Ardenweald had always been a wondrous place to Adrestes. Before the drought, he had visited on occasion, as Polemarch ferrying messages. 

He was Paragon now, giving him free rein to go and come as long as those serving the Winter Queen permitted it. Especially now that the covenants had banded together, interaction between the realms had become more common once again. 

If only the basis of his visits as of late had been so formal.

As he landed in the small clearing, he was unsure if the Drust had heard him approach.

He was answered by the subtle creaking that accompanied Audun's movements, seeing him turn his head to confirm his assumption. 

"The beat of your wings is always a most welcome sound, Paragon," his somber voice contradicted the words of complacence. His eternal performance produced what little whispers of enthusiasm he could muster. 

"You seem well enough today, Audun," Adrestes presumed, closing the distance between them. 

"That may be the case," the Drust assented, turning back to his previous fixation.

Adrestes' curiosity was piqued, usually his arrival commanded his full attention. "What do you have there?" He walked around to his front. Though Audun's frame was narrow and willowy, his towering form leaning over obscured the object of his attention.

The Kyrian followed his gaze to a cluster of forest flowers. Ordinary enough, he was sure Audun had seen more than his fair share of them by now.

As if sensing the Paragon's confusion, Audun merely nodded his head in a motion to look again. 

It was now that Adrestes noticed the small moth, minuscule in comparison to their great heights to the point of being near unnoticeable. The two watched for a moment as it flitted from flower to flower, immersing itself in their petals as it rolled around in the pollen. 

"I had forgotten such intimacy is one of the many natures of this world," his soft tone was always at variance with his monstrous appearance. His words weaved webs of vulnerability that he himself did not know how to express.

"All beings that exist must rely on others in some way. That is an immutable fact of the universe," the Paragon echoed his sentiment. 

"Such a concept has been lost on me for quite some time now," Audun stood as the scene no longer captivated his attention. "I don't think I can remember..." he trailed off, his eyes unfixed as he seemed to look in on himself. 

Ultimately finding nothing. 

"Audun." 

Adrestes' voice called him back, and as he turned to face him he was met with the feeling of a gentle hand touching the side of his face, shocking him to his core. 

A long-lost look of bewilderment crossed his features as the alien sensation almost overloaded his senses, his untransformed eye widening at the Kyrian who regarded him with something he couldn't identify.

"How long has it been? Since you've felt the touch of another?" Adrestes asked, his voice full of... sympathy? Or something akin to it at least.

"I... I..." Audun was utterly speechless. He was still, unable to process the sensation making its way from the Paragon's hand to the surface of his face. 

He couldn't remember. For the life of him, he could not remember the last time he had made physical contact with another sapient being. It agonized him. It tormented him. 

More than that though, it made his hollow heart swell with a feeling he was sure would never return to him again.

Adrestes pushed a little closer, lifting his other hand to the other side of his face. Audun instinctively jerked away. His features were even more marred on that side, undeserving of his immaculate touch.

But Adrestes didn't pay it any mind, did not differentiate what was ugliest from what was almost human. It was all the same to him. His palm insisted on cradling his jaw, his fingers asserting themselves against his cheek. 

Audun sighed, his eyelid fluttering closed.

It was beyond what he could remember comprehending. Like seeing a new color.

Superlunary.

"Do you remember now?" Adrestes asked as one of his thumbs stroked against his cheekbone.

Audun was lost in the experience for just a moment before sighing, properly processing the question, and immediately knowing his answer.

"No... I do not..." his gaze shifted downward shamefully before returning to the Paragon's face. He paused. "Might I ask of you? To remind me?"

Adrestes suppressed a smile. Shyness was not something he had ever expected from the Drust. In a sense, he found it...

Cute.

"I think I heard some proper legitimacy there." He half-teased. Audun made an expression that would have accompanied a blush if the shell of bark creeping across his face would have allowed it. "As you wish," his tone was much softer now, much warmer.

Audun genuinely prepared himself for how he could only imagine the experience would feel. He didn't want his reaction to be particularly extreme, he had never before had to strive for composure in Adrestes' presence.

He was, of course, completely caught off guard by the actual sensation.

How could he have not been? He hadn't felt so much as a single touch from another in an immeasurable amount of time. How could he have steeled himself for the feeling of the Kyrian's blessed touch departing his face to travel down his neck, making his breath catch as it made its way down to rest on the area of his shoulder closest to his throat. 

"You're trembling, Audun," Adrestes' voice was much closer to him now, Audun hadn't noticed him move inward towards him. 

The Kyrian's chest was inches from his own, close enough that he could feel his physical presence radiating onto him. He didn't even have a chance to make a single sound in reply before he felt both of the Paragon's hands placed delicately on his collarbone. Audun took a sharp intake of breath and then his hands were lower. Traveling across his form at an agonizingly slow pace but faster still than he could mentally keep up with.

He was awash with a feeling he couldn't describe. It was otherworldly, almost like its own entity radiating from inside him as if he were a shell. One of Adrestes' hands lingered in the middle of his chest while the fingers on the other delicately glided down from his ribs to his waist. His head was spinning, he couldn't comprehend a single second of this relentlessly gentle treatment.

"Is this enjoyable for you?" Adrestes' voice was right next to his ear now. A demanding sensation in its own right. 

Audun swallowed thickly, not entirely sure what his body was doing right then. "Is... Is it supposed to be?" he looked at the Paragon with a furrowed brow, looking almost concerned. He did not question why he was making these sort of faces, why his voice was awash with tones of emotion he did not know if he were actually feeling. The answer was potentially too terrifying.

"Probably," Adrestes sounded almost amused, but the Drust could not be entirely sure.

"Then... Probably," Audun echoed, willing to continue if this was something positive. Or, at least, was supposed to be willing, he corrected himself. He wasn't ever sure of things, that had been the case for longer than he could remember. It couldn't have all changed so suddenly. Not from a single touch.

Where Adrestes would have usually been frustrated by Audun's illegitimate answers, he found himself more... invested. Audun could try to fool himself if he desired, but he knew authenticity when he heard it. Even if were just the prelude, it still resounded from something deeper. Something genuine. 

He would not force such a concept on him so soon, so for now he sought out his own inquiries. Mildly, subtle enough that his treatment would not overwhelm the Drust too much.

If he could, Audun would have been in tears. Every prior touch he could feel lingering on his surface, the more space covered wrenching out gasps and sighs he could not find the source of. Adrestes couldn't possibly know what the sensation of his body twitching and jerking on its own felt like to one whose entire cycle of behavior was entirely premeditated in every instance.

"Adrestes..."

The name slipped from his lips, utterly and immutably involuntary.

But he was not allowed a single moment of respite to digest the fact that he had spoken the Paragon's name, not on his own accord. The act had seemingly resonated with the Kyrian's own visceral need for intimacy. Adrestes had pulled him close, pressing their forms tightly together, pressing his forehead against the Drust's as his hands continued to roam his body. 

Audun made an incomprehensible sound, unlike anything Adrestes had ever heard before. It was comparable to what he imagined it would sound like when the first buds of life erupted from the ground after a wildfire. The sound of a tree returning to life after a long winter.

It was the sound of something returning.

He would be lying if he said it did not excite him, did not spur him on further. He leaned inward and nudged his head against the side of Audun's face. He delighted in the alarmed jolt followed by the shudder that resulted from his warm breath against his neck. 

The Drust was shaking now, his breaths coming out quickly but heavily. This was beginning to... intensify. Both of their minds were swimming in something leaning towards carnal, a building tension that was leading to something.

Audun did not know what that was, he was barely able to process the immediate physical sensation, let alone instinctive bodily reactions.

Adrestes did, though. 

Audun was senseless, but the Kyrian managed to grasp the clarity to consider where this would lead if he continued. This was a new development for him in its own right. He considered the reality that he was thinking about Audun in a fashion he hadn't expected. Feeling this way towards him now was an interesting turn of events, but truthfully he found himself not minding. 

The only concern was Audun himself. 

Adrestes ceased moving but remained in the Drust's near-embrace. Audun did not react save for how one would to seemingly being released from overstimulation. He was practically panting, his chest and shoulders rising and falling as he began to wind down. 

That was proof enough that their inevitable path would have proved too much for him, in the end. Adrestes would not put that upon him so soon.

All things considered, this had been the first time he had so much as touched him.

"Audun," Adrestes addressed him, feeling him go still. "I think you've had enough for now."

Audun was silent and for a moment Adrestes began to grow concerned he had overdone it.

"I'll... choose to take your word for it," Audun finally spoke and the Kyrian took comfort in his neutral tone.

Adrestes pulled away and Audun did not impede him, simply letting his body relax to its usual position.

"Was that an acceptable reminder?" Adrestes asked casually, trying to clear the air of embarrassment for the both of them.

Audun turned his head, the visible reaction of bashfulness resonating with Adrestes' satisfaction in seeing him genuinely emote. Whether Audun acknowledged it or not.

"It... exceeded," the Drust continued to avert his gaze, not even realizing how uncharacteristic he was being.

Adrestes could not fight his smile this time. This was the substance he had been longing for. This was the sign that Audun could be something worth... 

Devoting himself to.

"That's good. Perhaps I could keep you up to speed in the future. That is, if you so desire." 

Despite himself, perhaps still reeling in the shock, or maybe with the budding sense of self Adrestes longed to see in him, Audun spoke without a hint of self-awareness.

Bio:  Audun is the elder brother of Erijisa, only 2 years apart. He’s a cynical, rude individual whose mind is not very stable. He struggles to sleep and is tired most of the time. He’s known for many terrible crimes in the later years; thievery, destruction of public property, indecency, and worse. Audun is also egotistical, showing a lack of care for others citizens.

Long story short he isn’t the nicest of Hoopa’s-

Despite being so rude to others, he has many sentimental moments within himself, or even just nice moments with Erijisa. In reality he just feels incredibly lost in life. If you show compassion to him he’s more likely to open up a little He's also know for being a goofball- an idiot, making fun of things often. Also he’s a bit of a masochist. 

His rings are cracked and show wear. Upon trying to save his sister when they were young- he was almost crushed. His horn rings were cracked and damaged, while the ring around his waist- well, it completely shattered. He still holds onto some of the fragments that he was able to scavange. He took up blacksmithing as a job, to both provide for him and his sister- and to hopefully one day reforge his rings. Working as a blacksmith is a long, tedious job for him. In the city of Eisulu, blacksmithing is considered a poor man’s job, and he isn’t the best at it... He owns his own little blacksmithing tent on the outskirts of the sandy city. His weapons are cheaply made and unworthy of a warrior- the best thing he can make and sell is hinges and other small metal pieces that don’t go for much money. It’s a rather depressing job, but he does it nonetheless for the sake of his rings.

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Story: A complicated set of events followed their lives. Their parents passed away when they were fairly young for a ghost’s age. Her brother Audun took up the responsibility of looking after the two. He worked hard and provided for them, living a poor life early on.

While he worked as a blacksmith under his master, Erijisa was alone at home. He wanted to be there for her, but needed to work hard to pay for food-

As they grew older, things would start to shake. Audun went through more hardships, leading to his mentality snapping, and he started to do awful things. He’d steal food and money, he’d attack others in the streets, and worse- Yet he still provided for the two

Later on they were given a lovely house, and wealth to keep their lives afloat, kindly given to them by Viradera- a Darkrai of royalty, and Foirlatorem, the lord of the land. Audun doesn’t appreciate the gifts, feeling like his life of suffering and hard work was all for none just to be given it for free by the rich.

Audun therefore despises the Foir, and clashes with Viradera a lot. Viradera sees him as a demon. He sometimes joins Viradera on her adventures, using dark magic to defend himself- as his weapons are not up to par.