#sierol

all they ever wanted was to be as important to him as he (protector, provider, parent/brother/friend, their only ally against the rest of the world) was to them, but iesin's calling to the mysteries and then his disappearance taught them very harshly that they just aren't enough (for anyone, under any circumstance)

Is Sierol still alive at the point of the main story? And if so, do they ever encounter Talvos and Iesin traveling together? How would they react?

~@cinnamon-roll-whump

-Kay

"What a strange little creature!"

The fledgling hisses, fluffing dark wings in a threat display around their sibling. Several of the gathered fae coo soothingly, completely won over by the little one's devotion to the even younger ball of down and soft talons peeking out from behind them.

"Hush," an elder shushes the impertinent young adult. "They are only from a hunter court, it is not so strange to see."

The fae preens his crest of brilliant blue-green plumage with a derisive chirp. "My mates and I will not have them in our nest. They will frighten our own young with those talons and ugly feathers."

"Go, then," the elder says mildly. "Tend to your young." She turns back to the fledgling, offering a smile and open palms in the face of their low and constant hiss. "You are welcome here, little ones. We have food and soft nests to spare. Are you hungry?"

The littlest one peeps loud and shrill. The elder laughs softly at his shock of wild white hair and open mouth full of tiny sharp teeth.

His sibling latches onto his hand before he can hop out from behind them. "We stay together," they warn. "No take."

"No take," the elder agrees. "You both come with me, and we will eat. Then you can tell me your names and how you came here, yes?"

"I Iesin!" the little one peeps, hopping at the end of his siblings' grasp to tug them closer. "I hungry!"

The gathered adults laugh, and the elder pats her pockets in a show of searching before pulling out two strips of dried meat. "Here. A snack for Iesin, and a snack for..."

"Sierol," the fledging admits grudgingly, but they are quick to snap their talons around the offered food. "And I not ugly feathers."

"Not at all," the elder agrees gravely. "I apologize for the bad manners you saw. You are welcome here, Sierol."

That last Talvos whump with Sierol was both incredibly painful and delicious.

The only thing I love more than that boi is seeing him panic.

Will there be a part 2?

aawww thank you!! My aim is ever to delight and pain my readers 😌 There will be a part two! I'm writing it in bits and bobs at work today. Here's a sneak peek for you:

Sierol's voice feels like glass, like lightning-struck sand burrowing grain by grain under Talvos' skin.

hello I would like that also

Talons prick the skin at his throat, a line of pinpoint reminders that all that stands between him and death is a thin membrane stretched over blood and bone and soul. The fae's teeth graze the edge of his jaw, tracing faint lines of stinging heat across his skin.

"So weak, you," the whisper edges against a trill, driving dissonant frequencies into his nerve endings. Talvos feels as if his very soul is being stripped bare, flayed for the salt of the fae's scorn. "Frail human, born of dirt and to dirt returned. Are momentary amusement, you, a breath gone as soon as comes."

His nod is a barren, minute jerk of his chin, as easily mistaken for trembling as for agreement. The fae's talons tighten, drawing bright beads of blood, and Talvos' breath freezes.

"Are distraction to brother, mine," the fae murmurs.

Their talons sink slowly deeper into Talvos' throat. He feels the moment they begin to pierce the softer tissues beneath his skin.

"Needs to heal, him, not cling to hurts. Not cling to you."

Talvos doesn't think he could speak if he tried. Sierol is right. He has only ever been a weight to Iesin, tethering what should fly free to the pain and hurt of the earth.