Their bodies entangled, Kyra and Colin laid in bed, trading off sleep as the night drew on. They would talk until a silence fell over them, inevitably due to one of them falling asleep in the other's arms, leaving the only waking one of them to amuse themselves with their sleeping companion. Kyra would smile as she worked her arm free from Colin's embrace, reaching up to run a finger from his shoulder down his arm, clutching his bicep with her hand as her thumb slid circles around his muscle, continuously surprised by how sturdy he was despite his body not exactly showing it.
She pulled away, digging her head into his chest as carefully as possible, not wanting to wake him as she shut her eyes, surrounded by nothing more than her lover's skin and their thick blanket. His body pumping oxygen in a comforting rhythm, Kyra was lulled nearly to sleep by his scent, his warmth, and the lullaby that played through his heartbeat, fighting sleep as she so enjoyed this sort of quiet moment, alone with only herself and the tired body of her mate. her husband.
She smirked to herself, proudly, as she thought of such a thing; the idea of working him to such exhaustion by her own doing. Restraining a soft chuckle, not wanting to wake him, she merely took a deep sigh of a breath, pulling her leg up to rest atop of his when, suddenly, an ache ran through her thigh, resulting in a frown from Kyra. He had worked her body to a similar state, she remembered, imagining what sort of exchange such an event would have led to, quickly recalling Colin's childish grin and teasing voice.
She only rolled her eyes as a smile crept silently along her face, shutting her eyes once again as she allowed sleep to encompass her once again, burying her face against her lover, her find only counting the beats of his heart until she finally was off in another world, lost in sleep, leaving two bodies still beneath a blanket, holding one another as if to prevent the mere possibility of losing the other, even in their dreams.
Time passed through the night, the moonlight having long since vanished from their home, leaving only the faintest of starlight to light their surroundings. As Colin's eyes squirmed beneath his eyelids, they opened easily, facing darkness rather than the intense light of day. For a moment, he was slightly disappointed at not being able to get a start on his day yet, though he just as quickly came to feel the comforting warmth just below his head, his eyes trailing down to see Kyra's face hidden against him.
Her hair trailed messily all over the bed, though it still remained gorgeous even in its disorder. Colin had forever fancied her lavender hair, and had never failed to enjoy those moments where it would inevitably cover his face when he woke up on the nights where Kyra slept atop of him. They would often take turns, trading off on whichever's chest would serve as a pillow for the other, though oftentimes, Kyra would simply lay atop of Colin completely whenever he didn't force her to his side with his arms.
At first, he found a face full of hair to be an annoyance, but in time, he came to adore the soft coils of warmth which also inadvertently served to shield his eyes from the sun. Tonight however, having just awoken, Colin gently ran his hand up the length of Kyra's back, entangling her hair in his fingers before gently stroking at the back of her scalp, pulling his hand into a clutch as he pulled it along the entire stream of softness to its conclusion. He smiled as he dutifully continued, eventually switching to pulling his fingertips down her hair, a particular favorite of hers, as evidenced by her face suddenly beginning to shiver as she awoke herself, grumpily stirring against Colin as her voice suddenly broke the silence.
"That tingles," she frowned, reaching up to grab ahold of his wrist.
Colin could only smirk, "I figured I'd just enjoy you while I was awake here."
She groaned sleepily, "You can do whatever; except wake me up."
"I just couldn't help not having you at my fingertips," Colin explained, rather unsatisfactorily for Kyra's taste, "Being my wife has some added responsibilities, you know; sleep may, on occasion, be secondary to being the recipient of my adoration."
Kyra sighed, pushing her face against Colin's chest, "Then I might have to take it back. A Silverwing needs her sleep."
She began to giggle, leaving Colin to recoil slightly from the feeling of her finger pushing against his stomach, a rather ticklish thing, as he spoke up, "Once a Silverwing, always a Silverwing, huh?
Despite being surrounded by Colin, Kyra managed a dramatically proud nod as she replied, "Oh, of course. Even during my year-long tenure, we had elves return who'd been retired for hundreds of years, simply because it felt so much like home. Same goes for most Sentinel orders."
"Like your mother's?" Colin wondered, curiously.
Kyra's enthusiasm died down as her lips curled in thought, her eyes opening just barely as she answered, "Mother's…a unique case. The Shadowleaves, in general, were very unique. Where I hold my time as a Silverwing as a fond memory, mother has said, more than once, she retains her time as a Shadowleaf only as a scar on her mind."
A silence grew as Kyra finished, a quiet, contemplative sigh leaving her while her eyes closed once again, stealing away the gentle light that had emanated from below Colin's head, "Mother's always been unique herself, though. Dad's more than happy to reminisce on his days raiding small settlements or cryptically reciting, word-for-word, different incantations meant to incinerate different organs inside of a demon. Obviously, I never knew whether or not it was true, but whenever the older kids misbehaved, all he had to do was refer to them as "little demons" and that'd just about get them back in line."
Colin grinned at her story, though the tone in her voice told him she wasn't following suit, "Those two were always so night and day, mother and father. I still don't know what's bound them together so magnificently."
Still downtrodden, Colin was rather confused by her words. What she was saying sounded so positive and uplifting, but her voice said it bothered somewhat, leaving him slightly unsure. His hand paused midway down her hair, still clutching it softly as he turned his head down toward her.
"Why does it bother you so?"
Kyra's light returned, illuminating Colin's chest with a pale blue light that also shone Kyra's beautifully rosy skin, "It doesn't bother me, just- I often wonder about it for no reason beyond my own curiosity."
"Do you wonder what binds us?"
He felt the faintest of shivers from her, Kyra's voice immediately turning quiet at his words. Far from afraid of what her response might have been, Colin was merely curious, himself, by what exactly had caused this question to mull around in her mind.
The light of her eyes vanished once again, "You no longer have Elune at your cheek."
Colin chuckled, "What? You think a goddess was what bound us together?"
"No, but…" Kyra faded out, twisting her lips confusedly, "You gave that up for something so minute as a proposal when night elves don't even usually do such a thi-"
"It wasn't minute" Colin clarified, coming to understand where her troubles lay, her emotions having been swept up when the proposal had happened.
He frowned, as if slightly peeved that the meaning of his action had been misconstrued in some way, though he tenderly continued stroking Kyra's hair, "Kyra, you're the world to me. I would give more than my life for y-"
"Don't say that…" Kyra's voice emerged, whetted with tears, putting an immediate halt to Colin's words, "I already know what you have planned to do, and it kills me to think of you wasting another gift merely for my sake."
Colin's hand had already worked its way up to Kyra's cheek, performing double duty as his other arm was already wrapped around her from beneath. He could almost feel her breath growing colder against her skin, which nearly tore him apart, knowing he'd inadvertently left her alone with these sorts of thoughts for however long in the night. or was it inadvertent?
His throat went dry as his own mind wandered, though he quickly drew in a sigh, reaching his head down to kiss atop Kyra's head, lingering just long enough to catch the softness of her hair along his lips.
"You wanna know what my plan is?" Colin asked, not waiting for any sort of reply, "I don't care what I've been given by a god, or demigods, or whatever. Aside from the gift of life itself, you're the greatest gift I could have ever been given, Kyra Shadowmoon, and I won't, for any amount of time, squander the most amazing gift I could have ever received."
His fingers curled into a ball as his hand slid down to her chin, carefully lifting her face up to see her there, staring back with nearly-closed eyes, though having fought back any sort of tear that might have escaped. She watched him so distantly, as if such a conclusion she'd thought of had already come true.
"My only plan is to be your husband. To be your bed when you are tired, your pillar whenever you just happen to be weak, your best friend; I want nothing more than to worship you like the awed devotee that I am, and will always be, be it with my words, my undying loyalty and love, my tongue and my teeth, a gentle goodnight before we sleep, and I tender kiss to wake you in the morning. Until our final day together, I have no other plan than you dedicate my entire life to you, our children, our home, whether that's here or a thousand miles away. It would be far too much for me to separate my two gifts anyway; I might as well join the two."
Kyra's eyes had wavered averted, a tender smile appearing before the glance of her beloved. She hadn't believed she could feel so loved, and even though Colin's description sounded so one-sided, a retort was the farthest thing in her mind at this point. Her hand made its way upward, grasping ahold of Colin's as she gently pushed her fingers in between his own, pulling the pair of them down, leaving only Colin's face in view, his eyes so easily staring back at her despite the piercing glow in the dark.
A thumb ran along Colin's hand as Kyra took in a breath, stealing this moment in time before she spoke, "How many children are we going to have?"
"That's more like it," Colin grinned, happy to have relieved her mind, at least for the moment.
He leaned his head down, feeling an ache in his neck from the contortion, though it was the farthest thing from his mind as the two's lips met briefly before Colin smiled in reply, "Night elves don't have many, right?"
Kyra shrugged, "Usually one or two. Three's pretty rare. Like I said, mom's pretty unique, having as many as she's had. Some of the more crass elves would probably say my father's Illidari seed that's to blame, as if he's leaving her with demon children or something."
Colin chuckled humorously, "Well alright then. How about just two. A boy and a girl."
She eyed him coyly, "Can you guarantee such a- You know, you probably could by this point."
"Please," Colin replied, teasingly, before continuing quietly, "Maybe we'll keep a few hundred years between them, just so they have a true big or little sibling."
"That'll keep it easy for you, too, huh?" Kyra smirked.
Colin shrugged, "I mean, maybe. I have a lot to learn about being a parent anyway, and even more about being a father. To be honest, that's what scares me most."
"We'll have plenty of time," Kyra reminded, "Especially now. Plenty of time to make mistakes. Plenty of time to learn."
Colin nodded, unsurely, "I hope so. I'm sure your father will be more than happy to offer advice."
Her eyes rolled as Kyra sighed, "Are you kidding? Where do you think Vylira got her insistence to show up unannounced from?"
"I suppose you're right," Colin chuckled lightly, his eyes turning back toward Kyra, "What will we name them?"
Kyra's lips curled downward in thought, unsure of how to reply, "I don't know; I haven't thought of it, really."
Colin replied, "Well, I've been a mere lost soul in this world until you took me in, so perhaps it should be more elvish than anything?"
"If that's what you want," Kyra smiled, "You can do just about anything with names; Shilaei, Enea, Assillinn, Ja-"
"Arcy'ri," Colin muttered quietly, "That'll be our little girl. Arcy'ri."
Kyra smirked widely, "Invoking the gods already, are we?"
"I figured it was only appropriate. Breath of the Goddess."
Slowly, Kyra's hand reached over to Colin's side, running gently up his body before curling around behind his arm, grasping ahold of his shoulder, "Then our son will be Nasunyth."
Colin's eyes fell curiously, "I'm not even familiar with its meaning."
Kyra grinned mischievously, "Maybe that's why I never taught it to you."
"How long have you expected this, then?" Colin chuckled.
She replied, coyly, "Long enough, my love."
Colin nodded, resigning himself to this fate as he closed his eyes, speaking nearly in a whisper, "Arcy'ri and Nasunyth Shadowmoon."
"Shadowmoon?" Kyra wondered curiously, unsure as to Colin's wording.
"Why do you have that name?" Colin asked, rhetorically, "Your father kept it to remind you all of the darkness that's within all of us, right? I want our children to have that same attachment, to remind them to become greater than whatever ails them."
He went on, jokingly, "My family name is rather worthless now, anyway."
Kyra didn't reply, her eyes dropping sadly toward the mattress at Colin's words. It wasn't the first time she felt so unhappy at the idea of never being able to meet or come to know his parents, or what kind of man he would have been had they not perished. Still, she was more than happy to count him among her own, and she knew, quite readily, that her parents had very much the same attitude.
Colin's hand reached around her head, pulling her into his chest as he closed his eyes in a quiet attempt at once again hunting down sleep. Kyra felt his heartbeat at her forehead, steadily listening for it to begin to soften, signaling his falling asleep, though it didn't come. Still in thought by his words, however, she went ahead and dropped the question that pained her the most, figuring this would be as good of time as any.
"Colin…" she quietly spoke up.
"Hmm," he replied sleepily, his chest vibrating along her face as he did so.
She silently mulled over her words, her eyes slanting barely into small lines of moonlight, "You'll be there for our children, and their children, even after I'm gone, won't you?"
For the longest of moments, she was met only with silence, as well as a tug in her heart. She closed her eyes, starlight droplets collecting there as she sadly pressed against her lover, brokenhearted, already, by his recusal of Elune's gift for him, and even now, apparently choosing her over immortality itself. Such a gift, she thought; she wasn't worthy of such a thing being squandered in her name.
"What was it Ysera herself said?" Colin asked aloud, not leaving much room for an answer as he went on, "Where one of us goes, the other is sure-"
"Not when things have changed so much," Kyra interrupted.
Colin replied, easily enough, "Do you think it's me being selfish?"
"Maybe not to me, but certainly to all of our children and their children, and even their children," Kyra, more or less, accused, though with a light enough tone so as to not incite argument.
Colin's tug increased around her head, pulling her closer as his steady voice swirled through the air, "I'll just have to see how much I ache without the love of my life."
Kyra's eyes lowered, narrowing as ripples of sadness flowed through her, a strain of resilience coursing through to her tongue as she finished with one last challenge, "Promise the woman you love that you'll be there for our children. forever."
He didn't immediately respond, leaving Kyra's mind to wonder what the holdup could have been, though, suddenly enough, Colin's voice reemerged.
"Promise."
A sigh of relief escaped Kyra as curled up against him, once again seeking out sleep as weariness approached her, causing her to not notice the slightest of rapidity streaking across Colin's heartbeat as he spoke that. He still had no idea what life without this woman would be; it was a concept that was so easy when he was the one destined to pass on first. But now, with the roles reversed, there was an inevitable emptiness in his mind when thinking of the most distant future.
Luckily, he knew as well, that was a whole world that was still lifetimes away for him.
He reached down and yanked the blanket up over Kyra's head to his shoulder, knowing she enjoyed the darkness that came with such concealment. Just as surely as he'd done so, he buried his arm underneath the thick comforter, running it between their two bodies until Kyra happily wrapped her own pair around it, her fingers so delicately stroking against his skin as if taking in its warmth.
"I love you," she spoke, just muffled by the blanket surrounding her, "Now and forever."
Colin smiled, "I love you dearly. Now and forever."