Set My World on Fire [Sivan]

[Destyn]

Set My World on Fire

Kalzasi - 6 Glade, 122

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The 122nd year of the Age of Steel had started in a whirlwind of emotion for young Destynrael Dromlach’darach de Clann na Feithidí Uisce. Still reeling, as he was, from the tragic events of Talon's reception that had stripped his new home of its leader and heir presumptive, things were hitting him even more powerfully than usual and Destyn was an emotional creature to begin with. Naturally, the recent attack stirred memories that always brimmed close to the surface of his consciousness already. He hadn't been at the reception, but he'd seen the flames pluming from the airship... Smelt the smoke of industry that heralded the end of everything he knew. He'd flown forth to get a better view of what was happening, but the scrambling Avialae nearly knocked him out of the sky. It was all so, so troubling, but his thoughts didn't venture only to the dark places... No, lately his thoughts were trending elsewhere.

"Sivan?" He called out as he pushed open the front door of his elven friend's (and sometimes his own) home. As he stepped inside, he saw the other blonde youth and made his way over to greet him with his customary embrace.

"Good evening. Are you having a nice day? I have just come back from the Tranquil Gardens." Sivan would know that the Tranquil Gardens had become Destyn's regular haunt since Kalzasi closed its borders. Even if they hadn't, he wouldn't have felt safe outside the city with threats like the one that struck the wedding looming without. There was a particular energy emanating from that part of the city, beyond even what the plants endowed... There was a caretaker there, unseen, but keenly felt who made Destyn feel safer in its midst.

"I think I have made a new friend who is known to you. Urs the witch! Am I correct?" He tilted his head, smiling, and searching Sivan's eyes curiously.

Set My World on Fire

[Sivan]

"Destynrael!" he exclaimed, sky-blue eyes lighting up. He followed that with a brief welcome in Valasren; Sivan knew little of the language, but was making some small attempts to meet the fae where he lived. Sometimes he lived in the garden, though it had been too cold for the season of Frost. But sooner or later, it would be warm enough for the bugs to emerge and he could depend on his friend to keep the populations of bugs harmful to the plants well controlled. For such a slender fellow, he had quite the appetite.

The elf embraced his friend tight. While he eschewed touching with most people, he was happy to linger in affection with his nearest and dearest.

"Oh, I'm glad spring is here..."

His eyes widened a bit at the mention of Urs. He had meant to introduce the man to Destyn and Torin since he was the third person in the city that he considered a friend and he would have enjoyed them all getting to know each other. Then, for whatever reason, his cheeks flushed.

"Ah, I, uh... yes, I know Urs." He smiled. "He's a surgeon there, and he's also a summoner. We have worked together on contracts and sacred geometry. Ahh... I was planning to introduce him to you and to Torin. Should I... ah, have one of our picnics now that the weather is warming up and invite him to join us?"

It was a serious question, though. Those barefoot banquets were important to him, one of the rare occasions where he felt entirely comfortable and connected, and perhaps he had been worried that Urs would upset the balance somehow or his inclusion would offend the others. Sivan had so little experience with friendships that he just didn't know.

[Destyn]

Set My World on Fire

Kalzasi - 6 Glade, 122

Destyn nodded effusively, pleased at Sivan's enthusiasm at seeing him. It felt nice to receive such a warm welcome, even from one he saw on such a regular basis. It felt familial.

"I, too, am glad of this." The Fae replied, but the season, lovely as it was, wasn't the foremost thing on his mind so he beamed at Sivan's answer to his prior question.

"Yes, I know! He is a very good person who helps the sick and wounded. It is, you know, to me inspiring." He let out a wistful sigh, "He was performing a summoning when I found him outside of the hospital. It was disturbing the plants, so I chided him and he was very cross with me. This was the other day. But... but today I saw him again and he was happy to see me and that felt very nice." He fondly recalled the moment. It felt like a win he didn't know he needed- the approval of this relative stranger.

"Oh, yes! Most certainly you should do this." He bit his lip, "I know that he likes apples and oranges. He had a bowl of fruit on his desk and he let me have some. I did not, though, ask him if he eats buggies. I know this is, to some humans, um..." What was the word...? "Revolting?" He tilted his head, and looked to Sivan for clarity- even if he wasn't the most practised speaker of Common either.

"So, please do not tell him of this. I will just eat fruits at the picnic... and maybe sneak the buggies when he is not looking, but I do not want him to think I that I am disgusting." He wrinked his nose. "But they are delicious, though."

Set My World on Fire

[Sivan]

"Ahh..." Sivan was pleased. It was as though through some divine intervention Destyn was helping him bridge the gap between his friends. This would be easier than he thought! And it pleased him that others were being kind to the fae, who was strange in Kalzasi.

"Well, sometimes I do not understand his reaction. He was raised down in the Midden and much of our conversations have been about our different understandings of Summoning, so perhaps you could tell him about how you learned, as well? I have found that it is good to get new people talking about something they care about. They enjoy it and then they find they enjoy talking to you.

"Hmm. I will try to find out if he finds bugs disgusting or delectable. Soon the garden will be full of them, so perhaps you can break your fast on bugs and have fruit at the picnic. I will see if Torin has time to join us, but if not, we can still just spend time with Urs. I think I can find some winter apples, but oranges will have to wait until later in the year."

After a thoughtful pause, his face lit up and he embraced Destyn once more. "This will be a good time! Come."

He took him by the hand and led him back into the garden, which he knew the fae preferred, and while it wasn't as warm as more southern climes, Glade was here and the sprites kept the environment much more comfortable than it might have been. A spider was spinning a new web in a corner of the eaves, and he had hung various crystals and mirrors from branches and higher up on his growing cottage—another story and it would be nearly a tower—to catch light and beam it down into the enclosed garden. Leaves were budding on the Living Grave. Moss was joined by new shoots of grass. The bees were humming in the branches of the tree. Everything was coming alive.

New connections between Destyn and Urs felt like another manifestation of spring to him.

[Destyn]

Set My World on Fire

Kalzasi - 6 Glade, 122

Destyn considered Sivan's advice.

"This, to me, makes sense..." But he sounded more sad than pleased by the opportunity Sivan suggested. He had a complicated relationship with Summoning these days. It may have been something about which Urs was enthusiastic, but to Destyn it was a grim reminder of his former life. He'd been bequeathed his Rune by his clan... had learned how to ply its gifts with them. Now that they were gone, his only dalliances with the Craft yielded frightening results. Lately, he had completely abandoned any attempt- Instead he was only aware of the spirits summoned by others, like Sivan and like Urs with his many-eyed companion, Toothless.

"You are a good friend to me!" His expression brightened easily, when Sivan offered to scout out that information about Urs' palate. "I hope he does not think that you are disgusting for asking him, but... I am nervous to ask. He is, you know, moodier, I think, than you and Torin? I would not wish for him to dislike me again, as he did when we first met." Destyn shrugged, "Urs had oranges. Maybe he will bring some?" He hadn't asked after his sources, just happy to share the company and the meal.

Destyn squeezed him back at the second hug, bouncing a bit in his arms, unable to contain his joy at Sivan's affection. He had not always been so warm, and the change warmed the heart of the Fae youth. He was happily led outside. He took in a breath and felt the welcome sensation of life unbound and abounding that greeted him on the stiff breeze.

"Has Urs ever been here and seen your garden before?" He wondered aloud, squeezing Sivan's hand gently as he was guided.

Set My World on Fire

[Sivan]

Sivan noted all Destyn's reactions; he was getting better at reading his mercurial moods, the signs of which flashed light summer lightning across his face and form. He gave some of those reactions some thought as they made their way outside.

"He has been here before," Sivan assured him, "though I can't actually remember if he was interested in the garden or not. Hm. Well, we usually go down into the cellar to work on summoning. It's cool, calm, and just an easier place for drawing circles and such. But he has mostly come here to work, not for... for pleasure. So the garden will be a nice change, I think."

As for being a good friend to Destyn, Sivan put his arm around Destyn's shoulders, mindful of his wings.

"Destynrael, you are one of my handful of friends in the world," he said seriously. "I will always try to help and care for you. I know I can't replace your family, but you are closer to me than my family. I..." He frowned, wondering if he should even bring it up. "You know, Torin's patron, she is a necromancer among other things. She is helping keep the ghost in his house calm. Have you met her? Have you thought about asking her to contact your family? Perhaps it would help you, to know that they are at peace, or if they aren't, what can be done to help put them to rest. Forgive me if I speak out of turn. I only want you to be happy."

He would, of course, go back to discussing Urs if that was what Destyn wanted. And he was trying to understand his own feelings toward Urs, but if Destyn liked him, and Torin liked him, then he would feel more relaxed around him, as well.

[Destyn]

Set My World on Fire

Kalzasi - 6 Glade, 122

Destyn tilted his head.

"I met him in a garden, but I do not know if he cares for plants. It was, you know, just outside where he works and he was disturbing the flora with his, um... Toothless?" He assumed Sivan would be familiar with the spirit, if they'd practised Summoning together.

"You are warming my heart, though, Sivan!" The elf was so very different now than he'd been when they first met. He was glad of this warmer side to him. It even felt natural! More like something that had been carefully drawn out from within than something conjured from without and worn like a cloak. His smile faded slightly, and he looked to the Flower Tree.

"You are, um... more comfortable with certain magicks, I think, than I am. Necromancy is, to me, very uhh..." He struggled to find the word. The first one that had come to him was 'frightening', but that wasn't quite right. It wasn't scary like a bullet, it was more... "Imtinidating?" He approximated.

"I would, of course, very much like to know the answers to these questions that you pose, but I do not wish to, possibly, make things worse for them by, um... Doing something they would, maybe, not approve of?" Though magic abounded in Clann na Feithidí Uisce, nary a necromancer had ever been amongst their number. He shook his head, and plopped down in the grass when they reached their usual spot.

"Anyway... I am sorry that you are not close to your family, but glad that you feel so close to me. You are, nowadays, closer to me than my family, too, because you are, you know, alive?" He bit his lip, "And eminently huggable... Do you think that Urs is good at hugging, though?"

Set My World on Fire

[Sivan]

"I understand," he said. He wasn't sure he was comfortable with necromancy either, though from what Torin said, his patron used it to send unhappy spirits back where they belonged and to increase her efficacy as a healer. The seed of a thought was planted.

Sivan was certainly intimidated by the thought of summoning infernal spirits. Wild spirits, he understood intuitively. Celestial spirits could be hard bargainers, but bargained in good faith. Eldritch spirits were incomprehensible sometimes. But Infernal spirits... many of them delighted in fucking a summoner over.

He smiled.

"Well, I know I was a bit stiff at first, but you have warmed me up, so you are welcome to hug me as much as you need to." If he was going to make up for all the hugs Destyn had surely received from a living family, that might be quite a lot of them. "And, ah... yes, Urs is good at hugging, though he can be a bit stiff like I was, so you might have to be patient until he warms to you as well." He hoped Urs would. Destyn was strange and—literally—fey, but he was good and Sivan loved him and was happy that he was a part of his life. He thought Urs and Destyn could be good for each other.

"Oh!" The seed of a thought bore fruit. "I think Torin said his patron uses her necromancy to heal at the Tranquil Gardens as well. I wonder if she knows Urs."

He rubbed thoughtfully at his chin. Kalzasi was a huge city, but sometimes it was a small world. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility that they did. Necromantic healers weren't impossible to find, but the Tranquil Gardens were definitely where he would go to find one if he was looking. Should he tell Destyn that Urs practiced that intimidating magical art?

[Destyn]

Set My World on Fire

Kalzasi - 6 Glade, 122

Destyn nodded somewhat apologetically.

"I knew you would." He offered with a reassuring squeeze. In truth he didn't know the wherefore of his clan's distaste for necromancy. They'd always spoken of it in a way that always made it sound like it was self-evident why it should be a forbidden craft. They freely dallied with spirits from other realms but, for whatever reason, that which was touched by the realm of death was off limits. He might have thought to inquire if it hadn't been painted in a way that made him feel it should have been obvious- even when it wasn't. Still, it would have felt like a betrayal to dabble in that Craft to invoke the very people who scorned it.

"Yes!" Destyn's perplexed grimace gave way to a smile, "You are very warm, right now!" Perhaps he'd taken the comment literally, as he often did with the more colourful turns of Common. "I do not need so many hugs today, but maybe just one long one? But there is, I think, a different word for this in Common, do you know it? It is, to me, a very funny sounding word but also very perfect for what it is." With that he nestled in close to Sivan and tightened his embrace, "A cuddle." He giggled at the word. "Also it is, I think, called a snuggle. Are these words not as cute as a chipmunk baby?" The mention of Urs again caused Destyn to straighten his back, though he didn't release his grasp on Sivan's middle in the doing.

"Urs is, it seems, very popular! I understand why, though- It feels nice to be around him, not so?"

Set My World on Fire

[Sivan]

Sivan laughed and reveled in the closeness. He sat them down against the bole of the Living Grave, the better to cuddle or snuggle or whatever he wanted to call it. There was an element of this that felt fraternal; when he had been small, he had loved his siblings. It wasn't until they all grew older that he became as aware of how different he was and began to distance himself from everyone. Destyn was a man grown, but he hadn't lost that easy affection, and Sivan loved it.

There was a blessed simplicity in it. He supposed he was closer to Destyn and Torin than he was to his own siblings, though he was confused about that as well. An Aetherium-addled Torin had touched him sexually and he hadn't hated it. Urs had expressed sexual interest the night they met, though nothing had come of it but embarrassment and apologies. Time and familiarity seemed to be the fertile ground in which his passions grew. He wondered if that were an inevitable sort of thing and he would soon look at Destyn that way, or if it was particular to specific people in those fertile grounds.

"You are also as cute as a chipmunk baby," he declared. Then, "Destyn... are you happy? I mean, you always seem to find joy in whatever you do, but are you happy?"

He wasn't sure he could articulate it better. His hand ruffled Destyn's hair and he leaned in to drop a kiss on his brow.

"I worry sometimes that I can't see past your mood to know how you really feel, and I want to be a good friend to you."

His plan was to work part-time, at least, with Torin, but it was Destyn who was most likely to uproot and leave with him if he decided the time had come to travel. It would be difficult not to come back to Kalzasi, though, with Flower in the tree, IX still nonfunctional, and Torin and Urs residents of the city.