[PRP] An Episode Averted (Vendimia, Faelon [FIN]

[Menelie]

Mene

Vendimia was feeling....some type of way. She couldn't quite describe it, how she was feeling. It happened to her once a year or so, and it was like she was vibrating out of her skin. It wasn't pleasant and left her feeling agitated, irritable, and more snappish than normal. Luckily, over time she had learned to recognize the signs and take steps to resolve the feeling.

She approached Faelon as he was puttering with one thing or another, and put a hand on his shoulder, then stepped back. She hugged herself as tight as she could, but it wasn't enough. "The thing's happening again," she said, shifting her weight from one hoof to another restlessly, anxiously. "The thing where I'm trying to come out of my skin." They'd had this discussion before, and usually Faelon knew what to do.

Dai

Faelon had been entertaining himself with a little woodwork project - a toy of sorts for the grandchildren - when he heard Vendi starting to walk back and forth elsewhere in the alcove. That said, he paid her no mind - she'd tell him if he was needed to help with whatever it was on her mind.

And so she did eventually with a touch of the shoulder.

Looking up, he could recognize her fidgeting even before she explicitly expressed her emotions. Ah... yes. He suppose it had been a while since the last one of her episodes. Had it been a longer time between these two? No matter. He knew what to do. After placing his tools and wood back on the table, he pushed back and pat his lap twice, silently motioning her to come over and be little spoon.

Mene

Vendi nodded gratefully with a whispered "thanks" and sat on his lap, scooting back as far as she could to have the maximum contact possible. She leaned her head back on his shoulder, breathing deeply and slowly. She stared at the ceiling of their alcove, following the grain and whorls in the wood with her eyes. "I dunno what brought it on today," she said quietly.

Dai

Once Vendi was situated on his lap, Faelon reached around to pull her in and embrace her from behind. From his perspective, her body - her breathing, her heartbeat - all seemed normal. But if she said she didn't feel normal, that was that. He was no healer, and from his understanding, the healers weren't too useful with particular ailment. It usually left as quickly as it came at least, so it was simple enough to handle.

He gently ran his fingers over her skin where it touched. "How has your day been so far?"

Mene

Vendi shook her head. "Fine," she responded, at a loss. "No stress, no sadness, no nothing. I don't even remember what I was doing when it started." His touch was electric on her skin, in a good way. She was already starting to feel a little better. She focused her attention on the way his fingertips felt. She breathed deeply again, trying to find the smells. Wood shavings.

She tipped her head to the side, tucking her face into the side of Faelon's neck. "Can you tell me about your day?" she asked. "I want to feel your voice."

Dai

Faelon nodded. It really would be easier if there was an obvious trigger, now wouldn't it. He'd heard rumors that his mother had similar-ish attacks when blood pae were involved - he'd never asked her himself about it though. There was no way that was true based on how she carried herself. Mother was a Que-- er... Princess after all.

He glanced upwards as he thought it over. "Hmm... I got up early - I hope I didn't wake you - to help with the first of the summer harvests in the Branches. Then I attended the communal breakfast before helping the Nursery with bringing in some additional supplies. It seems our family isn't the only one to grown as of late. One of the workers... Anise, was it...? Was lamenting how shortstaffed they are. After all, I believe this is the first time the Tree has had such a population boom in recent history." He paused. "I worked through lunch and had a small snack and pint at Mojo's, and then returned home. You know the rest from there."

 

[Menelie]

Mene

Vendi made the appropriate "mm-hms" as he spoke, only sort of listening. It wasn't necessarily what he was saying that was helping, but the sound of his voice and the way she could feel it sort of rumble in his chest and neck. Things....definitely were starting to feel more normal again. I'm here. I'm safe. I'm okay. She repeated to herself silently.

And then, like the clouds dissipating after a rainy day, it was over. "Ohh..." said Vendi, sighing with relief as her whole body relaxed. "It's gone. Whew....yeah, it's gone. Holy horsefeathers, I hate that," she grumbled. She took a couple deep breaths and gave Faelon a small kiss just below his jaw. "You're the best. I love you."

Even though she felt properly back in her body, she still wanted to be connected to him. She reached up with one hand and touched his cheek.

Dai

Faelon gave Vendi another squeeze before relaxing the pressure of his arms, but not removing them from around her body. Then he offered a warm smile. "And you know I care deeply for you."

His ear flicked as she became more touchy-feely once her episode passed - as expected. Still, he wished they could figure out a cause at some point. "So how was your day - you were in the fields, right? Did Grim make things weird after, you know...?"

Mene

"Mm," said Vendi with a contented smile. "How'd I get so lucky?" She nuzzled his neck affectionately.

His next question prompted a snorty giggle. "You know she did," Vendi responded. "She spent a....non-zero amount of time trying to figure out how we were related. Y'know, 'since we're family now'. I don't think she ever actually came to a conclusion on that one." She chuckled and took a deep breath, letting it out with a puff. "But the fields were fine. Everything's flowering away! Should have lots of produce by midsummer."

Slowly she stood, reluctant to part from him, but interested in moving this conversation somewhere more comfortable. "C'mon, this poor chair's not meant for two." I know somewhere else you can sit, she thought, then giggled.

Dai

Faelon almost made a joke about how all of this really had been a matter of coincidence, but decided against it to preserve the mood.

"I... Had a feeling. I saw their grandkids playing with our own when I was at the Nursery. Spirits willing they won't decide to complicate the family relations when they grow older..." By the Earth that would suck. "That's good to hear though, I'm sure I'll be helping when it's harvest time again."

He let his hand go and placed them on his lap as she stood up, somewhat grateful as his legs had been growing numb. She was right, these chairs weren't the best for sharing. "Oh, you can go ahead and pull up a chair then..." A slight pause. "...or were you wanting me to move with you elsewhere?"

Mene

Vendi raised her eyebrows once, meaningfully, then took both his hands in hers, pulling gently. She loved that they'd been together long enough that they knew how to interpret each other, sometimes without words. Theirs was a comfortable relationship rooted in companionship and partnership, though it certainly wasn't without passion. But they were always friends primarily, and Vendi couldn't think of a better foundation for a relationship. Everything else was just a bonus.

She led them to their bed, where she laid them down cuddled up facing one another. Her voice took on a flirtatious tone as she asked, "Do you want me to tell you what I want, or would you like to guess?" she asked. Sometimes when he guessed he had better ideas than she did, so she liked to leave the option open~

Dai

Yeah, he'd figured as much. With her promoting, he took her hands and followed back to the bedroom... And began the next trial - deducing what it actually was she wanted from the spectrum of cuddling to something decidedly R18+.

Women really were such mysterious creatures sometimes. Sure, he'd improved in interpreting her specific body language over time, but there were some days it just didn't add up.

Oh good good, he knew this one. She was feeling hot. Honestly, that was a bit easier to handle than the cuddling and small talk, and daresay Faelon had actually gotten rather skilled at it over the many, many seasons they'd spent together. He was certainly confident in it, unfounded or otherwise. Making love to her the way she wanted was the least he could do when he couldn't actually love her the same.

He offered her a smile he was sure would have her anticipating his words before leaning forward to whisper something truly, terribly obscene into her ear.