Sword and Snow

Emery smiled as she stroked the now sleeping Astra’s hair. Standing up, she placed a light kiss on the girl’s forehead before quietly leaving the room.

As she stepped out and closed the door, Avuri met her outside.

“Ah. Already asleep?” She asked quietly with a smile.

“She is. Asked about how we met for her bedtime story.” Emery returned the smile and slipped her hand into her wife’s.

Avuri chuckled as they strolled to their bedroom. They passed by the girls’ rooms and heard the typical bickering and trash talk that always came with their games. It did sound like Cierra was winning though, as expected.

“Did we never tell her about the tournament? It was pretty exciting, even if you quit half-way through.” Avuri poked Emery in the side. “I was really mad, after that fight. You were so good, but just up and quit. I thought you were looking down on the rest of us.”

“I suppose I was, a little bit, though.” Emery allowed. “It wasn’t with any malice though.”

Avuri pressed into Emery’s side reassuringly. “Well, I know that now. Didn’t help at the time though.” She said, with a teasing lilt to her voice.

The two pushed their way into their room to prepare for bed. Both were already dressed in light silk robes for sleeping, but Avuri had yet to dry or comb out her hair - which was something of a ritual for the two of them.

They split as they entered the room, Avuri making her way to the bed, while Emery snatched up a lovely wooden comb before joining her wife on the bed. Avuri had gathered up her hair above her head and secured it with a few long pins to keep her clothes as dry as possible for the moment.

As Emery sat down, Avuri slipped her robes off her shoulders before letting her long silver locks fall down to pool around her on the bed. Emery immediately gathered up the hair in bunches, letting some sit in her lap, while she began combing out long sections of it.

“I’m glad Star is starting to look healthier.” Avuri said suddenly. Her eyes were closed, enjoying the combing.

“She’s looking much better. She’s got some color and life coming back into her skin and hair. Her face is looking less gaunt. Now she just needs to start gaining some weight.”

Avuri nodded. “Some of the kids we found with her are starting to. I’m sure she will soon, too.”

“I suppose it took Arek a while to even start recovering…” Emery muttered, working out a bit of knotted hair.

“But look at him now. He’s gotten a lot better.”

“I think he’s still a little…emotionally stunted? I hope we can help him more.”

“I agree. But all we can really do is make sure he knows he’s loved here, and that we’ll protect him.” Avuri leaned back just enough to lean the back of her head against Emery’s forehead.

Emery lifted her head a little bit to breathe in Avuri’s scent - the scent of a cold winter morning’s brisk, clean air. It always calmed her down. “By now, I’m sure he knows that. But scars like those run deep. Physical or otherwise.”

Avuri absently reached back and placed her hand on the outside of Emery’s right thigh. “He’ll be okay. We’ll make sure of it.”

“Yeah.” Emery answered quietly. They lapsed into a silence after that, as Emery’s comb and hands worked through Avuri’s hair.

It took a little while for her to work her way through all of Avuri’s hair, but the silence was comfortable. Eventually, Emery put the comb aside, and worked her fingers through Avuri’s hair, even lightly scratching her wife’s scalp. The woman practically purred in response.

And then Emery began working the hair into a loose braid. Avuri’s hands stopped Emery’s for a moment so she could turn to face her, pulling her hair to the front over her shoulder. With a smile, Emery began braiding again without missing a beat.

After a moment, Avuri grinned widely and pressed a bit forward to kiss Emery happily. “I will never get tired of this, Merri.”

“That’s good.” She responded with a chuckle. “You’re stuck with me forever, anyway.”

Avuri made a face. “Forever is a long time. Especially with a Cultivator’s lifespan.”

Emery slapped her on the shoulder. “You should’ve thought of that before we merged our Domains. You’re stuck with me.”

Avuri smiled. “Well, you’re stuck with me too, you know.”

“Of course. I did that on purpose, you idiot.” Emery chuckled, still working on the braid. Merging Domains, fused Domains, bonded Domains - there were many names for the technique, but ultimately it was something incredibly simple.

When two or more Sky Realm Cultivators are close enough, mentally, physically, and spiritually, they are able to meld their Domains together. It is permanent, potentially dangerous, and a great risk if you do not fully trust the others involved. Linking Domains together allows any of the connected parties to draw strength from the others, more or less uninhibited. This often leads to one of the pair taking from the other and abusing the link.

However, in pairs that were committed to one another, open, and honest, melded Domains could greatly strengthen both parties. At the most basic level, it required a great deal of trust for both participants to gain from such a decision. And as many Cultivators were self-centered and selfish, such pairs were rare.

And then, of course, the intimacy that came along with it was often another hurdle. Perfectly normal for a married couple, of course. Training and building a bonded Domain didn’t explicitly require sex, but it was commonly used as a medium for it.

All in all, it typically required a deep connection for it to go well. And Emery and Avuri had had no issues in their time practicing such a path.

Emery finally tied off the braid with a light blue silk ribbon, and gave Avuri an affectionate pat on the thigh. “All set.”

Braided hair was Emery’s favorite look on Avuri. The long, silver hair draped over the woman’s shoulder highlighted her neck and some of her curves. Avuri had a much more motherly appearance than Emery did - a softer, warmer face; attractive, womanly curves. She was taller than Emery, too, which admittedly wasn’t that uncommon.

Her eyes were an entrancing violet, and were Emery’s favorite feature on her. Emery’s hair had a strange way of being pearlescent in the light, and often had a matching purple sheen to it. Avuri had joked early on in their relationship that they were destined partners because of it. Now, she often said the same, but it sounded less and less like a joke every time she did so.

The two finished their nightly routine and slipped into bed. As they got comfortable, Avuri turned to Emery. “So Merri, how much did you tell our girl?”

“Just about the fight itself. And that I quit just after.”

“So, nothing about you being there to track down demons or the like?” Avuri rolled to her side and propped her head up on a hand to look at Emery as they talked.

“She was asleep before I got to it. I…think I would’ve told her.” She paused. Similarly to Arek, Astra likely had some scars from her time sequestered by a group of demonic Cultivators. The physical scars were one thing, but mental scars were always hard to gauge well. She didn’t want to bring up painful memories for the girl if she could avoid it.

Even if the stories were about her hunting down those sects.

Avuri nodded. “It’s hard to decide. I get that.” She reached out with a reassuring hand to grab Emery’s. “And what about you? I know you’re still…well, does hunting down demons help you at all? Would knowing someone was out there doing the same?” Avuri prodded.

Emery considered that for a moment. “I think being out there helps. Knowing I can defend myself against most of those monsters is a comfort.” She went silent again for a moment. “As for someone else - let alone my mother - being out there, doing the hunting? I don’t know. I think I’d just worry.”

Avuri squeezed her wife’s hand. “Then you should keep teaching her. And all the other kids.” With a pleasant sigh, she saddled up to Emery and leaned her head on her shoulder. “Of course, you could also be an adult and talk to her about it. See what she thinks.”

“Ri, she’s barely seven.”

Avuri snickered. “Kids are often significantly wiser and more aware than we give them credit for. Remember when Cierra was little?”

Thinking back to the other three children they raised, and some rather…interesting insights they’ve had, she shuddered.

“Fair point. I can talk to her tomorrow, maybe, and see how she feels.” Emery relented.

“Good.” Avuri nodded, putting a firm end on that conversation. “Now then, your lovely wife is cuddled up next to you, and it’s still pretty early.” Avuri rolled over, so half her body was on top of Emery’s. “What will you do, Merri?”

Emery’s face slowly melted into a wicked grin, promising Avuri all sorts of fun to follow. As she was lifting her head up for a kiss, they both heard an eruption of laughter and mockery from Cierra’s room. They both paused, dead in their tracks.

After a brief moment, they laid their foreheads against one another - Avuri still on top of Emery - and laughed quietly to themselves.

Avuri lifted her head and shouted down the hall. “Bedtime, you three!”

There came the expected whines, but they both heard footsteps splitting up into their own rooms, followed by several ‘Love you, Mom’s and ‘Goodnight’s before doors closed.

Avuri turned back to face Emery, returning her partner’s wicked grin from earlier. “Right then, where were we?”

A few hours later, their bonded Cultivation - and included fun - had worked up a sweat, which brought them back to the bath. Freshly clean once again, Emery lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling of their room idly. Avuri’s breathing still wasn’t the soft, measured breathing of sleep, but they were both quiet.

Emery’s mind wandered, once again thinking about how to tackle the issues her kids all faced. Especially Astra, who, as a newer addition to their family, was still at the beginning of her long recovery.

She scratched at her thigh, where four long, jagged-edged cuts ran down her leg - remnants from her own past. They always itched when she thought about this sort of thing too hard.

In her own experience, learning to defend herself and getting stronger helped more than just about anything else did. But that was a long road, and maybe more of a fake comfort than she’d care to admit.

Obviously, she would still teach her kids how to defend themselves to stop anyone from taking advantage of them again, but that still depended on their actual strength. Which wouldn’t be reliable for years. And even then, would only defend them from people they could defeat.

Talking things through did help. Sometimes. And it was probably the better way to help a child that needed it now, and not ten years in the future. Any assurances she could give her daughter, she would.

She thought back to when they had first found Cierra. When they all first became a family. She had given all she had to support the lost little girl. Now, she had almost thirty kids to take care of.

She may not be able to devote as much time to Astra as she did to Cierra back then, but she would not leave the girl to her demons.