A Moonlit Ordeal - Early Access - Render

Hey everyone! Hope you're all doing well :)

August is usually an incredibly busy month for us, but we're happy to swing around with a render this time and a short story after ages!

---

'tis the middle of night as Z's. eyes slowly gleam open. The wooden caravan in which he and M. had lived in didn't really change since he had gone to bed, it was rustic, its shelves littered with potions, drinks, food and other goods. A cramped space, but not too cramped, just right to where it would feel homely.

It was another one of those nights where slumber simply wouldn't find him, his thoughts running back to his escape from Ishgard and from his former mate, as a rather sour grimace rose to his face, one that softened as he had turned towards M.

There she laid in silence under the comfort of the sheets, her breath easy and her body relaxed, without a worry in the world. It was hard not to admire her, to feel soothed by her presence. To have a guide in life upon which one could rely, unlike the one he bonded with previously.

Its something he never told her, yet M. had given him strength from day to day to press on. To try and be a better version of himself and whilst with sourness he may have woken, his thoughts soon swooned in a better direction.

With a painful hiss, he shifted in the bed as he cradled his ailing back, reaching for the night robe slung over one of the nearby dividers only to don it whilst he still sat. Then, his hand would reach forth to grab onto the walking staff that he had by the bedside, only for both of his hands to clamp upon it as he rose, gritting his teeth with an agonizing groan that he stifled, so that M. would not wake.

The rap of his staff against the ground was ever so quiet - the click of its butt end barely heard as he approached the door of the caravan, creaking it open and shimmying himself out of the gap as best he could.

They found themselves parked in a forest... nature, it is what most oft brought him comfort, what made him feel as if he belonged and with a smile, he would trudge towards a log that laid in the distance, sitting at the foot of a lakes shore.

To find oneself out and about in a forest on a cold moonlit night, there's a sense of peace to be found in the air and of calmth. A place to unwind and let your mind rest from the every day hassle of life that grows louder.

And eventually, he found himself arriving at the log where he would sit and merely take in the sight that laid before him, his staff leaned to the side of his knee, as his hands found rest close to its spire. The lake at this time of night had been like a brilliant mirror amidst a grove, reflecting the heavens above, for in it loomed the moon and the many stars that dotted the sky. If Z. knew how to paint a picture, he would, right here and right now.

Sights like these could wash ones worries away and after a deep breath, a peaceful exhale would leave him. A moment of respite from worldly troubles and pain. The stress and anxiety of what had occurred, at least for the time being, taking their leave.

He sat there, for a good while, longer even than he himself would've thought he had and it would be here that his daydreaming (or would it be called night dreaming considering the time?) was interrupted, by a pair of slender hands curling around him. With a startled motion, he flailed, almost pulling his back again, only for a calm, soothing voice to pierce from behind;

"Its me silly. Nothing to worry about." M. woke up. "You're up and thinking again, aren't you?"

With a sheer sigh of relief, the tense hold around his staff lowered only for him to chortle with a bit of a snicker, "Quite the contrary this time around, only silence found my mind, until you swung around." he said, as he turned his head over his shoulder with a grin most inviting and friendly.

"I can leave if you want~." she playfully retorted, yet she kept her arms slung around his shoulders, letting them drape over the front of his chest as she leaned in with her tall stature, giving his shorter one an embrace.

"Well, I didn't say that the thoughts you brought with you were bad, did I now~. I wouldn't mind if you were to stay..." he freed one hand from the staff and reached up to hers, as he sought to gently hold it, leaning down with his head just enough for him to leave a kiss on her hand.

An answer given was one received, her hands unfurled, slinking back 'hind him, 'fore she had found herself sitting on the log next to him; "I can see why you would come here. Its nice to look at, just like me." she tilted her head, playful again, with a boast that was arguably justified in Z's. mind.

With a snort of amusement and a snicker, he turned to face her. He would speak - yet first he had found himself stunned by her pristine silver eyes. There was a beauty to them that nothing in nature could equal. Mirrors of the soul that he could well lose himself in - mirrors that well reflected the pleasantry of M. herself.

Often times, he thought that he did not deserve someone like her, yet here they were and he was not going to complain. A small smile crept to his face, as he reached down to her hand, placing his own upon hers.

"You're... not entirely wrong. The silver tone of the lake reminds me of your eyes, the very things I always end up losing myself in~." he purred out in a charming, yet also honest tone, he wasn't lying. If anything, it was sweet.

M's. nose crinkled, only for her to snort in light amusement, "Mmmh---... not the only things you 'lose yourself' in." yet, her playful demeanour dwindled for a moment as it was replaced with one that had been a bit more filled with concern.

"Ishgard still troubles you, does it not?"

And so, Z's. eyes would find themselves flitting back to the lake with a slow crane of his head, "A bit. I'm certain we have... shaken them off for now, but I'm not sure whether or not we are entirely rid of them. She didn't take it well."

M. shimmied a bit closer on the log, loosely dressed as she was in a night gown and panties, she had to be quite careful to not tear the attire on the bark of the fallen tree and in turn, an arm swooned around Z. as she looked down towards him.

"She doesn't have the funds to chase after us, after what we have done... so I think that we can rest easy. Logically you know that, you only tend to overly worry on things. Besides, with how much the two of us are on the move, doubt she'll ever catch us!"

Z. knew she was right. She always spoke reason when he was swamped in doubt, a soft huff leaving his lips.

"'tis true." simple words, yet they were hefted with weight this time around. He could try and explain that selfsame logic to himself a countless amount of times, yet he could never convince himself, but hearing it from another? That convinced him.

His expression eased as it had grown softer, his eyes turning back to her only for his head to follow. Yet, as he turned, his lips would be met with her own soft ones.

"Besides, I can give you something else to think about, but only if you promise to come back to bed afterwards with me? 'tis always like a sting to my heart to wake up to an empty one..."

It would be here that his cheeks would soon be painted with a rose tinted tone - in fact it would happen quite quickly. He knew what she meant. It always was a wonder how quick one's thoughts could be replaced when a stronger emotion had been brought into light, this time love intermingled with lust.

He stammered for a moment, before he quickly caught up with his words, "Su-sure!" - the excitement he had in himself for such things always was something worthy of adoration and it is something M. very much loved to hear.

Blink and their tongues would find themselves intertwined with one another in a heated dance of passion and from this first spark of heat - an inferno would soon come to grow...