there's a fool in all of us (sena)

[Zephyr]

“Kaiusk! I can’t do anything with your fat ass on me!” Kaius wiggled beneath the bulk of his wher. She was laying on him as carefully as a gold – even a small one as she was – could. She basically just had her front legs draped over him as he laid in bed, putting some weight on him as he lay there squirming. The gold distinctly resented being called fat, but ever the graceful lady she was, she only smushed him a little more, distinct amusement rippling through their bond. You need to rest, so I’m making sure that happens. “Of course you are, but I can’t fucking sleep if I can’t breathe.” The words were half growled out.

Suddenly, the gold’s weight let up and he shouldered her off. “Finally, Faranth.” He looked over just in time to see Kaiusk staring off into space. King climbed up Kai’s bed and sat primly on the boy’s chest. Someone coming. Was the only warning he got before a very pale, very familiar firelizard betweened into his room, carrying a rolled paper. Kaius popped up, flinging King halfway across the room while he made an indignant squeak and flailed a good amount. Kaiusk dropped onto the floor as Gabe landed delicately on the bed, waited precisely long enough for Kai to strip the note off before he disappeared to where his candy hoard was.

Or used to be.

A plaintive wail from that side of the room told all involved that Gabe found out that his candy was gone, and Kaiusk shifted nervously in place. Sorry, we ate your candy. Her partner in crime was undoubtedly King, but the salamandyr was still getting used to being flung across the room and was in no mood to cop up to the candy theft. Looking utterly distressed, the fat brown flit went between, presumably to find more candy.

Kaius, on the other hand, noticed none of this. His attention was taken up fully by the note he’d brought. Sena was coming back.

Sena was coming back and he’d started coming to terms with the fact that she wasn’t.

Guilt knotted his stomach up, and mixed with the relief he felt that she hadn’t abandoned him. I can’t tell her I might have feelings for someone else. I just…can’t. Not when it was because I thought she wasn’t coming back. Kaiusk purred and nudged Kai. You can’t not tell her, either. You love her, she deserves to know if something else happens with Alesk’s. I know, I know…but fuck, Kaiusk…fuck.

[Avu]

“Look, I’m not sayin’ you should immediately jump on Kai, or anything, but I’m not sayin’ you shouldn’t, either, ’cause, you know, you totally could if you wanted, and I bet he wouldn’t even complain. Much.”

Sensk, bless him, chose to gracefully decline to comment on the irreverent bounce to her step, the bright flush reddening her cheeks and nose as she flitted ahead of him towards the wherhandler’s apartments. Instead he chirruped at her gently, tail wagging in his wake like a good-natured dog, his amusement muffled by the handle of Sena’s bag clamped between his teeth. He was excited, too, after all: For all that the Glasscraft Hall had become less terrifying over the course of their stay there—the younger apprentices had grown on him in particular (Sena suspected it had something to do with their fascination of him; for all they’d seen of dragonkin, Sensk could actually pass as impressive, if shy)—he’d missed the safety of home, the sanctity of family.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re gonna go straight for Kaiusk, I know. Predictable.” She huffed an overdramatic sigh, ran a hand affectionately down the thin arch of Sensk’s neck, and leaned over to kiss him on the nose at his pleased little purr, but the giddiness of returning to Selenitas had Sena on her toes again in the next instant. “C’mon, slowpoke, you’re gonna take all month at this rate—hey!” She broke into an astonished yelp as Sensk slanted a sideways glance at her and then abruptly took off, bag bouncing, towards the wherhandler’s apartments, leaving his handler to scramble after him, muffling her giggles against her fingers.

The impromptu race carried Sensk straight into the door of the room with an audible thud and a startled mrrrp sound; as he untangled himself from Sena’s bag (effectively flung out of his mouth on impact), Sena caught up to him, a little breathless, trying to brush her hair out of her face as she wrinkled her nose.

“Real graceful,” she drawled, and rubbed a hand over Sensk’s head before she rocked on the balls of her feet. “I guess that works for knockin’, most people don’t just punch the door once, though.”

Not his fault, the floor was slippery. The wher whined mournfully, nudged his head under the crook of her elbow, tail thumping impatiently against the ground in wide sweeps. Sena rolled her eyes in indulgent amusement, lifted her hand to open the door—and then rethought the movement and knocked, instead, settled back on her heels properly to compose herself. From the sunburn reddening her cheeks and shoulders and freckling across the bridge of her nose to the loose clothing and sandals, she looked every bit Istan, and yeah, it was kind of weird, being back in the damp South, but God, she’d missed it here.

[Zephyr]

He didn’t actually have time to consider what he was going to do, exactly what he was going to say to Sena, because in the next second, Kaiusk was on her feet and halfway across the room as he heard the knock. He’d leaped to his feet, a pleased smile on his face despite the turmoil he was feeling. He was genuinely happy to see her, even though he didn’t know how he was going to tell her what he had to tell her, at least he’d see her again…and Kaiusk was standing at the door, swishing her tail back and forth happily. Would you hurry up? She snorted at him as Kai half expected her to bowl down the door in her excitement.

Folding the note up and putting it in his pocket, he walked over to the door, ignoring the sharp little claws of his mandyr as King grabbed his pant leg and scrambled up to perch on the boy’s waist. A couple things happened at the same time when he opened the door. King launched himself at Sena, eyes whirling happily as he flung himself around her neck and began to nuzzle her, and Kaiusk nearly tackled Sensk in her haste to greet her brother, only stepping back to lick his forehead when she realized how scary she was probably being.

“Sena!” He stepped forward, grabbed the girl up in his arms and hugged her tight, kissing her on the forehead as he finally let her go and stepped back. “It’s good to see you.” And there’s something to be said about the bond between handler and wher when they both said at the same time. “I’ve missed you”

[Avu]

The door opened, and whatever semblance of grace Sena had achieved in the haphazard moments before vanished; the startled sound she made at the Salamandyr leaping at her was half a laugh and half squeal, her hands automatically coming up to run her fingers down King’s sides in greeting. She’d forgotten about this—not about King, but about his affection, about the pleasant heat of his body nuzzled against the dip of her throat. (Gabriel was sweet enough, but his energy was exhausting—the only time he curled up with her was when he was bone-tired, and cute as it was to hear his raspy snores in her ear, it just wasn’t comparable to King’s enthusiasm at seeing her.)

She barely noticed the blur of gold that was Kaiusk tumbling past, caught up in King and then in Kaius, in wrapping her arms around his neck in eager reciprocation of the hug. And refusing to let go.

What—she hadn’t seen him in months.

She was allowed to take her time.

“I missed you, too.” A little breathless, the words tripping over each other in her excitement, because she hadn’t realized, before, at Ista. Too busy, too caught up in the ever-frenzied pace of the Hold and Crafthall, to have time to really feel it, how much she missed Kaius and being home. The familiarity of the room, of the giddy little waves of bliss emanating from Sensk behind her as he wiggled on the ground where Kaiusk had inadvertently tumbled him over, his tail thumping gleefully on the floor as he pawed at her, craning his neck up like a mischievous puppy to lick at her—there was nothing in Ista that compared with the relief of home.

Impulsively, Sena rocked forward onto her toes to kiss Kaius, a playful smacking mwah planted against the corner of his mouth, and grinned at him, still balanced on her tiptoes. “You gotta tell me ‘bout what’s been happening, has Piden been tryin’ to seduce you? Sorry ’bout not writin’ you more, by the way, I kept tryin’ to send Gabe, but the apprentices kept distractin’ him with candy, y’know, so I don’t know if he ever actually got anywhere.” Thoughtfully, “He is a really bad messenger.”

[Zephyr]

Kaius was still shocked by Sena just showing up. After months of nothing, she was a real, warm presence in his arms, and he just didn’t want to let go. Finally, he let her get to her feet, but still held onto her as she leaned forward to kiss him. Then proceeded to ask him about what’s happened while she was gone.

And like that, the guilt was instantly back. It twisted in his gut, and he knew he’d have to tell her about Sandr, but he couldn’t now, not when she was so happy. It was probably the coward’s way out. He justified it to himself by telling himself that he would tell her, and soon. Now just wasn’t the right time. “No, not Piden.” He said at last, face buried in her hair. “I think he’s written me off. Not that I wasn’t tempted,” He teased her, her first hint that he might not be as straight as he seemed to be. He fell silent at her comment about writing. What the hell could he tell her? I thought you weren’t coming back? What kind of confidence did that install in her? All he did was smile and said. “You’re gonna have to train him better. He realized that King and Kaiusk had eaten all his candy and he betweened out of here faster than thread can fall. I doubt we’ll see him for a while.”

Finally, he leaned down to kiss her firmly on the cheek, letting her go at last to smile. “I did make a friend.” And it was true, Sandr was his friend…maybe more, but that wasn’t worth dwelling on with Sena looking at him like that. “But I’ll tell you about him later. I’m being really fucking selfish. Go see your aunt. I’m sure she missed you, and we have all day.” A sideways glance at the whers on the floor. “I think you’re gonna have a tail though, I don’t think Kaiusk has any intentions of leaving Sensk anytime soon.” He frowned at the gold, who was curled around Sensk, licking him, her tail flicking lightly against his stomach…but she had no shame.