Aisuma had always felt fondly toward his parents and what they had. His mother had gone on a long and harrowing journey alone, as was tradition, to seek out a cure to the curse and she had found his father along the way. He’d come to love her regardless of the fact that she changed so drastically, was unable to communicate with him with words anymore. Their love was strong and clear, even now.
He, though he’d been loath to admit it, craved something like that. That acceptance.
But he hadn’t gone looking for it. No, it found him. With bright eyes and emerald hair and snowy fur and a mood changeable as the weather.
Aisuma shifted carefully, minding the two people he was sandwiched between, the long arms draped around him from behind and locked firmly across his chest. Gable’s long hair spilled over his face and Aisuma’s bare shoulder and he blew at it carefully so it didn’t tickle so much. Nilak slept before him, his face buried in Aisuma’s chest. Despite his taller (though not by much) stature, he always scooted down in the bed when he slept in front of Aisuma to better push right into his chest.
Aisuma had no idea why. He had none of the fluffy fur that Nilak did.
Absently running his hand over Nilak’s head, he fingered the ends of the folded wings that melded with hair until Nilak sighed and grumbled in his sleep.
It sounded as though he’d said ‘leave me alone, ranger’.
Swallowing his grin, Aisuma let his scaly palm rest gently on Nilak’s shoulder instead.
Gable was usually stirred by the smallest thing, having senses that Aisuma envied, but even he slept on. They’d been busy yesterday, things were always busy when one lived in a tribe of people, and Aisuma wondered if he’d worn them out.
He heard a low rustling and raised his head slightly.
Xovi’s dark eyes peered in through the opening, his hand poised at the edge of the flap, and he gazed for a long moment at Aisuma’s face before taking note of the situation that he was in.
“Can you even get up?” he asked quietly, but there was no mistaking the dry tone.
Aisuma nodded slightly, confident, and carefully peeled himself from his slumbering lovers, replacing the space he left with a pillow.
With great amusement, he watched Nilak gravitate into it and Gable sleepily sling his arms around it as he buttoned up his shirt and poncho and pushed his feet into his boots. His clawed hands disappeared under the gloves his father had made specifically for him.
“Not bad,” Xovi admitted grudgingly and disappeared outside.
The air was clear and cool and Aisuma’s breath misted briefly--nothing in comparison to the steamy plumes that left his mother’s nostrils as she alertly scanned their surroundings.
Good morning, iqu, Jueha spoke to him as a murmur in his mind, tender and affectionate. If there was one thing he had to thank the curse for, it was for the ability to speak with his mother as he had never been able to before.
“Good morning, miiqu,” Aisuma responded aloud, reaching up to stroke her scaly cheek as she bowed to his level to greet him.
Xovi was fiddling with the ties of his boots, assuring that they were tight, all dressed up for a morning hunting. The first time they’d ever gone he’d been clumsy and moved hesitantly, without confidence, but now he shifted, easy and comfortable and mindful in his way toward Aisuma.
Accepted. Xovi had been embraced by the Haimu and, subsequently, had learned to accept Aisuma.
He was a fortunate soul, Aisuma thought as he retrieved his bow and quiver. Never had he expected it or anticipated it but he welcomed it, appreciated it. Shouldering the quiver, he gestured and his mother and Xovi followed him into the quiet, early morning forest.
oc drabble #1: "dimly lit room"" + "lie to me then"
The room was dimly lit solely because Reybes didn’t feel the need to get up and turn on the lights yet. Evening sunlight shafted in through the apartment windows, casting warm, dappled light on the floor. When Reybes moved his feet, his socks dyed deep orange.
Banta was barely awake, Reybes knew, could tell by the way he’d sunken back into the couch, the way his chin had dropped down to his collarbone. Still, he endeavoured to keep up their game.
“Okay, here’s one for ya,” he said, husky in a way that made Reybes want to crawl along the couch and curl up with his head in the curve of his neck. “You in love with anyone?”
Reybes felt his heart skip, subtle but sharp. He studied Banta’s face, trying to discern what he meant by the question, trying to figure out if he knew somehow. If he’d figured out, finally, Reybes’s hidden feelings.
He lied, “No. Are you?”
Banta laughed sleepily and Reybes’s left ear tilted to follow the sound of his bony tail flicking against the floor, a clack-clack-clack. “Nah, dude.”
Relief. And disappointment. Reybes’s insides coiled.
When the silence lapsed too long, Banta’s eyelids flickered and he gazed with tired confusion at him. “Was that your question? Or mine?”
“Not sure,” Reybes returned. “Why don’t you get outta your work clothes? Supper’s almost done anyways.”
“Pretty sure that wasn’t anywhere near twenty questions,” Banta said but he stood up, yawning and stretching his arms over his head.
Reybes watched him leave the room, scratching the back of his neck and he leaned his face into his palms, his tail curling around his feet.
In the bitter, rainy wind, Aubrey regretted not grabbing heavier jackets for both himself and Ain. The taller man was hunched over beside him, his wings pinned to his back in an effort to keep heat conserved. His dark gaze stared outward beyond the bus stop’s overhang at the baleful grey sky and occasionally he would sigh quietly.
They hadn’t said much since they ducked in here, the roar of the rain loud enough it was damned hard to hear without yelling. But it was odd and oppressive to have the silence between them and Aubrey, unintentionally, stared holes into Ain’s profile, his lips pressed together.
When he reached over, he found Ain’s hand slick and cold and shaking.
“You’re shivering,” he observed as Ain jumped and wildly turned his face to stare down into Aubrey’s eyes.
“U-uh,” he half stammered, his eyes wide, and Aubrey felt smug having caught him off guard. Most of the time Ain seemed so mature and put together, knowledgeable and patient and those traits aggravated Aubrey. Sure, there was an age difference between them but who allowed that gap to be so palpable?
“What?” Aubrey asked as he knit his fingers in-between Ain’s, gripping harder when it seemed Ain might pull away.
“...What are you doing?” Ain asked, voice pitched soft, uncertain.
Aubrey wished, to his surprise, that he could understand the complex look on Ain’s face.
“Holding your hand. Obviously.”
“Ah. Of course.”
“Because I’m freezing,” Aubrey added, annoyed.
Ain had a look on his face that said ‘I can see through your shit’ but then he composed himself into an uncertain, shy smile. “Right. It’s cold,” he agreed and he shifted, slowly pressing his side into Aubrey’s.
His clothes were as cold and soaked-through as Aubrey’s but, beyond that, there was a warmth there and Aubrey gravitated to it. He kneaded thoughtlessly at Ain’s palm as they pressed close together, warming gradually as they awaited Aubrey’s ride.
Once, Aliver had asked his parents what it felt like to be in love. They hadn’t had a solid answer to give, nor a good way for him to definitively find it or to know what he was feeling as love. But, as his mother told him, he’d know it when he felt it.
He certainly felt it with Calloth. He felt it whenever Calloth would turn his head away, whenever he’d avoid Aliver’s persistent attention with an uncomfortably-crinkling brow, when Aliver gazed at the hand that brushed him away as carefully as possible.
He felt the agony of it. The thought that he was not Calloth’s first choice, not the person who Calloth thought he would be in love with. He was an interloper who swept out of nowhere, saw a pained face in profile and just couldn’t help himself. Aliver was weak to people who needed help and Calloth needed it--if not in the most conventional of ways.
He’d never had someone resist his help so hard and for a reason he couldn’t understand. At least, that he couldn’t understand at first.
Maybe if Aliver had been quicker, if he’d arrived sooner, Calloth would’ve believed Aliver was the one who was meant for him. Then he could’ve prevented this heartache and disappointment altogether.
But he hadn’t been, so he had to live with what he had.
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oc drabble #4: "accepted"
He, though he’d been loath to admit it, craved something like that. That acceptance.
But he hadn’t gone looking for it. No, it found him. With bright eyes and emerald hair and snowy fur and a mood changeable as the weather.
Aisuma shifted carefully, minding the two people he was sandwiched between, the long arms draped around him from behind and locked firmly across his chest. Gable’s long hair spilled over his face and Aisuma’s bare shoulder and he blew at it carefully so it didn’t tickle so much. Nilak slept before him, his face buried in Aisuma’s chest. Despite his taller (though not by much) stature, he always scooted down in the bed when he slept in front of Aisuma to better push right into his chest.
Aisuma had no idea why. He had none of the fluffy fur that Nilak did.
Absently running his hand over Nilak’s head, he fingered the ends of the folded wings that melded with hair until Nilak sighed and grumbled in his sleep.
It sounded as though he’d said ‘leave me alone, ranger’.
Swallowing his grin, Aisuma let his scaly palm rest gently on Nilak’s shoulder instead.
Gable was usually stirred by the smallest thing, having senses that Aisuma envied, but even he slept on. They’d been busy yesterday, things were always busy when one lived in a tribe of people, and Aisuma wondered if he’d worn them out.
He heard a low rustling and raised his head slightly.
Xovi’s dark eyes peered in through the opening, his hand poised at the edge of the flap, and he gazed for a long moment at Aisuma’s face before taking note of the situation that he was in.
“Can you even get up?” he asked quietly, but there was no mistaking the dry tone.
Aisuma nodded slightly, confident, and carefully peeled himself from his slumbering lovers, replacing the space he left with a pillow.
With great amusement, he watched Nilak gravitate into it and Gable sleepily sling his arms around it as he buttoned up his shirt and poncho and pushed his feet into his boots. His clawed hands disappeared under the gloves his father had made specifically for him.
“Not bad,” Xovi admitted grudgingly and disappeared outside.
The air was clear and cool and Aisuma’s breath misted briefly--nothing in comparison to the steamy plumes that left his mother’s nostrils as she alertly scanned their surroundings.
Good morning, iqu, Jueha spoke to him as a murmur in his mind, tender and affectionate. If there was one thing he had to thank the curse for, it was for the ability to speak with his mother as he had never been able to before.
“Good morning, miiqu,” Aisuma responded aloud, reaching up to stroke her scaly cheek as she bowed to his level to greet him.
Xovi was fiddling with the ties of his boots, assuring that they were tight, all dressed up for a morning hunting. The first time they’d ever gone he’d been clumsy and moved hesitantly, without confidence, but now he shifted, easy and comfortable and mindful in his way toward Aisuma.
Accepted. Xovi had been embraced by the Haimu and, subsequently, had learned to accept Aisuma.
He was a fortunate soul, Aisuma thought as he retrieved his bow and quiver. Never had he expected it or anticipated it but he welcomed it, appreciated it. Shouldering the quiver, he gestured and his mother and Xovi followed him into the quiet, early morning forest.
oc drabble #1: "dimly lit room"" + "lie to me then"
Banta was barely awake, Reybes knew, could tell by the way he’d sunken back into the couch, the way his chin had dropped down to his collarbone. Still, he endeavoured to keep up their game.
“Okay, here’s one for ya,” he said, husky in a way that made Reybes want to crawl along the couch and curl up with his head in the curve of his neck. “You in love with anyone?”
Reybes felt his heart skip, subtle but sharp. He studied Banta’s face, trying to discern what he meant by the question, trying to figure out if he knew somehow. If he’d figured out, finally, Reybes’s hidden feelings.
He lied, “No. Are you?”
Banta laughed sleepily and Reybes’s left ear tilted to follow the sound of his bony tail flicking against the floor, a clack-clack-clack. “Nah, dude.”
Relief. And disappointment. Reybes’s insides coiled.
When the silence lapsed too long, Banta’s eyelids flickered and he gazed with tired confusion at him. “Was that your question? Or mine?”
“Not sure,” Reybes returned. “Why don’t you get outta your work clothes? Supper’s almost done anyways.”
“Pretty sure that wasn’t anywhere near twenty questions,” Banta said but he stood up, yawning and stretching his arms over his head.
Reybes watched him leave the room, scratching the back of his neck and he leaned his face into his palms, his tail curling around his feet.
oc drabble #2: "you're trembling" + "fingers linked"
They hadn’t said much since they ducked in here, the roar of the rain loud enough it was damned hard to hear without yelling. But it was odd and oppressive to have the silence between them and Aubrey, unintentionally, stared holes into Ain’s profile, his lips pressed together.
When he reached over, he found Ain’s hand slick and cold and shaking.
“You’re shivering,” he observed as Ain jumped and wildly turned his face to stare down into Aubrey’s eyes.
“U-uh,” he half stammered, his eyes wide, and Aubrey felt smug having caught him off guard. Most of the time Ain seemed so mature and put together, knowledgeable and patient and those traits aggravated Aubrey. Sure, there was an age difference between them but who allowed that gap to be so palpable?
“What?” Aubrey asked as he knit his fingers in-between Ain’s, gripping harder when it seemed Ain might pull away.
“...What are you doing?” Ain asked, voice pitched soft, uncertain.
Aubrey wished, to his surprise, that he could understand the complex look on Ain’s face.
“Holding your hand. Obviously.”
“Ah. Of course.”
“Because I’m freezing,” Aubrey added, annoyed.
Ain had a look on his face that said ‘I can see through your shit’ but then he composed himself into an uncertain, shy smile. “Right. It’s cold,” he agreed and he shifted, slowly pressing his side into Aubrey’s.
His clothes were as cold and soaked-through as Aubrey’s but, beyond that, there was a warmth there and Aubrey gravitated to it. He kneaded thoughtlessly at Ain’s palm as they pressed close together, warming gradually as they awaited Aubrey’s ride.
oc drabble #3: "you'll know it when you feel it"
He certainly felt it with Calloth. He felt it whenever Calloth would turn his head away, whenever he’d avoid Aliver’s persistent attention with an uncomfortably-crinkling brow, when Aliver gazed at the hand that brushed him away as carefully as possible.
He felt the agony of it. The thought that he was not Calloth’s first choice, not the person who Calloth thought he would be in love with. He was an interloper who swept out of nowhere, saw a pained face in profile and just couldn’t help himself. Aliver was weak to people who needed help and Calloth needed it--if not in the most conventional of ways.
He’d never had someone resist his help so hard and for a reason he couldn’t understand. At least, that he couldn’t understand at first.
Maybe if Aliver had been quicker, if he’d arrived sooner, Calloth would’ve believed Aliver was the one who was meant for him. Then he could’ve prevented this heartache and disappointment altogether.
But he hadn’t been, so he had to live with what he had.
If only love could be easier.