"What?", Derek grumbles, his voice husky from sleep. "It's just wolves.” She can see his silhouette of his body on the floor. He occupies most of the space between her bed and the wall, stretched out on the bedroll, one arm thrown over his face shielding his eyes.
Right. Just wolves.
Ysolda lies back down and tugs awkwardly at her crumpled-up nightdress. Maybe she should take it off… no, she just needs to close her eyes and lie still until she will finally fall asleep.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen. As tired as her body is, her mind is wide awake, now even more so than before. The silver light of the two moons throws dancing shadows on her walls, and in the darkness of the night, every sound is a thousand times louder and clearer - voices of wild animals, the chirping crickets, the creaking timber beams of her house, and Derek’s deep and steady breathing, somewhere beside her and yet so far away.
Her small bed still feels vast and empty.
“What are you doing?”
Derek peeks lazily at her beneath his arm, eyes bleary from sleep or lack of such, watching her as she climbs out of bed and slides down to him to the floor. The wood is hard under the thin bedroll but it’s cooler than the mattress and furs on her bed. And even though the space between the furniture and the wall of her house isn’t wide, they still have more room here than on the bed.
“I don’t want to sleep alone”, she whispers back, embarrassed because she knows, of course, how childish and silly her behavior is. “I know it’s stupid –“
“It is.” To her surprise, his lips twitch in amusement, then he laughs, amused but not unkind, in that low chuckle she loves so much, and reaches over to push a strand of her short hair behind her ear. “That’s what I love about you.”
“So you married me because I’m stupid?”, she pouts and he chuckles again. She adores him even more when he laughs, the fine lines around his eyes, the way his usually grim face lights up.
“Aye”, he mumbles. His finger trails down over her temple, her cheek, traces her lips which immediately curl up in a smile. “Guess it’s true what they say, that like will to like.”
“Then we’ll just be stupid together”, she giggles and scoots closer to him, not quite to his side, because she’s still too warm but close enough so he can caress her hair more easily. For a while, they lie there in silence, enjoying each others’ company, until she notices the smile had vanished from his face and while he still gently strokes her hair, the movement is distracted and he gazes absent-mindedly into the darkness.
She doesn’t want to ask, doesn’t want to hear that something is wrong. She wants everything to be good and peaceful. But what kind of wife would she be were she to ignore his sorrows?
“What’s wrong?”
He doesn’t answer, only shakes his head slightly, a crease between his dark brows. She knows the look on his face well, it’s the same look he had when he first learned about the Shout he would need to defeat Alduin. When he told her he would go to the Throat of the World soon. When he promised her he would come back and all she could think was he shouldn't make a promise he might not be able to keep.
“What did you dream about?”, she whispers when he still says silent. It doesn’t feel right to pressure him like this but it’s probably best if he talked about it, right? She wants to help him, somehow, if only by listening to him.
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timeasmymeasure
Summer Nights 4a/?
Date: 2013-07-05 11:47 am (UTC)"What?", Derek grumbles, his voice husky from sleep. "It's just wolves.” She can see his silhouette of his body on the floor. He occupies most of the space between her bed and the wall, stretched out on the bedroll, one arm thrown over his face shielding his eyes.
Right. Just wolves.
Ysolda lies back down and tugs awkwardly at her crumpled-up nightdress. Maybe she should take it off… no, she just needs to close her eyes and lie still until she will finally fall asleep.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen. As tired as her body is, her mind is wide awake, now even more so than before. The silver light of the two moons throws dancing shadows on her walls, and in the darkness of the night, every sound is a thousand times louder and clearer - voices of wild animals, the chirping crickets, the creaking timber beams of her house, and Derek’s deep and steady breathing, somewhere beside her and yet so far away.
Her small bed still feels vast and empty.
“What are you doing?”
Derek peeks lazily at her beneath his arm, eyes bleary from sleep or lack of such, watching her as she climbs out of bed and slides down to him to the floor. The wood is hard under the thin bedroll but it’s cooler than the mattress and furs on her bed. And even though the space between the furniture and the wall of her house isn’t wide, they still have more room here than on the bed.
“I don’t want to sleep alone”, she whispers back, embarrassed because she knows, of course, how childish and silly her behavior is. “I know it’s stupid –“
“It is.” To her surprise, his lips twitch in amusement, then he laughs, amused but not unkind, in that low chuckle she loves so much, and reaches over to push a strand of her short hair behind her ear. “That’s what I love about you.”
“So you married me because I’m stupid?”, she pouts and he chuckles again. She adores him even more when he laughs, the fine lines around his eyes, the way his usually grim face lights up.
“Aye”, he mumbles. His finger trails down over her temple, her cheek, traces her lips which immediately curl up in a smile. “Guess it’s true what they say, that like will to like.”
“Then we’ll just be stupid together”, she giggles and scoots closer to him, not quite to his side, because she’s still too warm but close enough so he can caress her hair more easily. For a while, they lie there in silence, enjoying each others’ company, until she notices the smile had vanished from his face and while he still gently strokes her hair, the movement is distracted and he gazes absent-mindedly into the darkness.
She doesn’t want to ask, doesn’t want to hear that something is wrong. She wants everything to be good and peaceful. But what kind of wife would she be were she to ignore his sorrows?
“What’s wrong?”
He doesn’t answer, only shakes his head slightly, a crease between his dark brows. She knows the look on his face well, it’s the same look he had when he first learned about the Shout he would need to defeat Alduin. When he told her he would go to the Throat of the World soon. When he promised her he would come back and all she could think was he shouldn't make a promise he might not be able to keep.
“What did you dream about?”, she whispers when he still says silent. It doesn’t feel right to pressure him like this but it’s probably best if he talked about it, right? She wants to help him, somehow, if only by listening to him.