The Gallants (and Visionary) made quite the picture as they sat in pairs for lunch that day. For the first time since they arrived at Middlemost, there was no trace of awkwardness as they ate. Sindri's final decision had lifted the weight off all their shoulders.
Solare Vitara was treated to the sight of this pleasant lunch amongst companions as she sought out the Gallant of the desert, or was he perhaps a Gallant no longer? "Have you already made your decision, Representative Sindri?"
"Yes, I have. I have chosen Gallant Gonuret to be the new Lunare as well as my lifemate." He said, taking the sky blue dragon's hand into his.
"Then, tonight shall be your crowning and my transcending," She concluded with a smile. "Soon, he will be addressed by Solare Sindri." The white-haired dragon then walked away.
Ansar placed his elbows on the table as soon as she left, resting his chin on his hands. "I heard that the Solares keep their staffs as Sentains, but isn't there a special goldsmith that makes a fancy crown for each Solare? Is he an ancient dragon or did the craft get passed down?"
"The goldsmith certainly couldn't have outlived a retired Sentain," Kelius pointed out with a laugh.
An embarrassed blush streaked across Ansar's nose and cheeks. "W-well didn't dragons live longer back in the day? I mean the goldsmiths are just about the only ones with any magic left in them to form things like that, aren't they?"
"I propose a toast," Emyve prompted when everyone quieted down. "May we continue to keep the balance during our term and help protect the future generations of Visionaries and Gallants to come."
"Yes, let's all do our best," Sindri agreed.
"I can toast to that," Ruthed said as he touched his glass to Emyve's. The other Gallants, along with Ansar, touched the glasses of their neighbors and they all took a sip of their drinks.
After lunch, they were free to do as they wished until sunset. Madhal and Ilohir paid a visit to the library. Ruthed managed to convince Emyve to join him on a stroll outside. Kelius and Ansar moved into their re-assigned room. And Gonuret moved into Sindri's room.
The white-haired dragon stared in awe at the size of Sindri's chambers. "I thought that the Gallant Hall had excessively large rooms. I was wrong..."
"I'm just glad to finally have someone to share the room with. It's been a bit lonely in here."
A blush rose to Gonuret's face as his mind subconsciously tossed him a few naughty thoughts upon hearing Sindri's words. But, he merely cleared his throat and glanced towards the indoor spa. "Would you like to take the first turn? I could unpack while you relax in the water."
Sindri looked at him and smiled a little. He shook his head. "I have a better idea. How about I help you unpack then we can both relax in the spa? I mean, if you want."
Gonuret nearly dropped the bag of clothing he held in his hands at Sindri's open invitation. The blush on his face spread right down to his neck. He forced himself to take a deep breath and think logically. They weren't officially Solare and Lunare just yet. The blonde had to know that Gonuret wouldn't dare compromise him before the ceremony, which meant that the invite simply was to relax side by side. "Yes," He replied calmly. "I would like nothing more than to join you."
Sindri was amused when he saw the white-haired dragon's face and neck turning red. He let out a light laugh. "Looks like I'm not the only one that blushes easily here." Though, the blush was more noticeable on Gonuret's skin than his own, since it was fair. He helped the sky-blue dragon unpack his bag and put his clothes up. He couldn't help but shake his head seeing that, even with both their bags unpacked, they still had much more space to place clothes and other objects in the closet and drawers.
Sometime later, after the two were through with washing up, Gonuret took the apricot dragon's hand and led him over to take a seat as he rubbed a scented oil into the damp, blonde locks and combed it through. "They say that sometimes when a Solare is crowned, the magic used to form the crown awakens the dormant magic in your genes. The same could be said about the Lunare's gauntlet."
The blonde closed his eyes in contentment as his hair was combed, feeling the oils already having an effect on his scalp. "Dormant magic? I never even considered that we could tap into such power." He smiled, looking up at Gonuret curiously. "What kind of magic do you think we'd get if that does happen?"
"Solare Vitara was rumored to have been able to make her voice carry across from one side of the fortress to another and to make the sound of her staff hitting the ground many times louder than usual," Gonuret commented. "I wonder if it's different for every dragon." He moved to sit in front of Sindri, handing him the brush and comb. "As for me, I would prefer any power that would further help to protect you."
"That's amazing..!" Sindri blinked, grabbing the comb and started to gently comb Gonuret's hair as well. He then laughed. "You do know that if you get powers of ice, I'm going to be asking you to make it snow, right?" He was half joking and half serious. He hoped that one day they could show each other their home biomes. When he finished, he hugged Gonuret from behind.
Gonuret couldn't help but laugh as he pictured Sindri's ideal powers in his mind while they switched places and he sat down. "When winter hits, I will be sure to sneak you out to one of the nearest snowing biomes." He promised. His hands reached up to rest on the blonde's arms when he was hugged. "Come," He said with a sigh. "If I don't help you prepare for the ceremony now, I'll be tempted to simply keep you to myself until the sun rises."
Sindri couldn't help but laugh hearing Gonuret's own laughter. "I like your laugh..." He admitted with a smile. He nodded as he was reminded that they had to get ready for the ceremony. "Good point. I can't very well miss it, or go in just a towel strolling down the hall..."
"If you went in just a towel, I don't believe that I would be able to focus on the ceremony at all," Gonuret admitted as he stood back up and pulled Sindri along with him. He planted a gentle kiss on the apricot dragon's lips before leading them back to the bedroom. Two sets of clothes were set on top of the bed that weren't there before. "Hmm, I wonder if one of the maids dropped them off while we were in the spa."
The soon-to-be Solare shook his head upon hearing that. He blushed when he felt the kiss on the lips, but nothing could make him stop smiling. "Oh, yeah, the maids seem to come in and drop things off when I'm out of the room. I've rarely seen them."
The clothing was traditional and elegant, each with colors that represented their home biomes. "They must be our ceremony ensembles," Gonuret mused as he began to change into his. The pants were tight and dark, in stark contrast to the embroidered tailcoat that was the same sky blue as his very tail. The coat was lined with a dark grey that brought out the color of his eyes. The blouse underneath was white, but barely visible. The buttons down his jacket were silver. He chose to wear his hair loose and out of its usual ponytail for the ceremony.
"It would appear so...I don't know what else we'd be wearing these for." Sindri said as he began to change. His pants were tight and dark brown. His tailcoat was the same apricot hue as his tail and was lined with a golden yellow. The blouse underneath was a ruby red. All of the buttons on his jacket were gold. He looked over, seeing the white-haired dragon fully dressed. His eyes widened, and he felt his face turn red again. Funny how Gonuret could do that to him without even meaning to! He smiled seeing the other look his way. "That looks stunning on you. Blue's a good color on you."
The barest of smirks tugged on Gonuret's lips. "I will have to remember that." If it caused Sindri to look at him in that manner, he would wear blue clothing every day. "You look quite stunning yourself." He said as he circled the blonde to see him at all angles. "Shall we?" He asked as he held out his hand.
"I like blue and red, so that's a bonus for me," Sindri added. He was glad to hear that he looked alright. "Thank you, Gonuret." He took Gonuret's hand in his. "Let's get going then."
::::::
As Kelius took a closer look at Ansar's rabbit, he felt rather pleased. Why, the little thing shared a lot of his colors. When he read the nameplate under its bed, he was even more pleased. 'Kinky Kit' indeed. He was about to say as much to Ansar, who was shifting his clothes aside in the closet to make room for his when a white rabbit hopped closer to Kinky Kit. Kelius's red eyes narrowed. "Why do you have two rabbits? Where did this white one come from?" He asked dryly.
"The white one's Sindri's," Ansar replied without looking around, as he was busy hanging up Kelius's clothes. "I've been taking care of it while he went on his dates and haven't been able to give it back yet with all the commotion. His name is Astral."
"Astral?" Kelius confirmed. Well, at least it wasn't Gonuret. "Then his nickname from me will be 'Asshole.' It's close enough to its real name."
"Hey, you shouldn't take it out on the rabbit just because of his resemblance to someone you don't like," Ansar chastised.
"Says the dragon who named his rabbit 'Kinky Kit' in vengeance," Kelius muttered.
Ansar finished up hanging up the last of the copper dragon's clothes and walked over to the sulking form in front of the rabbits. "Are you...sulking?"
"That pale punk didn't try anything with you when you two were alone, did he?" Kelius wondered wearily.
"What? No," Ansar replied incredulously. "I mean, I knew he was following me from a distance, but he didn't say a word."
"Good," Kelius stated firmly as he pulled Ansar's form flush against his own and glared down at the white rabbit. "Tell your counterpart that I may have let him have Sindri, but he'd be dreaming if he thought that I would ever let him even touch my Ansar."
Ansar burst out laughing even as his cheeks became pink. "Threatening Astral won't accomplish anything, you know."
"As far as you believe," Kelius countered. "If I convey my warning hard enough, I'm sure that Gonuret will get the message even through little 'Asshole.'"
"If you say so."
A devious glint formed in Kelius's eyes as he maneuvered them towards the bed. "We still have some time before the ceremony, don't we?"
"Yeah," Ansar replied warily. "Whoa!" He gasped when he was suddenly lifted and tossed onto the bed.
Kelius crawled over Ansar's form, grinding his lower half against the beige dragon while keeping the weight of his upper half on his elbows. His red eyes seemed to turn a shade darker as he peered down at his prey. "Why don't we pick up where we left off earlier?" He suggested in a low rumble as his copper tail swished from side to side.
"Hah," Ansar gasped and bit his lower lip as the pink hue spread over his face. "I-If you want to." He replied breathlessly.
A predatory grin formed on Kelius's face shortly before he dove down to kiss the Visionary. His tongue greedily stole its way inside his mouth to lay claim to every surface it could find. He sucked on the brunette's tongue until it began to move against his own and Kelius reveled once again at Ansar's taste.
The beige dragon had become a mess of whimpers and moans that were muffled by their fervent kisses. Kelius's hands tugged up the smaller dragon's shirt high, and they began to explore his skin, trailing fingers along dusky buds when a loud gasp was heard from the doorway. The growl that escaped from Kelius's lips was reminiscent of the pure dragons as he turned to give the full force of his glare to the maid that stood at the door.
"Forgive me! I knocked, and no one answered, so I thought..." The maid trailed off. "I-I just came to drop off your clothes for the ceremony!" She squeaked as she left the clothes on top of the cabinet and ran away.
Kelius let out a long sigh. "...Damn it."
Ansar smiled sheepishly up at him. "The sooner we get the ceremony started, the sooner we can get back?" He suggested.
"That better be a promise," Kelius whined with a half-pout.
Ansar couldn't help the chuckle that bubbled up from his chest. "Yes, if nothing else happens by then."
"I will barricade the door if I have to."
Comments (6)
See all