⛥ drop of rum on my tongue with a warning ⛥
a throbbing purr escaped her as a scent slammed into her like a wall, blur of black and yellow announcing the cipher to her, a half choked sob of pleasure ripping out of her body. she was sore and unsteady, but she wasn't frail. bouncing forward into atbash's embrace, the other's scent washing over her and drowning out the coalition's scent, trying to bury her face into her fur and embrace her back tightly. oh thank her lucky leaves that she'd been first to welcome her back!
fighting back sobs of her own, so relieved to be home, to be with the one woman who had kept her going in that frozen wasteland. hiccuping as she tried to stick close to atbash, not wanting to pull away, afraid this was some cruel dream, purrs leaving her helpless as she raised her paws to wipe at her own tears, barely holding back from trying to wipe atbash's away as well. so wrapped up in their reunion, that she barely noticed any other bodies around them, her nose filled by the familiar scent of peat and water. thanking every entity for her safe return home, merlin smiled softly, grief in her eyes, "they did all that they could for us. our wings ... were the price to pay for a fight we could have won if we weren't inebriated.", maybe she was bragging a little, but she had made sure that jormungand hadn't escaped unscathed.
she still felt tiny, though she was big for a domestic feline without any wild blood. not that small was bad, she was the same size as atbash, but she hated the way that the larger animals tended to look down on the smaller cats and beings. her fur bushed out an unfamiliar voice and scent, head swiveling as she caught sight of vignere, quickly making the connection between atbash and vignere. she'd remembered atbash had mentioned that her brother had once led here, and that he had kept caesar under some form of control. she didn't know his name, but the fact that she didn't sense any negative or unsure feelings from atbash, she held herself back from going on the offensive against him. he must be the one she had mentioned over their cocoa months ago, but it didn't stop her coat from ruffling as she stared at him with wary interest.
he knew her name, atbash must have told him about her, or one of the others. turning her head faintly to catch atbash's scent, subconsciously leaning towards her, she spread her jaws to take in vignere's scent, tipping her head to the side, "forgive our rudeness on our return, but you are a cipher, yes? you aren't going to make trouble for atbash right?", she had been gone when the former luminary had returned from the grips of the dead, fighting for her own life against the infection of her now removed wings. she knew she shouldn't be ruffling coats, but she couldn't help the pricking in her paws that reminded her of how kindly atbash had alway treated her. she was her first friend here, and she'd be damned in she let anyone rile things up or pick on her.
gaze turning, she found kiara, tipping her head in the other direction. another body she didn't recognize. "yes, we're merlin. we got into a fight a few months ago with an intruder who bore scents of the coalition and the pitt. we admit we were drunk when the intruder came across us. we fought with that ugly brute, and he stole our wings, though what was left nearly killed us.", a grateful glance back to the coalition wanderers behind her. they'd been able to save her from death, something she'd be forever grateful for. the fae turned her head back to atbash with an affectionate smile, "but we are home now, better than we were before. who are you, dear?", she couldn't help but be curious of the faces around her. attempting to nuzzle into atbash's fur, closing her eyes with a relieved breath, "we've been gone so very long. what all has happened in our absence?"
//aforementioned speech change to fit with current irish/scottish ways of talking//
MERLIN GWYNNE
penned by teef
penned by teef