"So have you decided?"
Silva looked across the table to meet Zhuli's eyes as two empty tea cups and a steaming kettle sat on the table between them.
"I have, I will travel east, and return to my homeland," Zhuli replied with a determined look, "I believed I would never see the endless dunes again, I am glad that assertion has changed."
"That's excellent, do you need help gathering supplies for you journey?" Silva asked as he picked up the kettle.
"Elder Fal has already helped procure everything I could possibly need," Zhuli replied stoically as she watched Silva like a hawk, "I plan to leave tomorrow, I see no reason to wait, there is nothing left for me here."
"Then I wish you swift and safe travels," Silva replied without missing a beat as he finished pouring his cup of tea and set the kettle back down on the table.
Zhuli's jaw clenched but after a second, she picked up the cup that Silva had poured for her and raised it to her lips. Silva followed her lead, and in silence they drank the bitter aromatic.
Setting her cup down first, Zhuli stood with a stoic look pressed onto her visage, "So this is goodbye then."
"Yes, but I'm afraid I have one final request to make of you," Silva announced as he stood, and pulled on his robes revealing the left side of his torso, "Fate may ordain that our paths never cross again…but I will not forget you Zhuli. You are the only reason I lasted inside this confinement; you are the only reason I know what it is to love someone with every fiber of your being. And nothing will ever change that, for as long as I live my heart will remain your possession. So I wish for you to claim it, and leave a permanent reminder."
For a long moment Zhuli stared at Silva before she slowly walked towards him, shrinking the distance between them with each step until less than an inch remained. Silva's eyes looked up to meet Zhuli's gaze, with her standing nearly two inches taller than him.
"Fifty years."
Silva blinked as Zhuli suddenly spoke with ferocity, "I don't give a damn about fate, in fifty years you will come find me, swear it to me."
Silva watched as Zhuli's eyes gained an intensity, one that stemmed from overwhelming emotion and vulnerability. Her gaze gripped Silva's heart like an iron fist, extruding the tremendous agony that had been building ever since Silva had laid eyes on Zhuli. For him, she was as rare as a desert flower with a beauty that cut him like a sword. But it wasn't the fear of being cut that terrified Silva; instead, it was the dread that the dynamic of master and servant would taint any love between them.
But now Silva knew without a doubt that Zhuli's expression of love was pure, and he could no longer contain himself.
Silva's body moved, acting out the fantasy that had echoed across his mind for years as he took a step towards Zhuli, lifted his chin, and pressed his lips against hers.
Zhuli tensed, not expecting the sudden move, but before she could think, her heart registered the warmth she had always longed for and made the decision on her behalf. Pure bliss dragged Zhuli's eyes closed while her hands came up to cup the back of Silva's head, rooting through his hair.
In an instant, decades of confined and repressed feelings were conveyed with a single act, one that seemed to last forever in the moment, yet felt far too short as they pulled away.
"I swear it to you," Silva answered, his eyes now reflecting Zhuli's intensity, "In fifty years, I will find you."
Zhuli's stoic visage cracked as a tearful smile graced her full lips, "Then let me fulfill your final request of me."
Zhuli finished her sentence by taking her hands and placing one on Silva's shoulder while the other pushed his head to the side, fully exposing his neck. Then, with the swiftness of a predator going in for the kill, she sank her teeth into Silva's flesh. Blood immediately seeped from the wound, spilling down Silva's chest and shoulder in dark red rivulets.
The pain was immediate and immense, and Silva had to clench his jaw to endure it. But beyond the physical pain, Silva's body reacted on an instinctual level, panicking as it sensed its vital essence leaving from such a vulnerable location. If Zhuli wanted to, she could have sunk her teeth a fraction deeper and severed Silva's artery, almost certainly ending his life.
But Silva's heart had no room for doubt, and he didn't move an inch or put up any resistance as Zhuli's teeth remained embedded in his flesh. For a moment, she didn't move, but then Silva sensed Qi being injected into his body through Zhuli's teeth, which only increased his discomfort.
However, Silva still did not act, and in fact, he made himself more vulnerable by holding back his spiritual roots from expelling the foreign Qi. Instead, Silva let Zhuli's essence burn into his spirit, leaving a mark that would match the one left on his body.
When the fresh stinging pain of the bite dulled to a throbbing pain, Silva felt Zhuli pull her teeth out of his neck and begin licking at the fresh wound. The sensation of Zhuli's tongue across his skin was soothing, though Silva imagined it would have been far more pleasurable had his flesh been unscathed.
But Zhuli's attentiveness played a greater role as her saliva acted like a salve, stemming the river's blood pouring down Silva's neck. After a few minutes, the bleeding had stopped entirely, and Zhuli pulled away from Silva's neck to look him in the eyes once more.
"May I make a request?" Zhuli asked softly as her hands began to roam across Silva's body, feeling the dense muscles that had appeared on his frame seemingly overnight.
"You've never made one before," Silva murmured as he held Zhuli's gaze and moved his hands so they rested on her hips, feeling their breadth and curvature.
"I do not wish to spend my final night within these walls alone," Zhuli declared with a growing intensity as her tail acted with a life of its own and her hands slipped underneath Silva's robes to feel his bare flesh, "Would you fulfill this request of mine?"
Even the most literal would have been hard-pressed to mistake the true meaning of Zhuli's proposition.
Silva's grasp on Zhuli's hips reflexively tightened. However, the beastkin seemingly enjoyed the intimate touch as Zhuli moved closer and pressed her body against Silva's as he looked in her eyes and responded, "I would be honored."