Falling into the Night

[Aeros]

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When Khy embraced him, the half-elf was happy to return the gesture, planting a few kisses to the top of his head before the other could pull away. Further, the levity of the boy's laughter along with his initial response caused Æros' features to break into something far more honeyed, exhaling a bit of a laugh himself as the smile on his face brightened.

"You're so sweet…and there was no reason to believe I was in real trouble, truthfully, so I really can't blame you," Æros was just relieved that Khyan wasn't so upset that he'd refused to listen.

And then to his inquiry, "I have, love…I had been content with my existence as it was but I suppose life was never designed to be simple, then, hmm?" Though he spoke in jest, he was still genuinely unsure about how he felt regarding everything that had happened in the past seven days.

The Fæ supposed he'd be able to come to a more concrete conclusion by the day's end tomorrow.

"...and yes, Drævyn is quite stunning– especially with all of his enchanted accoutrements. Granted, I didn't get that close, but I was observing the arena from near enough to the royal box that I could see him well. Still, I didn't think he'd end up so impressed by the fighter I, ah…found? That this would be the result." He spoke almost sheepish, as if he still didn't believe the situation he was now living in was even real. "...I suppose the Kalzasern found me, but still. At this point, we work together– though I know little about him. He is…austere and laconic in nature; man of few words." Æros laughed at this, though he did leave out how inherently suspicious the warrior's behavior had been.

Upon voicing his desire to enjoy the night with his lover, Khy's response was precious– such a thing nearly melted his heart as it was. The Færie was not used to emotions so…loving, but yet, he felt so happy laying here with the other.

With a soft sigh, "lover, it's okay– I adore you. Really…I'm just happy you took the time to listen to me. From your perspective, my disappearance made sense to come across as callous. And, well…I've vanished from peoples' lives in the past, only…on purpose." For the first time, he felt some small modicum of guilt with this admission. "But you? Honestly…I don't think I could. I'm, ah…far too…attached," the word felt foreign on his tongue as he said it.

"And unless the royals deign to smite me tomorrow, you'll be seeing much more of me, OK? That much I do promise you," and from the saccharine sort of affection lacing his voice, his sincerity was transparent.

Leaning forward, he pressed a gentle kiss to Khy's lips and as much as he didn't want to, pulled back so that the boy could speak should he want to.

- - -

'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Khyan Nykara]

“Well, that’s true…” Khyan’s chuckle persisted a bit longer at the notion, “You did give me a rather foreboding caveat about your fast waning interests when we first met, so it seemed practical to assume you’d vanished on purpose…” It had weighed heavily on his otherwise idle mind ever since it had been relayed. One of his biggest struggles was in attempting to maintain some semblance of dignity as he obsessed day after day. It had been so much easier to find diversion from such worries when he’d been a Patrician.

“How odd that you should encounter a Kalzasern in the open desert…” Khyan mused, furrowing his brow. Though he wasn’t overly political, his father had been consul of the Senatus Minor during Solunarium’s first diplomatic mission to Karnor in living memory. It had been a major topic of dinner table conversation, as the elder Nykara gushes excitedly over the opportunities it might portend.

“Do you think it has anything to do with the recent envoy of Sentinels that was sent there?”He didn’t know who was involved in that mission. Such probably wasn’t even public knowledge, but it seemed to have led to the loosening of certain restrictions and created a bit of an immigration boom. “I actually met a human boy from Kalzasi the day of the Mists. I introduced him to the concept of Mesmusic. He was adorably bright eyed about the whole thing. They seem to be having quite a moment in Solunarium, these Kalzasern…” Very peculiar. He might have even been excited at the prospects presented had he still been in a better social position.

“Well, if you meet His Serene Highness tomorrow and he propositions you, I do hope you’ll at least have the decency to pitch a threesome with your favourite servus.” He winked and sniggered.

“But rest assured, I shall pray to the Founders that Drævyn is smitten and you are not smote.”

[Aeros]

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It was flattering to know how much he was missed, but such sweetness was soured by the knowledge of how hurt the boy had felt in his absence. On his end, Æros did worry that his lover would've lost interest, but he was not bogged down by the thought of such…callous intent.

"I…thought it fair to warn you since that's far more normal for me than what we've shared thus far…but I find my adoration for you only continues to grow." Æros made no attempt to conceal what ample warmth and affection wove through each word.

When Khy spoke regarding Kalzasi and the recent diplomatic envoys that had been sent in that direction, Æros really didn't know any more than he did. This was, in large part, due to how little the warrior he'd found had said regarding himself, his purpose, his origins and so on. Realistically, his penchant for the mysterious should've been a red flag, but the half-elf was so tempted by the opportunity this stranger presented that he put his own safety aside.

"Of that, I really don't know. If I recall correctly, he'd said it'd been some time since he was actually in Kalzasi itself, which…is believable considering the student he's dragging around is very much not Kalzasern. I could believe this man something of a wandering mercenary, but at the same time, from what I could glean about him, he's not profit driven. It's altogether rather strange, but…I feel as if it would be remiss of me to dismiss the opportunity, no?" There's a certain wariness to his voice regarding all of these unknowns, as if in saying this he's trying to justify the decision to himself.

"I found a Kalzasern mesmusician, human, a few days prior to my leaving, too. Perhaps the same one? Though what are the odds…" Æros wondered this aloud, as funny of a coincidence as it would be.

And to what comments the other made regarding Drævyn, at first, Æros cracked a smile and laughed. "Mmm, I very much doubt he'd be taken by me like that…but I do agree with the thought that such an experience would be much enhanced by the addition of your presence."

"Should I walk free from this meeting still breathing, where could I find you…? I imagine I'll want to share with you the result– whatever it may be," to celebrate or distract, the Fæ would find great pleasure in the arms of his lover.

- - -

'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Khyan Nykara]

"Stop it, Eros!" Khyan protested, squirming. "You're making me blush!" He buried his face into the bedding, and curled into a little ball of Khyan for a few moments, before relaxing his body again into the warmth of the other. He might have returned those warm compliments, but he'd said so much already and was afraid to say more. He felt like he'd been teetering so close to the edge of Eros' comfort, and he didn't wish to tumble onto the wrong side of it with an overshare.

"It sounds like a risky gambit, but they say the most worthwhile ones often are..." He grimaced slightly, "Just... be careful, Eros, please? Be risky, not reckless. It was hard enough to lose you for a week. Our strange little arrangement is hard enough without you finding yourself similarly afflicted..." He reached up to tap his gold collar with his index finger for emphasis, "Or worse." He let that hand fall to find Eros' again.

"Perhaps it was the same boy..." He conceded thoughtfully, drawing up his recollections of the musicus. "Taller than me, pale as a Silver Elf with striking blue eyes? I introduced him to the Noctis Æternæ. He wanted to dance with me but he wouldn't bed me. Said he has a jealous lover- This was, before I met you, of course..." He chuckled anxiously, "I haven't had as much of a chance to cat around, lately, obviously..." He couldn't keep going out every night collarless in the Umbrium and expect not to be recognised. Even with his Craft as powerful as it was, this was the seat of the Sentinels. There were Semblers of equal power and greater.

"Well, I'm at the Domus Argenti in the Umbrium if you can find a safe means of reaching me there, or you can give me a time and place to be and I'll meet you if you're able to make it. If you don't show up, I'll know it isn't your fault this time... And I'll do what I can to find and help you." He promised.

[Aeros]

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Khy was such a cute little thing, wasn’t he? In the ways he moved, in all those cute little expressions…it really was a wonderful thing to be able to take comfort in another like this. But the ability to do so was only a single hurdle in a series, truthfully. Having put himself in a vulnerable position by letting the two of them drift this close was one thing, but at the same time, the undercurrent of anxiety merely changed its tune– now he found himself worried about what their inevitable downfall would be. How would this end, would it have even been worth it, and how much did he really care?

Wrested from these thoughts as his lover spoke to him, Æros blinked as the boy continued to speak, pulling the other just a bit closer, giving him a little squeeze after the reference to his collar. “I do intend to be careful, love. Thankfully, I was raised well enough that I know how to play politicians’ games, higher stakes as it may be when dealing with royals. I should be fine…Personally, my concern is more towards the unknown origins of the warrior I’ve backed. I do hope he doesn’t do anything foolish or unmask himself as a monster. His behavior is odd enough, but then again, is it truely? Or merely a difference in culture?” He spoke musingly as he posed the hypothetical question– Æros was confident the man was off, but in what way? The half-elf had no way to tell.

The Færie sighed, his gaze rested on his lover’s collarbone for only a moment before panning up to so cute a countenance. “...I will say the collar looks good on you, at least.”

When Khy spoke of the Kalzasern he’d introduced to mesmusic, the description clicked. Æros recognized him– he’d even met his lover, although separately.

A soft smile drew itself on lips of dark blue, exhaling through his nose in a way that sounded much like a laugh. “Yes– that’s the one. I met him and I even met his lover, though separately. The human down here in Umbrium and the other at Fortis Lacerta. He’s with an elf, the long lost son of some noble family. I don't recall which, but he did say he’s working to follow his father’s footsteps in the Vigilia Argenti. Suppose that explains why they’re here, though,” he shrugged, “...but I also suppose it’s good he was unavailable then, hm? Lest he have stolen your heart prior to us ever meeting, charming as he is.” For the most part this was said in jest, though there was distinctly audible delight in his voice that he’d been the one Khy’s ended up smitten with.

At the mention of the house wherein the other resided, Æros realized something– it’d be easier for them to find one another if Khyan knew his actual name. He didn’t go by unique monikers anywhere, really, though sometimes he did opt to use his prænomen over cognomen.

“I could try, though I do think it would be, ah…difficult? To contact you there without keying your Dominus into something being odd about my interest, that is. I suppose it would be easiest for you to just find your way here, if possible? I don’t think I should be out that much later than the sun’s zenith, but I wouldn’t worry until the sun begins to set…” he trailed off, not entirely sure how long such a meeting was intended to last. “Oh, and if I don’t show, it’d…probably be easier to find me if you knew my full name, which is Endymion Len’Sælyan Æros...sorry I never clarified prior…"

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'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Khyan Nykara]

"Oh, so I was raised poorly to have ended up with a collar?" Khyan countered, but he immediately broke into a jovial smile. He was only in jest, and hoping to keep the mood light as the conversation turned to tenuous things.

"A fair question... I certainly don't know many foreigners, so it's hard to gauge them independent of their realms of origin. And those I have met prior to this season have been acquainted enough with our ways as not to demand extra scrutiny. I wonder if this will be the new normal, now that we've opened diplomatic relations with the North... What a time to be alive!" He smiled a bit at the compliment to how he looked in his golden accessory.

"Heh, gratias, I guess..." Collars like these were meant to denote servi of particular worth. They were intended to put off would-be abductors or attackers from harming the property, and many were enchanted with means of tracking or defending the wearer. Some were merely ornamental and relied upon the threat of that possibility and the rational fear of reprisal that might await anyone who harmed the collared slave.

"Finn." Khyan clarified with a nod. "I never gleaned whether that was Prænomen, Nomen or Cognomen, but that was what he called himself when we met. Ah, the lover is an Elf and a Vigil's son at that?" His eyes widened slightly, "Fæx. I'm glad I didn't pursue Finn after he let me down easy, then." That could have gone very poorly indeed.

"I mean... He was strapping and all, but how can a mere human with static skin compete with Starlight?" He grinned devilishly, "I'd have dropped him like magmatyte once I clapped eyes on you, luv." Khyan nodded.

"I can do that and- Ha! Æros?" He chuckled, "My full cognomen is Khyan, not just Khy. Vinicius Nykara Khyan. But you can still just call me Khy, if you prefer. I rather like it on your lips. I also like me on your lips." He said, kissing him contentedly.

[Aeros]

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Æros laughed at the first thing his lover had said, "not at all, love– you didn't even fall from grace per your own actions and your life as a servant, I imagine, wouldn't be quite as nice if you didn't know how to sweet talk nobility," he smiled something saccharine before adding, "...and I do so adore the way you treat me."

The brighter expression lingered upon his features as the conversation shifted towards diplomacy and a potential influx of travelers from strange lands. "It's nice, isn't it? I'd like to travel myself some day, but…I'd like to sharpen my skills with another rune or two before I try to wander away from the only place I've ever known. So for now, having others visit Solunarium is really quite exciting." Thus far, he's also generally enjoyed the company of the Kalzasern he met, cagey as he was about the warrior he worked with.

"...but regarding runes, might I be able to convince you to share Semblance? Provided it wouldn't upset your Dominus, I can give you one as well." The Færie had been meaning to ask this since they'd met, though he'd been rather unsure about the answer he'd receive. Asking now seemed like a good idea lest Khy end up leaving for some reason or getting so attached he'd refuse to risk an initiation.

And then to regard the boy's collar, "you guess? I mean…I like it, but…I do understand the baggage wearing one, gilded or not, carries with it." While Æros found it attractive, he did feel a bit of guilt for making light of something that very heavily affects the other's reality as opposed to his own.

Upon Khy's realization that the Kalzasern man's lover was who he was, Æros couldn't help but chuckle a bit– for it was true. Jealous lovers are often…petty things and risking the ire of somebody involved in the Vigilia Argenti was…unwise.

"Ah, yes, his name was Finn. One and the same, then. His lover is a perfectly sweet man on his own, however, but scorned…? I would have no idea…suppose it is lucky you didn't insist, then." He spoke these words in jest, though he had no idea how severe Arvælyn was when it came to dealing with his jealousy.

And as Khy spoke again, Æros' expression softened into a honeyed sort of delight at the sentiment. "I am rather unique, I'll give you that. Full glad am I that my stars served to entice you, then, precious thing that you are." Praise, for this particular half-elf, would never fail to melt him, especially when from the mouth of somebody he so very much adored.

Before he could comment on the reveal that both of them had given not-quite-accurate names, his lover had moved to kiss him, and being as he was, the Fæ was more than happy to return the gesture. Still holding onto Khy's hands with his own, he rolled onto his back and shifted the grip of one hand onto the other's upper arm, pulling the boy on top of him in the process.

- - -

'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Khyan Nykara]

"I don't think it's anything special..." Khyan protested with a bashful shrug of the one shoulder that wasn't holding him up. "I just treat you as befits you in my eyes." He wrinkled his nose, wincing at how stupid he sounded in so saying.

"I'm just glad I troubled myself to study Common when I was younger, though I could certainly be more fluent. Finn seemed to follow me all right, but I'm sure my accent is abysmal." He chuckled at the notion. He didn't know the language well enough to have any concept of dialects, and he couldn't imagine the Kalzasern dialect was akin to those of Southern Ailizane. Being closer to Solunarium, those tended to be where any Common education would derive from.

"Oh, sure. Anything for you, Starlight." He smiled brightly. Being classically trained meant that he had been educated in how to confer a Semblance Rune, though he'd never actually had an opportunity to execute the ritual. "Maybe I'll take you up on that at some point... Being entwined with both our Mesmer and our Semblance might add yet another layer of amazing to our coupling." He posited, because of course that was the first place his teenage mind went at the thought of having more Runes in common.

"It's fine... It's good to laugh at this stuff. Makes it easier, and well... At least I'm favoured with a pricey collar rather than being saddled with something cheap and gauche, huh?" He offered a good-natured chuckle.

"Such a waste of a perfectly pert rear, but far be it from me to question a Re'hyæan on his dating habits... Even if he did probably derive them from a heathen culture abroad." He sidled closer and pulled Er-... No, Æros' hands around his slender waist as they kissed. He was so slim around the middle that the half-elf's hands felt huge on his soft, hairless skin.

[Aeros]

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Æros smiled, the brief embarrassment that ran through his lover's features after he spoke pulled an expression of amusement over his own. "Regardless of why you treat me the way you do, I nonetheless appreciate it and adore you." The look in eyes of black-gold reflected this sentiment just as much as his words.

Regarding Common and communicating with Kalzasern travelers, Æros laughed a little bit at the thought. "I'm much the same. I learned Common, but only really bothered to study reading and writing it as opposed to speaking. Finn seemed to understand me as well, so maybe he's just used to hearing heavily accented Common? Honestly, that's probably how most are here, if they can speak it at all."

And onto the subject of runes, "...anything, huh? Careful I don't get creative taking you up on that over time," Æros spoke in a manner akin to an affectionate taunt, finding the sentiment the other had expressed quite cute. "Is the little trick you do innate to the rune, or is it something I'd have to learn from you? I won't lie, while I'd want Semblance regardless, the thought of us both possessing mirror runes has crossed my mind on several occasions," of this, the Fæ was happy to be on the same page as his counterpart.

Æros didn't have the time to do much else other than chuckle at the last thing Khyan had said as the boy leaned in to kiss him and, in response, he'd pulled the other into his lap. As the two connected, the half-elf found his hands being guided to his lover's waist. Though still veiled in fabric, he found his fingers wandering the landscape of Khy's waist, slim as he was. The contours of his body were as familiar as they were attractive, and as the Færie’s hands moved to once again explore soft skin pulled taut over well-toned muscle, his left slid down Khy's hip to squeeze the supple flesh of the boy's arse as their kiss deepened.

Oh, how he'd missed this while he was gone, even though it really hadn't been that long. And as the two settled into one another again, Æros channeled æther through his rune of Mesmer, opening himself up to the sweet Symphonies of his lover.

- - -

'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Khyan Nykara]

"Well, I thought I wanted to be a Sentinel for a while, so I did work on pronunciation more than most, but... That was a long time, and a great deal of wine ago. I must have sounded ridiculous in Common when I spoke to Finn." Khyan chuckled, "I hope our accent at least sounds cute and not grating to foreign ears. I just have no idea how we'd come across, having met so few outlanders." He raised both eyebrows at the caveat and shrugged.

"I'm not really the careful sort." He countered, "As for 'the little trick'..." Khyan had to chuckle at that phrasing, "I don't think it's normal. I mean it certainly isn't anything we covered in class at the Academia, I can tell you that much, but no. I've never heard of anyone else who could do it. I think I am just such a sexual being that I manifested it through force of will. I don't know if it can be taught, but gods know I'll try." He winked.

As Khyan was drawn onto Æros' lap, he shifted so he could straddle him- front to front. He rested his hands on the other's shoulders as larger hands roamed his own form. He hummed against his mouth as his grip tightened round his rear. He flexed his buttocks into that grip and let his tongue wander forth to graze Æros' lips and beyond- Just gently, never aggressive.

As Æros deployed his Mesmer, Khyan would engage his own Craft to glean what pleasures his lover might be enjoying to supplement his own. One hand slid from his shoulder to the back of his neck, sliding dusky fingers through the platinum white waterfall of his silky hair. Though, indeed, it hadn't been terribly long since their last coupling, the distance and drama that had sundered them of late, was enough to lend additional fire to the moment at hand.