Being Drykas (Sam)

[Denen Sunsinger]

Fall 82 For the first time in his young life, he felt like he belonged. This, then, was what it meant to be part of a family. He had always had his Pavilion, but in that large group, he had remained on the outskirts. He had never been able to relate to his siblings or cousins, and had been the youngest in the family. In addition to his being born in his own generation, he was, by nature, something of an isolationist. At least, around people of his own age. As a little boy, he had been teased by children his age. His deafness and awkward voice had made him a target for amusement. After awhile, they left him alone, but it had rendered him shy and distant, at least for a time. It had faded as he grew older. He became comfortable around little ones, who enjoyed his stories and didn't mind if he was an oddity. He was, after all, older, and that gained him respect, and the stories he told never ceased to fascinate. The boy adjusted the scarf he wore about his dark hair and gave a quiet smile. His blue eyes turned about the little circle of their tents, and he gave a soft, pleased sigh. It was nice having somewhere to belong. Still, he was confused by things that happened to him, by things beyond his control.Things that had to do with his person. He thought of Aiken. He thought of what had transpired between them. His cheeks flushed and he swallowed hard, pressing his fingers to his burning cheeks. A soft, meek sigh left his lips, and he sank down onto the half log that lay abandoned outside his tent. His fingers slid down to play with his boots. His full lower lip found place between his teeth. Reaching up, he pulled the scarf from his head and let it coil in his lap. His dark hair fell into his face, and he furrowed his brows. What would his father think if he knew? Denen was almost afraid to know. He supposed all things would be revealed in time.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam rode in on Dohaina in a rather unorthodox manner, his hands planted carefully on her back and his body inverted, feet pointed toward the sky. He had been a good rider since Denen met him, but since before the Fall Hunt he had been practicing such fancy things, although this was a new feat of acrobatics and horsemanship. Of course, it did not come easy. He had been working on handstands since early autumn and he had been practicing on Dohaina off and on all day. "Careful," he warned the mare, who was, of course, being careful with her human. Her gait was soft as warm butter, and when she came to a stop near Denen, she whickered to the deaf boy and nudged the side of his face. Sam had taken to not wearing a shirt when he practiced this sort of thing. It ended up falling up his body to cover his face which made balancing difficult. Thus, shirtless, it was easy to see his whipcord muscles straining at the prolonged effort, shoulders and arms, but also his stomach, taut from keeping his body erect. "Now how do I get down without falling?" he wondered aloud, unable to sign for Denen.

[Denen Sunsinger]

Denen was lost, deep in thought when he felt the warmth of Dohaina's muzzle brushing against his cheek. He jumped slightly and smiled shyly. A thin hand lifted to brush over the horse's nose, and he looked up to see Sam in mid trick. He laughed, his silent, shaking laugh, and shook his head. Very slowly, he rose to his feet and stood, holding the mare's head, stroking her cheek. His soft, blue eyes studied the person on the the horse's back. His eyes danced, and he let them trail down Sam's form with perhaps more openness than he should have, but as Sam was occupied, he imagined he was safe to look freely. His breath caught in his throat, and his face went hot. He could feel a chill run down his spine, bringing about a sudden hardening of the pink, soft nubs on his chest. He slid his hand across the slightly rough fabric of his tunic, where it rested over his slim stomach. He didn't see the words, but continued watching curiously. "W-W-What...What are...y-you...d-do-doing?" He asked curiously.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"I'm stuck!" Sam said, turning his head so he could direct his face in Denen's direction so the deaf boy could read his lips. "I'm stuck!" But he was laughing too, or trying not to, which was all but impossible. Each little shiver of suppressed mirth made it more difficult to maintain his inverted posture. "Help, Denen! Help!" With that, he couldn't contain his laughter, and his long, lithe form began to topple like a tower in the Valterrian toward the young healer. This was not good. Normally he would tuck his knees, get his legs underneath him and land it, but if he tried that, he would likely knee Denen in the head. The golden mare, for her part, seemed nonplussed by her rider's dismay; perhaps she was getting tired of his bareback antics.

[Denen Sunsinger]

Seeing Sam's words, Denen laughed playfully. His eyes lit up, and he grinned up to his friend, reading his lips. He wasn't exactly sure of how to help, as he wasn't strong enough to help him down. His face was split with his smile, and he shook his head as he laughed. He shrugged helplessly as Sam made his plea for help. Color touched his features, and his hair danced across his brow. In the next instant, however, he found himself the target of one, falling Drykas. He gasped in surprise, but didn't have much time to react. In the next moment, he found himself acting as a landing pad for his friend. He squeaked and grunted, the breath knocked from his lungs, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he struggled to gain it back. When at last he had, he pushed at the other and smiled again. "Are...Are...y-you all r-r-r-right?" He asked, lips marked by a shyer smile now.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Quite a bit of acrobatics, Sam was learning, involved falling in such a manner as to incur the least amount of damage, or to control the fall if at all possible. He did what he could to keep from breaking the slender healer beneath him, and at least he hadn't heard any cracking bones, though he was sure he had some bruising and at least one scraped palm. When he pushed himself up enough to look Denen in the face, he didn't even realize that he was basically straddling the lad. It was as innocent as straddling the back of a horse for him, and he was a little flushed across the cheeks for having failed so spectacularly, but he continued to laugh. "Am I all right? Yes, I think I'll live. Sorry about that." He got up, quickly brushed his hands off on the back of his pants, and all but picked Denen up by main force. He was strong despite his slender frame. It was only that his muscles grew long and he had never been so well fed that he kept any spare flesh upon his bones.

[Denen Sunsinger]

Denen laughed, looking up to Sam, and lifted his torso a bit. In so doing, he leaned up slightly against Sam, though the motion was innocent on his part. He reached up to attempt to brush the hair from his eyes, though his fingers were, at this angle, clumsy and fell short. He was sure he'd managed to bruise his rump, but he supposed he could survive that. Gods, Sam looked so pretty, sitting there like that. He couldn't help but admire him, and feel envious at how strong he seemed. His eyes went wide as he was lifted from his feet. He was rather surprised by the apparent strength in the other help. A shy smile marked his lips, and he glanced down. "Y-You're...You're v-very br-brave...br-rave riding around l-like that." He didn't imagine he'd ever have the courage to do that sort of thing. He knew very well that he'd fall off and break his neck, or some other such horrible surprise. He tucked back a strand of his hair, and bent for his scarf, picking it up from where he had dropped it on the ground.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam scoffed at the compliment, but it was clear that it delighted him to have the good esteem of his friends. He started to duck down to grab Denen's scarf, but checked himself, preventing them from slamming heads together like two overripe melons. Sam wasn't quite so dexterous when he wasn't on horseback, it seemed. "Dymphna says I show off like a horse's ass," he said to mitigate the praise. Feeling responsible for knocking Denen over and messing up his hair, he put his hands on Denen's with his head wrap. "Can I help?"

[Denen Sunsinger]

Denen reached for the scarf and ran his thin hands over it to get off any loose dust that might have collected. He liked being clean, after all. He didn't notice Sam had initially bent to grab his scarf, though it would have ended in disaster if the other had. Denen was quite clumsy as it was, and having a handicap only intensified that. He laughed again and shook his head as Sam spoke. "Y-Y-You...You...are only...only s-s-slightly like a horse's...horse's ass." He grinned, showing that he was teasing. He was never one to be intentionally vicious, and around those he liked well, he was known for being a playful tease. His cheeks flushed as Sam's hands rested over his own, but he nodded slowly, giving his consent and accepting the help that was offered. "S-S-Sure, Sam."

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam grinned at that, always pleased to be of help. He took the scarf and attempted to wrap it about Denen's head in the same manner the man did himself, and he had the basics of it from previous observation. When he thought he had it secure, protecting the ears and holding the hair back, he came around to look Denen in the face. "How is that?" he asked.