A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

As soon as Elora uttered her ultimatum, Morganae groaned and palmed her face. "Damn, stubborn daughter…" she grumbled softly. She took her hand off her face again, and glared at the pair of Elora and Erik. "And I suppose you've come here because you need me to sneak you into the city and perform the ceremony…?" Elora, still hugging a stoic Erik from behind, pouted at her mother. "Well, yeah…" Slowly, her pout then turned into a confident smirk. "I guess it's a good thing you love me, right Mom?" "Hmpf," Morganae snorted, but without much conviction behind it. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, and aetherium sparked from her chaotic emotions. She wasn't happy about any of this, but she definitely didn't want Elora to leave angry, either. In the end, family was everything to her, as it was to Elora. More than anything, she wanted her daughter to be safe and happy, but also… able to make her own mistakes. Or, for that matter, discover her own path to take. If she didn't believe these things, she wouldn't have allowed Elora to start down this path in the first place. Now, she could either continue to support Elora no matter what, or do possibly irreparable harm to their relationship in an attempt to enforce her will, and Moraganae knew there was only one real choice to make. "Fine!" she finally growled, putting one hand back on her hips and using the other to point at the rebellious pair with narrowed eyes. "But if we're going to take such a risk, then I want proof! I want to do the heartfire trial right here and now, to prove your love! Before we take the risk of sneaking inside!" Finally, Erik had enough. So far, he'd been stoically watching the confrontation between mother and daughter, knowing his words would mean less than dirt to this extremely powerful and currently quite irate woman, but he'd had enough now. With his arms still stoically crossed in front of his chest and his fists clenched, he growled. "And what gives you the right to judge such a thing?! Whatever our true feelings are has noth—" "It has everything to do with me!" Morganae roared as her presence ballooned. His voice forced all her negative emotions to the surface, causing aetherium to surge chaotically as she temporarily lost a hint of control. Breath hitched in Erik's throat when, for a moment, it seemed like Morganae had turned so immense that she'd become the entire world. But then he blinked and it was over again. Having calmed down, Morganae was now simply glaring at them again, arms crossed in front of her chest. "Careful with your words, boy," she growled threateningly. "You're lucky I don't put you to sleep while I talk this about with my daughter alone." Annoyed and defiant, Erik parted his lips to respond, but… found himself incapable of uttering a word. Panic and surprise rose, but he immediately realized Morganae had done something and refused to give her any satisfaction. So he simply closed his mouth and went back to glaring defiantly at her. Meanwhile, an indignant Elora released Erik's back to stand between him and her mother instead, her hands on her hips. "His point is reasonable, Mom!" she claimed with a frown, her own emotions rising higher as well. "Why can't you just accept our feelings without proof?!" Having calmed a little herself, Morganae sighed and put a hand on her forehead. "Because this is clearly all very fresh, little whisp! Of course, if you'd simply informed me about your feelings that would be one thing, but this is different!" She took her hand off her forehead and looked pleadingly at her daughter. "You want me to risk all of our lives over something that's barely been a thing for, what, a month? Two? When did you suddenly decide you love this boy again?" Unfortunately, Elora had grown very annoyed with her mother at this point, and wasn't very susceptible to reason anymore. "That's got nothing to do with it!" she claimed boastfully. "Just because we've only recently realized how we felt, doesn't mean it's not been brewing under the surface for much longer!" Surprisingly, it was Erik who became the voice of reason in this moment. "I think we should hear her out…" he sighed through his bond with Elora. His partner immediately recoiled and turned to look at him in disbelief. "W— What?!" she exclaimed out loud, causing Morganae to raise a surprised eyebrow. "Do you need proof, too?!" she continued, more than a little hurt. Sighing, Erik shook his head and comfortingly grasped Elora's hips. "Of course not," he continued through their bond, as Morganae was still preventing him from speaking. "But if you think about it for a moment, I'm sure you'd agree your mother's words make sense, at least to her, right? What we're doing is dangerous, remember?" Elora quickly calmed down and started to pout. Erik's comforting hands started calming her emotions, and she couldn't deny he had a point. Slowly, she leaned into his chest and sighed, wrapping her own arms around him as well. They didn't speak another word, but it was clear they'd come to an understanding. Meanwhile, Morganae watched them impatiently, yet she didn't hurry them. Her arms were crossed in frustration, but she'd realized Erik had likely spoken in favour of her request, making her feel a little less hostile towards him. Finally, the partners entangled, and Elora turned around to glare at her mother. "Fine!" she exclaimed indignantly, pointing at her. "So long as it's clear that we're doing this for you, not each other! We're perfectly clear about our feelings!" Morganae smirked at her daughter, yet felt moved by Elora's conviction. "Ah, the surety of youth…" she muttered softly, but then quickly moved on. "Good," she nodded calmly. "I'm glad you're seeing reason, but I need to add one condition," she continued, now holding up a finger and raising an eyebrow. "If the trial finds even a hint of deception within the boy, then you agree to enslave him and come back home!" 'Let's see how firm their conviction truly is,' she snickered inwardly. But, their response was immediate. "Deal!" Elora exclaimed, with Erik nodding next to her. But before Morganae could respond, a mischievous grin spread on Elora's lips. "But if you can make a condition then so can we!" She pointed at Morganae smugly. "If we both pass the trial, then you need to start treating Erik with respect, and as true family!" Silence fell as Morganae glanced sombrely at Erik for a moment… but then she nodded and turned back to Elora. "Fine…"