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Vale of the White Horse
Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,323 Views)
Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Tudwrig look around him. He was standing in the granary, without any real recollection how he got there. Since Marcus Lentulus' return last week, he'd been under the curse more than ever, and if by some miracle he got control back, he'd be plagued by headaches to such a degree that all he could do was lie in his bed and bury his head into his pillow. And the last he remembered he was suffering exactly such a headache and had just dozed off into a restless sleep. So how did he get inside the granary? He ran a hand over the rough surface, wondering if he was dreaming. His mother had always told him that you cannot feel pain in a dream, but he did feel a steady, aching thump thump thump in his head, on the rhythm of his heartbeat. If this wasn't a dream, wasn't it more likely that he had just wandered down in his confused state of mind? It wasn't possible that he'd gotten out of his room under the curse - it had never happened before, in any case. Still, it bothered him. What if he'd done someone harm? Tudwrig frowned and straightened his back, ignoring the pain in his head. He needed to go thtough the caer and check to see if everything was still the way it was supposed to be.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Without letting the artisan know that she had been watching, Briallen slipped back to the courtyard. Her hand was clutching the bundle of feathers rather roughly; she quickly relaxed her fingers. If the feathers snapped only because of her own moment of envy, what good would that do anyone? She turned around, bringing her chin up. It was more to convince herself that she was still in control – the courtyard didn’t care if she stared up or down on her shoes. A man walked out of the granary as if he was dazing in a half-dream. Drunk, perhaps? He had dark hair and a pale face. She blinked and crossed the distance in a few rushed steps. ‘Tudwrig?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He gave a start, but when he recognized Briallen he quickly relaxed. 'Ah, Briallen,' Tudwrig said and drew his shoulders back, straightening his spine in an attempt to maintain a chieftain-like pose. It was a bit difficult. The smile he tried to give her must look strained as well. She seemed a little out of sorts herself though, and he wondered what had happened. If Marcus Lentulus somehow was the source of it, he would go and have a talk with the man.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He grimaced as if he had a tooth ache. ‘You’re outside,’ she stated, taking him in from up to down. ‘So you feel well?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Not exactly,' he admitted. 'But I thought that the fresh air might help.' It didn't feel good not to tell her, but he didn't want to burden her with additional problems. Especially if the particular problem might only be a one time-only thing; a temporary confusion caused by the lack of sleep. It was far more likely that he'd just been sleepwalking.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
And he did not exactly look alright either. She thought she saw dark half-moons beneath his eyes. But at least he had managed to get himself out of his room into the air for a bit. He’d been so locked up recently that she had started to worry more each day. ‘Can I do anything for you? Anything at all?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'I don't think so... I would like it if you walked with me and told me about what's happened in the past week or so, though.' Again he tried to smile, and he found that it was getting a little easier. The headache was still there, but focussing on Briallen made it easier for him to ignore it.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Yes. Of course.’ Briallen thought of the things she still had to do: gutting the swan, but she could bring it to the kitchen as well, and checking on the linen closet, because some girl had messed up the sheets; preparing the little garden under her window for the coming winter and working on the sunrise tapestry. Instead she strapped the feathers to her hip belt. ‘We’ve seen some increase in Rhywallon’s nonattendance; Gwenllian says he goes down to the settlement. I let him do what he wants…he’s his own man, I thought. Lord Marcus Lentulus has also returned from his absence. He’s made a short visit to announce this a few days ago, but he didn’t linger.’ She stepped closer to Tudwrig and directed their slow step to the small, wildered garden. ‘I do intend to keep a tighter eye on Rhywallon, though I believe he will honour our decision.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Tudwrig didn't like the thought of the Roman strutting around his caer, so he was glad to hear that he hadn't been all that present yet. It was a disconcerting thought to have a man who was so clearly bent on wheedling the power in the chieftaincy from him so close. Sometimes he really regretted the complications that an assassination brought with it. 'That's... more or less good news,' he said. 'Anything else I should know? Correspondence from other chieftains, or..?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘No, nothing. Though I did send a man to Shadow Well with my own message. I haven’t heard from my family since I was sent here. Sometimes it feels like my uncle disposed and forgot about me.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He slipped his arm around Briallen's shoulders. 'It's probably nothing like that,' he said reassuringly. 'It hasn't exactly been good weather for any messenger to travel through.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She smiled tightly. ‘I know. Lots of rain. That’s why I couldn’t go back when I found out –’ But had he ever even known about that? She’d been so close to returning home. It was only when Marcus Iulius had suddenly perched upon their walls that she had found that she could not. And she was here now. She loved Tudwrig, as she believed he loved her. ‘The garden,’ she went on instead. ‘Look. Come spring it’ll be a good place to rest for you. No one will come her but you and me. I’ll have flowers grow, and herbs.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He let himself be led through the small, unkempt garden and nodded. 'That sounds wonderful. Nice and sheltered.' It seemed like a place where he could fall asleep, though with the curse that didn't seem like such a good idea. Tudwrig looked off in the distance, trying to will his headache to go away. Of course that didn't work. 'I must be keeping you from your work,' he muttered then.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She shrugged. ‘I have too little time with you already. I think it’s very fitting that a wife can spend her time with her husband instead of gutting poultry. But let me just bring it to the kitchen instead. After that, I can be yours alone. If you want.’ He looked too wan for anything other than small conversation, Briallen thought. She reached up a hand. ‘Your shoulders feel like an iron bar. Why don’t you let me see if I can ease that.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Of course. That would be nice,' he said. Only he couldn't promise her that he'd be able to spend a lot of time with her. He prayed to the gods that he might be in control for a little longer, while walking with Briallen to the kitchens.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘I’ll have Braegne send some warmed mead to my room,’ she said after having delivered the swan. ‘I imagine you have seen enough of your own.’ She looked sideways and smiled at him. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t expect anything but your company. I can see you’re tired.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'I wish I wasn't,' he muttered, meaning it. They walked to her room together. It was bright and cosy, just as he remembered. So different from his own room... Tudwrig hoped that one day, their room would be just as light and pleasant.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Braegne knocked and entered, discretely placing two tin cups on the storage chest before slipping away. Briallen led Tudwrig to her bed. ‘Sit down. Here, take this.’ She handed him his own cup. It was a wide tin one, decorated with hunting dogs, foliage and knotwork. She poked in the flames of the hearth until the fire stirred and spread a blanket of warmth throughout the chamber, then crouched behind him on the bed, pulling her legs underneath her. ‘I’ll take off your shirt. If it’s cold, just say so.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'I don't get cold that quickly,' he said with a vague smile and allowed Briallen to take off his shirt. No, he thought as he sipped from the mead, it would be highly unlikely that he'd find it chilly.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She had dipped her hands into a little bowl with precious, herbed oil to soothe the skin. Now she gently slid her hands over his shoulders, up to his neck and the flowing nape between his head and his back. ‘Tudwrig…what are those?’ Because his pale skin was crossed with red marks, as if claws had scratched him there until they nearly bled. ‘Did you…did you hurt yourself?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He frowned and turned his head, trying to look at what Briallen was talking about. 'I can't remember if I have,' he said. Now that she mentioned it, his back was stinging a bit when she ran her hands over it, but it paled in comparison to his headache.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
It was so sad. Briallen felt a lump rising in her throat. She bowed over and kissed his neck softly, saying nothing at all. There wasn’t anything to tell him, after all. Her fingers went around the bruised carefully, easing his muscles to the best of her ability. It took a while before she felt them loosen up under her touch. She moved her hands back up, pressing her own body against his back and made light circles over his brow with her fingertips.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Tudwrig closed his eyes, enjoying her touch. If only this could last forever. It was only slightly bitter that he, despite his wont, didn't feel what he thought he was supposed to feel at the soft touch of his beautiful wife. Perhaps it was the worrying? He certainly hoped so; a repetition of what was supposed to be their weddingnight didn't seem so attractive to him.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She wanted to stop and ask if he felt any better, but his breathing had slowed. He had his eyes closed. Briallen looked at his face from behind, her hands still slowly making circles and spirals, stroking him so gently that she thought he’d nearly fallen asleep. No trace of a deeper passion or desire. That was alright. She kissed him in his neck again, and on his shoulder. ‘If you want to sleep, I’ll hold you.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
The idea of sleep suddenly gave him shivers. What if he started sleepwalking again and hurt Briallen? Tudwrig swallowed and opened his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. 'No, that's - that's all right. I'll sleep in my own chambers later.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Oh.’ She had to blink. ‘That’s alright. I just wanted to…’ To hold him while he was resting, keeping him safe against her body, almost like a mother holds a child in her womb. Briallen paused her hands, resting them on either side of his shoulders. ‘To take care of you. Make you happy.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'You're already making me happy,' he said and half-turned to send a smile her way. 'And no one's ever taken better care of me, honestly. It's just that I - it's the curse I'm worried about.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She nodded. ‘It’s terrifying for you, isn’t it? I see it in your eyes.’ She stroked his hair, trying to comfort him though it was impossible to take the dreaded thing away from him. In the silence that followed, she continued to rub his hard muscles, trying to push all that tension and pain from his upper body. His skin was gleaming from the oil now. She hadn’t even touched her own mead.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Yes, it was terrifying indeed. When her hands continued to work his sore muscles, he found that he was drowsing off again. It was a peculiar sort of half-dream state that made his senses preternaturally alert. He heard every change in Briallen's breathing; the shifting of the fabric of the bed they were sitting on when they moved; he even thought he could hear her heartbeat. He could quite clearly hear his own, anyway. Her scent pricked in his nostrils and he breathed it in deeply. It was suddenly as if he lost control without turning into a beast. A myriad of sensations surged through his body of a sudden - sensations he had hardly known before. Without stopping for a moment to think what he was doing, he turned around and pulled Briallen into a wild kiss, his hands roaming her body.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She reeled over by the force, her breath stuck in her throat. His lips pressed on her mouth hurt, and so did his hands that were searching and sometimes squeezing her body through her tunic. It had been so calm – it was like a demon suddenly possessed him. But there was no sign of a change in his body: no fur, no claws. He was still Tudwrig, as far as she could glance. She struggled her head to another side, panting: ‘What’s this?’
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