[Kabrin Road] The Birthday Boy [Kendall]

[Hadrian]

"Perhaps I did feel that as well," he admitted with a guilty smile. "Just a little bit." He kissed the blond on the temple, more demonstrative in private with all his feelings, not just those shared between them. He didn't understand people who lived with their vulnerable insides on their sleeves; to him it was more special to save those precious things for precious people. "I don't think it was a wise idea to incarcerate Ivak this long," he admitted, albeit carefully. "I mean, He was dangerous in his rage and grief, so a short time spent in isolation where He couldn't hurt the world, that would be appropriate, but He is a force of nature and should not be kept in chains this long. That can't be good for the balance of things." His dark brows were beetled in concentration, a frown for the problem at hand, but not for Kendall or the day itself. "I don't want to question Her wisdom, but I wish to understand it. At least insofar as a mere mortal can... "And I don't know if I have a favorite place. There are wonders everywhere. Zeltiva was this bright bastion of intellectual and academic pursuit, but I have outgrown it for the time being. Sahova held wonders, but was terrible and dangerous. Alvadas was beguiling, and all the rest... but even Syliras has its good things now that I have been given the chance to grow without the restrictions of my family. And now... I don't know, it seems almost like we're building a new family... doesn't it?"

[Kendall Saarinen]

The fact that Hadrian felt similar to Kendall about Ivak made him feel even closer to the hydromancer. He had to admit that Hadrian seemed to be a bit more intelligent about the divine though. He made sense, filling in the gaps where Kendall's education of the divine fell short. "I agree, that makes sense." Kendall liked to hear Hadrian speak, especially of the Gods and Goddesses. He could not help but admire the mage's intelligence. Kendall listened quietly as Hadrian spoke. A smile warmed his face as the hydromancer talked about Zeltiva. "I love Zeltiva because it is home. I used to want to push the memory of the city out of my mind because it hurt. I didn't want to think about the family I left behind and…" The words seemed to catch in Kendall's throat. He could not get himself to utter the last part of his thought. The only thing worse than remembering the accident and having the horrible dreams of it was taking about it. At least in Kendall's mind the emotions and thoughts were safe and quartered away to where they only stung, not tore him apart. "You know." Kendall's fingers made their way in between Hadrian's, trying to find comfort in their temperature and feel. A tear came to the blond's eye but he wiped it away with a single finger before flashing Hadrian an uneasy smile. "There are some really good things that happened there. Things that out weigh the bad too much not to acknowledge." Kendall grinned through a small sniffle before moving forward to kiss Hadrian on the cheek. "It's were we first saw each other. That's got to count for something." "I suppose nowhere needs to be your favorite. There is so much to weight out I suppose. Everywhere has their goods and bads." There was still far too much for Kendall to see before he could even think about choosing where he liked best. He thought about Hadrian and how he seemed to keep moving on, staying mobile. Was that what most people their age did? Kendall could not have expected to have stayed in Zeltiva forever but he did and now he was on his way to one of the most dangerous cities in Sylira and soon after, the Everwinter city of Avanthal. Kendall moved his thumb across the smooth skin of Hadrian's palm, trying to think of what he wanted to say. "It does seem like that. I don't know if Sondra will stay with us but it will be nice with you, Ethan, Cathan, and me." Kendall wanted family much more than he would let on. Even when he was younger he had daydreamed about being a mother just like his own mother. It bothered him a lot that if things did not get fixed he could never be one. "I like it. I was not sure if I'd have a family again. I never expected to have one like ours." Kendall liked the sound of that. A family like ours. "The unexpected seems to be getting better and better though. First Ivak favoring me, then meeting you and getting to know you. Unexpected but very welcomed."

[Hadrian]

He pulled Kendall gently down onto the horse blanket, resting his head on his hand so he could look down at the blond lad who was the vessel for the pretty girl he remembered. One knee slipped over and between Kendall's, and chlorine blue eyes paid close attention to his face while he listened. He didn't say anything because he had already said it all anyway, and now they were to the point where he just listened because that was what Kendall seemed to need. Of course, he would have preferred their relationship to have blossomed with Kendall still in his comely lady form, but ultimately a person was not a gender and he loved Kendall no matter the shape. Of course, the part of him that quietly wanted children eventually could only hope that a mastery of Morphing might allow for that. Then again, there was something nice about having a friend with whom to face the world, but tender in the dark of night. He supposed that would not be lost when Kendall assumed his... her true form, though Hadrian had to wonder at what point this form would become the true one, especially once it had been lived in as long as the original. "A poet said: Someday, somewhere – anywhere, unfailingly, You’ll find yourself, and that, and only that, Can be the happiest or bitterest hour of your life. I think that might be applicable now..."

[Kendall Saarinen]

Green and blue eyes looked up at Hadrian listening, but not speaking. Kendall felt pain growing in his chest as he poured it heart out to Hadrian, as he had so many times before. He felt comfort in his quiet lovers gaze. He did not need to say anything and he didn't. He just listened. When Hadrian finally did speak it was Kendall's turn to watch lovingly as the hydromancer's lips moved. From them, he spoke a verse. Kendall could not speak at first, even after Hadrian had stopped talking. He simply looked up as he searched the mage's eyes. The words seemed perfect and they made so much sense. At any other time he did not think he would have understood it. As a female he would have believed that he had already found himself. Now he was not as sure. "Yes… I think it is." Fingers gripped Hadrian's collar, pulling him face to face with Kendall. At first the blond simply took the chance to look into Hadrian's eyes at such a close distance. Soon his lips were pressed against the hydromancer's. He was unable to keep away any longer. His cool lips sent Kendall's mind into warm frenzy. At times it seemed like Hadrian was the fire starter instead of Kendall with how much the mage set alight his emotions. Hadrian was not hiding emotion anymore. There was not anything to alert Kendall's mark. In a way the Azenth missed the feeling of sensing what hid beneath Hadrian's icy surface. He liked to know the emotions that Hadrian locked deep inside of himself. He was touched that he had gotten them to the surface and this fact outweighed the longing for the hidden emotion.

[Hadrian]

Though part of him missed the girl who was gone, he could not find a single thing about Kendall that he would change. It was difficult to explain this to the girl-cum-boy, but he had tried a few times. One way or the other, Kendall was Kendall, and that was enough for Hadrian. The equipment under his clothes was not expected or preferred, but it was Kendall and that made it wonderful. Though part of him longed for two green eyes, there was the marvel of one green and one blue, the best of both worlds, and the secret of the soul within was enough to make the kiss sweet with an intoxicating aftertaste. Though no empath, he could feel the heat pouring off of his lover, and his own arm wrapped around the more compact, muscled form of the blond youth, pulling him close and kissing him hard, his tongue darting into that mouth to taste what he tasted. When this started, it became a runaway cart that he could not control, but with Kendall, he didn't worry about controlling himself. Holding him so tightly they might have been wrestling, he whispered more of the poet's words into a perfect ear: "Love! Love until the night collapses!" Of course, it wasn't yet night, but they wouldn't have too, too long to themselves before vigilant companions made sure they were all right. Wasting no time, Hadrian began to pull of his clothes, unwrapping himself like a birthday present.

[Kendall Saarinen]

The embrace that Hadrian held Kendall in now was different than he had even held him before. It was more forceful, passionate, and uncontrolled. Kendall loved it. There was so much emotion that was releasing from his lover and feeding back into him. It made him hold Hadrian closer, savoring the taste of him as the mage's tongue found it's way past his lips. Kendall's hands groped for something to hold tight to. A shirt, Hadrian's hair, something to make sure he was not going to float away from the hydromancer. His fingers gripped onto the back of Hadrian's shirt as he pressed himself closer to the mage, barely breathing between kisses. Kendall would let Hadrian lose control. It was what he wanted. To have the hydromancer release his pressure. The poetry came again in Kendall's ear. Hadrian's voice made the fire within the Azenth rage brighter and hotter. There might have been a murmur from Kendall. A quiet agreement or affirmation. It was no sooner after Hadrian's line of poetry was over that the mage began to rid himself of his clothing. Kendall worked at his own, tugging at his shirt and pants before finding himself against Hadrian again. His lips started at the hydromancer's own but began to trail, first across the line of his chin and then working their way down his neck. "And like the fire who wanes to the rain I fall under your influence time and time and again" Kendall spoke quietly, his lips still touching Hadrian's skin. His nose, still breathing in his scent. Cool and calming. His lips yearned to be back against is lovers but he could not part them from the cool skin of Hadrian's neck. Taking a breath he spoke again. "If I am to flicker down into ash, so shall it be For none but you can light the fire in me."

[Hadrian]

"I have been a mulitude of shapes," he groaned into Kendall's ear, his face wavering between his own and that which he kissed, his magic seeping out as Kendall urged him away from control, "Before I assumed a consistant form... I have been a sword, narrow, variegated, I will believe when it is apparent. I have been a tear in the air, I have been in the dullest of stars. I have been a word among letters, I have been a book in the origin. I have been the light of lanterns, A year and a half." He stoked the fire within Kendall with clever words gleaned from poets and mystics long dead, even as his clever hands worked at stoking more physical manifestations of love and lust in his eager lover. It would be a good long while before they returned to camp. END

[Templar]

Hadrian: Seduction: 1 – Poetry: 1 – Observation 2 – Rhetorics: 2 Lore: Sharing fears and hopes - Kendall: Observation: 3 – Rhetorics: 2 – Poetry: 1 Lore: Sharing fears and hopes - Additional note: … ... ... I hate you guys.