Eryn's breathing is ragged as she runs as fast as her legs can carry her. The sounds of her bare feet pitter pattering across white cobblestone echoes throughout the dungeon she finds herself in.
Her hands are shackled together with petricite, the chains clattering as she runs down the dungeon hallway. Behind her she can hear the clatter of armored soldiers, gaining ground. Eryn can feel her heart hammering in fear as she peaks over her shoulder. "Bring me that witch, dead or alive!" One of them shouts as they charge at her.
Eryn turns a corner, nearly slipping on the slip stone, and begins to climb a spiral staircase. The muscles in her legs protest as she begins her ascent, but she pushes through the pain. The soldiers behind her were practically on her heels, their arms reaching to grab her, but she's just out of their reach.
After what feels like an eternity she reaches the top, exiting into a new hallway. At the end of it she can see light, daylight that nearly blinds her, and she feels invigorated, picking up speed as energy bursts into her legs, finally putting some distance between herself and the soldiers.
Her heart sinks and she nearly skids to a stop, as outside she can see wolves, circling the exit of the dungeon. Their hungry eyes watch her as she approaches the exit. She slows to a stop, just at the threshold of the exit, unsure of what to do, of where to go.
A soldier grabs her by the arm, dragging her backwards, and as she does she jerks awake, her eyes flinging open. She's breathing heavily and her heart is beating fast, as she panics not knowing where she is. She can't see, blinking her eyes as she tries to process why she's only being met with pitch black.
Her arms are wrapped around something large and firm, her fingers clutching into fabric. Her heart begins to beat faster as she realizes she's hugging onto a person, specifically Darius. At some point during her nightmare she had turned towards him and latched onto him instinctively. Her body is pressed into his, and her arms are wrapped around his torso. She feels a firm hand resting on the small of her back, and her head is tucked snugly under his chin with her forehead pressed into his collarbone. They are completely entangled. Her nightmare is quickly forgotten about as she now has a more pressing issue.
She wants to slink away, embarrassed that she had clung onto him in her sleep like a scared child, wishing that she could slide away before he woke up and noticed their position. What stops her is she notices how fast his own heart rate is, hammering directly into her chest, as his calloused fingers softly rub circles across her back in a soothing fashion. He was definitely awake.
"I'm sorry." She says softly, realizing she had probably disturbed him with her nightmares.
"Don't be, I was awake already." Eryn can feel her face burning bright red, and is thankful that at least the darkness of the cave concealed it from Darius. She feels weak and helpless in this petricite cave, and showing that weakness to Darius is the last thing she wants to do. There is some part of her that likes whenever he's impressed by her strength, and that same part of her is self conscious about revealing weaknesses to him as well. Like she's worried he'd reject her if he deemed her too weak.
As her thoughts race her heart is hammering and she's struggling to keep her breathing steady. His body is so warm pressed against her own, his hand still softly rubbing her back sends electricity through her veins. She's a complete mess and she can't figure out why, why being held in this Noxian's arms was turning her into goo.
"Why were you awake?" She asks when she gets her breathing under control enough that her voice isn't shaking.
She feels his fingers stop moving as he goes rigid, debating an answer, and her heart sinks missing the feeling. "Had trouble sleeping."
"Missing the comfort of being tied to a tree?" She teases, knowing there was more to his answer but doesn't want to press if he doesn't feel like sharing.
He chuckles but doesn't answer the question. Instead he uses his elbows to lift himself up, her arms slide off of him and sit limply at her side as he leans over Eryn and reaches to turn on the oil lantern. She winces as they are enveloped in the orange glow of the lantern, her eyes taking a moment to adjust, before blinking and looking up at him.
The lantern light flickers and dances across his features beautifully, highlighting his strong jaw and stern eyes. His raven black hair is messy and pieces fall across his brow, and his once clean shaven face is sporting some stubble. He's sitting upright now, not looking directly at her, their embrace broken. She once again feels sad for the touch being removed, longing to feel his hands roaming across her skin again. Guilt sparks in her chest, feeling like she was somehow betraying Demacia for having these thoughts. For even daring to think of the Hand of Noxus in this way.
He settles back down after a moment, lying on his side using his elbow to prop himself upright, his eyes now settling on her. "What does it feel like being in here to you?" He asks. "Surrounded by this petricite?"
Eryn is caught off guard by the question. She pauses as she tries to find the words to describe the sensation. "It sort of feels… like you're drowning. Like you need to breathe but whenever you try to inhale, no air comes in. I feel numb. Wrong. I keep trying to summon it, just to feel it again, but nothing happens. I wouldn't wish this upon anyone..."
"Mm." He hums in response as she describes it. "I assume this is what being captured by the mageseekers would entail then."
"Yeah. I imagine so too." She nods, acutely aware of him analyzing her face. He doesn't have to say it, but his next question is implied. Why would you risk staying here then, risk the capture? Risk this torment for eternity? And she doesn't have an answer.
She instead rolls onto her side, back turned to him, staring down the deep cavern corridors as she gathers her nerves to ask a question that's been bothering her. "Why aren't you just leaving me behind? Without my magic in here, I'm useless. I'm not pulling my own weight... This isn't the Noxian way you've been telling me about. Noxians are only as strong as their weakest link after all… But here you are, letting your weakest link slow you down and keep you awake at night."He doesn't answer, so she continues. "I don't understand you. At first I thought you just wanted to manipulate me so I'd let you go, which I suppose worked… but if that was the case you would have discarded me swiftly. Instead you protected me, and asked me to join you. What do you see in me? Why do you care what I do with my life?"
He's silent, and Eryn wishes she was facing him so she could watch his expression, but her heart is beating so fast and that she doesn't think she could keep a straight face for this confrontation. "Eryn, in the short time I've known you, you've captured me-"
"I got lucky." She interrupts.
"You killed a creature the size of a building-"
"Because every child in Demacia knows a cragbeast's weakness."
"You're currently giving the leader of the Noxian army sass."
"Well clearly someone has to." Both of them can't help but chuckle. Eryn can feel herself smiling at the sound of his laugh.
She suddenly hears him shift as he moves closer to her. "I can keep listing instances where I've seen great potential in you, reasons why I think it's not just your magic that makes you strong." His hand slowly reaches over and traces her jawline, guiding her chin slowly upwards until they make eye contact. Her heart begins to hammer in her chest as her face turns beet red. His face is inches away from hers now. "But that's not the only reason I want you to come with me to Noxus…" The distance between their faces is closing as Darius slowly guides them together, only stopping when their lips are pressed against one another's. They're kissing, lips moving against one another's, slowly, almost nervously. Both tentative and somewhat unsure of themselves.
They shift positions so Eryn doesn't have to strain her neck to reach him, Darius shifting so he's over her, one hand propping himself up and the other cupping her cheek. Eryn lies on her back, her own hand seemingly moving on its own as it snakes up the back of Darius's head and into his hair, running her fingers through the short black strands. Her mind is racing, Darius is kissing her. It almost doesn't seem real, but his tongue pressing against her lips asking for entrance reminds her it very much is, and she opens her mouth readily allowing him to explore. She can feel heat building in her core as their tongues dance and his hand begins to trail down her body, tracing her curves, stopping to rest on her hip.
He breaks the kiss, both of them take deep ragged breaths as they stop for air, and he rests his forehead against hers. "Tell me to stop and I will-"
"Don't stop." Eryn interrupts, she can hear her voice cracking in almost a whine. "I need you. Please." All of her anxieties, her fears, the looming threat of the mageseekers or the existential dread of this petricite cave, all of it was gone from her mind. She can only focus on how good he feels pressed against her. The voice in her head screaming that she's a traitor for this is completely ignored as Darius presses their lips together again. Every worry about her future just melts away.
Her hands hike his tunic up and begin to explore his torso, admiring the firm curves of his muscles and small divots of scar tissue. One of his hands palms at her groin, causing her hips to buck at the sensation, desperate for more friction. His fingers slip down between her trousers, quickly finding her clit and deftly rubbing it in circles. She moans into his mouth, as pleasure begins to slowly ripple through her.
Eryn quickly grows annoyed at the amount of fabric still between them and breaks the kiss. "Off." She demands but it sounds more like a plea as she tugs at his tunic. He chuckles as he sits up and slowly, almost painfully slow, pulls the tunic up over his head and tosses it onto the cave floor. This is the first time Eryn has seen him shirtless and her eyes trace his body, admiring his muscular frame. She follows suit, sitting up and tossing her own tunic to the side, exposing her breasts to the cool cave air. She feels her face flush red as she sees he's watching her, eyes trailing over her skin. She pushes past her feelings of self-consciousness and undoes the ties holding her trousers together and kicks them off as well.
Feeling far too cold and exposed to the cave air she climbs into his lap, straddling him and resting her arms on his shoulders. She can feel his erection pressing against her crotch through his trousers, and rolls her hips, grinding against it, eliciting a groan from him as his head lolls back from the sensation. "These are in the way still." She says as her hands travel down to his waist, tugging at the hem of his trousers as she grinds against him.
Darius's hips buck against hers as he lets out a low chuckle. "You didn't give me a chance to get them off."
"You were too slow." She teases, an impish smile gracing her lips.
"Or you're too impatient." He counters as one of his hands cups her breast and teases her nipple. Her breath hitches at the feeling and he wraps his other arm around her waist, lifting her up before repositioning them so she's lying on her back. "Need to make sure you're ready first…"
One of his hands returns to teasing her nipple, while the other ventures southward. He rubs circles around her clit again, causing her to whimper and bite her lip. As warmth radiates from her snatch she desperately craves him, wanting something to fill her. Almost like he read her mind one of his fingers begins to prod at her hole and she digs her fingers into the blanket she's lying on. "Please!" She begs and he obliges, plunging one of his large digits in her dripping hole. He moves against her walls slowly, too slowly for Eryn's liking, and she bucks her hips begging for more. It's not long before he adds a second finger, and her breathing hitches. He pinches her nipple and curls both of his fingers, rubbing right up against her g-spot and she moans loudly.
Suddenly Darius pulls back, leaving her feeling empty. She whines in protest, picking her head up to glare at him, to see him shedding his trousers. He leans back over her, and she can feel the head of his large erection poking at her groin. He has one hand firmly placed on her hip as he presses kisses to her neck. "Ready?" he asks her and all she can do is nod, she's quickly losing her ability to form words as she slowly is coming undone beneath him.
He presses into her, slowly, and Eryn cries out as she stretches around his member. He hisses as he presses onward, slowly filling her. "Gods you're tight…" He says through gritted teeth and she whimpers again, her legs wrapping around his waist as her fingers grab fistfuls of the blanket. It feels like it's an eternity before he reaches the base, his balls pressed against her bottom. They stay like that for a moment, both of their breathing ragged, as Eryn quivers beneath him. Then with quick grace, he slides out almost completely before slamming back into her. She moans loudly, seeing stars as warm erupts from her core. He rocks his hips into her again, and again, each thrust eliciting moan after moan from her.
"Darius!" She cries out as his pace quickens, she can feel pleasure building in her core, she's getting close. "Darius please!" she begs and he catches her mouth with a kiss. She moans into his lips, one of her hands slides into his hair. He breaks from her lips to trail kisses down her neck, his own moans rumbling across her skin. It's not long before he hits her g-spot with particular force and she cries out, her walls clenching down on his dick as she orgasms loudly. Pleasure erupts through her body as he rides through it, his own pace becoming erratic.
Darius slows down, and with one final thrust he spills his seed into her, filling her to the brim with a loud moan. He pulls out, lying down at her side as they come down from that high and bask in the afterglow. She rolls onto her side, her arm wrapped tightly around his abdomen as they steady their breathing. One of his hands rests on her back, gently stroking her skin. Her head rests on his torso, and she can hear his heartbeat steadying as they lie there together.
"I hope you know that… as great as that was… It won't change my answer on whether I'm joining you or not…" She says breaking the silence.
Darius chuckles softly. "I'm unsure if I'd be disappointed if that's all it took to sway you or if I'd be flattered." He ponders, causing them both to laugh. When they both quiet down, he pauses before pressing her. "What is your answer then?" Eryn hesitates, still not sure. The fear of the unknown still grips her. He senses her indecision and continues. "Just remember, not making a choice is still a choice…"
She wonders what he means by that, as visions from her dream earlier in the night flash before her eyes. She pushes them away. She doesn't have to worry about her choice right now, at least until they get out of this petricite hell hole… It's not long after that the comfort of Darius's touch lulls her back to a dreamless, peaceful sleep.