Claymore and Dagger Pt.2

[KieranSoares]

"She's gonna be a scouter at least. She's got too much potential t'be some spoiled royal carriage puller." Sam gave Elin a little nudge as he stood. "If she 'as any o' the potential Roman an' Kennah do, she's fit t'be a fighter."

 

[heartofcourage]

“If you can stand to put her through the kind of training. You still let her sleep with one of your old gloves.” Fiona teased, watching as the little drake nudged against Sam before she joined her parents, eating what Kennah gave her from the feeding trough.

 

[KieranSoares]

"If I can put my little sisters through their paces, I think I can do the same with this one." Sam watched Elin for a moment before turning to glance out the door. "So what's th'news with those new Riders?"

 

[heartofcourage]

“From Mongolia. They have come at Xenia and Dmitri’s request to train dragon riders, build tack, and train with drakes.” Fiona said as she took Sam’s hand. “And there is some tension as it seems Shana is mated today heir youngest sister.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Ah. That'll be fun. I'm guessing they don' like Shana's clan." Sam's fingers intertwined with her own and he led them out into the partly-sunny morning once more. Tseta and Shana were just leaving the courtyard hand-in-hand at a leisurely pace, talking quietly and catching up. Sam paused at the sight of them briefly, then smiled lightly to himself and murmured, "I see. I know Tseta. Didn' know she was a Rider."

 

[heartofcourage]

“How do you know her?” Fiona asked, curious as to how Sam seemed to know everyone. “They claimed that they were all siblings. You probably know the whole family at that rate.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"I've met Khunbish an' Khulan, they're near inseparable. But Tseta, I'd call 'er a friend. Spent time with 'er in Sweden when she visited there. She's close with Kjersten an' Kjotva. The four of us get along pretty well."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Should I be jealous of a former lover?” Fiona asked him, wondering just how close Sam had been to some of these riders or fighters in the past.

 

[KieranSoares]

"She isn't interested in men," Sam chuckled. "She's cute, but she was too young for me then anyway. She's only... seventeen now, I think."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Good to know I don’t have to get jealous.” Fiona said as she nudged Sam with her hip, chuckling softly at the look that he gave her. “Now that I would ever get jealous over something that happened before you met me.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Good, tha' means I can tell you about the absolute droves of women an' a few men who came callin' night an' day." He gave her a smile and wrapped his arms about her waist. Regardless of the previous evening's surprise and the monumental tasks ahead, he was somehow a little more relaxed than usual.

 

[heartofcourage]

“As long as you tell me I’m more beautiful than any of them, we’ll be alright.” Fiona said as he wrapped both arms around her waist and she wrapped both her arms around his brawny neck. “I adore you, Samuel. I hope you know that.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'd 'ope so. Otherwise I'd think y'had a death wish, shackin' up with me." Sam stole a long, lovely kiss at that before guiding her into the keep where breakfast was just being cleaned up and Sam paused at the sight of two new additions to the head of the hall.

Behind the head chair that also acted as a simple throne, the great hearth stood some twenty feet back with a long mantle over which Brogan had long ago hung his father's Claymore upon being given his own.

As per Sam's wish said really only in passing to his parents, Mad Tamblin's blade remained when by tradition, it would've been taken down and the spot left empty for the mounting of Brogan's blade when he passed away. Instead, a second mounting had been built and left empty. Above it where the ruling couple's house banners would hang, flanked on either side by the previous couple, the old banners had replaced those of Kitty and Tamblin. Now in the center hung two new banners, one of which Fiona had never seen til now.

Sam's banner was similar to Brogan's in color and design. The white cross over the blue field and the black, huge bear still stood. But Sam's banner also contained a leafy black vine design along the middle of the white cross bars. The other banner was reminiscent of Fiona's tattoo. It was a lighter blue banner with a pale golden fox with blue eyes, curled beneath a vined tree design that bordered the top and right side.

Before it all sat two new thrones. One contained imagery of a bear, and the other of a fox. Both were made of rich dark wood and had deep navy cushions. Both included small dragon reliefs in the backrest. And from the bear throne hung Brogan's Claymore in its sheath, awaiting its new owner.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona was speechless when she saw her new throne and her new coat of arms. She simply stared at the banner beside Sam for the longest time, unsure of how she felt. Ephriam would have been so proud of his kit and she was touched by a deep sadness that he would never be able to see all that she had achieved.

"You had this made for me?" Fiona asked softly, looking over at Sam with a thin sheen of tears in her eyes. "No one else, save Suara, has seen my tattoo."

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam was immediately concerned at his wife's reaction and he hugged her close. "We can change it if it's too much or too personal..." He offered quietly. "Suara made the final design... I'm not much of an artist."

Where the weathered Claymore hung from the back of Sam's new throne, another gift hung from Fiona's. As Sam had already provided all weapons and armor, Brogan's had chosen to provide one thing Fiona still lacked: a personalized shield. All of the Riders, whether they used them often or not, carried some manner of shield large or small that carried their own personal crest. And on Fiona's shield was her and Sam's tree in black against the light blue field of her banner.

 

[heartofcourage]

"They're happy tears, Sam." Fiona murmured as he held her tightly against his side, admitting that he had helped to design it all. "It isn't too personal."

As they approached their thrones, both of them were taken by the small gifts that had been left. Her new shield was bright and shined to a mirror finish while Brogan's old claymore had been given much the same treatment. Fiona glanced to Julia and Brogan's new position in the great hall, watching the both of them as they tried their hardest to give the both of them privacy to explore their new lives.

They both looked serene now that the stress of a kingdom was off their shoulders. Julia ate her breakfast and chatted with her brother while Brogan bounced his namesake grandson on his knee, the little cub obsessed with something in his hands that his grandfather had given him. Little Brogan smiled around his pacifier as his grandfather murmured softly to him, the little cub absolutely enchanted by the larger man.

"This is how it should be, love." Fiona said softly, looking over at Sam as she directed his attention towards his parents. "Letting them both have the rest that they so desperately need."

Sam and Fiona wouldn't know as they both settled in to their new thrones just how much their coronation had rejuvenated everyone. When Brogan had come to get the cub, Kate had spoken to Rissa in private, and they had agreed that something needed to be done for Kell. That was how Kate had ended up in bed, still dressed in her nightgown, as Rissa and Kell enjoyed a private moment beside her. She watched as two of her loves explored one another, locked in a passionate embrace.

 

[KieranSoares]

It had taken a lot of convincing for Rissa and Kate to get Kell to stop his work long enough to really get his attention. He stood in Rissa's arms now, completely forgetting the world outside the two women with him. As he enjoyed an intense, fiery kiss, he growled darkly and his hands took firm hold of Rissa's hips and forced her to move back a few steps til she was trapped against the wall behind her.

Having already lost his jacket and shirt at the women's behest, Kell's powerful torso was exposed and he pressed tightly to Rissa, though not so close that he couldn't begin unbuttoning her shirt.

 

[heartofcourage]

Rissa was so completely different from Kate physically. She was taller, more gently rounded, and a bit more aggressive when it came to sex. With Qira, it was a battle for dominance. With Kate and Kell, it was a battle for mutual satisfaction. Both she and Kell enjoyed one another immensely, but they could both shift focus to Kate in an instant.

Rissa let out a sigh as she was pressed back against the stone wall, Kell's hands working to get her naked to the waist. He had protested at first when Kate had insisted that they were going to give him a morning in bed, but soon enough, Kate had kissed him into submission. She was watching them so intently from the bed, knowing that her husband deserved this and so much more for what she had put him through.

"He definitely missed this, Kat." Rissa murmured with a giggle, using Kate's nickname that she had come up with since that very first meeting. "He might not say it, but he's straining against his trousers."

She loved to tease Kell as well, the sober wolf becoming just that more aggressive when she did. Rissa gasped as his hands smoothed apart her shirt, her breasts soon exposed to the cool air of the room and everyone's gaze. Between the heavy mounds hung a new addition that neither Kate nor Kell her seen before. Qira had bought the woman he adored a golden pendant, one with his personal crest on it. She wore it with pride, knowing it was just another step in becoming Qira's mate for the rest of their lives.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell came to a pause as he found the pendant. If not for Qira's crest inscribed upon it, he might not have thought twice about it.

Quietly, Kell rumbled, "You're sure he's still alright with all of this...? It feels... Strange, not to have at least invited him."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Then go invite him." Rissa said softly to Kell, knowing that he wouldn't be comfortable until Qira had at least been offered. "He can keep our kitty cat company if he doesn't feel like joining."

 

[KieranSoares]

Despite it being his own worry, Kell still hesitated to leave Rissa as she stood half bare in his arms. But finally, he regained his self-control, grabbed his shirt, and disappeared from the room.

It barely took two minutes before he returned with a light smile on his face, leading Qira with a hand on his shoulder. While the silent guardian was fearless, there was some trepidation in his gaze. He had told Rissa from the beginning that he didn't mind, and in fact encouraged her relationship with Kate and Kell, and that he loved them too. But this would be the first time he would join the three of them.

"It took a little convincing," Kell murmured with a hint of a smirk. Kate had known for some time that Kell had always quite liked Qira, no differently from how he loved Rissa save that the two men had never really pursued anything together save Kate's defense.

Qira came to a halt as Kell's hand left his shoulder. His gaze immediately went to Rissa first, and then drifted to Kate. For both, it was the adoring look they knew so well from him when work was set aside, but also the look of a man entirely unsure of what to do. And that was an alien feeling to the great Panther.

 

[heartofcourage]

Rissa smiled as Kell came back in with Qira, the giant panther showing nerves that she had never seen before. She adored him, perhaps more than Kell or Kate could have ever known. He looked happy, but unsure of what to do and where to go.

"You can join me, Qira." Kate said softly, knowing that she had her own demons to overcome before she let anyone see her naked in a sexual way after what her body had been through.

"Or you can join me." Rissa said with a smile, knowing that he had choices and everyone would welcome him no matter what he chose to do.

 

[KieranSoares]

After a moment of consideration, Qira stepped forward to kiss Rissa, and then joined Kate's side, gently situating himself around the tiny woman and wrapping his arms around her. "I'll look on for now..." he murmured, his head resting lightly against Kate's. He then offered a small smile. "It should be entertaining. I might join in."

With that, Kell's full attention returned to Rissa and this time she saw no hesitation. With Qira and Kate looking on with such interest, he was glad to perform. But he didn't start without sparing a kiss for Kate, and then for Qira. There was some familiarity there that said the two had been working on their own relationship quietly as well. With that, he returned to Rissa and pressed her once more to the stone wall with a long, hungry kiss.

 

[heartofcourage]

Rissa let out a gasp as she was pressed against the wall, Kell kissing her until she was breathless. She chuckled, her fingers immediately burying in his thick fur. It was completely different in texture to Qira's. Kell's fur was coarse and thicker where Qira's had a silky texture that would glide across her hands. It was always an amazing experience with both men, one which Rissa allowed herself to enjoy no matter the circumstances.

Kate leaned into Qira's side, knowing that he had long thought about joining them but being a little too shy to do such. She and Qira had been through a lot. Assassination attempts, over zealous lords, and kidnapping threats. She trusted him with her life and she trusted him with her child's life, which was even more important to her.

As they watched Rissa and Kell, Kate glanced up at Qira and pulled him down for a kiss. It was loving, one that showed him just what he meant to her and how much she appreciated him.

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira let out a quiet sigh at Kate's attention, enjoying her kiss as long as she would allow and hugging her a little closer.

Kell pulled Rissa's belt loose and slid her trousers away before pressing closer and beginning to explore her skin which he hadn't enjoyed in far too long. He was hard against her once more, his hips eagerly pressing to her own. His fingers drifted down her back til his hand came to rest on her thigh, and he pulled to part her legs just enough for his still-covered shaft to press against her seam.