A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Erik lunged forward to support the stumbling Elora. "Are you alright?! What did you do?!" he asked, a worried frown on his brow as he wiped away some blood from the corner of her mouth.

Clearly tired, Elora happily fell into his arms, even as she pushed the sigil stone against his chest. "I inscribed a sigil on my soul..." she chuckled and looked up at him. "I'm fine, though," she smiled reassuringly. "It did a little damage, but that's easy to recover from."

As soon as she said that, a dark green light flickered to life on her chest and the damage to her body and soul quickly started repairing itself.

"But why?" Erik asked anxiously as he fussed over his loved one. He ignored the sigil Elora was pressing against his chest.

"So it can't be removed, by me or anyone," Elora smiled as she enjoyed his fussing. "Don't worry, though. The sigil stone only works in your hands."

"That still doesn't explain anything!" Erik groaned, his worry still not going down.

"Hehe, just let me enjoy your fussing for a moment, alright?" Elora giggled playfully as she leaned into his touch. Of course, at this point, she'd completely recovered already, so there wasn't really anything left for him to fuss over.

Yet, when she noticed Erik's concerned eyes, she sighed and relented. "It's nothing bad," she promised, while once again pushing the sigil stone into his hands. "The stone simply lights up when I'm lying to, or keeping something from you. That's all. With the sigil inscribed on my soul, neither me nor anyone else can stop that without killing me."

Erik blinked, and then sighed in relief. Somewhow, he'd expected something worse, for the simple reason that Elora could go overboard quite often. Still, that didn't mean he was happy with it.

"I never wanted that," Erik frowned, unsure if he should be angry or not. "You shouldn't have harmed yourself!"

"Hehe, I do love when you're worried about me," Elora smiled, her body still leaning into his as she looked up at him playfully.

But, seeing Erik's unamused stare, she sighed and became a little more serious. "I didn't do it for you, Erik. At least, not only for you. I don't want to pull any schemes without your knowledge anymore, but I don't fully trust myself either, so… there it is."

He still looked uncertain, until Morganae interjected. "The deeds done, Erik," she sighed and shrugged from Daelion's shoulder. "She did something unnecessary and silly, but it can't be reversed without a lot of hard work. I suggest you take her gesture for what it is, a symbol of her trust in you, and simply never check the stone."

Her words made sense, so Erik could only sigh and finally take the stone from Elora's hands. "You did a stupid thing, Elora… But thank you." The stone disappeared into his current storage space.

"Hehe, like I said," she smiled, before finally disentangling from his arms as she looked at him with love. "It was as much for you as for me. Even if you never look at the stone, just the fact that you have it will give me an anchor that keeps me honest."

Holding her hands, Erik smirked wryly at her. Technically, it was time for his vow now, but he wasn't sure what to say. "I'm not really sure what I can say in response. You know I was never good with words, and there's nothing I can do that's as crazy as what you just did."

"Don't you mean meaningful?" Elora grinned playfully, not minding his words.

"Absolutely not!" Erik shook his head with a roll of his eyes, while getting immediate agreement from both Daelion and Morganae.

"Fine!" Elora chuckled, before stepping closer and wrapping her arms around him. "But I don't need your words, Erik. That's what our bond is for. The next part of the ceremony requires us to let our feelings flow freely through the bond for a few minutes…"

"I can do that much, at least…" Erik smiled, and leaned forward to press his forehead against hers. For several minutes afterwards, they basked in each other's emotions and feelings for each other as they flowed through them.

It took a full five minutes before they separated and stifled the flow back down to its usual trickle, both sighing with something akin to loss. It could actually be quite hard not to get lost in each other's feelings, but these two lowers had willpower to spare.

Without another word, they both grabbed the obsidian dagger that rested on the altar next to them. The blade was cool, almost too smooth in their grasp.

They moved around the altar, and found a second bridge, extending forward until it hit another small platform that simply rested against the chamber's inner walls made of bark.

When they reached it, something astonishing happened. Erik's eyes widened when the wall began to move. Just now, he'd been staring at a wall full of names and wondering where they'd put theirs, but now things became clear. Thousands upon thousands of glowing names flashed past, until the wall finally came to a halt and showed an empty patch of dark-brown bark.

Elora smiled. "The origin tree accepts us…"

"It's alive…?" Erik couldn't help but ask.

"No idea," Elora answered, shaking her head. "But I've heard there's been cases where the walls didn't move, and left the prospective partners unable to leave their names."

Falling silent again, the two of them walked up to the wall. With deep breaths, they pressed it against the polished bark together, and carefully etched both of their names. As the last stroke was completed, the letters shimmered faintly, flashing a few times, before finally shining no less brightly than all the others around them.

For a moment they stared at them as they held hands. Somehow, they could physically feel their relationship had taken a significant step forward today.

"Won't they see our names…?' Erik suddenly muttered as if in a trance, without looking away.

Elora smiled and said nothing. Instead, she led him away, back towards the altar. It took only a few steps before the bark shifted again, and their names disappeared into the distance.

"They'll only reappear when we come back here," Elora told him gently, her eyes now pointed upward. "Now, our names will be forever etched in Ebonhollow's origin tree, as a testament to our bond…"