Bed, Baths, and Beyond

by **Zhol** on November 24th, 2014, 3:41 am

|.77th Autumn, 514 AV

Zhol stirred, but only faintly. Most mornings, the first vestiges of consciousness were met with intense protest, his body squirming in reflex, trying to retreat deeper into the mattress and further from the prospect of having to be awake. Recently things had been different however; instead of a bed beneath him, he felt the vague padding of his bedroll, and beneath that the stone of the floor. Since Khara had arrived in tears at his door, she had been reluctant to leave; and Zhol had been reluctant to let her. With a list of instructions on that first day, he had gone to her room to retrieve a few vital supplies; subsequent trips alone and together had brought back more and more of her belongings, until almost everything that Khara's day to day life required had found it's way to Zhol's room. The first few nights, Khara had slept in his bed without protest, and he had made himself comfortable on the floor; and since then, he had refused to listen to her insistence that he should not be "made" to sleep on the ground in his own room. Zhol had insisted that she was his guest, and had made up a few Endrykas traditions to sway the situation in favour; in truth though, it was simply his stubborn refusal to let Khara be "beneath" him. She deserved, and needed, all the special treatment she could give him.

But a few days ago, things had changed. Khara had countered his stubbornness with her own. After a debate about how they were supposed to be treating each other as equals that had turned into the mutually embarrassing accidental suggestion that they cosy up beside each other on the bed, Khara had retrieved her own bedroll, and taken to sleeping on the floor beside him. Zhol had wanted to be annoyed, but there was something sweet about the gesture; and a strange mix of elating and agonising to wake up each morning at find Khara laying beside him.

As consciousness slowly crept it's way into Zhol's mind however, he realised that today, something felt different: it felt right, but not the way that it usually did, or even the way that it was supposed to. A few reluctant waves of awakening, and a concerted effort to open his eyes later, he understood why. Khara had shifted in the night, edged off her bedroll, and accidentally encroached upon him. Her arm was draped across his body, her head resting against his shoulder; and if Zhol had ever been given the opportunity to choose what would be his final moment, this would absolutely have been it. He knew that he should move her; should roll her back over to where she'd fallen asleep, and spare herself any embarrassment when she awoke. That was the kind thing to do; and yet he couldn't bring himself to do it. Worse, he found his arm had worked it's way around her shoulders; involuntarily, it pulled her a little closer, and Khara stirred too, nuzzling even closer against him.

This was perfect. This was amazing. This was wondrous, magical, the best thing that had ever happened to him.

This was terrible. This was going to end badly. This had to stop.

A reflex kicked in; a kiss was softly stolen against her forehead, his heart quickening into a rapid panic as he realised what he'd done. Khara stirred more; it was too late for Zhol to possibly resolve the situation. Her eyes fluttered. His heard stopped.

"Hi," he breathed, unable to say anything more.

by **Khara** on November 24th, 2014, 3:45 am

It had been a strange series of days. More than Khara had expected, that was for certain. Some days were good, she would wake up and feel normal and her and Zhol would set about trying as best to stay out of each other's way as they prepared for their daily routines in the mornings. Other days, however, well... those days were a bit more difficult. She'd wake up in a tight knot, body curled upon itself and only after some gentle coaxing would she even consider trying to begin moving. It was far from predictable but no matter how the day started, Zhol never judged her for it.

Khara could only hope that was still going to hold true as she became more and more aware of the situation they found themselves in. Too sleepy for embarrassment to fully take hold she could only slowly pull her arm back towards herself and away from where it had apparently found its way across his chest sometime in the middle of the night. That was about all she could manage, though.

Pulling away any further didn't seem right, especially as she became aware of the gentle weight of his arm around her shoulders. It wasn't some Avora, Chiet, obedience, not wanting to inconvenience situation or anything like that. It was just... she didn't want to. Even if it was accidental, even if Zhol was already probably trying to figure out how to pull away without making it seem like he was shoving her off, even if she was pretty sure the feeling of his lips on her forehead had been some remnant of a good dream she couldn't recall any other piece of. It couldn't last though.

"Hi," she offered meekly in response, her voice partially managed to reflect the guilt that the small smile on her lips refused to show. "Sorry... I didn't... " A small sigh left her, strangely content instead of dejected. "I think I moved too much in my sleep."

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

by **Zhol** on November 30th, 2014, 10:46 pm

|.

That smile made it even worse; worse in the fact that he had just taken a tumble off a cliff, and there was absolutely no way from falling to his inevitable doom. Had she been startled, or panicked, had she tried to rip herself away, had her apology been horrified instead of embarrassed, it would have played into all of the dark thoughts that rattled around in his head, that plagued him when he lay awake desperately searching for sleep. But she hadn't. She'd moved a little, but not enough to stop. She'd smiled. She'd sighed. Those things played into his most desperate, secret hopes; the ones so fanciful that they eclipsed even the most irrational optimism. He felt a tightness sweep across him, arresting his lungs, the daring, tempting notion of bravery crossing his mind. Perhaps now he could. Perhaps now he should. Perhaps if he told her now, if he confessed, perhaps this was enough that despite her better judgement, the prospect of remaining like this would help her to feel the same -

But no. Reality was not nearly so generous. Life would not grant him something so indescribably wonderful. He forced himself to concentrate, to focus on calming his quickening heartbeat before Khara had the chance to hear it; if she hadn't already. Despite his efforts to discretely control his breathing, his tightened chest still worked against him, clipping the end off each breath. One sentence, his mind insisted, a persistent repetition of what had become it's favourite temptation of late. Just three little worlds, and all that anxiety will fade away.

"I don't mind," he uttered; fortunately not the three words that his thoughts had urged for, but it was bad enough. Perhaps if he had left it at merely that, it might have slipped by unnoticed, but his lungs filled with a strange warmth, his tightened chest feeling like a hand on his shoulder, encouraging him insistently forward. "I -"

The second that sound was uttered, Zhol realised that his voice had taken a step too far. Inside everything crumbled and plummeted, his mind frantically searching for a way to complete the sentence he had begun without admitting that waking with her in his arms was the most perfect experience that his life had ever known; that if he awoke that way every morning from now until the end of time, he would still want to experience it more. Options retreated. His hesitation stretched into what felt like an awkward silence. His gaze settled upon her, made the mistake of trying to avoid staring at her lips by allowing itself to become ensnared by her eyes. His voice turned quiet, gentle, somehow casual and yet insistent at the same time. The words were the same, and yet they seemed to mean something else this time.

"I don't mind.

by **Khara** on December 2nd, 2014, 4:30 am

He doesn't mind? That was... Good, right? It sounded good to her partially groggy brain, at least. He didn't mind. Did that mean he, didn't mind or that he... No sparrow, he's just humoring you still. It wasn't a bad thought, not really. Even if Zhol was just being nice to her, letting her avoid feeling entirely embarrassed for something she didn't really do on purpose, it still meant he cared enough to not gently pry himself away from her and... and.. He wasn't exactly just laying there either and it wasn't like his arm had even started to move away from her and just...

It was way too much for her to try and figure out in that moment; head still foggy with the last remnants of sleep and body refusing to move from the comfortable warmth that it would have to part from sooner rather than later. If nothing else she was completely grateful that the side of her that had suddenly decided that any sort of physical contact felt like she was being seared at the slightest touch was still asleep and no where to be found. Another one of those things that sometimes had better days and sometimes worse. Her last trip to the Market had been a new form of torture, each accidental bump into her drove the breath from her lungs and made her want to shrink away and vanish, the seamstress' touch as she had measured out new clothing for the girl had felt like blades digging into her skin, and when the day was over Zhol had found her huddled in the corner of the room, hands over her ears and head bowed as if she was trying to block out the world itself. It wasn't real, she knew that, and for some reason it seemed like only Zhol was immune to creating the sensations that solely lived within her mind. Most days, at least. This morning, for certain.

One word finally worked its way up past the calm she felt, nudged it's way past the fact that for once she felt like their eyes could meet and she didn't have to flee from it. Work. She'd missed enough days as it was, had worked through other days that she wasn't supposed to to make up for it. The bandages made from a torn tunic that Zhol had carefully helped her apply were more than enough to wave off any questions at first, but patience was a thin and rare commodity in Wind Reach. All it took was one glance at the backpack, bow, and quiver that were leaned gently next to the door for her more responsible side to finally nudge her to action.

Khara didn't bother to hide the complete reluctance she felt as she slowly sat up and caused his arm to fall away from her shoulders. Her movements were almost painfully slow and for a moment - just one - she considered the exact opposite; to lay back down next to him, to gently reach her fingertips up to run against his cheek as she finally admitted the truth as to why she felt safest near him.

The mental image had to be shaken off as if to push away the final lingering drowsiness that plagued her and she began to roll back up her blanket as she did each morning, to stow it once more within her bag and take it and the bedroll with her on the day's expeditions.

"I think they are thinking of making us go out into The Unforgiving now that it has snowed," she finally managed. "Don't quite seem to want to admit that we are not so in danger of a famine again, I guess."

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

by **Zhol** on December 5th, 2014, 1:41 pm

|.

Don't go.

The only way that thought could have been any more mournful is if it had actually succeeded in tumbling from his lips. It related to everything: to her leaving his arms; her leaving his room; the risk of her venturing into the Unforgiving and yet again running the risk that she might not come back. Every day, that fear ate away at him, nipping at the back of his thoughts. There were so many dangers that Khara courted: harsh weather, dangerous predators; the even more vile predators in the city itself; none of which Zhol had any power or opportunity to protect her from. At the start of the season, Zhol had been graced with the misfortune of tagging along with Azira on one of her hunting endeavours, and more than anything it had given him a new appreciation for just how brave and bold his Khara was.

She's not yours, his mind taunted harshly. Not like that. She can't be, and won't ever be.

Zhol's whole body slumped, willing itself to be soaked into the stone beneath him and completely disappear. Of all the emotions that plagued him so frequently, it was the futility that got to him the most: the fact that he could care this much for her, and it was all for naught, because she could never know. He knew at his core that he deserved to suffer for his past failings, for the damage he'd caused back in Endrykas, for earning the ire of his father, and losing the love of his family; but if this was his penance, if this was the suffering he was to endure for all of that? Whatever god or goddess was responsible for subjecting him to it had a truly cruel and sadistic streak.

With more reluctance than he'd ever thought could be possible, he dragged himself from the ground and to his feet. He hesitated for the briefest of moments, one last fleeting glance cast in Khara's direction before he headed for his corner, shedding the clothes he'd slept in to exchange them for his work clothes, his gaze steadfastly locked on the wall to avoid it straying in Khara's direction and stealing glances and the tiny amount of privacy that their close quarters allowed Zhol to give her.

"I suppose they're just being careful," he mused, taking advantage of the strand of conversation that Khara had offered; anything to avoid the air between them slipping into awkward, uncomfortable silence. "You should be, too."

His eyes widened in horror, his body frozen with a shirt tugged half-way onto his arms as he realised what it was he was in the middle of saying; and silently he was glad that his face was too hidden from view for Khara to see just how red he turned as those words slipped out. "In the Unforgiving, I mean," he stumbled out, his mouth frantically tried to steer his words in a different direction, but all he could do was cling to his words in terror, like a rider desperately trying not to fall from the back of a stampeding, out of control horse. "I worry about you being out there, that something will happen, something that I'm not there to stop -"

He forced his voice to halt, his head gently resting against the stone in front of him, eyes closed, breaths forced slowly into his lungs to prevent his voice from saying anything more. "Be safe," he finally allowed himself to say, in a voice so quiet and timid that it could barely be heard. "Make sure that you come home.

by **Khara** on December 6th, 2014, 4:34 am

It wasn't what he said, but how Zhol spoke that tugged her attention past what was typical for their usual morning chatter. The first comment had caught her off guard and made her pause to cast a glance in his direction as she had been midway removing the black shirt he had continued to let her borrow to sleep in. As he had continued she had slowly pulled on the newer vinati and bryda she'd bought to replace the clothing she was quite tempted to burn. Khara knew he worried about her and why.

In the immediate days following the night she had shown up at his door Zhol had become some sort of constant guardian when their schedules permitted it. He had made excuses for her when necessary, ensured that she remembered to go to the kitchens for meals, brought them to her when she was too terrified to move, made arrangements for her to make up missing work days, the list went on and on. The day she had gone to the market alone he hadn't been angry, far from it, but there was no denying the clear concern that Zhol showed for her.

A phrase he had used to refer to her earlier in the season seemed more apt than ever, little sister. Khara had no idea if this was what it must be like to have a sibling watch over you, to ensure you were safe, to worry about you not being so, all unquestioningly because you were family, but part of her hoped it wasn't. Not that it as a bad thought, but despite what had happened to her, her sudden change in life to include living with Zhol had done little to subdue or change the feelings she had for him that were anything but sisterly. Worse was she was fairly sure they were only getting stronger, more certain, crush turning into... She didn't want to think about it. It didn't matter, anyway. Whatever she felt was only going to be considered infatuation in the end. They'd drawn the line between them and she would never be that girl to him. But gods, the things he said some days made her question it all and wanted to shatter whatever boundaries had been placed.

Khara finished dressing and began readying the rest of her equipment for the day when Zhol uttered the final words against the wall. She slowly rose from where she had crouched down and walked over to him, tentatively taking his hand in hers until he would turn and face her.

"I will," she said softly, forcing a small smile past the confusing mix of feelings that refused to let her mind be at ease. "I promise."
.
____________________________________________________________________________
Later: Shortly after 22nd Bell

It hadn't been such a bad day, all things considered. The fact she had been among a small group of game scouts chosen by a pair of Avora had at first made her tense, but the overall cooperative effort had let any hinting of focus stray as far from Khara as possible. The fact the group had returned to Wind Reach with a large Alkana buck was certainly more than enough to lift spirits overall, even if the last bells had been traversed in the dark.

It wasn't often that Khara felt she had earned something, but at the moment as her and the other Chiet were dismissed she felt like a nice hot bath would be perfect to drive off the chill that had threatened to seep into her. Winter was fast approaching and it made her glad to have had the mind to buy her clothing of thicker material, normally she would have had to wait until the seasonal clothing allotment for such luxuries.

The bell was quite late, most having chosen to retire to their rooms or other avenues of entertainment for the evening. The fact was a mixed blessing as it created nerve wracking empty warrens to walk through that seemed to have her looking over her shoulder far more often than was even remotely necessary. It did however, also mean that the Tisuma Baths would be mostly empty. She hadn't cared about such things before, but the first time she had tried to use them since she had begun staying with Zhol had resulted in nothing short of a panic attack as she had caught someone curiously eying the bruises on her shoulder from where fingers had dug into her skin. Since then she had taken a cue from her new - and hopefully temporary - roommate, using the baths when they were mostly devoid of other life.

Of course there was a bit of a problem with mimicking someone else's routines. It wasn't until Khara had finished her initial cleaning in the glassworker’s pool and had moved on to the salt pool that she finally took notice of the singular other individual within the baths aside from the attendants. It was a strange mixture of feelings that suddenly stabbed through her and not a one of them made a bit of sense to any comfortable extent.

Indecision knotted her stomach until she chose to pretend for the moment that she hadn't noticed. It wasn't that she was embarrassed to be see or be seen, she just... Well, Khara wasn't entirely sure what she felt as she began undoing the sodden braid she had put her hair into that morning, purely as an excuse to not move on to the pool that Zhol was using. Not yet at least.

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

by **Zhol** on December 6th, 2014, 3:49 pm

|.

Zhol didn't want to be here.

Well no, that was untrue. Zhol absolutely wanted to be here, soaking his aching muscles in the warm water, letting the grit and grime and plastered sweat lift gently away from his skin. His occupation could be a messy and odorous one at times, and no opportunity to purge himself of that was unwelcome.

Even so, he was only here because of the insistence of Val Imsun, keeper of the Sanikas Gates. Zhol had come to know the Gatekeeper quite well of late: since the day that Khara had returned to work, he had done his utmost every day to ensure that he was conveniently present whenever she returned from beyond the city, ready to escort her to wherever it was she needed to go. At first he had achieved some amount of subtlety, but there were only so many times one could do tomorrow's tasks early and groom the same handful of conveniently close to the entrance horses before the Dek started getting disgruntled, and people started noticing. It had been the first time Zhol had loitered at the stables on a day when he wasn't supposed to be working at all that Val had confronted him; though Zhol got the distinct impression that the Gatekeeper and his army of bird watchmen had known what he was up to all along.

Rather than chastise him for his actions, or his overprotective infatuation, Val had merely invited the horse boy to keep him company. They'd shared tea, swapped stories; Val had even offered to help Zhol with his efforts to improve his Nari, in exchange for a few lessons in Pavi, one of the few languages that the Gatekeeper apparently couldn't speak. The old man's presence turned Zhol's anxious waiting into constructive time, he enjoyed the wait, for more than just the feelings that sparked within him every time he caught sight of Khara walking up that road.

But on some nights, such as tonight, Khara's return from the wilderness was late; and there were only so many times that Zhol could offer to watch the gate while Val went for his meal without earning more than a stern glare from the Gatekeeper. Today was one such day; Zhol had overstayed his welcome, forgone food entirely, and Val had insisted that Zhol could not stay a moment longer without visiting the baths first. Zhol had grudgingly retreated, and now here he was, soaking in the Tisuma waters, hunger and anxiety competing over which would cause his stomach more distress.

Zhol's mind was conflicted about how long he should linger. Part of him had wanted a hasty trip through the glassworker and salt pools, just enough to scrub off the worst before he rushed back to his room, or the gates, just in case Khara was already there. The idea of Khara being forced to loiter anywhere alone physically hurt; the wilderness, surrounded by hunters and other scouts was one thing, but Zhol knew from experience how terrifying the warrens and even a lonely, empty room could be when one's mind was flooded with frantic, fearful thoughts.

A different part of him considered what would happen if he did. He considered what would happen if Khara arrived at the gates without him being there; what if, by some fluke, she asked after him? What if Val said he was here? What if she came looking, what if she needed the one person she said made her feel safe, what if she couldn't find him and in her frantic searching, something, someone -

Zhol had been so consumed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed he wasn't alone. The initial stab of panic at the prospect of being happened upon in a state of undress - he still hadn't quite managed to embrace the Inarta's comfort with seeing each other unclothed - subsided instantly as he realised who it was. Relief overrode anything, and before he realised what he was doing he was out of the water, clambering back up the network of baths towards where she was. His voice had already uttered her name before he realised his situation: stark naked, without a single shred of anything to preserve his modesty. Half intent and half accident dislodged his footing, and Zhol slipped, tumbling unceremoniously into the salt pool.

by **Khara** on December 7th, 2014, 7:15 am

It was hardly the reaction she was expecting, that was for certain. Khara had to admit that her avoiding immediately calling out to Zhol herself had been partially due to the discomfort she knew he had with the public baths and the overall cautious behavior he had around ever seeing her without some sort of clothing as she had shared his room. But her name in his voice had drawn her attention almost immediately and before she could process if it had been shock or if he was glad to see her or anything else...

A hand raised to instinctively protect her eyes from the salt water as it splashed against her as Zhol fell. The urge to rush to his side was held back as she watched him struggle to his feet and began trying to clear his vision. She had seen enough nude men in the baths before, but usually the waist deep water of the salt pool did offer some sort of obscurity for the most part and a general politeness kept most people's gazes from lingering too long as someone transitioned from one bath to the next but... well... it was clear that waist high water for Inarta wasn't exactly made to be at the same level for someone of another race that was quite taller. It suddenly occurred to her that with all his care to avoid unnecessary stolen glances at her, Zhol had also made it so that she'd never actually seen him without clothing either.

It took a moment for her to realize she was letting herself look him over a bit too much and letting her gaze linger where it really shouldn't be. Any Inartan man probably wouldn't have minded, maybe offered some sort of crude comment in return for her wandering eyes. But Zhol? Shy around the mere possibility of seeing or being seen, Zhol? It felt wrong for some reason. If only because she knew just how uncomfortable he would be if he noticed and hadn't been so busy trying to recover. Oh gods, oh gods, stop staring!

The harsh mental rebuke was enough to pull her gaze upwards, a flush of color rising to her cheeks. Her lower lip was nibbled at for a moment before she tested the air, forcing herself to break the silence between them before it could become awkward. "Are... Are you okay? You didn't hurt anything did you?" As ticks passed far too slowly to be natural she slowly approached him, a hand reached out and gently touched his upper arm. "I can get one of the attendants to bring some clear water to help flush the salt out of your eyes, if you want?"

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

by **Zhol** on December 9th, 2014, 12:42 am

|.

The world made no sense. Zhol didn't know a huge amount about it, but he was pretty sure he know that tears were supposed to be salty and, as much as it might harm the perception of his masculinity to admit it, Zhol had plenty of experience having his eyes full of those. So how come that had never stung as this petching eyeful of salt water did? What the shyke where the Inarta making him put on his skin?

He spluttered the water from his lungs and mouth, and scrubbed furiously at his eye sockets with the heels of his palms; but that only seemed to make matters worse, rubbing more of the stinging, abrasive fluid into his vision. A brief moment of clarity, and he fumbled around inside his head for the candle he used to focus his magic, scooping a liberal handful of the melting wax into each arm, letting it flow through his veins; letting it turn inky black and seep through his pours; willing it to dance through his skin like the swirling patterns of windmarks before collecting in a thin film across the palms of his hands. The res ignited for only the briefest of instants but it was enough, a sudden puff of fire evaporating the water from his skin, and letting him attend to his eyes without too much risk of making it work.

It took several chimes for him to scrub and blink his vision back into function, and a few moments longer to process the look that Khara was casting in his direction, and realise that there was more than mere friendly concern going on. At first his mind reacted with confusion; and then he felt it, the watermark of the salt pool lapping around his thighs a few inches lower than where it did on most Inarta. Zhol wasn't tall, but the Inarta were notoriously the opposite, and his six foot frame made waist-high a somewhat higher altitude than it was on an Inarta man; and thus the waist high water was somewhat lower than waist high for him.

The initial panic that came from just how much of him Khara was able to see suddenly deepened as he realised that it was Khara who was seeing. Zhol would never have gone so far to think of himself as a prude, but he had grown up in Endrykas, and things were different there. In a pavilion, everything was close quarters, which made it difficult to hide anything from each other, be it nudity, secrets, or the physical expressions of marriage and romance; but the ones who were exposed to such things were family, and there was an inherent trust there. An enormous cave full of strangers, like there was here in the baths? All those unknown people when Zhol had visited the Dreaming Lady? That was bad enough, but at least to those people, he was only the Outsider from Endrykas; the judgement in their eyes was there already.

But Khara? She saw him as something else; and to him, she was something else as well, not that there was a proper name for it. When she saw so much of him, it was different; he wanted her to, and not, both at the same time. He wanted her to be standing like this with him, as close as this, clothing forgotten, her hand touching him the way that it was; but it felt as wrong as it felt right, wonderful and confusing and terrifying in equal measure. He felt emotions, stirrings, whole waves of things his head knew that it was wrong to feel around her, especially now, but he felt them just the same. His body ached to reach out, to touch her as well, to encourage her to turn standing close into standing just a little bit closer.

His eyes wanted to fall away, wanted to avoid her gaze in shame, but the only direction they could escape was down; and while that was something he had accidentally glimpsed before, he refused to let himself steal another glance. Even the slightest deviation found her lips, and made the maelstrom of emotions swirl faster. There was nothing else for it then, no other place to look.

"Don't go," Zhol's voice said, strangely quiet and timid. He had meant to discourage her from troubling one of the attendants, from summoning someone else to witness him in this state, but as the words snuck out their meaning turned into something else, and left behind an unwavering certainty that as awkward and embarrassing as this moment was, it would be agony if he let it stop. Zhol's gaze found it's way to Khara's eyes, and as he felt their golden warmth shining into him like Syna, distracting his heart from making beats, distracting his lungs from drawing breath, he knew he never, ever wanted to look away. "I'll be fine," he promised, uttering perhaps the truest, most meaningful words he had ever spoken, "Just as long as you stay."

by **Khara** on December 9th, 2014, 6:53 am

He wanted her to stay? That very thought caused so much stumbling of everything else in her head that she wasn't entirely sure a cohesive string could have been spoken in return if she wanted to so only a quiet "Okay," was managed in reply.

The way he had spoken earlier had been on her mind most of the day, mostly as Khara had tried to talk herself out of it meaning anything more than the usual caring way Zhol addressed her in. Now though, hearing him asking her to stay in the same manner, it was harder than ever to try and tell herself there was nothing really behind it. Especially not with way he looked into her eyes that seemed to turn her insides into molten glass that refused to take shape. She felt if she let herself think that maybe, just maybe what she had wanted to be true actually was then it would solidify only to suddenly shatter as the actual truth was revealed. He cared about her, that was clear. That wasn't even a question. But he had called her family, sister, not waif or mirage or whatever the term was that he had used to describe when two people pledged themselves to one another in Endrykas.

It wasn't like that between them. Was it?

Khara wasn't certain how many ticks were spent just standing there, unable to move, breath caught in her throat as she couldn't help but wonder if Zhol's eyes shared the same color with the sea of grass he had spoken of to her. It felt like she could get lost just the same and it was for that reason she finally tore herself away from his gaze.

It wasn't a harsh pull, and even with the mixture of emotions battling for dominance in her head she still couldn't stop the small, timid smile that had formed. Her eyes settled on her hands as they tugged at the wet strands of her hair, fingertips still trying to untangle the mess of copper. "I was thinking of using one of the warmer baths, though. I don't normally because they don't really like it when the Chiet use them if there are others who want to but since it's empty..."

Her fingertips pulled through and free of the damp strands before Khara turned back to Zhol, an uncertain look forming, not so much nervous as... well she wasn't sure what it was. Her lower lip was tugged into her mouth just slightly but it didn't feel like the normal anxious tick. It was more coy, more playful and so very much not like her. It wasn't a bad thing though. At least, she hoped it wasn't. "You don't have to, but if you join me then it's not like I'm really going any place. I'll still be staying with you, then."

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

Closed Bed, Baths, and Beyond