Reap the Wild Wind, post 7, Final one!
Dec. 5th, 2008 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thrihyrneYes, this has come to its end. This is the last chapter and epilogue. It's been ages, and for any people waiting for it to be complete, it now is. I'll be marking it as complete on my website and then send it to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wiebke for inclusion over at Forever Wraeththu. When last we left our group, a forest fire had been set by some humans, and Grissecon was done to take care of them. Lochenfex was injured by it. Hunt and Kelp's future together is still uncertain.
Summary: Níl gach uile fhánaí caillte— Not all who wander are lost. (J.R.R. Tolkien) Kelp, a newly-incepted har and his companion, Blackspur, journey from an outer island of Alba Sulh to find others of their kind. Adult. Adventures, aruna, and an occasional warning for violence. This post: adult.
Days and then weeks went by; Lochenfex remained in a coma-like state for nearly a week, Thistle keeping vigil at his side while the two healers did what they could. Cobweb suggested a ritual of rebirth, vague in his perception of what it should entail, but the ceremony was heartily endorsed by Cairn and Ferngarn. They made a paste of holly berries and acorns, applying it to Lochenfex's palms and the soles of his feet while Leegan performed other rituals over him. The three hara had done this behind the knotted flap to the telan where Lochenfex was being cared for, so Kelp hadn't been entirely sure what all had transpired. Their potent combination of knowledge and harish energy manipulation achieved the desired end; Lochenfex came to, and though he was weak in body and spirit for several days, Thistle cared for him and he was able at last to rejoin the community. Caste studies were pursued in earnest for those newest to Wraeththudom, including Lochenfex, Blackspur and Kelp. Arbor and Perifen also engaged in studies and energy work; amongst the Acanthalids there was also the occasional taking of aruna to garner power and strength from the experience— as well as pleasure and companionship.
The community as a whole engaged in its own winter routines, but each har also developed his own responsibilities and pursuits to fill the short days and long nights. Some wrote, others read; cooking, baking, hunting and water retrieving chores were rotated in sets of twos and threes, allowing their small populace to function as a mostly harmonious whole. Eventually the days grew longer and each day, Kelp looked to Hunt's throat to see whether or not he was wearing the amulet he'd offered. Hunt's neck remained bare, but neither had he returned it. Kelp, with tremendous willpower, had not brought up the subject of their bonding or eventual departure, brutally squelching his desires to know one way or another what Hunt's thoughts and feelings were on the topic. They continued to share a bed and telan, gifting each other with their profound affections even though that one unspoken subject remained ever present, lurking under the calm surface of their conjoined lives.
Kelp began having vivid dreams, night after night; the imagery and powerful emotional responses he had to the events that transpired lingered in his mind when he awoke, sometimes to his consternation. Oftentimes he would be in the middle of a mundane act — mucking out the horse stalls, or sitting in front of their rectangular looking-glass, plaiting thin braids in his hair in a style he knew Hunt found appealing — when sudden flashes of memory of a recent dream would spring to life in his inner vision. It was disconcerting, even though the dreams weren't themselves at all troubling. It was more that they were so detailed, involving discrete hara on ground he knew as well as the back of his hand: they all took place in his former home, out on the island he and Blackspur had abandoned. For the first time since his inception, Kelp had an ache in his heart that didn't have to do with another har; there was a gnawing at his spirit, but he couldn't find the words to express the tumbling emotions that resurfaced each time he dreamed of having been returned to the island of his human birth and harish rebirth.
One day Kelp had been particularly out of sorts, even though he'd consciously reminded himself while doing his various chores that the fluttering wings of dream memory weren't based in his reality. He was on the verge of going to Arbor and Petrichor to see if they'd brewed up something strong enough to allow him a dreamless sleep that night when he sensed Hunt reaching to him in mind-touch. His voice was particularly gentle and cautious, not easygoing and familiar as it had resumed once they'd stopped talking about the future.
Kelp, will you meet me in the library? he asked.
The request caused Kelp to stop in his tracks partway up the circular steps to Arbor and Petrichor's rooms, which included their makeshift distillery and experimental organic lab.
Sure, he replied as a thought struck him. Should I bring some firewood?
Thanks for thinking about it, but it's well stocked. Valecho's been doing a lot of writing here recently, so there's a pile of logs, Hunt replied. Are you busy?
Not really. I'll be there shortly.
Subconsciously, Kelp found himself straightening out his tunic and pulling his hair back; it had grown quite long and he'd become a bit vain about how his hair looked. There had been an undercurrent of seriousness in the timbre of Hunt's voice, even mind to mind, that caused a stirring of nervous energy in Kelp, settling unpleasantly in his stomach. He'd resigned himself to accepting whatever outcome took place once the Equinox came and went, but that was still several weeks away. As he made his way to one of the lowest telani where the small library was housed near the kitchen, he twisted one of his braids in his fingers. He couldn't help but wonder if Hunt had, at last, decided one way or another about his future. Kelp didn't dare get his hopes up; since the night they'd retaliated against the humans and their fire he'd consciously become more aloof, more focussed on being har and forcing away the more human emotions of possessiveness, jealousy, envy and fear. In these moments, however, he realised that those feelings, like an encroaching tide, were building up the closer he got to the library.
He paused outside of the wooden door to the enclosed room, placed his hand on the latch and took a couple of deep, cleansing breaths before entering. Hunt stood at the makeshift window, his tawny hair hanging below his shoulders in thick waves. He turned when Kelp came in and latched the door behind him, walking over to be held in Kelp's arms, not saying a word.
Kelp instinctively wrapped Hunt in an embrace, letting his fingertips knead slightly against his back, nosing at Hunt's scalp to smell the faint apple scent of the shampoo he made and used. After a short while, Hunt eased away from him, a wary smile settling on his lips.
"Let's sit down. Wine?"
"Sure."
Kelp's nerves were still buzzing with anticipation for whatever his lover had to say; euphoria and despair battled off in a subdued arena while he tried to force himself to be in the present and to wait for Hunt to speak, not intuit or guess his agenda by his gestures and summons. In front of the fire were two wooden chairs, their designs so organic in nature that they seemed to grow up from the floor. Kelp sat in one, stretching out his legs toward the warmth of the fire, carefully engineered in stone so as not to spread outside of the confines of the diminutive fireplace. He turned when Hunt brought a full chalice of wine to him; the goblets were heavy silver and while the metalwork was of ivy and oak, beautifully decorative, it was also obviously the work of human, not harish, hands. Kelp took two large sips of the rich wine before resting the base of the cup on his knee. Hunt shifted the second chair so he could look at Kelp without having to twist his head.
"This may sound crazy," Hunt said, his index finger tapping at his chalice as he stared at his wine, "but I've been having these dreams. They're so vivid, but then I mostly forget them after I've woken up."
Kelp sat up straight in his chair, pulling his feet along the floor. Dozens of thoughts careened in his head like a flock of startled birds. "Dreams about what?" he asked urgently. "I've been having dreams, too, night after night."
Hunt took a long draught, his gaze fixed on Kelp. While Hunt still looked young, Kelp had finally become used to the discord of his lover's elfin, youthful appearance and the maturity inherent within him. Hunt seemed world weary for a moment, but then a low burning fervour flared to life, reflected in his movements and the quiet zeal of his words.
"Dreams of starting another colony, of several of us returning to your island. There are plenty of resources there— we could study, test our harish sensibilities and see just how far we can progress, how skilled we can become in every realm imaginable. We'd be left alone and if somehar wanted to join our community, he could write and ask, or send a message through the channels of thought."
His brown eyes shone, a fire smouldering with the passion for his harish utopia out on the isolated, somewhat desolate lands Kelp and Blackspur had once called home. Kelp's mouth was suddenly dry; he'd had the same visions. Were they both being manipulated by some force beyond their clans? Were hara capable of being possessed or commandeered through the landscape of dreams or nightmares?
"I've been dreaming about my old home too," Kelp said in a low voice, fingering his chalice and staring at Hunt. "I never did before… do you think maybe I've been subconsciously picking up on your thoughts? Or that some other force is trying to convince us to go? But who or what could do that, or would?" he asked, eddies of unease rippling through him.
A confident smile bloomed on Hunt's lips, banishing Kelp's fears. "I can't say whether or not these visions are coming from outside of ourselves, but I know we should heed them. You and me, and Blackspur, Perifen and Ferngarn, if he'll come with us, and maybe even your enigmatic Thistle."
"I don't think he'll go anywhere without Lochenfex," Kelp said ruefully, his eyes downcast into his ever-decreasing amount of wine.
"Speaking of that," Hunt said in a creamy voice, "I hope you don't mind, but I asked Valecho to transform the amulet."
"Transform?" Kelp said, incredulity morphing to sour confusion as he tried to decipher what Hunt meant. "I don't understand."
Hunt's expression was beatific; he looked like a serene mage about to gift Kelp with knowledge that would first shatter and then crystallise his perception of the universe. After placing his chalice on the floor, Hunt reached under the woolen gauze of his overtunic and retrieved a simple leather pouch. He pulled it open and snuck in his fingers, raising them with a muted sound of triumph as Kelp stared. There, perched on his top knuckles, were two rings fashioned in silver scrollwork, uneven and compelling shapes of amber set in their centres. Valecho apparently was an artisan and Kelp had never realised it. He'd broken the honey-coloured stone at Hunt's request and transformed the amulet into two unique creations. In gazing at them, Kelp could see that they were symbolic of their very different personalities, yet similar enough in style and origin to express the intertwining of their lives as a whole. Hunt was giddy as he beamed at Kelp and motioned him over.
"Come sit on my lap," he bade, and Kelp felt a jolt of heat between his legs.
He desperately hoped nohar would decide he wanted a book in the next short while. Kelp could read Hunt's face quite well and knew that the need to take aruna had surged into his thoughts. Kelp straddled his legs, wrapping his arms around his lover's neck under his hair while Hunt dropped the rings into the palm of his left hand. The wolfish quality to his demeanour faded as he closed his hand into a loose fist, placing it first against his heart, and then atop Kelp's, which had sped up as more and more understanding crept into his cautiously hopeful spirit.
"They're both for us," Hunt murmured, rubbing his soft cheek against the harsher planes of Kelp's jaw. "We don't have to pick one exclusively; when I asked Valecho if he could make the amulet into two pieces of jewellery, he suggested that they not be identical. It's my bond to you, whichever one you wish to wear, and I'll wear the other. Will you have me?" The last words were a harsh whisper.
"Always."
Kelp was so full with relief and a lusty euphoria that he grabbed Hunt on both sides of his head and pressed his lips hard against Hunt's sensual mouth, groaning when the kiss erupted into a sharing of breath. Hunt was a torrent of lilac and adventure; Kelp couldn't help rutting against him as he breathed heated desire, any inhibitions sloughing away like melting wax. Hunt wanted to be his; they would found their own community back on the island, back where the ocean beckoned with her unceasing waves and craggy rocks that held rigidly to their secrets.
"Be soume for me," Hunt said, his voice both dreamy and yet aggressive.
"I am already." Kelp moved a trembling hand to gently prise open the cage of Hunt's hand, picking up the rings and looking at his own slender fingers. "Which one?" he asked, captivated more by Hunt's succulent lips than the rings, at least for the moment.
"Which ring? Or which finger?"
Hunt arched his pelvis, his arousal sliding along Kelp's sensitised body, even through their clothes.
"Both. Either," Kelp panted, rubbing against the trapped hardness as Hunt chuckled, his light voice so in contrast with the power of his ouana side which so often dominated him. Kelp continued to rock his groin slowly as they each tried one ring apiece on each other's fingers until they both had one fitting snugly on their respective right hands.
"My chesnari," Hunt breathed, sliding his hands to cup Kelp's backside, the wonder in his voice as irrepressible as the wild colours of vivid autumn leaves. "Let me take you."
Hunt was rough at first. He became more gentle as the first thirsts of their passion were slaked, joined skin to skin, Hunt's impressive ouana-lim buried in Kelp's depths. This was not a time for teasing or languor; the tension built with fierce intensity, Kelp clawing at Hunt's narrow shoulders as he sank down on Hunt over and over. Occasionally he rolled Hunt's earlobe in his teeth to make him buck, gasping and swearing with an accent that lilted to Kelp's ear.
Kelp felt like a tightly wound spring. All of the worries and uncertainty he'd buried were corkscrewing their way up through the earth of his being. His feelings buffeted the sacred aruna space they'd created, but Hunt guided the two of them along, using the compass of his own devotion to steer them to the precipice of their release.
Hunt cried out hoarsely as he summoned the end, the lightning whipcrack flashing to reach for Kelp's core like a comet. The climax pulsed in him, ricocheting from the clenched muscles of his soume-lam to the backs of his knees, vibrating in the charged air encircling them as they were freed to soar like kites on the wind.
Eventually their arunic chorus waned and Kelp draped over Hunt, pressing his damp chest against Hunt's as he combed through the thick, sandy waves of hair with his fingers. There was so much he wanted to say and yet, the words themselves seemed unnecessary. He'd revealed everything to his doe-eyed lover, surrendered to and ensnared this untamed har with willing chesna bonds.
His legs felt weak and shaky as he eased up from Hunt's lap, his gaze caught by the pearly fluid gleaming along the dark jade of Hunt's ouana-lim. Hunt knew Kelp very well in matters of aruna, and was intentionally provocative as he smeared some of Kelp's seed onto his fingers and then licked it off, making contented purring sounds as he did.
"What am I going to do with you?" Kelp moaned, looking around in vain for a towel or cloth.
"Keep me, of course," Hunt replied, rummaging through his overtunic to find a handkerchief of sorts, enough to offer to Kelp so that he could clean himself up. "We should go before our clans and let them know," he stated, rearranging his clothes and tying up his leggings so that he appeared as he usually did: competent, self-assured, and enticing.
"I can't just walk up to Cairn and tell him I'm going back to my island and hoping certain hara will follow me," Kelp said, apprehension rising in him. "It's one thing to dream about it, and even feel it's a message, but to just storm in and say, 'We're leaving…'"
He faltered.
Hunt gazed at him, stalwart and confident. In the fireplace, the logs popped and crackled; Kelp felt a twinge in his left thigh where he'd exerted himself too much on his chesnari's lap. He felt poised on the cusp of another life-altering event, contemplating an uncertain future with somehar he loved, hoping others would follow them to a faraway land. Doubtless he wasn't the first to travel down roads of seeming folly such as this.
"Well," Hunt said, taking Kelp's hand and squeezing it, "we can be more diplomatic than that. I'd be surprised, actually, if our Phylarch and Warloch don't already have a sense of our plans. They're pretty perceptive and seem to be attuned to disturbances or troubles affecting anyhar here."
"True enough," Kelp conceded, squeezing back before releasing Hunt's hand. He was sure his face shone with the happiness that welled in him at seeing the new ring on Hunt's finger. Maybe they could get blessings from their clan leaders before they left, and of course they needed to consult with everyhar and see who all might feel a similar calling to start a new community, away from the trees and this valley on the mainland.
"Let's start with Blackspur," Hunt suggested, picking up his goblet and draining the last of the wine in it.
"I'm not sure what he'll think," Kelp said, using his thumb to twist the ring on his right middle finger. "Not about going back, but also about us. It might take him a little while to get used to the idea that we've pledged ourselves to each other."
"Well, he'll always know that your friendship and inception came first, long before I showed up," he said with a small shrug. "And hara aren't exclusive when it comes to taking aruna, especially not if there aren't that many of us. We can't afford it."
"I wonder if there were more humans, still on the island, hiding down in the southern parts," Kelp said, offering his chalice to Hunt, who shook his head. Kelp felt faintly queasy with nervous anticipation of announcing their plans, and their official chesna status.
"Maybe so. It'd be good to incept more hara, if possible," Hunt mused, heading for the door. "One day we may figure out how to reproduce. We'll need to if we're going to survive as a race."
"That's…" Kelp began, pulling his cloak around him as they left the warmth of the library. "That's a very strange concept. We're all male. I mean, we're not, we can be both roles. But reproduce?"
He couldn't fathom himself in a bizarre pregnant state, or anyhar else in their group. A few hara did tend more to their soume side, but the label of 'mother' was nonsense.
"I don't know how it would work," Hunt said, leading the way up the telani stairs toward Blackspur and Perifen's room. "There's so much for us to discover about ourselves, and our race." Awed excitement rang in his voice, rekindling Kelp's enthusiasm. "I want you to tell me everything about your island," he went on. "I know some hara pretend they were never human, but you don't seem like one of those. If you're willing, I'd ask you to tell me about your childhood, or what it was like before your inception."
"There's not much to tell, honestly," Kelp said, looking up to see the unique deep indigo symbols painted on the sturdy canvas which identified this residence as Perifen and Blackspur's. "He's an integral part, that's for sure," he went on, tilting his head toward the telan and intertwining his fingers with Hunt's. It felt as natural as breathing, their hands clasped as they stood on the precipice of the unknown, staring into the murky dazzle of tremendous change. Kelp squeezed his lover's hand, feeling a current of support course through him.
The flap rustled and was pulled back, revealing Blackspur. He stood, one arm holding up the canvas entryway. Kelp was struck by his strength and composure; he felt he was looking at a leader. It was as though a lioness had come to life in Blackspur: protective, fierce, and ready to face head on whatever confronted him. He grinned and ran his fingers through the wilds of his copper hair, transforming the regal appearance he'd had for a few seconds. Kelp grinned in return.
"Come in," Blackspur said, stepping back to let the two hara into the warmth of the telan. "What's on your mind?"
Hunt glanced at Kelp, then over to Blackspur, who'd gone over to a small cabinet to fetch a bottle of wine.
"Let's share breath," Hunt said, walking the few steps to take Blackspur's hand. "It'll be easier if I show you."
Blackspur stepped back and raised his eyebrows in surprise, though he allowed himself to be led over to a woven rug near his brazier. There was quite a height difference between the two, so Blackspur suggested they sit on his bed. Kelp padded over and took Blackspur's hand, placing his other hand on Hunt's shoulder blade. With clear eyes, the fiery haired har gazed keenly at Kelp and then Hunt.
"You two." He let out a small sigh and gave Kelp's hand a quick squeeze. "You've committed to each other, I can see it. Well, I'm happy for you. Now show me this vision and you'd better believe you'll get my honest opinion."
As Hunt and Blackspur shared breath, Kelp half-expected jealousy to heat and fester in him. Instead, he found that they looked natural, lips pressed together, sharing images and ideas in the most direct manner hara had. The two of them were starkly different, and yet both were beautiful, not that Kelp saw them through an erotic light in this act. When Hunt drew back, Blackspur licked at his lower lip, his expression contemplative.
"Well," he said, giving both Hunt and Kelp's hands reassuring squeezes before heading once again for his cabinet. "This kind of plan definitely calls for some alcohol."
"So you'll go back? With only a few of us?" Kelp clarified, going to help Blackspur pour and distribute the genvir distilled by the tree-hara.
"For a while. Why not?" He raised his glass to Kelp and Hunt. "It's only the dawn of our kind. Cairn and Leegan and those who stay will make their own paths. Now that we know we're not alone, I'm all for returning to our former shores. I've missed the ocean," he said wistfully.
As he did, Kelp felt a similar, undeniable pull as the moon has on the tides. "Here's to facing into the wild winds of the future!" he cheered, a melodious chime of glass sounding in the telan as Blackspur and Hunt joined his toast.
* * * * *
Epilogue
Hand in hand, Kelp and Hunt walked along the blustery shore. It was so windy they'd taken to braiding and pinning their hair before getting near the dunes, much less the actual ocean. Both wore tanned and treated leather capes to keep off the occasional burst of stinging rain. The weather could be glorious, but for these winter months, it tended to be changeable, steely grey, wet and frigid. For all of that, Kelp was glad to be able to walk on the strand with his chesnari.
"Are you about ready to go back?" Hunt asked, hope in his voice.
"Sure."
Kelp wriggled his fingers in Hunt's, both of them wearing gloves Kelp had fashioned and sewn himself. He gave Hunt a sympathetic look, pleased when an answering smile drifted briefly across Hunt's lips.
It won't be winter forever, Kelp said into Hunt's mind, hoping he sounded reassuring.
I don't regret coming, if that's what you're getting at, Hunt replied, plodding across the hard, wet sand toward the path through the dunes.
Kelp knew Hunt often missed his former kinshar and moors and forest. There was also the way their small band had split off, words said in anger and hurt that Kelp suspected still echoed in sequestered realms in Hunt's heart. Hunt ultimately had been the one to drive onward, believing in his visions and trying to convince any har who thought he was possessed that he was quite sane. Cairn had said he'd send a volunteer to visit within the year, but given winter's hold on Alba Sulh, Kelp didn't think it very likely they'd see anyhar until spring.
Once back in their stone house, Kelp busily stoked the embers back to a proper fire. Hunt poured himself a glass of the peaty liquor they'd found during their extensive excursions around the north island, and then sat down with a knitting project.
"Any news from Lochenfex or Thistle?" Kelp asked, stirring some dried beans that had been soaking for a day. Hunt's spinning and knitting had turned into periods of a profound trance-like period when he sent his thoughts far out into the aethers. It could be hard to rouse him once in that state, like pulling a spoon from chilled honey.
"No," he replied, his tone brittle. "It's been weeks since their rebuff. I think I've nearly found Leegan, though." He curled up in his chair cross-legged, his delicate form girding an ironclad will and intractable heart.
"If you are able to touch minds with our two, let them know…" Kelp paused. "Tell them I hope they return soon."
Hunt shrugged, and Kelp could no better read that gesture than the books in the native human tongue he'd found but had never learned himself. Those two hara from their group had felt singled out, called to pursue a similar exploration on the south island as had been instigated on Kelp and Blackspur's former home. Having grown up on the isolated lands, they both thought it was insane for Thistle and Lochenfex to go out on their own, due not just to the weather but also out of fear of the possibility of plague and remaining humans. Spurned, they'd gone anyway, leaving the small community fractured and struggling with their sense of purpose. For all of that, Kelp cared for his clanshar; he worried for their safety and about other, more potentially violent hara who might have banded together while the other Sulh were tentatively meeting on the mainland. The uncertainty of their community, down to only five now, was always in his mind. It was inescapable and fickle, just like the turbulent seasons on the island itself.
After snagging a piece of dried meat and putting it in his vest pocket, Kelp put his cape back on to go and visit Blackspur. Once outside but still in the relative shelter of their house, he took out a cigarette and match, similar treasures found in the abandoned houses they'd plundered upon their return. He took a deep drag before letting out the smoke through his teeth with a hiss. As he walked the short trail over to his friend's home, he thought about how old he felt, and yet how ridiculous that was in so many ways. He'd not even been har for two full years, but he had been through a lot. For all of that, the world and his harish life continued to surprise him, sometimes with pleasant repercussions.
Glancing ahead, he saw Blackspur's distinctive slender form coming outside and shutting the door behind him. He waved in greeting, and then cupped his hand around his mouth, evidently lighting his own cigarette.
"Is Hunt off on another of his mind journeys?" he asked kindly when Kelp approached.
"Yes. We'll all have gorgeous knitted blankets by the time this winter's over, and he'll have travelled from here to southern Alba Sulh in the aethers," Kelp said, resigned.
"I wouldn't worry. It's a skill we all could stand to learn."
Blackspur gave him a lopsided smile, taking a puff on his cigarette before letting his arm drop to his side and blowing the smoke away from Kelp's face.
"How's Perifen's weaving?"
"Just fine. I've been delving into some amazing aruna practises, too," Blackspur said, placing his hand on Kelp's upper arm. "You should let Hunt do his next couple of mind jaunts over here where Perifen can keep an eye on him, and I'll come to your place. There's such intense energy that can be generated with taking aruna— I know you know about some," he hastened to add, raising his hand to fend off Kelp's intended interruption. "But this is different even from what we studied before, and grissecon. It's a positive force that can be sent out for the betterment of each other, for our group, maybe even the earth itself."
His olivine eyes glittered, lit with zeal or anticipation, Kelp wasn't sure. Certainly their small commune needed protection, and he hoped they would serve as a beacon for any peaceful hara who wished to join them. More than that, however, Kelp wished their other comrades would return.
"I think they'll come back, and with all sorts of information that will help us in the future," Blackspur murmured, reading the expressions on Kelp's face as easily as though he'd said the words aloud. "It's contrary to your nature right now," he went on, taking another drag off his cigarette, "but stop worrying."
Kelp rested his head against his oldest friend's shoulder, took a deep breath, and sent a silent prayer to his chesnari's dehar and Lunil. After imagining that his plea had been heard, he lifted his head and placed a chaste kiss on Blackspur's chapped, freckled skin.
"I'll try," he whispered, the wind greedily snatching the words away.
Blackspur nodded, putting his arms around Kelp and kissing his forehead. Kelp melted against him, finding sanctuary in Blackspur's embrace from the relentless buffeting of his own thoughts.
"Chesnari or no, for as long as I live, I won't let you face this earth alone."
Kelp let out a shuddering sigh. I don't mean to be at all disloyal to Hunt, but I needed to hear that, he said mind to mind.
I know you did. His voice was warm and comforting, a scented bath Kelp could sink into, leaving his anxieties to dissipate like steam. Our adventures as hara have only just begun.
That doesn't sound so intimidating anymore.
Glad to hear it. Blackspur rubbed gently at Kelp's back. "I'm freezing," he said aloud. "Let me get my cape and I'll come over to your house for a bit. You have some of the good stuff, right?"
Kelp snorted. "Yes, of course." He reached over for Blackspur's cigarette and took a final drag from it before tossing it recklessly into the wind. "If you ask nicely, that is!"
Blackspur only rolled his eyes. "Right. I'll be over in a few minutes," he said, shooing Kelp away. "Quit brooding or I'll start drawing lewd pictures. Of you!" he threatened with a grin.
"You wouldn't dare. Okay, yes you would," Kelp replied, smiling as he turned to make his way back over to the stone house he shared with Hunt. Hugging his arms around his waist, Kelp couldn't stop smiling. The future was a dense fog of the unknown, it was true. At least in this moment, however, between his chesnari's love and Blackspur's loyalty, he felt invincible, a gull carried on a zephyr of change.
It was time to spread his wings.
wiebke for inclusion over at Forever Wraeththu. When last we left our group, a forest fire had been set by some humans, and Grissecon was done to take care of them. Lochenfex was injured by it. Hunt and Kelp's future together is still uncertain. Summary: Níl gach uile fhánaí caillte— Not all who wander are lost. (J.R.R. Tolkien) Kelp, a newly-incepted har and his companion, Blackspur, journey from an outer island of Alba Sulh to find others of their kind. Adult. Adventures, aruna, and an occasional warning for violence. This post: adult.
Days and then weeks went by; Lochenfex remained in a coma-like state for nearly a week, Thistle keeping vigil at his side while the two healers did what they could. Cobweb suggested a ritual of rebirth, vague in his perception of what it should entail, but the ceremony was heartily endorsed by Cairn and Ferngarn. They made a paste of holly berries and acorns, applying it to Lochenfex's palms and the soles of his feet while Leegan performed other rituals over him. The three hara had done this behind the knotted flap to the telan where Lochenfex was being cared for, so Kelp hadn't been entirely sure what all had transpired. Their potent combination of knowledge and harish energy manipulation achieved the desired end; Lochenfex came to, and though he was weak in body and spirit for several days, Thistle cared for him and he was able at last to rejoin the community. Caste studies were pursued in earnest for those newest to Wraeththudom, including Lochenfex, Blackspur and Kelp. Arbor and Perifen also engaged in studies and energy work; amongst the Acanthalids there was also the occasional taking of aruna to garner power and strength from the experience— as well as pleasure and companionship.
The community as a whole engaged in its own winter routines, but each har also developed his own responsibilities and pursuits to fill the short days and long nights. Some wrote, others read; cooking, baking, hunting and water retrieving chores were rotated in sets of twos and threes, allowing their small populace to function as a mostly harmonious whole. Eventually the days grew longer and each day, Kelp looked to Hunt's throat to see whether or not he was wearing the amulet he'd offered. Hunt's neck remained bare, but neither had he returned it. Kelp, with tremendous willpower, had not brought up the subject of their bonding or eventual departure, brutally squelching his desires to know one way or another what Hunt's thoughts and feelings were on the topic. They continued to share a bed and telan, gifting each other with their profound affections even though that one unspoken subject remained ever present, lurking under the calm surface of their conjoined lives.
Kelp began having vivid dreams, night after night; the imagery and powerful emotional responses he had to the events that transpired lingered in his mind when he awoke, sometimes to his consternation. Oftentimes he would be in the middle of a mundane act — mucking out the horse stalls, or sitting in front of their rectangular looking-glass, plaiting thin braids in his hair in a style he knew Hunt found appealing — when sudden flashes of memory of a recent dream would spring to life in his inner vision. It was disconcerting, even though the dreams weren't themselves at all troubling. It was more that they were so detailed, involving discrete hara on ground he knew as well as the back of his hand: they all took place in his former home, out on the island he and Blackspur had abandoned. For the first time since his inception, Kelp had an ache in his heart that didn't have to do with another har; there was a gnawing at his spirit, but he couldn't find the words to express the tumbling emotions that resurfaced each time he dreamed of having been returned to the island of his human birth and harish rebirth.
One day Kelp had been particularly out of sorts, even though he'd consciously reminded himself while doing his various chores that the fluttering wings of dream memory weren't based in his reality. He was on the verge of going to Arbor and Petrichor to see if they'd brewed up something strong enough to allow him a dreamless sleep that night when he sensed Hunt reaching to him in mind-touch. His voice was particularly gentle and cautious, not easygoing and familiar as it had resumed once they'd stopped talking about the future.
Kelp, will you meet me in the library? he asked.
The request caused Kelp to stop in his tracks partway up the circular steps to Arbor and Petrichor's rooms, which included their makeshift distillery and experimental organic lab.
Sure, he replied as a thought struck him. Should I bring some firewood?
Thanks for thinking about it, but it's well stocked. Valecho's been doing a lot of writing here recently, so there's a pile of logs, Hunt replied. Are you busy?
Not really. I'll be there shortly.
Subconsciously, Kelp found himself straightening out his tunic and pulling his hair back; it had grown quite long and he'd become a bit vain about how his hair looked. There had been an undercurrent of seriousness in the timbre of Hunt's voice, even mind to mind, that caused a stirring of nervous energy in Kelp, settling unpleasantly in his stomach. He'd resigned himself to accepting whatever outcome took place once the Equinox came and went, but that was still several weeks away. As he made his way to one of the lowest telani where the small library was housed near the kitchen, he twisted one of his braids in his fingers. He couldn't help but wonder if Hunt had, at last, decided one way or another about his future. Kelp didn't dare get his hopes up; since the night they'd retaliated against the humans and their fire he'd consciously become more aloof, more focussed on being har and forcing away the more human emotions of possessiveness, jealousy, envy and fear. In these moments, however, he realised that those feelings, like an encroaching tide, were building up the closer he got to the library.
He paused outside of the wooden door to the enclosed room, placed his hand on the latch and took a couple of deep, cleansing breaths before entering. Hunt stood at the makeshift window, his tawny hair hanging below his shoulders in thick waves. He turned when Kelp came in and latched the door behind him, walking over to be held in Kelp's arms, not saying a word.
Kelp instinctively wrapped Hunt in an embrace, letting his fingertips knead slightly against his back, nosing at Hunt's scalp to smell the faint apple scent of the shampoo he made and used. After a short while, Hunt eased away from him, a wary smile settling on his lips.
"Let's sit down. Wine?"
"Sure."
Kelp's nerves were still buzzing with anticipation for whatever his lover had to say; euphoria and despair battled off in a subdued arena while he tried to force himself to be in the present and to wait for Hunt to speak, not intuit or guess his agenda by his gestures and summons. In front of the fire were two wooden chairs, their designs so organic in nature that they seemed to grow up from the floor. Kelp sat in one, stretching out his legs toward the warmth of the fire, carefully engineered in stone so as not to spread outside of the confines of the diminutive fireplace. He turned when Hunt brought a full chalice of wine to him; the goblets were heavy silver and while the metalwork was of ivy and oak, beautifully decorative, it was also obviously the work of human, not harish, hands. Kelp took two large sips of the rich wine before resting the base of the cup on his knee. Hunt shifted the second chair so he could look at Kelp without having to twist his head.
"This may sound crazy," Hunt said, his index finger tapping at his chalice as he stared at his wine, "but I've been having these dreams. They're so vivid, but then I mostly forget them after I've woken up."
Kelp sat up straight in his chair, pulling his feet along the floor. Dozens of thoughts careened in his head like a flock of startled birds. "Dreams about what?" he asked urgently. "I've been having dreams, too, night after night."
Hunt took a long draught, his gaze fixed on Kelp. While Hunt still looked young, Kelp had finally become used to the discord of his lover's elfin, youthful appearance and the maturity inherent within him. Hunt seemed world weary for a moment, but then a low burning fervour flared to life, reflected in his movements and the quiet zeal of his words.
"Dreams of starting another colony, of several of us returning to your island. There are plenty of resources there— we could study, test our harish sensibilities and see just how far we can progress, how skilled we can become in every realm imaginable. We'd be left alone and if somehar wanted to join our community, he could write and ask, or send a message through the channels of thought."
His brown eyes shone, a fire smouldering with the passion for his harish utopia out on the isolated, somewhat desolate lands Kelp and Blackspur had once called home. Kelp's mouth was suddenly dry; he'd had the same visions. Were they both being manipulated by some force beyond their clans? Were hara capable of being possessed or commandeered through the landscape of dreams or nightmares?
"I've been dreaming about my old home too," Kelp said in a low voice, fingering his chalice and staring at Hunt. "I never did before… do you think maybe I've been subconsciously picking up on your thoughts? Or that some other force is trying to convince us to go? But who or what could do that, or would?" he asked, eddies of unease rippling through him.
A confident smile bloomed on Hunt's lips, banishing Kelp's fears. "I can't say whether or not these visions are coming from outside of ourselves, but I know we should heed them. You and me, and Blackspur, Perifen and Ferngarn, if he'll come with us, and maybe even your enigmatic Thistle."
"I don't think he'll go anywhere without Lochenfex," Kelp said ruefully, his eyes downcast into his ever-decreasing amount of wine.
"Speaking of that," Hunt said in a creamy voice, "I hope you don't mind, but I asked Valecho to transform the amulet."
"Transform?" Kelp said, incredulity morphing to sour confusion as he tried to decipher what Hunt meant. "I don't understand."
Hunt's expression was beatific; he looked like a serene mage about to gift Kelp with knowledge that would first shatter and then crystallise his perception of the universe. After placing his chalice on the floor, Hunt reached under the woolen gauze of his overtunic and retrieved a simple leather pouch. He pulled it open and snuck in his fingers, raising them with a muted sound of triumph as Kelp stared. There, perched on his top knuckles, were two rings fashioned in silver scrollwork, uneven and compelling shapes of amber set in their centres. Valecho apparently was an artisan and Kelp had never realised it. He'd broken the honey-coloured stone at Hunt's request and transformed the amulet into two unique creations. In gazing at them, Kelp could see that they were symbolic of their very different personalities, yet similar enough in style and origin to express the intertwining of their lives as a whole. Hunt was giddy as he beamed at Kelp and motioned him over.
"Come sit on my lap," he bade, and Kelp felt a jolt of heat between his legs.
He desperately hoped nohar would decide he wanted a book in the next short while. Kelp could read Hunt's face quite well and knew that the need to take aruna had surged into his thoughts. Kelp straddled his legs, wrapping his arms around his lover's neck under his hair while Hunt dropped the rings into the palm of his left hand. The wolfish quality to his demeanour faded as he closed his hand into a loose fist, placing it first against his heart, and then atop Kelp's, which had sped up as more and more understanding crept into his cautiously hopeful spirit.
"They're both for us," Hunt murmured, rubbing his soft cheek against the harsher planes of Kelp's jaw. "We don't have to pick one exclusively; when I asked Valecho if he could make the amulet into two pieces of jewellery, he suggested that they not be identical. It's my bond to you, whichever one you wish to wear, and I'll wear the other. Will you have me?" The last words were a harsh whisper.
"Always."
Kelp was so full with relief and a lusty euphoria that he grabbed Hunt on both sides of his head and pressed his lips hard against Hunt's sensual mouth, groaning when the kiss erupted into a sharing of breath. Hunt was a torrent of lilac and adventure; Kelp couldn't help rutting against him as he breathed heated desire, any inhibitions sloughing away like melting wax. Hunt wanted to be his; they would found their own community back on the island, back where the ocean beckoned with her unceasing waves and craggy rocks that held rigidly to their secrets.
"Be soume for me," Hunt said, his voice both dreamy and yet aggressive.
"I am already." Kelp moved a trembling hand to gently prise open the cage of Hunt's hand, picking up the rings and looking at his own slender fingers. "Which one?" he asked, captivated more by Hunt's succulent lips than the rings, at least for the moment.
"Which ring? Or which finger?"
Hunt arched his pelvis, his arousal sliding along Kelp's sensitised body, even through their clothes.
"Both. Either," Kelp panted, rubbing against the trapped hardness as Hunt chuckled, his light voice so in contrast with the power of his ouana side which so often dominated him. Kelp continued to rock his groin slowly as they each tried one ring apiece on each other's fingers until they both had one fitting snugly on their respective right hands.
"My chesnari," Hunt breathed, sliding his hands to cup Kelp's backside, the wonder in his voice as irrepressible as the wild colours of vivid autumn leaves. "Let me take you."
Hunt was rough at first. He became more gentle as the first thirsts of their passion were slaked, joined skin to skin, Hunt's impressive ouana-lim buried in Kelp's depths. This was not a time for teasing or languor; the tension built with fierce intensity, Kelp clawing at Hunt's narrow shoulders as he sank down on Hunt over and over. Occasionally he rolled Hunt's earlobe in his teeth to make him buck, gasping and swearing with an accent that lilted to Kelp's ear.
Kelp felt like a tightly wound spring. All of the worries and uncertainty he'd buried were corkscrewing their way up through the earth of his being. His feelings buffeted the sacred aruna space they'd created, but Hunt guided the two of them along, using the compass of his own devotion to steer them to the precipice of their release.
Hunt cried out hoarsely as he summoned the end, the lightning whipcrack flashing to reach for Kelp's core like a comet. The climax pulsed in him, ricocheting from the clenched muscles of his soume-lam to the backs of his knees, vibrating in the charged air encircling them as they were freed to soar like kites on the wind.
Eventually their arunic chorus waned and Kelp draped over Hunt, pressing his damp chest against Hunt's as he combed through the thick, sandy waves of hair with his fingers. There was so much he wanted to say and yet, the words themselves seemed unnecessary. He'd revealed everything to his doe-eyed lover, surrendered to and ensnared this untamed har with willing chesna bonds.
His legs felt weak and shaky as he eased up from Hunt's lap, his gaze caught by the pearly fluid gleaming along the dark jade of Hunt's ouana-lim. Hunt knew Kelp very well in matters of aruna, and was intentionally provocative as he smeared some of Kelp's seed onto his fingers and then licked it off, making contented purring sounds as he did.
"What am I going to do with you?" Kelp moaned, looking around in vain for a towel or cloth.
"Keep me, of course," Hunt replied, rummaging through his overtunic to find a handkerchief of sorts, enough to offer to Kelp so that he could clean himself up. "We should go before our clans and let them know," he stated, rearranging his clothes and tying up his leggings so that he appeared as he usually did: competent, self-assured, and enticing.
"I can't just walk up to Cairn and tell him I'm going back to my island and hoping certain hara will follow me," Kelp said, apprehension rising in him. "It's one thing to dream about it, and even feel it's a message, but to just storm in and say, 'We're leaving…'"
He faltered.
Hunt gazed at him, stalwart and confident. In the fireplace, the logs popped and crackled; Kelp felt a twinge in his left thigh where he'd exerted himself too much on his chesnari's lap. He felt poised on the cusp of another life-altering event, contemplating an uncertain future with somehar he loved, hoping others would follow them to a faraway land. Doubtless he wasn't the first to travel down roads of seeming folly such as this.
"Well," Hunt said, taking Kelp's hand and squeezing it, "we can be more diplomatic than that. I'd be surprised, actually, if our Phylarch and Warloch don't already have a sense of our plans. They're pretty perceptive and seem to be attuned to disturbances or troubles affecting anyhar here."
"True enough," Kelp conceded, squeezing back before releasing Hunt's hand. He was sure his face shone with the happiness that welled in him at seeing the new ring on Hunt's finger. Maybe they could get blessings from their clan leaders before they left, and of course they needed to consult with everyhar and see who all might feel a similar calling to start a new community, away from the trees and this valley on the mainland.
"Let's start with Blackspur," Hunt suggested, picking up his goblet and draining the last of the wine in it.
"I'm not sure what he'll think," Kelp said, using his thumb to twist the ring on his right middle finger. "Not about going back, but also about us. It might take him a little while to get used to the idea that we've pledged ourselves to each other."
"Well, he'll always know that your friendship and inception came first, long before I showed up," he said with a small shrug. "And hara aren't exclusive when it comes to taking aruna, especially not if there aren't that many of us. We can't afford it."
"I wonder if there were more humans, still on the island, hiding down in the southern parts," Kelp said, offering his chalice to Hunt, who shook his head. Kelp felt faintly queasy with nervous anticipation of announcing their plans, and their official chesna status.
"Maybe so. It'd be good to incept more hara, if possible," Hunt mused, heading for the door. "One day we may figure out how to reproduce. We'll need to if we're going to survive as a race."
"That's…" Kelp began, pulling his cloak around him as they left the warmth of the library. "That's a very strange concept. We're all male. I mean, we're not, we can be both roles. But reproduce?"
He couldn't fathom himself in a bizarre pregnant state, or anyhar else in their group. A few hara did tend more to their soume side, but the label of 'mother' was nonsense.
"I don't know how it would work," Hunt said, leading the way up the telani stairs toward Blackspur and Perifen's room. "There's so much for us to discover about ourselves, and our race." Awed excitement rang in his voice, rekindling Kelp's enthusiasm. "I want you to tell me everything about your island," he went on. "I know some hara pretend they were never human, but you don't seem like one of those. If you're willing, I'd ask you to tell me about your childhood, or what it was like before your inception."
"There's not much to tell, honestly," Kelp said, looking up to see the unique deep indigo symbols painted on the sturdy canvas which identified this residence as Perifen and Blackspur's. "He's an integral part, that's for sure," he went on, tilting his head toward the telan and intertwining his fingers with Hunt's. It felt as natural as breathing, their hands clasped as they stood on the precipice of the unknown, staring into the murky dazzle of tremendous change. Kelp squeezed his lover's hand, feeling a current of support course through him.
The flap rustled and was pulled back, revealing Blackspur. He stood, one arm holding up the canvas entryway. Kelp was struck by his strength and composure; he felt he was looking at a leader. It was as though a lioness had come to life in Blackspur: protective, fierce, and ready to face head on whatever confronted him. He grinned and ran his fingers through the wilds of his copper hair, transforming the regal appearance he'd had for a few seconds. Kelp grinned in return.
"Come in," Blackspur said, stepping back to let the two hara into the warmth of the telan. "What's on your mind?"
Hunt glanced at Kelp, then over to Blackspur, who'd gone over to a small cabinet to fetch a bottle of wine.
"Let's share breath," Hunt said, walking the few steps to take Blackspur's hand. "It'll be easier if I show you."
Blackspur stepped back and raised his eyebrows in surprise, though he allowed himself to be led over to a woven rug near his brazier. There was quite a height difference between the two, so Blackspur suggested they sit on his bed. Kelp padded over and took Blackspur's hand, placing his other hand on Hunt's shoulder blade. With clear eyes, the fiery haired har gazed keenly at Kelp and then Hunt.
"You two." He let out a small sigh and gave Kelp's hand a quick squeeze. "You've committed to each other, I can see it. Well, I'm happy for you. Now show me this vision and you'd better believe you'll get my honest opinion."
As Hunt and Blackspur shared breath, Kelp half-expected jealousy to heat and fester in him. Instead, he found that they looked natural, lips pressed together, sharing images and ideas in the most direct manner hara had. The two of them were starkly different, and yet both were beautiful, not that Kelp saw them through an erotic light in this act. When Hunt drew back, Blackspur licked at his lower lip, his expression contemplative.
"Well," he said, giving both Hunt and Kelp's hands reassuring squeezes before heading once again for his cabinet. "This kind of plan definitely calls for some alcohol."
"So you'll go back? With only a few of us?" Kelp clarified, going to help Blackspur pour and distribute the genvir distilled by the tree-hara.
"For a while. Why not?" He raised his glass to Kelp and Hunt. "It's only the dawn of our kind. Cairn and Leegan and those who stay will make their own paths. Now that we know we're not alone, I'm all for returning to our former shores. I've missed the ocean," he said wistfully.
As he did, Kelp felt a similar, undeniable pull as the moon has on the tides. "Here's to facing into the wild winds of the future!" he cheered, a melodious chime of glass sounding in the telan as Blackspur and Hunt joined his toast.
* * * * *
Epilogue
Hand in hand, Kelp and Hunt walked along the blustery shore. It was so windy they'd taken to braiding and pinning their hair before getting near the dunes, much less the actual ocean. Both wore tanned and treated leather capes to keep off the occasional burst of stinging rain. The weather could be glorious, but for these winter months, it tended to be changeable, steely grey, wet and frigid. For all of that, Kelp was glad to be able to walk on the strand with his chesnari.
"Are you about ready to go back?" Hunt asked, hope in his voice.
"Sure."
Kelp wriggled his fingers in Hunt's, both of them wearing gloves Kelp had fashioned and sewn himself. He gave Hunt a sympathetic look, pleased when an answering smile drifted briefly across Hunt's lips.
It won't be winter forever, Kelp said into Hunt's mind, hoping he sounded reassuring.
I don't regret coming, if that's what you're getting at, Hunt replied, plodding across the hard, wet sand toward the path through the dunes.
Kelp knew Hunt often missed his former kinshar and moors and forest. There was also the way their small band had split off, words said in anger and hurt that Kelp suspected still echoed in sequestered realms in Hunt's heart. Hunt ultimately had been the one to drive onward, believing in his visions and trying to convince any har who thought he was possessed that he was quite sane. Cairn had said he'd send a volunteer to visit within the year, but given winter's hold on Alba Sulh, Kelp didn't think it very likely they'd see anyhar until spring.
Once back in their stone house, Kelp busily stoked the embers back to a proper fire. Hunt poured himself a glass of the peaty liquor they'd found during their extensive excursions around the north island, and then sat down with a knitting project.
"Any news from Lochenfex or Thistle?" Kelp asked, stirring some dried beans that had been soaking for a day. Hunt's spinning and knitting had turned into periods of a profound trance-like period when he sent his thoughts far out into the aethers. It could be hard to rouse him once in that state, like pulling a spoon from chilled honey.
"No," he replied, his tone brittle. "It's been weeks since their rebuff. I think I've nearly found Leegan, though." He curled up in his chair cross-legged, his delicate form girding an ironclad will and intractable heart.
"If you are able to touch minds with our two, let them know…" Kelp paused. "Tell them I hope they return soon."
Hunt shrugged, and Kelp could no better read that gesture than the books in the native human tongue he'd found but had never learned himself. Those two hara from their group had felt singled out, called to pursue a similar exploration on the south island as had been instigated on Kelp and Blackspur's former home. Having grown up on the isolated lands, they both thought it was insane for Thistle and Lochenfex to go out on their own, due not just to the weather but also out of fear of the possibility of plague and remaining humans. Spurned, they'd gone anyway, leaving the small community fractured and struggling with their sense of purpose. For all of that, Kelp cared for his clanshar; he worried for their safety and about other, more potentially violent hara who might have banded together while the other Sulh were tentatively meeting on the mainland. The uncertainty of their community, down to only five now, was always in his mind. It was inescapable and fickle, just like the turbulent seasons on the island itself.
After snagging a piece of dried meat and putting it in his vest pocket, Kelp put his cape back on to go and visit Blackspur. Once outside but still in the relative shelter of their house, he took out a cigarette and match, similar treasures found in the abandoned houses they'd plundered upon their return. He took a deep drag before letting out the smoke through his teeth with a hiss. As he walked the short trail over to his friend's home, he thought about how old he felt, and yet how ridiculous that was in so many ways. He'd not even been har for two full years, but he had been through a lot. For all of that, the world and his harish life continued to surprise him, sometimes with pleasant repercussions.
Glancing ahead, he saw Blackspur's distinctive slender form coming outside and shutting the door behind him. He waved in greeting, and then cupped his hand around his mouth, evidently lighting his own cigarette.
"Is Hunt off on another of his mind journeys?" he asked kindly when Kelp approached.
"Yes. We'll all have gorgeous knitted blankets by the time this winter's over, and he'll have travelled from here to southern Alba Sulh in the aethers," Kelp said, resigned.
"I wouldn't worry. It's a skill we all could stand to learn."
Blackspur gave him a lopsided smile, taking a puff on his cigarette before letting his arm drop to his side and blowing the smoke away from Kelp's face.
"How's Perifen's weaving?"
"Just fine. I've been delving into some amazing aruna practises, too," Blackspur said, placing his hand on Kelp's upper arm. "You should let Hunt do his next couple of mind jaunts over here where Perifen can keep an eye on him, and I'll come to your place. There's such intense energy that can be generated with taking aruna— I know you know about some," he hastened to add, raising his hand to fend off Kelp's intended interruption. "But this is different even from what we studied before, and grissecon. It's a positive force that can be sent out for the betterment of each other, for our group, maybe even the earth itself."
His olivine eyes glittered, lit with zeal or anticipation, Kelp wasn't sure. Certainly their small commune needed protection, and he hoped they would serve as a beacon for any peaceful hara who wished to join them. More than that, however, Kelp wished their other comrades would return.
"I think they'll come back, and with all sorts of information that will help us in the future," Blackspur murmured, reading the expressions on Kelp's face as easily as though he'd said the words aloud. "It's contrary to your nature right now," he went on, taking another drag off his cigarette, "but stop worrying."
Kelp rested his head against his oldest friend's shoulder, took a deep breath, and sent a silent prayer to his chesnari's dehar and Lunil. After imagining that his plea had been heard, he lifted his head and placed a chaste kiss on Blackspur's chapped, freckled skin.
"I'll try," he whispered, the wind greedily snatching the words away.
Blackspur nodded, putting his arms around Kelp and kissing his forehead. Kelp melted against him, finding sanctuary in Blackspur's embrace from the relentless buffeting of his own thoughts.
"Chesnari or no, for as long as I live, I won't let you face this earth alone."
Kelp let out a shuddering sigh. I don't mean to be at all disloyal to Hunt, but I needed to hear that, he said mind to mind.
I know you did. His voice was warm and comforting, a scented bath Kelp could sink into, leaving his anxieties to dissipate like steam. Our adventures as hara have only just begun.
That doesn't sound so intimidating anymore.
Glad to hear it. Blackspur rubbed gently at Kelp's back. "I'm freezing," he said aloud. "Let me get my cape and I'll come over to your house for a bit. You have some of the good stuff, right?"
Kelp snorted. "Yes, of course." He reached over for Blackspur's cigarette and took a final drag from it before tossing it recklessly into the wind. "If you ask nicely, that is!"
Blackspur only rolled his eyes. "Right. I'll be over in a few minutes," he said, shooing Kelp away. "Quit brooding or I'll start drawing lewd pictures. Of you!" he threatened with a grin.
"You wouldn't dare. Okay, yes you would," Kelp replied, smiling as he turned to make his way back over to the stone house he shared with Hunt. Hugging his arms around his waist, Kelp couldn't stop smiling. The future was a dense fog of the unknown, it was true. At least in this moment, however, between his chesnari's love and Blackspur's loyalty, he felt invincible, a gull carried on a zephyr of change.
It was time to spread his wings.
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Date: 2008-12-07 02:59 am (UTC)