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The hide possessed more weight and heft than she had thought, perhaps belying the strength of the animal that had grown it. There was a noticeable shift from before he cloaked her to afterwards; a brief, forbidden brushing of his agouti furs against her ivory that perhaps she had only imagined.
This prompted Yue to muse upon her own aloneness, which she did not immediately perceive as mere vulnerability – not in her own kingdom, at least. Not when the presence of the son of heaven was everywhere, yet nowhere, all at once.
The Empress moved only in subtle motions, hitching her shoulders and hips to accommodate the added weight. She thought that he made quite a salesman, more in so that she believed the tale he wove – wanted to believe him – desired to buy into this idea that power could be communicated through inanimate means.
Such communion was what drove her to the altar of the crystal dragon time and time again, and she felt a similar call here. Pale lids lowered to shield her eyes. The grammage of the hide settled into the electrical spark of her own cells, and the Orchid knew that she and the Matriarch were one.
They settled into each other, an empress old and a empress new.
Bless me.
His question brought her back to her own previous train of thought, and her eyes opened to settle on his; suddenly so aware of the suede that rubbed against her, the tactile barrier that suddenly separated her from the hidebound himalayan. She waited a beat before responding, thinking briefly that it was more than likely Touying was close by, watching her from the shadows.
"I am not alone," the empress suggested in demure, dulcet tones – momentarily wavering, wondering if she should let him steep in the vagueness. She eventually decided to do him the honor of clarifying. "I’m with you." A small twist of a smile forced itself through the line of her pressed lips, and her eyes danced with unspoken laughter. For it was true, was it not?
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