Always Fallout [Theo]

[Seodai]

Theo unknowingly hit an especially sore spot, so casually touching on Lysander's age. If he thought the ethaefal looked young when Leth ruled, when he was so beautiful and irresistible, Seodai could only imagine the perception he might have of him in the daytime, when he was an awkward, skinny human who couldn't have been more than fourteen summers. It was incredibly frustrating and confusing, and something Seodai had yet to work through. After all, it had only been a glitch in magic at the festival that had revealed this to him. Lysander had kept it a secret, for reasons Seo couldn't understand. "Yes," he said, with a vibrant blush. He wiped a hand over his face, as if he could smooth away the heat in his cheeks. It was awkward to lay beside his uncle, his father for all that really counted, and think of the first person he'd ever wanted so very badly to touch and taste. Compiled with the recently introduced notion of guilt, since apparently Lysander was only a kid at least half the time, it was an incredibly complicated situation. "I've kept you up too long," Seo admitted softly. "We can talk in the morning."

[Tabarnac]

"Sleep's best for what ails you," he agreed muzzily, though he was not going to kick Seodai out of the bed. The autumnal chill had crept into the farmhouse, and the peat fire in the hearth was banked for the night. Between the decision and slumber, there was barely a heartbeat and he was making his peaceful sleep noises, something between heavy breathing and light snoring, nothing that should keep an exhausted farmboy awake. Before dawn, Theo rose, carefully extricating himself from Seo, covering him, and going about his day. He figured it was best to let him sleep, so he put off breakfast to feed the livestock and milk the cows, cleaning up and setting out a light breakfast when the younger man finally emerged. There was cow milk and goat milk still warm from the animal waiting, as well as some of the fruits of their harvest such as it was. "Good morning," he said quietly, even though their mornings were usually spent in companionable silence. Exhausted he may have been, but he had not forgotten Seo's desire to speak on the morrow, and he wouldn't push if it had just been a diversion, but he was, as ever, there.

[Seodai]

Seodai rarely slept so late. He couldn't remember what he had been like before the farm, before Theo, but somewhere along the way he had adapted to the pulse and pace of life that the farm ran on. It had become his, so that (with the exception of Zith attacks in the middle of the night) Theo seldom had to rouse him from bed at all. Seodai was not only awake with the earliest hours of morning, but more than willing to do his share of the chores. He was eager to do it, because the farm was the whole of his existence, his reason for being. When he awoke to a bright shaft of sunlight spilling across old floorboards and shining into his face, Seodai felt groggy. He felt sleepy in the way that only oversleeping could cause, and as he rolled about in sheets that smelled of comfort and Theo, he thought. He thought of all that had occurred at the feast, of all that this might and must mean. He thought a lot about Lysander, until he came to no conclusions and frustrated himself into getting out of bed. When he walked into the kitchen in bare feet, Theo was there, the sentinel of normalcy, the cornerstone of his sanity. The rumble of his greeting caught Seodai with milk against his lips, and so he only nodded his returned regard and slumped into a chair. He chose the companionable silence that was more familiar, for a time, and then dropped a thoughtful question. "Did you see what happened to Lysander last night?"

[Tabarnac]

XP Award! Seodai XP Award: Stealth +2; Persuasion +2 Lore: Meaning of Dreams Additional Notes: This was fun. I apologize for the delay in grading. The lore will be applicable if you decide to take Seo on a path toward Dreamwalking gnosis in the future. I’m not sure if you have any plans for him to join the Cytali or what, but it seemed apropos of the conversation! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns. Keep writing!