S E R A P H I N A
Vladimir awoke startled until Sera licked his cheek. She gave him no chance to respond, trotting out to the lake. Her mate took time to fully awaken before he followed her, giving the princess a chance to soak in the water. As Vladimir approached, Seraphina smiled mischeviously and took her chance to splash water in his direction. Vlad scowled at her, shaking water from his muzzle. “You want to play rough, huh?” The ess shrugged at him, a smirk growing as she watched him. He wasn’t really mad, Sera knew that well enough. The two were still young and enjoyed a good amount of play in their relationship. This was just how they were. The prince sprinted down the beach towards Sera, sending water splashing around him as he ran through the waves and moved to tackle her. Sera allowed him to, giggling as the both of them crashed into the water. She wriggled out from beneath him, a lazy and content smile on her face as she stood and looked at him, expressing how much she loved him. The mood shift was rather stark, but she felt that it was something she needed to say.
“I do know that, and I love you even more. I had this love in my heart that was meant for you and only you, and that was before I was even changed into a Tempest. Since my change, since magic infiltrated my system, that love has only been augmented, and I cannot imagine living one day without you. I cannot imagine a future that does not involve you or our pups. And because our pups are a part of you, were carried by you, the love for you extends to them as well.” Seraphina’s emeralds found the water, a blush creeping up her cheeks. With their age, it was easy to forget how mature Vlad could be and his gentle side never failed to make her fall in love all over again, no matter how many times she heard it. He nuzzled against nape, continuing. “If ever there was anything I could do to further your happiness, to bring you greater joy, all you would ever need to do was ask. I would do everything in my power to get it for you or accomplish it. I would do anything for you.” Sera rubbed her head against his.
“Oh Vladimir, you’re all I’d ever need. You are my heart and soul. I need nothing else as long as I have you.” Though she may not have been a Tempest, Seraphina knew that she wouldn’t be able to go on without Vlad. Being apart did not elicit the same feelings for her due to her lack of magic, but her heart still ached at the mere thought. The only beings that could match that level of love were her pups, but that was an entirely different type of love. A gentle kiss at Sera’s aud had her turning her head to face her mate again. “I do have another question to ask of you,” Sera cocked her head, “you know well that Scamander is my rainbow, that he is my responsibility.” She nodded slowly. Of course she did - Scamander had been staying with them after all. “But he is also and orphan, stolen from his homeland by a vicious monster who likely killed or kidnapped his parents. He has the other Arcus Irae, yes, but other than that he has no family. He needs a mother, and father. What do you think about adopting him, raising him with our own? Their age is not so different, and we are already providing shelter and food for him. But perhaps it would bring him comfort to have parents as well.” Seraphina wholeheartedly agreed with that. Being alone was scary when you were young. And though Vlad would protect Scamander with his life, he couldn’t touch the boy. Sera, not being a Tempest, could. She could provide with the touch pups needed, even just giving him the option to use her for comfort would be nice, she was sure.
“As long as that’s what you and Scamander want, I would love to adopt him.” Once more Vladimir rubbed against her, then in a surprise attack, topped her into the water again. “Hey!” She barked out, “That was a cheap move.” Sera pouted at Vlad as he laughed.
“Now that we are even and have gotten that over with, the pups are still asleep, we have some time to ourselves. Care for a romp around the pack? I think we are well overdue for an exploration, perhaps a hunt?” With a hmph, Sera exited the lake, shaking herself for what must have been the third time that morning. Perhaps they were “even,” but she couldn’t let Vlad have the last laugh. That just wasn’t a very Sera thing to do. “I suppose some exploring couldn’t hurt… but I want to lead the way this time.” The princess grinned at Vladimir. He was always the one who led, which made sense seeing as he’d grown up here and all, but for once Sera wanted to be in charge. Plus, if she was up ahead, she could find something to get the upper hand again. Winking, the ess bounded ahead into the tree line. She wasn’t worried about her mate not following her, so she didn’t need to look behind her. Her pace slowed rather quickly, however. After all, they couldn’t really explore at top speed now could they? A brisk walk would do.
Every so often, Seraphina would point out some plant or rock formation she found interesting, but for the most part much of the land did not seem to have changed. A forest was a forest was a forest, she supposed. And this was was just a larger version of what Dierne Hrof had been previously. Though Sera also couldn’t say she was particularly focused on her environment. No… she had something else in mind. It had been a tickling at her subconscious at first, but the thought grew and why not, she supposed. They were young, alone, and it was the middle of summer. It was only natural, right?
Seclusion wasn’t the issue - the whole forest was empty for other pack members and the trees were thick enough that privacy was easy to find. But Sera figured a den would still be nicest, so that was what she was searching rather intently for. She finally did, after what felt like years of searching and there was no scent around it so it wasn’t much of a stretch to assume that it was abandoned. Now then….
“You know…” Seraphina moved to Vladimir, practically purring and traced along his dorsum with the tip of her tail, “it’s the middle of summer right now and we’re all alone. No little ones to interrupt, and no more to worry about for a while yet…” There were still months before the breeding season arrived and with if the pair should want more pups it only made sense to practice before then. Still keeping her tail along Vlad’s body, she circled him slowly, inching closer to him with every step until at last she murmured into his ear. “Do you have any ideas of what the two of us could possibly do?”
|| Child of the Inferno || Shadow of Livia ||
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