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Post by tsukikoko on Sept 26, 2022 7:13:13 GMT -6
Sara watched Faolan's expression over the rim of her cup, bright green eyes carefully appraising him. Then, seemingly satisfied with the surety in his voice and trusting in his belief in the safety he would have with Edge, even given the nature of their upcoming conversation, she lowered her drink with an encouraging smile. "Alreet luv, I trust that ya know what's best like. I'm glad ya gannin' te talk, far better than leavin' it tah fester."
Over the next few minutes, drinks were finished and more casual conversation was exchanged, along with further feline interaction. But, before long, their time came to an end and they got up to leave. It was when the pair exited the café doors, Sara pulled the doctor into a tight squeeze, murmuring softly to him, "If ya ever need us again, for anythin' luv, please don't 'esitate tah git in touch, alreet?" The shifter pulled back, both hands tracking along his forearms until she could hold Faolan's hands. She squeezed them gently. "I 'ope it goes well for ya luv, I really do. Look after yaself, like."
With another smile, the redheaded shifter stepped back to say goodbye. She would watch her friend leave even once she made her way towards her car, just to make sure he seemed okay. Only once Faolan was out of sight would she make her way home.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Sept 27, 2022 23:55:20 GMT -6
Faolan melted into the embrace, his gaze soft and appreciative as Sara pulled back.
“Thank you, darling. I’ll keep you updated.” He returned the gentle squeeze, smiling. “Seriously. Thank you so much. Drive safe, alright?”
He waved goodbye, trying to keep the scientists words in mind as he began the walk back to the apartment. He couldn’t let his emotions boil over like that again - had to be calm and open minded, if he wanted this to work. Which he did, badly.
He opened his phone, staring at the last messages between himself and Edge. The Darai hadn’t sent anything since he’d left. No apology, no pleading paragraph, no voicemails demanding he hear him out. It was entirely different to how Warren would have reacted.
The guilt needled deeper. Faolan began to type, and then deleted the lines of text with a huff of breath. There was no way he could call him, not yet. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, indecisive as line after line ran through his head.
I’m at my apartment - can you come over so we can talk about this?
Faolan pressed send with a sigh and a growing sense of worry. He really shouldn’t have left like that. What if Edge didn’t want to see him at all? He slumped back on the sofa with another loud sigh, pressing his hands to his eyes. There was nothing to do but wait for a reply.
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Post by NightshadeVII on Sept 28, 2022 12:53:18 GMT -6
Edge had kept busy, or at least tried to, tidying up his apartment where he could; folding up the blankets on the couch, making the bed, airing out and such. He had even straightened out his spice shelves and the tins of tea-blends in the kitchen. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep his thoughts from carrying him away completely. He would be lying to himself if he said he hadn’t thought of Faolan, or that he hadn’t poured over the situation in his head again and again, trying to think of a way he could have handled the situation better. It was a waste of time, he knew as much, but such was his nature.
The text tone was jarringly loud in the silence, a synthetic snippet of a sound snapping the Darai out of his train of thought. A quick glance at the screen told him it was Faolan, and the knot in his chest tightened. He was almost nervous to read the full text, but knew not reading it would be worse. The phone was picked up carefully, like it was made of glass.
Faolan wanted to meet, to talk. Relief mingled with the musician’s nervousness, and his reply came easily.
Yeah, of course. I’m on my way. The text was simple, perhaps too much so. Edge considered asking if Faolan needed anything, wondered if he should bring flowers as an apology. But he felt that would be too much, would come off as too sleazy. It was probably better to come as he were, prepared and open-minded. If Faolan had questions, Edge would answer them with the honesty he deserved. And whatever decision the blonde doctor had reached, he would respect. Putting it like that made it sound simple.
With that decided, he quickly slipped on his shoes and jacket, grabbed his keys from the kitchen table and headed out the door.
He knew the route to Faolan’s place by heart, and his inhuman spatial sense had helped him find all sorts of hidden shortcuts through the city, despite the fact that Wathais was bigger and busier than any city he knew from home. Still, the normally quick walk seemed to last an eternity, and the tidy sidewalks and clutter-filled alleyways felt longer than normal.
Eventually he was by the blonde’s apartment and had rung the doorbell. Now there was nothing to do but wait to be buzzed in. Absentmindedly, he toyed with one of the rings in his lip and tried to keep both his heart and mind in check. His boots tapped quietly against the ground, a subtle metronome.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Oct 14, 2022 23:44:31 GMT -6
Jake unfurled himself from the couch at the chime of the doorbell, bounding over to the door with an impatient meow. Faolan didn’t move from where he sat for a few long seconds, and then with a nervous puff of breath he stood up and walked over, heart in his throat.
The door opened with a quiet click. Jake squeezed between the surgeons legs before he could stop him, curling around Edges ankles with a loud, raspy purr. Faolan half smiled up at the Darai, the faint expression not reaching his eyes like it usually did.
“Hey, Edge…come on in. Jake - stop it.”
Of course the cat would make it more awkward, already pawing at Edges leg to be picked up. The shorthairs tail flicked in irritation when Faolan scooped him up and deposited him back into the apartment, which gave the punk the space he needed to enter.
Faolan crossed his arms as Edge crossed the threshold, unsure of how to proceed.
“Thanks for coming…look, I’m sorry for yelling.” He started, haltingly, though his tone was sincere. “Maybe you wanna - sit down? We can talk about it - properly?”
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Post by NightshadeVII on Oct 15, 2022 1:19:22 GMT -6
The few heartbeats he waited for the door to open seemed like an eternity. Before he could even be greeted by Faolan, the blonde’s cat was already at his feet, loud and insistent, thinking that surely, Edge was here to visit him, and not his human. Normally, tradition would have dictated that the Darai scooped Jake up, carrying him around like the royal he assumed to be, but today was different and Edge’s hands remained a his side, the feline having to settle for a smile. The decision did not go over well with the feline.
“Hey, Faolan”, it felt weird using the blonde’s proper name, but the Darai didn’t let it show. He entered the apartment carefully, shrugging off his jacket, heart in his throat. When the cat was plopped down elsewhere and the door closed, there was a moment of awkward silence, neither knowing what to say. The doctor was clearly nervous, beautiful golden eyes haunted, crossing his arms to protect himself. Then Faolan apologized, for yelling of all things.
“Hey, it’s alright, I’m sorry too, this whole mess is my fault after all…”, Edge smiled softly, carefully. Then, at Fao’s proposal, he nodded, a brief hint of relief flashing in his eyes as he followed the blonde to where he wanted to sit and have this conversation. Though the apartment was known to him, this time, he felt like an invader, his steps loud against the floorboards, his presence heavy with things unsaid. “Yeah, that sounds good”, a metal ring spun in the Darai’s lip, nervous this time, “I… thought a lot about this entire thing, and- before anything- I guess I just want you to know that, no matter what you decide after we talk, or if you’ve already decided… I’ll be okay with it.”
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Post by qhostqrowls on Dec 27, 2022 21:13:43 GMT -6
Faolan sat down on the edge of the couch, his hands folded neatly in his lap to stop himself from fidgeting. He was watching Edge closely, trying to gauge his mood. He saw nothing but guilt and worry in his body language. There was no simmering anger or frustration, and the doctor let out a breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding.
“Thank you. I really shouldn’t have reacted like that, though - I won’t yell again. It was just…I didn’t expect it. At all.”
His voice was tight but soft, a small crease between his brows as he looked at Edge.
“I don’t care that you’re a super - you’re still the same person I fell in love with. But I do want you to tell me about what you are - what a Darai is. The good and the bad - if there is any. Just so we have all our cards on the table, yeah?”
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Post by NightshadeVII on Dec 29, 2022 17:57:28 GMT -6
The air in the apartment was undeniably tense, like a string drawn tight, threatening to snap. Somewhere in the apartment, Jake was prancing about, unbothered, as the only one. The couch dipped under Edge as he sat down, opposite of Faolan, with one leg half tucked underneath the other. Despite his stature, the Darai seemed small like this. There were tiny sparks of relief in his eyes when Faolan spoke, thankfulness that Faolan was willing to hear him out, all things considered. But he knew better than to get overly optimistic.
“I don’t blame you”, Edge shrugged slightly, sending Faolan a half-smile, sheepish, “I mean… who could expect something like that?”
When Faolan’s brow creased, Edge wanted nothing more than to reach out and smooth those worry lines from his face, instead, he took to picking at one of the buttons of his gloves.
“Yeah, all cards on the table, of course”, the Darai nodded, meeting Faolan’s eyes as he did, “Though, please stop me if- if I ramble, or something doesn’t make sense.”
He took a deep breath then, hoping to tame his beating heart. It was hard to decide where he should even start, how much he should tell right away, what was even relevant. How could he explain an entire species, a culture and a lived experience in a way that didn’t become horribly overwhelming? He would probably never find an answer to that.
“Alright, here goes… so, the reason you haven’t heard of my kind, the Darai, before, is because we’re not-”, he paused, correcting himself, “I’m not from this world. I’m from a world called Veraeth, and I still don’t really understand how I ended up here.”
While Edge explained, he didn’t shy away from eye contact, purple eyes clear and vulnerable. If there was anyone who deserved his vulnerability, it was Faolan, and the Darai found that, even now, as was revealing everything he had been taught to keep secret, he trusted the blonde with it completely, no matter what he decided to do with it. A part of him- some nagging shadow in the back of his mind- kept telling him to stop, to reel it back, that this was dangerous, horribly dangerous for them both. He continued, in spite of it.
“It’s hard to compare Darai directly to anything in this world, and terms are hard to translate, but my kind do have certain unique abilities. We can communicate on a purely emotional level, essentially sharing or showing your emotions to another. We have…”, another pause, Edge’s lips shaping silent words as he tried to translate, “individual attunements to the elements of the world around us, which allows us to manipulate them. Y’know, classics like earth, fire, water and all that, but a few are more niche as well, like manipulation of physical space.” The Darai let out a breath, realizing that he had been breathing fast and shallow while he spoke. “That’s my attunement. So I can- ah, what’s the words-“, Edge almost laughed at the irony of the situation, of course it was now that he struggled to put words to things, “I can change the structure of physical objects.”
For a moment, Edge tried to gauge Faolan’s reaction, checking in that he hadn’t scared him or angered him further. There was one more thing left, which, thankfully, was the easiest one to explain. “We also have some, I guess you can call it minor shapeshifting abilties? Which allows us to blend in with humans a little better”, his hands moved as he spoke, gesturing, “To help us bridge the gap between our people, our cultures.”
Edge was painfully aware that this was a lot, for Faolan to learn that his partner was not only a supernatural creature, but one that wasn’t even from this world, and that he had all these strange abilities on top of it. He probably hadn’t done a great job at explaining it, it was rushed and surface level at best. So he took a break, to let Faolan process it all. Of course he would elaborate as best as he could, but it was probably best to start simple and then go from there.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Mar 27, 2023 0:05:24 GMT -6
Faolan listened attentively as Edge explained, his expression serious. So, his boyfriend was technically an alien. Not from earth at all. He tried to view it objectively, determined to not jump to conclusions or to interrupt before the Darai was done. With each new piece of information, the worry in his eyes seemed to fade away little by little. Some part of him had been bracing for a big reveal - a reason Edge had been so reluctant to tell him. That some of his kind were maneaters, or blood-drinkers, or some other predatory twist. But none came, and when Edge fell silent, Faolan felt nothing but relief. And, overwhelmingly, curiosity.
"Alright, okay....I didn't expect the not-from-earth part." The doctor admitted. "That's crazy - not bad crazy, just - you should've told me earlier, because now you're going to have to deal with a million questions from me all at once."
He smiled, the expression soft and finally reaching his eyes.
"Your attunement, can you show me it? And I'd like to see what you look like - without the shapeshifting. If you're comfortable with that."
His words were still a little stilted, but his apprehension had all but faded away, his body language open and his gaze bright as he looked thoughtfully over Edge's face. Maybe he thought his true form was monstrous, and that's where his hesitation had come from.
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Post by NightshadeVII on Apr 14, 2023 1:42:19 GMT -6
Though Faolan remained quiet as Edge rambled, wearing a serious expression that the two had never shared, the Darai would have liked to believe that the blonde at least looked a little less worried as time went on. Perhaps that was just wishful thinking, but he couldn’t deny how badly he wanted this to work out, somehow. Then, Faolan smiled. His features softened and his eyes grew warmer and the Darai felt his heart soar with relief in that very moment.
“Yeahh, to be fair though, who would expect that part? It’s surreal”, Edge let go of the breath he had been holding, gaze softening as he returned the smile, “-but, a million questions I can deal with.”
Though of all things Faolan could ask, attunement and natural form was probably the ones the Darai had been least prepared for. Sure, he could talk about it- in his own clumsy, way at least- and logically he knew that both were things he’d have to show Faolan eventually, but a nagging, venomous insecurity curled in his chest. What if Faolan would find him monsterous afterwards? “Oh? Right, sure… I’m probably a little rusty”, Edge disclaimed, sounding almost a little embarrased to admit it, “I haven’t exactly had much reason to use my attunement or, y’know, not look human...”
Picking up his keys, he removed one of the decorative keychains hanging from it- a thin rectangular slab of metal that he had picked up on a trip to some botanical gardens with Faolan- and twirled it between his fingers for a moment. It felt strange even attempting to do something like this after having gone so long without needing to. Or perhaps such deliberate displays of his abillities still made him nervous. Either way, after trying to clear his mind, he got to work. With a guiding movement from the Darai, the metal began to fold in on itself, like a flower blooming in reverse. Solid metal was not supposed to be able to move that way, and yet, it undeniably was. “Where I’m from, we can categorize things as being Spirited and Unspirited, to put it simply. Darai with the same attunement as me can essentially manipulate the shape of unspirited things. Normally, I use it to traverse difficult terrain, to mend things, generally daily convenience”, he explained, turning the metal in his palm before letting it expand like some intricate mandala or surreal maze, “so it applies to stuff like metal, gems, concrete, glass, plastic, sometimes even wood and other structures… I’m still figuring out how it works here though, it’s different…” By Eda, he wished he had better explanations for all of this, so many things got lost in translation. Releasing his hold on the keychain, he led it back to its original shape, showing it off with a sheepish, self conscious smile. “Of course there are limits to what I can do, and it’s tiring in the long run, so it’s not really something I make use of all that often.”
Then, remembering the other part of Faolan’s request, Edge looked around, making a mental note of where everything was, so he wouldn’t accidentally knock anything over, and adjusted his position on the couch accordingly. As if on second thought, he removed his fingerless gloves, placing them on the coffee table. “As for what I look like…”, Edge paused, realizing there really wasn’t a way to naturally from one topic to the other, “well… you’ll see.”
Another deep breath and then, like a picture developing, Edge’s form changed, slowly, but surely. It became hard to tell when exactly he stopped looking fully human, every change bleeding into the next. A large wing lay tucked against his back, covered in feathers the colour of dark ink, and in the light of the apartment, a purple-green iridescence played across every feather, like an aurora at midnight. The soft rustling of feathers filling the room as the Darai carefully repositioned himself again, painfully aware of just how much space he was now taking up in the small living room. Matching iridescent markings drew up his features, across cheekbones and throat, down to his shoulders and disappearing under his shirt. His arms bore similar sharply swirling markings across biceps and forearm, even down to the back of his hand. All were dramatic, painterly, but had a natural harmony with his features. A tail, the same colour as his wing, rested softly on the ground, curled up comfortably, so as not to accidentally knock into something. Perhaps the most “demonic” part of his appearance was the pair of curved, tri-pointed horns that framed his face. Still the shapes were organic and almost soft, complimenting his wild hair. Edge had never felt monsterous like this, but here, in a different world altogether, he was well aware he might appear that way. A small, nervous smile from the Darai revealed canines that had grown sharper, not dramatically so, but still noticeably inhuman.
“I don’t… gain something from this form or anything”, the Darai added carefully, “so it’s not as if I’m suddenly inhumanly strong or anything like that… still just me…” His eyes, with their already unnatrual purple colour, had taken on a subtle, warm glow as he regarded Faolan, trying to gauge whether his true appearance scared the blonde or not.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Aug 6, 2023 20:32:48 GMT -6
“That’s okay, take your time.” Faolan said softly, waiting patiently for Edge to begin. He leant in, pupils widening slightly, like a cat watching a bird, as the keychain warped and bent with each guiding movement of Edge’s hand.
“That’s amazing. I’ve never seen any kind of power like that.” He breathed, looking back to Edge’s face as the keychain melded back to its original shape. His partner looked nervous, more than he’d seen been before, and he held his tongue as the Darai awkwardly moved to the next topic. His true form. Faolan felt his heart beat a little faster, a faint feeling of anxiety curling in his chest. Whatever he looked like, it was still Edge. Still the same person on the inside. He couldn’t hurt him with a bad reaction, even if it was something truly terrifying.
The shift was smooth and hard to follow, a slow blend of alien features. A wing. A tail. Tiger-like markings across his face and arms. It was beautiful, and unique, and the flicker of fear Edge had been worried about never appeared on Faolan’s face, even as his gaze slid from his horns to his pointed canines.
Their eyes met, and Faolan’s eyes narrowed as he smiled affectionately. This was still the man he’d fallen in love with.
“You look so cool.” He enthused, his smile widening. He stood, glancing over Edge like he would a patient, his expression bright and curious. He brushed his fingertips across the markings on his shoulder, the motion tender and exploratory.
“Wow. The horns, I - may I touch them?” He drew his hand back, smiling a little sheepishly.
“Only one wing?” He said with a tilt of his head, his tone careful.
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Post by NightshadeVII on Aug 10, 2023 15:23:34 GMT -6
Faolan’s patience quickly soothed Edge’s overactive mind. He didn’t quite know what he had expected, but it wasn’t this; curiousity and gentle appreciation. Perhaps he had expected more shock, that his abilities and more inhuman apperance would be too different from the person Faolan knew him as. But of course the blonde was taking it much better than Edge had allowed himself to hope he would- Faolan continued to surprise him in the best possible ways and it only made the Darai appreciate him more. This was so much better than what he had dreamt of. When Faolan smiled, that same gentle smile he knew, the smile that made his eyes glow like dawn, Edge’s heart threatened to burst from his chest. That knot of worry that had weighed him down slowly began to untangle itself, making him feel lighter than he had in a long time. Though, a thread of guilt tugged at his mind. He really should have told Faolan this much sooner. Why had he been so afraid?
Still, as they talked, the tension in the room easing, worry faded from Edge’s amethyst eyes, quickly replaced by a soft adoration as he looked at Faolan. When the blonde complimented his appearance, the Darai couldn’t fight the faint blush that rose to his cheeks. It only worsened when the blonde’s fingertips brushed against his shoulder, gently tracing his markings. Edge leaned into Faolan’s familiar touch, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips. It was like falling in love with him all over again. A quiet, content rumble built in the back of his throat, almost like a purr. Another thing he could express more freely now.
The Darai blinked, looking up at Faolan as he asked his next question, smiling sheepishly. “The horns? Sure, I don’t mind”, Edge replied once he’d processed the request, then, quietly and without really thinking, he added, “Not with you…”
He angled his head slightly towards Faolan, careful in his movements. It had been so long since he had last been in his natural form that he had almost forgotten how he had to move differently to accommodate for it. Without realizing, Edge held his breath, realizing just how important this was to him; Faolan’s acceptance and curiousity, his gentle, exploratory touches and bright eyes. It meant the world to him. He felt so seen.
Then, the most obvious thing to ask about- his wing. The impulse arose to break eye contact with Faolan, but was quickly suppressed. After a moment of silence, Edge sighed. “Yeah… only one wing”, he spoke softly, habitually rolling his shoulders and letting his wing shift with the movement, “it’s… a long story.”
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Post by qhostqrowls on Aug 17, 2023 22:08:41 GMT -6
Jake jumped onto the back of the couch, his collar jingling. The shorthair stretched his neck out, sniffing at Edge’s wing for a few long seconds, and then, seemingly unimpressed, leapt down to curl up in the Darais lap. That had remained the same, and so the cat was happy.
Faolan ran a hand along Edge’s horns, feeling the ridges and smooth, bone-like texture. It was still a little surreal, to see them on his boyfriend, but they really did compliment Edge’s features, in a beautiful, wild kind of way. His fingers continued on, brushing through his dark hair, a familiar, tender motion for the both of them.
He looked into his eyes, his gaze silently questioning.
“We don’t have to talk about it.” He said softly, sensing his hesitation. “I know today had been…a lot, already.”
He leant down, planting a brief kiss on his forehead.
“I’m sorry I didn’t make you feel comfortable enough to share this with me before. But it means a lot that you trust me with this. Really.”
He sat down carefully next to the Darai, not wanting to crush any of his feathers beneath him. Gently, he ran a hand over his tail, and then reached out to scratch at Jake’s ears.
The cat flicked his tail, purring faintly. The fact that his pet was as comfortable and loving with Edge as he always had been spoke volumes.
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Post by NightshadeVII on Aug 18, 2023 7:17:10 GMT -6
Edge couldn’t help but chuckle at Jake’s nonchalant inspection, the cat more calm and unfazed than either of them. But of course, a wing, a tail and some horns weren’t important if they weren’t gonna result in more treats. Per habit, the Darai began dutifully scratching behind the cat’s ears and under his chin as he curled up in his lap.
Edge’s heart skipped a beat as Faolan’s hand drifted from his horn to run through his hair instead, the familiar, soothing touch like a balm for both heart and mind. He could definitely get used to this. Amethyst eyes opened slowly as the blonde next spoke, giving him an out. It was just like him, kind and considerate despite everything that had already happened today.
“No, no, it’s okay, really. It would come up eventually”, Edge smiled, old sadness joining the swirl of emotion in his eyes. He took a moment to steady himself, breathing deeply “Where I’m from there were these… things, I suppose. Irei A’dashé-“ the words were hissed like a curse, “we called them Razers, big fuckers that have it out for my kind. Once, they attacked the settlement I lived in. We tried to evacuate as best as we could, but one caught me by the back of the head, grabbed my wing and…” Edge grit his teeth, his jaw tensing up. Just talking about it like this, he could feel it happening all over again in a haze of memory. He reached down, pulling his t-shirt up slightly, showing the beginning of the massive scar on his back, beginning at his waist, destroying the iridescent markings there and disappearing up under the shirt. Just from this tiny glimpse Faolan now saw, it was easy to imagine how it covered most of his shoulder. It had faded over the years, but an injury of that magnitude would always leave its mark.
“It ripped it clean off, left me to die” Edge finished, letting his shirt drop, “You know how it goes, it’s a mess. It took years for me to regain full mobility, it still hurts at times. Phantom limb pain and all that.” Normally, he tried to hide the scar, from himself and others, as he didn’t want to be reminded of it all, but there was only so much you could hide from your partner, and a part of him appreciated that he could get it said so early.
The Darai smiled softly as Faolan pressed a kiss to his forehead. It didn’t surprise him that the doctor tried to take responsibility for why he hadn’t told him, but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
“Don’t apologize, Aiarih”, Edge replied quickly, almost instinctively, “this mess has nothing to do with you not making me feel comfortable enough to share this with you. I’ve always felt comfortable with you, I trust you and I really should have told you sooner. I’m sorry I didn’t…”
Without thinking, Edge scooted closer to Faolan on the couch- as much as the purring cat in his lap would allow anyway. In a motion not unlike a hug, his wing wrapped around the blonde, enveloping him in a curtain of soft, dark feathers. There was nothing but warmth and affection in his eyes. With his free hand, he reached out, caressing Faolan’s cheek as if he was the most precious thing in the world. “I didn’t tell you what I was because back home, knowing of my kind’s existence, being with them and helping them has gotten people killed. Some of us, myself included, choose to live among humans, to help as much as we can, but we never reveal ourselves”, the Darai sighed, looking worn down by that old, distant life, “I know it’s not the same here, and that it hasn’t been right for me to hide all this from you, but old habits die hard…”
The look of fear and betrayal in the blonde’s eyes earlier, it ached like an open wound and Edge would gladly spend the rest of his life making up for it, if he had to. But now, as he looked at Faolan, he found none of that earlier fear in those beautiful golden eyes. “I’m truly sorry I scared you. It won’t happen again.”
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Post by qhostqrowls on Aug 26, 2023 20:06:36 GMT -6
Faolan hadn’t expected Edge to explain the injury, but he sat quietly as he talked. His expression fell at the sight of the scar, and another piece of the puzzle fell into place as his eyes traced the damage. Edge had never taken off his shirt in front of him - not for swimming, not in the heat of summer. He’d always wondered why, but he’d never thought to ask, especially not when they’d only been friends.
“Oh, sweetheart.” He said sadly, leaning into his shoulder as his wing wrapped around them. “I’m so sorry that happened.”
Already he was considering a medical approach. If Edge was comfortable with it, he’d have him looked over by some of the other surgeons. Would a prosthetic work? Some kind of healing magic that could regrow it entirely? At the very least, there would be some kind of solution to the phantom pains.
“No, it’s okay - I understand. I appreciate you explaining.” He said, a little overwhelmed by the information, and leant his head on his shoulder. Everything had gone better than expected, and he finally felt at peace with the situation, but now all he felt was exhaustion.
“I believe you. Thank you for apologising.” He said, and though he meant it, there was a note of seriousness in his voice, a look of sincerity in his eyes. He’d been burnt before by placating apologies and promises. A promise broken once was a genuine mistake - twice, it would only happen again. But Edge was nothing like Warren, and he knew that in his heart.
“Also - Aiarih?” He fumbled the pronunciation, smiling curiously up at his partner.
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Post by NightshadeVII on Aug 29, 2023 2:20:39 GMT -6
As he spoke, Edge could practically see the puzzle pieces falling into place in Faolan’s mind. This explained the reason why he never took off his shirt, as well as some of his past issues that he had told Faolan about during quiet moments. In a way, it was the last thing that made it all come together.
“Yeah, I’ve… figured out to work around it”, as Faolan leaned closer, Edge unconsciously put his arm around the doctor, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. Knowing Faolan, the blonde was probably already thinking of ways to make it better, he was a healer after all. A bittersweet smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, “These days I’m mostly just sad I can’t take you flying.”
The air in the apartment had changed so much during their conversation, the tension and nervousness between them replaced by quiet calm. The Darai was so thankful for Faolan, for his understanding and open mindedness, even if Edge had definitely been in the wrong. Absentmindedly, he began tracing circles on Faolan’s arm, his touch light and gentle. The blonde seemed exhausted, understandably so, this day had been filled with with a lot of emotions, and it was a lot to digest.
“Apologizing is the least I can do”, Edge spoke quietly, meeting Faolan’s gaze. Here, the doctor would see his own seriousness reflected. It was clear in the Darai’s eyes, in the air around him, that he wanted this to work out and to rebuild the trust he had broken. “If there’s ever anything that makes you uncomfortable about this, you can talk with me about it.”
In the midst of it all, the Darai had already forgotten what he so unconsciously had called Faolan, so when the doctor tried to repeat the word, amethyst eyes widened.
“Oh”, Edge’s blush returned full force, spreading to the tips of his ears, “I, uh, I did call you that, didn’t I? Oh by Eda, this is gonna sound so corny-” He chuckled sheepishly, biting his lip.
“Aiarih is… a term of endearment in my native tongue”, he fumbled his words, lips moving quietly as if he was trying to translate as he went along, “it’s not like… partner or boyfriend or sweetheart. I can’t really translate it directly, it’s just as much something you feel as something you say”, as he spoke, his free hand went to his chest, as if the gesture would help him pinpoint that feeling he was talking about. Looking down at Faolan, the soft, curious smile on his lips, the light in his golden eyes, it slowly became clear how the Darai could explain it. It was complex and something he just knew with all his being- and it had been so right to call Faolan that.
“‘You who holds my heart’”, Edge finally said, his words quiet and carefully chosen, “that’s what I feel is the most fitting at least.”
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