bellelurette | Epilogue

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Your stopped time has restarted. Whether you were in the grassy field or fighting for your life on the castle grounds, you'll suddenly find yourself in an untouched area of the gardens. Ish is back, and so are the items, and the dead.

You return to Chateau Ambregris with the certain knowledge that come Monday, you will greet a new week, in a home of your own choosing. No longer will the chime of the clocks hunt you down, no longer will the oppressive scent of roses haunt your senses, no longer will you be forced to watch the death of those you've come to love and hate.

Parting is such a bittersweet sorrow, isn't it?

Make merry one last time, in this castle of illusions. Ironically, your memories of this stolen time that never existed are the one thing that will truly remain to you.

END NOTES

🔮 All dead are revived as tsukumogami! Congrats on your immortality(?)
🔮 Any other contracts made with Ish will be honored
🔮 Characters may choose to leave for any world they desire.
🔮 Time has not passed while you were stuck in this loop!
🔮 There will be no cross-dimensional world travel, except for on Samhain (Witches New Year October 31st/November 1st). On these dates, Ish will enable everyone to visit each other's world freely.
🔮 Universal Communication will be possible, courtesy of Manba and Ish. Everyone who wants one will be given a small fox that can communicate with other foxes through voice and video; the foxes can talk and are fairly simple creatures, enjoy them and give them fried tofu once in a while.
🔮 Powers are on for the finale, but Ish will step in and yeet anyone who gets too out of hand back to their homeworld, so play nice! (or relatively nice. )

[OOC: Welcome to your epilogue! The timeloop is ended, the evil has been defeated, and you have some time to catch your breath in the castle before the rest of your life begins! ]

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You've already given me more than I've ever had. And if you're going to give me more, now that we'll have more time together— [ he presses another kiss, this one a little more insistent.

he'll accept it all in the paradoxical way where it will never be too much or too little. just like how they fit together, ish finds it perfect and only finds it more and more perfect every second they're together. ]

But to the reverse...I'd do everything I could and beyond that, you know? [ he'd break new taboos that haven't even been invented yet. even still, he'll admit that it's a fear he has. not that he won't be enough (because in a way he will always think that), but that this is just the natural course of a force of nature like hwylryn.

so ish thinks, takes a breath and lays a hand to hwylryn's chest, where he can feel his heart beating with his sigil carved into it. ]

...if you want to amend our vows to death does not us apart, I can agree to that. We won't be apart in life or death and our souls will forever be curled around each other, until all the universes cease to be and beyond that.

[ maybe that almost sounds like the same thing, but it's not to ish. instead of him framing it as a defeat, a giving up, he can look to it as an "to be continued, eternal". ]

( Ish's hand comes to rest over his heart, soothing its anxious beating. He's reminded of the warmth that ripples out with every beat from Ish's insignia, melting into the warmth every kiss from Ish leaves him with. )

... I'd like that. Can we?

( He noses Ish, his fear turned to the beginning of breathless laughter, like a chirping bird. The thoroughness of the declaration - no, the declaration at all - surprises him. He feels like he's being spoiled - gifted more than he asked for, grander than any offering he's been given.

He should hesitate - he should marvel at the beauty of it, before answering. But he'd accepted it instantly - insatiable as he is. )

Forever and then forever again. ( He places his hand over the back of Ish's, fingers slotting between his own. ) And only when it's really time to go. I wouldn't give up on you easy, either.

( Even knowing they'd be bound together in their passing, even knowing there'd be no parting - Ish does inspire in him a unique desire, through all his exhaustion: a desire to live.

Gently, and with warm waters and a clear sky, it begins to rain. It will soak them both, like a waves flooding into shore, if much more gradually. )

I want us to live a long, long time. There's so many things we haven't gotten to do together. There's so much time I want to spend with you.

( A kiss...! Light but sweet, like a good bye or welcome home at the entry way - a lovebird's yearning in the face of the briefest parting. )

... But, whether comes thoughtless wandering or reincarnation... ( Even though he'd considered reincarnation perverse! ) Whether we dissolve into a singular thing or drift onward, together... There's no one I'd rather spend eternity with more.

[ he's about to answer when he feels the rain, looking up at the sky before back at hwylryn. this is...good rain? he thinks so but he's not sure, but either way his instinct is take his hat off and place it on his (eternal!) mate regardless. while he could bubble them, this seems like something new hwylryn is giving to him, so he'll accept it too.

the way he kisses back is like the droplets of water falling down on them, warm and pervasive. ]

Then we will. I'm still pretty young, but I'm also pretty sure I'm immortal now. [ something they can test...? or maybe it's better not to. ]

Oh, but I need to get you a ring to go along with it!

( Getting the hat makes him laugh lightly? It's such a cute gesture. Hwyl is what he is, so he hardly minds the wet - and here Ish is, shielding him from rain. Cute, cute, cute... )

Like me?

( Though, he guesses Ish doesn't know for sure. Living on, until interrupted - that's the sort of immortal Hwylryn is. )

... If you weren't, I'd do everything in my power to make it so.

( It doesn't matter if he doesn't have the power. He simply will, and that is that.

But, rings? Ah... His expression softens. )

I've seen humans do stuff like trading rings for marriage. If you're getting me a ring, I'll get you one, too. Can we look for them together? Can we have the colors match?

( Of course they can, but he wants to ask it anyway.

He'd never thought much about the tradition, but suddenly it has a sense of appeal, to him. It feels like - with Ish - these things that never had meaning to him before feel ... fresh, and new.

Within the rain comes the strong scent of sea breeze. )

... But I have another thing I can give you, before even that. I've been thinking about it since you left your mark on my heart.

( It's asking permission, in a sense - he knows it should be okay. He knows Ish would want it, too. But why else keep asking each other these things but to hear I do, I do? )

Mmmhmm. [ he doesn't add the qualifier this time, but he does lean in for a kiss. knowing what he does about hwylryn he assumed that he was functionally immortal, but he's surprised at the relief he feels when it's confirmed. ]

They have to match, that's important. And I'll get to slide it onto your finger [ tapping hwylryn's ring finger! ] and you'll get to do the same to me. I want to start looking for them right away, too. Maybe after I get a nap in Elysia?

[ he mirrors in asking for permission when he knows hwylryn would likely be on board. but it is important to hear the confirmation, each one making his heart swell with more love. ]

Ohh? What is it? Do I get it now?

( He returns it gladly, caressing his cheek, as is his heart's wont. )

Then I'll be excited, but I'll be good and wait. ( His eyes shine with anticipation... He does want it now, but!!! ) You better nap for a good while, okay?

( And of course, as always, he says yes. His hand slips down from Ish's cheek, finding the hand that tapped his ring finger, and pressing a kiss to Ish's ring finger in turn, as if that were its pair.

He won't even ask for a reward for being good, because Ish napping is, in a way, a reward for him, too. And if they didn't have a very mortal child, Hwyl would settle down with Ish for a good few decades, at the very least... So just A Very Long Nap will have to do. )

We~ll, if you want it tha~t badly . . .

( As if he didn't plan this entire time to give his gift to Ish now that they're free to just be as they are!!

He interlocks their fingers, somewhere in the sound of rain the gentle roar of ocean; somewhere in the soothing waters the spray of waves. Hwylryn presses his lips to Ish's neck without explanation, trailing down along the curve, sweet and soft and full of affection. And for a second - for a moment - it feels as if it's just them in the air; the breeze carrying in mist; the mist carrying in salt; like Hwyl had somehow stolen them away somewhere else - somewhere that resembles the depths of his fathomless heart.

His teeth sink in. He does not bite so much as he crunches into flesh, a procedure so raw in its strength and yet clinically mindful not to destruct the bone or stem or artery - he does not hope to kill Ish. Of course! He is sincere about their pledges into eternity. But a soft, happy mmmmh sinks into flesh, and his teeth scrape and split the open wound, swallowing what spare blood and flesh there is to keep, and the rain thunders overwhelming - not so much a shower but a baptism; a wave that crashes; a beast that swallows.

And with all this, the drama, the theatre, Ish will find the rain drenches the wound and steals away into him - not so much the water but the essence of that ocean, that breeze, that rain; the presence of it slips away into his blood to greedily circulate through his heart, to beat with him, always. )

My scent.

( There's a sing-song in his voice he hasn't had in a little while, an anxious excitement spill out of him and into Ish (and that's the weather!) - all of this an expression of his joy, his anticipation; he could have done it in no way less dramatic because that would not have been authentic to how intense he feels! The way he loves is this!!!!

He licks the wound, suckling at the gash with his lips and teething it light - affectionate and fond. Beneath the rain, Ish's wound can heal into a more manageable state if Ish allows it - but, if his heart would rather leave it be, then it will stay precisely as it is, Hwylryn nursing it with affection. )

I don't put my name on things the same way. ( Kissing at the glistening red, the sweetly torn meat along the interior of skin... His Ish, his Ish... inside and out. ) But all of this is me. So I hope you don't mind carrying it with you.

( Like the faint scent of incense, the scent of breeze and rain and ocean will hang about Ish like a haze - coiling like Hwylryn would: clingy, and - as of quite recently, courtesy of Ish - possessive. )

Edited (minor typos) 2025-04-18 03:54 (UTC)

[ for the moment when it's just them and the water (the rain, the ocean, seaspray), ish is aware for perhaps the first time just how powerful hwylryn is. which he knew, but it's different being in the tempest rather than as an observer outside of it. he takes it all in, a soft "oooh" escaping his lips, pure awe, which might have been an unexpected blessing.

because having his muscles tensed when the soft kiss turns into a hard bite would have been really unfortunate. still, it's painful and he can feel that he's literally losing a part of himself (a strange realization for someone who was created by ripping off a part of herself). he hisses in one breath, a visceral reaction to what in any other case would be considered a violation (maybe it still is) and squeezes their hands together tighter in another one.

maybe it's lost in the downpour, but ish holds on. he accepts this...he wants this. though his body might have reacted initially like this was a reflection of the time he was tied to a pyre, it all begins to quiet when hwylryn speaks. he relaxes into it more, into the familiar feeling of hwylryn's tongue and teeth with a sigh.

the magic entering him is new though, and for a second he really does feel like he's drowning. as a being created of one person, for one person, his magic tends not to play well with others. the core of his being wants to fight it, this intrusion of force that isn't norna. she was his reason for being, his past, his present, his future: was. it takes considerable effort, but he allows hwylryn to subsume him, to fill in the spaces inside of him that had turned barren and acrid and beyond that. part of norna remains and will always remain, but it's much smaller now. it's a lot to handle, to go from being nearly empty to near bursting, but he'll carry this gladly; even as he slumps forward placing most of his weight on his new forever.

the rain continues to fall, the gaping wound closing just enough to ensure he doesn't need to deal with bleeding out in addition to the magic overrunning his body. the nursing of the bite is something he wants for both of them, selfishly. ]

Does that mean... [ the words come out slowly, thick like syrup. ] I'm a Witch of the Sea now? Your Witch...

( Ish squeezes his hand, and Hwyl returns the pulse, as if they were a single heart beating. He can't be sorry for this gift he gives with all his heart, but he can be grateful Ish accepts it. Though Hwylryn's core is Northern, and it is nature's wont to be overwhelming, he softens his touch (or tries) as his magic works deeper into Ish - seeping into every crack, mixing into what it is allowed, finding its home there, as much as Ish will let him in, until Ish slumps forward.

He holds his weight firmly, and tight, nuzzling into his neck, the wound, kissing him - both overwhelming in his joy, and with praise for Ish, because - accepting him could not have been easy. He could feel the instinctive resistance, the initial recoil, that Ish's nature rails against it - and he could feel that Ish allowed it, anyway. You're wonderful, you're wonderful, he murmurs as he runs his tongue along the lessening wound, sucking the blood before the rain steals it away from him. )

Oh?

( Oh? Oh? Oh ?

If there were one thing, only one thing across all of time and space that could pull him from his suckling and teething, it's this - as if Ish were taking on Hwylryn's last name, but it's a title, instead.

He pulls away, caressing the wound as lovingly as he had Ish's cheek, bright-eyed and pink-cheeked and mouth-bloodied, like sweet-faced schoolgirl on the run from the cops for a grisly crime. )

Do you want to? ( EXCITED??? ) Ish, do you want to? Do you want to be my Witch of the Sea? Is that okay?

( Ish had suggested it, but is it okay!! There's something about the way Ish puts it that excites him more than if Ish had simply reconfirmed that he was Hwylryn's. The dragon's witch... There's something intimate about it, something sacred. It stirs the deepest reaches of his memory - ancient times; a history spoken in extinct tongues; an age, perhaps before even his time that he knows only by instinct, before there were humans at all, and there was only primordial elements and magic. )

I want you to be. ( Giddy. Def no pressure tho, ) My Ish, my Witch... I don't want you to change in any way you don't want to. But if this is something you want to be, then... like a pact, like a vow, like a promise, I want you to be of me in that way. And you...

( He presses his lips to Ish's - a bloodied kiss, the sweetest he's taken; he bites his own tongue to make it bleeed before he slips it between Ish's lips, the both of them mingled together. )

... I want to be of you in that way. The sea dragon of a certain, wonderful Witch.

Mmn? [ his eyes flutter, having been lost somewhere in the daze that is the neverending sea of their love, their magic, their very beings being joined. lazily he nuzzles back, giggling at the hot and bright sensation that is fingertips trailing along the aching wound on his neck.

there's something being asked of him , so he focuses to find the words. heh, for something like this he doesn't need to think, so he doesn't. ]

Of course I do. Your Witch of the Sea, who belongs only to you and gives you his everything without question. [ he might have prattled on more but then he's being kissed, oh. the taste of hwylryn's blood in his mouth stimulates him in all kinds of ways; if he nibbles some more it's because he's excited too.

he tries to chase when they part, but he stops short, caught by how red hwylryn's lips are. he's never seen a more beautiful sight in all of his years, laughter bubbling up from his heart which now beats swollen but happy. ]

My heart, my sea dragon... I love you. My Hwylryn.

[ he smiles, full and content. ]

I think... we just invented a new type of vow. How shall we seal it?

( Somewhere through all of that the rains had ceased and in come sunlight - somewhere in that that the mist had blown and instead blew clouds; and though the scent of sea is thick, is mingles with the wind, blowing clear as the sun that dazzles above them. )

My Ish! ( He laughs with the lighthearted innocence of a child, the clouds enveloping them in secrecy. ) Ish, my darling Ish— Did you know? I love you!

( He says that with a bit of mischief, as if he'd been the one to flirtatiously tease with a "Guess who?" Where Ish admires him, Hwylryn admires him in turn - the horrorshow he's made of him, between his teeth and their blood and their mingled magic.

Should he be proud of that? Well, he is! It's a sort of love that leaves him delirious, too! Somewhere in his haze of grief there had been such overwhelming love that had left him so happy - could he really claim he was well at all? Nor would he want to be! He would not part with his love - his grief - for Gwawlyn and Balthazar, nor would he part with the ecstatic heights they continue to ascend. A new vow! Perfect for them, he thinks. How wonderful. )

Mmmmm . . . I wonder what we can do! ( he says in a tone that suggests he's already well on his way along an impulse telling him what to do. ) What iiiif we sealed it like . . .

( He slides Ish down against the cloud (it doesn't hold them at all, but doesn't it feel cool and nice beneath the sunlight?), and he holds their interlocked hands between them as he presses a kiss to Ish's lips - a far sweeter one than the one just moments ago.

Softer, and with that much more feeling: )

. . . I love you, Ish, my Witch of the sea. I no longer see where I end and you begin. ( And may it stay that way, for all of time. But he doesn't need to say that anymore, he thinks. ) Like the sky and sea bleeding across the horizon . . . like coming to rest beside you and waking up to see you again. I give to you, and it's like giving to me, too.

( Least codependent pair— barely a pair, since Hwylryn vaporizes much of the line between them - but what does it matter if they're happy? And they are. He can feel it as surely as he can feel his magic run through Ish, and Ish's coiled safe around his heart. )

Can we consummate our vow? ( As in: ) If we rest now, will you be right here when I wake up?

( couldn't wait for the marriage apparently tomorrow so they've just invited marriage the prequel )

[ he giggles at the declaration of love and giggles more as he's pushed down against the cloud. as much as hywlryn moves him, ish feels more like these are his own actions, something like a drunk daze where you move your hand and only realize a second or so later that you did that.

he listens closely or tries to, an impulse sparking before any sort of real comprehension. one of his fingers traces idly against hwylryn's own and also against his heart through the connection that's settled there. it's just a few idle strokes, as soft as he can make it, but he wanted to get in on the action of "mine too!".

ah, but he should pay attention as something else is being asked of him! again he giggles, too far gone in his delirium to feel shameful. ]

I thiiiink consummate usually means something else. But let's do that one later and rest now. [ he's already holding hywlryn tighter, trying to make sure there actually is zero space between them anywhere. ]

Where would I go? I can't leave my heart behind! You won't leave me either, right?

[ least codependent pair ever- ]

Never.

( Oh, he likes that - slotting into one another, no gaps left. Ish pulls him closer and Hwyl seeps in, arms wrapping around him, cheek pressing into the crook of his neck, calves tangled between calves.

He is quite pleased with his dragon form - but he still agrees with Ish on the matter of limbs: they have their advantages, and Hwylryn very much likes having even more real estate to coil around and be coiled around in turn. )

Never, ever, ever. ( hehe!! ) I promise.

( He presses a kiss to Ish's neck - and turns his head against it there, getting comfortable. They're already all dried up - Hwylryn has made sure of that. Now there's just a sunny day designed for them alone, perfect to sleep in. )

Let's consummate things proper on our wedding night. ( The way humans do it! They're already doing rings, and Hwylryn is already making it a festival, so... why not make it special? ) Good night, Ish. See you in a little bit.

( "Good night" though they'll only be resting for a bit. It doesn't matter; it just makes him really happy just to say that - to feel so loved, and with certainty. Wahh... )

Heheheh... [ that's all he has, not clocking what he said or how easily hwylryn accepted it in turn.

he kisses where he can reach, against the crown of silver and lets his eyes slide closed. ]

G'nite, see you in my dreams, my love.

[ there's a lot more "mys" there but he falls asleep before he can say them. ]

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Epilogue

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cw :catbite: (also, brief cannibalism sorta and slight gore)

cw: slight gore cont

cw: slight gore cont

cw; more messiness

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