RP:The Grinch Who Saved Yule

Part of the Magic, Madness, and Mayhem Arc

Summary: After making the long journey from Frostmaw to Cenril, emotions are running high for Tiber and Lanara, as Talyara's party hadn't gone according to plan. A dwarven drow abomination named Francis put the witch in a foul mood, and Nick of the Backstreet Bard's had shown up brandishing lavish gifts and angered the lycan. The pair have a heartfelt discussion and Tiber tells Lana that he wants her to be his one and only, and vice versa. SS Tibara has officially set sail!

After hurriedly leaving the Yule party at Talyara’s cottage in Frostmaw, the pair made their descent down the mountain, through the forest, and finally were entering the main strip in Kelay. Through the duration of their journey, Lanara kept silent, a pensive expression on her fair face as her mind ran wild. Did Tiberius consider them a couple? He hadn’t asked her if she wanted to be his girlfriend! Why did he tell her sister, close friends, and that freakish Francis that they had a crazy sex life? They had gotten that far, yet! Should she return the bracelet to Nick or sell it at the nearest pawn shop? It was truly lovely and the finest piece of jewelry to ever press against her flesh! Was Tiber angry with her for all the drama that had occurred in a few short hours? She couldn’t have predicted the prank, or that Nick would show up with expensive gems, yet she still felt that she was to blame. Sighing heavily, Lana gives Tiber’s hand a gentle squeeze as they pass over the bridge that would bring them into Cenril, the long trek bringing them to the male’s complex shortly after nightfall. The witch is a little tired and her ankle is sore from walking so far a distance without a break and in boots that provided little support. “So… Tomorrow is Yule!” She tries to appear chipper and manages a small smile for Tiber, “Do you want your present tonight or tomorrow?” Lana waits until he opens the door and they enter the apartment before she drops his hand and fixes him with an apologetic stare, “I’m sorry about… Everything. I know you didn’t really want to celebrate Yule, and it was so sweet of you to come and spend the day with me… It truly means a lot, but I just wish that Felix and Nick didn’t show up and make things so awkward. I-I… I hope you aren’t upset with me.”

Tiberius had been silent the whole time as the two wandered down the mountain. He was actually storming down the mountain until he reached mid-way and then he started sulking and pacing with her down the mountain. There were men around every corner for the woman, and the lycan, as possessive as he was and selfish, did not appreciate the courtesy from the men at her feet. Did Tiberius have to bow down too? Were mountains not enough show of appreciation? Either way, as they trek on, he cools down more and begins to shrug off what was left behind. Except for the fact of the bracelet that was dangling around her wrist. The chocolate jewels really emphasized her eyes which made him irritated. As they make their way into Cenril, he feels safe at last from all the desperate men. His complex keeps him away from the hells of Yule, and he is finally serene again. As they wander in, he automatically moves straight to flop on the couch. “Tomorrow is Yule,” he announces in a less enthusiastic way. As she mentions that he was going to receive a present, he gives her a long stare with those amber eyes. Did she have to give him a gift? Did she not just celebrate Yule? “I didn’t expect anything,” he says slowly and his eyes wander to his shoes as he begins to kick them off with the opposite foot. “You can… give it to me tomorrow, I guess,” his tone sounds awkward and he is now staring at the bracelet on her wrist. His present to her was not nearly as thoughtful. Should he even give her the dumb gift? Gift giving was… odd, but while she was away, he knew he had to think of something. “Listen, I don’t want to talk about the line of men that wait at your door,” he stops her while holding a hand up. “We should just… get some rest, really. That was a long walk… a long night, though… Frankie was entertaining,” he suggests with that wry grin.

Lanara knows when she is being dismissed and she’s offended by his wording of men lining up at her door for a date. The witch didn’t date around and she hardly gave any good looking man a second glance, as she tried to keep her heart guarded at all times. It’s not her fault that she was born with a pretty face or that she attracts suitors! Tiber is hinting that they should just go to bed and she replies with a slow nod, though he can see the disappointment in her eyes. “Oh. Um, okay… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow…” She forces a faint smile when he mentions Francis and turns away, clutching her bag of things she purchased in the few days she’d been gone. “Goodnight, Tiber.” Feeling that she messed up horribly, the witch doesn’t even bother to use the washroom before bed and slips into Nadine’s old room with a heavy heart. Salem lingers in the hallway and hisses, as though he feels the emotions of the witch, before he pads into the living room to harass the man on the couch. Lanara slips into a pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top and pulls her long hair into a ponytail, grumbling about how ‘unfair’ the entire day had been. Should she just slip out in the morning and look for another place to stay? Why was Tiber pushing her away? She didn’t want to be dramatic and cry, but she also didn’t want to sleep in that big bed by herself with nightmares threatening to ruin Yule, so she strips the comforter off of the bed and snags a pillow. Next, she proceeds to the small closet and prepares a bed on the floor, as she’d use the wall and tiny space to provide the solace that she sought. Clearly, she’s done this many times before, as she curls up in a ball and rests her cheek against the pillow. It looks uncomfortable, the floor is hard beneath her frame, and the massive blanket threatens to consume the petite woman but she doesn’t seem to mind the confined space. Sleep, however, refuses to come! Lying there, Lana drums her nails against the wall, her emotions running wild. Why was love so difficult?!

“See you tomorrow,” he says in response. He was too self-enveloped to wrap himself up in communication about the night. The night, however, is not over. Salem is hissing as the woman steps into her bedroom and the lycan is casting a sharp glance towards the feline. “Shut it,” he says sternly and the cat slinks its way over to jump on the couch. Tiber pushes the cat off which Salem stubbornly jumps back up. “Cut it out!” He is fighting with a cat. An actual cat. The feline then presses his paws on Tiber’s legs and begins to claw his legs for patting on purpose. “Are you joking! Stop!” Tiber yells and shoves the cat to the side before the cat whips the lycan in the face with its furred tail. Tiber then picks up the cat with two hands and holds it above him like the cat is the king of the rock. “Salem, I will destroy you,” lies. The cat then hisses and the man drops the cat to the floor where the cat lands on its legs. “Okay, I get it,” he then stands up. The man then walks to Nadine’s old room and gently knocks. “Lanara…?” If she answers, he will walk in, if she does not, he will –still- walk in. “Look I didn’t mean to—“ where was she? He then searches the room until he notices the shadows of the closet. He saunters over and peers within. “What in the world are you doing in the closet?” He then kneels down. “What’s wrong?” He then looks at the bed. Technically, he had never seen her at rest… did she always sleep in the closet? “Do you always sleep like this…?” His voice is sort of weirded out, but soft all-the-same.

The rapping against the wall isn’t at therapeutic as she originally hoped, but the shouting from the living room is somewhat satisfying. Salem was giving Tiber hell, she’s sure of it, and were she not so worried about the state of their relationship, she may have grinned. Lanara doesn’t reply when there is a knock at the door, however, she’s not expecting the lycan to just barge in and search the room! She flinches when he kneels down and she instinctively clings to the shadows and scoots back a few inches. This was a part of her life she didn’t want to share with Tiberius, this was one of the ‘broken’ pieces she tried to hide from the world, and likely one of the main reasons why she was a little hesitant to her get own place. Lanara always wanted a home, but she didn’t want to live alone, yet another reason as to why she collects dozens of stray animals every year and treats them like they are family. “I, uh, well…” Trying to turn the tables slightly, she swallows and narrows her eyes, putting on a forceful bravado she certainly didn’t feel, “What are you doing in here? Do you usually creep into a room where a lady may be changing or sleeping?” There isn’t an ounce of malice in her tone as she realizes that Tiber isn’t judging… He used that soft voice, didn’t he? She didn’t have to fear this man, she knows, and that’s what has her slowly inching back into her original position. With a sigh, she explains, “After being held captive by the witch killers… And after visiting the Shadow Plane a few times… The nightmares started, and they weren’t just the usual ones from my youth. So… I –hate- sleeping alone. That’s why I also have my animals with me, but obviously they aren’t here.” Chocolate hues shift to Tiber’s shoulder at her next line, “I think that’s why I moved in so quickly with Eli and accepted the proposal… Because for a time, when I slept next to someone, the nightmares weren’t as frequent or as horrible. At the hospital they had me confined to a room with guards, and when I was on trial in Enchantment, the owner of the flower shop was always nearby.” Lanara is afraid that her voice will break if she continues to explain how pathetic she is to be sleeping in a closet, so she falls silent, and keeps her chin pressed to her chest. After a few moments she clears her throat, “I’m sorry… I’ll sleep on the bed. I didn’t mean to freak you out or take up space in your closet.” Could this day get any freaking worse?!

The man lowers himself down to her level and sits on his knees. “So you think of me as a creeper? When you’re the one in –my- apartment?” He smirks. “I understand privacy with a lady, but… you didn’t answer.” He looks her up and down although she does not have malice, he is confused, but still remains calm and stern. As she begins to explain herself, he remains silent to listen to her for once. He takes everything in. Nightmares… comfort. She had nightmares? What was the Shadow Plane? The witch killers… understandable. He had his share of bad moments. The man looks forward and not at her. He extends his legs and leans up against the closet wall next to her. His hand slowly searches and he tries to slip his fingers within her fingers. “Don’t apologize,” he says blatantly. “You don’t have to sleep on the bed. You can sleep on a newspaper if that makes you feel more welcome. I’m sorry I’m not as compassionate as Eli was. I’ve… haven’t had a woman in my bed in a long time. You did not freak me out. I just did not know where you were. I did not want to upset you, but I assume I did because I said… we should go to bed. So talk to me,” he stares at the opposite wall with amber eyes. He does not stare at her to keep the pressure off of her.

Lanara bites the inside of her cheek when he refers to himself as a creeper, the implication she made threatening to make her smirk. She doesn’t recoil as his hand finds hers; instead she turns her palm upwards and gives his a gentle squeeze. The two were sharing a closet on Christmas Eve, and the feeling is bittersweet. “I wasn’t comparing you to Eli… I was just saying that physical contact with someone or a pet, or a confined space… It lessens the nightmares.” Lana is mentally kicking herself, because she didn’t want Elioyahazer to get credit for anything, least of all for holding her in his arms every night. “I know that you are ‘trying’ with me, so I never want to push it… And it’s not like I can just knock on your door and ask if we can cuddle and fall asleep together! The last thing I want to do is chase you away again, Tiber…” The idea of sleeping snuggled up against Tiber draws a blush from the witch, as it seemed even more intimate than a sexual experience. Thankfully, the topic shifts and Lanara looks up at his face, “Yeah… I’m upset… I feel like everything I do is wrong concerning ‘us’ whatever we even are…” The bit about the label had confused her, as she didn’t know their exact standing, either! “I’m sorry that someone else wants to date me, Nick has crushed on me since I arrived in the lands. Nothing ever happened between us… I hired the Backstreet Bards for a few events that I’ve hosted, we became friends, and one night the moron purchased a love potion… Except it was poison, and Taly and I both nearly died! He left us on the side of the road, unconscious, and planted a kiss upon my lips. After that I avoided Nick like the plague, but he always popped up wherever I was, and he did take the fall for the ‘crimes’ that were committed last year. I always feel bad if I hurt his feelings because he does care for me, and he literally spent time in jail and suffered all sorts of abuse. And that Flipper, dwarf drow THING?! I had –zero- idea that he would be at the Yule party, and I’m going to prank Taly so bad for that little scheme she pulled today!” Lanara shakes her head in disbelief that her sister had gotten the best of her before squeezing Tiber’s hand, “In the past it was you that sparked the majority of the fights, and now I feel like it’s me… I feel like you’re blaming me for someone having a crush on me? I’ve done nothing to attract anyone… You are the only one I want, Tiber. I’m sorry that those two men showed up today, it was out of my control, but I don’t want you to be upset with me. Please, don’t push me away when all I want is for you to pull me in.” Good Goddess! Lanara Banks had gone completely soft on Tiberius Lowell and literally was placing her heart in his hands?! Feeling her pulse quicken, she places tender kisses upon the back of his hand, as though trying to erase the discomfort they are sharing.

Tiberius keeps staring forward as if the closet was a sanctuary. As if he was talking to a priest. He did not feel any threat from Elioyahazer, for the lycan was his own being, and he normally stood tall. “But you can knock on my door,” he adds with her. The Catalian is slow in response with the witch, but he is not hesitant by any means. Her next phrase has him silent for a moment. He wanted her. He craved her presence. He had said crude comments at the Yule dinner with her loved ones. “I don’t want to chase you away,” he finally looks at her. “I know things got crazy back there,” he sort of shifts his eyes in indication that he meant the Yule party. “The truth is… Lanara… I don’t want guys giving you glamorous jewelry,” he lifts up her wrist that showed the chocolate bracelet. That was not fully what he meant. “I don’t think you’ve done anything with Nick, but I know he wants to do something with you,” he looks her up and down before gently setting her wrist down. As the witch confesses to Nick’s poisoning on accident, his lips tighten. “You were unconscious and he kissed you? That moron kissed you? I would kill him if you weren’t such a… pushover.” He observes her before looking away in disgust. Not at her. Nick. Though, as she confesses and lays her heart on the… carpet? The closet floor? He stares at her without an expression. She was so soft. Delicate. He wanted to touch her cheek. Make her worries go away for once. Her lips press against his hands and, for a moment, he is in silent awe. “I want you, too,” he says in a hazy tone of distraction and confession. “I want you to be mine. Only mine.” He reaches a hand to brush some of her hairs out of her face. “I want you to knock on my door and… lay with me if you want to. I don’t want to see men flirting with you. I want to show you off… especially to my bosses.” He leans in. “You think I never have wanted you, but it’s the complete opposite. The only person I ever want is you, and I know I don’t show it, but… stay with me… be with me, Lanara. I’ll put the label on, if that’s what proves to you that you’re mine and that I’m yours… I want you happy, and just know… I’d be okay, and content because you make me—open my eyes.” The man is actually sharing his heart on his sleeve for her. Expressing his want. His face is soft and not as hardened.

Lanara didn’t know that it was an option to knock on Tiber’s door and ask him to sit with her and talk out a nightmare, or even just curl up at his side and lie next to him until morning. His words are a revelation and she realizes that she’s been shielding herself from rejection, rather than embracing what they’ve been working towards building. How could they have a future if she hid all of her ugly parts? Each moment counted in a relationship, whether it was a flawed memory or an episode of perfection, and despite the fact that both of them could be a bit multipolar, they deserved to experience every level with each other. Lanara sighs softly as the lycan rants and raves about Nick, a man she cares so little about, but the shimmering of the chocolate diamonds consumes her thoughts. Did she have to return the bracelet? It was the first piece of jewelry she’d ever been given without a promise of marriage, and she frowns, “Oh… I didn’t know he was getting me this, last year it was a cruise… I told him many times that I’m not okay with receiving expensive presents, but he grew so upset and he never expects anything in return.” Tiber’s eyes glaze over her curves and she shakes her head, “No… I mean, yes, obviously he desires me. But, after that one kiss he stole? He never made another move and he knows that I’m not comfortable with more than a hug. I think he wants my heart more than anything sexual.” It’s sad, as she would never return the man’s affections, and he’d likely be in love with her for the rest of his life. The conversation takes a sharp turn and Lana’s eyes grow wide as the man does what she never thought possible; he returns her affections and offers her his heart on a silver platter. The confession that he always wanted her, the need to make her his and his alone, and the offer of a label have a film of moisture coating her eyes. The promise of a nightmare had transformed into the sweetest of dreams, and her heart swells in happiness. Lanara releases Tiber’s hand and unlatches the dainty bracelet, resting it atop the pillow, as she sits up and peers into those amber eyes, “Thank you for saying those things… I know that opening up is difficult for you at times, but I appreciate it so much. Sometimes, I feel like I’m drowning and I need you to throw me that lifeline and tell me that I’m not crazy and that you feel the same. Thank you for saving me tonight, from myself, and from doubts and my fears of losing you…” She pauses and leans in so close that their noses are almost touching, her tone soft, “Tiberius Lowell… I –am- yours and –only- yours… I have been since that day I bumped into you at the market. You never have to worry about anyone stealing me away, I promise.” Leaning closer, her lips find purchase upon his own, as she seals her words with a far from chaste kiss. It’s passionate yet brief, as she pulls back and gazes intently into his eyes, “So! We have a label now, huh? How does it feel to officially have a girlfriend, Tiberius Lowell?” The witch wears a silken smile, over the moon with happiness that the lycan was hers, and hers alone. “You are the best present I have ever received for Yule; I’m seriously so happy right now.” Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she bumps her nose against his, and laughs as Salem struts into the room and purrs. It seems as though everyone is content now that SS Tibara has set sail!

The lycan finds a sense of release when she unclips the bracelet from her wrist. He would get her something better. He would mentally promise that. He listens to her. Her thankfulness. Why was she so thankful? “I don’t want you to feel like you can’t reach the surface. I will always try to bring you to the surface. To give you the air you need,” he then presses his forehead to her own as her nose presses against his own. The comfort of her tone of her saying that she will only be his makes him close his eyes to soak up the truth of her words. Her lips find his and he presses forward and leans into her. His hand finds her cheek to absorb the kiss she gives him. Tiberius Lowell is falling for Lanara Banks. As she pulls back, he keeps that sly gaze on her, but then she admits of her being his girlfriend. He wants to cringe at the term ‘girlfriend’, but he remains calm for her sake of ruining the perfect moment. “Don’t ask me. I never thought it’d be the day that I would have an actual girlfriend,” he gives her a playful grin before nipping her lips again. “And, to boost your Yule… and mine. How about you sleep with me tonight,” he begins to stand up with her hand still in his own. A side eye is on the hissing cat, whom he does not acknowledge on purpose. “It’d be a great Yule wish,” he proceeds. “I’ll give you that story you’ve been asking me for.” Yes, SS Tibara is in full sail and the winds are perfect!

Salem senses when he’s being side eyed or ignored and so he deliberately stomps on Tiber’s foot as he breezes into the closet to curl up against Lanara’s pillow. The witch wouldn’t need it, as she’s sleeping beside the lycan tonight, so the closet is entirely up for grabs! As they enter Tiber’s bedroom, Lana looks around and is deviously thinking about how she can ‘help’ to make this look like less of a bachelor pad. Was it true? Had Tiber –never- had a girlfriend until now? The witch had dated a few unworthy men and had two failed engagements, but it means the world to her that in this case, she’s Tiber’s ‘first’ and hopefully his last. Lanara climbs onto the bed and lies on her side, with her head on the man’s chest and her arm lazily draped across his torso, “It better not be that story about the wolf that turned into an old lady and ate the girl in red! It has to be about a princess and a knight, and it –must- have a happy ending.” Tiber can feel her lips arching into a grin as she nuzzles him, “Regardless of which fairytale you tell me… I have a feeling that ours will be my favorite.” The lycan tells his witch a story and after a little kissing, they fall fast asleep in each other’s arms, excited to spend their first Yule together.