fearlessly | batb part two: electric boogaloo

batb part two: electric boogaloo

[ alisaie is not afraid of the woods.

truthfully, alisaie is not afraid of much at all - not the things that most are afraid of, at least. she does not fear the dark, or wolves, or bandits. she does not fear loud storms or knives in the dark of faerie tale monsters stalking haunted forests. what she fears is being along. grieving. losing those she loves.

and that is why she is here. alisaie has ridden tirelessly through the night, driving baptiste hard over the hard, wintry earth, her breath frozen in her lungs, the frigid wind stinging her cheeks and ears and eyes. alphinaud is her entire world. he is all that she has, all of her family that remains, and the thought of living her life without him, moving forward alone..

she would rather not move forward at all.

and so she will find him, regardless of he consequence, heedless of the potential danger, for without him, she has no life at all.

baptiste remembers the way, and though she can feel the tension and fear in the body of the horse beneath her, still they press on, hooves slamming hard into the earth, empty branches pulling at her hair, whipping over their heads. the forest seems to go on and on, deeper and deeper into darkness and mist, until at long, long last the space opens up, and a dark castle looms ahead, its twisted spires climbing into the gray sky, its gloomy edifice frowning down as she approaches the wrought iron gates choked with decayed vines.

alisaie is not afraid of much, yet still the sight of it sends a chill down her spine.

what is this place? she's heard of no such estate as this - a castle, so close to the village? how have there been no stories? no history? she has ridden less than a day to find her brother, not far from home at all, and yet.. there is nothing in their books about this great castle, no tall tales, nothing at all. it is a phantom. still, somehow it feels familiar to her.. like a memory of a dream's dream.

exhaling a shudder, alisaie slides from baptiste's back, leading him to an icy, overgrown brook for a drink, looping the reins over a strong, bare branch before at last she approaches the castle. it's silent, sinister, but she.. she has no choice. if this is where alphinaud is, then she must press forward. the rusted gates groan, splitting the silence, and alisaie approaches the great doors, the old rotten oak swinging beneath her weight as she slips carefully into the great, dark foyer. ]

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[ She is not the only one whose tears still fall, and Prompto's slip down his cheeks and seep into their kisses, their brushing skin, just as hers do. He is free, they are all free, no doubt the castle's inhabitants themselves are at last transforming back into their true selves, the king and his retinue unfrozen from their suits of armor, but whether or not they are looking on, they know better than to interrupt this moment. There will be time for reunions soon, but for now...Prompto needs to be with the woman he loves.

And the woman who loves him.

His arms move around her more fully then, winding tight and secure around her back, palms pressed against her to not allow any more space between them then absolutely necessary. He kisses her jaw, the corner of her ear, her temple — every inch of her that he can, his breath still rushing with excitement and emotion as he chuckles yet again. ]

Good answer.

[ And then he falls silent for a moment, just to hold her and appreciate this moment, to appreciate how right and good it feels, and how perfectly she fits up against him, snug and perfect like she was formed to be there. ]

...Thank you for coming back.

[ It means more than he can say, obviously, because if she hadn't...her undoing the curse wouldn't have called him back from the brink of death. He wouldn't be here, and the castle would be doomed. Whether she did so intentionally or not, she...saved them all. ]

[ no, it was certainly not her intention. even now, alisaie does not understand why the spell has broken, and assumes it must have been his death that triggered it, but it hardly matters. he is here, and whole, and she is so happy for him.

alisaie is not normally such an openly affectionate creature, there are very few she displays it for at all to begin with, her touch reserved only for those dearest to her heart and event then, only for times alone and rare. yet prompto's arms squeezed tight around her feel natural and welcome, holding to him is as easy as breathing; after having so very nearly lost him for good, all she wants to do it cling to him, to hook herself into him, pressing right to his bones, breathing him in. ]

Of course I came back..

[ she murmurs, at last drawing back enough to look into his face. both of her hands are up, her fingers exploring his new shape, tracing his nose and brow, his freckled cheekbones, the bow of his lips and the hard line of his jaw to his chin, rough with stubble. down the column of his throat they go, one hand resting between his collarbones, her palm pressed to the steady beat of his heart, the other lifting again, touching his soft lips, feeling the heat of his breath flow between them. ]

I always meant to. How could I leave you behind?

[ she wanted to taste freedom, yes, to see her brother, to feel the great open sky above her head and walk the forests she knows so well, but not at the cost of abandoning him and the others forever. she could never leave for good. ]

[ Every touch is electrifying, so fresh and new and unfamiliar, for even when he was a man so very long ago, no one has ever touched him like this. No one has ever explored his features so intimately and made every inch of him feel so valuable and precious. But Alisaie takes her time to map his features, to explore him, and it puts him right under a spell, his eyes falling shut as the gentle sensation takes him away.

Against the brush of her fingertips, he murmurs, the texture of the pad of her thumb against his lips exquisite. He forgot how very nice it is to simply be touched. ]

I...

[ But of course she came back. She loves him, and she loves this castle. Born out of unpleasant circumstances as her time here may have been, things have changed. If that weren't irrevocably true, then he would not be here right now. ]

I was a fool for ever thinking you wouldn't. [ He tips his face against her own, nose nuzzling to her cheek. It's all so very good. ]

You...saved us all.

[ he'll enjoy it for some time, for right now alisaie can hardly stop touching him. for all intents and purposes he is far more normal now than he had been before, but she has only ever known him as an automaton, to her he is hulking and creaking, smelling of oil and steel, but this man is.. small, and soft, sweet smelling and gentle spoken. he is still so very familiar - the shape of his face reminiscent of the one before, his voice still similar, his eyes and his smile and mannerisms all identical, but he is something else now. he is warm where he was cold, soft where he was hard.. he is human, alive, and it's incredible to behold, to find all the little things that make him him. ]

Me?

[ to say that she looks incredulous would be an understatement. alisaie's brow knits tightly, and she's quick to shake her head. ]

I did nothing more than lead a dangerous mob to your doorstep. They've made such a mess of the castle.. and you.. you were..

[ almost killed. her expression tightens painfully, her gaze dropping in shame. ]

I put you all in great danger.

You didn't mean to.

[ While yes, she might have led the mob to this place, she did not do so intentionally, and things might be different if the castle's inhabitants hadn't fought off the intruders so valiantly, but they did. And though it might be a twisted way to look at it, if Alisaie hadn't returned and done this, perhaps the spell would still be unbroken.

As he has done before, he curls his fingers beneath her chin to lift her face back up towards him. His fist is much, much smaller than it used to be, but it still...fits nicely beneath her jaw. Even at this size, they seem to fit so well together. ]

You broke the spell. I...I wouldn't be here if you hadn't.

[ But the will of her heart was so strong that it broke through the very enchantment that bound them all to their cursed forms, and now...they are free, they are whole. ]

[ it is most certainly smaller, which is honestly what will likely take the longest for her to adjust to - not having to crane her neck to look into his face, or hear his enormous footsteps a malm away. but if it means that he will live.. well, she supposes that she will get used to it. ]

What? What in the world are you talking about?

[ she pulls his hand from her chin with both of her own, threading her fingers through his own. there had been whispers before, about breaking the spell, shattering the enchantment, but the staff had never given her so much as an ilm when she pressed them. they were always open and honest with her, kind and giving, but when it came to the history of the castle and the nature of the magic holding sway over them.. they would not budge. ]

But I did nothing. I used no magic. Believe me, I tried more than once.

[ the sheer complexity of the spell had daunted even her, which is certainly saying something, but she had not been able to so much as fray an edge of the enchantment's weave. not without risking those caught in its skein, at least.. ]

[ That makes him chuckle, his breath a soft tickle to her cheek. The curse wasn't something they were able to talk to her about, but even if that hadn't been a part of their enchantment, Prompto doubts he would have ever told her before the fact. After all, even he wasn't sure exactly how it would all work, if it ever did happen. All he knows is that it involved love, a big, true love, and that it has come to pass now, because of Alisaie.

He squeezes her fingers within his own, before pulling her hand to press against his heart. He may have no doubts now about the nature of her feelings for him...but he's still a little bashful about it, talking about what she as brought to pass. ]

It wasn't your magic. It was...y-your love. You...showed me what it means to truly love someone.

[ And so he is here now, alive and well, whole again, because of the strength of her love, and everything it has taught him. ]

[ wow................. corny

alisaie's eyes flicker wide with surprise, but then she.. laughs, butting her nose playfully to his, her brow knocking gently to his own. her love. how very simple. she never would have suspected, and that is perhaps for the best, for how could she have fallen in love with him naturally, organically, if she had known the truth of it? the pressure would have spoiled it all, the expectation. magic based in emotion is a rare enough thing. ]

What is this, some sort of faery tale?

[ she jokes, lampshading this entire au because she's meta like that.

but then her mouth finds the corner of his lips, and she kisses him again, slow and sweet, just to feel it once more, to savor his taste, the texture of his mouth, this moment. ]

I am glad to have been of service. I suppose there is much to be done.

[ she wants to meet all the furniture people in their human forms!! ]

[ It sure is like a fairy tale, and the lampshading isn't lost on Prompto, even if his laugh is cut short by the soft kiss she presses to his mouth, stealing his breath away. He never thought he would have this, anything even remotely like this. He never thought he would become human again to experience it. But now he has, because she showed him not only that she loved him, but how to love himself, how to hope again. He is a changed man now, but that doesn't mean he hasn't forgotten what he was like...before she came into his life.

So he kisses her in return, fingers gliding along her jaw, his heart so impossibly full that it threatens to burst. How swiftly things have changed, and all for the better.

But Alisaie is right; they do have much to do, and so he pulls back a moment later, but only just. ]

There is...I have so many people to introduce you to. Properly, anyway. [ A pause, as his expression turns a bit sheepish. ] And...I'd like to apologize to your brother, if...if it's okay.

[ she's loathe enough to pull away as well, but she's also quite excited to meet the staff properly, to put real, live faces to the people she has come to know so well and love just as much. there will be time enough now to spend with one another any chance they get.

alisaie smiles wryly. ]

Well you hardly need to ask my permission.

[ Then it will be done. Everything may have turned out alright in the end, but Prompto can't let go of what he did to her brother so easily. He has to set things right. There is much to be done, but that must be among one of the first for him.

Still, he touches his brow to hers for a moment longer, before he at last moves away to at last climb to his feet, offering her a hand up. ]

Shall we?

[ They will do this together. ]

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batb part two: electric boogaloo

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