Back Story
I’m getting an idea of how to beat her.
Rolls
Insight of my knowledge of vampires (if that’s the right roll to make) - (1d20+2)
(14) + 2 = 16
"Don't worry. So Elena and we know each other. We still have to work together to get the codex, and when we have it in our hands, we will have the upper hand. Then its talk or battle. Either way I will be there for you.
Kit, I do not have any real excuse to ask, but I cannot bear to live to not have you under my watchful eye again tonight. It doesn't matter now who knows, I want you with me."
Not even thinking about how red her eyes are or the tear streaks on her cheeks, she looks at them and starts speaking somewhat excitedly. "Okay, we need to convince the people who live in this cave to let me have their codex. I'll probably tell them who we are and who I am in history to appeal to the "save humanity" side of them. Once we do that, we come back and deal with Elena.
If we inevitably end up having to fight Elena and her thralls," she shows them her crystal, "I'll try to put them magically to sleep. If all goes perfect, we can rip a piece of wood off of the ship and stab her in the heart with it. If she doesn't fall asleep, then we'll only have one person to focus our efforts on... or her and a few thralls... this is the best idea I have so far!"
They had a romance that would easily make those around them nauseous from the pure love they exhibit for each other. With a plan in hand, they spent the rest of the day preparing, with Kitsune getting a short nap so that she wouldn't be so exhausted and would be ready to head off for the caves.
Sparing no time from when he finished locking their cabin door, she pounced on Dukalu and locked him into a deep, passionate kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She knew that she'd be in charge come morning, but for tonight, she couldn't be happier to surrender herself over to the Mate that had her heart. Tomorrow, they were risking their lives, so they made sure every touch, every kiss, every embrace, every second was pure passion between the two as they expressed they love before getting a long rest in each other’s arms.
With awkward desperation, you and he lock your kisses and grasp blindly at each other's gherkin and blouse. He runs his hands politely around your slender waist like a dance partner would, but then pulls the layers of silky blouse up over your head. Even while your arms are crossed over, your head and your hands still bound in the silk, he is running his hands over your breasts and stomach. When you free yourself, you feel his wolfish gaze. He is staring at your breasts. You have captivated the beast. He sees how athletic and trim you maintained yourself, your more-flat-than-not breasts are caramel, but the prominent nipples are dark brown like cacao, their auroras still fleshy and pink having not yet borne a child. He glories in your breasts, all ripe to fill full with milk to suckle his young, to let him share your essence with a babe and sustain own his desire with his own lips and tongue on you, sucking you until the milk drops and you swirl into submission. You finish pulling off his gherkin and see the glory of manhood, a broad frame with tight muscles, not so over pumped that he is a caricature of a man, but definitely strong and virile enough to be your mate. The moonlight that showed off your breasts, also shows you the fine chest of hair that was always showing itself in part on the decks, imagined in your thoughts, now complete before you, the colors of a quealtascoatl feathered dragon tattoo emblazoned on his dark skin. He mounts you and draws your hard nipples through his chest hair as he reaches his hands between your legs and touches where your excitement is building most. He is panting like that wolf when he comes up for air, arching his back to feel the excitement of the moment. He looks again at your deep brown eyes in the moonlight. You see the desire, but he holds back. Why! Kit wants to be taken, you say!! "I can't," he gasps as if the oxygen has been depleted in the bunk. He takes his palm off your vulva, and with both large hands grasp your cheeks and neck, moving his thumbs across your cheekbones. "I can't just do this without knowing." Out of breath still, he draws in a great draw of air and holds it. He kisses you lightly on the lips and looks in your eyes. "I love you, Kitsune, with my heart that climbs the mountain, with my soul that flows down the mighty river, I love you. It's all been my fault. All those loves before, I refused to love them because they weren't perfect, they weren't the one. All those heartaches I suffered, I did to myself. There is no Kiltzi that continually breaks my heart. I know. I know myself. I love all the way and never part, but I have never found anyone else who could do the same. They would have a pretty face or fine figure, but the heart,... the heart is what I want. Someone to have adventurers with, to raise children, to grow old with, to never fail to say I love you and hear it back each time. I need to know from you Kitsune. I love you."
You don't react immediately, though the sexual desire courses through your body, or perhaps because of it. Lust is the illusion of love and you know the difference too well. What he is offering is foreign to everything in your back story. You do not know love taught from early loves. Your experiences are vast compared to his, but never picturesque. You can't love him as that would make you vulnerable, subject to exploit by anyone who looks in your eye. You think to yourself, you can still tell him you love him, and get the fuck you wanted. You can say it with the precision of a thespian and the eloquence of a poet. But here, lying on top of you, is the paragon of truthfulness. What point would lying be? Tell him you will never love him, and break his heart. He admitted it himself, he was the cause of his own heart break. Do you play the charlatan the rest of your life, or do you become something else like what the higher authority gods are pushing on you? He wants you to know yourself. To find out who you really are... Wasn't that the point of this journey anyway?
The realization melts Kitsune, her heart feels so full for the first time in her life. She finally opens her mouth and says, "Love is such a foreign experience... every relationship has been lustful and my feelings have been separated to protect myself. I'm good at what I do, I know how to hide who I am, how to play someone else, be who I need to be so that I can get what I need without revealing who I am... maybe that's why I haven't known who I am. I know that I have a tongue more silver than the most inspiring bard's speech," she pauses to chuckle lightly, "almost every word that I've said to Elena has been deceitful and untrue, which she's only realized once fortunately... but with you..."
She takes his cheek into her hand and prepares herself for what she's about to say. Taking a deep breath, she adds, "I can't bring myself to be dishonest with you, not even from the first conversation. I would've never told Poca or Elena about being on the boat looking for who I am, but you pulled that out of me without even trying. Maybe there is a Kiltzi, maybe not. Considering I spoke to a literal higher being, I'm a lot more inclined to believe that our love, our meeting, our connection was written in the stars before either of our first breaths. What we have could be predetermined... but you are right too. While it's not your fault that they didn't love you the same way in return, it was still your choice to love them, just like it's your choice to love me. I could easily tell you that I don't love you the same just like every girl before me, like every one before that legend says betrayed you, but what we do with this life, our fate... it's our choice. The gods created doors for us and led us to them, it's up to us mortals to walk through or run from it.
"I've spent my life running from that door... but I'm done." She takes his face in her hands and kisses him passionately, longingly. After a moment, she pulls her lips away and looks him deep in his eyes. "I love you, more than I knew possible to love someone. I never want to leave your side, every moment away is just a moment leading up to being with you again. My heart sings your praises with every look, every word, every touch... Some things about me probably won't change. I'll always be silver tongued, I'm mischievous as hell, I see humor in everything even when I shouldn't, and I know how to get what I want out of people... But how I see my life certainly has. I don't want to hide behind an identity that I'm not, I don't want to avoid attachments, I don't want to be alone anymore. I won't lie to you, loving you is scary, especially right now because anyone could use you as a pawn against me and I would lose all sanity if you lost your life because of me... but despite that, I want you, I want you by my side always. I want to face every adventure and challenge together, I want a family with you, I want to hold your hand when the gods decide to take our souls into the afterworld. I love you with everything in me! I'm going to make mistakes, you are my first love after all, but I want to work through those moments with you. You want my heart, but you don't realize that you've had it all this time. I love you Dukalu, I love you!" The emotions of the moment have overpowered her and a steady stream of tears are quietly streaming down her cheeks.
The truth has set her free, this journey has changed her heart. Her background was a life as a charlatan, but her future... it was far from it.