Ingram merely placed her soul back where it belonged, right between his horns, and entered the portal.
Bright sunlight enveloped him as he stepped into a small clearing within the Veil. It was so small that only a sliver of a sunbeam was offered as protection, with a radius of no more than a foot on either side of him.
He was surprised that Weldir hadn’t created a portal leading back to Faunus’ ward, or anywhere protected belonging to the other Mavka. He imagined he had a reason for that, as it had already been made obvious the spirit of the void didn’t do things without one.
He’d chosen Ingram’s location on purpose.
At least he couldn’t hear or smell any Demons nearby.
So, he knelt within the sun, and he waited for his little butterfly. He would remain here until she appeared to him, no matter how long it took.
The sun continued to rise above him, moving along the path of the beam and never truly shortening or lengthening it. Although he continued to breathe as normal, his lungs were tight from his impatience as if he’d held his breaths. Despite his steadiness, he was restless.
Then, she appeared.
Transparent, ghostly white, and peacefully sleeping.
It didn’t take her long to twitch and open her eyes, only to lift her arm to uselessly block out the sun as she sat up to one side. She paused, then lowered it to inspect her Phantom hand.
He didn’t move, his impatience gusting out of him at just being able to see her. Just one more step, just one more thing needed to be done, and she would be in his arms again.
“Ing–” she started as she went to search. She didn’t need to turn her head far. “Ingram,” she sighed out.
His tail tapped against the ground once, and he reached his clawed hand out to her. She reached her own out, hesitating halfway, so she could will a solid form like all the other brides had done in front of her.
As soon as the lightly tanned, freckled flesh of her hand formed, it was within his own larger one. The change started from her extremities and quickly spread over her like a wave. Once it was complete, Ingram didn’t delay.
He pulled her to him, wrapped his arms around her torso, and lifted her until she was forced to lock her legs around his narrow waist. With one of his hands spanning her hip and thigh, and the other supporting between her shoulder blades and the back of her neck, he rubbed the side of his skull against her temple.
“Emerie,” he grated.
Her warmth spread across his chest and heated him from the outside in. Her strawberry-and-primrose scent swelled in his lungs, so pretty and alluring it quelled any remaining anguish that had befallen him in her absence. Even just her tiny breaths tickling across the scales of his neck, or her chest waving with his, brought him so much contentment he held her tighter.
His hand dipped around the side of her neck from behind so he could place the pads of his fingers against her fragile and precious jugular. He felt it pulsing, letting him know she was truly alive within his embrace.
The edges of his vision swirled into bright pink, just as the bottoms of his orbs broke and little droplets floated around his skull.
I revived her, and now I will cherish her.
“T-too tight,” she squeaked.
He compressed her just a little more, before loosening his hold.
With his hand supporting her arse and the rest of his arm locking her to him, he dug the claws of his free hand into her hair when he cupped the side of her face. He didn’t realise he’d been trembling until he tried to stroke her freckled, smooth cheek with his thumb.
Her blue eyes dilated and flicked between his bright-pink orbs, as her expression twisted into a mingle of joy and sadness all rolled into one at seeing them.
She reached up to hold one side of his jaw, like she wanted to hold him still. The openness of just a simple, subtle gesture of her delicate, soft palm, was enough to quench every bit of longing he’d had for her.
“So beautiful,” he firmly stated, before pressing the crown of his bony forehead against hers. “You are mine now, my little bride.” He trailed the tip of his claw behind the shell of her ear, enjoying that she shivered in reaction for him. “And you will not spend a moment apart from me. I have already proven that I will travel across existences to obtain you, rescue you, and keep you, and not even the afterworld can hide you from me. You are mine.”
“Thank you for coming to get me, Ingram,” she whispered with her eyes closed and twisting her head side to side so that the tip of her nose would brush the base of his beak. “Thank you for wanting to.”
He pulled back so he could look upon her fully. Even though she had taken this leap with him, he didn’t understand why she still had fears.
“Why would I not want to, Emerie?” he asked, simply so he could get to the root of her insecurities and pluck them from her.
“I’m not perfect,” she muttered while turning her gaze away, only for him to direct her back to him. “I’m a flawed person.”
She was perfect to him, and he would spend their entire lives together showing her this.
However, he decided to come at this from a different way, trying to use a piece of Emerie against herself by deflecting. To be cunning in the way she often was.
“I am also flawed,” he said, tipping his head. “So let us be flawed together.”
When she nibbled at her lips as though unconvinced, he had an urge to lean forward and lick across them to still her.
“You are tender towards me, Emerie. You are stern when you need to be, and correct me when I need it, but you still give me the freedom to make up my own mind about the world and the decisions I have made. You aided me through a time in which I was very lost and confused, and helped me to see the world in a warm and colourful way again, when all I saw was blue and red, when all I felt were the emotions that go with them. You have shown me so much and have been patient and forgiving.” Then Ingram drew his claw from the back of her ear, down the side of her neck, so he could graze it down her chest. “And you are beautiful and sensual in ways that I had never imagined possible.”
To finish off his words, he circled his claw around her exposed, scar-marred nipple. She shivered for him, and it hardened from his caress.
She gasped, covering her chest as she shot her gaze around them. “Holy shit, I didn’t realise I was fucking naked!” Since she’d accidentally squished his hand against her bare breast, he gave it a knead before sliding his palm to her back. “Where are we?”
“We are in the Veil,” he answered, noticing that they were still in the safety of the sun by her orange hair glowing. It appeared silkier than ever. “But you will always be safe with me now,” he reassured, since she had a light fear scent.
It didn’t stir hunger in him like it had once before, only worry for her comfort. She no longer needs to fear me. And he no longer needed to fear himself.
“I guess that’s true,” she grumbled, before lifting her arms to look at herself. She blushed, as she had the entire night, day, and then the following night she had been bared to him. “Why am I naked though? Is it because the blast destroyed my clothes?”
“You are asking the wrong person, little butterfly,” he said with a chuckle.
For once, she reminded him of Aleron from when they would both, foolishly, ask each other questions about the situation they had both been a part of. He found it quite humorous coming from her.