A/N: The night before their return~

-x-X-x-

Things move quite quickly after Syl’s declaration and by the end of the day and the beginning of the evening, Mikael, Avina, and Bula find themselves leading an army out of the Sylian Woods. Well, almost out. They stop on the edge of the Sylian Woods and make camp for the night because as much as Syl promised to imbue his children with as much of his power as they could all hold so that they didn’t eat the Zuverian Empire to ruin, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Indeed, while they’d gone into the Sylian Woods hoping to garner an army of elves, they’d come out with an army of beasts. Not unintelligent though, but rather monstrous in appearance and size more than anything. Thousands of Children of Syl ranging from the size of a house to the size of a horse follow them. Rather… follow Bula.

Now that they’ve set up camp for the night, the half-orc is who Mikael sees to before turning in. When he arrives at her location, its to find Bula laying contently in a cuddle pile made up of some of Syl’s smaller children, staring upwards where half of her vision would be the canopy of the forest and the other would be the clear night sky, shining overhead.

Mikael himself stares for a moment at the sight of her, before snorting in amusement and calling out to the half-orc warrior.

“Bula? You good there?”

Sliding her gaze over to him, Bula smiles slightly.

“I am fine.”

Fair enough. She’s not wearing her mother’s dress anymore, but instead has her own garb on once again. One might argue that Renna’s leafy green garment was ruined by the sheer amount of blood that soaked it after Bula wore it into battle, but if one were stubborn enough to do so, they better be smart enough not to argue it in Bula’s hearing.

After coming to a river, they’d all stripped down and gotten cleaned up, but Bula had not tossed her mother’s dress aside. Instead, she’d cleaned it carefully as best she could and then dried it in the last moments of the setting sun before carefully folding it up and tucking it into her pack.

Their time in the Sylian Woods had changed the half-orc, even if she might not want to admit it. But… for the better, Mikael figured.

He stays close as she lays in the cuddle pile, setting up a campfire and watching over Bula as she eventually falls asleep. Somehow though, Mikael suspects Bula won’t experience any nightmares as she currently is, surrounded by the Children of Syl. It doesn’t look comfortable to someone like him, but it seems like the half-orc is entirely satisfied.

This scene is how Avina eventually finds them, the Soul Mechanic sitting down beside Mikael at his fire and resting her head upon his shoulder. For a few minutes, they enjoy companionable silence with one another. Mikael certainly isn’t going to break it, so in the end Avina has to.

“… I’m afraid of what comes next, Mikael.”

Mikael frowns a little at that, before wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“I don’t think that’s unreasonable, Avina. We might have a mighty army now… but it’s still been a few days. With how fast Foss can move his undead, I dread to think how far he’s already reached into Zuveria. How many people have died because of him so far? Hopefully… well, hopefully the Order of the Rose and Thayla and her father are all still alright.”

Avina hums at that, before letting out a sigh.

“Yes. But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’ve… I feel weighed down; I suppose. Destiny. Responsibility. Foss Sangrey has to be stopped… and you and I might be the only ones who can stop him.”

That gets a look from Mikael. The way Avina is talking sounds unbelievably heavy. And to be fair, everything about what they’re dealing with constitutes as ‘heavy’. But this… this has a different tone to it all the same. As though Avina is talking about more than just armies and living versus dead.

He can tell she’s struggling though, so he doesn’t press her on it. She brought it up and she’ll continue in her own time. Mikael remains quiet, continuing to hold Avina in a one arm hug as he waits for her to collect her thoughts and continue. His is not to question… his is to support. Always.

“I never wanted to learn my family’s magic their way. And sure, maybe part of that was still being a kid. Perhaps if I’d had the chance to grow up with them, with my father, mother, brothers and sisters all alive… maybe I would have come around to it. But even as a girl, I knew I was different. I wanted something else.”

Turning to him, Avina spreads her hand over his chest… no, over the Soul Engine. Her fingers cup its edges, her palm sliding over its glowing center. She lets out a shaky breath before giving him a broad smile.

“And I got what I wanted. I made something magnificent. I saved your life. I’m proud of what we’ve managed to achieve together. I’m proud of what I created.”

Mikael returns her smile.

“As you should be, Avina. Your creation is amazing. I-!”

Cut off midsentence, Mikael’s eyes widen as he suddenly finds himself with a lap full of Soul Mechanic. Avina climbs aboard without hesitation, straddling him in mere moments as her hands go to cup her cheeks and her lips go to his lips. She kisses him and Mikael… he kisses her back, of course. His hands go to her hips to center and anchor her, and together they lovingly, but also urgently makeout with one another.

He's not sure how long the kissing continues for. There’s a tinge of desperation to Avina’s actions that Mikael doesn’t know what to make of, but he’s not about to reject her. He will never reject her. Coming into this world, dying and coming back thanks to her device… sure, a part of Mikael will always feel like he owes her everything.

But it’s beyond that now. He loves her. And she loves him.

Steadily, clothes start to come off. Not all the way, since they’re not truly alone. None of the Children of Syl have ‘spoken’ into their minds the same way that Syl himself had, but Mikael still isn’t sure how intelligent the monsters actually are. That’s not going to stop them, but there can be some forms of propriety maintained.

As such, Avina’s dress is merely hiked up. Her top is only partially pulled down in order to reveal her breasts to him and him alone, hidden as they are between their bodies. And Mikael’s pants are unlaced and pulled open just enough to free his throbbing mast from its confines as deft fingers grab hold of his length and fit him against his Soul Mechanic’s entrance.

With a sigh, Avina slides down his cock once she’s properly lined them up. A quiet moan lilts from her lips as she moves her hands from between them to his shoulders. Looking him in the eyes, Avina smiles, even as her nipples harden in the cold night air.

“To think, even though you’ve been fucking Bula every night, you’re still this pent up. My, I’m lucky that you have other lovers, or I would spend all of my time just trying to satisfy you.”

Mikael flushes at her teasing, but also grins as he runs his hands along her sides, enjoying the way she rides him. He lets Avina control the pacing, both because it’s good manners and because she’s the weakest, physically speaking, of the women he regularly lays with. Her body is soft and pleasant to touch and fondle and be joined with, but Mikael is strong… very strong these days. He can’t afford to risk hurting her.

Under more controlled circumstances, he might lay her down and ravish her, but in this situation, it’s easier to just let her set the pace and ride him as she wants. That said, that doesn’t mean she can tease him as she wants without… repercussions.

“You act like I’m the one who started whatever this is, Avina.”

Her eyes narrow at that and she slams herself down onto him more meaningfully, as though trying to get him to shut up. But Mikael isn’t done.

“It was you who decided Thayla was joining us. You who sent Bula to pull me out of my funk.”

A low growl emits from her lips and she digs her nails into his shoulders. Mikael just grins wickedly and continues on.

“Even though Thayla tried to slip in under your nose and Bula won’t stop calling you different versions of small. Something I should know, Princess?”

With a huff, Avina smacks her forehead into his. Not very hard, but not very soft either. Mikael rocks back with the blow to diffuse the impact, more for the health of his Soul Mechanic than his own safety. Afterwards, she keeps her forehead against his, looking into his eyes.

“… I told you not to call me that.”

Mikael gives her an apologetic smile, even as she continues to gyrate her hips upon his cock, grinding down to the base of his member.

“Sorry, my beloved, adorable, terrifying Soul Mechanic. But you know… Ocreatha will need someone, after Foss is gone.”

He hates to bring this up now, but to be fair, Avina had started talking about responsibility first. And she doesn’t immediately shut him down, though she does grimace for a moment before letting out a long, drawn-out sigh.

“… I know.”

With a scowl, she starts to ride him a little faster. Mikael takes the hint and falls quiet; save for the rough exhalations she forces from him as her insides clench and squeeze around his member. She shudders and moans for him, and together they just enjoy the moment. Then, she throws her head back, arching her spine in the process. Her breasts, which have been out all this time but have ultimately gone unattended, are suddenly right in Mikael’s face.

He wastes no time bringing a hand up to cup one of them, softly kneading her titflesh as the freckled, pale young woman mewls in response. He fiddles with her nipple between his fingers and then brings his mouth down to her chest, suckling on her teat and nibbling at it with his teeth. Avina cries out then, her inner walls spasming as she tips over the edge.

She’s quick to bury her face in his shoulder, quieting herself down so he doesn’t have to. They aren’t exactly alone after all… but with so many beasts all around them, the night isn’t exactly what one would call quiet either. The sounds of movement are constant, and there are animalistic sounds constantly reverberating through the air.

It would be more unsettling if they weren’t on their side but instead it just makes for the perfect cover. A quick glance over at Bula shows that she’s still sound asleep in her cuddle pile, even as Avina whimpers into his neck, shuddering upon his cock. Then, as soon as she recovers… she begins riding him even faster. She might have cum, but he has yet to find his release.

That is, until she leans up to his ear, wrapping her arms around his neck while sliding herself up and down his length as fast as she can possibly manage.

“Cum for me, Mikael. Cum for me.”

And so he does. She might not like being called Princess, but she certainly has the authority down pat all the same. He fills her and she lets out a breathless moan in response, clinging to him with her limbs even as she also clings to him with her insides. They both seize up for a moment at the end there, until finally it’s over and Mikael has emptied himself inside of her.

“… Thank you.”

Her soft whisper has Mikael releasing a shuddering breath as she pulls back from his shoulder and looks at him with lidded eyes.

“Sorry for bringing up what comes next mid-coitus. That was probably uncalled for.”

Avina giggles in amusement at that before sobering up and shaking her head.

“No… you’re right. By all reports, Foss Sangrey hasn’t just abolished the Council of Lords, he obliterated it. He’s seized absolute power in Ocreatha and once he’s dead… there will be no one to take his place.”

She hesitates and then swallows thickly.

“… No one but me.”

Mikael nods a solemn nod. He’d had the same thought. She was the last surviving member of the Royal Family. The Lost Princess. There probably wasn’t anyone left in Ocreatha who was more qualified for the role of leader then her… Foss would have made sure of that in his purge. But even still…

“Tell me you don’t want it, Avina. Tell me to have Bula help me kidnap you and Thayla the moment Foss is defeated and I will. We’ll abscond with the two of you faster than anyone can blink and… go elsewhere. Leave it all behind.”

His beloved Soul Mechanic freezes at the offer. Then, she lets out a soft little laugh.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. But… where would we go? Back to the Sylian Woods to live in the empty elven homes under the protect of a god for the rest of our days?”

Mikael shrugs, about to say yes. That or anywhere else, really. This continent can’t be the only continent on Vaclatora. Nor do they really know what lies beyond the Sylian Woods. They could go anywhere. But before he can speak, Avina presses her fingers to his lips, quieting him.

“… I appreciate the offer, Mikael. But no. My place is here. I have a responsibility to my people.”

Frowning, Mikael shakes his head.

“You don’t owe them anything.”

But it’s clear Avina has given this plenty of thought.

“Don’t I? My father always said it was a privilege to rule. A duty. Our family did not rule Ocreatha because it was our birthright, but because it was our obligation. I can’t… I can’t just kill Foss and avenge my family only to turn my back on my Kingdom. That would be spitting on my family’s graves as much as fleeing and leaving Foss in power would be.”

He sees her conviction. More than that, he appreciates her drive. Smiling, Mikael hugs Avina close to him and she happily curls into his chest, gazing up into his eyes.

“Then I’ll be there by your side, every step of the way. Bodyguard, advisor, warrior. However you’ll have me.”

Avina snorts at that.

“Try Consort. As though I’d hide you from the Kingdom. I am not ashamed of you Mikael… I could never be ashamed of you.”

Her hand goes to his chest again, to palm the Soul Engine once more.

“I meant it when I said I was proud of what I’d created in bringing you back from the dead. I just hope… I just hope I can be proud of what I have to do next. And that no matter what happens, you won’t judge me too badly for it.”

Mikael considers those words for a moment, desperately wanting to ask for clarification. But once again, he can tell his role is to be there for her, not to interrogate and question. The fear in Avina’s voice unsettles him, most of all because it seems directed at herself for some reason. But… no matter what, he’ll stay by her side.

No matter what.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Mikael and Avina getting all gushy with one another. Hopefully its as cute as I wanted it to be~

Next time... back to the fight!

Be sure to let me know what you think!