A day of rare freedom.

[Eve]

A free day, that magical of days that came seldom, and was even rarer to collide with a day off for a trainee as well, like Angel. Even if a day went by that he had no one to train, usually she had her chores, her classes, and her other duties to attend to, and at the moment he was not allowed to follow her around the Tower. They had both been told that the only reason his bond wasn’t transferred to another was because they feared for the mental health of Garren himself, after his last bond had been so recently and horribly severed. But if he or she was to step out of line, the Power That Be might reconsider their decision. So more often than not the two saw each other only in the mornings, at lunches if he was free, and at night when they were far to tired to do anything other than wash and sleep. But today...today was a free day, and neither of them had a thing to do!

He woke a little before dawn, as he always did. Without need of alarm or waking, his eyes fluttered opened as his nose began to pick up the scent of the world and all it’s animals rising around him, gold eyes staring into the half dark of the room, the mostly dark window his only illumination. For him it was enough, for others it would have still been pitc outside. He rolled over to face Angel, knowing as he did that the motion would likely wake her, but unable to remain lying away from her for longer than he had to…

[Nani]

Angelique al'Chan

The morning was soft and slow as she felt the bed roll underneath her. Her bondmate was awake always a half hour before the dawn, and he would watch her sleep, as he always did. She normally used this time to catch a little extra sleep, and hone her body more. A physical work out, that added to her body's toning. However, as she kept her eyes closed, she remembered that today was the day that they had nothing. There were no chores, no classes, no training. Today was the day for them to be together, just them. Her body slide towards his and she cuddled up with him, kissing his chest softly. "Good morning my Wolf." She mumbled softly, staying near to his warmth. The mornings were cool and chilly. Something that she still never got used to.

But her red hair was soft and splayed out behind her on the pillow, and her hands drifted slowly up her Wolfkin's back, loving the feel of him against her. She had gotten a stern talking to about her bond, but she had explained it that they had never planned for them to return to the Tower, and that the bond kept Garren from going full wolf. That had been a large argument with Jenna stepping in for a say since she had been Garren's former bondmate. But today was their day, and she was going to enjoy it to the fullest with her bondmate.

[Eve]

Garren's worn, lined face moved into a smile that was all for her. It took him back from the perpetually quiet man he had become to the eager youth that had once tracked this very woman, then just a girl, through the woods with near ease. His hands mimicked her own, sliding up around her body to hold her as she rolled against his chest. "Good morning, Angel..." He said, voice pitched low, just for her to hear.

He kissed the red fall of her hair as she kissed his chest, running both large, calloused hands through it to watch it fall. Like her, he made no move to rise from the bed, nor to dress, wanting to stay here with her as utterly long as he could. "How did you sleep?" He asked as he felt her hands near his shoulder blades and rumbled enjoyment.

[Nani]

Angelique al'Chan

"With you next to me, I sleep sounder then I have ever slept before." The feel of his hands against her body was amazing, his fingers through her hair made her give a small hum. "It's not even dawn on our day off, why are we still awake right now?" She mumbled softly, as she kissed his chest again, before tilting her head to the side and listening to his heart beat. It still blew her mind that he would want someone like her, someone so close to his first bond mate. She was in love with this man, and it filled her with glee everytime she thought about him. Snuggled up like this was amazing, and she enjoyed listening to him breath.

A sigh left her lips and she leaned up, pushing him onto his back. "You look so relaxed for the morning." She whispered, before leaning down and kissing him, her red hair tumbling around them.

[Eve]

Garren softly laughed as she spoke, finding her affections sweet. He shrugged, looking out the window at the rising sun. “I always wake at this time.” He told her, and even after all this time it seemed he still missed the more subtle nuances of humor, or teasing. He held her for a moment as she pressed her ear to his chest, his hands softly running down her back as he allowed himself to soak up the feeling of nothing to do, with this woman in his arms. Sometimes, it seemed everything in his life had been leading up to this, here, with her… From Jenna: meeting her after pledging himself to her mother, and being promised the bond would shift when she was raised. Back then, he hadn’t known if he had wanted that. He had desired to guard Jenna, and though he had loved Angel nearly from the first, he had thought back then that it was best to keep such things separate. And then Jenna was gone, and while he was still reeling from that, Sulinn had come into his life, beginning a wild, torrid relationship that he had never fully been happy with. He had nearly lost his mind trying to settle his thoughts between what he wanted and what he felt he should do...and in the midst of that had come Angel, again. He had tried so *hard* to resist the urge to be near her, blaming himself and not his situation for how much it hurt to see her. And now….He sighed as he thought about it, how she had saved him, found him, helped him. He almost felt like his old self looking into her eyes, early in the mornings, when they awoke. Later, pain and doubt, worry for his missing children would come. Once he was away from her, if he had nothing to do, it always did. He appreciated the way the Tower kept him over worked more than they likely suspected.

But not today. Today he was hers, and he didn’t plan on wasting it.

He laughed as she pushed him softly onto his back. He went without a fuss, head falling into the soft pillows as he gazed up at her, yellow eyes glinting in the semi darkness. “You’re here.” He said to her accusation of relaxation, and he reached up. Framing her face with his fingers as she kissed him, he couldn’t help but smile as they did this. When it was parted, he gazed up into the fire red fall of hair and idly asked. “Do you want me to cook for us this morning?”

[Nani]

Angelique al'Chan

"Creatures of habit, you and me." She said, enjoying the feeling of his hands on her back. It was never far from her mind the fact of what had transpired to bring them here to this perfect morning as the pale dawn light started to fill the room, and she started to see more and more of her lover. The shadows were slowly leaving his face. But there were shadows behind his eyes, shadows that she couldn't make go away, no matter what she did. There were shadows left from her mother, unintentional as they were, shadows from Sulinn. Shadows of the children he had had with her, and perhaps of the child he might never have with her.

But she had changed to. She was no longer the young naive girl that had been so absorbed with her childhood crush, nor was she the woman who raised her brother because her mother slept what could almost be called the sleep of the dead for nearly 10 years. She was back, where her mother thought she belonged. Angelique was a girl in the eyes of the tower, but she had been through more then she could have cared to ever admit to anyone, but the man who's lap she currently straddled. "I am here. And I'm not going anywhere with you. You are my mate, my Alpha." She said softly, kissing him again before giving a small giggle, reminiscent the first time they had been together, with him tracking her through the woods to catch her and earn his approval from Jenna. "You cook for me this morning? Oh yes please!" She said with a smile across her face. Today was going to be beautiful, with just the two of them.

[Eve]

He laughed lowly at her words. “I’ve never been the sort to be an Alpha.” he said, the same thing he said any time someone accused him of such. And he believed it true, he’d never aspire to Master of Arms, though better (Gaidin Captain) had suited him well once upon a time. “I’ll settle for second.” he said, looking into her gaze, his eyes saying that she was the first in command here, in his eyes at least. He lifted his head to kiss her again, her lips soft and wonderful to him, giving in a way Sulinn had never been. Then he smiled. “Breakfast it is.” He shifted, letting his weight turn so she’d know he wanted up, but he didn’t push her off of him. “What do you wish? Eggs? Ham? Bacon and potatoes? All of the above?” He had that split jawed grin as he spoke, the one he had used so much years before, but rarely seemed comfortable showing these days, except around those that knew him...of which there was really on Angel left…