now what?

[small_magics]

Isibel gates the demon and all of the useful books except the parts about summoning Darkness (which she burns) into the cave where they've been sleeping.

She stays there. Their physical presence is a comfort; their mental presence works over arbitrary distances and at least they're not awake to read her.

She reads the books. Just for something to do.

Comments

[pythbox]

"I do not say that you lie," Andoreniel says mildly. "I merely say that you may be... mistaken. And that if you are, it is far too high a price to pay."

"Nope," says Liselen.

And he makes his way shakily to the back of the cave, and flumps down next to the sleeping demon, and bends his head to lay his horn across the demon's scarlet neck.

It feels like dipping it in a clear well.

Nothing else happens.

[small_magics]

"...But Tialle burned him," murmurs Isibel. "He bears the scar."

[pythbox]

"Something probably happened in the intervening ten thousand years," says Liselen, rising awkwardly. "And now I'm outta here."

He gets all four hooves under him and hurries out of the cave.

"...Well," says Andoreniel. "I stand corrected."

[small_magics]

Isibel nods. "I take it we may all three remain as we are."

[pythbox]

He surveys them for a moment.

"It is," he says, "not my royal command, but my royal suggestion, that you bring your beloved to the house of a suitable clothier. In all other respects, yes."

[small_magics]

"He doesn't want clothes," Isibel says absently.

[pythbox]

The king sighs.

"Then I suppose he does not need them."

[small_magics]

She nods.

[pythbox]

The king nods back.

He leaves.

[small_magics]

Isibel curls up with her beloveds and closes her eyes.

[endragoned]

Eventually, the demon wakes.

[small_magics]

Isibel relates the conversation with king and unicorn.

[endragoned]

He sighs, and hugs her.

"I wish you had let him, my love," he murmurs.

[small_magics]

"I didn't - try very hard. The Wild Magic went to some trouble to see that you were allowed to live," she murmurs. "Perhaps it is necessary." She lifts her hand, lays it on his face. "And I love you."

[endragoned]

"I love you," he echoes, cuddling her. "I don't want you to hurt."

[small_magics]

She snuggles up. He's so warm.

"There are times when you sleep and times when I'm focusing and times when you're focusing, and then I don't hurt, and maybe I'll - get used to it, somehow - and even if I don't, in a thousand years I'll be gone and you can go on without me and I won't hurt at all."

[endragoned]

Blinking back tears, he settles a wing around her and kisses her forehead.

[small_magics]

Snuggles.

She barely thinks of anything, now. Maybe that's how it will stop hurting. She'll flinch away from thinking until her brain stops trying to do it.

[endragoned]

No. That is no good at all. He loves her mind, every piece of it, he just - wishes he could love it from farther away.

[small_magics]

She's not sure she knows how to put it back together again now anyway.

[endragoned]

Her beloveds could help... but of course that's the problem, isn't it?

He sighs, and cuddles her, and stops thinking. It's easy enough by now to do nothing but snuggle.

[small_magics]

Snuggle. Thoughtless comfortable snuggle.