Fill My Little World [Torin, Sivan]

[Sivan]

Sivan thanks Torin for the remains of the apple, and made quick work of it, tossing the tiny remnants into the bushes for the insects or the earth. When Torin apologized, he just smiled and shook his head, golden hair tumbling. It hadn't been a great deal of work, after all. No tents as no storms were expected.

"Perhaps with some clever glamouring, you could fix your tongue so it looked the same, allowed you to speak the same, but could also work like a frog's tongue? There are some alchemical substances that can hold a form fairly well, then react entirely differently when you change their circumstances... I don't know if glamoured flesh could do the same."

At Torin's suggestion, Sivan considered and nodded. The area around Kalzasi never seemed to get too hot, but the ride in the sun had him sweating a bit. The lake would feel nice on his skin. There was food enough for grazing—equine and bipedal—and there was plenty of time before they needed to cook something, and that would probably be Timon's chore. When the others began to disrobe, Sivan laughed, and got bare as quickly as he could so he could run toward the shore, leap off a boulder, shouting, "I wiiiiiiiiin!" before cannonballing into the water.

The Sivan who had arrived in Kalzasi had not been playful. Friendship had made him weird.

[Torin Kilvin]

Torin laughed when Sivan somehow shucked himself out of his clothing faster than either himself or Destyn could. The lake had some nice outcrops of rock and got deep quickly, so diving was absolutely an option. The smith made his way as quickly as he could to such an outcroping and dove off it with only a tiny bit more dignity than the elf had.

Timon, upon seeing all three of the older men running naked down the beach went back to where their supplies here and primly collected his fishing gear.

"I'm going to go catch thupper." He announced, to no one in particular, "Come on HuntreSS."

The wolf-dog had been standing with her head cocked in curiosity at the antics being performed but trotted after the barely-teenaged boy quickly enough once he started off.

Torin swam out, his wide chest and long arms making easy work of it. When he was out deep enough he dove holding his breath, into the bright, clear water. It was cold, even at this time of year, deeper down, and he went as far as he felt comfortable doing before kicking back up to the surface. When he was able to shake the water out of his eyes he swam over to where Destyn was and said,

"Do the wings make it easier, or harder? Oh. Can you fly while they are soaked?" The smith was still feeling playful but didn't want to do anything that might may his Fae friend feel distressed.

[Destyn]

Fill My Little World

Kalzasi - 5 Searing, 122

Destyn wrinkled his nose.

"You know, before I came of Runebearing age, I begged and begged my mother to let me have a Rune of Masquerade, but she insisted I take on Summoning first." He lowered his head, feeling a bit guilty for questioning her guidance now that she was gone. But now his Summoning failed him, and he couldn't use the Rune he'd always wanted to solve their little quandary. The talk of 'alchemical substances' made him anxious, for some reason.

"If I had that, I could have the Froggy tongue but make it look like I didn't. I could just look like I was sitting around minding my own business, when I was really fly-snatching with my froggy tongue and nobody would be any the wiser." Sivan's solution seemed unappealing to the Fae. It was just as well that their attentions turned elsewhere, as the 'froggy tongue' had been an idle, passing fancy, quickly forgotten at the prospect of a swim. He slithered out of his breeches, and did a slight plié atop his crumpled discards, launching himself into the air and hovering above the water where Sivan and Torin splashed. The heavy winds wafting from his wingbeats caused outward ripples in the water below.

"Watch this!" He called out, as he flitted a bit farther from shore beyond where his friends swam. He flattened his arms to his sides and drew his legs together, pointing his toes and suddenly his wings were taut to his back and he made a direct, vertical drop into the water, leaving only a little splash in his wake.

After a minute or so, he popped up in between his friends and grinned, contentedly.

"This is fun." He declared. When Torin drew closer and posed his questions he giggled.

"I do not know if it is harder than for you, because I have always had them. I do not think I am a better or worse swimmer than either of you, so I suppose they play little role. As for getting soaked, they do not. The water rolls right off of them. As long as they are not submerged, I can take flight with no problem and the rest of me dries off in short order once they set to beating." He was not the last of the Clan of the Waterbug for nothing.

Fill My Little World

[Sivan]

Perxy flowed back and forth between the swimmers and the young fisherman, whispering first in Sivan's ear that the boy was well, and then lofting about keeping an eye on things: their camp, their clothes, and all of them. She was prepared to sound alarums or help as necessary, which allowed Sivan to relax with his friends.

He could sense the depth of the water, the life within it curious about their legs and dangling bits, but not meaning them any harm. Even with the threat of war, at least everything was calm out here.

"This is fun," he agreed, then listened to Destyn explain the workings of his wings to the ever-curious Torin. While the smith was distracted by the thoughts those answers engendered, Sivan quietly approached, planted his hands on his shoulders, and dunked him down until he was low enough Sivan could step on his shoulders and shove him farther down.

With a laugh, he swam out toward the sun so he would be far away from retaliation when Torin broke the surface again. Aye, friendship had made him weird indeed, or perhaps he was just the adult version of a lonely child and making up for lost time. Torin didn't seem to be the type who would engage in a game of dunk in the lake, but sometimes he surprised them, and he was definitely the strongest of the three.

Turning back toward them, his golden hair was slicked down, sharp ears all the more prominent by contrast. There were supposed to be amphibious elves if tales were true. Perhaps they were just folk like Sivan, though.

[Torin Kilvin]

The pressure on his shoulders did not scare the smith but he was surprised by it. He managed to take a deep breath before his head was fully under though he was hard pressed not to laugh it out as he was pushed down by not only arms, but legs also. Having learned to swim in forest pools that he had also often used to hide in by holding his breath for extended periods of time, he wasn't panicked by the water being so far over his head. The clear water showed him it's variety of life and he wondered why he'd never gone diving in the lake before.

The thought was brief and he instead glanced around to find Sivan's retreating legs. Kicking back to the surface he filled his lungs several times before giving his friend a look as close to wicked as his face probably went and diving back under the surface. When the powerful strokes of his arms and legs brought him within snatching distance, snatch he did, but not hard enough to pull the elf under the water, just to still his forward movement. There, under the water, he grasped slim hips and brought them close so he could nuzzle at things that he certainly would not be so forward with had they been on the beach or anywhere else they might be seen. After a moment, as his air was beginning to run out, he did yank harder, till Sivan's head was below the surface and on level with his own. He kissed him there, swift and brief, before shoving him further down and kicking both up and away.

When he could breath and see above the water he glanced around till he spotted Destyn and then dove back under. When he came to be more or less directly below the his Fae friend he began tickling at his toes and feet, watching the twitch and kicking until he had to resurface again. He laughed, as soon as he had air to do so, and grinned at the winged creature to see if he was affronted or if he wanted to play too.

[Destyn]

Fill My Little World

Kalzasi - 5 Searing, 122

Destyn was half-attentive to his friends, and half-distracted by the new surroundings, replete with the overstimulating energy of life. Aquatic plants and animals he hadn't come into contact with since moving to Kalzasi. Such creatures had once been recurring characters when he'd led a rambling life, but having become more static, he found he'd missed them.

He was in a staring contest with a pollywog when he caught sight of Torin kissing Sivan in his periphery. He relinquished his rivalry with the tadpole, to turn his attention there, briefly.

"Aw, sweet." He said, with a sigh as he spread his wings to either side and let himself float on his back with his legs bent at the knee to dangle beneath the raft he had become. It was in this position that Torin was easily able to seize upon his feet.

The Faerie boy let out a high pitched squeal as he was taken by surprise with an onslaught of tickles. His wings reflexively began to beat rapidly sending huge arcing splashes and a minor maelstrom of waves. He tried to draw his legs away, bending his knees and his semi-submerged wings did succeed in drawing him up somewhat though he wasn't fully taking flight.

"Staaaaahp!" He whined through peels of giggles, when he was able to reposition himself he used his wings to send waves and splashes at Torin in retaliation for the unprovoked attack.

"Take that!" He said, grinning wickedly at the advantage of bringing wings to a finger fight.

Fill My Little World

[Sivan]

Sivan, despite his reserved nature, continued to laugh, even as Torin took his revenge and then took his lips under the water. It was nice, though he wished they were more comfortable expressing this strange twist in their friendship in front of Destyn. He didn't like feeling as though he was hiding things from his friend. Sometimes, he was curious what it would be like to explore those things with Destyn, but his friend seemed oblivious, and more interested in Urs anyway.

In any case, once Torin went to ambush Destyn, Sivan paddled over, dove, and tried to grab at one of Destyn's feet as well.

It was stupid. It was silly. But he hadn't ever had playmates as a child, so perhaps it was all right to be stupid and silly with friends now that he had them. They didn't seem to mind. Well, Destyn was thrashing around, but Sivan assumed either he or Torin would be the next one suffering at the hands of two others, so it would all even out in the end.

Perxy appeared underwater and quickly whirled around Sivan's head, creating a bubble of breathable air. Now he was going to be unstoppable—submarine Sivan!

He just ignored the curious and vaguely judgmental feeling from Exael, who didn't understand the point of all this, but then the celestial spirit of wisdom was sort of an idiot when it came to mortal lives; at least he realized he had a great deal to learn. And thankfully, he hadn't decided to manifest fully and attempt to learn by experience. He wasn't sure it would be a fair fight with a powerful celestial spirit manifesting in the water to figure out mortal play. The thought made him laugh underwater.

[Torin Kilvin]

The three continued to play in the water for sometime, splashing, diving, teasing and playing. Destyn taking to the air and Sivan able to breath under the water both seemed like unfair advantages to Torin, but, he supposed, some would consider his size and strength to be an unfair advantage. They teamed up on him, more than once, but turn about was fair play and he laughed when they found his ticklish spots, even when he was underwater at the time.

When he was too tired to keep up the games of chase and catch he turned his powerful chest toward the shore and paddled in till her could walk. When he was fully out of the water he walked a few feet onto dry sand and collapsed as though exhausted. The sun was high and bright but he was not afraid of it. Even if he burned a little, well, he was used to being burned a little. Lifting his head and squinting out at his two friends he said,

"Come dry off with me?" He didn't want the connection they shared when it was the three of them to fade just because they weren't playing anymore. If he was allowed he would wrap an arm around each and take a little nap there, bare to his skin and mostly covered in sand.

In a little while he knew he would be ravenously hungry, he already could feel it building through his lethargic limbs. He was in good shape but swimming required muscles he rarely used and more constant use of the ones he did use regularly. But for a few minutes, maybe half an hour or a little more, all he wanted was to close his eyes, stop moving and have his two best friends close enough that he would know they were there even if he drifted off.

[Destyn]

Fill My Little World

Kalzasi - 5 Searing, 122

Destyn hadn't had a playful day splashing about like this in quite some time. He did gleefully exploit his several advantages, taking to wing and making aerial attacks. He would rise out of range of their splashes, and swoop down to create arcing waves that would wash over his friends, before sweeping back upward again. Eventually it occurred to him that he could collect water in one of the canteens they'd left by the horses, and then return to dump it onto their heads from on high. It was so, so fun. He felt like he was the best at their game, and that felt delightful.

By and by, Torin retreated and Destyn followed him from above. He splashed down onto the muddy bank and trudged through the muck to join him. He considered offering to expedite the drying process by fanning Torin with his wings, but decided against it. They were getting tired from the flight here and their little games.

He dropped to his knees and crawled next to Torin, squirming as he nestled against him with his blonde head in the crook of his arm. He put his feet flat on the ground with his knees bent and swaying out and back in toward one another again and again, as he stared up at the sky.

"It is pretty here. Why do we not live here instead of the city? We could do this every single day. You are handy and could build a shelter, or... I can take you to one of our old campsites nearby. There are caves and canopies. It is, I think, also better for Timon to be away from the city. I will help us find food and I can check every day for dangers from high up. It would be, you know, I think very good to do this. You should listen to me."

Fill My Little World

[Sivan]

The elf was well pleased by all this, occasionally asking Perxy to gust chaotically around Destyn so his advantages weren't entirely unfair. It occurred to him then that Destyn was beautiful while aloft, grinning like a madman. It occurred to him then that Torin was beautiful while treading water, seen from the depths, limned in watery sunlight. It took love and affection for him to truly recognize the beauty in his friends, and so he was glad he loved them, even if occasionally that made him worry that he would lose them as Destyn had lost his tribe, Torin had lost his master and his mother, and Sivan had lost his own master as well.

When he crested the surface once more, gold hair dark and slick against his scalp, he watched Torin lumber ashore. He moved differently in the water than on land, and transitioning from one to the other. He called and Sivan moved languidly to follow while Destyn landed nearby in the mud before following. The elf emerged where the shore was sandy and trudged up to find the fae'ethalan already wrapped around Torin's comfortable bulk and chattering about moving out here.

He smiled and dropped down on Torin's other side, knowing the man craved physical affection that had been denied him in his youth. Resting his head upon Torin's shoulder, he reached across the man's belly so he could drape his arm over Destyn, as well.

"He has a plan for that already," Sivan explained, then mentioned the possibility of portals between his home and Torin's, between Torin's home and other places. Surely they could build a place out here, making it easy enough to get to that they could work in the city and have supper far away if they wanted to. Though wandering wasn't in his blood the way it was in Destyn's, his happiest times before recent times had been traveling Karnor with his beloved master.

They went back and forth with ideas for the place until they began to drift off, water-cooled skin warmed by the sun. Perxy reported that Timon and Huntress were well, so Sivan didn't resist the nap.

Later, Timon returned with a decent catch. He muttered a command to Huntress so she didn't just hop onto the sleeping pile of old people, then continued muttering to himself as he returned to camp to start on supper.

fin.