Essek blinks slowly, as though stirring from a trance, as Percival pushes himself up. He smiles when he sees his face, so dear and handsome. Though he feels the throb of a deepening bruise in his shoulder, he gives a gentle shake of his head. "There is no harm done." He feels in some deep, intrinsic way proud of that bruise, in fact.
Dark, slender fingers come up to frame Percy's face. Essek's thumbs graze lightly along his cheekbones. His violet eyes brim with fondness, and he murmurs a wondering phrase in Undercommon, then roughly translates. "How did I ever arrive here?"
When he considers how far this is from anything he'd ever imagined his life would be, it seems absurd. Shadowhand to the Bright Queen, untouchable scion of Den Thelyss, dunamantic prodigy; how quickly the facets of his identity unravel after defining him for decades, if not more than a century. Though not consecuted, he has been granted a new life in a way that is meaningful to him.
Essek de Rolo of Whitestone is a man with a purpose in life beyond his own selfish desires, who uses his arcane knowledge for the betterment of the world around him and the people in his care. He lives not in the city of eternal night, but the city of the Dawnfather, and turns his face to the light each day without the expectation of empty reverence. He has a husband (apparently cursed, but wonderful) whom he loves dearly, and remarkably, loves him as well. This same man is an alpha he is eager to share all of himself with, heat included. A sharp contrast to his reputation for frigidity in the Dynasty, and his particular rejection of any alpha bold enough to try courting him. That Essek Thelyss would even consider parenthood is an utterly laughable notion, but Essek de Rolo has decided on it quite firmly.
In so many ways, the man lovingly cradling his mate's face, filled with his knot and still eager to be claimed, is unrecognizable. Considering who he was and what atrocities his arrogance has wrought, this can only be a good thing.
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Dark, slender fingers come up to frame Percy's face. Essek's thumbs graze lightly along his cheekbones. His violet eyes brim with fondness, and he murmurs a wondering phrase in Undercommon, then roughly translates. "How did I ever arrive here?"
When he considers how far this is from anything he'd ever imagined his life would be, it seems absurd. Shadowhand to the Bright Queen, untouchable scion of Den Thelyss, dunamantic prodigy; how quickly the facets of his identity unravel after defining him for decades, if not more than a century. Though not consecuted, he has been granted a new life in a way that is meaningful to him.
Essek de Rolo of Whitestone is a man with a purpose in life beyond his own selfish desires, who uses his arcane knowledge for the betterment of the world around him and the people in his care. He lives not in the city of eternal night, but the city of the Dawnfather, and turns his face to the light each day without the expectation of empty reverence. He has a husband (apparently cursed, but wonderful) whom he loves dearly, and remarkably, loves him as well. This same man is an alpha he is eager to share all of himself with, heat included. A sharp contrast to his reputation for frigidity in the Dynasty, and his particular rejection of any alpha bold enough to try courting him. That Essek Thelyss would even consider parenthood is an utterly laughable notion, but Essek de Rolo has decided on it quite firmly.
In so many ways, the man lovingly cradling his mate's face, filled with his knot and still eager to be claimed, is unrecognizable. Considering who he was and what atrocities his arrogance has wrought, this can only be a good thing.