Legend of Ransera

"Ah, they are private about that," he admitted, "but I have watched them go from close friends to lovers. It was quiet and, hm, romantic." He laughed, feeling joy in their bond, a little of which he could well and truly empathize through his own lighter bonds with both of them. "Perhaps they would, but I haven't asked. Perhaps you should ask."

But then they were on the dance floor and talking was more difficult.

And then Raithen was laughing and calling him names.

And then they were flying. He didn't know if Raithen was showing off for the crowd or just wanted to share what their people could share that others couldn't. He supposed it didn't matter.

Kaus understood how controlled the populace of Solunarium was, but here he felt free. While he wasn't a sembler like his twin, he wasn't an idiot either, nor was Raithen subtle. He picked up what the elven Avialae was putting down. To make it all easier, his wings unfurled and he helped hold them aloft with his telekinetic power. Then he pulled Raithen close and kissed him, something slow and exploratory, ice-pale eyes heavy-lidded, but open.

While still young, he wasn't a walking hormone. But he did want to spend some intimate time with this fascinating man, this bird of a feather.

Somewhere inside him where he was connected to Kala, he felt something that he translated as her squealing and clapping. She thought he was hot, too.

The kiss was long. Kaus was in no hurry. He heard the music slowly segue and he could feel eyes on him even though he only had eyes for the Dux at the moment. When their lips parted, a gossamer strand of shared saliva briefly connected them before snapping and disappearing. A mercurial smile lit up his face.

"I was just wondering what your mouth tastes like," he declared matter-of-factly, not mischievous at all.

"Perhaps... after another bottle of wine," he suggested. "Gently."

It was nice to let the wine and the music and the magic move through them. In Kalzasi, a Leukos was expected to be a paragon of Avialae virtue while also fading into the background. Here, Avialae virtue was unimportant and it was impossible not to stand out; it was encouraged. In Kalzasi, he was a runt. Here, he felt perfect. Certainly, there could be repercussions to a lord kissing on a dux, but it seemed as though the sight of it merely aroused those around them.

Kaus knew what Semblance felt like; while he didn't have the Rune himself, he was so closely bonded to his twin that he could sense things through her. There was a primal sort of connection happening here, aided by the music and the magic. The dance floor was an organism, and they were its feathered crown circling above. He kissed Raithen, and while there was some heat within their inwardly curled wings, there was snow falling slowly and no rush.

There was more wine. Eventually, they got Ceran and Indric to dance as well, first upon the floor and then in the air. When they kissed, there was an aching sweetness to it. Again, perhaps it was the music and the magic, but one could almost sense how they complemented each other, how one's mere existence was a balm for the other's childhood wounds and vice versa. Kaus wondered if he would ever know that. He was closer to his sister than to anyone else in the world, and there was an undeniable intimacy there, but it was decidedly not romantic. But that bond, they worried, might preclude them from sexual, romantic pair bonds.

Even more so now that she was a young goddess, and he her hierophant.

'Come away with me,' Raithen had said. It echoed in Kaus' head when the four of them did leave, flying through the vasty caverns to the dux's secret place. Kaus heard refrains from on of the songs Lord Finn had performed for them back at the banquet. He hummed.

They stood like beautiful gargoyles looking down upon the subterranean city. Kaus did not complain of Raithen's touch; yea, rather his hands came down to lightly rest upon Raithen's hands. As they quested along Kaus' hips and around his waist, he held his own steady so they brushed along his new friend's wrists and forearms. It felt good to be wanted. He glanced momentarily at Ceran and Indric, who whispered observations to each other, a world unto themselves. He was occasionally lonely despite his closeness to his sister, the close bonds of friendship with the Silver Wings. Sometimes he envied Ceran and Indric, wished he could lie between them. It was likely they would welcome him, but he felt as though he would be misusing his authority.

'Lay with me,' Raithen said now, tugging.

Ceran and Indric ambled the perimeter, hand in hand, taking in the sights and allowing them a bit of privacy as Kaus turned into Raithen's arm, carefully slipping his own around the small of his back and tucking his fingers into the top of his lower garment. His fingertips were no longer cold from creating snow out of thin air, but it was comfortable to sling them there all the same.

"Come away with me in the night," he sang quietly. It was Lord Finn's song, and Kaus lacked both his skill and his Mesmer, but he wasn't performing, not really. It seemed as though Finn Farstrider used his Mesmer less to press feeling upon his audience than to open up his own experience of emotion to his audience; they were invited to feel with him rather than commanded to feel for him.

"Come away where they can't tempt us with their lies..."

The song had had a low, longing thrum at the banquet. Now it was a simple, tired request. His smile as he looked at Raithen was sweet, satisfied, and the slightest touch sad. When they reached the pavilion, he doffed a few of his clothes - not enough to imply a burning urge to copulate, but almost as if he were lining their nest with soft things.

The more skin he showed, the more he revealed the warrior he was. Long and lean and athletic, he looked like the embodiment of springtime. Though his pale eyes had seen more than most, there was a freshness, an innocence about them all the same. It would seem impossible to retain that as a nobleman traveling now through multiple courts, but here he was, revealing himself to his Atraxian cousin. Both had been touched by Avaerys. Both were often seen as the least of their brethren.

But none of that mattered here and now.

"Thank you for tonight," he said as he knelt, then arranged himself to lounge among the pillows and cast off clothes. A hand was held up, perhaps to help Raithen down, perhaps a physical manifestation of his words. "Of all the things I have seen in Solunarium, the best of them is you."

Raithen's touch was exciting. He had already heard stories about the Avialæ dux who had to fly or be hip deep in broken-hearted—but extremely satisfied—lovers. Raithen didn't live up to expectation. They weren't lovers yet for all his shivering touches, but Kaus didn't feel as though he were being hunted, or that he would become another notch on his four-poster bed should he lay with him. Perhaps this was the truth of the dux, that he made one feel seen, precious without being delicate. The moment was delicate, but he took Kaus' hand and descended into the pillows to join his cousin from Karnor.

Time was funny in the underground.

At one point, through his bond, he felt the polite query—whether he wanted the Silver Wings to draw near. He gently declined. Though he knew Raithen admired them, if he was only to enjoy this one night, he wanted the dux all to himself. Ceran and Indric had each other every night, whether they took advantage of that fact. Kaus slept alone. And while he didn't spend a great deal of his time with Raithen sleeping, he did realize that he had been drowsing when Raithen spoke.

It took a moment to parse the question, and then he chuckled darkly.

"When we choose... we can all but meld our consciousnesses. But generally... one or the other has to meditate, go into a trance, to really do so. She was... rather beside herself with glee when I kissed you, but soon after, she shuttered her mind away from mine so as not to play voyeur to our time together. I—" But a yawn overtook him. At first, it seemed as though it would be a small thing, but then it went on and on as if he were some snake attempting to unhinge his jaw. It cracked quietly, and then he snuggled closer. They were rather well matched and it would have been difficult to say who was the big spoon and who was the small.

They clung to each other, but without desperation.

"But you must know that," he reasoned, eyes closed as he nuzzled his nose against the hair above Raithen's ear. "With your great bond and all..."

"I am... hm..." He considered. "We were born with a soul-deep bond. That is unusual. One priestess called it a sign of divine favor, but I don't know about that. Well, perhaps it was now that Kala is..." The shoulder bare to the air shrugged. "I have light bonds with Ceran and Indric, and Asallon, the Siltori mage who remained behind with Kala. They might deepen with time. I don't know. I don't know the future. But I suppose I am not close with many people..." He paused. "Not like this."

Kaus couldn't be aware of Raithen's urge to stick a finger in his mouth; he wasn't a Sembler. All the same, perhaps they did have a sort of simpatico, because afterword, he gnawed gently upon Raithen's jaw.

"You don't?" he asked quizzically, but Raithen's explanation seemed to mollify him somewhat. He could have sworn he sensed a core bond in his sparsely clad companion. "Ah, well, I suppose that makes sense." Re'hyæan magic was strange to him, at least compared to what he knew from Karnor. Perhaps she had some ability with Semblance to speak directly into her son's mind. Wait, no. It was blood-based, not runic? His brow furrowed. He was too tired to really think that through and while he wasn't sure he was still drunk, the aftereffects of the runeforged wine still had him thinking outside of his normal box.

"Aye, well..." Kaus took a deep breath and exhaled, then a quick breath to speak. "The way we were created by Garel of Atoria, we had the ability to bond in a way that no other race had. It protected our forebears from the Hellmaw. So yes... we are encouraged to form relationships, find people that we trust implicitly, and bond with them. There are levels of depth, of course, but... Kala could command me and I would struggle to resist. If she really wanted to. It is... hm, blunted somewhat now that she has her wings. But also, now she is a goddess, so..." He shivered, though it wasn't truly cold. "We bond to someone we trust, opening ourselves up to the possibility of being manipulated. But that bond protects us from other forms of mind control. So yes, most Synnekar Avialae have bonds. If not as deep as ours, they still have them. Want them. Perhaps even need them. Indric and Ceran have each other. Kala and I have each other. Sometimes it's romantic, but it doesn't have to be. It is, perforce, intimate, though. Emotionally and mentally. The Kathar... they have been bound to the Obelisk in Gel'Grandal by perverting their bond instinct. It allows the Emperor to command them, to subvert their free will. That is why Kalzasi and Gel'Grandal can never truly be allies or friends."

"I can," he said with a lethargic smile. "I can feel them. I have them shuttered at the moment so... so they aren't eavesdropping on us. They would feel it if I felt alarm or... well, they can probably feel that I am relaxed, content, and..." He laughed quietly, a touch bashfully. "Kala is asleep now, dreaming of the Crownwyrm's home star. The boys are tired, but happy. It's like... with Kala, she's always there, hand on my shoulder, even if she isn't there. If I close my eyes, she's there, inside me. We can share thoughts, feelings, images, concepts. Those few times we have been completely cut off from each other, it has felt like... like I imagine it would feel to lose a limb. The phantom... shape of her would haunt me. Sometimes she feels... inexorable. We grew up with this, so her will doesn't overpower mine, though she could in an emergency. 'Tis difficult to articulate. Our bond has always been. With the boys..." He glanced after them. "...it's more subtle. Like I know what direction they are in. What they are feeling, almost as if I am feeling it myself, but not quite. With Kala, we have to be careful not to spoil each other's mood if one of us is upset." He laughed again, quiet enough it didn't echo.

Kaus didn't mind the silence while Raithen ruminated. The kiss on his shoulder felt nice, as did allowing his fingertips to explore golden skin. When the dux did speak, the break in his voice broke the Synnekar's heart.

"Oh Raithen," he soothed, throwing a leg over his, leveraging himself so he was above, looking down on beautiful elven features. "You aren't broken." His callused hand brushed the man's face, his hair, petting him, comforting. "It can be difficult to have normal bonds when our bonds are so strong. But there is nothing wrong with you, patruelis. Believe that. If... if you wish to be sure, Kala could semble you... ensure that bond you share with your mater has dovetailed the blessing of gens Phædryn-Sol’Aværys and the parts of you that are Avialæ..."