clawing at the air and yelling at nothing like she did, maybe throw a few things, destroy a few rocks. Just as soon as he hauled her home.

Valen stalked towards her as Angeline pushed herself to her feet, snarling at him. "Don't even think about hissing at me, Angeline."

"Back off" She moved away from him and he shot forward- gods he was so quick for such a big man -and seized a hold of her arm, dragging her out of the stream and onto the grass. She brought a hand up and he grabbed that one too, pinning both to her sides as he hauled her out, his temper snapping like a whip.

"You let those idiots drive you into a rage and run off without a word to anyone, if you'd hurt yourself or gotten yourself into danger because of them what then, Angeline?"

"I couldn't stay there!" She almost shrieked it at him, twisting in his grip.

"Then you could have stayed in the woods around the building!" Valen roared back.

"Let go!"

"No." He pulled her up to the tree, grimly looking her over for injuries.

"You bastard!" Her hand whipped up, her fingers hooking into claws.

"Angeline." Valen finally snapped and slammed her back against the tree, his blue eyes glaring into hers from inches away. "Stop it. Now. I am not your enemy."

His words finally broke through her blind rage and she sagged in his grip. "They hurt you," she whispered it, tears stinging her eyes.

Those tears hurt him more than any word or blow she could deliver. His grip loosened and he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. "You know what they say about sticks and stones."

"They don't even know you."

"I have no intention of getting to know them, either."

That got a hint of a smile and she leaned her forehead against his, closing her eyes and pressing a kiss to his lips. Valen cradled her close, becoming really aware for the first time she was nude against him. And once his mind realized it…

A soft growl suddenly rose from Angeline's throat as she felt him harden against her, and she arched her back slightly, moving against him. The heat of anger was still running through her, making her ready to strike out at anything, but the feel of him turned that violence in an entirely different direction.

A direction that usually ended with them both bleeding by the time they were through with each other.

Valen gasped, capturing her mouth with his and kissing her hard, pressing her back against the tree again. Oh, this was not a good idea. They were both still way too on edge and ready to snap back into full temper at a moment's notice.

Angeline didn't share his worry. She tightened her hold on him when he tried to pull back, seizing the front of his shirt. "No"

"Angeline, this isn't…"

"Now. Take me now." She murmured it, wrapping a leg around his and pressing hard against him, biting at his mouth.

Now it was Valen's turn to growl, she could feel it rumble through his chest as he tightened his hold on her, his fingers digging into her hips hard enough to bruise. He dropped his head and bit her where her neck and shoulder met, trailing hard kisses up her neck to her mouth again. "I've torn men to pieces in this state of mind, Angeline." Even as he hissed the warning he was at her neck again, lips and tongue and teeth working over her dark skin. Angeline purred, her head falling back to give him better access. She ran her nails up the line of his back and tore at his shirt, her hips surging forward to press against his.

Valen had to release her and slam a hand above her head, his fingers digging into the rough bark, fighting for control even as she urged him to lose it beyond reason. Their gazes locked, blue to gold, almost glowing with fury and lust. He loved her. He loved her with all his heart and soul. But at times like this, when he could see that wildness in her, when she almost acted more like an animal…she scared him. Because it awoke that wildness in him he fought to leash, had since he'd first walked onto the battlefield in the Blood Wars. He had no control over himself in times like this, anymore than he had control over her. Worse, he didn't want to control himself, wanted to give himself over to the lust, let that red haze surround his mind until all he could hear were the sounds she made when he fucked her... Valen tore his thoughts away from that line of thought, trying to give himself a moment to think.

Angeline snarled when he pulled back, her nails tearing across his back hard enough to draw blood. Valen drew in a sharp, hissing breath and reached out to grab her hand again, but she was too fast for him this time. She tore at his belt, pulling the fastenings of his pants open and plunging her hands down to take hold of him, her slim fingers wrapping around the length of him, leaning forward to bite his shoulder at the same time. His control shredded, the tiefling pulled free of the rest of his clothing and seized hold of her, bruising, dragging one of her legs up around him and angling her hips up, driving himself into her hard enough the tree's bark tore into her skin. Angeline threw her head back, bracing herself against him and wrapping both her legs around his waist. He pinned her hands above her head again, burying his face against her neck, his teeth scraping over her skin as he pounded into her. The scent of her skin drove him further into a frenzy, that dark, rich scent that had intoxicated him from the start. Mine

The word echoed through his head and he found himself growling it into her ear, biting at her lobe even as he did it. "Mine…you're mine, Angeline."

She moaned.

Valen released her hands in order to run his hands up her legs, holding onto her, moving in her with complete abandon, crushing her against the tree with every thrust. He ran his lips over her shoulder, nipping her lightly. "Mine."

"Yes…"

"Say it." He lifted his head, blue eyes glowing, staring into hers.

She tangled her fingers in his hair, heat building in the pit of her stomach. "I…"

"Tell me, lover."

She writhed against him, resisting, trying to deny the total control he had over her in that moment. "V-Valen…"

He growled and slammed into her, pinning her hips to the tree with his...and stopped, sheathed as deep inside her as he could go, holding her there impaled on his cock, trembling on the brink. Angeline made a soft, desperate sound deep in her throat. "Don't stop!"

"Say it." It was both a command and a plea. It took every ounce of control he possessed to hold himself still.

Angeline shuddered. "I'm yours…"

Valen smiled against her skin, letting them both sink down to the ground. He trailed his lips up her neck slowly, over her chin, capturing her lips with his. He twined his fingers with hers, drawing her hands up over her head and pinning them gently to the ground. His. His heart. His angel. Sweet Angeline, so wild only he could tame her, and only for the brief time she wanted to be tamed.

Angeline hooked her legs around his waist, covering his face with soft kisses, the gentle touch a contrast to the rhythm of his hips grinding against hers. He kissed her again, harder this time, biting her lower lip just short of drawing blood. She threw her arms around him, her hand gliding down his back, her slim fingers wrapping around his tail. He growled and raked his fingers hard down her sides and that- as he'd known it would -tipped her over the edge. She tensed in his hold and arched up with a low scream. Valen closed his eyes, gripping her hips hard enough his fingers dug hard into her flesh, driving himself into her one last time. She gripped his tail, kissing him, catching his own cry against her lips. He cradled her head with one hand, keeping that kiss going even as they collapsed, spent.

Evelain ignored the glares sent her way as she entered the main library, staring anxiously out the window. No mutters this time around from the group of priests. After Angeline had run, Raal had come down with every intention of giving the priests a piece of his mind- probably with a spell or two to make his point -only to find the other residents of the library had already beat him to it in many polite but slashing ways. Enough the lot of them were acting a bit more subdued than they had been in the past few days.

She straightened and turned from the window as the front doors opened. Valen came in, his shirt torn. He paused when he saw her and blushed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. Evelain opened her mouth to speak and checked herself as a dark shape came around him. She heard gasps from behind her as a sleek panther padded up to her. She gave it a stern look. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

The panther hung its head.

"Is she talking to that cat?" One of the younger priests apparently hadn't learned his lesson, his sneering voice just loud enough to be heard.

The panther glanced over at him and its form rippled. A second later, Angeline rose to her feet, nude, shaking her hair out of her face. "I'm sorry, Mother, I promise the next time we have to host idiots, I won't let them get to me so badly." She sauntered toward the stairway that would take her to their family's quarters.

Evelain glanced over. The priests were gaping, most of them blushing and looking uncomfortable. She wasn't sure if that was because of Angeline or the fact that only a few of their normal residents even glanced up as she passed by.

They'd seen much stranger and Evelain found herself suddenly quite proud of that. She turned to look at the priests as Valen followed Angeline, already stripping his shirt off and draping it around her shoulders when he caught up with her.

One of the older priests cleared his throat. Evelain smiled and spoke before he could. "I think, gentlemen, another few days here will be far too much for your delicate sensibilities."