Legend of Ransera

Raithen didn't need to voice a question for them to intuit his curiosity.

"Childbirth is difficult on the body at the best of times," Kala said quietly. "Even moreso with Avialae. No matter the race of the mother, her children tend to be much bigger than her womb would like. Aquilios came with relative ease, but a twin birth..." She sighed.

"Mother's health never fully recovered," Kaus chimed in sadly. There was a guilt in both of them, as well as a knowledge that they held no fault for being born. "Even the highest priestess of Ioniri available couldn't quite restore her health."

"But in me, she has a healer with a particular interest in her recovery. My efforts seem to be having some effect, although..." She paused. "I have a grimoire from Garel himself. When I unlock the power to create more Avialae, I intend to give her wings first. The wings hold magic, else we wouldn't be able to fly. It is my hope that the strength they lend her will complete her recovery."

"You will manage it," Kaus said with a supportive smile.

"I know." She smiled back. And then they were both smiling at Raithen, sharing the bittersweet, though the sight of him banished the bitter. And he could feel how his presence had that effect via their bond. That bond reduced the need for validation. They considered him with eerily similar expressions, though he knew better than most how different from and yet complementary to each other they were. He could feel the tingle of lust, as well as a thoughtful consideration.

There were secrets in Starfall, and the changes wrought upon Kala by Naori expedited certain necessary changes. Akshara and Aquilios were considering how to strategically make these changes, and sharing some of their secrets with a scion of the sands might be part of it, but that was out of the twins' hands.

"Well, Kaus wants to kiss you, but I just want to use you for sex," she said bluntly.

"I think perhaps not," Kala said, though there was a sparkle to her eyes and a flush to her cheeks mirrored in her twin.

There was an eagerness in them that complemented Raithen's own, though their experience of the world was quite different. They had never wanted for companionship when they had been born with their minds intertwined, and as their bodies matured, there hadn't been all that many options for exploration. That might have been different in Kalzasi, but there was decorum and there was a strong streak in demisexuality each of them.

They weren't in love with Raithen, though they were both, to different degrees, infatuated. And the light bond they shared was all the connection they needed, it seemed. In his presence, they were much more sexual creatures.

"But there are bedrooms," Kaus promised, tugging on Raithen's clothes, low over his waist.

"Or we could fly up to where the air is rarefied and hope to climax before we land..."

Kala's suggestion was more creative, but either elementalist could have crafted them a bubble of breathable air far up into the atmosphere, giving them more time for their free fall dare devilry. They were playful. They were touching him inappropriately as they guided him away from the table and toward somebody's bedroom.

Of course, they were amenable to other things. With their bonds, though, it was unlikely anything would happen where anyone felt compelled.

They were young, so while they were exhausted when all was said and done, they didn't sleep, but rather reveled in the sensuous aftereffects of it all. Not wanting to call for food, nor leave to fetch it, Kaus had been keen enough to stash some snacks, some wine, the sort of things they could pass around easily, or feed to each other.

The twins weren't attracted to each other, but neither were they upset by the other's presence. Having someone like Raithen who was equally attracted to both of them was nice. Nothing needed explaining; they just enjoyed Raithen and he enjoyed them.

A few lamps were lit, albeit dimly, and only the light of the stars came through the casements. During a lull in the touching and the giggling and the random thoughts shared without fear, Kaus began to share a poem he was writing. It seemed appropriate given his muse was there present and after they had been somewhat shameless, he had little fear in sharing.

"They say there is a war
Between the man and the woman.
I've never felt like this before;
My heart knew that I couldn't."

And Kala, who knew his poetry almost as soon as he did, sang quiet, fluting trills, a sort of ornamentation. She hummed and kissed Raithen's chest while Kaus shifted words around in his head, the better to explain what was in his heart.

"And then you take me in
And everything in me begins to feel like I belong
Like everybody needs a home
And when I take your hand
Like the world has never held a man
I know I cannot heal the hurt
But I will hold you here forever
If I can, if I can.

And then I learned the truth:
How everything good in life seems to lead back to you
And every single time I run into your arms
I feel like I exist for love..."

It wasn't finished, but Raithen knew that.

"Someday," Kala purred against Raithen's skin, "perhaps he will share the more lascivious poems he has written about you."

Kaus scoffed, but didn't deny it. One twin or the other wondered idly if the bond they had shared with Raithen would deepen. Some thoughts were like that here and now, nobody quite sure who had thought it first. Perhaps it didn't matter, though Kala did have to remind herself not to fully unveil herself lest her divinity overpower the others.

"Raithen, my duck..." Kala began cautiously. She had taken to sometimes calling him that because, well, he had wings and he was a dux. "The Pyramid is Paramount in Solunarium, and the devotees of the Divine Twins accept hierarchy and chains, but... for you, yourself, would you rather see your chains or remain blissfully unaware?"

Kaus bit into the fruit shyly at first, but Raithen always brought boldness out of him, ever since the night they met. His juicy kiss was eager and guileless, and perhaps Raithen would appreciate how his own pleasure was juxtaposed over Kaus' within his heart, and the addition of Kala's compersion blooming within his heart as well. Kaus kissed Raithen as though they would sate his hunger, but toppled over to prop himself up on his elbow and watch.

He grew perhaps a little too quiet at Kala's question, and it remained even as Raithen answered. Their friend would feel the faint tension between them, whether they would or would not tell him something they were fairly certain he didn't know. It released at his answer, though, and the moment passed.

Kala kissed him thoughtfully on the knee as that was closest now, her hand cupping the bend behind his knee, then sliding up his inner thigh. She wasn't reaching for more action, but merely enjoying the feel of his skin and the muscle playing underneath.

"Well, you should know a bit more about Avialae bonds in any case... Since you have bonded to us and it is entirely possible that the bonds will grow deeper and more powerful if we all desire it to be so. We told you how the bonds were built into the race by Garel as a precaution against the psychic powers of the Hellmaw. It could drive men mad, or control them, or... well, accounts have some variation as they are wont to do. But having a tether to someone else, someone who could overpower them mentally, keep them from turning on each other and the people they were defending... Hm, so it was a feature, not a flaw. All the same, that feature was abused by the Gelerian Imperium and it could be used against you."

"You wouldn't, I think," Kaus interjected, "have kept our bond if you didn't trust us. And you wouldn't let it grow deeper and more powerful if you didn't want it and trust us."

Kala nodded. "But we do not have a place in the Solunarian Pyramid. We have been happy guests and hopefully will be again." She sighed. "I am slowly growing into divine power. I would be able to command you as if I were a master of the Rune of Command. I would not, of course. Unless, perhaps, I felt it was necessary to save your life and there was no time to explain."

"We are more on par, though," Kaus continued. "Equal in our bond, but we could... well, influence each other. As if with Semblance or Mesmer, but an artefact that blocked Semblance and Mesmer wouldn't protect you from it. Or me. So, it could be insidious. It's even possible to want the other to do something badly enough that we influence without meaning to."

"It is important for you to know the ramifications of your bonds," Kala said. "Should you be moved to create other ones, you have to weigh your trust. Between Avialae, the power is balanced. But should you bond with a Re'hyæan, the power they held over you would outweigh your power over them. In most cases, your enthusiastic consent is required, but there are... hm... loopholes."

Almost as one, they fit themselves against him on either side.

"I won't give you reason to regret it," Kaus promised quietly.

Whether Raithen made the connection or not, he had the information he needed to do so now.

Both twins smiled at the thought he couldn't repress fast enough. Hers was small, more wicked than ever seen in public. Kaus' was wider, more open, but there was something about their smiles that was the same.

"It is also incumbent upon us to remain self-aware enough to know what is us and what is our bondmate. The intimacy can become unhealthy if the people involved are unhealthy." She shrugged slightly; that was just the nature of the beast. "I think I am safe unless you turn out to be a genius at manipulation. But you do make Kaus hard when you look at him, even if he doesn't see you looking."

"Kala!"

There was a flash of indignation, embarrassment, but also warm pleasure that seeped out and become indistinguishable from the afterglow.

"I think normally," he continued, "it would bother me that you would not enjoy me doing to you what you do to me, but I feel some of it through the bond anyway, and it feels good so I don't mind so much."

Kala's amusement faded into keen attention. She was as aware of Kaus' emotional makeup as she was of her own.
The both of them eased into the shared embrace that Raithen urged, and Kaus began to kiss on Raithen's neck, snuffling in his golden hair. He hardened between them, but just rearranged himself so he could move a little between golden cheeks, not entering. Without hands, the little goddess shifted her sex against the dux's.

"Children can. Theirs can be fleeting... light bonds with a new playmate, easily forgotten to dissipate if they never meet again. Some are stronger, such as with family. But they are often more ephemeral too, easier to fade without the will to make them more permanent. Ours was strange. The deepest of bonds happening somewhere between conception and birth, never wavering."

She paused.

"Duck. How would you feel if I asked you to put a child in me?"