Blacken by Alandra Rankin (i love reading books txt) 📕

consciousness fought for dominance, finding an asleep Rhulle holding her into his chest. She smiled, seeing the serene look on his features, amazed that she was able to once again wake up to this; to him.

A hand was raised to further wipe away sleep from her eyes as she rolled, delicately trying to move the arm acting as deadweight from around her waist. It grasped at her instead, pulling her flush against the body behind her.

The vovii nuzzled his nose into her ginger locks, sighing, “Good morning.”

“Good morning! How did you sleep?” she asked with a laugh, Rhulle was always extra affectionate in the mornings.

“Amazingly, and you?”

Turning her head, she was able to face him while keeping the position, “It’s always much better when you’re here beside me.”

He smiled, cupping the side of her face, “I have got a taste of being with you for days now, admittedly, it will be difficult for me to return just to sleep alone.”

“It would make the reunion that much better,” she turned fully, kissing him a few times while she idly played with the silken chestnut feathers at his chest.

“Merry Christmas, Avie,” his voice was soft and smooth, whispering over her skin in a tender affection as they broke away.

She let the words course over her, offering her own smile with bright eyes, “Merry Christmas, my love.”

Without warning, Rhulle sat, scooping her up bridal style in a lithe fashion—standing and carrying her out towards the living room where the glistening Christmas tree beckoned with its cheer. The action never ceased to make her burst out in a fit of giggles, graceful arms wrapping around his neck just to stare into the face she adored so much. He placed her down onto the sofa, holding up a singular finger in an action for her to wait. He knelt down, reaching into the pile of gifts that littered underneath the tree and pulled back the wide box marked with his name, as well as a long and thin one that camouflaged in the back.

Rhulle handed the one addressed to him to Avie, smiling in a giddy apprehension while returning to her side. She looked down at the gift she held, then to the foreign one he held in his hands with a cocked eyebrow. What did he get up to?

“Ready to exchange gifts?”

The woman went with the flow, shaking her head with a soft laugh, “Yes, of course.”

He proudly thrusted the gift into her lap, the rumpled edges and over-taped wrapping paper endearing to see. She took the object, handing over her gift wrapped present in return. Rhulle grasped the item, fingers tracing over hers in the exchange before tapping his talons, hearing the hollow echo call back to them.

“You open yours first,” he claimed, excitement hardly able to contain itself in his voice.

She clenched her lips in her teeth, the thrill of opening a gift from her vovii was not something she expected fully, overjoyed with just the idea of spending the holiday with him. He had gone out of his way to try and do something for her, and she couldn’t wait to see.

Tearing off the decorative paper, she was greeted with a painted landscape. In a lush green forest, the two of them stood facing each other in an embrace—standing happily in front of a cottage with vibrant flora adorning the canvas in such a picturesque scene it caused Avie’s heart to tighten.

“My love, this is beautiful… I’m speechless… Is this—could this really be our future?”

“It will be ours in no time, I had hopes for you to look upon this if the present gets hard to handle. You could remember that better times are coming, and the worst is behind you now. Our future is ours to make.”

Her chest tightened, constricted with the love he shared for her, it took her, overloaded her, yet she couldn’t get enough of it. Rhulle was the driving force to give her life new meaning, to change as a person and learn new skills with a new simple life, one she dreamed about for decades. And he offered it to her.

“I love it, it means so much that you made something… You’d better open yours before I get too emotional,” she said, wiping at brimming tears with a shaky laugh.

Leaning across, Rhulle kissed the damp cheeks, “I am so delighted you enjoy it, I wanted to surprise you so desperately.”

“You did! You really did,” she kissed him back in the same fashion, “how were you able to paint this anyway?”

“I called your friend Sandra, she helped me with purchasing materials,” he stated, a little sheepish.

“She what? You what? How did that happen?” Bewildered, Avie’s eyebrows went into her hairline, trying to envision a scenario of Sandy meeting Rhulle where it wouldn’t be made into a big deal. She wasn’t trying to sound accusatory in her questions, more rather confusion slipping through her statements.

“Do not worry, she did not see me, I only conversed over the phone. She seemed happy to know a little bit about me, and when Sandra dropped the items off here, I was in the bathroom. I think she figures that I am just shy.”

Avie laughed, “Now she really won’t stop hounding me to meet you. I don’t know how I’m going to get around this one… That was a huge risk to go through, but I’m glad you did; this is even more beautiful than your last work. Will you open yours?”

Rhulle returned to his proper spot, playing with the ribbon, admiring the wrappings before clawing at the striped paper in anticipated excitement, lifting open the lid and discovering folded material within. He pulled the garments out, turning them around in his hands, blinking at them in a stunned silence before meeting her eyes in the twinkling light.

“Avie… How did you… do this?”

In the past, Rhulle expressed to her, only twice, the importance of insignias to his race—to bear symbolism of who they were, their family, and their values in lettering