New Grounds [Kala]

[Baudric]

B A U D R I C

"The privacy and training grounds would be appreciated. Also the library. It feels like It's been too long since I have resumed my daily regimen. In actuality it's only been about twenty days."
He stood and began walking around slowly.
"I feel cramped. The time spent here has largely been aggravating in the sense I can't go anywhere or do anything. Getting out of here and assisting in anything you may need of me would be a welcomed addition to my life. I need to get back into the field and do something good with my time."

Making a double take to her wink, curious to her meaning. "Negotiate? I am afraid you have me at a loss with that. Negotiate what? My strength is offered in good will for the... everything you have done for me. It's the least I can do to offer. If you refuse to take it then that is there is little I can do to convince you. It's merely an honest offer."

"Though I suppose on the earlier point to sparring with your brother. I would have to do it at least once. Even with you if you wanted it." He gave her a side glance, at the very least he could do it once. He was certain he could get away with it and not have too much trauma act up against either of them. They would need to understand though that the moment he showed any sign of wanting to walk away, they would need to respect that need. Last thing he wanted was to harm either of them. In anyway.
"Tell me more about you and Kaus. What was your childhood like? Schooling, recreation. I wish to know everything you would share."

[Kala Leukos]

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"Twenty days is enough to make returning to habits a challenge," she allowed. "But however long you stay with us, you can start building your habits back up."

As for the disagreement, she offered a wry smile.

"We don't usually ask our guests to labor on our behalf. But if it will make you feel more comfortable, I will try to think of something you can do for us. We would enjoy sparring with you, but we wouldn't demand it."

Baudric was pacing, so she stood up in case he wanted to be on the move again. She could understand wanting movement to make him feel like something was being accomplished. Healing was often a matter of hurrying up just to wait, and it drove many people to distraction.

"Hmm, Kaus and I were born in Starfall, up in the Astralar Mountains. It's about as far from Kalzasi as can be while still owing allegiance. It's remote. We are a bit strange by Kalzasern standards, but proud of our differences. Hm, we have an elder brother, Aquilios. Our father died when we were young, fighting for the Shokaze. Our mother raised us, though her health is troubled, complicated by giving birth to twins." Her mouth twisted a bit; though it wasn't their fault, their birth had changed their mother forever. Our mother was strict, but loving. Our village helped raise us, and we came to Kalzasi for a bit of an education in how the world works."

She didn't mention the Warren March as it had set him off before, though that was part of it.

"We had tutors in Starfall. We did attend some classes at the Academy here when we first arrived, though now there seems to be little time for it, though I am learning to heal here at the Tranquil Gardens." Though she was curious what his answers would be if she reciprocated the questions, she felt as though she should leave that alone for the time being, not wanting to dredge up negative memories. Instead, she waited to see if anything she had said would spark more specific questions.

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[Baudric]

B A U D R I C

He stopped pacing a moment to give her a smirk. She had spoken of their childhood like it was some kind of resume, listing off their training and tutelage. Shaking his head he gestured for them to walk and talk. Sitting was a bad idea for him right now.
"I should clarify my question, tell me about your joys and troubles. Every scrapped knee and festival food stall. I wanna know about child you not what was imposed on you by your family and upbringing. Did you and Kaus cause problems like little rascals or were you always in best behavior?"

He walked with his arms tucked behind his back. The soft down of his vestigial wings always felt comfortable to him. Like a child and their security blanket. The feel of his wings was the only comforting sensation he could indulge in that would not make him look weak or was even recognizable. Meanwhile his larger wings tucked in close to not be in anyone's way as they walked the dragonshard lit halls.
"I would place money on the two of you being a handful. The level of professionalism you have now while still showing a font of strength around everyone tells me so. I could be wrong of course, but I would place money on it if I had the chance. As you know I was probably the most unruly boy in my group due to my defiance to forsake the other boys. I admit I still don't know when to shut my mouth with my senior officers in the Uberfallenlicht."

He had a small look of pride on his face at the memory. He knew the boundaries of his defiance in the Chapter. Two of the higher ranked Avialae under his Primarch would berate him. Telling him to just follow orders before he regretted it. Despite his will to disobey though he eventually would bow his head and do as the man wanted. Often after many a bruised or fractured rib.

[Kala Leukos]

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"Oh," she said, turning a shade of pink, then laughed quietly. "Yes, well, I have a bit of a temper. I don't know if it has calmed with age or I have meditated enough to learn to feel it coming and work to defuse it before it becomes a problem. I was born before Kaus by a few minutes and I suppose I have been the leader ever since. He makes people laugh and they could never stay angry with him for long. I was in trouble for more than a year at a time once."

She laughed again as they walked.

"I had a chip on my shoulder. It wasn't fair that my brothers had wings and I didn't. I wanted to do everything they did. I wanted to know everything." She paused and looked a little sad. "When my father died, it hurt my mother more than even our birth did. She focused on training Aquilios to lead whenever she passed. I think she didn't expect to live as long as she has, though that is a blessing. That was when I decided I had to learn to control myself, to not pick every fight but only the ones that mattered most." Kala glanced sidelong at him. "Like fighting to help you survive, perhaps."

His smirk made her smile. It was good to see him in better spirits, though she knew the trauma lurked below the surface. People, even the strong Avialae, weren't equipped to hold onto pain for very long. They had to set it aside, tuck it away, and try to ignore it for a while until it came back and they grappled with it again. Those were fights worth picking, she thought, embracing one's trauma, finding peace.

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[Baudric]

B A U D R I C

Stopping in his tracks he stared at her uncertain if he had heard her right. The plausibility of what he knew personally of her did not match that which she told him. He had only know gentle kindness and understanding. Guiding him through moments of anguish. She never once gave him reason to think she wasn't anything but patient and calm. A temper? If she considered herself short of temper than he wondered what unadulterated rage would look like in her.

"For which I feel not only grateful but indebted to you over. But Talon and Telion as well. The three of you have been paramount in my recovery. I don't know what is in store for me in the future, but at the very least the near future would have me try to express my gratitude appropriately. Or at least as best I can."

Just then a rushed nurse came around the corner. Looking relieved as he spotted Baudric.
"There you are. Its time for you bandages to be changed and good washing. Oh Ms. Kala. I wasn't aware you were on rotation today."
The human man looked between Kala and Baudric, his face slowly lit up in embarrassment. "I'm not interrupting something am I? I do apologies but he is my last task before I can head home for the rest of the day."

Baudric looked at the smaller man who had tended to him a few days back before Talon and his entourage had appeared. At the time he had been in and out of consciousness but had enough mental acuity at the time to remember that he was at least careful with his bandages and attentive to his wing. Crossing his arms not wanting to end Kala's visit too short. She had been the only person who didn't make him feel worthless or unwanted. Normally he would fall into a numb depression, fall into the greyscape, but ultimately move on with life acting indifferent. Since waking up here though. He finds himself drawn to keeping this comfort around as much as he can.

[Kala Leukos]

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"If you would like to thank me, consider becoming my friend," she said softly. "Friends can do each other kindnesses and not keep tally, and then, even if we are far apart, you will know that someone is thinking of you fondly from time to time."

More might have been said, but they were interrupted by the arrival of a nurse.

"Hello," she said with another smile. "We were just having a walk and a talk, but why don't you go home and I will change his bandages. I'm not on rotation, but I might as well be productive while I'm here. That is—" She paused and looked to Baudric. "—if you wouldn't mind me changing your bandages." Kala wasn't sure if the washing was just the healing wounds or a sponge bath, but if the latter, she could also just blend Fire and Water and steam him clean without the indignity of being washed as if he couldn't himself. In fact, he most likely could if they gave him access to facilities for his ablutions.

Nudity didn't bother her, of course, but she didn't know how Baudric felt, nor the social mores of the Imperium. Perhaps she was too known to him now for him to comfortably allow her to serve as his nurse.

In any case, she left the decision up to him. The promise of health and freedom was so close he could likely taste it, so she thought he might hunger for autonomy and agency even more than he had a couple of days previous when they had met. She knew she could be out of sorts when recuperating from illness or injury. It was entirely understandable if he was as well. And then there were his existential crises to consider.

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[Baudric]

B A U D R I C

"If you would take his place?"
Baudric didn't want to be rude but out of everyone in place she was the one he trusted most to handle his wings. Even then he merely just let her. Once the bandages were off he would return to not allowing anyone to touch them. He gave her a look. "If I am being given the option I would rather you take care of my wings."

"I know I would certainly appreciate being able to do home now, The wife and I are celebrating our anniversary. Well then that's settled if you are absolutely sure!" He handed off the bandages to Kala. "I left the bucket and wash in his room. For the most part it's just cleaning around the wounds but also if he needs it anywhere else."

Baudric disliked being talk about like he was a child with him standing right there especially. Even less thinking about how he had to let others bath him. He didn't like eyes on his exposed body, even so much as just being topless. In this situation he didn't have a choice. His wounds needed to be cleaned for healing. The amount of working out... had him covered in enough sweat to need to be cleaned. Hoping though

When the man left he couldn't bring himself to look at her.
"I can wash myself if you keep it quiet to the rest of the staff. Ill leave the wounds to you." He rubbed the feathers of his wings slowly working through his discomfort being in the hospital.
"Before we were interrupted though.. This friendship wont deal with the Bond will it? I don't know when I will be returning to the Imperium but.. Mandates."

[Kala Leukos]

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Kala nodded, indicating her understanding and acceptance of Baudric's preferences.

To the nurse, she simply said, "Congratulations on your anniversary. I hope you and your wife have an excellent evening together."

"Well, we shall be co-conspirators, then," she said with a wink.

When they returned to his room, she did help somewhat, but only by plying her elemental powers to produce hot water for him to bathe in. He would have to make do with what was in the basin and washcloths, though. Apparently, they prevented most patients from bathing themselves by the simple expedient of not having full bathrooms, but only toilets and sinks for them. At least with her magic, he could have the water at the exact right temperature.

She set the books beside his bed, except for the one that had been written within the Imperium.

"I will stand guard at the door," she promised. "You may just come and get me when you are ready for your bandages to be changed." That said, she smiled and left him to his privacy. She imagined he would relish it after however long he had been cooped up in the Tranquil Gardens.

For her part, she leaned back against the wall and began to read. She knew it would be biased; all historical accounts were in one way or another. All the same, she tried to maintain an open mind. Her tutors had always told her that in most stories there were several versions, and none of them were the unvarnished truth. Perhaps it was swimming somewhere in between those versions. Keela only knew, and the blessed Dragon Goddess of Wisdom wasn't in the habit of telling young Avialae women what was what. Kala imagined She expected them to figure things out on their own.

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[Baudric]

B A U D R I C

Were he to have the proper facilities he would have taken his time to soak and preen his feathers. Some would consider his reverence for his wings verge on the obsession. He simply made it a ritual of self care. His coping mechanism against the daily. That luxury was not afforded him here. Thankfully Kala was more than a blessing to help bring him closer to that with a nice container of hot water.

He did his best to really clean himself as best he could. Making short work of it to make it less of a hassle for Kala. Still as fast as he worked at cleaning himself in his eyes. He still took longer than most people. Cleaning each and every scale to polish. He left the areas around his wounds untouched knowing Kala would do a better job when she changed his bandages.

After cleaning himself as well as he could, he slipped into a new clean pair of linen pants the hospital provided with each bath. Holding off on the shirt for the time being for Kala to have an easier time with his bandages.
"Alright, you can turn back. You can change the bandages now. Though it doesn't really look like they need it to me."

He reached over and picked up one of the books she provided and began thumbing through its pages.
"You said you had a sizable collection of books at your home correct? I would be curious to look at it. See what it is you collect in the way of written word. I always read things for tactics, lore, demonolgy. But I do have one guilty pleasure reading that I keep to myself back home. The others would find it silly. Poetry. I kind find myself in the stanzas."

[Kala Leukos]

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When he called her back in, she finished the paragraph she was reading, slipped a bookmark into it, and put the book back in her bag. If he took long, she didn't seem to notice; the book's story had caught her attention. History was just that: stories. With a smile, she noticed he had left his bandages accessible to her. And she appreciated that if he wasn't exactly comfortable with her seeing him and touching him, he was more comfortable with her doing it than someone else. That was as mall victory, a bridge built between them.

"You might be right," she admitted, "but best to do our due diligence. I wouldn't want some last-minute infection to set in and delay your release. The sooner they let you out, the sooner you can figure out how to get home."

Once again, she made quick work of his bandage changes. She gave him a verbal warning before touching him, and again before touching his wings. It wasn't as though she had touched many Avialae wings—her father's, her brother Aquilios', her brother Kaus', and now Baudric's. It didn't mean anything, necessarily, except that it was not a common sort of thing among them. The bandaging she gave him this time was lighter, less constrictive because it was true that he likely didn't need any at all. At least the physicians and nurses would be appeased and he would be somewhat more comfortable for what was hopefully his last night here.

"The bulk of the books were there when we arrived. Our home has been in the family for generations, so it has accumulated things to various different tastes. I have only added a few, really, so you might be surprised what you will find. But oh... Kaus is a bit of a poet. A good one, I think, though I might be biased. Be careful bringing that topic up with him. He might talk your ear off or ask you to listen to his latest."

But perhaps Baudric and Kaus would bond over poetry. That would be nice.

She stayed for a while and then promised to return on the morrow. After all, she might have to direct him to his new, albeit temporary, home.

fin.

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