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Description
Christmas Gift for Gem <3

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How long had he been gone. Ages now, at least that's what it felt like. Having to wait on Mukot's beastly ass was annoying, and above all, taxing. It was a complete waste of time. He began to understand Mukot was fighting a losing battle, and while he loved the killing and bloodshed, serving Mukot was no longer on his agenda, at all. He wanted to serve himself, and create his own merciless plans, so he would no longer be a ball and chain yanked and toss according to Mukot's insane whim. However, unlike UnLight, he would never turn full on traitor, and join the heroes to overthrow Mukot. No, he would wait until the heroes overthrew him, and somehow plan to escape as well so he could start his new life.

And he knew exactly where he could start.

UnDark walked ahead, right out of the darkness and mist outside of Ophelia's manor. It had been months since he had been here. A smirk curled his lips as merely the first sight of it was enough to reawaken memories of the...pleasurable time, he had had last time within those walls. Sure those thoughts and feelings got him through the daily drudgery of life at Mukot's castle, the lone general now that UnLight was in prison, but somehow being there just caused them to burn more intensely than ever.

He pushed open the doors; he inhaled deeply, closing his eyes so that he could focus all of his senses onto the smell. It smelled of black roses, even a hint of musk, perhaps still lingering from his prior stay. It smelled so familiar, so much better than Mukot's tower full of those stinking Malevils that were about his only company. UnDark felt sometimes he was the only one left that made an effort to keep clean and smell nice anymore. Of course, Ophelia did as well, and he could smell her beautiful aroma in the air as well. It was like heaven for the senses.

And yet, something smelled different. He wrinkled his nose, opening his green eyes and blinking slowly. Yes. Something most certainly seemed off. Ophelia smelled like a freshly washed goddess yes, but something about this scent was a bit...too clean, too brand new.

He ran a hand over his head, the fronds of his mask dipping down and popping back up straight as his hand released them. His headache began to melt away the moment he left Talmor. By now it was completely gone, but he felt it nibble at his nerves as this new smell confused him. Walking up the elegant staircase, winding up to the second floor of the Gothic styled mansion, his eyes glanced around. It was nearly silent. The hisses of Dark and Dex, Ophelia's Demonic Hisses, and even Blue, another of those creatures that was given to UnDark to keep, were strangely absent. Blue came to see UnDark in Talmor frequently, breaking up the monotony of life there, but he had gone back long ahead of him. He and the other two should be there, but they were nowhere to be seen, or heard.

"Maybe she's gone out," UnDark muttered. He smirked to himself. "How unkind, leaving me out of the murderous fun. The least she could do was leave a note for me, or bring a corpse back as a surprise."

Surprise. He repeated that word in his head. Nothing ever surprised UnDark. He was over two-thousand years old. He had seen everything, and by now had pretty much established the list of things that gave him joy. Anything that wasn't on that list, he hated, and destroyed at the first opportunity. Even if Ophelia had brought back a victim for him to kill, even a corpse as a war prize, it wouldn't have surprised him. Made him grin yes, but surprise? Nothing surprised him anymore.

Not even UnLight becoming a traitor after falling in love with that girl, trying to attack UnDark after learning he had killed that same woman, surprised UnDark. He always knew UnLight was weak. If anything he wondered why it took that long for him to fall. Made him laugh hysterically, yes, but surprised him? Not at all.

If Mukot lost the war tomorrow it wouldn't surprise him.

Now...Ophelia, she had surprised him, a little, at first. He outright hated her even though he was quickly impressed by his skills, upon their first meeting. He hid that approval, as did she of his skills, the two throwing attacks and insults back and forth several times. Yet while UnLight bonded with this girl he loved, UnDark did the same with Ophelia. Stubborn facades broke down after long enough, and words were exchanged, battle tactics demonstrated, and after long enough the two started making efforts to see each other rather than waiting for random chance.

The surprise hit him last time he saw her, when he awoke in her bed after a long night of passion with her, her naked body nestled up beside his, under silken, royal purple sheets and a blood red plush comforter. A fire crackled in the room, the cold, gray morning light filtering through one of the windows through a gap in the curtains. He had done things with this woman that still overloaded his senses. He tried to make sense of it, drawing a blank no matter how many times he tried to label it.

The closest he could come was realizing he didn't hate her, not in the slightest. She gave him joy. She had surprised him. She was the one person he could tolerate without his temper firing up almost immediately. She was special, and yet he wasn't sure how to explain what he was feeling.

He thought about it until she awoke, her lavender eyes meeting his green orbs. She smirked, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull herself up so she could kiss him passionately. He felt those feelings again. He got them every time she touched him in some way, each new brush of contact setting them off again. She pulled back complimenting him on his performance, causing him to smirk. He expected to be no less than the absolute best, and didn't think that she had nothing to compare him to, but said he was the best anyway. His ego kept his mind busy until his ears snapped him back to reality. By now she had pulled on a silky robe, and was standing up, stretching.

"Stubborn as you can be, I see another reason now why I love you."

Love? That...putrid, disgusting emotion he was taught to hate? Oh sure Mukot demanded love, but otherwise love was the one thing that absolutely had to be killed, gotten rid of, and crushed. It was love that had put UnLight in prison. He wasn't sure but, UnDark felt he could pinpoint the cause of this entire war with the stupidity of love, and yet, here Ophelia had said it. Was that what he felt for her? This feeling he could not put a label on because he had all but shoved it out of his mind?

Despite having to hate it, he realized he enjoyed the feeling. Yes. If it were for Ophelia, then love was alright. When Mukot was defeated, UnDark would come back to her, able to stay permanently. From that point on, the both of them being immortal, the two of them could do whatever it was they pleased. He had no problem saying he loved her. And so he did, causing her to look back at him. She blinked, as if surprised by him, but grinned. That was the first time she had heard him say it, but perhaps she knew he felt it all along.

Maybe she wasn't really as surprised as she looked. Perhaps he couldn't surprise her anymore either.

He smirked, walking up the stairs still. That hardly mattered. Ophelia and UnDark had such a passionate love, and a burning eagerness that would always keep their life exciting. Perhaps, just like with discovering love, they'd find new ways to surprise each other.

Who knew, perhaps Ophelia already had. There was still that strange smell nagging him after all.

He walked to the door of Ophelia's room, deciding he would take a nap until she returned. Maybe she was sleeping, and he could crawl into bed beside her and feel her perfect body against his skin again. The thought excited him, and so he opened the door. A fire crackled inside the fireplace, moonlight pouring into the window. It reminded him of his first night with her here so many months ago. In the dark, he could make out the silhouette of her body under the covers, set off by the moonlight. He grinned. This would be the perfect chance to snuggle up beside her. Perhaps he could surprise her after all, watching her come to life under the touch of his kissing on her slender neck.

UnDark crept over to bed slowly, smirking to himself all the while before he paused. Years and years of stealth practice and trailing victims had heightened his senses enough to where he knew how susceptible someone was. He tilted his head slightly. That was indeed Ophelia there, but not the sleeping beauty she appeared to be. That unfamiliar smell was still present however. He stopped, rubbing his neck as he wondered. In the bed, Ophelia opened an eye, smirking to herself. Her back was to him but she was as acutely aware of her surroundings as he was, and she heard him approaching, amused to see he had not fallen out of practice, and knew to stop. She would have let him have it too, as she was slightly sore with her handsome fellow for being gone, for one particular reason.

That, and she still had no idea how he would react to this.

"About time you came back," she said.

He was right, she was awake. He could feel a twinge of annoyance at her words, but he rarely got upset around her anymore. "Take up your complaints with Mukot. I asked Blue to explain it to you. ...where are they anyway?"

"...Dark and Dex are on an...errand. Blue went to help them," she replied slowly, shifting in bed a little. She could sense him nodding, before resuming his walk to the bed. Her eyes darted towards him, then back as she continued, "Wait, you're not going to ask why I said that?"

"Said what?" UnDark said, stopping a few feet away.

She shook her head. "Why I said it was about time you came back. You don't really think I'm the damsel sort that pines away painfully for her lover do you? There's a reason."

UnDark rolled his eyes. "I didn't expect you to pine for me nor would I. I enjoy this feeling of love, but you're not the swooning type." He paused. "What's the reason?"

Ophelia smirked. "You have to come closer."

What kind of game she was playing UnDark wasn't sure. Still, he went along with it. As he got closer to the edge of the bed he was able to see over Ophelia's body, and saw what looked like bundles under the covers. For a moment he suspected a trap, that Dark, Dex, and maybe even Blue lay awake to attack him playfully; it had happened before after all. Still, that didn't seem likely, and he had no other explanation for it. By the time he got to the edge of the bed that unfamiliar smell was even stronger. He was about ready to ask her outright what was going on, rubbing his face for a moment briefly. As he lowered his hand he heard a tiny noise. It wasn't like the sound of a hiss, but, something far more gentle, and innocent. He felt like he had heard something similar before, but like with love he couldn't process it correctly.

His eyes opened immediately. He still could not see Ophelia's face, but he saw her pull her arm back, resting it, after having pulled down the covers around the bundles. Two tiny pairs of ears popped up, along with the tips of fronds, part of masks just like he had. Gray, soft fur, little black spade birthmarks on their foreheads. One was gray and blue as he was, the other was gray with purple and hints of white from his mother. In red and green blankets, two tiny babies, practically miniatures of UnDark, were swaddled up side by side, close to their mother's body. They couldn't have been more than a week old.

UnDark's expression changed so quickly, but slowly all at once. His eyes widened and softened, his eyebrows raised. His head tilted to the side while his lips pursed open just barely. Ophelia's eye glanced back. She wasn't sure what she was going to see when she revealed this, their two sons, to him, but it was clear what effect this had had on him.

Sheer and complete, surprise.

She grinned. "Such an innocent boy," Ophelia murmured. She turned over a little, facing him. "UnDark, these are your sons, Othadious, and Akaious."

She had done it, she had surprised him. She had gone as far as to make him look as innocent as those baby boys for a fleeting moment. He was a father. That new smell, the gentle sound, it was them. A million thoughts rushed through his head. Did he really make those babies? He had to, they looked just like him. Would he harm them if he tried to hold them? Would he scare them? Would they like him?

And then that's when it hit him. That once unfamiliar feeling, the one Ophelia had to label for him. Love.

He loved her, and without missing a beat, he felt love for these boys, his sons, their sons.

Love, and surprises.

A life with Ophelia was sure going to be full of them. And for once, he didn't hate a thing about it.

-----

To answer UnDark's questions...his boys do indeed love him very much XD UnDark might not be the perfect father but, he always tries his best for them <3 Not long after this, Akaious is attacked and nearly killed, gaining a heart defect that troubles him for the rest of his life. It causes UnDark to be that much more devoted to his new family. After seeing what Mukot did when he heard about Evelyn and Autumn, UnLight's family, he had Evelyn killed and hunted mercilessly for Autumn while imprisoning UnLight. UnDark knew better by then, and kept his family hidden, on up until his death at UnLight's hands five years later. Kraid Naru, the same one that created Ophelia, brings UnDark back, and he's finally able to stay with his family permanently. He and Ophelia had four more children after that, Claudia, Lalaith, Andromeda, and Wine.

Anyway Gem wanted this for her Christmas gift, UnDark meeting his twins for the first time, and she got a little story for it too. The part of it in WoLaD will be pretty similar so, think of this as a preview XD Their birthday is actually Christmas Day, and this would likely be taking place on New Year's Day, or perhaps the day after. New Year's Day is Arandor's and Shadow's birthday so I can't imagine Mukot would be that pleasant on that day XP

This picture took me a few days but I actually love it a lot. UnDark's face is just...XD It's like the last expression you'd expect him to have, but I love the impact that has, because you can see just how deeply his emotions are hitting him here. Ophelia's knowing smirk; she wasn't sure how he'd react but she's loving it, and of course little Othadious and Akaious bundled up together are adorable. The lightning is kinda...random here. I did the moonlight but wanted a firelight glow as well, so, yes the light sourcing here is probably horrible, and I apologize.

However I was able to shade using yellow on a luminosity layer, or rather highlight, and I LOVE how that looks. The background isn't perfect but, I am pretty satisfied with the picture. Posting this now because she shouldn't have to wait for her Christmas gift XD

Hope you all enjoy! ^^

UnDark belongs to me.

Ophelia belongs to Gem.

Othadious and Akaious belong to me and Gem.

~ Halo

Description
Christmas Gift for Gem <3

-----

How long had he been gone. Ages now, at least that's what it felt like. Having to wait on Mukot's beastly ass was annoying, and above all, taxing. It was a complete waste of time. He began to understand Mukot was fighting a losing battle, and while he loved the killing and bloodshed, serving Mukot was no longer on his agenda, at all. He wanted to serve himself, and create his own merciless plans, so he would no longer be a ball and chain yanked and toss according to Mukot's insane whim. However, unlike UnLight, he would never turn full on traitor, and join the heroes to overthrow Mukot. No, he would wait until the heroes overthrew him, and somehow plan to escape as well so he could start his new life.

And he knew exactly where he could start.

UnDark walked ahead, right out of the darkness and mist outside of Ophelia's manor. It had been months since he had been here. A smirk curled his lips as merely the first sight of it was enough to reawaken memories of the...pleasurable time, he had had last time within those walls. Sure those thoughts and feelings got him through the daily drudgery of life at Mukot's castle, the lone general now that UnLight was in prison, but somehow being there just caused them to burn more intensely than ever.

He pushed open the doors; he inhaled deeply, closing his eyes so that he could focus all of his senses onto the smell. It smelled of black roses, even a hint of musk, perhaps still lingering from his prior stay. It smelled so familiar, so much better than Mukot's tower full of those stinking Malevils that were about his only company. UnDark felt sometimes he was the only one left that made an effort to keep clean and smell nice anymore. Of course, Ophelia did as well, and he could smell her beautiful aroma in the air as well. It was like heaven for the senses.

And yet, something smelled different. He wrinkled his nose, opening his green eyes and blinking slowly. Yes. Something most certainly seemed off. Ophelia smelled like a freshly washed goddess yes, but something about this scent was a bit...too clean, too brand new.

He ran a hand over his head, the fronds of his mask dipping down and popping back up straight as his hand released them. His headache began to melt away the moment he left Talmor. By now it was completely gone, but he felt it nibble at his nerves as this new smell confused him. Walking up the elegant staircase, winding up to the second floor of the Gothic styled mansion, his eyes glanced around. It was nearly silent. The hisses of Dark and Dex, Ophelia's Demonic Hisses, and even Blue, another of those creatures that was given to UnDark to keep, were strangely absent. Blue came to see UnDark in Talmor frequently, breaking up the monotony of life there, but he had gone back long ahead of him. He and the other two should be there, but they were nowhere to be seen, or heard.

"Maybe she's gone out," UnDark muttered. He smirked to himself. "How unkind, leaving me out of the murderous fun. The least she could do was leave a note for me, or bring a corpse back as a surprise."

Surprise. He repeated that word in his head. Nothing ever surprised UnDark. He was over two-thousand years old. He had seen everything, and by now had pretty much established the list of things that gave him joy. Anything that wasn't on that list, he hated, and destroyed at the first opportunity. Even if Ophelia had brought back a victim for him to kill, even a corpse as a war prize, it wouldn't have surprised him. Made him grin yes, but surprise? Nothing surprised him anymore.

Not even UnLight becoming a traitor after falling in love with that girl, trying to attack UnDark after learning he had killed that same woman, surprised UnDark. He always knew UnLight was weak. If anything he wondered why it took that long for him to fall. Made him laugh hysterically, yes, but surprised him? Not at all.

If Mukot lost the war tomorrow it wouldn't surprise him.

Now...Ophelia, she had surprised him, a little, at first. He outright hated her even though he was quickly impressed by his skills, upon their first meeting. He hid that approval, as did she of his skills, the two throwing attacks and insults back and forth several times. Yet while UnLight bonded with this girl he loved, UnDark did the same with Ophelia. Stubborn facades broke down after long enough, and words were exchanged, battle tactics demonstrated, and after long enough the two started making efforts to see each other rather than waiting for random chance.

The surprise hit him last time he saw her, when he awoke in her bed after a long night of passion with her, her naked body nestled up beside his, under silken, royal purple sheets and a blood red plush comforter. A fire crackled in the room, the cold, gray morning light filtering through one of the windows through a gap in the curtains. He had done things with this woman that still overloaded his senses. He tried to make sense of it, drawing a blank no matter how many times he tried to label it.

The closest he could come was realizing he didn't hate her, not in the slightest. She gave him joy. She had surprised him. She was the one person he could tolerate without his temper firing up almost immediately. She was special, and yet he wasn't sure how to explain what he was feeling.

He thought about it until she awoke, her lavender eyes meeting his green orbs. She smirked, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull herself up so she could kiss him passionately. He felt those feelings again. He got them every time she touched him in some way, each new brush of contact setting them off again. She pulled back complimenting him on his performance, causing him to smirk. He expected to be no less than the absolute best, and didn't think that she had nothing to compare him to, but said he was the best anyway. His ego kept his mind busy until his ears snapped him back to reality. By now she had pulled on a silky robe, and was standing up, stretching.

"Stubborn as you can be, I see another reason now why I love you."

Love? That...putrid, disgusting emotion he was taught to hate? Oh sure Mukot demanded love, but otherwise love was the one thing that absolutely had to be killed, gotten rid of, and crushed. It was love that had put UnLight in prison. He wasn't sure but, UnDark felt he could pinpoint the cause of this entire war with the stupidity of love, and yet, here Ophelia had said it. Was that what he felt for her? This feeling he could not put a label on because he had all but shoved it out of his mind?

Despite having to hate it, he realized he enjoyed the feeling. Yes. If it were for Ophelia, then love was alright. When Mukot was defeated, UnDark would come back to her, able to stay permanently. From that point on, the both of them being immortal, the two of them could do whatever it was they pleased. He had no problem saying he loved her. And so he did, causing her to look back at him. She blinked, as if surprised by him, but grinned. That was the first time she had heard him say it, but perhaps she knew he felt it all along.

Maybe she wasn't really as surprised as she looked. Perhaps he couldn't surprise her anymore either.

He smirked, walking up the stairs still. That hardly mattered. Ophelia and UnDark had such a passionate love, and a burning eagerness that would always keep their life exciting. Perhaps, just like with discovering love, they'd find new ways to surprise each other.

Who knew, perhaps Ophelia already had. There was still that strange smell nagging him after all.

He walked to the door of Ophelia's room, deciding he would take a nap until she returned. Maybe she was sleeping, and he could crawl into bed beside her and feel her perfect body against his skin again. The thought excited him, and so he opened the door. A fire crackled inside the fireplace, moonlight pouring into the window. It reminded him of his first night with her here so many months ago. In the dark, he could make out the silhouette of her body under the covers, set off by the moonlight. He grinned. This would be the perfect chance to snuggle up beside her. Perhaps he could surprise her after all, watching her come to life under the touch of his kissing on her slender neck.

UnDark crept over to bed slowly, smirking to himself all the while before he paused. Years and years of stealth practice and trailing victims had heightened his senses enough to where he knew how susceptible someone was. He tilted his head slightly. That was indeed Ophelia there, but not the sleeping beauty she appeared to be. That unfamiliar smell was still present however. He stopped, rubbing his neck as he wondered. In the bed, Ophelia opened an eye, smirking to herself. Her back was to him but she was as acutely aware of her surroundings as he was, and she heard him approaching, amused to see he had not fallen out of practice, and knew to stop. She would have let him have it too, as she was slightly sore with her handsome fellow for being gone, for one particular reason.

That, and she still had no idea how he would react to this.

"About time you came back," she said.

He was right, she was awake. He could feel a twinge of annoyance at her words, but he rarely got upset around her anymore. "Take up your complaints with Mukot. I asked Blue to explain it to you. ...where are they anyway?"

"...Dark and Dex are on an...errand. Blue went to help them," she replied slowly, shifting in bed a little. She could sense him nodding, before resuming his walk to the bed. Her eyes darted towards him, then back as she continued, "Wait, you're not going to ask why I said that?"

"Said what?" UnDark said, stopping a few feet away.

She shook her head. "Why I said it was about time you came back. You don't really think I'm the damsel sort that pines away painfully for her lover do you? There's a reason."

UnDark rolled his eyes. "I didn't expect you to pine for me nor would I. I enjoy this feeling of love, but you're not the swooning type." He paused. "What's the reason?"

Ophelia smirked. "You have to come closer."

What kind of game she was playing UnDark wasn't sure. Still, he went along with it. As he got closer to the edge of the bed he was able to see over Ophelia's body, and saw what looked like bundles under the covers. For a moment he suspected a trap, that Dark, Dex, and maybe even Blue lay awake to attack him playfully; it had happened before after all. Still, that didn't seem likely, and he had no other explanation for it. By the time he got to the edge of the bed that unfamiliar smell was even stronger. He was about ready to ask her outright what was going on, rubbing his face for a moment briefly. As he lowered his hand he heard a tiny noise. It wasn't like the sound of a hiss, but, something far more gentle, and innocent. He felt like he had heard something similar before, but like with love he couldn't process it correctly.

His eyes opened immediately. He still could not see Ophelia's face, but he saw her pull her arm back, resting it, after having pulled down the covers around the bundles. Two tiny pairs of ears popped up, along with the tips of fronds, part of masks just like he had. Gray, soft fur, little black spade birthmarks on their foreheads. One was gray and blue as he was, the other was gray with purple and hints of white from his mother. In red and green blankets, two tiny babies, practically miniatures of UnDark, were swaddled up side by side, close to their mother's body. They couldn't have been more than a week old.

UnDark's expression changed so quickly, but slowly all at once. His eyes widened and softened, his eyebrows raised. His head tilted to the side while his lips pursed open just barely. Ophelia's eye glanced back. She wasn't sure what she was going to see when she revealed this, their two sons, to him, but it was clear what effect this had had on him.

Sheer and complete, surprise.

She grinned. "Such an innocent boy," Ophelia murmured. She turned over a little, facing him. "UnDark, these are your sons, Othadious, and Akaious."

She had done it, she had surprised him. She had gone as far as to make him look as innocent as those baby boys for a fleeting moment. He was a father. That new smell, the gentle sound, it was them. A million thoughts rushed through his head. Did he really make those babies? He had to, they looked just like him. Would he harm them if he tried to hold them? Would he scare them? Would they like him?

And then that's when it hit him. That once unfamiliar feeling, the one Ophelia had to label for him. Love.

He loved her, and without missing a beat, he felt love for these boys, his sons, their sons.

Love, and surprises.

A life with Ophelia was sure going to be full of them. And for once, he didn't hate a thing about it.

-----

To answer UnDark's questions...his boys do indeed love him very much XD UnDark might not be the perfect father but, he always tries his best for them <3 Not long after this, Akaious is attacked and nearly killed, gaining a heart defect that troubles him for the rest of his life. It causes UnDark to be that much more devoted to his new family. After seeing what Mukot did when he heard about Evelyn and Autumn, UnLight's family, he had Evelyn killed and hunted mercilessly for Autumn while imprisoning UnLight. UnDark knew better by then, and kept his family hidden, on up until his death at UnLight's hands five years later. Kraid Naru, the same one that created Ophelia, brings UnDark back, and he's finally able to stay with his family permanently. He and Ophelia had four more children after that, Claudia, Lalaith, Andromeda, and Wine.

Anyway Gem wanted this for her Christmas gift, UnDark meeting his twins for the first time, and she got a little story for it too. The part of it in WoLaD will be pretty similar so, think of this as a preview XD Their birthday is actually Christmas Day, and this would likely be taking place on New Year's Day, or perhaps the day after. New Year's Day is Arandor's and Shadow's birthday so I can't imagine Mukot would be that pleasant on that day XP

This picture took me a few days but I actually love it a lot. UnDark's face is just...XD It's like the last expression you'd expect him to have, but I love the impact that has, because you can see just how deeply his emotions are hitting him here. Ophelia's knowing smirk; she wasn't sure how he'd react but she's loving it, and of course little Othadious and Akaious bundled up together are adorable. The lightning is kinda...random here. I did the moonlight but wanted a firelight glow as well, so, yes the light sourcing here is probably horrible, and I apologize.

However I was able to shade using yellow on a luminosity layer, or rather highlight, and I LOVE how that looks. The background isn't perfect but, I am pretty satisfied with the picture. Posting this now because she shouldn't have to wait for her Christmas gift XD

Hope you all enjoy! ^^

UnDark belongs to me.

Ophelia belongs to Gem.

Othadious and Akaious belong to me and Gem.

~ Halo