Chapter Text
Skeksis courtship isn't gentle like their smaller subjects. Not in the traditional sense.
Make no mistake, there was still tenderness. You've actually spied on the other Lord's in the past. When skekVar and skekSo thought they were alone in the forest. The General's rough talons smoothing over their Emperor's jawline. The aloof Lord chuckling deeply and making...concerning sounds.
The moment took a turn when skekVar tucked their beak against the crook of their partner's neck. They take a deep, wheezing breath... and in a flash of fangs, you're given front row seats to something you never cared to know.
Yet you can't look away. It's not the...act that draws your eye. Well, it is, but the amount of violence is what truly throws you for a loop. You had almost thought that the General had turned on their ruler.
After they had left, you made your way back to the Circle of The Suns. The Heretic crows out a greeting, smoke curling from their bill.
It's the Wanderer that senses something off about you. They methodically start to ask you, but you brush the Mystic off.
A Hunt would clear your mind.
You decide to give your second shadow a challenge. You gear up for the cold, beginning to scale the Claw Mountains. True, the hood muffled your hearing, but you'd rather that than frostbite.
You are certain that skekMal was on your trail again. Strangely, they hang back until nightfall. You've holed up in a cave, sparking a fire to life. The hair raises on the back of your neck. You glance beyond the flames, picking out the Hunter's silhouette on the ridge. A soft smile splits your face.
With no intentions to leave the cavern, you watch them drift closer to your location. The Skeksis' huge frame is remarkably silent, only indicated by the crunch of snow under their feet.
"You look cold, Hunter." You call out, chuckling when you see the Lord bristle. "Surely you have a better outfit for these conditions."
They almost don't fit through the cave mouth, Landstrider trophies scraping the roof. They're growling subtly.
"There's a storm moving in tomorrow." You warn.
"I'm well aware." skekMal snorts. "Why are you here. You're almost as fragile as a Gelfling. This is no place for you, Marionette."
Were they... worried? You scoot over, beckoning the Skeksis over, ignoring the nickname. "Yet I know a great many people who choose to live at the top of this range. Besides, if you had bundled up like I did, you wouldn't be chilly. Don't project your issues onto me, skekMal."
skekMal snarls sharply, the sound bouncing off the walls oddly. "I'm not cold."
You sit up onto your knees so you could meet the giant's eyes. "Stop lying to me. We could go Hunting for Spire Ghasts in the morning. You can use my bedroll for now... should be better than nothing."
Before the beast can retort, you unfurl your muski hide roll. The inside was padded with dense wool you had harvested yourself.
skekMal clacks their beak inches from you when you toss the furs around their shoulders.
"Aughra's Eye, you're such a drama queen." You tease, shoving the Hunter lightly. "You act like I'm not allowed to treat you with respect."
"What could I have done to possibly earn that?" The Lord huffs, their response surprises you.
"The hell do you mean by that?"
skekMal leans into your space, voice dropping into a rasp. "What. Have I done. To earn. Your trust."
You can feel your heartbeat quicken. "Remind me, how many Hunts have we run together?"
The Skeksis lingers close to your side, providing the answer swiftly. "Twelve, officially. How many attempts have I made on your life?"
"That's not fair, skekMal."
"Why not?" Their tone changes again. They're rumbling, almost purring. "I think it's rather important to know. Especially when you do something as vulnerable as putting your faith in me."
The cave feels far warmer than it should. Your tongue tries to glue itself into place. "I believe I stopped counting after the fiftieth time." You mutter.
"One hundred and nine." They explain. "So why are you letting me near you?"
You don't want to answer.
A gnarled hand finds its way into your hair. You physically have to stop yourself from leaning into the touch. Talons graze over an old scar on your cheek. Your pulse hammers in your ears.
The Hunter's palm slides to your throat, strong fingers tightening ever so slightly. "I could tear out your windpipe like wet paper."
You swallow against the grip. "...You haven't yet."
A small chuckle. "That doesn't change anything. I'm not trustworthy."
You reach out, sliding your hand under the many layers of fabric covering skekMal's neck. You squeeze gently. "Neither am I, by that logic."
You don't miss the way their breath hitches. "You're hardly a threat to me."
Now it's your turn to laugh. "My dear, I quite distinctly remember you telling me to take your life as my trophy on the Sifan Coast."
Their eyes narrow. "That was many trine ago."
You shift closer. "So? That doesn't mean much." You're unaware that you've rested your other hand on the Lord's thigh.
skekMal vents a harsh breath. "What are you doing , human?" They growl.
That snaps you from your haze. If you could, you'd have backed off, but the Seksis grabs your shoulder. You trip over your words, unsure of what to say.
They slide a calloused palm up your back. "Because it feels like you're trying to lead me to your bed ."
You must be bright red by now. "Sorry-" You blurt out, startling your friend. "I didn't mean to make this awkward."
They open their beak to speak but you take that moment to shuffle away from the Lord. If you had kept your gaze up a moment longer, you'd have caught the flicker of hurt in their eyes.
skekMal quietly curses in skexish. They shake their head. "Whatever. Get some rest…"
You nod, drawing your hood tight around your ears. While it isn't much, you do manage to catch some sleep.
When you wake, the Hunter is nowhere to be found. You take a second to steady yourself before setting out for the Crystal Sea.
You can sense skekGra staring at you as you duck inside the stone archway.
Fuck, you'd forgotten to scrub yourself in the river before you'd entered the desert. True, the only one was freezing cold, but you surely reeked of skekMal.
"Did you get into it with the Hunter again?" The Heretic wonders, casually washing out a brush.
"Into it?" You parrot.
"A...fight?" urGoh sleepily muses.
The reedy Skeksis snorts a small laugh, nodding. "Yes, yes, that's it. You hurt, human?"
"Only my pride." You aren't actually lying. "Why?"
"Oh what do you mean 'why'?" The Heretic folds their arms, rapidly tapping their foot out of irritation. "We worry about you, small one! You might be quite ferocious, but you're still squishy!"
The Mystic quietly reaches over to steady their Other.
"What?! They are!" skekGra whines.
Something about the way their partner looks at them convinces the Skeksis of something. They make some thinly veiled excuse about needing more berries, then scuttle off to one of the many escape hatches.
Leaving you with the one who could usually see right through you.
The Wanderer slowly makes his way over, setting a pot of ta to boil. "So... skekMal?"
You can feel your ears burn. "What about them?"
The urRu gives you a look .
You're fucked. "It's just a little crush. It'll go away on its own." You run a hand through your hair.
"I can't...say I...believe that." urGoh takes a drag off their pipe. "You two are...well-suited for...each other."
Uh?
"Wait, hold up-" You look at the massive lizard in disbelief. "You're encouraging this?"
They chortle heartily, coughing from the smoke. "If that's...what you...want? Yes...you and the...Hunter are quite...obvious in...your feelings."
Obvious?! Oh no…wait- "Are you insinuating that they feel the same?"
urGoh arches a brow ridge. The ta kettle shatters the moment, distracting your friend.
"Look, I know you've known skekMal longer than I have, but I don't really think it was anything more than a...momentary lapse of reason." You fidget nervously.
"If they didn't...enjoy your...company? You'd have...been killed...long ago." They shake their head, pouring you a cup. "So what's stopping...you two?"
Whyyyy, you didn't want to talk about this! "I don't know? I don't even know how you guys-" Your throat closes up out of embarrassment. You make a muffled squeak, rubbing your face.
"Court?"
A nod.
If you knew that would lead to one of the most uncomfortable sex ed lessons of your life, you'd have lied about your feelings. You know far too much now. Some of it intimidated you.
Still…
You don't see the Hunter for another trine. Far too much time to stew in your feelings, honestly. So you decide to track them down first that summer. They probably didn't know that you had picked up their knack for tailing prey.
...Maybe you shouldn't think of potential partners as that way.
You'd brought along a satchel, full of beautiful hides you'd tanned. You were intent on getting the feral Lord to sit still long enough to get them set up with a solid winter cloak.
You're slowly trailing through the Dark Wood, following the subtle signs. You think they're wise to you. About a week back, their tracks had suddenly become irregular. You rolled your eyes, just trying to stick to your mission.
Now, however, you're getting extremely close to them. That's when the skies unzip themselves and the subsequent downpour soaks through your clothes in minutes. You're trying to squint through the sheets of rain, but miss the root in your path.
You smack into the ground hard . To the point of being dazed. Maybe you'd actually slammed into a tree trunk, judging by how painful it was. You fall in and out of consciousness. All the while, you think you can feel something wet steadily creeping up your face. You're trying to shake this off when a murky shape melts into view. You somehow manage to get ahold of your knife, but whatever or who ever this is wrenches it from your grasp.
You're hoisted into the air, making your head spin even worse. You're vaguely aware of being brought into a building of some sort before your eyes start to slide shut.
It's warm. Wonderfully so. Your head is pounding, but you sit up anyway.
This is how you find out that you're naked as the day you were born. You snatch up the furs that settled in your lap, drawing them around your shoulders.
"You were soaked. I wasn't going to let you die from something as stupid as exposure." A familiar voice starts. "Here."
A huge black shirt is tossed into your lap.
You stare at it, and your first instinct is to laugh at the absurd domesticity of it all. You stifel it, tossing on the garment. It still slides off one shoulder. Glancing up, you're first struck by the room. It's well stocked with anything the Hunter could possibly want or need beyond the walls of the castle.
You figured they would shun these sorts of comforts…
"Why are you here?"
Your brow furrows as you look at skekMal. "You tell me, you brought me here."
That might have been a mistake because the Skeksis grabs your arm, snarling. "I'm not in the mood for your damned jokes, human. You lecture me about being ill prepared and I find you half-dead in a stream!"
You don't think you've ever heard skekMal so upset.
"What if I wasn't there? You could have died in so many ways!" They bark, harshly grabbing your jaw. "Are you listening to me? Say something, damn it!"
You chuckle weakly. "Jeeze. For the beast that can't be trusted around me, you sure are giving mixed signals."
The sparse feathers the Skeksis still has raise like a startled Z'nid bird. skekMal scoffs, releasing you. They storm off into the other side of the room. "You're insufferable. What were you attempting to prove? That you could Hunt the Hunter?"
"I could and I clearly did." You shrug, spotting your clothing and other things drying by the fire. "Ah, shoot. I hope the rain isn't gonna ruin those hides."
"You nearly died in a flash flood and you're worried about pelts ." The Lord sounds stunned.
"Oh please, I'm fine." You flap one of the massive shirtsleeves dismissively. "I'm concerned about them because they're for you . Dumbass. I uh...wanted to talk. About the last time we saw each other."
skekMal stills. "...What?"
You don't know where to go from there. "I-...look. I can't lie. When I first met you, I hated you. You terrorized me, to the point of giving me severe nightmares."
"So now you've gained some sense?" They hiss. Yet, there's an edge of pain to it. Betrayal.
"Let me finish, skekMal." You glare at them. They huff, motioning for you to continue. "I don't hate you anymore...in fact, the knowledge that you're out there makes me want to be a stronger person. To become more self sufficient. Do you understand?"
They blink, folding their arms. "What are you getting at, human?"
Gods help you, this dense creature.
"Oh for fucks sake- I like you. I enjoy Hunting with you...do you see what I'm getting at?"
The silence stretches for ages. skekMal quietly approaches you, as though you are some venomous snake. They hesitate, eyes roving over your face. Searching for any hint of deception. They flicker to the dripping hides.
"You're trying-... Human, are you trying to court me?" They're stunned.
You nod softly.
"How did you learn about this?" The Lord wonders, distracting themself by inspecting the soggy fur. "The library in Ha'rar doesn't have anything about this."
"Promise not to laugh?" You can already feel the tips of your ears turn red.
"Do I seem the sort?" They fairly point out.
"Uh-... apparently we were being 'obvious' because urGoh sat me down to explain things." Gods you're so embarrassed.
The Hunter freezes, slowly turning to look at you. " We ?"
Ah, you should have worded that better. You had just been through a fair bit, so it's not like you had two brain cells to rub together. "The Mystic said you must have at least felt some camaraderie, or you'd have killed me ages ago."
You wish you had a camera. Their face was priceless. "Ah."
"Hang on-" You walk up to them, unsure if you crossed a line. "If I'm making you uncomfortable, please tell me. I'm perfectly fine with just being Hunting friends. I don't want you to feel like you have to do-"
You're cut off when the Skeksis picks you up by your waist. You yelp, clinging to their broad shoulders on instinct.
"I never have to do anything. I am a Lord of the Crystal." They press their beak into the crook of your shoulder, breathing deeply. A tiny shiver runs down their spine...and yours. "Aughra's Eye, why didn't you just let us continue this back in the Claw Mountains?"
You blink, leaning back to look at the Hunter in the face. "What?"
They look at you like you're being foolish. "I asked if you were trying to bed me. I think I was being clear."
Oh you really were an ass. "skekMal, I thought you were upset with me. I thought you were mad because I was touching you and-"
"You humans are just like the Gelfling. You over complicate everything." They huff your scent again. "I accept your courting offer."
You're trembling now too. "It's uh-... still not finished."
They snort. "What?"
"I brought them here so I could make you a new cloak. That way we can do longer expeditions in the cold and the mountains." You rest your cheek on their shoulder. "But they're going to need to dry out. That way I can see if I need to replace any."
"Understood." They hum. "For now, you still need to rest. I'm fairly certain you're concussed."
You make an offended scoff. "What? How do you figure?"
They set you onto their warm bed. "Do you think you would have been so up front with this if you hadn't hit your head?"
You shrug. "I dunno. I'd probably be a bit more smooth, hopefully? At least you were open to the idea...huh. Y'know something?"
"What?" skekMal leans over you, studying your features.
"Our Hunt must be over." You reach up, pulling them down. You press your nose to the place the Skeksis seem obsessed with, inhaling deeply. You're slightly disappointed. They just smell like sweat and dirt...perhaps that was the best case scenario.
"Over?" skekMal wonders, settling against you. "Why?"
"Well we both got each other. So we have trophies. That's what you wanted at first, right?" You curl up against them letting your freehand roam to familiarize yourself with their many scars.
"Hm...I suppose that's true." The feral Lord threads their talons through your hair. "There's plenty of prey still out there. If you want to continue Hunting."
"Of course I want to Hunt you, idiot." You chastise them. "You think I'd stop and be a cute little house spouse? No, I want to go after prey without worrying about you jumping me."
skekMal's voice takes on that raspy edge again. "Oh no, Marionette...I can't guarantee that won't happen. Just not like you used to expect."
You go beet red "Oh...right."