Giving and Receiving (Sama'el)

[Denen Sunsinger]

88 Summer 511 AV Denen was all long limbs and smooth flesh as he stretched out over the colander and rubbed the dried leaf fiercely across the small holes. The leaf crumbled and he grunted slightly, brow furrowed and slender arms strained as he worked. The rub fell into the bowl he'd selected earlier, where he'd store it for future use. Sage was an excellent ingredient for cooking, as he'd recently learned, and happened to be a wonder as far as medicinal use was concerned. He'd have it on hand for both, whether for teas or dinner. He'd allowed his hair to be worn loose today, and the long half of it fell over his shoulder and into his face. He brushed it back, only to have the soft strands fall back into place. There was a resolution in his blue eyes, something born of this summer. It had been a time of growth and change, and the young healer was, admittedly, sad to see it go so soon. He paused in his work for a moment to brush hair out of his eyes and turned his gaze up to the clear sky. The days were becoming cooler, and soon, Endrykas would be on the move again. This time, their tiny Pavilion was better prepared. Semes and Striders, their would-be-Ankal healed. Denen, too, had gained courage, and through the careful nurturing of his friend had come to greater terms with the gangly, awkward young man who lived in his skin. There was, lingering in the corners of his eyes, a man. Oh, he had a far way to travel still. He knew that, but weeks and days had turned past and slipped by, and with them had run his boyhood. He finished up the rub and sat back on his heels, a soft smile touching his lips. He was pleased with his work. More than that, he was pleased with the fact that both he and Sam still lived, and that they were beginning to show signs of thriving. Success. He had always thought, as a child, that to be without his family would have meant total failure, but his very existence was proof to the contrary.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Most of the summer had felt like a waste, as Sam had spent a good deal of it on his back either sick or recovering from his illness. After Issima and her little cousin had returned to their pavilion, he had taken another nap. He just couldn't help the narcoleptic urging, and his new purchases had slept with him. The baby rabbit would have wandered off as he realized he didn't have a cage for it, and had fallen asleep wondering if he could train it to stay near the tents, avoiding any raptors flying overhead or hunting dogs and the like. The goat had bleated fearfully on its tether, so he had taken it into the tent as well, whereupon it had dutifully turned around thrice and laid down to nap with him. When he woke up, the animals were waiting for him, apparently hungry or needing to make water, so he stumbled out of the tent, a ball of fuzz in hand and a goat on his tail, but when he saw Denen hard at work, he tucked the baby rabbit behind his back. "Denen!" he exclaimed, then cleared his throat and put a hand on Denen's shoulder to alert him to his presence. The goat trotted up to nip at Denen's knee and then urinate on the ground in front of him, but Sam quickly held out the baby rabbit to make up for this fact. At least it wasn't on his boots. "For you."

[Denen Sunsinger]

Denen was oblivious to the new residents that had been brought to their home. He had been out tending to a sick child, and he'd returned after Sama'el. There was work to be done before he, too, slipped into dreams, and Denen was eager and able to do it. He loved the feel of the tender, green leaves beneath his fingers, the bond that drew him to the earth, to the grasslands. He was part of the Sea, part of the waving grass. Even without his family, he was Drykas, and now that things with Sam had turned better, he found himself once again whole. He was part of something bigger than himself, and that was, to him, the greatest thing he might experience. It was herd-sense, something he'd grown up with. Denen didn't hear Sam, of course, coming out of the tent, and as such, kept onto his work. He took a pause and pushed back his dark hair, blowing up to free his eyes of the strands. He stretched out and blustered, before he bent to begin his work once more. But in the next moment, he felt Sam's hand on his shoulder, and he startled, his face flushing. He gave his awkward, silent laugh, and then squeaked as the goat appeared before him. His eyes went wide, his jaw dropped, and he looked up to Sam in blank confusion for a long moment. But in the next instant, the tiny, fluffy shape was thrust out before him, and his jaw slackened as he took the bunny into his arms. “F-For m-m-me?” He choked out. “Oh, S-Sam...” He bit his lower lip and reached up his free hand to tug Sam down to be near him.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

He let Denen pull him down into a corbie crouch. The young goat batted her head against his knee, then Denen's, and then proceeded to chew on some grass by their feet. The little rabbit just nuzzled Denen like he was his new mother. There was a joke in there somewhere. He nodded and smiled at Denen's reaction, so easy to please. When he got the healer's attention, though, he frowned and apologized: "I forgot to get him a cage."

[Denen Sunsinger]

Denen looked up, smiling as he watched Sam's hands. His nose wrinkled, and he used one hand to respond. "We can build him one, I'm sure." He leaned up to place an adoring kiss on Sam's cheek. He then held the bunny up, and tenderly touched noses with it. "H-He's...so cute. I...I d-don't...know...I d-don't know what...to name him." He lifted his head and nodded to the goat. "And...And a goat, too? You've been b-b-busy."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"You have time to think about it," he assured the lad. "And I think he's old enough for solid foods, but if not..." he patted the she-goat, "we will have milk in the morning and perhaps some cheese soon, too. I have to ask someone the proper way to make it. Then I can show Jyn and we'll have it regularly. It will improve our bad cooking, I'm sure." He grinned and patted the affectionate goat. "We're starting to look a bit more like a pavilion, aren't we?" he asked, eyes alight.

[Denen Sunsinger]

Denen grinned and gave a happy, breathless sigh. "Oh, this is wonderful. We're doing so well, Sam!" He rose, reaching for his hand. "I have a crate he can stay in. I've been using it to store herbs, but I can move them." He held his hand out expectantly. "You can name the goat. I'm no good at those things. As for the bunny..." He trailed off, bit his lower lip, and grinned. "G-Gods, h-he...he's so c-cute." He just wanted to hug the bunny all tight and close, but he knew he had to be careful. "I've never had one of these before. Father didn't like having pets around." Stone had called them dirty and a nuisance. The only animals he much cared for were, of course, Striders. Denen was overjoyed to finally have a pet, and grateful to Sam for being thoughtful enough to get him one. His eyes lifted then, a bit sad. "You will have a wife soon," he mused. "And then babies. Once you have little feet padding through the grass, Sam, we will be as real as any newly born Pavilion." He only hoped that he wouldn't end up lost in the bustle and fray.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam gave him his ever-roughening paw with a smile. All that riding and work with the scimitar and shortbow and leather was toughening the skin on his hands, callused as they were. He couldn't remember them ever being soft, though they must have been a long, long time ago. But he laughed. "Do you really," he began, though it was slow going with only one hand, "want me naming any more animals?" With a significant glance to Horse the horse, he continued to grin, his dark eyes almost disappearing in the squint of his laughter. But he had to keep his misgivings to himself. One after another, potential wives disappeared from the playing field. He had to wonder if there was a reason, whether fate or failure on his part. All the same, he was content enough with Denen, Jyn, the baby, and the growing menagerie. He didn't want Caelum's inevitable departure to come, but come it must. He knew that.

[Denen Sunsinger]

Denen laughed. Gods, it did his heart such good to see Sam so happy. His worry had nearly devoured him when Sam was sick. He had been sleepless, had not left his friend's side, save to search for herbs. His joy at Sam's revival had been so intense that he'd collapsed with exhaustion shortly after. At the question, he grinned and shrugged. "You might as well get practice, you know." He had full faith that Sam would marry and have a brood of children. It was simply a matter of time. He could imagine how difficult it was, given Dymphna's rather agonizing loss. He led Sam into the tent, where he proceeded to empty out the crate, piling the herbs to the side. He set the bunny down, and cooed over him as he sniffed about his new home. And then, smiling softly, he lifted his head and beckoned Sam near with his hand, so that he might give him a kiss of thanks. "You are good to me," he signed. "It means a lot. Thank you."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Behemoth," he said aloud, his hands describing the legendary beast. Clearly he had a sense of irony. He grinned and nodded. The rabbit would never grow into its name, but it would be a source of laughter and good spirits while it lived among them. The little beast. The little behemoth. Inside the tent he fell into the pillows that Denen favored, then crawled over when beckoned to seal their friendship with a kiss. Were Denen capable of bearing him children, he might have had a wife by now. As it was, they were the closest of friends. "You have always stood by me," he signed seriously. "I will always stand by you, and make you happy as I can."