Temporary Goodbyes

Kyrie stood with Isaac out in the stables a few days later, her fingers laced with his as he took a break from his work to rest his forehead against hers. Kyrie always missed him when he left for a day or two, but this time was different. This time he would be heading off to the Dominion for two weeks at the very least, and Kyrie's heart clenched with both sadness and fear. Since Vivian was going with them to help out with Raine, that meant that Kyrie was going to be completely without protection against Renard. How was she going to avoid him now? He was bound to try and approach her again and she was terrified because... Well... Because she didn't trust herself to push him away.

She still remembered the heated look Renard had given her when he came across them doing laundry, and she just couldn't get it out of her head.

Clenching her eyes shut, Kyrie tightened her grip on Isaac's hands.

"I wish you didn't have to go..."

This was murmured in such a soft voice, but Isaac of course still heard her. His expression softened as he kissed her forehead, then each of her cheeks before landing an ultimately rather chaste kiss on her lips.

"I know... I feel the same, especially knowing that you're here waiting for me to come back."

He gave her a soft smile then, disentangling their hands so that he could pull her in close for a hug which she gladly returned. He felt like his heart was practically breaking to see his lover so distressed. He could tell that she was trying to keep herself together for him, but the fact of the matter was that her own sadness at the prospect of him being gone for so long was leaking through. It made him want to do nothing but hold her close instead of leaving with the lady and her little entourage. As much as he hated seeing her like this though, he couldn't help but feel a swell of warmth to know that she cared enough about him to be saddened by his absence.

Isaac soothingly rubbed her back when he realized that she was shaking, and he nuzzled against the side of her face to try and help comfort her. She appreciated the effort, she appreciated it immensely as her arms tightened around him so that she could soak up this last little bit of comfort he was offering her.

"It'll be alright, Kyrie. I'll come back as soon as I'm able."

"But--"

Here Kyrie cut herself off, biting her bottom lip as she could feel the moisture entering her eyes. What she'd been about to say felt a little too close, almost too revealing; should she even say the words to Isaac at all? Wouldn't it put him on her trail? Isaac was gentle though, and the slight verbal prodding and horribly loving look he gave her ended up coaxing Kyrie into talking once more.

"But what if Renard approaches me while you and Vivian are both gone? I'm scared of that..."

Turning her eyes downwards, she could feel Isaac tense up around her at the mere thought of his friend taking hold of his lover.

"He won't, not if he knows what's good for him."

There was a note of finality to his voice, but what really sent a spike into her heart was just how much hatred there was at the mere possibility of Renard sleeping with her. If Isaac knew that he'd already slept with her once...

… There was no way he could ever know.

He would hate both her and Renard if he found out and it hurt. It hurt so much that she'd done something that both Vivian and Isaac would feel a deep betrayal over; yet she was sure that if Renard caught her again then she wouldn't be able to stop herself from giving in to him once more.

All these feelings were soon spilling down her face, and Isaac simply tightened his hold on her. He, of course, thought that she was just upset about him leaving and about how much she was going to miss him; while that certainly was part of her despair, it wasn't all of it. Somehow his completely selfless comfort just made it all the worse for her.

Kyrie cried in Isaac's arms until he managed to soothe her enough into a tired stupor. By this point his work called to him to finish up his final preparations though. So in the end, he set her down onto the bench and she watched him with red eyes as he finished setting up the carriage. Her gaze lingered on his taut muscles as he hitched everything into place, and the way he quietly soothed the horses before making sure the carriage was perfectly presentable. Even through the exhaustion, she found herself wanting to draw him.

Everything he did just reminded Kyrie of how much she adored him; his genuine character, his protective nature, how easy it was for him to laugh, and that's not even mentioning how good he looked to her. Of course she still loved him, but knowing this fact, why didn't she have any confidence that she'd be able to resist Renard when he came for her again? She wished that she could refuse him, she wished so badly that she'd be able to push him away and tell him off, but the ever present dread in the pit of her stomach told her that wasn't how things were going to go.

When Isaac finally returned to Kyrie, it was to help her get up as footsteps were heard coming towards the carriage. Quickly making herself small against a wall of the stables, Kyrie watched as Raine bounded into the room first, excited to be going on her first major trip to another country. So often it was Jiera visiting them, and ever since getting a lesson from her mother about their neighboring countries she'd longed to go and visit the Dominion herself. As if to contrast the excitement of her daughter, Mae stepped into the stables with a truly sobering air. Her expression was practically nonexistent as she reached into a pouch at her side to throw up a scrap of something for Teru to snap out of the air. The bird simply let out a satisfied caw before fluttering up to grasp onto one of the top bars of the carriage.

Isaac immediately set about putting their luggage away while Raine clambered into the carriage. Mae took a brief moment to study her surroundings though, as a result Kyrie's presence did not escape her notice. Turning her gaze up towards Isaac to watch him put away their luggage, Mae sent one last glance back at Kyrie before stepping into the carriage after her daughter. Mae didn't usually care to wait for the coachman to help her in and out of her carriage, she was perfectly capable of moving on her own. Now Isaac really was on a timer though: Mae was definitely going to want to leave soon now that she was inside.

There was one last member of the entourage that was missing though, and as if on cue, Vivian soon bounced into view. She was a little surprised to see Kyrie up against the wall, but one look between her and Isaac brought an almost mischievous smile to her lips. Opening her arms wide to Kyrie she called out:

"Oh, Kyrie, you're going to miss me so much that you came to see me off? Come and give me a hug!"

Kyrie shifted a little uncomfortably at that, unsure whether she should just approach Vivian with a hug or not. Vivian just laughed at Kyrie's hesitation and moved in to hug her shy friend instead of waiting for her to move.

"Don't you give me that look. I know exactly why you're here, but now that I'm here we might as well say another goodbye don't you think?"

Kyrie let out a soft sigh of defeat at that and relented, wrapping her arms around her friend.

"I'm sorry that Isaac will be away from you for so long, but I can assure you that my interests lie solely and completely with Renard so there's nothing for you to worry about."

It was meant to be a comforting statement, but it only made Kyrie want to cry more. In the end, she gave Vivian a smile that had enough pain in it that the other woman's brow furrowed with sympathy.

"Yeah... I'm not at all keen on leaving Renard for so long either. The Dominion will be exciting, don't get me wrong, but to be so long without him..."

Kyrie clenched her eyes shut to keep from crying as Vivian leaned in to kiss Kyrie's forehead.

"Goodbye, Kyrie. Try not to think about how long it's going to be and just take things one step at a time. That definitely helps."

Opening up her eyes again as Vivian let her go, she saw Vivian waving back to her with a soft smile on her face. As Vivian disappeared into the carriage Kyrie wondered how much of Vivian's good mood was something she was putting up to try and convince herself that this separation wouldn't be so bad. Wasn't she worried that Renard would try and approach her? Had she done anything to try and deter him away from her lately? Kyrie had no idea, but she certainly hoped that something had been said to him to keep him from trying to sleep with her.

As Kyrie looked sadly after Vivian, her view soon became impeded by the larger form of Isaac as he stopped in front of her.

"That's everything."

Kyrie simply nodded, turning her gaze away from him to keep herself from looking too upset. She just couldn't bring herself to smile at the moment, even though she knew that she should at least be trying to send him off well. Expecting Isaac to just give her a short goodbye considering everyone was waiting for him, she let out a sharp breath of surprise when Isaac suddenly squeezed her rather hard in his arms.

Despite the discomfort, Kyrie didn't make an effort to try and squirm away from him. Turning her eyes now to look up at his face, she was soon letting out a muffled sound as Isaac practically crushed his lips against hers. Unsure for how long this kiss lasted, what Kyrie did know was that she could feel her brain fuzzing over as her eyes closed, her arms clinging to him to get this last little bit that he was offering.

When he did finally separate his lips from hers, he rested a hand on her cheek, savoring her flushed cheeks as she gazed up at him. He also had a look of want in his eyes, one that made Kyrie's body ache for more from the man that she loved.

"Remember this, Kyrie, for the times when you get lonely. It'll help give you something to look forward to when I come back."

Pulling her in for one last softer kiss, he then bid her a goodbye mixed with his love for her before almost reluctantly pulling away. Her arms stayed with him for as long as they could before he just got out of her reach. Giving her one last smile, Isaac hopped up onto the carriage and took hold of the reins. Within moments, he was expertly flicking them to get the horses to go, and Kyrie watched that carriage leave even well after it left her sight.

Now she was alone.

Bringing a hand up to lightly caress her lips and remember Isaac's heated goodbye, she closed her eyes for a moment in silent reverie.

Even if she was alone, she couldn't just give in to Renard so easily. Not again. The thought of Isaac would help get her through these dark times.

… She hoped.