Nightseer wasn’t usually one to be nervous, especially of the prospect of being left with a new ally and new member of the coven. Hemorrhage had absolutely refused to let Joint or her join him and the other nocturnals on their journey out, instructing the two mothers to watch over their children and Khan while he was gone. But it wasn’t necessarily being left alone that had her so nervous. There was also the position she had put herself in, that of voluntarily staying behind only to bring Joint to the others when Hemorrhage was preoccupied.
Never in her years in the coven had she even considered disobeying Hemorrhage, as almost everything he did and ordered was both intelligent and for the betterment of the coven, but this was a necessity. For once, most likely without even realizing it, he had given an instruction that did nobody any good. She had agreed that this was the right thing, to allow Joint to join the nocturnals without Hemorrhage’s blessing, but it still shook her nerves to be going against the mordigan’s wishes after all these years.
She shuddered slightly before returning to the task at hoof, grabbing another glass of ointment Ailade had meticulously prepared. It was a strange combination of her magic and blood with some other natural ingredients a pony would use for wounds. It would specifically heal wounds inflicted on them by either pony or nocturnal, however, it wouldn’t work on vampyres or ompyres, their bodies being physical dark magics. So, in her case, the best option was to not be wounded at all. That wasn’t one of the reasons Hemorrhage had held her behind though.
He attempted to be sneaky with his thoughts and actions, but after knowing somebody for a few hundred moons, she could easily pick out his characteristics. He had been holding her back because, much like Joint, she was also a young mother with a newborn, and that was something they could both relate to. Joint had picked it up as well, the mare silently tending to hers and Nightseer’s baby at the moment. This was exactly what Hemorrhage hoped for, the two of them and their foals becoming fast friends. It would keep Joint with them longer and give her more reason to stay, on top of convincing the others to let her join. Not that they had any reason to reject the courageous pony anyways. Still, the mordigan was never one to live and let live, always attempting for one hundred percent agreement.
She smiled and shook her head slightly, picking up an increase in heartbeat from Joint as she did so. In spite of herself, the taste of the blood infused wine came to the tip of her tongue, causing her to bite the inside of her cheek softly, forcing the taste out. “So, whatcha thinking about,” she questioned the other mare, glancing at Joint over her work packing Argon’s second pack. “I noticed your heartbeat increased. Hemorrhage, perhaps?”
“The opposite, actually,” Joint admitted. The mare carefully played with Ebony, wary of the little filly’s teeth, rubbing her hoof against the soft belly of the little nocturnal. “I was wondering if Sombra would be in the battlefield itself, if he would be personally attacking this far into Equestria.”
“Well, I wouldn’t put that past him, but there’s nothing to be worried about,” Nightseer confidently told her. “Once you become a nocturnal, he should be the one to fear you, not vice versa. You have a vengeance and will to, after all.”
The pony laughed harshly, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, I guess I have that on him.”
The conversation fell into silence as the two focused on their thoughts more than their words, Nightseer finishing packing with a small note on the top of it before closing the sack. Right as she went to get up, the door to the bedroom opened, Argon entering with a silent gate. He swooped in from behind her, pressing a kiss into the scruff of her neck, right where it felt best. She hummed happily at the affection, reaching one of her hooves up and wrapping it around his head and pulling him around for a proper kiss. Without breaking the embrace, he reached over and grasped the bag and threw it over his shoulder.
Finally, they broke the kiss, the remnants of a smile on their faces as he asked her softly, “When are you coming with the others?”
“Tonight, most likely,” she responded, causing his smile to broaden.
“Hemorrhage will be distracted,” her husband noted with an arch of his brows.
“Then I guess we will be too, then,” Nightseer rebutted playfully. “You better get going though, before Hemorrhage comes up and investigates what’s taking so long. Oh, and don’t let him look in that pack. At least, not in the letter.”
“Why,” Argon asked, looking genuinely concerned for a moment.
“It’s very personal material,” Nightseer answered evenly.
Argon’s loving smile returned at that as he cracked, “Come on now, it’s not like I’ll be away from you for moons on end without you being able to contact me.”
“But you were, so I’m allowed to have at least one of these sappy little love letters,” Nightseer defended herself with a smile. Argon shook his head in mock bewilderment, reaching over and taking little Ebony into his hooves as she added, “Besides, we moved too quickly to get to that part before we got married.”
“That’s because you couldn’t control yourself,” Argon blamed teasingly. “I wanted to take it slow, but you just had to throw yourself on me.”
“I believe it wasn’t even two heartbeats after we were alone for the first time that you confessed to me,” Nightseer countered with a belittling smirk. “But come on now, we shouldn’t torture poor Joint with our love story until hers is completed.”
“Yes please,” Joint agreed, causing the couple to laugh. “For my, my daughter, and your daughter’s sakes, please wait until you’ve gotten a room.”
“Okay, Miss Perfect,” Nightseer replied as she stood. Glancing slightly over her shoulder as she left her bedroom, she cheekily added, “It’s not like you and Hemorrhage didn’t make out in the halls or anything.” Joint sputtered at the comment, looking equally flustered and shocked at the surprising reveal, prompting Nightseer to continue. “I mean, I trust Hemorrhage, but you were a completely new arrival and I had to check you out for myself. Being one with shadows-” Nightseer melded herself into the blackness of a stone corner not lit by torches “-has its many advantages.”
“Yes, that’s also how she managed to sneak into my room the day after we met,” Argon explained, earning a slight punch to his shoulder as the vampyre rematerialized halfway down the hallway.
“So, wait, you can just stalk me, or anypony, whenever,” Joint questioned, still hung up over the mystical reveal, trotting to catch up with the two nocturnals.
“Well, yes, but I don’t and won’t,” Nightseer assured the concerned mare. “Privacy is one of the most coveted and wanton desires of us nocturnals. It’s why we usually seclude ourselves away and hide from the world. That and the nature of the prey we hunt.”
“She won’t watch you and Hemorrhage on your wedding night,” Argon stepped in bluntly, putting a blush on both mares’ faces. “But she did ‘stalk’ Leper for the first few days he was around since I was taking care of helping him become a proper member of the coven. She’s very defensive of anything and everything she loves and her loved ones' love.”
“That was well put,” Nightseer told him, rubbing her cheek against his as they came to a pair of doors. Their lips closed on each other’s once again, as they gave each other one last kiss goodbye. “Be safe out there. Remember you aren’t invincible.”
Argon nodded, the tufts of his lycan fur brushing her forehead as his body physically grew into his lycan form. It was awe-inspiring to watch every time, seeing him become his strong, dangerous self in an instant, still there but also a beast at the same time. “And you remember to take care of yourself too. I’ll see you tonight.”
With that, the lycan pushed the doors open and took his leave, waiting patiently as Joint stopped halfway through the doors, turning and asking Joint, “Wait, aren’t you going to say goodbye to the others?”
“I already have,” she explained. “I can’t enter the main foyer because of the sunlight. I’ll be mist in an instant. But you go with him and wish them my best. I imagine that may alleviate some of the others’ stress at going.”