He would almost grow envious of how peaceful she looked if he didn't love her like he did. She was radiant in the dark, her pale skin and hair keeping the darkness at bay while he and his dark skin perfectly melted into the shadows. Not even the dark blue veil which was loosely wrapped around her head could darken the light color of the wheat colored hair which fell free and curled around her face.
She shouldn't be here but they didn't have the heart to part ways so soon after spending their first night together. There was too much lost time they wished to catch up on, almost seven years in total. It was such a long time, so what harm could one night longer do? Both of them wanted it enough to go through with it and explore the new possibilities further.
They had to be careful and they were. To spend their second night within the bazaar rather than the sanctum which was the silent storehouse was a risk but so far it paid off; neither of the elderly Ecaflips had caught wind nor sound of the female Eliatrope being within the walls of the Shushu possessed shop this night and Joris was eager to keep it like that. Luis, although not saying so aloud, was keeping a watchful eye on the hallway to make certain nobody would wander near the attic which acted as Joris' private chambers, fully in on the secret the two ambassadors kept.
Joris gazed upon his lover next to him, watching to slow rising and falling of her chest with her calm breathing. He ran his hand along a wavy lock of her hair, gently pressing it against the pillow to watch it escape the light pressure of his hand with a natural recoil. There was no taming her hair, just like there was no taming her.
It was pleasant to be rid of the boundaries and rules which kept them formal with each other. All that was gone now, locked outside of his room or the storehouse to stay there until the doors needed to be opened the next day. The freedom and linking of their souls brought forth a side of Alys which was fairly intoxicating, a side only he got to see. She was passionate, intense and foremost hungry but he didn't mind; it was a surprise he full heartedly accepted and indulged himself in the last two nights. She fully opened herself up to him and she had a lot to give and show.
Their future would be chaotic. To think they could keep up this newly formed secret for years and years was foolish but he was willing to try for her safety and that of his family. That wasn't all however. Two political figures from different faiths in a relationship was taboo, even more so with the reputation the Eliatropes held in the World of Twelve. If anyone were to find out, Joris and his king along with the nation of Bonta would be accused of playing favoritism and those accusations were already quietly buzzing in the background.
He had no regrets. This was what he wanted for a long time, even though seven years seemed short with the reminder that he was six hundred years old. But he did always value the present more and the woman sleeping beside him was that present.
Joris laid himself back down to no longer play with Alys' hair or caress her shoulder, feeling tired enough to believe he could sleep. He trusted Luis to not let anyone into the attic but then nobody should have reason to come up here, not at this hour. He would have spent this night in the storehouse again for the privacy but to sleep on dusty couch cushions wasn't all that comfortable and not something he wanted to put the Eliatrope through for a second night in a row. His own bed did perfectly well, the bazaar was one of the safest places to be and Alys' close presence did bring a whole new level to the familiarity of his room; he liked it.
His eyelids felt heavy but he didn't struggle against them. Soon enough they fell shut and he drifted off with the gentle silent breathing of his lover as his lullaby, her fading visage guiding him into a peaceful slumber.
The night continued its endless cycle and nothing stirred within the bazaar, not even when the early hours of morning crept in… until Joris' eyes snapped open with an abrupt awakening. He held his breath as he laid on his side, the confusion he felt swirling in the back of his mind. He was wide awake. The edge of exhaustion and contentment which made him feel tired was all gone and it brought forth an odd sensation when he thought about it. He felt tingly… why?
He turned his wide eyed gaze to the Eliatrope, the woman laying on her back and facing him with closed eyes. She was still soundly asleep, the serene expression she held telling him that whatever woke him only affected him; the room was as quiet and peaceful like it was before.
And then he saw it.
Joris slowly but still with a certain alertness and tension sat up when something brushed past his vision, a tiny speck of what looked like glowing dust carried upon wisps of a glowing breeze. Yet there was no breeze… He followed the small speck with his eyes to make sense of it until another could be seen, floating over the couple and slowly rising upwards to the arched ceiling. The glowing swirls of turquoise and cyan were like a thread a child spun to not get lost in a forest, leading to the source.
His eyebrows rose in piqued interest when he gazed upon the hand which laid across Alys' stomach, the glow her palm emitted dampened by the sheet it rested on. He observed for a little while, his eyes moving between her hand and face while watching the swirls of Wakfu seep away from her hand to slowly dance and curl over her.
Shapes… he could hardly make them out but the wisps and the specks which steadily began to grow in numbers formed a display of faint shapes which moved and kept changing. Was this normal? No, this didn't occur the night before and neither all those other nights he watched over her. This was something new, or rare, and it worried him a little.
Alys remained asleep with the same serene look as before. The release of Wakfu didn't appear to bother or harm her. In fact…
Joris leaned a little closer to her and lightly ran a hand across her arm after he witnessed the familiar Wakfu pattern faintly flicker underneath Alys' skin, like a small candle in a paper lantern. It was weak, but he could make out the cyan curls he had seen glowing fierce on several different occasions. The most recent memory was the night before when they gave into each other. But why now…? She was asleep.
It was a beautiful display of light and shapes in the darkness of his room, adding to the peaceful atmosphere and making it more dream-like in nature. There was not a hint of a threat or danger and therefore he didn't worry too much, but it remained peculiar all the same. Was she dreaming? Where the moving vague shapes a manifestation of what she was feeling? He could only guess.
Goosebumps appeared across his dark skin and the hair on the back of his neck rose when a sudden surge of energy coursed through him like a hot slithering snake. It made him shudder, not in a bad or painful way, no. It was… oddly refreshing. He was quick to look at his bare shoulder where a short moment of increasing warmth occurred, seeing the diminishing glow of cyan on the very spot which was the source of the strange spike of energy until the glow faded away into the darkness of his skin.
He blinked as he stared upon his shoulder before he focused on one of the specks which carelessly floated by, watching it before carefully and slowly reaching for it with a finger. The poke he gave it was gentle and caused the glowing speck to sway a little like a tiny jellyfish in the sea until it stuck to the tip of his finger and grew smaller in size.
Joris had to keep himself from making a noise of surprise when he unexpectedly absorbed the small flake of Wakfu and experienced the exact same sensation as a moment ago with his shoulder. A burst of energy shot up his arm to spread through his body and warmed him like a sip of warm milk in winter until it disappeared and left him feeling a little more revitalized and awake. He felt something similar the night before in the storehouse during a moment of heated passion, though it was much stronger and far more intimate and intense then. This was gentle even though getting touched by one of the specks was rather electrifying.
This was her Wakfu however… and like yesterday she was releasing it unintentionally while he absorbed it like a sponge. Was she aware of this? She never spoke of it happening before. Did it have an ill effect on her somehow? He hesitated to wake her; she looked far too tranquil, a small smile upon her lips. He didn't have the heart for it, and so he didn't.
He shifted to prop himself up against the wall and a pillow without waking the Eliatrope, staying close by her and stroking the top of her head and side of her face while watching the dreams of Wakfu which continued to dance around them, the flakes and swirls venturing further into the attic rather than remaining over the sleeping Alys and observing Joris. There was no more sleep to be gained, not yet at least and certainly not for him. He would continue to ponder the cause of the strange phenomena until something caused him to press himself firmer against the wall and pillow with clenched teeth and startled eyes.
The whole building shook abruptly. The heavy tremor caused several objects to rattle within the attic, the rafters and floorboards to creak and the glass in the windows to vibrate. An earthquake?
Joris tensed up further when nails dug into his side and pulled at him, the woman beside him clutching him in a fit of sleep drunken panic after the quaking roughly roused her from her sleep. She stared at him in bewilderment, her eyes glowing like the vague markings visible under her skin before it all swiftly vanished like the remnants of sleep.
"That tickles," a voice from the other side of the attic sounded nonchalantly after the shaking subsided, the couple which held their breaths and were on the verge of asking what had happened looking over towards the closed door where a large round eye gazed back at them.
"Tick-?" Joris interrupted himself as realisation hit him the moment he formed the question and tilted his chin up to look up towards the ceiling. The rising and floating residue of Wakfu was seeping into the living woodwork of the Shushu, giving him the same sensation as Joris experienced but far weaker and less due to his size. The master bit the inside of his cheek to hold back on a chuckle when the truth came to light; it was rather amusing to find out that Luis was ticklish, especially after the startle that caused adrenaline to rush and hearts to skip a beat.
"Oh Goddess… I am so sorry," Alys spoke quietly as she pushed her hair back and out of her face, loudly whispering so she could be heard by the eye in the door.
If Luis had shoulders, he would've shrugged at the apology. Instead he stretched his lulling eyelid a little to mimic the motion before casually saying," it's something new for a change. Though don't make a habit out of it; I need my sleep too."
Alys parted her lips to make the promise but she could only stammer and nod, an embarrassed blush coloring her cheeks before she huffed away a flake of Wakfu which floated by. Her eyes grew a little larger in concern when noises could be heard from outside of the attic, indicating that Luis' 'shudder' had woken the others present in the bazaar. "Oh no…"
"I'll handle it. You do whatever it is you do," the Shushu said before his eye in the door closed and his presence shifted within the house to intercept a grumpy and drowsy but startled Kerubim, leaving Joris and Alys to themselves within the cool glow of Wakfu.
It took a moment for the couple to stir before Joris' faint chuckling thawed Alys from her worries and embarrassment. "Why are you laughing?" she asked with a crooked uncertain smile as she leaned closer to her lover," I almost gave us away."
"They are like the stars." It was as if he tried to change the subject and perhaps he was, but the verbal reminder and him casting his eyes upwards once more to look at the floating speckles and flecks of Wakfu brought the embarrassment back to her. His small hand touched her warm cheek to guide the Eliatrope closer and have her look at him rather than down," are you alright?"
"Y-yes… I'm feeling a little drained, but… that's normal with this," she answered honestly while motioning with a hand for the Wakfu which gradually began to diminish and fade away, no longer seeping away from her as it stopped the moment she woke and became aware of herself," it doesn't happen often. Or, I believe it doesn't because I rarely wake up to being surrounded by Wakfu. I didn't think it would happen here… tonight." Usually it would occur when vast asleep, dreaming and feeling severely at peace but she didn't think that her second night with Joris and within the occupied bazaar would make her feel secure enough for her control to waver. It came as a surprise. "And you? How are you feeling? Did I hurt you?"
Joris smiled for her," no. No, you didn't hurt me in the slightest, but it is safe to say that I won't be getting any shut eye tonight; your Wakfu is exhilarating… and beautiful." The honest compliment brought her very close to him before her lips sought his and she gently drew him into a kiss which conveyed her worry and apology for unintentionally ridding him from rest. He glanced towards the locked door after picking up on Kerubim's muffled voice as he accepted and returned the intimate gesture from his lover; his son was arguing with the Shushu but he assumed Kerubim would soon return to bed after hearing and accepting whatever excuse Luis would come up with. That's how it mostly went.
The glow of Wakfu was almost gone but darkness did not return to the attic; dawn was on its way. Soon the world would continue its usual routine and the risk of discovery would increase.
"How about some early breakfast in the park?" he asked after the Eliatrope retracted a little and nuzzled away against his small body," or by the docks?" He knew her to like watching the sunrise over Bonta; it was a good excuse to leave the bazaar before Atcham and Kerubim would get up to go about their daily business and seek the master out, but he also understood that she was tired. She did look like it...
"How about brunch in bed?" she asked while blindly drawing the fur throw blanket over them and ran her hand along his side as she closed her eyes, forcing Joris to change his mind and give into her idea. It was far too tempting to stay like this.
The attic's door would remain locked with the Shushu as their loyal guard, their secret kept safe for a while longer while the two ambassadors waded further into what was growing between them. Nights like these would happen again in the future, same for mornings where they'll need to be quiet until the right chance to leave undetected would present itself. Such was the life of the path they chose to take until fate decides otherwise.
