I wish to belong. Xira's deepest admission struck a chord within the ethaefal. It was one of grave empathy. Caelum understood the need to belong very well, for he had belonged once, and been ever so very much at home. Then everything had changed, and changed again, his existence refusing to stagnate the unadulterated power of undeniable evolution swept him up and on. It was still spilling him down the dust of of a thousand roads. Xira's eyes were sought and his expression was intimate and sober. "You are welcome here, Xira. Not just at Alements and at the Sanctuary, but with me. As my friend, at my side. Perhaps welcome is not quite belonging, but I think it's comforting all the same. Belonging, well." His smile was wry. "Time will tell." They headed back into the tavern mains and Caelum slid behind the bar, trailing one hand lightly over the ivory marble. In the green shadows and soft lights, he looked to belong here, even if he didn't yet consciously understand it. He would, in time, and for now he pulled a bottle of already uncorked wine off of a shelf and held it up for Xira to see. "Bluevein Blood," he explained. "It's one of Elise's favorites and I'm rather fond of it myself." A pair of glasses was lined up on the marble, shining and new. They had never before been used and Xira would be the first. It poured into the glass the color of a decadent twilight, so dark a violet as to almost be black. "Rak'keli, yes." He ducked his chin in a nod and lifted his eyes in time to catch the courier watching him. When Xira looked away, a faint smile eased over his mouth with a hint of self deprecation. Golden eyes grew thoughtful and instead of sliding the glass to Xira, he lifted it to offer it out to him, hand to hand. "Syna," he continued, flawlessly. The sound of her name in his mouth was like a flower unfolding, such was the great wealth of emotion and history feeding his first goddess from the soil of his soul. He hesitated. It was a little too long. "Nysel," he decided finally, and the silence of she who was unmentioned had a scent. It was blood. |