Five years ago, Söl
"Are you sure this is a good idea…?" Erik muttered through his bond with Elora as he stalked through a forest bathed in a soft, otherworldly glow. The air shimred with traces of magic, and bioluminescent flowers pulsed gently underfoot, casting eerie patterns across the mossy ground.
Not all forests on Söl were like this, but this one was quite special. Most other races knew to stay away if they weren't looking for trouble with its inhabitants…
"Nope!" she responded with a little more cheer than the implication of her words would suggest.
"Don't worry!" she giggled playfully, the sound light as drifting petals. "Do you think it's the first ti I've stalked through these woods? They regularly cull any dangerous beasts in the area, so all that's left is the traps and alarms. But just follow my instructions, and no one will be the wiser! You trust , right?"
Erik chuckled and smirked, his feet crunching on the crisp earth and fallen leaves. "Of course I love you!"
"That's not what I asked!" Elora imdiately shot back. A cloud of lights separated from Erik's body and reford into Elora's smaller fairy form, floating in front of his face with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.
Erik halted in his tracks, and pursed his lips with a complicated expression. "Well… Look, I've beco the target of quite a few of your sches over the last three years, alright? Our relationship has advanced significantly recently, and I'd even acknowledge you usually had my best interests at heart even before that, but…" he shrugged helplessly, his aning clear.
Even if you knew the other person cared for you, being an unwitting target of their sches still didn't feel good.
It was only very recently when the two of them realised their feelings for each other. Two months ago they were still no more than partners in everything, even as they enjoyed an active sex life. They cared about each other, but love remained a concept that neither of them was particularly engaged with.
Even after three years, Erik had remained hung up on everything that happened between Edda and himself. Everyone he loved had either died or betrayed him in horrific fashion, so he had closed himself off from the possibility. Not in a sense that he was actively avoiding it, but more in a way that his subconscious simply wouldn't allow him to think about it.
But that'd all changed in a very short amount of ti, when Erik attempted to bring his Arcanist and Runebound sides out of balance. He tried focusing more on one more than the other, in the hopes of advancing faster, and simply taking so ti to catch the other one up at a later date.
But his attempt failed spectacularly.
In the aftermath, a panicked and scared Elora spent weeks nursing him back to health as he suffered imnse pain and his eventual fate remained uncertain. But when the balance between his systems of power was finally restored, the ordeal had created a surprising benefit: love.
Or, rather, the realization of love. Because it was Elora's reaction to Erik's pain as she cared for him that allowed them both to grasp the true depth of Elora's feelings. It was this knowledge that broke the ntal barrier Erik had put up, allowing him to co to terms with his own feelings for the fairy.
Things went fast for them after that, but it was all still rather fresh. Erik knew he loved the fairy, and believed she wouldn't harm him, but he didn't fully trust her. He'd been the unwitting pawn or subject to so many sches and plans over the years that he'd ended up with an instinctive wariness towards her.
After he reminded Elora of the many tricks she'd pulled on him over the past few years, Elora shrank back a little, looking guilty and sad. "I— I guess that's fair…" she muttered softly, her eyes downcast. "Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea, after all… We— We are kind of rushing into it, I guess…"
Through their bond, Erik felt the genuine guilt and sadness she felt, which was such a contrast from the earlier joy, that he grimaced. 'Dammit, now I feel guilty for what I said…' he grumbled in his mind.
He imdiately sighed and shook his head. "No, that's… that's not what I ant." He stepped closer and took her small form into his hands, smiling gently. Elora took a seat on his hands, but still looked sad.
"Being back here just makes a little nervous, but I do trust you to lead us through here safely," he continued sincerely. "I just said sothing unnecessary and unrelated… You ntioned trust, and… I'm not sure why I said all that."
Elora spread her arms wide and looked miserable. "Because that's what you're thinking! It may be a different kind of trust, but…" she fell silent and squird a little uncomfortably, "…but I want you to trust fully. In all aspects."
She looked up at him with a sad frown. "Is it too late for that now…?" Then she looked away. "If—" she gulped, " If you need so more ti to think about this, the—"
"No!" Erik imdiately interrupted her as he looked at her sternly. "I don't think we're rushing into this at all. This has been coming for at least a year now, we just needed sothing to be the catalyst."
"As for trust…" he shrugged helplessly. "Just promise you won't lie or keep things from anymore. It— It won't be enough imdiately, but give it ti, alright?"
He lifted her to his face and looked into her crimson eyes with a smile. "We'll have plenty of that, won't we…?"
A wide smile broke out on Elora's beautiful lips. Her eyes were a little wet as she nodded rapidly. "Yeah! I— I promise! I'll only ever include you in my plans from now on!"
Before Erik could respond, she suddenly turned into her human-sized form. Pressing her lips against his, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Grinning, Erik responded in kind and they kissed passionately for several minutes, surrounded by massive trees and beautiful plants.
He could feel the joy in her soul at the prospect of what they were about to do, causing him to sigh inwardly with resignation. Whether it was a good idea to be here or not, he wanted her to be happy.
"Well, well, well," a voice suddenly resounded from a few steps away, causing both Erik and Elora's eyes to widen, even as their lips were still pressed together. "Isn't this an interesting sight I've walked into?" the female voice continued, a dangerous edge having seeped into her tone.
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