A Friend in Need [Vanator]

[Kashik]

17th Day of Spring, 511 AV

Kashik was getting on in her pregnancy, the healers claiming she was only a handful of weeks away from giving birth to the potential Denusk heir.

Even so, something was bothering her. She'd tried to figure out a way to bring it up, had struggled with what it might mean, but in the end she knew what had to be done. There were no secrets between her and her husband.

So she waited until he headed down to the river to bathe, knowing it was the best time for them to get a few minutes alone, and caught up with him. "Vanator," she called out, doing her best to catch up but finding her stupid body hindering her even now. "Do you... do you have a moment to talk?"

[Vanator]

Vanator had met with his father to discuss the dispersion of the pavilion's income and had helped his uncle move an ill Seme from the herd for the healer to examine. Van feared the daft horse had twisted is intestines, an often fatal condition. Turns out the big lug had eaten some vile weed and had a bad case of cramps. Stopping by the pavilion to retrieve a towel and a scrubroot, Van made his way towards the river to bathe. He heard footsteps approaching from behind, and he grinned to himself as he recognized the familiar shuffle of his pregnant wife. Kashik called out, and he stopped and turned to see her trying to hurry to catch him. He took several steps back to meet her, offering her his arm for her to link her own through. "Greetings my glowing beauty? Do you come to help wash your man? There are a few places I cannot reach, and a few I prefer that you did." He teased, giving her a quick wink. Kashik made her request to talk, and Vanator narrowed his gaze as he searched her teal eyes. Her tone told him this was not a simple question about preparing for the baby, or organizing tasks about the pavilion. "Yes, of course my love." He lead her towards the river.

[Kashik]

"You're a cad," she laughed, leaning up on her tip-toes to press a kiss to his lips. Although, to be fair, she didn't say no.

Her arm was threaded through his and, though it was a little slower going with his pregnant wife, they eventually headed back towards the river. "I wanted to talk to you," she began, the smile falling away from her lips, "about Eldon. Eldon Sunkiss - he went on a few hunts with you. Do you know him well?"

[Vanator]

Vanator laughed with Kashik, pleased to see her in good spirits. He savored her kiss and held her close as they turned back towards the river. He was anxious to hear what matter was on his wife's heart. He did not expect Eldon's name to come up. Why would she? When it did, a flash of horror came to him with an instant tightening in his gut. Did she and he....no, no, of course not, that was ridiculous. He dashed the thought from his mind. "Yes, I know Eldon pretty well, we have had some...experiences together." The Fall hunt and the bizarre encounter with the tribe of Pycons to name just a couple things they had seen together. "and what about Eldon?" He posed his question with some hesitance, curious as to why the man's name came up.

[Kashik]

She caught the look of worry on his face, and reached up to lay a hand to his cheek with a soft smile. "There's no worry, my love," she murmured, tilting up to her tip-toes to press another kiss to his lips. "Not for you, anyway. Eldon and I were great friends when we were children," she said, settling back under his arm and starting for the river again. "I haven't seen him in over a year, though. But I ran into Sam'ael in Endrykas, and he said... well, he told me that Eldon has been pretty bad off. His father died, and his Strider, and he was almost killed by Zith."

Sadness cut across the curve of her mouth and drew her brows together. "I feel... guilty, if I'm being honest. He was my best friend. I left him behind to follow my own dreams - to go to Riverfall and train. And I met you," she said, the frown falling away a little as she pressed a hand against her swollen belly. "I am more happy now than I ever could have imagined being, and yet I have just learned that the person who was once such an important part of my life has had everything he loved destroyed. I wish... I would like to go and see him, to try and help him if I can."

[Vanator]

So, Eldon and Kashik were friends. The revelation was not monumental, she had not confessed to having had an affair with the man, nor to have once been in love with him, at least not yet. Just great friends. Vanator was not so naive as to believe that Kashik's history was no less peppered with trysts and romances as his own. It would not be far from the truth to say both of them had a reputation for that very thing until they married. A small spark of jealousy ignited, but the husband quickly snuffed it out. Kashik had been more faithful than he himself had been. If his wife and his hunting friend had once been together, and she had not said that they were, it was a thing of the past. He had no doubts that Kashik's heart was now wholly his. But, he was curious why Eldon had not mentioned the fact that he knew Kashik, for surely the man realized they were married. Vanator himself had not seen much of the Sunkiss for a while, but had known of the hardship's the brave man had endured. The Drykas held Kashik close as they continued on. He could see the concern in her face for Eldon, how her heart hurt for him. Again, he felt the nudge of curiosity at the nature of the relationship between his wife and Eldon. He listened to her request. She asked to see Eldon. Kashik was a good wife, respectful of him and his position. They were close friends and mad lovers. Vanator did not want to, need to, nor probably could not control his wife with a short leash. There were few things the woman ever felt she needed his permission for. Yet she understood this request, and the truth she and Eldon had neglected to share with him, could evoke displeasure in her husband. His eyes drifted down to see Kashik's slender but strong hand on her swollen belly. A smile drifted to his face. Van, too, was happier now than he could have dreamed. His eyes lifted again to his wife's teal gaze. He sighed slightly. "Yes, you can see Eldon. I should, at some point, pay him a visit myself." Vanator would not accompany Kashik to see the man, it would appear as if he did not trust her. "But I have to ask, my glorious wife, what do you mean when you say you and Eldon were....great friends." It was out before he could censor himself. He tried to appear nonchalant, but something inside him had to know.

[Kashik]

Kashik was quiet for long moments, her face scrunched in concentration as she tried to find the words to explain what she and Eldon's relationship had been. It was hard to think about it, only because she had spent so many years not thinking about it. That was a habit that was difficult to break.

When they finally reached the banks of the river, she sighed and looked up at her husband - and guilt and shame were clear on her dark features. "He loved me," she said quietly, the simplest words to explain one of the most complicated things in her life. "Maybe he still does, I don't know. But he has, ever since we were little children. And I... didn't," she said with a shrug. "I can't explain it. He is a good man from a good family, and we were as close with each other as you and I. He knew every secret thought in my head, once. But I never loved him. His father always hoped we would marry, but I think I always knew it would never happen. I'm not... not some soft girl, who can be happy spending their entire life with someone they're just fond of. I think I was always waiting for you," she murmured, a soft smile touching her lips. "I pretended he didn't, acted as if we were simply best friends and hoping that if I pretended long enough that it would actually be true. Now that I see what happiness truly is, it feels cruel, what I did," she said, he face twisting and eyes shining with tears she refused to shed. She turned to Vanator for comfort, though, clinging to his chest and burying her face against his throat. But she was crying now, and as prone to emotional outbursts as Kashik was normally, it was even worse now that she was pregnant. "I feel like... if I'd been a better friend, been honest with him, been here instead of running off after my own dreams, maybe I could have helped him or prevented the horrible things that happened," she cried softly.

[Vanator]

The Drykas couple reached the river's edge and Vanator tossed the towel and scrubroot onto a dry rock nearby. The bath would wait. Turning back to Kashik, Vanator met her soft gaze. She had delayed answering his question too long, and he suspected she did not want to reply, her face told him as much. Then, as if she could no longer conceal it, the guilt crept into her teal eyes. He loved her. It was like a punch in the stomach. Not a hard one, just one that was unexpected. Vanator was no fool, Kashik was gorgeous and outgoing. Before they wed, she was rather flirtatious as well. The husband had no doubts there were many men who had loved her. But he did not wish to know them. Like he knew Eldon. His jealousy spiked as he pictured the two of them together, intimately. Now he knew why Eldon never told him he knew Kashik. But Kash's softened voice continued...she did not feel the same. Vanator's ire waned as he listened. Her glistening eyes finally shed their tears, and his arms embraced her as she pressed her face to his shoulder. Van could feel her swollen belly against him, their unborn child nestled inside her. Any jealously or anger washed away as she wept and he held his wife close. "I cannot blame him for having loved you. My darling, you could not have prevented what has befallen Eldon, and you cannot feel guilty that the god's have blessed us." Vanator's hand caressed Kashik's dark curly mane. pressing a kiss you her scented hair. "But you are here now. You may go see him, encourage him, and give him my love."