[PRP] Something New [Consume x Serpent of Paradise]

[Beejoux]

She'd woken shivering, cold to the core, and when she'd finally thawed enough to focus on anything but the bone deep chill she found herself in clearing she'd only seen in her dreams. Merry took in a sharp little breath as the memory of the dream returned to her, if it was even a dream at all. She was...

Changed.

She felt changed. Felt more.

Merry shook her head, frowning as she left the clearing. She needed to get back. Consume and her children would worry over her absence. She didn't often disappear over night.

Where the merry, it a mystery

[Prolixity]

Consume had woken alone, which wasn't necessarily alarming normally. He didn't always sleep beside Merry, and when he did, she sometimes woke before he did. But she didn't reappear, and after some time, he'd begun to wonder where she was. He went looking, expecting to find her at any moment somewhere nearby, perhaps finding a drink of water or something to eat. This didn't seem to be the case, though; she wasn't within their usual haunts, and after some time, he began to be ... not worried, maybe, because Merry could take care of herself perfectly well, but ... concerned.

He ranged farther afield, looking for her more seriously now, calling out now and then, just in case she was in earshot. "Merry? Are you there?"

[Beejoux]

The area she was in wasn't immediately familiar, and the canopy of trees overhead were making it difficult to use the placement of the sun to set herself on a specific course. It didn't feel like she was getting anywhere at all, and after a handful of long moments for the doe stopped, letting out a frustrated huff of a breath.

The ghostly figure of the bird swooped low over her shoulders, catching her eye and drawing her focus. For long seconds she watched it, and then her posture sharped with sudden awareness.

It was like releasing a held breath, one moment she was the doe, the next the bird. She dipped in midflight, momentarily disoriented, but caught herself with an excited twill.

Wind rushed under her wings, between her feathers, as she flapped up and through the trees. Higher and higher until shed broken free and could see the swamp laid out beneath her. A bird's eye view.

A new freedom...

The bird fluttered there, gaze cast with longing on the horizon. It felt like she could see for miles.

A pang in her chest had her looking down again, and with another chirrup the bird hurried off, finally a me to gain her barings.

She heard him, then, Consume calling her name, and Merry swooped low. Seeking his darkness among the rich green of the swamp until she spotted him. When she did she circled him, flapping and chirping excitedly. She couldn't talk, not like this, but the melody of her voice? That might have been familiar.

[Prolixity]

Consume startled slightly as a bird dived at him, his head jerking up. Had he gotten too close to a nest? No, it wasn't the season for eggs or nestlings. He didn't know why the bird was swooping around him, chirping excitedly. He tried to keep it in view as it circled him, turning this way and that.

Its colors were a lot like Merry's, he noticed idly. And the cadence and tone of its song were strangely familiar. A thought entered his mind, and he almost dismissed it as impossible. But if he were wrong, nobody would witness it. "Merry?" he asked, cautious and incredulous.

[Beejoux]

With the mention of her name the bird ceased it's swooping, fluttering in front of the buck instead. She gave a delighted trill, small wings working rapidly, and zipped up into a quick loop to put some space between them. Then she was the doe again, pale and slender and herself, but more. The plumage of her tail was fuller, the brightness of her eyes literally glowed. There was a presence to her now that hadn't been there before.

"Consume." She purred his name, the fan of her tail flicking with apparent delight.

[Prolixity]

Consume couldn't help a sharp little intake of breath as the bird became Merry, somehow, impossibly. But it wasn't as though he'd never experienced anything impossible. It certainly happened to him more often when she was around. He studied her for long moments, feeling almost intimidated by the new sense of presence she carried.

But it was still Merry, and if he hesitated any longer she'd be hurt. He smiled at her and stepped forward to bump shoulders. "I see you've figured out something new," he said, keeping his voice light. "Aren't you beautiful!"

[Beejoux]

She could see the shock on his face and she chuckled, watching him watch her. Trying to imagine what must be going through his head in that moment, and failing at it. She knew she'd be shocked as well if a creature in front of her suddenly changed into the buck.

"I have, sort of." She moved to nuzzle up under his chin as he came in to bump shoulders. "I was...visited?" She wrinkled her nose. "Blessed, perhaps. In a way." She could feel the touch of the Motherfather lingering in her.

[Prolixity]

"I see," he said, and he did. He'd heard stories of kin who were blessed, who carried a little bit of the Motherfather within them and could share it, could do things that more ordinary kin couldn't. It seemed that Merry was one of those kin, now. He nuzzled her, trying to figure out what he felt about that. Shock, certainly, although that was fading in favor of comprehension as he wrapped his mind around the idea; pride, perhaps; envy, maybe a touch as he imagined what it would be like to change shape and flutter above the trees. But he didn't doubt that she'd deserved the blessing, not for a moment.

"Just like that," he said, his voice kept light. "How does it feel?" He was a little uncertain, infinitely curious. What was it like to be made into something that was yourself, except more?

[Beejoux]

She let herself lean against him, watching him keenly out the corner of her eye, to see if she could get a sense of how he felt about it it was certainly a big change, a big deal. "I don't know why I was chosen," she admitted in a soft voice, brushing her cheek along his, the cant of her ears betraying that little edge of worry.

"It feels..." She trailed off, mulling over as she looked inward, gauging herself, how she felt, what was different and what was the same. "I feel like me, but more. There's...more." it was hard to put into words. Physically she felt more or left the same. There was a subtly brighter tint to the world through now glowing eyes, and her tail felt a little easier with the fuller spread of feathers, but the real difference wasn't visable. " It's like a weight, sort of. A sense of...of purpose?"

[Prolixity]

Consume took a breath to make a joke, then looked at Merry again, changed his mind. "Musta been a good reason," he said. "I don't think They pick on a whim." He rubbed his shoulder against hers. She seemed a little unsettled about the change; oddly, that helped him feel calmer about it, though he wouldn't have said so. It was a big change, and even moreso to happen in the relative blink of an eye. If she'd taken it in stride, he would have felt stranger about it.

He studied her as she found words to describe it, and nodded slowly. Then he flicked an ear at her, and said, "Are you gonna go getting all responsible on me now?"

[Beejoux]

He looked at her and she held her breath for just a moment, until he spoke. Tone and words reassuring in kind. Folded ears relaxed, and she moved to settle her weight firmly against his side. Be it the change, the journey back, or the unexpected worry over his reaction, she was tired.

"I might just have to," she sighed, joking as well. "Will that make you want me any less?" It was said as a tease, came with a smile, but there was a small thread of seriousness to the question as well.

[Prolixity]

He bumped his cheek against hers, bracing his legs to let her rest more firmly against him, taking her weight. She seemed tired, and he was willing to hold her up for a while, should she need it. The relaxation of her ears was promising; he hadn't struck the wrong note. That was good. He didn't want her to feel bad about this. She'd been thrown unexpectedly into a whole new world, and it was no surprise that it might take some kind of toll.

"'Course not," he replied, unhesitating. "You're way too cute for that. I'll just have to help you remember to play around too." He turned his head a little to study her face, gauging her reaction. It was true; even if she had to settle somewhat, he wouldn't abandon her to it. He doubted that she'd change so much that what drew him to her would vanish.

[Beejoux]

She'd only been half joking, but the relief that crashed over her at his assurance was startling. It made her legs feel weak, and she was glad she was already leaning against him, the buck warm and steading against her side. Merry had never imagined herself settling, but she knew she wanted Consume there as they journeyed through life together.

As he turned to look at her face she met his glowing eyes, vulnerability still present in her features, but shifted a little to brush her nose again his. "Good, because I don't want you to go."

[Prolixity]

Consume touched his nose to Merry's, meeting her eyes, a little startled by the depth of uncertainty and vulnerability he saw there. Well. He was making promises, wasn't he? Deeper ones than maybe he'd meant them to be, but he wasn't going to take it back. Taking it back would hurt her, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He took a breath, like he was going to plunge into deep water. "I won't go," he said, steady and quiet.

[Beejoux]

Hidding wasn't something she'd ever been good at, and that was certainly true now. She watched the weight of her comment settle over him, realizing belatedly how heavy a thing it was, and held her breath as she waited for his reaction. Every uncertainty and worry clear as day in glowing eyes and pale features, not matter now hard she tried to pretend otherwise.

And of course when he answered, promised to stay, already weak knees felt even more like jelly. She closed her eyes against a sudden rush of heat, chest tight with a depth of emotions she wasn't expecting and didn't have words to articulate. A shaky breath escaped, and she moved quick, pressing her head up under his chin, hiding there. The weight of big change and big revelations overtaking her.