callmedeath: (Default)
ɴɪɴᴀ ᴢᴇɴɪᴋ ([personal profile] callmedeath) wrote2033-06-16 07:35 am
furred: (pic#16491103)

[personal profile] furred 2023-06-28 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
[ Peering over her head, he drops his gaze to hers. Perhaps he'll come to terms with her accepting her choice and the consequences of that choice while out at sea. Or maybe it'll take him a lot longer than that to finally realise that she's chosen him, warts and all, leaving everything she knows behind.

Ducking his gaze, he nods. She'll nag him until he's started the process of accepting what she's confessed until he's blue in the face and as flat as a pancake.

He lifts his eyes to hers and nods again. ]


It sounds more beautiful than your snoring.

[ Matthias smiles and brushes his fingers against her jawline. But he agrees. After losing everything, he's gained everything again. He doesn't want to let that go, despite what she might think. ]

But I still think you should speak. If your friends try and find you… [ He lifts a big shoulder. ] They will never leave us alone if they think you are in trouble.
furred: (pic#16491116)

[personal profile] furred 2023-06-29 09:16 am (UTC)(link)
I don't like it.

[ Her legacy deserves better than to disappear without a trace. Stories should be told about Nina Zenik and her waffle ways… but he supposes that those tales can be saved for him now. They're his.

He smiles down at her before he takes her hand in his, gently wrapping his fingers through hers. ]


We should go. Before you fall asleep and snore so loudly the whole city will know where we are.

[ And she's right—he's trying to inject some levity in a situation that feels so heavy. She deserves it, to have Ravka see her smile one last time. ]
furred: (pic#16491114)

[personal profile] furred 2023-06-30 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ He shakes his head. ]

I've slept with no one else.

[ Heat bursts across his skin, but Matthias steadfastly looks ahead. If he doesn't react, then she can't see it for the opportunity that it is. But knowing his heart, it's giving him away.

Aside from Trassel and the drüskelle in tight quarters, Nina's the only one he's slept close to. And he knows from the drüskelle what thunderous snores sound like. Nina had made sounds, but nothing close to the noises the drüskelle had. It's still fun to insist she had, though. It distracts her enough to distract him.

Taking in the streets so he can recall their detail in case Nina ever needs to be reminded of them, she shrugs. ]


I know the sound.
furred: (pic#16491116)

[personal profile] furred 2023-06-30 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes.

[ Although, many of them are married to their mission of ensuring Grisha pay for their crimes. That's something Matthias keeps to himself, the words no longer feeling as smooth as they once did on his tongue. The only crime Grisha is guilty for is living and being different. Otherwise, Nina is like any other woman… who isn't from Fjerda. (A very important distinction.) ]

Commander Brum is married. They would not have let him be in service if it wasn't. But not many do. [ "Commander Brum" feels too respectful now, given everything the man has done. But old habits.

He shrugs. ]
Being a drüskelle takes you away from home, and in Fjerda, men are protectors. You cannot protect if you're not there to do so.
furred: (pic#16491109)

[personal profile] furred 2023-07-01 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
They are wealthy. He leaves guards and maids.

[ Even though she's not poking at it deliberately to pull at the threads and show him the gaping hole in Fjerda's logic, he understands it. How could Brum be a man of Fjerda yet leave his wife behind? His family? If his family was alive, Matthias would never leave them. His duty is to them. Protecting them protects his Fjerda.

Through, Brum had once told him that their cause served Fjerda, which, in turn, served everyone.

He smiles, chuckling softly. ]
You don't need a protector, Nina. You do it all yourself.

[ Nina's not like the Fjerdan women. She's not like Fjerda at all. Matthias doesn't want to overstep and imply that she needs it when she doesn't. If anyone needs protecting, it seems to be him. ]

But I don't mind sharing the load. Many people need to be protected from your jokes.

[ That's not what being a protector of someone means, but Matthias smiles softly, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. He doesn't expect her to follow the customs of Fjerda, not like he had done so in the whale huts. ]
furred: (pic#16491108)

[personal profile] furred 2023-07-01 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ Amusedly, he mumbles, ] 'Too Fjerdan.'

[ But she's right. He is too Fjerdan, and perhaps he has to get used to the idea of adapting to beliefs more flexible than the ones he had grown up with. If he carves away what strangles him, what's left?

Looking ahead, he glances around, a touch paranoid. They're so close, yet, he worries that it's all part of some nefarious plan. He thinks like a drüskelle too often. They would have done this if they knew a group of Grisha were travelling to the harbour.

But he's not drüskelle. He's Matthias Helvar. ]


I think that sounds like a good plan. [ He smiles down at her and squeezes her hand. It's not completely out of the ordinary. It's become theirs, after all. ] I look high, you look low. We cover all bases naturally.

[ When you cut away the beliefs that strangle him, he thinks he's a comedian. ]
furred: (pic#16491105)

[personal profile] furred 2023-07-02 02:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ Too easy. That's what a pessimist thinks, and that's what Matthias is. He remains quiet, ensuring to remain as relaxed as possible. It's difficult. He wants to stand tall, rigid, and peer down at them like he's done to so many people since joining the ranks of the drüskelle. But he follows Nina's lead instead, being as calm and quiet as possible while attempting to relax.

When the Shu seem satisfied with the coin Nina hands over, Matthias does his best to cover his surprise. Slipping his arm out from her hand, he wraps it around her shoulders. It's a simple gesture, one that he's seen couples do in the streets of Ravka just now. It's how he wishes for them to be. ]


That was easy. [ He lowers his head and whispers it to her before impulsively, almost instinctually, pressing a kiss to her temple in an attempt to cover it.

The taller of the Shu scrutinises them for a moment before pointing down. ]
Sleep downstairs. You've got no luggage to crowd the quarters.

[ Matthias lets Nina do any of the smiling before gently tugging her up the gangway and over to the opposite side of the ship, away from prying eyes and sharp ears. ]
furred: (pic#16491104)

[personal profile] furred 2023-07-02 11:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Hm.

[ The hum is quiet. He doesn't make a show of looking around, too fearful of bringing attention to himself. Matthias is bulky and brawn; Nina is quiet and dainty with her secret keeping. Do they know they've let a Fjerdan on board? A member of the drüskelle?

A previous member of the drüskelle. Even if Matthias wanted to return to them, he couldn't. He wouldn't now. Perhaps if Commander Brum had been kinder…

Commander Brum has never been kind, not even to Matthias.

With his arm around her, Matthias ensures to keep Nina close. Despite no longer being on Ravkan soil, they're in Ravka's waters. He doesn't want them to take her away from him. He doesn't want the True Sea to take them under again. ]


Every time you say that, I feel warm all over.

[ It's a quiet murmur he says to the horizon, knowing Nina will hear it loud and clear alongside the fluttering of his heart. Husband. Not drüskelle. Not prick. Someone intimately important. ]
furred: (pic#16491108)

[personal profile] furred 2023-07-03 01:11 am (UTC)(link)
It doesn't sound lewd when you do.

[ He wrinkles his nose slightly, glancing at her. It's strange to think the True Sea is what truly brought them together. While her being Grisha and him being drüskelle had been the catalyst, if it wasn't for that sinking ship and that piece of driftwood, he might still be walking along a path that only leads to further shadows and nothing.

Matthias keeps his arm around her. ]


You don't think they will be suspicious we have no luggage?
furred: (pic#16491116)

[personal profile] furred 2023-07-03 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ The way she says it, that they're two star-crossed lovers, makes it sound like the stories his mother used to tell him. Matthias stopped believing in those so long ago, but Nina's prompted him to reconsider.

Looking out at the water, he curves the corners of his lips up. ]


Am I not also those things?

[ Lover. Paramour. Whatever it is they wish to be in this moment. Despite his delicate sensibilities, Matthias has learned those aren't such horrible things to be to someone. Being important to another person is one of the greatest honours one can have. He's her stupidly tall Fjerdan and she's become everything to him. ]
furred: (pic#16491114)

[personal profile] furred 2023-07-04 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ He smiles and ducks his head, the back of his neck and his cheeks warming. It's clearly the sun focusing only on him and his face. ]

You need to not say it like that.

[ Matthias refuses to look at her despite knowing it's hopeless. She knows what he's thinking, how he's feeling. How his heart flutters.

But she needs to not listen to him, because that's exactly how he should say it. ]
furred: (Default)

[personal profile] furred 2023-07-04 11:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Stop it.

[ He says it with a smile he tries to bite back and looks away, turning his face briefly. He's not going to stop sporting pink, is he? That word makes his heart flutter; he knows she's felt it. ]

You're being vulgar.

[ Which, of course, he's started to like. ]

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-05 00:42 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-05 09:38 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-05 21:48 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-05 22:23 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-05 23:45 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-06 02:15 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-06 22:58 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-08 05:20 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-09 00:39 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-09 01:35 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-10 00:38 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-10 23:47 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-11 10:12 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-13 02:17 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-21 11:26 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-23 05:41 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-07-24 00:38 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-08-19 08:08 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-08-20 10:22 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-08-21 06:07 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-08-23 10:13 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-08-23 22:41 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-09-02 10:28 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-09-03 10:01 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-09-04 10:06 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-09-07 10:08 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-09-08 04:51 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-09-09 09:10 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-09-23 11:56 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-09-24 09:32 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-09-30 10:28 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-10-03 20:54 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-10-04 21:43 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-10-18 09:03 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-10-21 04:35 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-10-24 08:55 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-11-13 08:55 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-11-18 09:52 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] furred - 2023-11-22 09:22 (UTC) - Expand