"Broken Shards"

[zauberdecke]

"In the dark
I need to taste the blood
Go on, draw another line
We can cross this time."
- Blindfold by Sleeping Wolf

---



[ Essek Thelyss: Shadowhand to the Dynasty.

One who reached further then the Luxon would allow, who would do absolutely anything for knowledge. Oh no, the man did not care for power, not really. He wanted to cast himself into the portal of knowing, he wanted to surrender himself to books and learning without having to deal with the mundanities of socio-politics that all of the Kryn engaged in. It was tedious and it filled him with sickness even as he plastered on an urbane smile for all and sundry to see.

Within the Dynasty, it was customary to take pets of the Empire; they were brought in across the border of Asarius, across the mountains and into the Dynasty. There were Dynasty born pets on the other side, both lost to the ravages of the other's civilization, generally never to be seen again.

Essek had never really had an interest to begin with when it came to pets; at the market he carefully avoided the slave blocks where those not of the Dynasty were paraded around. However, it had come to this-- it had come to his trading of the Beacon, and in return he recieved a Volstrucker to serve him. And yet, for all of that, Essek Thelyss had not thought he would receive a broken Volstrucker.

In fair trade, he and recieved a dossier on the man in question and had perused it with only a small semblance of annoyance while Trent Ikithon had assured him that a man like him could be rebuilt, the honeyed words of a silken snake which Essek recognized.

After all did not a predator recognize another predator? So now he held in his household a man whom had to be guarded carefully, though Essek was not cruel despite how he imagined Dynasty pets were treated, the cage that he had placed this Volstrucker named Bren within, well it was comfortable-- he'd seen pictures of Vergossen so he supposed it must be far better than that place. But he had not precisely interacted with him-- most of his unseen servants were given the walking of him, the care and maintenance of him.

Perhaps because he did not precisely know what to do with him, or what use he had for something broken. Though he arguably did not know what manner of broken the Volstrucker was, but after a week-- he decided perhaps it was time to summon him and see for himself; acertain what sort of work was cut out for him.

If this man was worth putting back together again.

So it was one evening, he had the Empire man summoned to his chambers. ]

Comments

[zauberdecke]

[ The ritual was the Healer calling upon the Light of the Luxon, a swirling mass. Essek who did not believe in gods, did not believe in the Luxon understood that there was a power, but he was not precisely certain that it was the gods that spoke, he watched with one hand over his stomach protectively and without knowing.

A swirl of light wrapped around the other man and he watched with baited breath.

A thaw started as the burning light engulfed and swirled around Bren, starting at the heart, a thawing of heat and light that rippled outwards to fall backwards toward limbs and ever outward, placing a trail of heat to slowly unfrost the man and to strengthen the tether and to cement it. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[The scene around him began to fade, and for a moment he looked at his mother frantically. He had so much left to say, but he knew he had to go back. He wanted to go back, to see those tears dried from his Master's -- his mate's -- eyes. Una seemed to know, embracing her son one last, lingering moment before releasing him.]

Go. Little spark. Be happy.

[Darkness found him again, but it was kinder this time, and he woke once more to warmth, a spring thaw that slowly dissipated the ice. Skin gone cold and pale and tinged with blue began to warm, a slow flush taking the place of the deathly cold. He fell back into himself, and lips parted around a gasp of breath before blue eyes opened in bleary confusion, like rising from the middle of a vivid dream.]

[zauberdecke]

[ The moment that Bren drew his very first breath, Essek felt his entire heart settle back in his body; he could not help the mere frantic way that he scrambled to Bren's side, his body falling against his pet as he wrapped his arms around those shoulders and then buried his face in that neck.

A rough sob that felt like a cataclysm as he wrapped around the other man as tightly as would allow. His hands moving to stroke through locks of red hair and his own whispered sobs over and over. ] Love you, love you.. love you.

[ It was a litany, a desperate litany as he endeavored to hold on and never let go; he felt glowing like a star shower and his heart full of possibility. ]

[ The Healer stood back to watch this reunion. ] ~The child within you will grow with both mother and father~

[ausgebrannt]

[The world came back into view, and the Zemnian wizard focused on the only part of it that mattered. Essek was there and those arms were around him, and his second breath was full of his Master's familiar scent, and his arms moved to clutch at him, to shut his eyes and turn to bury his face against the side of Essek's head.

Alive. And those fingers were in his hair and those sweet words were falling with those sobs into his shoulder. His arms tightened around him, murmuring softly.]

I am here. I have you. It is all right. My love...

[When the healer spoke, Bren looked up startled. The words drawing a flicker of confusion in his eyes.]

The... child?

[zauberdecke]

[ Essek barely noticed it, of course he did not. He was too busy soaking in the feeling of Bren within his arms, his lover-- his dearest warm heart, who was now once again vital and filled with the light of fires within him. His forehead resting against the other man's temples as he had already crawled onto that lap.

The Shadowhand did not notice those words from the Healer, because the one important person was right here, though at the question-- he looked up in confusion as well. ] Child?

[ The Healer smiled, albeit a bit enigmatically. ] ~The child, created of your mating. It is after all not uncommon for a male to bare child once they find their Mate, if they find their mate. It is rare, but not unheard of.~

[ Essek's jaw dropped only a little bit as he fell forward into Bren's arms, and then this time his hand went to his abdomen despite itself-- but now knowingly. ]

~I noticed it when you wrapped your arm protectively about it when I entered the room, that is instinctual-- you wish to protect your child just as you wish to protect your Mate.~

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren's eyes went wide as if the world had decided to flip itself on its axis, up turning swiftly to down and down to up and he clung all the tighter to Essek, shifting as if he could enfold the other man more fully into his embrace.

The child, created of your mating.

Essek was going to have a baby? Essek was going to have his baby? His heart hammered its way against his ribcage in a desperate beating.]

We are... having a baby...

[Give him a moment to try to wrap his mind around this being real. A baby. A child. His mate. A... a family? The tears started rising in his eyes and he blinked them back as best he could, but they kept rising, eventually falling.] My love.

[zauberdecke]

You shall have enough gold for three resurrections, I shall see it so.

[ One for his mate, one for him and one for the child that right now settled like a seed. And now that he knew it was there, he could feel it like a small little flutter, a thoroughly unplanned but no less wanted little seed that now was growing within him.

He had never thought of such a thing.

Into his Mate's arms he settled while he rested his nose against that jawline. ] Well, I cannot think of anyone else who would've had the opportunity within the last month-- it must be you that is the father, it can only be you.

[ Adeen was not his M'hrandii but he knew that this man was. ]

~Thank you, Shadowhand-- I will leave you now, though I will visit you if you will allow, to make sure that all is going according to plan.~

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren would love any child that was Essek's, even if he had not been the father. But to know that it was him, that this was something they had created together -- an unintentional but no less miraculous for that bit of magic that was so much greater than any spell he had ever crafted before.

His hands moved in soothing, simple touches over Essek, needing to feel him, however he could, to ground himself back to this world. This life. He turned his gaze to the healer with a grateful smile.]

Thank you.

[His mind was still swimming. A child.]

[zauberdecke]

[ Once the Healer had left, the door shut behind-- Essek put up the ward in place so that no one could enter. And then he wrapped his arms and buried his face in that neck, to breath him in. Against his own chest, he could hear the steady breathing of his lover, the sweetness of life that was now Bren's-- he cherished each precious rise and fall.

His only wish was to hold him close. ] I lost you, I lost you and then you came back.

[ He would not talk about the fact that it was forbidden, it was not something that Bren had to understand the severity of except for. ] Tell no one of this, they do not need to know that you were ressurected-- though you were very sick and the Healer was able to get to you in time.

[ His fingertip sent to Bren's mouth to rest the digit against those lips. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren would not make any attempt to move from where he was, wrapped up in a tangle of limbs and desperation with the other man. He couldn't let him go right now, not after losing him. Or rather, after being lost. He was dead. Gods he was dead and he remembered it, remembered slipping away despite how desperately he had tried to hold on to his Master, how much he wanted to stay, to ease those tears.

He remembered seeing his mother, remembered the fact that only love and forgiveness had been in her eyes, not the hatred and betrayal he'd feared. He remembered her telling him it wasn't time yet. He had more to do. He had this.

Another tightening of his arms around Essek.]

You brought me back. I needed to come back to you. I couldn't leave you.

[He would stay by his side as long as his mortal body held out. He fell silent as that fingertip pressed to his lips, nodding his understanding.]

[zauberdecke]

[ And then Essek's lips sought Bren's, it was a tender kiss full of relief and gratitude; it was true, he would've burned the world if he had been deprived of his Mate. All would've suffered for it, and he would've had no regrets nor remorse, but Bren was living and breathing in his arms and they had a future. He twined Bren's fingers with his own and then he brought it to his stomach, the only one who would be allowed to touch.

He was protective of what was underneath, but he would share this with his Mate gladly. Not only his Pet but his Mate, who deserved this-- and who was therefore equal to him (though he would still enjoy those dynamics, ultimately if they were to be fathers together, they would have to be level with each other. ]

We are moving out of here [ He spoke this in between heat-smouldered kisses, tasting the lips that were once again intensely bright and like fragrance on his- tongue. ] We cannot stay here; it is my duty to protect you and I cannot protect you as suitably
here with Adeen in the same house.

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren met that kiss with a quiet rush of desperation, mingled with relief and that giddy rush of being alive and in love and starting a family. He let his hand be guided to rest against Essek stomach, resting it there, just above where that tiny miracle had taken seed. His touch was warm now, as it usually was, the fire relit inside him and burning brighter somehow, some small piece of his guilt had died with him and been left with the quiet dead, a small touch of forgiveness that made him feel like he had a second chance.

Gods, a second chance and a man that he loved beyond words and reason.

He hung on Essek's lips, on every kiss and every word and every breath.]

I will go with you, wherever it is.

[His free hand moved to settle against Essek's cheek.] I love you. I love you so much I ache with it.

[zauberdecke]

[ The Wizard realized that he had almost lost this man, the spark that had gone out but had been re-ignited, he found himself utterly bereft of words and instead he allowed his actions to do the talking. The cards had been laid out on the table and there was absolutely no doubt that they were mates, now he was slowly leaning against that chest and then forward even more so that he could carry his lover back on the bed with him.

To prove that Bren was alive.

He was attempting to get at clothing with his fingertips, curling in fabric and pushing it aside until he could get to heated skin, all the while his tongue dived into that mouth, to sink into the slick warmth that had been offered to him; there was love in his actions and affection in the aura that wrapped around him.

But only for Bren, ever only for him. ]

I could not live without you.

[ Their souls were tied now, there was no help for that. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren was all too happy to be drawn with him, to settle back on the bed and stay as close to the drow as he could. He was shaken still, the memory of dying still fresh in his memory, but it was soothed by the rush of being alive and in love and loved in return.

He met each kiss with an echo of that need, that quiet desperation to prove it as well. He was alive, and this was real.

A breathless murmur at those words.]

I am here. You have me. I promise.

[He would let Essek out of his arms just enough to slip free of his shirt since the drow seemed quite intent on getting beneath it. Then his fingers would move to see about loosening some of Essek's clothes as well.]

[zauberdecke]

[ A fierce little growl of possession rumbled in between their lips, and then his teeth tugged at the lower lip before finally he had that shirt fully open, and then he broke away so that he could lean down and rubbed his face against that chest hair that he got so much serotonin from.

His.

This was his and no one elses.

And thus he was cradling the back of that neck with the palm of his head, stroking with his thumb while he settled between those thighs, tucked in between them to ascertain that his Mate would not get away. And then he was biting a trail from chest to collarbone, to leave his mark there as well. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren could not stop the way his body reacted to that growl, a shiver that raced over the surface of his skin and a sharp gasp that was exhaled in a low whimper of sound that spoke fluently of desire. His head fell back against the pillow, fingers finding their way blindly into Essek's hair as that mouth went wandering.]

Ah... Master, please...

[More. He needed his touch as much as he needed each breath he took, needed to remind the both of them that he was alive and here. That they were together and belonged to each other.]

[zauberdecke]

[ Essek purred in acknowledgement, it was almost as if Bren knew the exact right noise to make that would set his own mind at ease and soothe the territorial beast within; he found a nipple and then he was sucking and biting against it with the most gentle brush of teeth, alternating.

It was true that he was proving to the both of them that Bren was alive, that he was moored in the here and now, and Essek would fight tooth and nail to keep him there.

His Mate, the father of his child.

His other hand drifted downward, to cup the arousal caught within the linen trousers, feeling the curve of it against his palm-- separated only by the sheer inconvenience of Bren's clothing, he gave it a possessive squeeze while he teethed and nipped. This was a claiming, though he'd claimed Bren before-- this was different because there was spoken emotion between them and it was acknowledged. Poignant because the both of them knew now what they stood to lose within each other.

But this was truly the first time that Essek had ever been found within anyone as well. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[His grip in Essek's hair tightened, tugging without consciously realizing he had done it, even as he found himself half arching off the bed into that touch. He wanted him so desperately in this moment, needed him as much as he had ever needed anyone or anything in his life. His lover. His mate.

A keening groan as that hand found his prick. He was hard already, and there was no attempt to hide it as he rocked towards that touch.

Bren understood it somehow, that there was a claim being staked in this -- or perhaps just reaffirmed. He was Essek's, fully and completely his, and he'd made that vow again and again, but now so much had been spoken and confessed and made real between them, they needed this. He needed this.]

Master... please. Show me I am yours... that I am alive. I need you.

[zauberdecke]

[ The Shadowhand who was normally detached from everything, could not help but stake that particular claim on that which he valued above all else, he was close enough now, their abdomens pressed together and life beating underneath Essek's skin in answering call to Bren. But moreso then that, there was the matter of the arousal that curved gracefully until it was pressed against Bren's inner thigh like a beacon of transmutative desire.

Slipping his hand within the seam between clothes and skin, until finally his fingers wrapped around that cock, feeling the way that it weeped in lust for him and he stroked carefully while he caught the pulse between his teeth to lightly tug.

There would be moments where Essek's own primal being came out, and this was one of those times. He was palming and biding Bren to rise within his fingertips while he hummed his approval against such skin. ] Good boy...

[ He murmured softly, tripping downward on shaft until his fingers slick with precome cupped those balls to give them such an indolent yet affirmative squeeze. ] You've bred me, and now you get a reward Pet-- my good Empire Stud Horse.

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren could feel Essek's arousal, and gods they were both wearing too many clothes, and he wanted nothing left between them. Another whimper as those clever, elegant fingers found their way around his prick. Essek would undoubtedly feel the way his cock reacted to those two simple words. Good boy, and Bren was so hard it physically hurt.

His hips twitched towards the contact, at those delicious things that fell from Essek's lips. He had bred him, and Bren had never considered how much of a turn on that could be, but fuck it was.]

Mm... yours... I will be so good for you, always... I...

[His hand slipd down along Essek's back, catching at the fabric of his tunic and pulling it up. Gone. It needed to be gone so he could touch him properly.]

[zauberdecke]

[ At this moment Essek did not care if anyone heard him. He would not bother to cloak the sounds that would invariably be coming from the bedroom, just in case there were anyone who was noisy as to the state of affairs. He shifted with his arms up so that Bren could pull his tunic off of him, while he was pulling off trousers, first one leg and then the other and maneuvering in such a way that Bren would not have to shift too much.

Those were ceremoniously tossed off to the side and then he leaned in to press another kiss to that chest, right over the heart. There was the matter of his pants of course, but those could be attended too, right now his hand resumed the it's wrap around cock to stroke downward, and carry the slickness even further down, to balls and then lower still.

To a tight hole that desperately needed attention.

He could feel it quivering underneath his ministrations. ] You are begging for me, aren't you Pet? You desire to be one with me? As close as two people can be?

[ausgebrannt]

[Let the world hear. Let Adeen hear and know that whatever he had plotted had clearly been thwarted. Bren was alive and there would be no mistaking that, not with the fact that Bren could not seem to keep quiet. Not that he was trying to stifle himself at all right now.

He was far too preoccupied in ridding Essek of his tunic, and then running his hands over that soft, lavender skin, finer than silk beneath his touch. He was so caught up he couldn't quite keep up with what happened to his trousers, just glad that they were gone, and not in the way.

His legs shifted wider apart as those fingers found his hole, all eager desire. Bren nodded fitfully.]

I am, please... I want you. I need you inside me, Master. I need to feel you that clos. I need you to fuck me, claim me, please. Oh please.

[zauberdecke]

[ He smeared the hole with his own precome soaked, making a rhythmic circle around the ridges and then slipping a single finger within, feeling that tightness squeeze him while he started to rub the inside walls; he did not need this preparation-- he'd certainly used Bren's hole enough. But he found that he loved the feeling of those walls wrapped around him squeezing.

It also suited him to take care of his Pet in all the ways that mattered.

Slowly he worked it in and out while he murmured soothing words in Undercommon, things that meant 'patience' and 'soon'; admonishing him not to be such a greedy slut. Things that Essek had spoken to Bren in Undercommon before, so those words would be familar to him.

In fact, Bren was getting the grand tour of filthy language in the drow dialect. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren moaned, a soft and sweet sigh of relief as that finger pressed inside him. He'd meant the pleading. He needed to feel Essek inside him, to be joined together with him in this intimate way, to chase pleasure together because they were here and alive and together.

His hips shifted with the motion of Essek working his hole open, and he murmured soft, breathless responses to those words, filthy as they were, slipping between Common and the pieces of Undercommon he knew -- and knew quite well by now.]

Mm... I am trying to be patient, Master. I need you to fuck me. I need to be full of you... I am a greedy slut, but I am your greedy slut.

[zauberdecke]

My greedy slut and my greedy Mate--

[ He murmured approvingly as he bit at the lobe of an ear, fucking his finger deeper inside of Bren, until his long slender feelings was pressing up against that bundle of nerves hidden deep inside, he wanted to feel Bren spasm with the pleasure that would be overwhelming; while Essek was content in the knowledge that he had caused it.

A certain gloating smugness would allow him to feel rather smug with himself. ]

Soon.. I will have you soon, but if you come-- you can come again, because I've forced double orgasms out of you, I know what you are capable of Pet. [ He also knew quite well what his lover's limits were. ]