It had been a long, hot and hard day of forging. The fires always burned hot in the dwarven realm. Scarlett sighed in exhaustion, and wiped beads of sweat from her forehead, her flaming red hair damp against her skin. She dropped her tools on her work bench rather unceremoniously before she grabbed her bag and pushed through the gate-door that took her from the Zujiuchu Mountains to Xunatar's domain where she had made her home for some months now. 

She was still in a heat daze when she crossed the threshold so she didn't notice the more than obvious change in decor in the Temple. It wasn't until she felt the blast of cold air that she noticed that something was off. She paused and looked around, her amethyst eyes wide in bewilderment. She walked fully into the room and looked around. It was not the temple she had left when she had gone back to Zujiuchu to work, though the power was familiar. But everything was darker, colder. She could feel a sense of apprehension tickling the hair on the back of her neck. The pale blue glow of the coldfire that she knew Xunatar had become fond of since the little game rally he'd had with Gifre's Vault. This was still Xunatar's domain for sure, but this was far from the Cradle she had left. 

She dropped her bag beside the bed like she did customarily before she tentatively left the room to explore the clearly new domain and hopefully get an explanation on what was going on.

The reality had been fairly easy for him to accept that he had a new place within the pantheon now that Chaos and Darkness were his spheres now. Xunatar was overlooking the city and observed the bestial inhabitants that now in his charge. His word was law to them, fully to the letter as he heard their whispers of applause of their king. From the balcony, he felt the nightly bitter cold against his flesh, chilling through his clothing yet it felt great.

It had yet to dawn on him of how his family would take to the new changes now that Discordia had evolved from the Cradle, but soon it would come to mind as he felt someone enter the palace. The emptiness gave way to its newest guest and from there did the demon sink into the shadows and traveled through it to where the other person was. It was appropriate that it would be Scarlett to be the first to make it through and though this was a new realm, it knew of the mistress he had taken for some time now. He felt not of what she was thinking of the changes, but if he was a betting man, he was certain that confusion and concern were just the tip of the iceberg.

“Funny what hand fate had dealt to me…to us today.” The voice rang from all directions just before he rose from the depths. Instead of his white and black striped robes, Xunatar now stood before her in a robe of black that exposed his torso and a pair of metal pauldrons resting upon his shoulders. The hood was draped over his head as he approached her, but upon stopping right in front of her, he dropped it and let the familiar face appear. “I’ll spare you the games, my love. It appears that I have picked up the mantle of Darkness. Deception is no longer my instrument, however. And the Hollow Cradle has now shifted into a isle of uncertainty and eternal night. I decided to name her Discordia.” The change in him was evident enough, from his appearance to even his tone. However, he wasn’t as heartless as many would believe the king to be.

“The shift has happened very recently. It hadn’t been a day yet and I know I shouldn’t speak of it since you of all people would know, Scarlett. But I still find it…surreal that all of this has happened. Much has changed since you had left for your work this morning.” He knew that the newfound cold had stricken her, so he waved his hand away and with it, the cold took its leave from where they stood. A ghost of a smile appeared as he lead her to the nearest window and pointed out to the night he had indeed spoken of. “I pray that this won’t mess up your sleeping schedule, love.”

She spun around in surprise as Xunatar's voice echoed all around her. In the Cradle she would have expected it, but in the black gothic halls that already put off an eerie feeling, it was enough to startle her, and she yelp softly, flames appearing in her hands, a warm contrast to the blue fire that lit the sconces. When he appeared, she gave a slight relieved laugh and extinguished her fists. She examined her now black and metal clad lover in interest as he came up to her and dropped his hood. 

"I thought I felt a tremor through the heart of the world. Only a small one, but I guess if you have taken on Darkness, it means that the Reaper has taken up the mantle of something different as well. Two deities making a change is enough to rock the foundations of the world," she said as she looked him over. She gently straightened his black cloak. There was a new… deepness to his voice, as if reverberating with the deepness of the night. 

"I'll say a lot has changed. I left a… bright and open if not deceitful temple of mind bending tricks, and return home to a vampire's dream home," she chuckled. "Oh thank you," she added quickly as he dismissed the cold. It hadn't bothered her too much, since it had helped her cool off from the heat of her forge, it was a welcome change. She turned and looked out the window at the new city below cloaked in the embrace of eternal night. It was a change from the chaotic conglomeration of environmental islands, and the denizens were some that most would rather not associate with. She however, felt a twinge of excitement. 

"I make my own hours. So if takes me a week to adjust, so be it. I can always do some work here instead. I think I will like this though. What better a place for a killer pyrotechnics show? The explosions will be amazing here. And I can't wait to meet the new neighbors. Don't get me wrong, dwarves are nice, but you can really get interesting objects from those of the infernal line," she told him. 

"What prompted the change then?"

“Yes, she must of have. I still feel her presence as a deity among us. The reason for the change eludes me if it’s not the Tree’s sense of humor.” That damned Voice and its constant trickery, but in this case, he hadn’t really minded it too much. It was only a terrible thing that he couldn’t also hold onto the mantle of lies, but his disappointment would be short lived. At least Scarlett wasn’t fearful of him or of their new home; in fact she was rather quick to adapt to the changes. But that’s always been this version of her’s case as he’s been learning since their union. As intelligent and daring as she was beautiful. In time, he was sure that she would provide him with strong heirs and heiresses, if she wished it.

The thought left the god for now as the shadows slipped from beneath his being and onto the floor where it flowed well pass her without harm. The change had done plenty towards his character yet Xunatar was mostly the same as he had been. It was just that the veil was no longer on him. The shadows softly caressed her legs as he looked on, a slick smile forming on his lips at her analogy. “It is fitting since many in my new city are creatures of the night. As the ruler of night, they see me as their father and this island as a sanctuary from Canelux’s prejudice. Not to mention that there’s plenty of treasures down there, though I’d advise you to take great care there. There are no other laws than doing what you need to survive. Though, I’m sure that all you need to do is roast their haunches and they’ll leave you be if they become too rousey.”

“If that be your wish, then one of the many rooms here can accommodate as your office, forge, whatever you wish it to be, Scarlett.” Xunatar lead her through the palace, having her keep close to him as to not get lost. It wasn’t until they reached the throne room that he smirked at the sight of the giant ruby stone that was placed up against the wall above his seat. “A radiant treasure, although you are my greatest find, dearest. He looked to her for a long moment before glancing back at the stone. “In time, we should think about strengthening our commitment to one another, Scarlett. It’s been on my mind for sometime now- my children respect you, and even my granddaughter adores you so much. But mostly it’s because I do love you greatly. You are my queen, but I’d like to make it official and share a many more things with you…”

"Everything changes with time I suppose," Scarlett said thoughtfully as she looked out over the new kingdom of night. She felt the weight of his shadows on her legs and smiled. What people said about darkness having the capability of feeling heavy was true, but in her case the shadows were not an oppressive weight, but an almost protective one. She smiled at him. "Don't worry about me too much out there. Denizens of the night typically have one little but influential phobia, and I happen to be a walking, talking, manifestation of that phobia," she reassured him as turned to walk with him and take a tour of the new palace.  "It would be nice, to be honest, to have a workshop and forge here. I mean, having the portal to my workshop in mines of Zujiuchu is nice, but I do think it would be beneficial to be able to work here too. It would mean I could have a couple different projects going." 

His compliment made her smile and a slight pink came to her cheeks. That was the otherworld Scarlett coming out. Whenever sweet words rolled off his tongue towards her it brought out the clearly girly side of her that she might not have otherwise shown. Her eyes lifted to the ruby that was suspended over his throne, and remembered how much fun it had been to bring it back from the desert city. It had also been quite fun to rub it in the face of the former deity who had called Xunatar a slew of names and claimed he was unworthy to wield the mantle of Chaos. "A fine prize indeed," she giggled softly. She walked up to his throne and began running a hand up and over his throne as he spoke. She listened intently to what he was saying. It caught her by surprise, but not at the same time. The hint of a smile teased at the corners of her mouth as she looked back over he shoulder at Xunatar. 

"Is that so?" she asked him coyly, before she turned and walked back up to him, her hands clasped behind her back. "Well then, Xunatar, I have only one thing to say to you," she said simply as she stopped in front of him, tall enough to look him directly in the eye, her amethyst gaze trained on his pale blue. "It's about bloody time," she grinned broadly. She tossed her arms around his neck. "I would love that."

Her words wouldn’t have been truer as he fell back into lost memories of their past. Both he and Scarlett weren’t the same people they had been when they had met back at the waterfalls many moons ago. It also served them well to remember that they were meant for greater and better things. This new kingdom of theirs was just the very start as far as he was concerned. Though he would be sure to see that no harm would come to her, he also knew well that she could handle herself. If anything, it would have been advised to the citizens to be wary of her, but the god owed them nothing. Let them find out for themselves should they be stupid enough to try and hurt her. And if they survived somehow, then they would have to deal with him. As cold as he could be to just about anyone else outside his family, Xunatar wasn’t completely heartless. Scarlett would just happen to the perfect person to ask about just that.

“Anything to your heart’s content.”, he replied as he led her to the palace. Every so often the shadows on the walls and the corners would turn and twist as they walked by only to return to their original state.

The change had did little to free him from his charms, which he took in delight as he watched her reaction. Love, devotion, and loyalty. Those were traits that he learned not to indulge in and even more so not to show it to any other. While he technically broke that ruling when he had some of his children, she had been the only one to make his dark heart quiver as it had from when she had returned to him.

Icy blue orbs skimmed over her lovely form as she descended from the throne. It had been a long time that he debated internally for some time. While he wouldn’t have minded making it known to the world, it would also open her up to his enemies and those that didn’t favor the god. But whether she knew it or not, she had done so much for him already that he wanted to fulfill the promise made to her. His hands fell on her hips as she embraced him. The darkness rose somewhat from the floor, blanketing their feet as he matched her grin. “As would I. I have promises to keep, after all. I said that you would be my Queen, and there was one other thing…something I was hesitant at first. But I suppose that Estelle had inspired me…” He released her momentarily and swung around behind her, collapsing his hands against her stomach.

“I seem to recall that you…wanted to bear my children. I realize that things are vastly different and it would jeopardize your work. Then he let out a hearty laugh, “What I mean is that I don’t mean right this moment. But it is something to keep in mind for the future, should this be what you want as well. I think a part of the reason why I thought about it was that I didn’t normally see my children until they were older. Estelle was the first child in general that I have been there for since her birth. And then the twins. You were right back in the ruins, those munchkins brought out something in me, kind of like how you have, love.”

Scarlett clasped her hands over Xunatar's as he held her from behind and pressed his hands over her belly. She had said that a long time ago, in another world. But it did sound lovely. She smiled serenely over her shoulder at him. 

"It wouldn't impede me too terribly. I wouldn't be able to work in a forge for fear of consequences of being exposed to an extreme heat source for hours on end, but I could still work," she reassured him. She had been feeling very much the same about starting a family. She had been spending a lot of her free time with Estelle, and on occasion visited Lotus and played with her twin boys. Holding them and playing with them had instilled in her a desire to have her own, something that she had never really considered before. She had always devoted her time to the forge… but there had been a significant reason for that. 

"Who would have thought the Master of Discord and King of the Night would have such a soft spot," she asked him gently. "I would consider it my greatest honor… and perhaps my greatest triumph to bear a child for you." She turned to him again, and ran one of her callused hands against his cheek and lightly ran her fingers through his fine pale hair. 

"As far as making me your Queen legally and officially, where do we need to start? I can't say I have had very much experience with such things, since my focus has always been my work… but there is no reason we have to wait for the trying for an heir…"

“I suppose you are right, for both your sake as well as our child’s.” Such words felt foreign to him even for someone that had hundreds of children over the course of his life. But then again, considering why there had been so many, theirs would be the first he would genuinely raise. Even more so, he had cared little to nothing about the mothers of his past sired, but Scarlett was a vastly different case. His fingers gently tapped again her stomach as he thought more about how the child would look. A part of him hoped that they would retrain their mother’s beauty, but his intellect and both their prowess.

Her little statement made Xunatar roll his eyes as he pressed himself further against her and leaned close to her face. “I’m not completely cold, just enough to set my point across. Plus, you and children just seem natural. I have seen how you are with my grandchildren and they dote on you greatly.” Eyes trailed along her hand as it traveled down his face. Scarlett was one of the few that didn’t fear to get close to him and was in a smaller group of people that could get away with it.

“Perhaps a ceremony? Or should we simply make it so and skip that formality?” In any sense, his fingers slipped onto her hand and within a moment, he withdrew and a gorgeous ring with a lovely sized ruby was settled onto her finger. “I can’t say that I have much better experience in this regard, but I figure that we can do as we wish because of that though. But I wouldn’t say no towards starting to work on conceiving… “ The god smiled wickedly as he approached, his lips seeking out her own in a passionate kiss. Only after a bit did he break it off and considered another thought. “We have yet to break in our new home, our own little private playground…”

"I know that," she said softly. "Sometimes it catches me by surprise how gentle you can be." She laughed at the mention of how she was with children. He wasn't wrong, she doted on the twins and Estelle, and they adored her as well. It wasn't much a side of herself that she got to explore while working in the forges. Though she had some exposure to dwarvish children they were not at all like Estelle or Corbin and Casimir.
"I have always considered children some of the most creative works anyone could create, because they are so complex, unique and you never quite know what you are going to get. They are like molten ore… it takes work to help them become the true treasure that they were destined to be." She rubbed her nose to his. 

"We may be able to find time do have a small ceremony, if we want. I do know that both of us are very busy individuals," she replied. "Though if we decide it is official, then that is all that matters really," she added after a brief thought. She lifted her now bedazzled hand to get a better look at the ruby that adorned it. It was definitely meant to catch the eye, and was of some of the finest craftsmanship Scarlett had ever seen. She even found herself a tiny bit jealous of the talent of the craftsperson who had created it, as it rivaled the quality of her own work. She wouldn't be able to wear it while working at the forge, but a simple chain around the neck would keep it always close to her heart. 

Thoughts scattered as he enveloped her in a passionate kiss which she returned eagerly, feeling her body heating up with anticipation. She exhaled smoke that smelled slightly of cinnamon when they parted, and she giggled coyly. 

"So many new places to have some fun. How fortunate for us that the night here is forever young," she breathed in his ear. A flare of magic swelled up around her as her clothes changed from the rather charred and soiled work clothes to something much softer, cleaner, and more feminine. "Ah, that's much better. Much more accommodating,"  she said as she pulled him towards his throne.

Gentle wasn’t the sort of word most would grant to Xunatar; every word that was typically used to describe him was far from that. Even his own children were skeptical of him and his actions though he couldn’t very well blame them. After all, he had not been the greatest father of all times, or even remotely close to that. The only ones that were truly safe in his hands were Scarlett and his grandchildren, and only they have seen his much softer side. Scarlett seemed very keen on both the idea of their unification as well as having children of their own. Perhaps that side of him would be more open to their own since they would also be part of his love’s.

“I wonder what sort of children that would come from the two of us. It’s certainly a thought that crossed my mind a few times as of late. Perhaps they would have your talents and beauty, or perhaps they would be more like me…it’s a roll of the dice like you said though. Regardless, I look forward to making them. That is the fun part.” He gave an all too satisfying grin at her. The ceremony and such were foreign things to him and fortunately, they wouldn’t have to make it an extravagant thing like others would have done. Merely a trusted few would attend and things between them made official. The ring was a bit of a surprise and he saw that she indeed fancied it. Perhaps it was only rivaled in desire by his kiss as he placed it against her lips. It felt like he was kissing at a gentle Ignius afternoon, so warm and inviting.

His smile turned more genuine as they broke the embrace and even now he knew that they would have a wonderful evening ahead of them. But Xunatar was ever patient and watched as her work clothes were placed with something a tad more comfortable for her. Needless to say that he simply loved it from the look on his face. “Indeed. I look forward to christening as much of the palace as possible”, he said in a low whisper as she led him to his very throne. He fell upon it and it took her by the hips and led his queen onto his lap. He basked in the warmth she provided as well the heavenly scents that came from her like burning incenses. Xunatar wrapped his arms around her waist, his lips pressed against her neck and lingered there for a few moments as his embrace tightened just a little. “It won’t be long before you make yourself at home here. Like before, nearly anything you’d want, it can be provided to you.”