Completed The Song of Water (Kelski)

[Kynier]

As she took the glass and went to the well pump he watched and admired the way she moved. There was part of the allure that she had mentioned before. Very rarely did he find himself staring at women in this way. But Kelski was unlike any woman he’d ever encountered. Thanking her as she handed him back the mug he watched her step to the edge of shelter from the rain. Curiously he stared at her form. Normally she was quicker with responses than this. So he listened to the silence knowing that whatever she said will have been very carefully thought out.

Kynier leaned forward eagerly, resting his arms on his knees again, holding his mug with both hands. He pictured the tale in his mind as she told it. Imagining a seemingly endless bank of starfish left behind waiting to die. Before she turned to face him he already saw the metaphor. The eager expression on his face faded as he listened to it unfold. When the double doors opened behind him his body tenses and a hand released the mug to lay halfway up his own thigh, closer to his weapon. He briefly looked at the young man with astounding black hair, before returning his eyes to her. Kelski gave no pause to her story as the other person joined them on the patio. When she finished the other moved closer to her and caressed her face. Kynier sat up a bit as he observed the affection between them. Something as sharp as a dagger cut him inside as they embraced each other. Kynier took his gaze away as his breath became erratic. Immediately he started a breath regulation meditation he normally used for summoning his djed. This time it was to quell himself.

“Behold one of the many weakness she instills in your feeble heart. Jealousy.”

That did nothing to assist in calming his emotions. At the sound of her voice he brought his attention back to them. The young man had a timid look to him as Kelski drew the fellow closer to the fire. Those eyes of blue were locked upon Kynier’s face in a peculiar way. “Hello Ebon,” he said hoarsely. Ebon returned the greeting and immediately reclaimed his purpose for coming out. The man spoke to Kelski softly. Kynier looked down at the fire and overheard only a few words being spoken from the soft collection the man had. Daggerhand, the 50th, and mask.

Kynier retreated deep into his own thoughts while Kelski spoke to Ebon about the clams. The Night of Masks was drawing closer. He still didn’t know any details about it yet. The Daggerhand were keeping it a closely guarded secret. Having spent days following, and even torturing a few of their rank he still had no knowledge that Akajia would be proud of. When Ebon drew near to take the clams Kynier looked up at him without turning his head. A blind nuit could tell that his presence made the blue eyed individual uncomfortable. In his nervousness Ebon spoke of sales, jewelry, and a ball. Kynier returned the farewell nod to the man as he left. His eyes returned to the fire and he took a sip of the cold water. Kynier felt warm, but now he couldn’t tell if it was from the fire, or from within.

At the sound of her voice he looked up again. The mug floating not far from his chin. From her statement about opening he looked over his shoulder at the double doors. “This place is a shop,” he commented to himself with a whisper. As she made reference to the metaphor he took another drink and finished his water. Those silver eyes spoke volumes as she finished talking. In his own were emotions he was trying hard to hide. Feelings of insult, and hurt.

This time he did not watch her as she came back to sit next to him. Eyes on the fire, he listened to the next question. No thoughts crossed his mind as he sat there. His hands rotated the mug consistently during the silence. The pain inside from before lingered and spread through his being. Jealousy was it? Kynier couldn’t be sure. If he tried he would not be able to recall the last time he had felt that. If he had it certainly wasn’t of this magnitude.

After a rather long silence he slowly stood up and walked over to set his mug down where the bag of clams had rested. As he moved around the fire he stripped off the vest he wore and draped over the arm of a chair. So retracted in his own mind he wasn’t away of something falling out of one of the vest’s hidden pockets onto the ground. A small, round, mundane looking locket which held a lock of braided hair belong to her inside of it. Kynier walked to the edge of the rain’s reach where Kelski stood before. After a pause of a few ticks he took a step out into the rain. Then a second. Then a third before stopping.

The sky was not dowsing the ground below but providing a steady shower. Kynier closed his eyes and tilted his head back to feel the rain on his face. Hands spread slightly out from his sides as he embraced the weather. As though he had been holding the same breath the entire day he exhaled deeply multiple times. Makutsi’s waters took away the rampaging fire that had been building within. Kynier ran his hands through his hair, mindful not to agitate his injuries. At last he could think again. Why had the act of the other man make him react so strongly? This and many other questions crossed his mind. In truth he did not want to answer her last question but to ask many of his own. By tilting his head forward he felt the soothing touch of water run down the back of his neck.

Kynier opened his eyes and returned to the balcony’s shelter from the rain. Footsteps making sloshing sounds as he approached. He came and stood by the fire, conscious of the fact he was now wetter than she had been and didn’t want to ruin the furniture. The difference between life and existence. Unlike those before it, this question was not meant to reveal his character. To his ears it sounded like the beginning of a philosophical debate. A few chimes ago he wouldn’t have indulged in it. It was very confrontational in fact. Kynier began to guess that Kelski didn’t ask it for her own understanding but for him to reflect on it himself.

Standing by the flames he crossed his arms and looked at her. The energy in his hazels had dullened to embers from the fire before. “Life,” he stated, “and existence. The answer is happiness Kelski. Those surrounded by family, or friends, or at least those that they hold dear, are the ones that live. Those people are the ones that wake up with dreams in their hearts that could turn to reality should the gods see fit. While they may have their fears and anxieties they manage to surround themselves with others that make them feel safe and loved. They are able to cherish the days that they experience. They are happy.” He pointed meaningfully out beyond the yard to things now veiled by the rain without taking his eyes away from her. “And Sunberth has very little life within it. So little that I have not seen it once since coming here.”

“Existing, is everything else. Those that exist also have their hopes and dreams but they are not happy. Existence is to feel incomplete while searching for something that would make you feel whole. Be it a person, an item, or an accomplishment. In the broader spectrum those people are neither happy nor content.” He took a step forward and pointed a finger at his own chest. “I exist.” Those two word were filled with a self-loathing. His hand descended to his side again. “I have chosen a path where I may do nothing but exist for the rest of my days. For I have lived a number of days that I could count with a single hand, in over twenty years.” He exhaled heavily, feeling out of breath. Kynier turned and walked a small circle that led him to one of the balcony supports. Setting his forearm above his head he leaned against it and shook his head.

“I’m not like you in that way Kelski. I don’t feel the creative drive that we spoke of. And I have not suffered in any way that would deserve your sympathy. I don’t,” he turned and indicated the building they were next to, “have stability to save a single life though I want to.” He continued shaking his head as he stammered for words. “And I… I… I don’t know… how to be satisfied… by one starfish.” There was a bit of helplessness in his words as well as his eyes. In less than a season the Kelvic had risen more and saved more than he had in years. Kynier turned his back on her as he continued to reflect. What was he doing wrong? What could he do to feel more accomplished in his efforts? These and more he asked himself.

The bond came back to his mind and how she had explained it to him. As he measured the difference between them he felt that he was more the Kelvic, and her the human. She did not need him perhaps as much as he needed her. Kelski was many things he wished he was. Stubbornness and independence aside, she was as much heart as he was mind. He lowered his head and sighed. Suddenly he didn’t feel like asking the questions he wanted. The heart to do so was absent.

Kynier felt his clothes with a hand. They were still fairly wet. The need to sit down came hard so he leaned against the balcony support and lowered himself to the ground. Was he really this weak of person? Out there he struggled hard against difficult odds and managed to survive. Yesterday everything was very clear to him. Now he was reduced to questioning his own resolve. He ran a hand through his wet hair again and looked in her direction, but not at her directly. “Could you wait a chime before asking another question?” he asked softly. His body was beginning to feel a little numb for reasons that weren’t physical.

The few days he had spoken of he tried to recount. One, the swim in the river last season. Two, the first time he produced a flame from his res. Three… There was one day in Nyka he recalled being happy though he couldn’t remember the reason now. Kynier closed his eyes and leaned his head against the post. Audible, slow breathes through his nose and out his mouth brought his mind to ease. In his meditation he reached for his djed. Deep inside him he felt it, though it was different this time. The energy felt disturbed and restless. With his will it traversed to the surface during the course of a chime. Gaseous res created a small cloud in the cup of his right hand. Ignite. The cloud turned into a flame smaller than the size of a finger. Kynier opened his eyes and stared at it while it burned, keeping his will busy by feeding it a steady source of res. The restless power within seemed to calm down as he purged a portion of it through the fire.

After a few chimes he suddenly closed his hand to puff out the fire as he ceased the flow of djed. Though he felt tired, tired from talking, and from trying to reign in his own emotions, he felt better now. He looked to Kelski with a neutral expression. “I’m ready now to answer another question. Depending on what it is, it may be the last one I have the energy to answer today.”



Word Count: 2,027

[Kelski]

Kelski watched what she did to him like a spectator to her own life. She knew this was what must happen between them. She felt a more powerful guiding hand on her heart, hardening it against comforting him and against softening to allow him respite from the storm that was brewing within him. Absently she wondered if this was what happened when someone repressed their emotions so long and so hard that they broke free all at once at only the simple reminder of the state of one’s life. Kynier was smart and strong, and she could see the sheer determination in him. But it wasn’t enough. And Goddess help her for judging him, but in so many ways she was. Even as she let him go like an eagle pulling up her talons before she drove them deep into the fish she wished to snatch out of the sea, Kelski would not let him suffer under false assumptions. She’d only seen him a few times, interacted less than a whole day collectively, but when he was unguarded, his human features were easy to read.

Ebon disturbed him and she wanted no part of a falsehood. “I want you to understand that Ebon lost his bondmate ten days past, and his soul is broken in ways I can’t even begin to understand. I was in time to save him but his lady was gone already. He is not out of danger yet, so every touch and every concern and every task I give him to occupy his time is another way to save him while he tries to decide what to do with the huge hole in his soul. We are friends, Kynier, but I am just another Kelvic and there is nothing more between us.” She said quietly, still wary of the expression within his eyes.

Kelski didn’t understand what was going on inside Kynier’s mind.

“Yes, my shop. The Midnight Gem. It is a place to work. It is a place to live and decide important things, and even a place to gather family to fill my own soul’s holes.” Kelski said, watching him carefully, trying to look past his humanity as if that would help her understand him. When she rejoined him, he didn’t linger long but was up and pacing, then out into the rain. She watched perplexed, studying him from her seat as if she were afraid to move. She watched the rain soak him and he drink it in as if it were something he needed in that moment to live.

Kelski trembled silently as he crossed his arms and looked at her. Something was alive in his eyes and it didn’t take her acute vision to know it. She thought perhaps it was rage, but she didn’t understand where it was coming from. She wanted to protest his words. He had seen it. Life was here, with her, with the family she was trying to build… with the work she was trying to do. Didn’t he understand she was trying to invite him to all of this? Was he so blinded that he couldn’t see what was right in front of his face?

She jumped slightly when he continued. Watching him move and then point to himself, she actually flinched when he said that he existed. Kelski could hear the emotion in his voice. He didn’t like himself. He didn’t see what she saw in him. Twenty years? Was that how old he was? Was he too old to learn new things? It seemed a lifetime to the Kelvic, as if he’d walked the world blind that long and didn’t want to be sighted.

His admissions almost broke her when he said that he wasn’t like her. He wasn’t supposed to be like her. He wasn’t supposed to have suffered. His life was his own and his burdens and path different from hers. Her suffering hadn’t made her life more valid than his. Or even vice versa. And… what? Just saving one life wouldn’t satisfy him? What?

Rage filled her. What if it was the one life that had the power to change his? What if it was that one life that had the power to change everyone else’s? How could he not see individuals for how special and precious they were? Why did the whole have to be more important than the parts? She balled up her fists, her fury almost tangible. BLIND. He was BLIND. Kelski surged to her feet and began to pace. She had a million words in her head she wanted to shout at him. Her bare feet slapped the planks of the deck as she wore a path across the firepit’s length from chair to chair to chair as she watched him.

But he needed a chime? He needed a Gods’ cursed chime? He would say such things to her and then ask for time to what? Relax? Reflect? Regroup? Who knew? She certainly didn’t. Kelski halted her pacing and stared at him a moment. He sat against a post on the ground, lit a flame of magic, and seemed to relax.

He sat in silence and she had no idea what he was thinking.

His face was expressionless; his visage weary. And as she stared at him, she decided suddenly he was like one of those raw gemstones she’d ordered to help stock her store. It was all she could afford at the time, confident in the fact that she had enough skill to cut something beautiful out of the raw despite whatever inclusions might come. It had been so much hard work, but in the end she had accomplished turning all that raw stone into cut stock that she placed in settings and crafted something beautiful out of.

Kynier was himself a rough-cut gemstone and his inclusions were varied and deep. His potential was endless and here Akjaia was asking her to cut him into something more valuable, stronger, more beautiful and desirable. He was her intended bondmate. She knew that was it by how she reacted to the man. But it all felt too much in that time and that place. Kynier was too focused on himself and cursed with his own sense of self. He’d admitted a dozen different ways how one person would never be enough, whether to save or to cherish. And she was so tired from the Grand Opening, the Masks, taking in the others and putting food in all their stomachs that she truly didn’t think anything she said could change his mind.

So she turned and took a seat, leaving him there. She gave him his chimes and waited until he spoke again. She wrapped the blanket around herself, tucking her feet up onto the seat. Kynier, by his own admission, existed. That saddened her so much it replaced the anger inside herself with pity. Why could a mere Kelvic like herself understand so many important things and he fail to see what was in front of him offered? If she had one more question, she’d ask him if he ever wanted to actually live.

But in the end, Kelski didn’t want to do it. The Kelvic simply didn’t want another rough gemstone to cut, at least not right now when she was so tired and in need of something else. And she doubted he’d welcome the process anyhow. His life was none of her business, especially if he was not willing to welcome her in it, even though he was giving her glimpses of it through these questions. These meetings had to stop. He might be her intended, but Akajia always gave her Nightstalkers choices and never forced them with a heavy hand.

His voice startled her out of her own introspection. She’d been absently plaiting her hair and looking thoughtful as she watched the fire in his hand. Kelski shifted her gaze to his eyes, saw the neutrality there, and noted exactly what he said. One more question and that was most likely it. Kelski nodded, understanding this must have cost him a great deal… he whom had existed twenty years. So instead of asking what she really wanted to ask, the Kelvic simply and quietly asked him a last question.

“What is the question you really want to be asked?” She said, deciding the best course of action was to let him talk about what he wanted to talk about and not force him into any more molds he simply didn’t fit into. It was the most basic thing she could think of that wouldn’t wring any more from him than he was willing to give.

[Kynier]

The words about Ebon were effective in bringing him comfort from his own paranoia. That he was another Kelvic shouldn’t have come as a surprise to him. But he did feel sorrow that the man lost his bondmate. From the way he needed Kelski’s comfort it must have been a powerful bond. One Kelski admitted an inability to understand the ramifications of. She told him that Ebon was a friend, one that she had saved. Kynier took that to heart, but jealous emotions tend to linger even after being consoled.

To compound the pain and hatred he was beginning to discover about himself, his words were hurting her too. So much so that she physically reacted to them, but the truth flowed from his mouth like the nameless river. Too quick and powerful for him to stop by himself. That pain turned into anger for her as well. The fists at her side as she paced around the furniture of the patio. He felt there was nothing he could really offer her, though he desired to calm her anger. The fires that one starts were always to most difficult to put out. Ultimately she settled on the couch and enveloped herself in the blanket again.

When he spoke he stole her away from her thoughts as she absentmindedly worked several strands of her hair together. The anger was gone from those silver eyes, replaced by sadness and… pity. When she spoke Kynier took his head from the support of the beam in mild disbelief. He could see that wasn’t the real question she had wanted to ask. There was no way for him to know why she chose not to ask it. The question was easy, too easy. The tone of her voice rang through him and froze his insides.

She and he, whatever they had, was deteriorating.

Kynier felt a warm trickle cascade around his injured brow. Taking his gaze away from her he wiped his face gently. When he looked at his hand there was a smear of blood. The intensity of his expressions from before, with the rain, had undermined the scab. Kynier thought in that moment of what his life would do to hers. Actively he pursued danger that others deliberately tried to avoid. Those endeavors had left him beaten and coated in blood. Kelski had experienced plenty of that. It wouldn’t be fair to her for him to drag that into her life now. Kynier did not underestimate her strength. He just didn’t want to burden her. The same way she didn’t want to burden him? He reflected on that thought as the blood diluted itself down his cheek.

His eyes roamed the wall before him. This was her shop, The Midnight Gem. She hadn’t mentioned it before to him, nor her efforts to make it when he last saw her. Either time that he last saw her. Curiosity arose. Kelski was a jeweler. A craft of beautiful things. For many days he wondered how she faired and now he sat in its shadow, wallowing. He took a deep breath and carefully wiped away the blood from his face. “I would want to be asked, if I’d like to come inside. To see your shop. The home that you’re building here for those you wish to call family.” His words were soft, devoid of the spite that they had chimes ago.

Standing up he walked back over to the couch and squatted down in front of the Kelvic. Looking up into her silver eyes he search them for any tell to her emotions. “But that is not the question you want to ask,” he dared to set a hand on her knee. It rested on top of all the layers and did not compress in affection. “It is Human nature, to avoid difficult things Kelski. And you have asked me difficult questions. But this is not a conversation that can be left and picked up later. I want whatever it is that is hiding behind those eyes. Because if this is the end of the conversation, then…” Kynier’s voice abandoned him. He did not want to even suggest it aloud.

He took a sharp inhale through his nose, “That’s not was the gods want. That’s not was She wants.” His voice lowered to a near whisper, “That’s not what I want. And don’t think that’s what you want either.” Slowly he reached out with his other hand to cup her cheek, if she allowed. To softly rub his thumb across her skin as he looked into her eyes. “There are things that we have kept from each other. Even from ourselves I’m sure. It may have been too soon but I wanted to try and change that.” For a time he couldn’t measure, he lost himself in her gaze. It was more than an allure, and didn’t feel as crazy as a fixation. Kelski was precious and he would do something, anything, to not lose her.

His voice raised to normal, “I ask you, Kelski, what was that question that you just refused to ask?”

[Kelski]

Kynier always surprised her. Just when the Kelvic thought she had a grasp on what he was feeling or doing, he’d seemingly lit up like a candle or smothered like a pinched flame and she never knew quite which direction things would go. Humans. They always complicated things so deeply. Kelski just felt tired in that moment, tired of it all and resigned to the fact that he wouldn’t and couldn’t see what was right before him.

She'd been working so hard to set things up and to get them stable. And she'd done it all alone. Kelski had no claim on him to tell him of her plans or to ask for his assistance. She had wanted to surprise him. She'd wanted to make him happy that she was resourceful and efficient. But he thought they hid things from each other. The reality was the kelvic had been more open with him than she had anyone in her whole life.

His actual answer surprised her. He wanted to go inside? To see her home? Kelski glanced at the closed and curtained double doors. She’d only hung the curtains there because Ebon was nocturnal by nature and his transition to the daytime world had been a bit rough on him and his eyes. But he’d volunteered to clerk for her, giving her more time in the workshop and him a legitimate day job that covered his true nature… that of a healer.

Kynier moved and Kelski shifted her attention to watch him. Releasing her grip on her hair that she’d been absently plaiting, she glanced down at the hand he placed on her knee. Her silver eyes snapped up at his words and he surprised her again. How had he known she’d wanted to ask him something else? Was the man not as indifferent to her as he seemed to be? His words caught her attention further and she studied him as he spoke.

Human nature indeed. He seemed to be speaking volumes with the little he did say. His next admissions caught her as equally by surprise. He knew. He understood. He actually did see what she saw. This was just his first admission to it. It wasn’t just her feeling that Akajia’s hand was hard at work here driving them together.

And… by his own words he was seemingly falling into line with it, albeit kicking and screaming because each word seemed wretched from him. When his hand reached out and cupped her cheek, she would have closed her eyes at the pleasure had his gaze not have captured hers so thoroughly. Instead she trilled deep in her throat, more a noise of her eagle than her human form.

She leaned forward into his touch, breaking eye contact and bringing her face close to his in a gesture she’d learned from the feline Kelvics under her roof. Kelski nuzzled the side of his face, where the blood ran down from his scalp, and then ran her tongue up to his hairline, tasting it and at the same time washing it off his skin. She was so nonchalant about it, almost tender, in chasing the trickle of blood back to its source. Once it was clean, she simply nuzzled his face a few moments affectionately before responding.

“You are finally starting to understand I am not human. I only masquerade in this life as one. Your Human difficulties tend not to even seem like problems to me. We are so different, but that is what makes us stronger together.” She said, burying her nose in the space where his neck met his jaw. Kynier never invited intimacy, but his action of touching her face invoked it in her. She wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

Kelski pulled back when he verbally pressed once more, his voice normal but with the power of his will behind it. Kelski met his gaze, her own silver eyes almost molten. “I would ask if you can see truly what this is? This is a home, a nest true enough, but so much more. It is a place to hide in plain sight the secrets that we will keep from others. This is a place for Akajia’s own to be safe. It will bring income aplenty, enough for what we want to do, and it will shelter those we want to shelter while we ourselves grow stronger. It is a place to live, Kynier. It is not a place to exist. Do you understand the question? It is a very simple one…. I wanted to ask if you were ready to stop existing and truly live.” She whispered, her words barely audible, but the question still blazing in her liquid gaze nonetheless.

Then she pulled him to his feet before she could answer and held a finger to his lips. “See it before you answer me. Even if it is just to tell me that you are not ready yet. Just see it first. It is all I can offer you… “ She said, taking his hand and all but dragging him through the double doors. They opened either way, into a workshop that was large enough to easily accommodate an apprentice or two.

Pieces lay strewn about, mostly masks, in various stages of completion. There were tools a plenty and a large jewelers bench that looked out across the deck. There was a forge on one wall that looked big enough to do basic blacksmithing on as well as accommodate all her jewelcrafting needs. A single barred door lead to an elegant showroom that was definitely designed to appeal to the more well-to-do in Sunberth. However, there were sections for the commoner and poorer, with all types of jewelry and even some odds and ends like pet collars and bridle ornaments.

Kelski quickly toured him of the showroom, then took him lower, to the basement where she had the place set up as a training room. There were training dummies, big wooden targets for dagger throwing, well marked with dents from being pierced by blades. There was a punching bag and even a beam to balance upon just slightly up off the floor. A weapons rack held an assortment of blades, and there was a clear enough place in the center to spar comfortably.

Kelski took him back upstairs, then higher by one more floor to the living area that was decorated for comfort with a big couch, two large armchairs, and a bookcase that held quite a few hand written books. There were at least three bedrooms with what looked like marked out plans for another set to be added on. There was no formal kitchen, but there was a hearthed fireplace flanked with cupboards that served as a place to cook. A large table that would seat eight flanked one side of the area. It was a bit cluttered with a long sword and various armor repair in progress upon it. The furniture was comfortable because one of the armchair housed a slumbering ocelot that was apparently one of Kelski’s strays.

The view of the ocean was amazing, especially from the deck that the living area spilled out onto. Doors could be opened fully to the outside. Nothing was fancy, but everything was clean and functional and very very comfortable. Kelski paused, waved at Ebon who was out on the balcony cleaning the clams – tossing the offal to the gulls with what looked like lionish delight. The Sea Eagle figured a gull that came too close was going to regret it before the whole clam cleaning process was done.


Once the quick and dirty tour was done, she paused in the middle of her living area, rump leaned against the table, and studied him. Her whole demeanor was that of one hopeful but expecting the worse. “All of this planning… all of this design… wasn’t without you in mind. I had hoped, sooner or later, you would come to understand what I knew the minute I laid eyes on you. You have big plans in your heart, Kynier… ones you have carefully laid out with your mind… your beautiful sharp human mind. But you need to take small careful steps. You need a good base, you need a good cover… it’s the basis of hiding in plain sight. I am here to remind you of that. And no matter what answer you have for me, if indeed you have any at all, I want you to know I will wait as long as it takes for you. Only you.” She said firmly, certain of it.

[Kynier]

Every reaction of hers was one he did not expect, and would have shied away from had they come from anyone else. The trill in her throat was strange yet lovely. Kynier knew that was the sea eagle more than the woman. Where that line was drawn in her behaviors was something he expected to never understand, and would just do his best to accept. When she leaned forward towards him his heart stopped. His eyes closed partially in an expectant way as he leaned in to meet her partway. It was not for a kiss though. Kelski ran her cheek against his. She wasn’t inconsiderate of his injury. Pale flesh caressed itself tenderly against his bruised skin. The next surprise was the black tongue rolling up his face, taking the trace of blood with it to the source. Kynier withheld his wince to an uncomfortable squint as aching flesh was stroked tenderly.

When she continued to nuzzle into the side of his face his hand instinctually worked around to the back of her head. Fingers slivering through the ombre hair affectionately. When she pulled her head back Kynier took his hand from her hair, down her neck, and to her shoulder. Then she asked it, the question that would have been kept hidden. As he clung to each soft spoken word Kelski had answered the first question for him in a way. From outside no, he couldn’t see it. Earlier today it would’ve just been another building. Yet it was to be more than that for her. No, for them?

Then she asked the true question. One that struck at his heart as his eyes filled with longing. “I…” Kelski rose him to his full height and silenced him with just a finger. The silver in her eyes appeared molten and alive as she asked him to hold his answer. Led by the hand Kynier followed her through the double doors into what could only have been her workshop. His eyes tried to take in everything in the brief time she allotted. The sight of it all impressed him. The forge against the wall and all the tools that he couldn’t guess of their function. But for an instant he slowed down. So much so that his hand nearly came free from hers, nearly.

It was the masks that were in various stages of completion. With hardened eyes Kynier noted the designs and shapes of them for a moment before breaking his gaze away. The compulsion of a spy was always active even when it wasn’t necessary, or welcome. Kynier forced the masks out of his mind and looked around the workshop one last time. The stiff gaze melting away as he did. Kelski took him through the next door to the showroom. Kynier’s mouth fell agape slightly as he peered at all the treasures. Opulence in various degrees lined the showroom. Kelski wanted to move quickly through it all while he just wanted to marvel at it. Hers was a mission while his was a leisure, and she won out without much effort.

Down a set of stairs was a single room with lots of equipment. It wasn’t for any craft, but survival. The type one had to learn in Sunberth. With a quick look he could see the training and target dummies for weapons, the swinging bag for conditioning one’s punches, and the beam that stood not far off the ground. But the center was kept clear except for a series of chalk marks. They were incremental and seemed to lead away from the target dummies. With a pull on his hand Kelski took him back up the stairs before traversing another set.

The lounging area rested just outside of several doors. Plush couches and sets of chairs lined some of the wall as well as a bookshelf that was partially full. A table large enough to seat more people than Kynier comfortably knew sat not far from the hearth and fireplace. Armor and a sword longer than what Kynier expected Kelski to ever use lay on the table. What really caught his attention was the ocelot sleeping on the armchair. It warranted an arched eyebrow. Kynier thought that Kelski did not have a liking for felines, but maybe he was remembering it wrong.

Kelski did not take him through any of the other rooms. Bedrooms most likely. There were planning indicators of the expansion, though Kynier couldn’t guess to what would be added on. When he looked back to the Kelvic she was waving to Ebon who was outside on the balcony that the living area extended too. She returned to the table and leaned against it as she looked at him. Kynier wasn’t aware that he had an awe struck smirk on his face during the whole process until now. When she finished his mouth worked without words. Nervously he ran his fingers through his hair, all still smiling in surprise. “I… It’s… uh… astounding.” Kynier paced over to see the view of the ocean for the first time from this vantage.

For a time he stood there watching the waters as his mind thought on what she said. Kelski had been thinking about him, not in passing either. He could see a few traces of influence in the design meant to accommodate him. Though it wasn’t done, and he was curious what she was adding to it. Already it seemed perfect for her. Very nearly perfect for him. What do you have to say to this Hashimer?

No response.

Kynier turned around and took a few steps to the table. Her expression was expectant yet guarded. His smile diminished until it just tugged the edge of his lips upward. The tone he had when he spoke was thoughtful though optimistic. “I do want to live Kelski. I just…” he looked away and indicated his heart with a hand, “I don’t know how to. I don’t think I ever really learned how to.” Kynier took a few steps forward to take one of her hands in his own. And he held it tightly. “I have more reasons to want this than I do to not want it. But I’m scared,” his voice dropped, “scared that I would cause this place more harm than good.” His eyes filled with wanting as he stared into hers. The urge to feel her lips against his rose within only to be reigned back by his own will.

“Regardless of everything else, this is what I want. And I don’t want to wait any longer for it.”

[Kelski]

Kelski watched Kynier with her molten silver gaze, not taking her eyes off the prey. For this was truly a hunt. She was hunting him on so many levels… as a partner, as an equal, as the bondmate she desired. He was deliciously appealing on so many levels that he didn’t realize. He was so hard on himself, so guarded, and not trusting. It was Sunberth’s influence on him and the life he’d lead before coming here. She understood that. And she knew too that there were things about him she didn’t know, and certainly couldn’t understand. He’d wanted to let her ask him questions, and she’d done so, but this one was the most important of all. He’d either turn and fight or he’d take flight. Kelski didn’t know which his response would be, but she did know that she wasn’t going to give up if he said ‘no’. She’d continue to stalk him, need him, and if there was anything she’d learned in this life here in Sunberth it was that the journey was often worth all the trouble it brought along the way. Kelski’s animal form was an apex predator. She didn’t know how to be anything else. And while it hadn’t served her well while she was enslaved, it had given her the strength to endure and to make it to this point.

Silence stretched. She embraced it, welcomed it, and felt the shadows in the room draw closer. They were leaning in, as curious as the Nightstalker was if this man would make a choice. Standing tall, proud, and unafraid she tracked him with her eyes and watched him turn and approach. Kynier’s words were an outpouring of honesty. His admission of his fear was not a weakness, not really, but more of an outline of where he knew he lacked knowledge. He drew closer, took her hand, and she gripped his rough palm solidly. His fear she disapproved of, for she did not like to think of him afraid. Fear had no place in this, but she still did not interrupt him. His admissions cost him too much for her to so easily dismiss them.

Kelski stepped closer. She reached around him with her free hand and splayed her fingers out across his back between his shoulder blades. He was clothed and she could not touch the raised mark there, but she knew it existed nonetheless. “With this, we are more than human. Others won’t understand. But there are people here, Kynier, that need you. And despite your fear, you will not let them down. They will remind you – as you so desperately need reminding – that the parts are as important as the whole. I need you here too. I need your humanity for I have none of my own, despite the charade I play. I need your strength and your wisdom, and perhaps even your fear to temper my own recklessness.” Kelski said softly, her fingers rubbing that sacred space on his back as if she reassured herself it was real.

Emotions crisscrossed her face too fast for her to vocalize. She knew he never planned or wanted a Kelvic to hunt him like he was a fat rabbit. A Sea Eagle wasn’t an easy creature to live with, especially one as damaged as Kelski was. She had trouble standing the touch of men. She had nightmares that kept her up long hours and robbed her of sleep. They were the same nightmares that drove her to work so hard at her jewelry bench to bury the stress and pain of the recent past. And yet, she still pursued him carefully, quietly, with deep plans all that revolved around his presence in her life.

“Then don’t wait any longer, Kynier. Say you’ll join us. Move in here. Help guide us. I might be building a business, but there’s so much more that needs to be built here that I can’t do alone or even spearhead. We need you. We need you so badly.” She said firmly, sure of her conviction.

Kelski wouldn’t ask him for more than this small important first step. These were small steps, things the Shadows had whispered to her of the newest Nightstalker. Have a care. They’d said. Tread carefully. They whispered. She didn’t want to scare him when his fear was already so close to the surface. This was a step, and if he would take it, then she would have all the time in the world to prove herself to him and then ask him for more. Because Kelski did want more. She wanted everything from him, but she wanted it voluntarily, with him offering and her not begging.

[Kynier]

He couldn’t put into words what exactly made his heart beat so fervently. Fear, anxiety, excitement, the close proximity; all these things were contributing to it. Kynier watched her eyes as she spread her fingers across his back between the shoulder blades. The place where their goddess had laid her mark. The action had brought her form closer to his in a way that warmed his blood. It wasn’t just her presence that he felt drawing closer. With the abilities he was still getting accustomed to, Kynier felt the shadows pressing in. Since he had entered they had kept their distance from him, wary of the newest member to their mother’s fold.

Kelski’s words affected him greatly. The way they dug straight to his heart to hold. To be told that one was needed, and that one was wanted, had a powerful influence on their very being. Though she had only said one of them Kynier had sensed both. It may not have been portrayed in the words, but more in her expressions. In her touch. His other hand moved around her body to lay on her back, over the surface of her own blessing. It was impossible for him to know if she felt it, or if only he could due to his training. When his hands rested over the Night Mistress’s mark in her skin he felt the smallest hum of power at the edge of his perception. To him, it felt like a sense of completion. Not in a task, but of one’s self.

A multitude of expressions came and vanished quickly to the Kelvic. As though she had so many thoughts and things to say but couldn’t decide which to put into words, if any. Then she made the proposal, after alluding to it since she first started the fire outside. Only now did he see that that was what she had been doing. With her his emotions obscured his ability to observe the finer details. Kelski spoke of others that had need of him here. Since their first meeting she would comment on his safety and unnecessary exposures of weakness. Standing here, there was only them. Kelski had outright said they were a weakness for each other, while also stating they had strengths the other needed. Kynier wondered if she was attempting to disguise the extent of the weakness she thought he made by vicariously resting it on the shoulders of strangers.

Yes he was scared. Scared to fail her, more than his fear of failing Akajia. That he wasn’t smart nor cunning enough to protect those here from what the two of them would bring. That he would slip and the city would discover his magic, bringing an old fury that would consume her in its wake. Or that he would lose control and bring harm to her himself. Sorting through all of his fears he had in this moment, none were about his well-being.

Inside it was a war between his heart and his mind. If he should do the intelligent thing and work unencumbered by the safety of others. That each action he took was entirely of his doing without regret. Or if he should listen to his feelings for once. Down that path would be many compromises, in action as well as thought. Kelski felt he had lost something in his journey, something that he could find here. Standing here, with an arm around her, he felt certain of that. Ultimately he wanted to be closer to her. And she just offered that.

Gradually Kynier leaned forward to rest his lips on her forehead. A gentle touch of affection filled with desire that radiated throughout his entire body. Subconsciously the fingers on her back curled into her and pulled her closer. Then he rested his uninjured cheek against the side of her brow. In a soft whisper he spoke into her ear. “You once referred to me as part of your family. I don’t remember what that is supposed to feel like Kelski. If this is just a glimpse of it, then I want to rediscover it. This mystery before me, the one centered on you, I intend to understand. To see it unravel. To learn what we are and what we will become. So I say yes.” He released his hold of her hand, trailing it up her arm, past the shoulder, to the top of her spine. Kynier pulled back just far enough to look into her eyes again. “Yes, I will join you.”

[Kelski]

Molten silver eyes watched his intently. She stared virtually unblinking, not wanting to miss the expressions crossing Kynier’s face and the way his eyes hardened and softened with his emotions. When he didn’t pull away at her gesture, something in her took wing. He mirrored her gesture, bringing their bodies into alignment. The Kelvic gripped his hand harder and drew it upwards so their entwined fingers lay along his chest where her body bumped against his gently. To Kelski it was as if they created sacred space together and she stepped even closer, far closer to Kynier than she’d ever been voluntarily. She should have felt nervous, uneasy, and if it had been anyone else she would have shifted her weight restlessly from foot to foot, eager to escape his proximity. Instead, an incredible sense of peace infused her body. His scent filled her senses, and his warmth washed over her. Kelski pressed even closer, all but enthralled by the sensation. He was solid, real, and the single most safe and secure place she’d ever stood. She fit against him, her lighter thinner body’s curves filling the contours of his. Hips bumped together and still the marks of the Night Mother thrummed under their splayed hands.

The Kelvic drew a ragged breath and realized that she was inhaling as he exhaled and he was taking in her own air as well. Their breathing regulated and softly they began to breath as one. Kelski had never felt so alive. She’d never felt so at home. It was as if all the feelings she’d been harboring about Kynier rose to the surface and became a reality she could not control. He was so worthy of her attention, her protection, and her servitude. Those feelings were ancestral emotions, bred into her bloodline carefully by her creator.

But hundreds of years of breeding freely and of fresh infusions of bloodlines not manufactured made her so much more. Those new emotions were rife with free will and choice. But it went so far beyond that. An singular emotion swelled up in her that stole all her arguments away. It was a burn in her chest that went through her mind and seemed to fill her body like an inner light. It was a lot like joy but more intense, more focused, in a way that almost made her entire body shiver with its fierceness. The feeling was possessive and tinged with obsessiveness that was wholly associated with Kynier. It was like nothing she’d felt before and so overwhelming if they weren’t locked in their strangely sacred position, she would have staggered.

Kelski could sense his momentary need for flight. All wild things could sense when another tensed and was on the cusp of an escape. But he held fast, somehow, in a miracle that she would never completely understand he held strong and made his choice. She knew it when his lips touched her forehead, so utterly tender and accepting. He pulled her closer then and disbelieving it was possible, Kelski stepped into his body, one of her slender legs sliding between his strong limbs and her hips bumping his. She shifted a moment and settled against him, his heartbeat loud in her ear.

He tilted his head and she tucked into his neck in that place she loved to bury her face as his cheek grazed her brow. His words were a deep rumble, heard more from his chest than his lips, though she could understand him plainly all the same. Her own lips brushed his throat, a soft kiss trailing on his bare skin. He wouldn’t know but she’d only had kisses from him. The violence in her life had never involved tenderness. And in return, Kelski had only given them back to him because he’d showed her the way. Their kisses had always been small things, almost more gestures of affection than true deep intimate exchanges. Nevertheless, they still meant more to her than anything in the world.

She loved the taste of him on her lips. His skin had a slight salty rich taste and truthfully, she wanted to sample it by more than wetting her lips with her tongue. His lips brushed her ear and he whispered words meant only for her. They seemed to ricochet gently around inside her mind, repeating over and over. He wanted family. He wanted to understand her, and the thing between them. He wanted to be present for its evolution and to learn what they could be… together. By Akajia’s starred eyes….

Kelski lifted her head and met his gaze as he trailed his hand up her arm to rest on her spine. She stood solid before him, still touching him up and down his length because her body pressed to his. The Kelvic released her grip on the place between his shoulder blades and let her now free hands reach up and gently encircle his neck. She moved closer, blinking, uncertain why silver tears were slowly slipping out of the corner of her eyes.

Kelski ignored the tears. Instead, she lifted her head, met his gaze, then nuzzled Kynier’s lips with her own. It was the most awkward and uncertain of kisses, hesitant and exploratory. She spoke quietly while her lips were still up against his. Her words were more akin to the voices of shadows than any human’s voice. “I have no words for this… I have no way to tell you what it means to me… that it means everything….” She said finally, running her long black nails up into his hair line where she gently rubbed at the nap of his neck. Kelski attempted another kiss because she was completely at a loss for words and because more so than having nothing to say, her body had a million little messages it wanted him to receive. And while she was so thoroughly distracted by his lips, she didn’t seem to notice how her form curled around his, welcoming and enticing in a way Kelski would have been ashamed of had she known she was doing it.

If he had anything more to say, Kelski would hear him out or let him act. But when he was finished, she’d gently pull away while capturing his hands. Tugging playfully on them, she’d lead him to a nearby door and swing it wide. Gesturing inside he’d see a nicely decorated and spacious master suite. A large bed dominated one wall, flanked with small bedside tables. Two of the other walls were decorated with wardrobes. An open door beyond the master suite lead to a private bathing chamber with a large comfortable tub visible. Someone had scattered candles around the bathing chamber, though none were lit. Kelski’s eyes lit with pride as she gestured within. “You can have this room.” She said eagerly, hoping it would please him. She wanted him comfortable, well settled, and happy in his decision.

[Kynier]

Had they moved any closer together they would’ve become one. It felt as though they were on the verge of doing just that. The way their respiratory patterns fell into synchronization when they had been apart. Then as Kelski drew in closer and pressed her form against his, they could sense the other’s heartbeat. Even that fluctuated until they had become indistinguishable. The only thing truly keeping them apart now were their skins. Their hearts pounded loudly in protest at the ribs keeping them caged and separated. When he finished with his words the Kelvic looked into his eyes. Tears forming at the rims and glimmered next to those silver orbs. It reminded Kynier of the swim at Riverside Park and how Leth’s light reflected off the water. And like the river they trickled down her cheeks. Kynier could see that it wasn’t from despair or sadness. It came from the other end of the emotional spectrum.

As both her hands encircled his neck his pulled gently against her lower back despite their bodies already being pressed together. As her lips grazed against his in an unusual fashion Kynier could feel it inside her. That powerful emotion that Kelski admitted to not knowing how to articulate, with words or physical affection. An emotion that neither probably knew how to experience with another mortal being. One that she held only for a certain goddess. One that he had lost long ago.

Unable to hold back any longer, Kynier’s passion took hold. His hand raised from the top of her spine to bury itself into the ombre hair on the back of her head. His lips meshed against her with gentle enthusiasm as the lower hand pressed against the center of her back. Without extracting his lips Kynier released a short moan of pleasure. How long it lasted he couldn’t say. A tick, a chime, or even a whole bell. When it did he relaxed his hold on her body just enough so that she could escape if she desired. To his pleasure, Kelski didn’t, but held close. His brow rested against hers as he regained the breath that she stole.

His whole body ached for her. To taste her lips and to feel the kelvic’s form against his own. So much that he swore his blood felt ablaze and burned hotter than his reimancy. She ignited it like a flame too hot to stand close to in an environment too cold to step away from. Knowing that if he stayed too close it may hurt but felt too good to move away. His intellect had quelled and in its absence emotions roared within, all for her. No words came and he was hesitant to show more of his desire. During that pause she pulled away from him, smile as she did so. The growing distance was agonizing even though she took hold of both of his hands.

Kelski beckoned with playful tugs for him to follow. Swinging the door wide open she led Kynier into the master suite of the building. Kynier looked around at the spacious design of the room. He wandered in a small circle around her, anchored with a hand still enveloped by hers. When Kelski said that it would be his he paused, the smile waned from his face as he turned to her. “But this is your room,” he said in a hybrid of affection and protest. “I wouldn’t rest well taking your room from you.” Kynier didn’t know how many bedroom suites there were in her building and wouldn’t assume that one was available. Quickly he looked around the room, his mind shifting the layout as he did. “There,” he indicated, “there’s space enough to move a wardrobe and fit a small couch in between.” Kynier turned back to look at her reaction. “I could sleep on that couch if there’s no other room available.”

Kelski was offering him far more than he deserved. Selfishly he wanted to take everything she offered and more. But he wasn’t ignorant of the sacrifice that came with such gifts. Kelski had earned everything here and was trying to relinquish it to him. He who hadn’t earned any of it. Kynier’s mouth opened a few times hoping words would come forth. After a few attempts they finally did. “I don’t want to take your home Kelski. I’d rather share it with you. And I couldn’t even fill half of this room with all my possessions.” Kynier took a step forward to lay claim to her other hand so that he firmly had both. He held them up next to each other level with his sternum, rubbing her knuckles with his thumbs.

“You told me about how it’s in a kelvic’s nature to serve. And I can see that offering me this room, your room, is a part of that nature. I do not wish to disrespect that, nor your wishes.” Kynier released a hand to stroke her hair from the dark roots to the pale tips repeatedly. “So there must be a compromise that we could both agree to.” He thought for a chime for a proposal. It was difficult to formulate without knowing what exceeded her comforts. Though Kelski did not possess a human’s level of modesty or shyness, he wasn’t aware of her thoughts on sharing a space. Eventually what he had already stated was the best idea he could form at the moment. “You can continue to sleep in the bed. And we can arrange something else for me in this room if no others are available. It doesn’t have to be exactly that. What do you think?”

[Kelski]

Kelski was still breathless, dazed, and utterly and completely wrapped up in the male beside her as he surveyed the master suite. She had trouble catching her breath from his kiss and still tasted his lips on her own. And even though it was over, a quiet shrewd secret part of her brain was already trying to decide how to coax another from him. To be honest, she wasn’t sure what was wrong with her. Had she less control over herself, she’d be shaking with reaction both from the fact that he’d just held her like she was the most important thing in his life and because he had agreed to join her family.

The Kelvic glanced around, still dragging in soft deep breaths hoping he didn’t notice her reaction to him. Was it normal to be this unsteady and unsettled? Had she just tried to crawl inside his skin….? Confusion and need warred together inside her heart, while her mind asked questions that her inhuman brain wasn’t processing well. This business of hunting a bondmate was more complicated than she thought it would be, and suddenly she wished she knew another bonded Kelvic to talk too.

Kynier and Kynier-in-her-life was complicated… a good sort of complicated… but she didn’t have tools to handle him and this situation well. Kelski’s intellect was sharp, razor sharp, but this process was instinct heavy and it was hard on her adapting. She’d never been built with her feral side leading her life like a lot of Kelvics were. Instead, she was a thinker… and none of this made sense in her head.

Regardless, Kelski was still trying to memorize this moment… and this feeling. It was so amazing... so utterly perfect despite her uncertainties. Because of this man, this day had turned from just another filled with work to something else… something more. She wanted to remember it long into the future because though she hated Sunberth, here somehow in this very moment her life had changed. Though she could contribute some of it to Kynier, a great deal of it was also herself and somehow rising above the circumstances she’d found herself trapped in.

The Kelvic didn’t understand the concept of a pivotal point in a story – be it a grand tale or even someone’s simple life. It was the moment when someone deviated from their course or decided to take a chance. As the two stood together surveying the Master Suite in The Midnight Gem, they were both at one of those crossroads. Kelski could feel it acutely though she couldn’t name and label it for what it truly was. But she certainly recognized the difference between normal and this…

And so, she was silent for a long time as Kynier spoke. He had both her hands and once more stood before her. Her eyes sank closed as he stroked her hair, but still she listened. She nodded as he spoke, thoughtful to his words. Slowly her eyes opened and she met his gaze. There was a curious puzzlement in her expression. “I had thought humans liked privacy and space to themselves.” She gently pulled her hands from his and walked to one of the wardrobes. It was a bulky thing. She carefully opened the doors on it, revealing its empty insides.

“When I was Jaren’s slave, I slept in his spare room that I turned into a workshop. I made a nest in the bottom of a wardrobe of blankets because it was safe and dark and I could sleep peacefully. He never wanted me in his room unless it was to issue orders on something to be made as a bribe. He said he valued his privacy.” She said softly, trailing her words off as if remembering something unpleasant. She turned from the empty wardrobe, closing the door, and nodding as if making a decision.

“I don’t actually much like sleeping in the bed. It’s huge and I feel so small in it. I’m used to small spaces. It’s my first real bed and I’m not sure it’s as nice of a thing as people say beds are.” She said, turning to look at him. “You are a lot bigger than I am. I’m only comfortable in it when Ren or Ebon or both of them come in and share it. Sometimes we… need the comfort of company. Ren likes to cuddle and Ebon has bad dreams sometimes. It’s still big even with them, but I sleep better and the shadows don’t keep me up with their stories.” She said, painting a picture for him … one of a life lived in confined spaces with very little or no privacy… and the discomfort of that all suddenly changing.

“We can share the bed or I don’t mind making another nest in the bottom of the other wardrobe. I have my clothes in it. You can have this wardrobe. It sits empty. But I really don’t mind sharing the room with you. I don’t mind if you take the whole thing. I work a great deal downstairs and sleep odd times and often on the couch. It’s why giving you this room is no real sacrifice. I thought you would need time alone, to yourself, or time to entertain.” She knew he was male and could only assume he would have women over like Jaren had. She glanced at the bed, remembering some of the things she’d seen at her time in The Barracks.

Picturing Kynier doing some of those popular male activities angered her suddenly and she felt a burning jealousy course through her. The Kelvic blinked in startled surprise, knowing in that moment if he brought any women home she’d kill them without a twinge of guilt. He was hers. She turned her silver gaze on him, wondering idly if he already knew that. The intensity of the possessiveness startled her, but she liked it. She liked having something besides her freedom and her own life to fight for and defend. Kelski didn’t know she could be a caregiver, but she wanted to be one with this man. It satisfied something primal inside of her.

“You are good at this…” She said abruptly, recognizing it for what it was. “… negotiations and diplomacy.” Her smile lit up her eyes, chasing away the bad memories of Jaren and The Sun’s Birth. “I am going to learn a lot with you here.” Kelski admitted, offering him a smile. She already had. “Do you need any help moving your things? I could walk with you… I have been… curious as to where you live.” She admitted, turning to sit down on the edge of the bed. It was high enough she had to jump a bit to perch on it and could swing her legs without touching the ground.