Part One: Times Waiting --- Chapter One: The Brightest Smile
The sun, with its grand scheme of intricate swirls made up of red and yellow and orange and black, slowly crept about the side of the horizon, bringing a certain glee, with it, to this darkened land, focusing such influential effects there, then here, then there once again. The sun, with rows of blindingly white pearls, grinned brightly for all below to behold, encouraged the anxious Sangheili sprouts to frolic and, thus, allow their muscles to erupt with collective spasms that propelled towards a gathering ground of play, while adults grudgingly slipped from their sheets and readied themselves for either a day of labor or their day of leave. The sun, with bulging black spots blurring as they eagerly sought the horizon to be filled with bobbing beings far less impressive than itself, though far more interesting, rolled its peepers over the landscape, over every minute detail that was presented, until they froze amidst a realization. One house, unlike all the others, remained dark, with sheets pulled over the windows and one unidentifiable, barely visible form wriggling about inside.
Or, perhaps, it was two intertwined forms moving in an erratic fashion.
The sun, with a sense of curiosity expansive enough to be considered its own galaxy, filled with planets, peoples, and perks of one's own design, leaned fervently towards the window, bringing about an early sting to the heat that had already enveloped this side of the planet, practically burning the sheets covering the window away just in time for a batch of red swirls to feverishly infect those scorching cheeks. The sun, with its fiery embarrassment that, if felt by a hundred mortals, would burn a hundred mortals and those hundred mortals' sons, immediately retracted and refilled its position in the sky, turning away, so as to give those within the darkened house the privacy their frustrated, desperate actions required, regardless of the half-second peeks taken every now and again.
Rek'd felt himself gasp as he forced his head into the sun baked softness of the pillow before him. He clenched the sheets of A-kur's bed, fingers reflecting the mandibles that clamped onto each other from across his features after expanding for the aforementioned gasp. His eyes clamped shut, shrouding both pupils in a darkness that the accompanied youth had wished would remain forever that previous night, though it hadn't. This was a satisfactory way to escape the temporary embrace of darkness and make one's way into the light with high spirits, or, at least, spirits higher than before, the accompanied youth reckoned. His pectorals heaved against the sheets and fidgeted back to match the scrunched abdomen following it, which curved inward. It was this position that begged his spine to brandish the flexibility it had not the pleasure of showing often, giving A-kur an impressive sight to admire as he exercised control of the situation.
It was all Rek'd could do, aside from preventing his muscles from spiraling into the ever flowing sheets below at such a crucial time, to keep his voice from warbling as he joined his beloved in a chorus of dreamy moans, which helped to establish the mood of the heated moment quite well. It was not long before such restraints were inevitably relinquished, which was marked by a beautifully executed flutter that overtook the accompanied youth as the tension in his muscles and his thoughts dissipated. A-kur settled atop him after a short while of long awaited release, breathing, sweating, and enjoying this moment as intensely as his lover. Both realized that they had shunned their hidden meeting policy in favor of contradicting appointment of the secluded spring as the only area in which the two men were to express their love, either physically or mentally.
Both right hands joined together lovingly near the side of Rek'd's skull. A-kur graced Rekd's' neck, scraping his teeth against the smooth, youthful skin that bandaged his object of affections. He displayed a surprising bit of tenderness, which juxtaposed the rough movements of the moment prior and the man whom initiated them, alongside a complimentary sense of cautiousness and care. Rek'd expelled carefully timed sounds of delight that heightened with each stroke, fueling a desire to pleasure his form that dissuaded his beloved warrior from dispatching attentiveness elsewhere until constant, conscious reminders of today's importance rang too loudly for either man to ignore.
The bed announced A-kur's reluctant leave through noisy creaks, prompting Rek'd to come to a full rest atop the twisted sheets. He propped his delectable body onto its side, intending to cool it by pressing all pores against the cool waves below, and slide a palm sternly against the upturned hip, once more introducing an admirable sight for the soon to be deprived eyes of his lover. The mind would certainly prove to be a wondrous thing as it stored this mental image for future internal viewing.
Armor was grudgingly fished from its respective drawers in preparation for a day that both lovers thought should have never come, though it had. It was all Rek'd could do, aside from keeping himself from suggesting a plan to run away together, no doubt, forever, to help his beloved into his body suit, then strap, atop that, the pieces of protective armor. To lighten the situation, the accompanied youth offered plenty of flattering comments, first pointing out how the body suit brought out the best sections of the body in question as they were covered up. This body bore absolutely no blemishes, he claimed, then moved on to how empowering this piece of armor was, especially when exhibited next to flexed muscles, before he mentioned how manly the color scheme, in conjunction to A-kur's own, was. In no time, a grumbled growl rang out, pleading for the chatter to stop mid-seminar that detailed how such a suit of armor brought out the pride of the Iknede namesake in its bearer. Rek'd compliantly hushed himself up and slipped a contrasting set of cloths and tightly tied bows up his persistently trickling skin, enveloping his frame in rich colors weaved in bright hues that hardly implied the right mood.
The moment seemed to fall into an awkward silence as both lovers peered at each other, examining every aspect of the labored linens and metals and the skin beneath them. They breathed ever so silently, so as not to disrupt the moment, before A-kur crossed the room and ran his arm over the course of the exposed back of his significant opposite, causing those sharp, green eyes to flick as he placed a palm weakly against the farthest hip from his own, soaking it with the moist interpretation of a belly full of butterflies, and suggested, "We can walk to my destination the way we stand-" He seemed to hesitate for just a moment. "-if you want to."
Rek'd had wondered of the day in which he could walk proudly by A-kur's side, swinging his limbs and bodily sections from side to side in a confident manner whilst his mannerisms bid those passing personages a greeting, a toned-down squeal, and a wink. Such a day, in which the accompanied youth could confidently stroll by his beloveds' side and display their relation through intertwined palms as proudly as a warrior whom regularly treated guests to his war trophies, had long been anticipated by both youths since their discovery of a mutual attraction to each other. After years of sneaking and lying merely to be one, it seemed as if a day was never to arrive alongside the sun's bright smile, as was the case for those countless other men and women enjoying a marriage not widely comprehended. Such a day, in which the two young men could find the courage laying eternally within their shells, waiting to be cracked by a sudden form of concentrated apathy to-be-utilized towards those whom allowed signs of disgust to sneak into their features, had both excited and terrified Rek'd and his dear A-kur, of the Iknede namesake, to the point where they had sought comfort within their secluded spring, waiting for such a day to make its way to them. A-kur had figured his beloved would be the first to find waiting unsatisfactory, despite the circumstances given, and forced himself to request a walk as lovers through a public setting for his own sake. Rek'd found a bit of underlying weakness hidden not too well by a layer of light brown that prompted him to inwardly flog himself for not being the first of the two to suggest this bold gesture, unlike those long years ago when they had joined by his whim. The need to support surfaced.
"I wish it so," A-kur was assured as his arm was confidently drawn out from behind Rek'd's back and directed to his hip, where a corresponding arm would wrap around it once, starting the motion at the elbow, where the limbs crossed, and ending at the tips of the fingers laced firmly. The warriors pressed their foreheads together and filled the room with coos, then slowly separated. "To be flattered by such a request, A-kur..." The accompanied youth lightly squealed, morphing that welcoming gesture into a sort of unprecedented glee with a stretch of the mandibles. A nervous grin worked its way into the handsome features of his significant opposite. "...I would not dare pass up such a chance, lest I wish to render myself a fool infected with cowardice."
"I'm honored you would accept," A-kur responded as he forced every fiber of his being to lead himself and his love to the exit of the room, then the overall establishment entitled to the Iknede line.
As they stepped through, a streak of the light struck down from above. Overly bright beams mixed deviously with those duller, though only Rek'd noticed. He shunned these lights as his eyes met a gaze originated from his partner. This gaze told of hope, anxiety, and fear, prompting the accompanied youth to offer an uplifting parting of the mandibles and a bob of the head in response. A-kur, only partially swayed, stepped closer, masking his attempt to cover their united palms with his hip and cloths as a means to gain further support.
The accompanied youth allowed his first step to sound off, with the tip of his proposing hoof mundanely thudding, as he rolled his eyes about, finding a variety of reactions already being dispatched towards the display that he and his lover exhibited. A bright smile of acknowledgement offered by the womanly figure of a carefree couple, followed by a neutral glance from her lover, surfaced after the premature claim that today would not be richly spiced by a pair of attractive males whom indulged in each other was disproved. Grunts and laughs, both stifled and not, filled the air soon afterwards, originating from a group of roughened war veterans, all scarred in their own unique ways, as they passed the couple of interest, soon forgetting them in a mass of conversations about the best way to kill such and such with so and so. As this group faded, a small gathering of youths lingered on by and, individually, either gawked in interest or dissuaded those who gawked with promises of social degeneration delivered in the form of malicious whispers. Rek'd and A-kur were not so naive as to take these whispers as anything but.
The accompanied youth initiated a drawn out sigh, a sign of relief, when that generation had passed. His beloved warrior acknowledged it as such only through his tightened grip as he stepped forward, this time leading, with a forced huff of air. Rek'd imagined this to be a proposal. He drew his own hoof forward, as the lead dictated, and casually forced it against the ground, creating another thud in which to enrich the two's Earthly beat. As the thud rang out, crystal clear in sound, unlike those that were drowned out by the soft padding below, the accompanied youth could not shake the feeling of being seized by an influential light and flung into a distant memory, landing curiously in front of his home, within the yard, as the wind lapping up against his back, then died down.
The moment that had seemed to occur just a few moments before slipped into the future by a measurement of years, effectively fading from Rek'd's mind as those limbs, now shorter and noticeably stubbier, subconsciously strained, then unwound and launched him recklessly towards a more youthful depiction of A-kur. A-kur, with both arms agape, efficiently bent his elbows, forcing his elbow onward to straighten towards the sky with open palms, while the body below settled onto one knee and released an exhausted huff. He caught the scrawny youth mid-air and tossed him aside in response. Two almost simultaneous thuds marked Rek'd's landing and were proceeding by an outpour of clanks that detailed the closing of the gap between the boys, both of which resolved to win the sparring match. It was all the scrawny could do, after he had flung himself into the air, to not cry out as he realized perfectly symmetrical violence was not possible when attempted between two beings of different caliber.
His body was seized and smacked against the dirt, then held down by the more capable, the stronger, warrior of the two, who ran all eight fingers against Rek'd's sides, causing the helpless boy to burst into a fit of giggles that expressed a sort of obliviousness to the fact that he had lost grandly. Seeing as the pinned youth was in such a fit of giggles that even he, feverishly persistent as he was, could not find the will to struggle, A-kur resolved to release his limbs soon enough, breaking the chain of spars that were dragged out by the prolonged restraint of the giggling youth. Such spars quickly devolved into casual conversations with bouts of struggling erupting in between every few sentences, then every few paragraphs, then every few topics, and so on, hence their lack of any real appeal.
As soon as Rek'd managed to cough out a request to be let up, A-kur complied, though he didn't know why. Being of childish nature, he soon allowed the situation to cast itself to the wind as his soft, green eyes rolled towards the sky that had greeted both boys earlier that day, then shifted them to the scrawny youth as second thoughts were not applied to anything beforehand.
The stares where not immediately noticed by anyone, save the vigilant man, who leaned against the frame of the sizeable establishment that belonged to his bloodline, including his son. Rek'aug, the lonesome father of Rek'd, permitted his mandibles to wriggle about and his brow to furrow in disapproval. Of course, he had become quite aware of his unseen gestures of disapproval, but let them flow, as if they were second nature, due to such a son sharing his family name; a family name that had remained untainted by those physically inferior to others; one that had maintained a superiority streak not quite broken, but getting there. Given the genes of his deceased mate, one would figure Rek'aug to blame her for being too influential, or even himself for proving insufficiently influential enough, for the "deficiency" that plagued his son's form, but he did not. Thus, little Rek'd lived every waking moment of his life with the bloodline burden placed firmly on his shoulders, oblivious of the weight that so cruelly brought him down physically and mentally. However, A-kur seemed to aid in the resistance of the formation of deepened scars typically wrought by this burden by merely being out, about and around the scrawny youth every waking minute that could be managed.
Rek'aug found his mood to be a split between bitterness and relief, because of this fact.
Those hardened eyes watched over the two boys, seemingly separating about the father's nasal passages so each pupil could pry at the safety of each boy. At any given moment, a bird of war could swoop down, from the lofty clouds absentmindedly plowing down winds above, and snatch up the youths with open talons, made so intentionally to be snapped shut around their squirming forms and, possibly, squish their innards as a bonus, so bulging veins and let blood could be tasted upon the first entry. Rek'aug frowned; he didn't like such an image to be placed within his mind, thus, he refocused his eyes, finding a familiar sight in which to indulge; a female Sangheili.
She was as beautiful as one could imagine, even shared the same body as Rek'aug's late mate, and lived just down the path. She hung clothes in fine lines, across strung lines, whilst her fine lines bumped to one side, then doubled back, drawing the watchful father's gaze in as the desired form before him bent over slowly, reaching down, seemingly to the ground, to pluck flowers from the dirt. It seemed as if she would place the flowers amongst the tightly fitted clothes that wrapped their host like a delicious meal. Instead, the tantalizing female brought up another batch of clothes, gracefully folded over her arm as she gracefully glided back to the lines and, gracefully, folded them over, in halves, said lines, then went to retrieve another batch. She flashed a smile in Rek'aug's direction. He couldn't help but feel drawn in as he motioned to straighten his cloths, tested gestures of subtle interest, then proceeded to pursue the woman of his apparent fancies, noticing, on the tip of his brain, that one set of the clothes had been smaller fittings.
The father glanced to A-kur, remembering past encounters with this graceful embodiment of femininity with the more capable youth by her side. He grinned, though soon felt the joyful expression drop from his features as the sight of Rek'd waving to him had been registered. Rek'aug waved back, rather dishearteningly, and left his son, who proceeded to entertain A-kur. Rek'aug favored entertaining, and possibly courting, a fine specimen of a female rather than a long time friend.
Rek'd lowered his arm and whipped his adorable features towards A-kur, whom spread his mandibles wide, regardless of how short in length and jaggedly pointed at the edges they were, to express glee. The lesser of the two youths mimicked the gesture before he leaned in, pressing his shoulder against his superior's as leaf refugees were plucked from the informal cloths of each boy and flicked towards the sky. Occasionally, one would happen towards the superior youth, who, as you could imagine, conjured an intense, though hardly malicious, glare. A stifled apology arose from the youth at fault, only to be followed by a delighted giggle. Frivolous disregard for the harmful effects behind childish play was instilled deep within the sounds that formed a chorus a few lingering females nearby heard. They acknowledged the boys through bright smiles that rivaled the sun's. Such smiles led the boys into a greeting that practically commanded them to beam in return; beam even brighter than those adult females whom had surely been deprived of their sunny innocence by now.
"Those women," Rek'd started, gesturing towards the females, who gently thanked him for his reference of them with laughter arising not in mock of his figure, but, rather, an admiration for how beloved he was. These females surely wished such a child had been delivered unto them by their husbands. "They have such beautiful smiles; it makes me jealous, you know? That their children may feel what it's like to be under such beautiful smiles every minute of every day," The lesser of the two youths bent his stubby neck significantly, permitting those sharp eyes of his to gaze into A-kur's softened orbs, as if seeking a comment of reinforcement, or just a positive mumble detailing agreement. "It must be wonderful."
"It surely is," His companion assured him, though the more capable warrior wondered if such beautiful smiles remained a joy every waking minute of every day. A-kur had never experienced such rays in repetitive bursts, like these females' offspring apparently had. It had never been pointed out that the female standing over yonder, whom had draped the boy's, and her own, clothing over supposed "fine lines", had not bothered to smile much. She only showed an understated sense of glee through gestures merely involving her palms or, in the case of a handsome, well-bred male being slyly drawn in, her hips. A-kur came to wonder, 'Why?', as his attention was stolen from the conversation between the two adults over yonder by the much more attractively childish youth sitting beside him. "Perhaps, if your father chooses to rejoin with another female, you'll experience such beautiful smiles every minute of every day to the point where you'll be absolutely sick of it."
A chuckle slowly intoxicated the air with a sort of aroma oddly pleasurable to battered senses.
"Impossible!" Rek'd claimed, spreading his mandibles in a sort of half-gasp, half-gesture-of-offense, which usually came about after one's dear mother and her rightfully good name had been insulted or tarnished. A-kur bent his brow upwards, dulled his cheekbones, and drew back his mandibles in apology. "How could anyone tire of their mothers affection!?" The youth waved his hand about the air in spite as he huffed, giving A-kur the incentive to blink, not once, but twice, in a bewildered fashion. "Why, I'd have half a mind to rip the mands from their jaw!"
"Now, now," The more able of the two youths scooted closer to his longtime friend, pressing their hips together as he worked a hand around the slender form, oblivious of the meaning usually associated with such a gesture. A few of the females not far away covered their mouths with collected palms in surprise. Others whispered nonsense about the boys, nonsense which, as nonsense rightfully should be, was ignored, as if it was just nonsense, rather than the truth. Others, still, claimed such a gesture was often misunderstood by youths, whom found it comforting to draw close to their playmates while away from their mother's enticing touch or their father's warm influence. Such a widely accepted explanation prompted those whisperers to hang their necks in shame. "I don't need my favorite playmate to get mangled," A-kur stated, at first garnering a smile from his long time friend before causing an understanding frown. "How will I get rid of my boredom without you?"
Such a fitting question from one who derives pleasure from mangling his long time friend! Rek'd, luckily, hadn't noticed the depreciating detail as depreciating as those already come to pass.
A quick glance allowed Rek'd the pleasure of witnessing his father approaching his destination. Both adults gawked at each other for a few moments, then mutually decided to indulge in each other's presence behind a closed door. This begged for the answers to plenty arisen questions within that young mind, most of which would remain unanswered for quite some time. Many questions were quite unintentionally specific to the point in which an interrogated adult would blush heavily or laugh with a commendable blast of power that would all but blow any head-tilting youths away. The boy's head would be padded by a large palm as he was commanded to allow his mind the time to develop before diving headfirst into such topics. Of course, such a response would have the same effect as starving Rek'd's curiosity, which was grossly over bloated for a boy so young, and lead some to believe him to be the Sangheili incarnation of the question, 'Why?' As soon as such questions began to suffocate those lobes, they were filtered out by replacements, which surged into their young host as he was seized the by the wrist and dragged into the nearby woods.
A short pause came to pass. A-kur made sure the two supervisors of their play-date remained occupied within the subtlety that shrouded them, then the boys were off again, speeding through the forest fueled by the will power of one. Rek'd remained remarkably clueless, though his eyes still bulged in their sockets. Where could A-kur be leading him? The answer emerged as the two youths stepped into a clearing, individually characterized from the others by a small, secluded spring that inhabited the middle, and took a good look around, gawking like the young creatures they were.
The sun, with its tendency to drift about a world, throwing those black spots towards anything that moved in a manner that invoked the slightest interest, peered over the heads of the trees as it cursed its setting self. It wished to continue studying these two Sangheili youths, whom displayed their own characteristics and idiosyncrasies as carelessly as boys their age were expected to, though it was up to the moon to complete this task. The sun, with its resolve to return tomorrow to see what had become of these two youths after the encounter with the secret spring today, laid to rest behind the trees, avoiding Rek'd's gaze as he attempted to return its own. After realizing such was quite impossible once a dark purplish hue set against the skies and stars and enriched his skin, he rolled his pupils to the water. He gasped softly at the feeling his palm become supinated as his wrist pressured.
The utmost attention was given to his superior, whom peered into those sharp green eyes and applied a light pressure to the host's wrist. This attention could not be stolen away for any reason, as any Sangheili youth recognized that a topic which merited the possibility of a clotted vein was quite important. "Rek'd," A-kur barked, placing his second set of fingers atop the lesser youth's wrist, making sure he wouldn't come to speak before the question of the moment had been asked of him. "This spring here, I found just a few months back and kept it to myself until now. I trust you with its secret, just as I trust myself, 'cause I want to share this spring, here, with you, and only you. You understand?"
Rek'd nodded. A-kur released his wrist. Their first promise, a promise binding them to share this secretive mass of water, had been made.
The lesser of two youths walked about the clearing, surveying its ground before coming to the conclusion that doing such was not how A-kur intended them to spend their time together and, instead, glanced to the waters once again, finding himself not immediately, though soon enough, captivated by its waves. The crystal clear linings lapped up against the edges of the body of water, highlighting its curves and making it quite alluring as the water further raced from edge to edge, seemingly trampling itself to complete a marathon with absolutely no end in sight. They boy's head tilted as his eyes rolled in their sockets, following this wave that way before following that wave this way and being averted by a very attentive A-kur, whose eyes resting upon his new accomplice. It was no surprise that Rek'd immediately, and silently, questioned why his long time friend's eyes rested upon him rather than the water so conveniently swishing about next to and below his hooves, but found no reason to protest the gaze. He, instead, enjoyed the warmth it brought to his skin on this rather chilly evening. It was assumed that such a gaze was initiated to find certain facial configurations that suggested joy, thus, the lesser of two youths allowed a smile to creep into his features, which took advantage of his cute facial configuration and transformed it into something that equally satisfied A-kur and tickled Rek'd's own bones.
"How did you manage to find this place?" Rek'd squeaked as he lifted his newly soaked hoof from the spring's waves and fought back violent shivers that were sent up by his spine by cooled wind circulations. The inferior youth fended off the chilling swirls through palms with careful placements, which A-kur took note of and conspired to replace at a later date. He wasn't sure why this wish comprised of temptations formed by the properties of flesh had come about. Regardless, it remained as a plausible answer to Rek'd's answer was constructed. It overshadowed the temptations of the more able child's mind, though those were merely stored for later reference, to be reignited should his long time friend continue to display signs of discomfort.
"I raced through the forest after being dismissed by mother," A-kur answered as he stepped just a bit closer to his future object of affections, feeling the frigid teeth of the wolfish wind sinking into his skin. He was reduced to tucking his mandibles inside his mouth to keep from shivering. Naturally, the cloths that only covered the boys' lower bodies hardly assisted them in their given situation, actually hampering them, as a matter of fact, with the loosened cloths hanging from their waist attempting to flee with the cruel gusts of wind. Though, that's merely one context in which to analyze the cloths' actions; perhaps they were assertive in their assistance to bring the youths closer together. It was quite hard to consider alongside conversing and keeping one's posture in line. "She had finished her chores early, just as I had finished mine, and thought the day best be spent watching the men work in the fields; `twas to pick out a proper man', she told me, considering my father was improper, as she's told me," The able warrior allowed the moment to replay the moment in his head as he reminisced sitting in the grass, next to his mother, overlooking the fields with her until he had glanced back, intending to draw out his gaze to match that which she set out. Rek'aug had happened to be her main focus, at the time, while Rek'd proved familiar and alluring enough to catch A-kur's attention before the plan to wander about the then attentive trees had been set into the formulating stage. "I had tired of her search and requested permission to run about, `like a young man should'. Then...I came upon this spring and declared it my dome of privacy," The superior youth grinned inwardly as glanced to his shivering comrade and asked, through nearly gritted mandibles, "Frigid night, yeah?"
Rek'd had only nodded before A-kur removed an extra cloth and draped it about his shoulders, then sat the youth down, purposely positioning him atop the spring's shore, and joined him. The water rumbled with excitement as the cloth was stretched across the boys' shoulder spans. It was hardly long enough to bury them the way they sat currently; about two inches apart at the nearest shoulder and with both bodies curved their own unique way. `Perfect,' He thought as he drifted closer to his comrade, finding the reception of his warmth to be far more open than expected, especially when those stronger-than-thou arms drifted under the cloth like a snake and constricted the slender form, who accepted all grazes, voicing no qualms whatsoever.
A-kur could have sworn he heard a whispered bit of gratitude. Regardless of whether or not such a whisper was real, the more able of the two youths felt his features stretch back as he secured the first step to claiming his object of affections.
The stars above twinkled obliviously, casting an enhanced light down upon both youths in a moment, made so crystal clear by such effects, that it would stay with them for a long time, if not the rest of their lives. "Anyone could suspect you planned this," Rek'd suddenly commented as he raised his head with a slight shiver, which had come about due to the expressive mass leaving the warmth that radiated from his protector's chest. He settled back against it, snuggling like a young man whom sought comfort in the arms of his willing father; a father whom had sensed a bit of distress and wished it to be cast away from the a young heart it distressed. "I never figured you to be clever, A-kur."
A toned down mumble was released- "Though, I guess you making up for another `deficiency' of mine is alright." -attracting the glance of he whom was presumed clever. A moment's silence passed, with the cradling continuing, until the following sentence forced A-kur to straighten his comrade, looking at him, surveying him, with those soft, green eyes.
"Don't ever tell yourself you're deficient," The superior youth commanded, asserting his command further after he acknowledged his comrade's features lift, as if in shock, then shut tightly as he glanced towards the waters. He seemed ashamed by what he had just been told; seemed ashamed by another piece of what he perceived to be ironic empowerment spilling from the mandibles of this superior being, however unintentional in nature it was. Rek'd was on the verge of slipping from under the cloth and running back home before A-kur had seized him and held him close, with both sets of green eyes locked on each other.
"Rek'd," The protective youth surveyed those eyes again. Within them, he saw a tinge of hurt; a denouement of things past said by the superior youth, things past implied by the superior youth, things past won by the superior youth, things past stolen by the superior youth, things past achieved by the superior youth, and things past garnered by the superior youth, among other things that had come at the expense of the boy he now sought to protect. As soon as A-kur realized his contradiction, he wore an expression of apology, though it took from Rek'd's agony and applied it to missed opportunities that were sure to fill his future with tormenting thoughts, should he not come through for his object of affection. His mandibles wriggled nervously until he embraced the supposedly deficient youth before him and whispered, "I'm..." A mirrored look of shame and hesitancy was his to wear. "I'm sorry."
That apology and its accompanied expression seemed enough to warrant a desperate embrace, impassioned by feelings neither youth understood. Rek'd genuinely believed every word, every syllable, every letter, every sound, that drifted from his protector's mouth, though, the sensitivity of this being, whom so readily succumbed to his feelings, would warrant A-kur to be very careful with Rek'd, lest he break this fragile object of affections.
A silence shrouded both boys. They pulled apart just slightly to gaze at each other and question whether or not this relationship they had just ignited, just now, next to this secluded spring, would be accepted by the never-beaming mother and the ever watchful father. They decided, just as silently, to allow this relationship to remain shrouded in the shade of the trees, and the lighting of the moon, and the waters of this secluded spring, as it developed.
Eventually, the youths would realize their need to be accepted by their friends, their acquaintances, their co-workers, their elders, and the never beaming mother and the ever watchful father. Until they deemed it appropriate to emerge from the bushes aflame, the youths would settle to appear as unequal brothers, birthed boldly into their species to remain as comrades, in the daylight, and then brothers boldly birthed as equals, as significant opposites, by these brisk waves, when alone in their tight lipped secret. They would come to experience all sorts of delights, most of which laid far into the future, too far for such eager souls to stand, waiting for the two youths to seize and utilize them as nourishment of this relationship.
A strong voice cut through the night air, causing the two youths to break apart as their names were called by the ever watchful father. Rek'd glanced to A-kur, expecting his mentality to form a plan that would give them just a bit more time, if even that much, before their newly discovered relationship became more widely known than they had hoped. A few moments of silence passed, then another call, this time verging on the border of a roar, ripped through the wind, causing blades of grass clamping on to the dirt to stir below, obviously distressed, until such a voice faded into an echoing clip of incomprehensible dialogue.
"You run through the forest first," Rek'd finally spoke, handing A-kur his cloth as both youths stood up. "Tell my father that, upon hearing his voice, you had challenged me to a race and pulled ahead around the beginning," The underestimated youth was obviously glossing over the fact that his slender form rendered him the faster of the two, though, that father of his, so depreciative of just about every display laid out before him, would not find it difficult to process another loss for his family line after so many losses had been brought against it. What the two, the ever watchful father and the currently more able warrior of the of two youths, hadn't considered was that A-kur had merely been born with a head start. "I will appear shortly afterwards."
The protective youth nodded and set off on his journey through the trees. A-kur found that, aside from covering for his object of affections, other duties popped into his head; some quite appropriate, others not so, though only pondered due to the being's young age. After A-kur had disappeared, Rek'd dawdled for a few moments, filling them mostly with regrets that he had not requested the extra cloth be left behind, regardless of what suspicions it might raise. The youth stood atop his hooves and set off through the trees after A-kur, running down the path his long time friend had dragged him down before, though, instead of finding his father near the end, he found his superior, whom had reached out and seized him, with the aid of piercing rays, and brought him back to that rued day of separation many cycles later. Such was not ill intended, as the beloved warrior bestowed upon his lover, his publicly claimed delight, a kiss, alongside a hug and one of the brightest smiles Rek'd ever had cast upon his mortal flesh. It promised an end to this separation, though it expressed a sense of uncertainty as to when this end would come about. The gesture, in general, was quite enough, as A-kur Iknede, the beloved warrior and Rek'd's newly proclaimed mate, was sent on his way to fulfill the duty of a Sangheili warrior, just so he could come back one day to celebrate, without persecution, without limitations, with his lover. Both youths looked forward to this day as A-kur loaded himself up, among a few others, into a small craft, amidst a field of many, to be whisked away. It happened in less than an instant.
As the no-longer-accompanied youth stood in the middle of the crowd, serving as its source of attention, desired or not, he found himself to resist trembling as his sharp, green eyes watched the ship disappear. He redirected them towards the path below, following the prints previously made by steps already taken, remembering the fondness for the moments passed. Which ones, you ask? Such a question requires just a few, simple things, to compose an answer; a small batch of times in which to sit, reflect, and wait, before one is whisked off to the next set of times away, far away from those of comfort and familiarity, then to a conclusion that promises to bring all these times, broadening the timeline as they often do, together. Rek'd, a Sangheili warrior of the Sek'r lineage, had just embarked upon such journey; he aspires to reunite what's right and distinguish such from what is wrong, so as to bring these times together like a puzzle. You, dear reader, are the central piece.
