Nicole W. Lee, From "Even The Dust"

Nicole W. Lee, from "Even the Dust"

Stone Walls & Sacrifice | Tamlin & Briar @springcourthighlady

Tamlin was more than ready to leave by the time he finished listening to Briar’s rant. He let her finish — he wasn’t that impolite. His brisk footsteps echoed across the marble flooring and he looked over his shoulder, hoping that he was not followed. 

Yet, he was not that lucky. The prospects of desert with Lucien and Elain were slipping further away by the minute. Tamlin stilled when she called his name, pressing his lips into a thin line. Why won’t she go home? This is life, in Spring, right now. We’re all worried. We’re all frustrated. We all have family in need of aid. No one gets special privileges. Not even me — 

He didn’t even have privacy anymore, or space to think. Though, when he glanced over his shoulder, he was relieved to find some regret in her eyes. 

Only his friends called him by his first name. He wasn’t big on enforcing rank, but found it odd how casually she addressed him. 

He pressed his tongue into the edge of his teeth, forbidding the quick retort which danced on the edge of his lips. I will not lose it. I cannot. They cannot see me as a beast. 

He turned, stuffing his hands deeply into the pockets of his jacket, to hide how they’d tensed into fists. Running from his problems wasn’t effective, but neither was forcing himself into a corner until he lost his temper. 

Tamlin saw her hand reach for him. He wanted to back away. It had been over two years since a woman had touched him, apart from Calanmai. He flinched, but did not move. He wasn’t sure he could. 

She cares for me? I have met this female once. 

Tamlin swallowed, gravely still. “I understand your attachment, Lady Briar. Yet, if you cannot trust me as High Lord of Spring, no plan I create to bring Caiden home will be enough for you.”

He stepped away, lowering his green eyes to the ground. “If you’ll excuse me, it has been a long day.” 

@inabcck

Anna Akhmatova, tr. by. D.M. Thomas, Selected Poems

Tamlin Relationship Headcanons (SFW Pt. 1)

I think this is going to be a series because I have too many ideas about this furbaby. I'll update my masterlist as I post more headcanons. Tumblr! This is what you were invented for baby!

—--

Tamlin loves nuzzling you. It really doesn't matter when or where. Leaning against one of the spring forest trees? His arms are braced on either side of you and he’s just gently, intently running his nose along your shoulder, suckling on your exposed throat with his warm, soft lips and edged teeth. Laid down after a picnic where you both indulged on too many of the fermented berries you foraged? He’s gently nipping and nuzzling your chest, burying his face in the warmth of it and almost purring contentedly.

He likes being domestic with you. He craves it so deeply, and if you're even away for a day or two he gets angsty at the hollow feeling that creeps into your shared chambers. He’s definitely away for days at a time as well, attending to Springs borders while you attend to your duties in your territory, but he is a domesticated beastie boy who just wants to hold you and breathe in your scent. He wants to share his life with you and he’s definitely become a bit co-dependant, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

You guys have a system for when his nights start getting too late and he's backed up on paperwork. You’ve found that the two of you work well in silence, and you often read and summarize what comes across his desk, and then he goes over the bulletpoints, often going with the suggestions you leave.  Every once in a while he’ll ask about a suggestion because you guys think so differently, and he genuinely listens- it's led to a lot of positive changes in the court that you’ve implemented together as a pair. The teamwork cuts through the work in no time and the two of you can retire for the night and be together in peace. You even have a shared desk for this exact task, that- well, everyone needs a break from paperwork right? You guys have shared the space in other ways, breaks help the mind work better!

He likes to bite. He has a bit of a possessive streak but he doesn't let insecurity drive him crazy with it. He trusts you and you trust him, but you also like when he’s a bit possessive. You like feeling how much he wants you and needs you near him. Nobody said fae had to adhere to strictly human standards right?

He eats like a warrior but indulges during picnics. His usual meals of lean meats and varied vegetables, the deep red wines, it all keeps his body in shape (cauldron is he always in shape) but during picnics, he loves tasting the little pastries and sweets you bake yourself. He loves feeding them to you even more.

He loves shared baths. He really, really likes when you wash his hair-like, eyes closed and his purring creating ripples on the water. He also knows you love the different fizzing crystals and scented oils and will gather a variety of them from the different territories merchants for you. He also likes plucking whichever rose color he thinks matches the scent and scatters them on the water. The little artsy furbaby- he likes making the evening special like that for the two of you.

He's unabashedly proud of your hobbies. The goofball. He loves the life you bring to the estate and the chaos as well. When you picked up crocheting and made him the lumpiest blanket your first go round? He still uses it to cover the two of you when you lay out in the gardens and read before retiring for the night. The slightly brassy, mismatched cufflinks you made when picking up jewelry making and metalworking? He wears them every day on his uniform. 

You make music together. He plays the fiddle and you both write lyrics and you sing softly and happily, as if in time with the spring breeze itself.

anything but just "I love you"

I want to love you.

I think I can love you?

Let me love you.

I loved you.

I would love you.

I can try to love you.

I used to know how to love you (I don't anymore)

I still love you.

Do you love me?

Can you try to love me?

I can't stop loving you.

Let me try to love you.

I think I can love you.

I think I can try (to love you).

Do you still love me?

Did you ever love me?

I don't think I could ever love you.

Don't let me love you.

I gave up (loving you).

You made me love you.

I've always loved you (but I can't anymore).

Tamlin was no stranger to young females fawning over him. In fact, his business like manner reflected just often it happened. He was used to it. For some, his power and title were alluring and they tried to use their beauty to sway him. For others, his own physique distracted them from the task at hand. Briar seemed uninterested in his title, given that she often forgot to use it.

It didn’t bother him, so much as it confused him. She seemed overly familiar — while he’d only first met her last night. He remembered the rescue in Hybern, of course; but it was a rescue. There was nothing personal about it. He scratched his head and intensified the glamor over his own beauty, curious to see how she would react. His high fae glow was now completely masked. If anything, apart from his pointed ears, he looked fairly human.

It went without saying that he was slow to trust others. If she was dead set on knowing him, he wanted to know why. Tamlin pursed his lips. “I will try to say this…with sensitivity, but please pardon my manners if I speak too harshly. I do not have Lucien’s silver tongue.”

He paused, before speaking. “It goes without saying that a Tavern is no place to raise a child. I do not mean to insult your effort, your intentions, nor your integrity. It is simple fact. Not to mention, I still don’t believe you’ve had a proper meal.”

His eyes graced her shaking fingers with compassion. “Would you please consider speaking to my estate manager about finding employment and suitable living conditions within the manor? You will be among many. Paid well. Fed well. With a roof over your head. Caiden will be sent to school while you work. You will have no need to worry.”

Stone Walls & Sacrifice | Tamlin & Briar @springcourthighlady

Tamlin was more than ready to leave by the time he finished listening to Briar’s rant. He let her finish — he wasn’t that impolite. His brisk footsteps echoed across the marble flooring and he looked over his shoulder, hoping that he was not followed. 

Yet, he was not that lucky. The prospects of desert with Lucien and Elain were slipping further away by the minute. Tamlin stilled when she called his name, pressing his lips into a thin line. Why won’t she go home? This is life, in Spring, right now. We’re all worried. We’re all frustrated. We all have family in need of aid. No one gets special privileges. Not even me — 

He didn’t even have privacy anymore, or space to think. Though, when he glanced over his shoulder, he was relieved to find some regret in her eyes. 

Only his friends called him by his first name. He wasn’t big on enforcing rank, but found it odd how casually she addressed him. 

He pressed his tongue into the edge of his teeth, forbidding the quick retort which danced on the edge of his lips. I will not lose it. I cannot. They cannot see me as a beast. 

He turned, stuffing his hands deeply into the pockets of his jacket, to hide how they’d tensed into fists. Running from his problems wasn’t effective, but neither was forcing himself into a corner until he lost his temper. 

Tamlin saw her hand reach for him. He wanted to back away. It had been over two years since a woman had touched him, apart from Calanmai. He flinched, but did not move. He wasn’t sure he could. 

She cares for me? I have met this female once. 

Tamlin swallowed, gravely still. “I understand your attachment, Lady Briar. Yet, if you cannot trust me as High Lord of Spring, no plan I create to bring Caiden home will be enough for you.”

He stepped away, lowering his green eyes to the ground. “If you’ll excuse me, it has been a long day.”