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The room was dark and dank and smelled of mildew. Sheerna was shaking. In Front of her sat a dark half elf, tattered and in chains. He looked at her with fear which she mirrored back at him. Both their eyes flickered from each other to the dagger in Sheerna's tiny hands.
"Go on Sheerna…" a chilling voice came from behind her in the dark. A shudder racked through her as a cold hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked over it to see lord irramenta looming over her, his vampiric eyes glowing as he sneered. "you will feel better once it's done and over with. Now do it."
Fat tears were falling down her cheeks. "No! I don't want to!" She wanted to say but her voice wouldn't come to her. She could barely croak a response.
"He is a traitor to us! He deserves it. He would have me done away with, and where would that leave you? there would be no one left to care for you," he growled, "Do you want to disobey your loving guardian and be a traitor too?"
She wanted to respond, her checks were wet and she wanted to cry. Her nose itched. She clutched her head, her tiny body was shaking with fear and she didn't want to make this decision. She… she needed to sneeze?
……
*Snort*
Sheerna opened her eyes to sunlight and the smell of spring floating through her window, to warm sheets and soft pillows of even softer colors scattered around her, and to a mass of big, sparkling green feathers rubbing against her nose. She pulled away and rubbed it, still feeling the wetness on her cheeks.
A dream… a nasty memory, but ultimately nothing that could hurt her now. She was safe. She was in a bed, in a small villa Pagoni had purchased for them in his hometown, and as she allowed for her eyes to wander, she saw the very bird now, facing away from her as he did his morning stretches. He lifted his arms up, arched his back, stretched his wings down as far as he could, and unfurled his tail feathers, letting out a small "PI-hooon," as he did so. Sheerna smiled as she watched the feathers flash purple-brown from behind as he shook the feathers out a little. She rested her head on her hand. Even if it wasn't the same way his species would appreciate his plumage, she always enjoyed seeing him fan himself out like this. The colors were stunning and gorgeous. They always made her feel a happy warmth. She remembered when she first met him she had faltered a bit. She had never seen someone so vibrant. It had made her hesitate slightly in trying to kill him in that moment…and look where she ended up as a result. Surrounded by colors just as bright near constantly. This world had so much color in it. So different from the dark twilight realm she grew up in. Every time she woke up in the morning, even years later, it was like a breath of fresh air, often washing away any dark thoughts that had plagued her mind in her sleep. She chuckled. All because she hadn't tried to get out of his arms that first time…speaking of which…
Her pupils dilated and her shoulders hunched a little as she shifted in the bed while he lowered his tail feathers to begin grooming his wings, not paying her any attention. It was at that moment she struck, wrapping her arms around his waist and swiftly dragging him back into the bed, right onto her lap with a mischievous chuckle. His eyes were wide and his legs were stuck up in the air with his tail feathers draping over her own legs. Pagoni gave out a surprised honk and looked over his shoulder at her. "Sheerna!" He chided gently, "you spooked the Dickens out of me!"
She chuckled giving his collar bone gentle scritches and peppering his face with kisses. "Good morning my little blue bird of happiness~," she responded, "you're under arrest for disturbing the peace while stretching this morning~Made me sneeze myself awake."
Pagoni hummed in enjoyment of the gentle, soothing touch. "Oh dear~" he joked, "do you think I can seduce you into releasing me?~"
"Seducing me is what got you into this predicament in the first place you silly little song bird! You are stuck with me and my craving for cuddles!" She responded with a laugh and kissing him right on the beak. He gave a pleased little trill at that wiggling his legs a little as they were still upright in the air. She then nuzzled her face against his. "Such a silly bird… I love you so much… "
"And you're my silly pen~" he responded back with a smile, closing his eyes as he pressed against her. He frowned and pulled away slightly as he felt the wetness of her cheek. "Sheerna? You were crying… did you have another nightmare again?" he asked with a worried tone, "are you sure you don't want to see a cleric for some sleeping drafts? They have ones for anxiety dreams…"
Sheerna sighed, squeezing her eyes tight and pressed against him more. "I'm fine my dear, it was just a bad memory that had found its way to the front of my mind again," she admitted, "it is in the past. No use dwelling on it… "
"But you are clearly-"
"Pagoni I do not wish to give that monster a minute more of my time," she huffed, "He may haunt my dreams at times, but I do not wish for him to take up an ounce of my thoughts in daylight hours. He is unworthy of it. There are much better things I could be doing with my time, like planning out what adventures we can get up to today."
Pagoni smiled and scooched around as best he could in her strong arms so that he was facing her. He then proceeded to wrap his wings around her and press their foreheads together. "But of course. Anything for you, Reine." She smiled again in response, letting her eyes close shut,"so what would you like on the agenda today? How about tai chi in the park followed up by visiting the farmers market?"
Sheerna sighed in happiness. "that sounds lovely…right after I recharge on my pagoni snuggles"
He smiled in response and held her tighter in hid wings. "Of course…scaley snugglebug," he teased, "your wish is my command."