I feel the subtle nibbling of Aurelia's pale lips against my body, tracing out every dip and scar, every speckle of red that runs across my body. My mind is slowing, growing sluggish as I melt beneath her soft touch. She is my muse, this woman here beside me. She is the dawn of a new age, my beacon of hope. She is a reminder to me that even in the darkest of times I will find light, and share my life forever with someone so beautifully broken. I will try to mend her, to sew together her fractured being, to make her whole again.

I smile, a delicate chuckle rolling from my dark lips as I kiss above her pearl white eyes, listening to her words closely. She whispers those three words that catch me, my thoughts stopping as I realize what words have just stumbled from her mouth. "Oh, Aurelia. You are my everything, you are my world, my life, my muse. I am nothing without you, I am lost." I'm spewing passion and love, my features filled with delight as I speak to her, almost crying at her words and my own. "I will always love you, even in death and after." I press my muzzle towards hers, closing my eyes and wishing to remain like that forever, as the world melts away around us. As the sound of crashing waves upon the beach becomes nothing more than white noise, fuzz within the back of my head. The only thing I hear is my heart beat and the blood coursing through my ears, and Aurelia's gentle exhales.

My eyes finally open at the approach of Rhoa, questions rising from my lips as I wonder why the boy wandered alone so late in the night. He responds that he didn't feel like sleeping, and I nod gently in understanding. I've had many a sleepless night, especially after— yeah. He tells me we do not belong if we do not know who his parents are, my ears flicking back at that. I want to apologize for failing to socialize because it makes me into a mess of cluttered thoughts and words, but I can't bring myself to. Instead I lay there, trying not to show the look of anguish written across my features.

He introduces himself as Rhoa, son of Gaucho the Wildfire and Sohalia the Transcended. My ears perk up, recognizing the name of our sultan, but not of his mistress. Whomever Sohalia was, Rhoa seemed not to know where she is. My heart sinks for this boy as I realize Gaucho probably wasn't often present in his life because his duties as sultan likely took up most of his time, but it was just a guess, seeing as how I hadn't actually known Gaucho had children to begin with. I understood the pain of having absent parents, I suffered through it for most of my life. A gentle nod of understanding is offered towards the boy as he stops mid sentence. "So your parents must not be around much?" I ask, praying I wasn't sounding intrusive or anything. I wanted to ask and see if I could direct our conversation towards his absent parents, feeling selfish and guilty for trying to manipulate our conversation for my quest.
"Talking"