orientation (sandr)

[Zephyr]

It wasn’t exactly part of his job to meet up with every single transfer into the weyr. Used to be, there were too many to greet each and every one of them, but the transfers had gotten so sporadic recently, that it wasn’t too difficult. That and the fact that Kaiusk was shiny, but obviously not ready to run yet meant that they needed each and every recruit they could get if they were going to bolster their depleted ranks. It also meant that he couldn’t alienate any new handlers by being stuck up and not making sure they were doing alright.

Well, Kaiusk wouldn’t let him be stuck up. Kaius was perfectly fine with just letting the others acquaint the new guy with the night sentinel, but then he remembered who was a part of ‘the others’, and he knew that the gold wouldn’t just let him sit around. He was pretty sure the meeting would be pretty short anyway. He had much work to do, even without Kaiusk’s constant nagging that he eat or something. He’d stopped by the dining hall to grab a roll on his way to the new guy’s apartments, but the gold only rolled her eyes. It didn’t help that Kaius had discarded of the roll the first chance he’d gotten.

Still, he didn’t give the wher time to nag him further as he slipped into the apartments and down the corridor. Over the years, he’d learned who lived behind which door, and it was startling easy for him to come to the new guy’s door without a thought. Before he thought better of it, Kaius glared down at his wher and knocked.

It took the guy a second to answer, but when he did, Kaius stood stock still and just stared. King was the first to react, flinging himself off of the goldhandler’s shoulder onto the guy’s shirt and clawing his way up. HI! Am King. New nightbeast person. Look like Shellseses. Funny, right? Funny…is not the word Kaius would use to describe the current situation. This man was nearly the spitting image of Piden, and if it weren’t for the unfamiliar brown behind him and the color of his hair and eyes…those eyes, he probably would have thought the guardwher was playing a joke on him. “Piden?” Was the first word he blurted before he caught himself. This couldn’t be the bronzehandler…but the resemblance was remarkable. “What’d you do to your hair?”

Kaiusk mentally rolled her eyes and pushed past her shellshocked boy to shove her nose practically right up in the guy’s business, eyes whirling green and blue and interested. You’ll do. She communicated while King finished twining his way around the man’s shoulders, practically rolling around on the floor laughing, like the man’s resemblance to ‘ugly shells’’ man was hilarious. Best. Prank. Ever. Silly hair and wrong eyes…but best anyways. Pretty shiny need see. The bronze mandyr said to the man, nipping on his ear to try and get him out of the way so Kaiusk could pad right past him towards the big brown wher behind him.

Getting up in human space wasn’t where Kaiusk drew the line, apparently, and she was practically on his brown before either of them had a say in the matter. The gold snuffled, inspecting the brown in much the same way she had the man, but much more thoroughly as she probed his mind lightly. Friend, I hope?

[Raining]

The transfer here was near seamless. They were either happy to have new blood in the weyr, or he just didn't run into any problems -- which was nice. The weyr was... nice a bit different from what he was used to, or maybe it was the new environment that was just changing his perspective. Either way he was here, and he had a few days to adjust.

He hasn't seen the whermaster yet... whether that be because he was lazy, or the whermaster just didn't care. Either way he's going to have to do something or he's going to go crazy, that and Alesk will see he has to get his ass moving forward. The brown wher over the last few days has been edgy, since he was eager to meet the gold in charge.

Sandr was rummaging through his stuff, still unpacking and just... lazily sorting through his things. He grabbed a certain wrapped instrument of his and shoved it under the bed. Still on his hands and knees he paused, "I can feel you staring," he sighed turning head to find just that. Though his wher's eyes were a mix between a green and an irritated orange. A snort of breath was all he needed to 'say' to get Aleksandr rolling his eyes, "i'm going to go see her..." he replied pushing the instrument further under his bed and moving to stand, "or him. Whatever." Better... Aleksandr snorted indignantly.

Then there was a knock on his door and he sort of stiffened. He didn't know anyone on a first name basis, so why would they be knocking. Alesk snorted, slightly amused as he settled himself down, meeting the whermaster would have to wait.

'That's enough outta you..' he tossed a glare to the now yawning brown wher.

He opened the door, only to find a young looking guy. Anything after that thought though was now interrupted as whoever was now staring at him in utter shock. His brows furrowed and his eyes held a question, but something flung itself onto his chest and started talking to him. "Uhh?" came his "articulate" response. Look like... what?

Then what came out of the other guy's mouth next only furthered his confusion, "Pi-- uh i'm sorry who?" he finally managed to stammer out confusion clearly evident. Though some of it bled away as something gold pushed through right up into his face practically. He held his ground (okay half a step back) watching her eyes as she studied him. A look finally dawned on his face, as her mind sort of brushed his in... approval? The... thing with wings babbled something and Sandr sidestepped to let the gold into his room.

"Oh.. so... uhh you?" He finally quirked a sheepish grin, "you're the whermaster I take it?" he asked and his eyes dipped into a clear once over look, but the greeting smile was still there. "You're a.. ahh I'm Sandr," (a little young)he said babbling like he normally does, but he at least offered his hand to shake instead of looking like an idiot. Once the hand was shook (if it was) he'd step the rest of the way... out of the way. "You can come in, unless you're too busy?" There was a sudden sense of discomfort and Sandr twisted his head to see the Gold wher up in Alesk's space and he was not really enjoying it.

He was backed up against Sandr's bed trying to not be in the Gold's space, but she was making it difficult. He grumbled as a sort of half response to her question, then tried something a little more polite Your friend was his reply and it was genuine. He could vow to be her friend because she was the Gold... the others well he couldn't make any solid promises. Meant to come see you, Mine is unco-operative.

"Settling in... took a little longer than I thought..." he added on in case the Gold wher relayed what Alesk had 'told' her. "So uhh you're a little.... young to be the Whermaster?" a sad attempt at a joke... and a compliment maybe? God he was awkward.

[Zephyr]

The guy’s shock at being called by another’s name was proof enough to Kaius that he’d been mistaken about the other man’s identity. This…whoever this was, clearly wasn’t Piden…but he looked enough like the cocky bronzer that Kaius would be confused. Maybe he was related to him…or something. It wouldn’t be strange for wherhandling to run in the family…but he also hadn’t heard of the guy. Why wouldn’t you know the names of your own family members.

Like it even mattered at the moment. Right now, Kai was looking cross eyed at King and plucked the flailing salamandyr off the man with one hand. The mandyr gave an indignant shriek, disturbed at being manhandled so and flailed a bit before coming to rest on Kaius’ shoulder as the boy let him go. “Yeah. I’m the whermaster.” And it was weird to call himself master of anything. Kai could barely get up and get himself out of bed at a decent hour, let alone make sure the entire wher program was doing what they were supposed to. King curled his long body up around Kai’s neck and quieted considerably, deciding, apparently, to stop being a pest now that he’s greeted the newcomer.

“Good to meet you.” Kai said when the other man introduced himself. He was glad that he’d gotten a name, at least, even if the other guy’s fumbling had gone unnoticed. “I’m Kaius, and that handful badgering your wher is Kaiusk.” He never really worried that his wher was too friendly. She was a gold. What domestic wher in their right mind…or dragon at that, would dare harm a gold. She may have been humble about her color, but she knew that the brown wouldn’t dream of hurting her. He hesitated when he looked back at Sandr. The guy had invited him inside, if he wasn’t too busy. The problem was, he was always busy. Every second of every day was spent doing something vital to the night sentinel, and it was obvious by Kai’s appearance.

He wasn’t messy, by any means. He might have looked like he’s perpetually just rolled out of bed before he’d impressed, but Kaiusk was all about making sure the face of the whers was one to be proud of. So he was well groomed…to a point. There was very little to be done about his hair. It barely ever did what it was supposed to and Kaius flat out refused to cut it when Kaiusk mentioned it…even went so far as to say he’d break their bond and leave the gold handerless if she suggested it again – not that he’d ever actually do that, and they both knew it. He also had dark bags under his eyes from not enough sleep, his usually soulful brown eyes were weary and exhausted, and he was pale and too thin from not enough to eat. The burdens of being in charge sucked.

Kai rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a sigh. He was all ready to tell Sandr that he really was too busy to stay, when Kaiusk whipped around to stare at him, seemingly forgetting about Alesk for a second. You will be polite and relax a while or I’ll sit on you until you do rest. The gold’s threat was clear, and Kai knew that was one she’d follow through on. The handler glared at the wher for a moment, before offering Sandr a small, exhausted smirk and stepping into the guy’s room. It wasn’t as big as his own, but it was pretty similar…right up to the fact that there only seemed to be belongings enough for one person. He…wasn’t with anyone? Kaius wasn’t sure why that thought was a relevant one…he certainly wasn’t interested in guys…or anyone besides one small blonde girl who’d left…that way, but it was a thought that came up nonetheless and one that filled him with an odd surge of relief that he immediately stamped down.

Kaiusk, on the other hand, had returned her attention to Alesk and was making her interest in him apparent. I like you. She said at last, as if she’d been judging that this entire time. She brushed up against the brown, thrumming like an overgrown feline before she twisted her neck around to watch Kaius. Well, mine is stubborn and doesn’t listen. He needed to sit down before he collapsed, but he was still on his feet, like he didn’t want to be a burden by sitting down.

“Sorry about not coming by earlier, then. I’m…always busy. Probably a little busier than I need to be.” That was as much as he was going to tell a stranger on the matter. He didn’t need to take everything on on his own, he had some amazing people to work with…but being idle just gave him more time to thing. Finally, at last, Sandr got a little chuckle out of Kaius with his words, and the younger man smirked at the brownhandler. “That’s what happens when you impress a gold.” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to say much, but he sighed wearily and continued. “I was never a wher candidate. I wasn’t interested in them and I didn’t want one. I wanted a dragon all the way, but none wanted me. I wasn’t actually at Kaiusk’s hatching to impress, more like a human crutch for a friend.” That night still made him laugh, even if it hurt sometimes. “But this brat had other ideas. A couple of her siblings mauled me and she decided I’d make a perfect mindmate, even though I wanted a dragon so much. I’m not sure she would have if I hadn’t gotten hurt, mind you.” Liar. I never wanted anyone else, the gold snorted into his mind. "Then her mother's handler, the current senior gold handler, left for a hold and I was left as whermaster. It was only five years ago...seems like ages since."

Ignoring her for a moment, Kaius turned away to look at Sandr. "What about you? You aren't some old man yourself. Tell me about yourself." And some whermasters might not have cared, but it was abundantly clear that Kaius did care.

[Raining]

Aleksandr quirked a grin when Kaius introduced himself, though he chuckled some glancing back at his discomforted wher. If whers could frown, Alesk would be doing just that. "The uncomfortable Brown, is Alesk," since he didn't introduce his wher the first time. Luckily it went unnoticed since he was clearly more preoccupied trying to not be touched. "Usually he's more... composed than this, your pretty gold caught him off guard," he turned back to Kai with a shrug, the easy smile returning to his lips not before mouthing 'he'll be fine'.

He thought the Whermaster was going to turn down his offer... and well he wouldn't be surprised. Sure the guy looked presentable, but he looked a little drawn out. Was the weyr left with so little that he had to pick up all the slack? Aleksandr and his outstanding moral compass wanted to just, let the guy leave... but by the way Kaius was glaring at his wher, the Gold looked and seemed like she wanted to stay. Alesk was eventually looking to his handler for some sort of assistance... but Sandr was much too amused to say anything, and he wouldn't hurt her. See if she had been any other color, that wher would have been swiftly bitten with very little warning.

But before he could say anything or come up with an excuse to hope the Goldhandler would get more sleep or something... he took Sandr's offer and strolled in.

The Brownhandler brushed off Kai's apology, "no, no... that's my fault. Not your job to get up and greet every new handler. I've just been.... I probably should have saw you as soon as I got here," he replied with a bit of a sheepish smile. He leaned against a wall as Kai launched into an impression story, and he felt he had at least that in common with him. Aleksandr wanted to be a dragon candidate, that's all he ever wanted. But... due to his mother's paranoia and.. distaste for Dragonriders they tried to smother that as much as they could.

When Kaius asked Sandr to explain a little about himself. He managed to look a little surprised, okay well he shouldn't have been at all. He cleared his throat, taking a look at... just how tired the whermaster looked. "Uh sure! You can take a seat though--" he pushed himself from the wall and moved some crap that was sitting on a chair, "you look a little.. uh," dead... or some close equivalent, "dead on your feet."

Aleksandr would wait until Kaius took the offered seat before he found an opening to take a seat on the edge of his bed. "Well uhm, I was born and raised in Hyphen Hold," he began, leaning forward with his forearms resting on his legs. "I wanted to be a dragon-rider growing up, but parents didn't really approve," he shrugged, "impressed this guy by accident sort of. I was curious about the wher hatching, and was sort of voluntarily drafted to stand. I didn't think i'd impress but, here we are."

"If I had known wherlinghood was as horrible as it was, I wouldn't have agreed to stand. Alesk was a little terror." The wher snorted, knowing full well that Sandr was taking advantage of his predicament, because Alesk couldn't do much else at the moment, especially with the gold rubbing on him like a feline. Alesk hrmm'd which really just sounded like a growl, but get to know the wher you'd soon be able to tell the difference.

"She always this affectionate? Or is she.." he cleared his throat, "getting ready to run?" the question was pretty casual, minus the awkward throat clearing. But Aleksandr was a big boy and can talk about runs and flights without acting like he's sixteen. He knew the handlers back home, he didn't know anyone here. Which was awkward.

"Uh so, on more... handling topi--" okay so he was a sixteen year old stuck in a twenty-seven year old's body. "On less awkward topics, where am I needed the most?" he asked the embarrassed smile slipping as he was actually being serious. "I mean I can be placed anywhere, Alesk has definitely seen some fights and can hold his own, as can I. But we've also had experience with any Mining sort of jobs too. So I can be placed anywhere you think you need me. Also you look like you could use a bit of a break, so anything else you need me to help with I can. Even the pointless tedious ones, this is why I transferred. With so many handlers back in the holds there was very little I could do, and i'm here to work."

His mind was brushed with approval from his wher, since he knew Alesk was getting tired of doing nothing.

[Zephyr]

Kaius glanced between Sandr and the brown, a question on the tip of his tongue that morphs into a concern. “If she’s bothering him too badly, I can tell her to back off.” Admittedly, that wouldn’t be too easy since the small gold was currently attempting to climb onto Alesk’s back, trying to get him to lay down so she could flop all over him. It didn’t matter to her whether she succeeded in knocking the wher to the ground, she’d flop all over him anyway. Kai sighed lightly and looked back at Sandr. “Your wher’s name is Alesk, but you’re Sandr? Somehow I don’t think you’re telling me the whole story here.” The words were said with a small smile and a laugh. He was just stating a fact. It didn’t matter to him if Sandr didn’t want him to know his name.

Well, it did a little, but not enough for him to actually say anything, or enough that he really wanted to acknowledge it.

He definitely didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that he was exhausted, and he very nearly refused Sandr’s offer for a seat…he didn’t want to seem weak in front of this guy…but one look at his face told Kai that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and with a grateful smile, he sank into the chair and listened to Sandr’s story. He didn’t understand why a parent wouldn’t want their kid to become a dragonrider. It was one of life’s biggest honors to be chosen by a dragon. Kaiusk gave a snort that indicated that she was life’s biggest honor, but Kai sent her a pulse of acknowledgement that settled the wher down.

“I guess we have something in common then.” He laughed at Sandr, rubbing his neck. “Not the terror part. Kaiusk is pretty chill, for a gold. I suppose that I could have got saddled with a worse one, like her mother. I’m pretty sure Eikane had a difficult time when she was small. I’m pretty lucky to have gotten her.” And then he mentioned the gold’s behavior, and he glanced over to see that Kaiusk had successfully dropped Alesk to the ground and she was sprawled out over him, one headknob in her mouth as she gnawed on it happily, her tail thumping the ground behind her. Kai let out a sigh. “Well, she hasn’t run in a while. She’s probably due to here soon, but it’s also partially just how she is. She loves all whers, but especially browns. So…yeah, Sorry Alesk…you’re probably stuck with her.” And he looked back at Sandr. “If I seem a little…affectionate, it’s because of her…we have a really close bond, and I’m drawn to whatever she’s drawn to.”

And he realized how he probably sounded and backtracked quickly. “Not that I wouldn’t be drawn to you normally…you’re a very attractive guy…I just…I just…” He was tongue tied, but Sandr spoke again, sparing him from having to say anything else.

He just blushed and sat there for a while. Business. Yeah, business is good. He cleared his throat. “I’ll probably put you guys in the guard. Fighting isn’t always needed, or encouraged, but we need all the able bodied whers and handlers…” And you are definitely able bodied “…we can get to protect the weyr from predators…especially with the depletion in our ranks. Alesk looks like he’d be a pretty good guard. You’ll be under the direct supervision of Roivao and his bronze Roisk…and you’ll be working with Piden and Pidesk…” He realized belatedly that this was what Kai had called Sandr before they’d met, and he cleared his throat. “You happen to look a lot like him. I’m ah…sorry about that.” Kaius smiled apologetically.

[Raining]

The only reply to Kaius' remark about how the wher and handler names... didn't quite match up, was a smirk. The smirk sort of borderlined innocent and mischievous, as his shoulders lifted in a sort of shrug. He cut his name in half around the age of ten, he didn't really like his full name... too wordy and formal. So Sandr was his preferred... though with Alesk it was harder to keep that consistent since people asked questions -- much like Kaius just did.

Alesk's head was bowed as he tried to back up from underneath the gold (without much success). She was bigger, but he could hold her weight as long as she didn't tense up -- though it was starting to get difficult. He was huffing indignantly and if she were anything else, he definitely would have tried a little harder; which is why Sandr was leaving it be (and happily so). It was rare to see Alesk so cowed since he rarely lets anyone do so... the gold in Hyphen wasn't so uhh cuddly. "Nah he's fine, probably do him some good." And if looks could kill....

He chuckled, "what? Dreams of flying with the rest of the dragon riders, only to be ground bound?" the last of the sentence was emphasized for Alesk's sake, who snorted indignantly... though finally gave in to Kaiusk collapsing down. There was a low rumbling in his chest, which could be mistaken for a consistent growl (which was totally what he was going for) -- but actually he was thrumming half contently, while trying to move his head so his Head knobs were not gnawed on.

In response to Kaius the brown just snorted, much like what a runnerbeast would do. Yup go right ahead... act like you don't like the attention.

Aleksandr blinked at Kaius' next statement, well he shouldn't be surprised... with the way Kaiusk was acting. He opened his mouth to comment or... he didn't even know what he was about to say to that (probably a good thing Kaius cut in). The brownhandler grinned at the compliment, "well i'm a lucky guy then," he managed to cut in before Kaius started talking about where to place him.

"That sounds good," he commented before chuckling some, "everything but the hair and eyes right? I'm sure that's what your bronze companion mentioned?" he hummed, "I'll have to meet this guy for myself and see." He wasn't convinced that he could look that much like someone, but it would be interesting to see who this Piden was.

Alesk was finally settled underneath Kaiusk, he stopped fighting her. Though he even started to nose her face some if she let him (and his headknob wasn't in her mouth). Though he watched as his handler was speaking to Her's and his eyes darted to Kaius. He didn't forget the snark in his Handler's tone... and this was just going to be a friendly helping hand. His mind reached out to Kaius' and planted a single word there -- a name. He'd seen Sandr write it out about a million times, so that is what he used.

Alesk was absolutely smug.

Sandr, oblivious to what his wher was up to, struck up more small talk around the same time. "So... I know its not my place, but I can't help but ask. Is there anything you need me to do for you right now? You look exhausted, and I don't mind at all."

[Zephyr]

The gold wher was currently very pleased with her situation. Even if sometimes she felt bad that whers didn’t fight her, or even look at her the wrong way, at the moment, she was pleased that the brown wasn’t putting up a fight. He was oh, so very petty…and he made an excellent mattress for her. Why he couldn’t see exactly how good was beyond her, but he’d see sooner or later, she’d make sure. The gold huffed lightly, laying her head out on Alesk and watching the humans. She could sense something…in her handler’s mind, that he wasn’t letting show. It was an attraction, past the attraction born out of being bonded to her. An attraction towards Alesk’s pretty human. She didn’t know why he wasn’t acting on it.

You should say something. Kaiusk touched Kaius’ mind from where she was still flat out on the other wher’s back. At first, her handler had no idea what she was talking about. He twisted his head, looking away from the other man for a moment. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Of course Kaiusk wasn’t fooled, but she hummed lightly, licking Alesk’s head lightly. You like him. You find him attractive. You should tell him. What? No! I don’t… Kaiusk hummed lightly again, thumping her tail. Alesk says his doesn’t like girls.

Wait. What?

What?

Kaius turned back to Sandr, looking at the guy with wide eyes at the moment. He didn’t like girls? Which meant he was into guys…and Kaius had thought he was into girls, but looking at Sandr seemed to put all those thoughts into doubt. Maybe he was about to say something. Maybe his mouth was half open in preparation for speech, but Sandr spoke before he could, and Kaius shut his mouth with an audible snap…what had he been about to say?

King puffed up on his shoulder at the mention of himself. Best companion. Not-Shellseses should need mandyr. Best companion.

[/i] But then he quieted down, content to listen. Pleased that the salamandyr didn’t attack the guy again, Kai reached up to scratch the mandyr’s head, not quite ready for the surge of emotion he felt at his words. It was goddamn jealousy. Sandr would meet Piden, for sure…and Piden was into guys and girls. There was no secret or doubt about that. Kaius’ mouth went dry and he couldn’t speak for a moment. Why was he feeling jealousy for someone like this, when his life was so fucking complicated.

Kaius was looking obviously conflicted as he looked at Sandr, his entire body twitchy, as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to move or not. Once, his hand moved in a half aborted twitch towards Sandr, but was drawn back. His emotions weren’t helped at all by the brownhandler’s next words. In fact, they were intensified. There were a few things he wanted Sandr to do…nothing at all that had to do with business. He couldn’t tell if all these thoughts were Kaiusk, of if some were him…but by the way Kaiusk was so amused, he doubted they were all her.

Then he saw the name. Projected perfectly into his head by Alesk and Kaius grinned. The smile was the biggest, most genuine thing he’s shown the other guy yet. It lights up his face and he laughs a little bit, all uncertainty put on the backburner for a moment. “Aleksandr?” He drawls in an amused tone. “I like it.” Was all he said before he finally decided to answer the other guy. This was where he got fidgety again, licking his lips and clearing his throat. “Well…it’s not all business exhaustion, if you know what I mean. It’s been a while and there’s no one…” He sounded uncomfortable with the situation, but maybe not as uncomfortable as he should have been. “I don’t think there’s much you can do to help.” The statement wasn’t completely a statement. There was a lilt to the end that almost made it sound like a question if you were listening closely, and Kaius eyed Sandr…testing him as much as he was testing himself.
[/font][/blockquote]

[Raining]

The... mandyr was sort of neat, with his broken speech and odd nicknames. He wouldn't be too against acquiring one in the future. But before he could ponder much on it....

Kai's sudden twitchiness didn't go unnoticed, but Aleksandr didn't know the guy well enough to question too much. Well the only questions that were in his head was 'he always this twitchy?' Alesk could barely contain his amusement and just full on smug attitude. What did you do... he asked his wher hesitantly. Alesk hummed deeply with a flick of his tail. Sandr's eyes darted to his wher, his brows furrowing What did you do?? The wher continued to ignore him, but at that moment a single name slipped from Kai's lips and his gaze jerked towards the Whermaster.

Realization dawned on his face and Alesk wasn't even trying to look innocent about it. He glared right back at his Handler humming smugly. "Just Sandr is fine," he sighed though he couldn't help the smile that crawled to his lips. He was happy to see the Gold handler smile finally and it did light up the other man's face -- in a good way.

Though what stumbled from Kaius' mouth next, sort of dropped the smile as soon as 'if you know what I mean' was spoken. He was... surprised Kaius was even talking about this. Okay well he knew he was an easy guy to talk to, but diving that deep... this soon was a bit of a surprise. Surprise was definitely evident on his face, as he didn't say anything directly after Kai was finished speaking. Don't leave the boy waiting. Shut up, this is your fault.

As soon as the shock of what was said slipped away, he found himself.... not feeling as awkward as he should. Aleksandr sat up a little straighter and a smirk crawled to his face, definitely on the flirty side. "Well, if you think there's something I can do... I would be more than happy to oblige." He hoped he didn't misunderstand, otherwise he was probably going to find himself out of this weyr as fast as a wher can between. The brownhandler leaned in a bit, just a slight shift in body language.. his body sort of angled towards Kai. "If.. you're interested..." he added the interested smirk, shifting into a more charming smile. Though the mischievous flirting still gleaming in his eyes.

[Zephyr]

Some people didn’t like their names. Evidently, this guy was one of them. Of course there might have been some deeper meaning to it than that, Kai didn’t know. It didn’t really matter. He liked Sandr too much by alienating him by using his full name when he specifically asked him not to. If ‘Aleksandr’ bothered him that much, Kaius wouldn’t use it. Kaiusk was projecting the smug feeling Alesk was currently feeling, and he couldn’t help the amused grin that came to his face.

Anyway, something happened that made him forget about Sandr’s name situation completely. At first, he’d thought he’d offended the man by talking about shit like he had been, but Sandr had mentioned Kaiusk running, so Kai thought that maybe he was a little open minded…he was about to get up and leave, an apology on the tip of his tongue, when Sandr rose to his challenge. Kai completely froze, heart pounding a little too hard in his chest, breath coming out a little too fast as he stared, eyes never leaving Sandr’s face as he put a challenge of his own out there.

Kaius’ mouth dried up, and his fingers caught in the fabric of his own pants, twisting and fisting helplessly for a moment as he worked through the implications of the other guy’s words. Now, he knew, he was definitely interested in any help the guy could give him. There was no doubt, there was no insecurity in his own sexuality.

He was most definitely interested in guys. Or at least, this guy.

And he was so close to giving in. It’d been months since he’d let anyone touch him. Months since Sena left him. Months since he’d let anyone besides King and Kaiusk get close to him. It was so hard not to give in. And Kaiusk wasn’t helping any. The wher was sending him feelings of pleasure and encouragement. As much as she loved Sena and Sensk, and she did – she was still sad her brother was gone, and by her handler’s own thoughts, wasn’t coming back – she could see that her boy was broken…and this would help. He’d be able to move on. Plus, she really liked Alesk.

Kai licked his lips…he probably didn’t mean the act suggestively, even if it came out like that, and it took him a long time to actually react. He wasn’t this impulsive. He didn’t do shit like this…but nothing came to the guy who didn’t take chances. “Always interested.” His voice had lowered a few octaves, and he’d meant it to come out as purely flirty, but Kai didn’t do flirty well and it just came out kinda low and husky.

What was he doing? The whermaster got to his feet and took a step towards Sandr, looking down at him for a moment before he sank down to crouch in front of him, between the other guy’s legs. What was he doing? He just stared at him for a second before quirking a smirk. “You are so goddamn tempting. Do you know that?” What was he doing? Before he reached his head forward and planted a shy kiss on the corner of the other guy’s lips briefly before forcing himself to his feet, fingertips dancing over his jawline as he took a fluid step away.

“This isn’t the right time, though.” His words were filled with more regret than he meant them to have. He was exhausted. Dead on his feet, like Sandr had so aptly described. There was no guarantee that he wouldn’t fall asleep in the middle if they did do anything. Plus, he was still struggling with his own feelings of sexuality and a lingering loyalty to Sena. He had to move on though, and there would be a right time…just not now. He trailed his fingers down Sandr’s jaw, to his lips before letting his hand drop. “Come see me though?” The offer was laid out there, hesitant, but undoubtedly there, as Kaiusk projected the directions to their apartment to the brownhandler. “You know where I live now, and I’d like to see you…anytime.” It was a clear invitation for sex, and maybe more.

The words were more genuine than either of them knew, his voice earnest. He would like to see Sandr. He wasn’t sure if it was him or Kaiusk, but he liked this guy, and he wanted to be friends…even if more didn’t come out of that. Just meeting people and letting them in was a milestone for the kid.

Pretty sure he’d worn out his welcome, he glanced over to Kaiusk wordlessly. The gold growled a complaint, but rolled off of Alesk and got to her feet, cheekily licking between the brown’s eyes down to his snout in a loving kiss as her tail swung happily behind her. I’ll see you later. She said to him before she peeled herself away and went to go stand by Kaius, who was turning to leave. “It was good to meet you.” And he meant that, truly, by the slant of his smile as he opened the door. “Just…you can come by whenever…okay?” Before he slipped outside, closing the door and leaning against the wall next to it while he caught his breath.

Kaiusk had made it out just in time not to get the fork of her tail clipped in the door and she watched her boy, licking his forehead lightly. You okay? “I’m fine.” Came his words, whispered into the darkness of the hallway. Everything will be fine, love. This is good. “I know Kaiusk. I know. Just…why does it feel so much like betrayal?” No one said love was easy, myKaius. “I know, I know…but I want this. More than I’ve wanted anything in a long time.” That’s good. Wanting things is the first step towards fixing yourself…but you should sleep. Nothing will be accomplished if you fall asleep before he can come see you. “I know.”