In Dreams Doth He Wander
Searing 89th, 124th Year, A.o.S.
For the past three months now as Searing drew near to its conclusion, the Maze household continued their lives almost as if it were a normal thing. Often there were times when interested parties would come calling around, checking in to see the status of the sleeping Lord himself, only to no avail once they learned he had yet to awaken. At times, Telion began to wonder if there would ever be a day that the Lupine Draegir would ever awaken, but she still remained hopeful that it had been merely a seasonal woe rather than an arcane affliction.
Having already tucked the children in bed for the evening, Hannah had elected to be their nanny of the night, and read them another short story out of a Kalzasern children's book. Which left Telion alone for the night after wishing the rest of Rickter's immediate kin a good night, to situate herself next to Rickter as he remained asleep where he'd lain. The mother couldn't help herself as she gently brushed fingers along his jawline, even so much as softly raking them through the tufts of hair above his ear.
"Lord of frost deep in sleep, snowflakes rest upon his cheek." Telion then started in a melodic tone as she imagined what it would be like once her beloved finally awoke. "Whisper winds around his heart, Searing comes they must part." It had been a song she'd slowly come to sing over the past few weeks, having found the courage in herself to sing to Rickter after having not done it in so long. Part of her often wondered if he could hear her or not, and at other times, she found herself wishing that she hadn't waited until times like now just to sing.
"Silent ground holds his dreams, Ice and cold in moonlight's beam." Her tone carried the melody with a sense of melancholy as she carried out the phrases in light pauses, softly breathing between each verse as she continued watching Rickter in his rest. "Glistening in the twilight's glow, to the night he will go..." The mother wondered to herself when Hilana and Athalia might make their next visit, as they had been just as curious as she was about the condition Rickter remained within. Although, sleep slowly started to take her as well, and so with a quiet shift in their bed, Telion slipped under the sheets to draw closer to her lover.
There she laid and wondered, nearly enough to chase the lull of dreams away, about what sort of dreams her beloved had in his own mind. Little did she suspect that when she finally slipped away into the Land of Nod, she soon found herself waking up at the feeling of something unusual. Well, not rather unusual just different. Her most recent stir to reach over Rickter's sternum had been met with cushion, and for a moment she drowsily lifted her head to check on him. Gone. Or at least, no longer in the confines of the bed sheets as he normally had been. Quick to reactively turn and rise from her pillow, Telion's eyes moved from her spot toward the other side of the room.
There, within the cushioned chair, sat the wolf himself in formal robes that had been dyed the family house colors. "R... Rickter?!" The wolf quietly smiled as he rose from the chair to approach the side of her bed, a hand held out to greet her as she gazed up at him in a hopeful daze. "When did you-" Rickter then put a finger over his lips to gesture for silence to her with his other hand, still taking Telion's with his own and folding his fingers through the crevices of hers in turn.
"I've wanted to do that for a long time now..." He admitted to her softly with a deep appreciation to his gaze, admiring how it felt just to remember the feeling of their hands interlocking. Telion had looked on the verge of tears for a moment, until she noticed the blue suede dress she'd once worn to a ball hosted so many years ago.
"What is... Am I?" She began to wonder and while he would've loved to pretend otherwise, Rickter knew he could not hide the reality of the truth from her if he wanted.
"Dreaming. Yes..." He assured her before moving to gently guide her out of bed, hopeful that she'd go along with it regardless, now that the both of them were finally reconnected once again. "Care to dance?"
"But we're..." After getting on her feet to stand in her dress the mother gazed around, the privacy of their room no longer there as they stood alone in an empty ballroom. The Palace ballroom in fact. "There's no music." She then rebutted with an amused look up at him once more. Rickter could only smile though as he pulled her in close, a calm gaze found in hers as he rested his hand on the small of her back.
"Then make some up." He humbly mused without looking away. "Sing that song to me. For me." The wolf took the lead and guided his beloved forward, nearly astonishing Telion as the stepped together in tandem to what would be a slow dance. A rhythm that followed the musicality of their hearts, that gave inspiration to the words the blonde had felt earlier before she'd slipped into this wonderful dream. She paused having to think but slowly, as they moved and even gradually twirled around, the tune to her melody soon found itself playing as if a few lute players were present.
The wolf's eyes became filled with joy as he yet again pulled her into a gentle twirl, bringing himself close to her once more as she came to face him directly.
The confidence in her melodic voice elated him without end, as Rickter could only dream of ever reliving this moment in the mundane world. Together, he and Telion were alone here in their own private haven, unfettered by the responsibilities and the burdens that lingered in the world outside. Not that the wolf didn't wish to awaken, for he yearned to return to his family's side properly, rather than living this solitary refuge as a watchdog. Ever unable to reach out to the ones who had come to see him every day, or the ones who checked in when they could to see if he'd awoken.
The pair continued to slowly spin their way across the ballroom as the tune of the melody carried out between them. Yet when Telion had been brought in after another soft twirl, she hung so close to him that she had to wrap her arms completely around his ribs and over the muscles of his back. It was an embrace that spoke volumes in the silence that came between them, imparting just how much she desperately missed seeing him in the waking world. "I miss you."
"I know..." He admitted with a caring embrace of his own around her shoulders. "I've missed you."
"Will you... rise when I awaken?" The question strained the calm smile he held in the moment of serenity, as Rickter still hadn't figured out the one obstacle that kept him from remaining here. But he searched, as did Lykos, until one of them reached a point where the other could go no farther. That still hadn't stopped the wolf from dreaming though. Dreaming deeply about the ones he loved when he couldn't watch them in the day. The silence he possessed though gave reason for Telion to pause, their gentle sways in place lulled to a halt as she pulled back enough to gaze into his melancholic gaze. "Rickter?"
"I... I'm sorry. I just wanted a moment to do all this." He confided with an apologetic smile, with a hand brought up to brush a thumb under the point of her chin. "It's been too long since we..." Yet Rickter couldn't face the fact this was still just a dream to them. A reality he yearned to make real, only just didn't have any idea how. But perhaps... Where he failed, and where Lykos continued searching, perhaps others would be the ones he needed to finally return.
"Listen... I need you, Telion." He murmured to her as the mother eyed him worriedly. "I've wanted to say so much more than that but... truthfully... I need help. I need you to guide me back. Somehow..."
"Wha? Guide?" She started to lose sight of where he was going with this, having only one piece to the puzzle that awaited her the deeper she would dive. "What do you mean, Rickter? What's going on?"
"I can't explain that really," He admitted with a tone of regret, "I just know that for the first time in what feels like an age... I finally reached you tonight." Her eyes widened as he looked somberly upon her, his gaze diverting from Telion to an open doorway that led into a brighter room. "I can go no farther, but you can. Through there you'll learn more." His beloved looked upon the threshold of the doorway confused, before her gaze met with his as he still held her close. "Or... you can stay here with me. Spend a night dancing alone."
It was only one of the few things she ever hoped to see him do. A dream that she never quite let go of, until the moment she realized she finally lived it out within such a dream. "I would love that," she admitted with a near somber expression, "more than anything. But... I want more than that, Rickter. I want you." Telion assured him proudly as he could only smile affectionately in return. "If whatever's waiting for me beyond that door is what will bring you back to me?... Then, I'll go there. I'll go anywhere if it guides you back to me."
The lady before him reluctantly pulled herself away as the heels she wore clicked on the marble floor, her back only turned to him for a short distance before a pause came to her step. "I love you..." He promised the healer when she gazed back at him, a hopeful smile on his face even as his nostrils briefly flared with emotion.
"And I love you." Telion returned before looking ahead of herself now, confident that whatever she might find, she would handle it with an open mind. No matter what the case, it would be to help her beloved awaken, and return to her side in the physical world once more.
Searing 89th, 124th Year, A.o.S.
For the past three months now as Searing drew near to its conclusion, the Maze household continued their lives almost as if it were a normal thing. Often there were times when interested parties would come calling around, checking in to see the status of the sleeping Lord himself, only to no avail once they learned he had yet to awaken. At times, Telion began to wonder if there would ever be a day that the Lupine Draegir would ever awaken, but she still remained hopeful that it had been merely a seasonal woe rather than an arcane affliction.
Having already tucked the children in bed for the evening, Hannah had elected to be their nanny of the night, and read them another short story out of a Kalzasern children's book. Which left Telion alone for the night after wishing the rest of Rickter's immediate kin a good night, to situate herself next to Rickter as he remained asleep where he'd lain. The mother couldn't help herself as she gently brushed fingers along his jawline, even so much as softly raking them through the tufts of hair above his ear.
"Lord of frost deep in sleep, snowflakes rest upon his cheek." Telion then started in a melodic tone as she imagined what it would be like once her beloved finally awoke. "Whisper winds around his heart, Searing comes they must part." It had been a song she'd slowly come to sing over the past few weeks, having found the courage in herself to sing to Rickter after having not done it in so long. Part of her often wondered if he could hear her or not, and at other times, she found herself wishing that she hadn't waited until times like now just to sing.
"Silent ground holds his dreams, Ice and cold in moonlight's beam." Her tone carried the melody with a sense of melancholy as she carried out the phrases in light pauses, softly breathing between each verse as she continued watching Rickter in his rest. "Glistening in the twilight's glow, to the night he will go..." The mother wondered to herself when Hilana and Athalia might make their next visit, as they had been just as curious as she was about the condition Rickter remained within. Although, sleep slowly started to take her as well, and so with a quiet shift in their bed, Telion slipped under the sheets to draw closer to her lover.
There she laid and wondered, nearly enough to chase the lull of dreams away, about what sort of dreams her beloved had in his own mind. Little did she suspect that when she finally slipped away into the Land of Nod, she soon found herself waking up at the feeling of something unusual. Well, not rather unusual just different. Her most recent stir to reach over Rickter's sternum had been met with cushion, and for a moment she drowsily lifted her head to check on him. Gone. Or at least, no longer in the confines of the bed sheets as he normally had been. Quick to reactively turn and rise from her pillow, Telion's eyes moved from her spot toward the other side of the room.
There, within the cushioned chair, sat the wolf himself in formal robes that had been dyed the family house colors. "R... Rickter?!" The wolf quietly smiled as he rose from the chair to approach the side of her bed, a hand held out to greet her as she gazed up at him in a hopeful daze. "When did you-" Rickter then put a finger over his lips to gesture for silence to her with his other hand, still taking Telion's with his own and folding his fingers through the crevices of hers in turn.
"I've wanted to do that for a long time now..." He admitted to her softly with a deep appreciation to his gaze, admiring how it felt just to remember the feeling of their hands interlocking. Telion had looked on the verge of tears for a moment, until she noticed the blue suede dress she'd once worn to a ball hosted so many years ago.
"What is... Am I?" She began to wonder and while he would've loved to pretend otherwise, Rickter knew he could not hide the reality of the truth from her if he wanted.
"Dreaming. Yes..." He assured her before moving to gently guide her out of bed, hopeful that she'd go along with it regardless, now that the both of them were finally reconnected once again. "Care to dance?"
"But we're..." After getting on her feet to stand in her dress the mother gazed around, the privacy of their room no longer there as they stood alone in an empty ballroom. The Palace ballroom in fact. "There's no music." She then rebutted with an amused look up at him once more. Rickter could only smile though as he pulled her in close, a calm gaze found in hers as he rested his hand on the small of her back.
"Then make some up." He humbly mused without looking away. "Sing that song to me. For me." The wolf took the lead and guided his beloved forward, nearly astonishing Telion as the stepped together in tandem to what would be a slow dance. A rhythm that followed the musicality of their hearts, that gave inspiration to the words the blonde had felt earlier before she'd slipped into this wonderful dream. She paused having to think but slowly, as they moved and even gradually twirled around, the tune to her melody soon found itself playing as if a few lute players were present.
"Lord of frost, deep in sleep,
Snowflakes rest, upon his cheek.
Whisper winds, around his heart,
Searing comes, they must part."
Snowflakes rest, upon his cheek.
Whisper winds, around his heart,
Searing comes, they must part."
The wolf's eyes became filled with joy as he yet again pulled her into a gentle twirl, bringing himself close to her once more as she came to face him directly.
"Silent ground holds his dreams,
Ice and cold in moonlight's beam.
Glistening in the twilight's glow,
To the night he will go."
Ice and cold in moonlight's beam.
Glistening in the twilight's glow,
To the night he will go."
"Frosty eyes closed so tight,
Dreaming of the winter night.
Till the sun bids him rise,
Lord of frost dreams in skies."
Dreaming of the winter night.
Till the sun bids him rise,
Lord of frost dreams in skies."
The confidence in her melodic voice elated him without end, as Rickter could only dream of ever reliving this moment in the mundane world. Together, he and Telion were alone here in their own private haven, unfettered by the responsibilities and the burdens that lingered in the world outside. Not that the wolf didn't wish to awaken, for he yearned to return to his family's side properly, rather than living this solitary refuge as a watchdog. Ever unable to reach out to the ones who had come to see him every day, or the ones who checked in when they could to see if he'd awoken.
"Stars above guide his rest,
In his lair, he's truly blessed.
Bitter winds, take their leave,
Summer's warmth, he receives."
In his lair, he's truly blessed.
Bitter winds, take their leave,
Summer's warmth, he receives."
"Winter's breath, takes a pause,
Nature's touching, gentle thaw.
Softly now, without a sound,
Lord of frost, slumbers bound."
Nature's touching, gentle thaw.
Softly now, without a sound,
Lord of frost, slumbers bound."
The pair continued to slowly spin their way across the ballroom as the tune of the melody carried out between them. Yet when Telion had been brought in after another soft twirl, she hung so close to him that she had to wrap her arms completely around his ribs and over the muscles of his back. It was an embrace that spoke volumes in the silence that came between them, imparting just how much she desperately missed seeing him in the waking world. "I miss you."
"I know..." He admitted with a caring embrace of his own around her shoulders. "I've missed you."
"Will you... rise when I awaken?" The question strained the calm smile he held in the moment of serenity, as Rickter still hadn't figured out the one obstacle that kept him from remaining here. But he searched, as did Lykos, until one of them reached a point where the other could go no farther. That still hadn't stopped the wolf from dreaming though. Dreaming deeply about the ones he loved when he couldn't watch them in the day. The silence he possessed though gave reason for Telion to pause, their gentle sways in place lulled to a halt as she pulled back enough to gaze into his melancholic gaze. "Rickter?"
"I... I'm sorry. I just wanted a moment to do all this." He confided with an apologetic smile, with a hand brought up to brush a thumb under the point of her chin. "It's been too long since we..." Yet Rickter couldn't face the fact this was still just a dream to them. A reality he yearned to make real, only just didn't have any idea how. But perhaps... Where he failed, and where Lykos continued searching, perhaps others would be the ones he needed to finally return.
"Listen... I need you, Telion." He murmured to her as the mother eyed him worriedly. "I've wanted to say so much more than that but... truthfully... I need help. I need you to guide me back. Somehow..."
"Wha? Guide?" She started to lose sight of where he was going with this, having only one piece to the puzzle that awaited her the deeper she would dive. "What do you mean, Rickter? What's going on?"
"I can't explain that really," He admitted with a tone of regret, "I just know that for the first time in what feels like an age... I finally reached you tonight." Her eyes widened as he looked somberly upon her, his gaze diverting from Telion to an open doorway that led into a brighter room. "I can go no farther, but you can. Through there you'll learn more." His beloved looked upon the threshold of the doorway confused, before her gaze met with his as he still held her close. "Or... you can stay here with me. Spend a night dancing alone."
It was only one of the few things she ever hoped to see him do. A dream that she never quite let go of, until the moment she realized she finally lived it out within such a dream. "I would love that," she admitted with a near somber expression, "more than anything. But... I want more than that, Rickter. I want you." Telion assured him proudly as he could only smile affectionately in return. "If whatever's waiting for me beyond that door is what will bring you back to me?... Then, I'll go there. I'll go anywhere if it guides you back to me."
The lady before him reluctantly pulled herself away as the heels she wore clicked on the marble floor, her back only turned to him for a short distance before a pause came to her step. "I love you..." He promised the healer when she gazed back at him, a hopeful smile on his face even as his nostrils briefly flared with emotion.
"And I love you." Telion returned before looking ahead of herself now, confident that whatever she might find, she would handle it with an open mind. No matter what the case, it would be to help her beloved awaken, and return to her side in the physical world once more.
