Ascending Legends

[Dragongal]

A few hours later, Arryn stirred, opening her eyes to find Dayn shifted and curled up against her. She smiled and slowly ran her fingers through his fur. "Sorry Dayn, I guess my body is adjusting to the lycanthropy." She lightly kissed the top of his head and moved around a bit so she could face him as she continued to pet him. Four days. She smiled and pretty along his neck with one hand and scratched under his chin with the other.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn nuzzled against Arryn's neck, gently nipping at it to make up for not being able to kiss her. He slowly stretched out and pushed himself up, shifting back before laying his head on her stomach, kissing it gently. "Its alright love. I was just a little concerned. But, we do need to go see Mum today."

 

[Dragongal]

"True." His kissing her stomach sent goosebumps over her skin. She moved around so they were face to face and took his chin, pulling him into a slow kiss. When she pulled away, she laughed a bit and said, "You took away my fluff ball." She rolled out of bed and said, "That's enough motivation for me to get our of bed and take a bath."

 

[BookWyrm]

"You can have him back tonight.", Dayn laughed as he finally pulled himself out of bed. "Actually a bath doesn't sound like a bad idea. Kinda makes me wish we had that larger tub I was talking about."

 

[Dragongal]

"Eventually, darling. At the moment, I called it first." Arryn got the hot water ready and worked quickly, being careful about the large amount of bruising on her chest. Almost all of the scars on her stomach and hands were gone, which took a few moments to marvel over. Once she was dressed again, she tossed out the dirty water and got some fresh water, heating it up for Dayn, before walking back out and sitting on the bed, brushing her hair. "Ok, you can have your turn now."

 

[BookWyrm]

"Thanks love." Dayn leaned down and gave a quick kiss before heading to the bath. Finally, somewhere that was consistently warm. Dayn laughed at his own discomfort with the extreme cold. "If she can deal with it, I can too." In truth Dayn was determined to adapt to the cold one way or another. Once he had finished up he threw out the water and dried off. As he finished sliding into his pants he looked down at his hands, slowly running his thumb over the scars in his palms. The memory of pain seemed to recall at the slightest touch, and Dayn thought that he could smell the silver burning his flesh again. Slowly he shook his head, trying to banish the memories before walking back into the bedroom. I don't need Arryn getting worked up over that right now.





As he walked into the bedroom he sat down behind Arryn before scooting over to her and wrapping his arms around her waist, leaning against her slightly as he hugged her. He gently pulled her hair to one side before licking her neck, just to see what her reaction would be.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn gasped, shuddering in response. She turned to look at him in astonishment, saying, "Are you messing with me or are those animal tendencies actually coming out?" That was okay when he was a wolf, but it was just... odd when he wasn't. She really didn't know how to respond to that.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn fell backwards laughing. When he finally caught his breath he looked up at Arryn with his trademark mischievous smile. "Just messing with you love." He sat back up and gave her neck a proper kiss to apologize. "I didn't really know how you would respond. I can't help but be a little curious every now and then. I didn't mean to upset you though."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn was glad to see him laughing and smiling again. "I don't know if upset's the word, more surprised. I really had no idea how to respond to that, mo chroi. I greatly prefer kissing though." She got up and walked over to his pack, picked up a grey longsleeve shirt, and tossed it to him. "Since you're in such a good mood, let's go to Mom's.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn caught the shirt and slid into it before finding his boots and fishing out the only coat he had from his pack. He didn't put it on yet, he just wanted to have it out. The walk over to Lenza's was quiet and peaceful, and despite the chilled air Dayn managed some dignity in not shivering much. When they arrived Dayn gently rapped his knuckles against the door, his other hand intertwined with Arryn's as they waited for Lenza to answer.

 

[Dragongal]

Lenza opened the door, inviting them in. "I heard your last adventure didn't go so well. Something about an arrow. So, do I want to know why you're coming to me now?" Arryn walked in with Dayn, looking around a bit hesitantly. "Well.... Mom, I mean, it's... yes, I got very badly injured. I took an arrow to the heart. But... Dayn saved me."





"You had one job. You were to hit her with the arrow and see how she responded. And you nearly killed her! You idiot. At least some good came of it, though. Now we get to see how one of her kind responds to lycanthropy." The archer looked up, a slight hope that he might be allowed to live playing across his face. The man who was pacing around him walked out of the room, snapping his fingers. The guard next to the failed archer pulled out his blade, and ended any hope the archer had.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn could already feel the lump in his chest forming. "Mum, I didn't have a choice. If I hadn't of bit Arryn she would have died there." Dayn didn't feel any more confident in giving his reasons than he did when he had to tell Arryn. He honestly felt like he had completely alienated Arryn's friends and family from himself. He couldn't tell if they treated him well because he was her fiance or if they actually liked him.

 

[Dragongal]

Lenza looked from Dayn to Arryn, then walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, her head in her hand. "Okay... you did save her, but... I don't know how her body will react - " "Da told us. The griffins are by a ley-line, when we went to visit the griffins, he... showed up. Thi is the second time it's happened." Lenza looked up at Arryn with tears in her eyes. "Y-you spoke to...?" Arryn nodded. "I know about my bloodline and everything." Lenza was truthfully more focused on the idea that Arryn had talked to Alistair.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn sighed, though he wasn't sure if it was in relief or exasperation. "So far she hasn't reacted badly. Thankfully she's been reacting about the same way I did in the beginning. But, the full moon is four days away on the night before Yule." Dayn raised his hand to stop any protesting. "I've got everything under control for that night, and I'll be right beside her the whole time. The only thing is we will both be wolves until dawn."

 

[Dragongal]

Lenza looked between the two of them, then slowly nodded. "I trust you to take care of her.... Arryn, how do you feel about all of this?" "A little nervous, but nonetheless thankful to Dayn for saving me." Arryn still held Dayn's hand in hers as they spoke. "I don't think that there's anything for me to protest, then. You two... seem to have this under control." Lenza smiled a bit and said, "Can I expect you two to attend the Yule festivities?" if for no reason other than to reassure them that she was okay with it. Arryn smiled and let go of Dayn's hand to hug her mother, before returning to Dayn's side and taking his hand again. "I think so."

 

[BookWyrm]

This time Dayn did allow himself to relax. "Of course.", he replied with a smile. "Permitting that Arryn feels well enough to be there." Dayn remembered how it felt the day after his first shift. His body was sore and achy and he had wanted nothing more than to sleep the day away. With the added worries of her bloodline Dayn wanted to make sure Arryn was well cared for after her first shift.


Dayn hugged Lenza as they said their goodbyes before walking back out into the cool but beautiful day. "What would you have us do with the rest of our sunlight?", Dayn asked as he smiled to Arryn. "If you are curious about anything to do with the shift we can go back to the house, but if you want to stay out that's fine."

 

[Dragongal]

"We can't stay out, you'll get too cold. You're not even wearing your jacket." Arryn said with a bit of a laugh. The next four days passed by peacefully, though Arryn became increasingly nervous about her first shift, which she did her best to hide from Dayn. Finally the sun was beginning to set, and she took Dayn's hand. "Ready...?" If they were going to go anywhere, they had to leave soon.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn was still amazed at how quickly the past few days had come and gone, but they had been pleasant enough that he didn't care. "I'm ready." Dayn pulled Arryn into a warm hug as they stood in front of the door. "You are going to be fine love. I'll be right beside you the whole time." Dayn slowly unfolded his arms from around her and led her out into the fading light. Because of everything that had happened at the barn Dayn refused to return there. Just too many memories that he wasn't fond of recalling. They had settled on the mountains with the griffins. They knew about the two of them and accepted them. It was probably the safest place they could be, especially with the hunt tonight. Dayn had held Arryn's hand the whole way up the pass, helping her along when there was a slick spot even despite her ability to cross ice unhindered. That wasn't the point though. Dayn wanted her to feel him there beside her. He wanted her to know that he was there for her. He hoped she wouldn't be bothered by it though.


The light from the sun was fading by the time they had reached their destination. Dayn looked around, making sure everything was safe and clear before taking Arryn's hands and kissing her. "The moon will be out soon. Would you allow me to help you?" It was an intimate and personal gesture, him offering to help her with her clothes and prepare for the shift, but as with the other small gestures it was his way of showing her that he would be there.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn nodded and let him help her out of her clothes. She had been happy to have his help all of the times on their walk, too, glad to know that he was there. Arryn looked up at him as they waited in the cold for the moon to come out. She quietly said, "Dayn, I know you're gonna be here and all, but... I'm still kind of scared...."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn took her hand and gently rubbed his thumb over it as he smiled. "I know you are. I'm scared too." Dayn leaned down to kiss her gently before he hugged her. Dayn could feel the moon starting to rise as he pulled away and gave Arryn some space. "Its going to be okay Arryn. It'll be over before you know it." Dayn felt his own heart pounding in his chest as he looked up to see the clouds roll away from the moon. Dayn felt it as the shift took him. It was painful of course, as any shift on the full moon would be, though Dayn was more focused on Arryn than he was on himself. Thankfully he had managed to shift before her, and now that he wasn't worried about himself he watched Arryn intently as the light of the moon fell upon her. <I'm right here Arryn. It's going to be okay.>

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn clenched her teeth, preparing for the pain she knew would come. She didn't want to scream or cry, because that would only upset Dayn further, and that was the last thing she wanted. However, the pain that overtook her body made her wish she didn't care. The feeling of her bones changing and her muscles stretching was terrible, moreso because she was a healer and knew that medically, it shouldn't be possible. She tried to predict where the pain would come from next, but even all of her experience healing Dayn didn't help her as she fell to the ground. Probably the worst feeling to her was her face changing shape, elongating into a muzzle as she whimpered as quietly as she could. The changing of her hands was worth noting too, the pain so concentrated that she didn't even notice her tail. When it was finally over she laid on the ground, whimpering as tears ran down her muzzle and her body shivered. She was notably smaller than Dayn; had she stood, she'd have been at six foot, sitting she would have come up to his shoulder (were he human).


She looked at him, not recognizing him at first, wary of him because of her pain. She was weak at the moment, a target. However, she didn't care enough to try moving around at the moment as the pain of the shift slowly wore off.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn felt his heart cry out as he watched Arryn shift, though he had to admit that he was thankful that she did shift well. This is always the worst time. When it was over and she had laid down Dayn slowly approached her. He was cautious, remembering what it had been like for him in the beginning after the shift. She was still beautiful though, a fact that made Dayn smile. When he had gotten close enough Dayn lowered his head and his ears, whining quietly as he approached her, presenting himself to her to see if she recognized him.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn looked him over cautiously, prepared to run if need be. His approach was slow and meek though, which helped put her at ease. When he was close enough, she stood up shakily and sniffed at him for a few seconds, before closing her eyes and pressing her head against his. Mine. She recognized him, though his name had not come to her mind yet. She simply recognized him as hers, something that made her very happy and someone she loved very dearly.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn rubbed his head against hers, mewling happily as a couple of stray tears slid down his muzzle. She'd recognized him. Good. One less thing to worry about. Dayn licked her muzzle, cleaning away the tears and doing his best to ease her nerves before nuzzling against her again. Mine. He nudged her slightly, urging her to lay back down before he snuggled up against her. It wasn't until now that he realized how small she was compared to him. He laid his head down in front of her so she could rest against him. Rest.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn got the message and didn't mind it in the least. She cuddled up to him, her tail wagging slightly. Her head popped up and she looked at her tail, moving it slowly. It was longer than Dayn's, not that she noticed that, she was too enthralled by the fact that she could move it however she wanted. She turned back to Dayn and nuzzled against him happily, trying not to wag her tail too much. After a few moments, she seemed to remember something, and placed both of her paws over on of his, looking to see his response.