Hey, guys! :D I hope you enjoy this fluff!
Rock, Paper, Pens
8, Ara, year 632
The first week after Overlord's defeat had been wonderful: Kai could not recall the last time he'd been able to rest peacefully, without fear of the plague, or Overlord, or any other number of things. He and Besai had spent many long hours engaged in topics of every sort: their favorite foods. Their strangest dreams. Stories from their childhoods, both good and bad.
But there had also been silence. Times of introspection, simply happy to be in each other's arms. It had been like a dream. One that Kai was certain he never wanted to awaken from.
After nearly a week, however, Kai was beginning to despise his bed.
Besai had been well enough to get up days ago: she'd been working tirelessly with Ronin in other parts of the infirmary from sunrise to sunset. But Kai, with his concussion and numerous broken ribs, was not so fortunate.
It's not all bad, Kai reminded himself as he drew a slow, deliberate line across his parchment. Since Jay had found some paper and pens, Kai'd spent a good many hours lost in the sceneries of his imagination. Vast mountains overlooking still, serene lakes. The sprawling delta on the other side of Keitorin, where Prince Wu had lived alone for so many years.
His current piece, a snowy hill, dotted with leafless trees, brush, and boulders, was nearly complete. He'd been working on it since breakfast. It seemed ridiculous that such a simple piece would take him this long—really, the main body of it was just bent-up and intersecting lines—but he knew he needed to cut himself some slack. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was able to do anything with his perpetual headache, ringing ears, and ribs that stung every time he breathed too deeply. Not to mention, his attention span was at a low that even his eight-winters self might have had trouble capping. He just had to be patient with himself; he'd heal eventually.
Kai dipped his pen into the ink. Tapped the nib against the side twice, three times, so the excess drained back into the bottle. Hovered with his hand above the paper, contemplating his work. The hill reminded him of the place he used to go hiking as a boy, near Sheshin Keep. Trudging through knee-deep snow…little Nya following in his footsteps, breathing heavily and bundled in thick furs…watching birds flit through the leafless branches instead of the path before her…tripping…Kai needing to pick her up and brush the snow from her face…
Kai dipped his pen. Tapped it against the side three times. Remembered that he'd already done that, and exhaled, kneading his throbbing forehead with his free hand. He scrawled a number of intersecting, scraggly lines on the side of the hill. Dipped his pen again, and scratched the bush's shadow. His free hand fingered his earring as he worked.
A soft knock came at the door. Kai's pulse spiked, making his head throb harder for a number of heartbeats. Then breathed, setting the pen on his tray as the door opened.
Besai smiled at him, as she always did when she first entered the room, with her eyes flitting to her feet for a moment before meeting his.
"Hey," Kai said.
"Hey," Besai replied, hurrying to his cot. She hugged him tightly and did not let go.
Ignoring the deep, pinching pain in his healing ribs, Kai returned the embrace. Besai had always appreciated physical signs of affection, but in the wake of her sister's death, her desire for long hugs, hand-holdings, and the like had increased tenfold. Kai did not mind- in fact, he was beginning to learn that he needed and appreciated them just as much as she.
At long last Besai released him and ran her fingers through his hair. "How do you feel?"
Kai closed his eyes, reveling in her gentle touch. "My head's killing me," he said.
"Worse than this morning?"
"Yeah."
"Mmm…" Besai hopped onto her cot, set up right alongside his, and continued combing his hair. Her touch was preferable to any medicine: very quickly, his headache began to ease, and he at last opened his eyes. Spots danced in his vision; he rubbed his eyes and picked up the pen again.
"I have a joke," Besai said, halfway done with a four-part braid behind his ear.
Kai barely restrained a sigh as he turned to look at her, both perplexed and amused. Her blue eyes were alight as she tried—and failed, per the norm—to refrain from giggling. "Yes?" he prompted her, hardly able to keep his own smile hidden. Moons, she was just too adorable.
Besai took a deep breath, gathering herself together just enough to begin the joke. "Why can't you draw with a broken pen?"
Courtesy of Ronin and Jay, she had begun developing an odd and unexpected appreciation of silly jokes. But Kai didn't mind too much: it was great to see Besai take pleasure in such a simple and innocent activity.
And, Hosts consume him, her laugh was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen.
"I don't know," Kai said. "Why?"
"Because—" Besai cut herself off, retracting a hand from Kai's head to cover her mouth as she giggled, face turning pink. "Because…it's pointless!"
She buried her face in Kai's shoulder, shaking with hiccuping, squeaking laughter.
Kai groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Wow," he groaned. "Don't shake me, Sai. You're going to make me spill my ink."
Besai lifted her head, taking deep breaths, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.
Kai chuckled, twirling his pen in his fingers. "Pointless. Did Ronin teach you that one?"
"No. Tina did."
"Ah." Kai dipped his pen and set it to the paper. Besai sighed lightly, now fully in control of herself, and combed her fingers through Kai's hair in slow, massaging motions, undoing the braid. They spent a few minutes in peaceful silence; the only noise came from the scratching of Kai's pen, and the intermittent voices and children's laughter in the grove on the other side of the wall behind them.
"It is a…what's the word…hill," Besai said, looking at Kai's picture. "Why are the trees dead?"
"They're not dead," Kai assured her. "It's wintertime; the trees lose their leaves when it gets cold. But in the spring they'll come back."
Besai tilted her head at the picture, clearly working hard to process this information.
"The trees all did the same thing a couple months ago while we were in Ninjago," Kai said. "And then while we were North, it was snowing. Remember?"
Besai nodded, rather pensively.
With some pain in his chest, Kai wrapped his arm around Besai. She leaned into his embrace, eyes still on the snowy hill.
"It's still missing something," Kai said, exhaling. "What do you think?"
Besai picked up the paper, careful not to smudge the ink, and examined it closely. "It looks…cold," she said.
"Cold?"
"Mmm."
"So…that's a problem?"
"No!" Besai said hastily. "It…it just needs to have something warm, too."
"Warm." Kai took the picture from her and examined it from all angles. "So…like, some clouds in the sky, with a bit of sunlight peeking through?"
Besai was quiet for a moment. "…No," she answered at last.
"Hmm." Kai set the paper back on its tray. "Well, I'm in no rush. I'll just take a break and…" The sound of pattering feet outside their room made him pause. He and Besai looked up. Moments later, the door opened to admit two children and their caretaker, Yuki.
Atgas and Alfdis, aged seven and eight winters, approached their mother. Atgas smiled at her mother.
"Ydench'i," Besai greeted them in the Dark Tongue, standing from the bed. She smiled warmly as she pulled them both into her embrace.
"Dench'i," they replied in turn. Alfdis returned her mother's embrace. Atgas, ever the shy one, did not.
Kai grinned and waved at Yuki, who stood in the doorway. "Thank you," he said. "You really don't have to do this every day…"
"No!" Yuki smiled, returning his wave. "Please, my lord. We've been over this. I enjoy watching them." She bowed at the waist.
Two months ago, Kai would not have given Yuki's formality much thought. He might have even thought it odd if she hadn't bowed to him. But now, after all he'd been through, it only left him embarrassed.
"Please," Kai said. "If anything, we should be bowing to you, Yuki. Without you and your brother's help, we might never have escaped and defeated Overlord."
Yuki smiled halfheartedly, cheeks flushing a delicate shade of pink.
Besai finally released the girls. She straightened turning her attention to Yuki, who, by this time, was as accustomed as Kai to Besai's newfound desire to hug everyone, and readily—almost eagerly—opened her arms to her.
"Da," said Alfdis, approaching Kai's bed, her younger sister close on her tail.
"Dench'i, lidiyin'kee," Kai said in the Dark Tongue, patting their heads fondly. "Hey, girls."
Alfdis, gray eyes bright with excitement, pulled something from her pocket and offered it to Kai.
"What's this?" Kai gasped, taking the smooth, flat rock from her little hands.
"Hjdima," Alfdis explained. A rock.
"Wow! Thank you, Alfdis." Though she didn't understand his language, his expression told the girl all she needed to know: she beamed and climbed onto the bed beside him. Atgas lingered beside the bed, eyes on her feet.
"A'ti," Kai said, holding out his hand. "Kocho, Alfdis. Come on. You don't need an invitation."
Atgas hesitated, looking back at her mother, who was now conversing in quiet tones with Yuki.
"It's all right," Kai coaxed her with a gentle smile, setting the rock on his tray and holding out his hand. "Climb up. Do you wanna see what I made?" He held up his picture for Atgas to see. Her eyes, the same color as her sister's—they could be twins for how similar they looked—widened with curiosity.
"Do you like that?" Kai selected a fresh sheet of paper from the table beside him and handed it to her. "Come on up. I'll let you draw, too."
Atgas accepted the paper, a confused look on her face. Kai pressed his lips together with thought. Their language barrier was such a pain.
"Um…here." Making sure both girls were watching, Kai picked signed his name on his picture. "See? Draw. Kocho, Atgas."
Atgas at last climbed up beside her sister. Kai proffered the pen to her, but she hesitated.
Alfdis finally realized what was going on and took the pen, speaking to her sister with excited words that Kai could not understand.
At last, with a nervous glance between Kai and her mother, Atgas took the pen. She tapped the paper with it; a blotch of ink grew on its surface.
"Here." Momentarily screwing the lid back on his ink so it wouldn't spill, Kai picked up his tray and set it over the girls' legs. Alfdis snatched up the hill picture and motioned for Atgas to set her own sheet down in its place. Atgas did so, and continued scribbling across the paper; careful, slow lines from the bottom of the page to the top, one after the other, pausing only to let Kai replenish her ink. Aldfis watched, enthralled. Kai smiled, glancing at Besai, who seemed to be wrapping up her exchange with Yuki. They embraced again, quickly, and then Yuki bowed once more to Kai and withdrew from the room. Besai shut the door and returned to her cot. She spoke to the girls in the Dark Tongue; Kai only recognized a few scattered words.
"Draw," Alfdis replied to whatever her mother had said, pointing at the pen in Atgas' hand. She beamed, and Besai returned the smile, nodding approvingly.
"Da's letting you draw?" Besai asked.
"A'ah." Alfdis thought for a moment, nose scrunching up. "…Yes."
"Good job." Kai petted her dark hair. Her grin broadened.
"Da," Atgas murmured, holding up the pen. It was out of ink again. Kai dipped it and gave it back.
"Ah, wait," Kai said, holding up a finger. He touched her inked-up paper to make sure it wouldn't smudge, then turned it over. "There you go."
Atgas' face lit up. She stared at the blank sheet with the closest thing Kai'd ever seen to a smile on her face, then set the pen to work. But this time, there were no straight lines. She drew an odd, roundish shape, followed by some squiggles on the top.
"Choia," she murmured, and unceremoniously handed the picture across Kai's lap to her mother. Besai took it, beaming. "Mag'ji, Atgas. Thank you."
Atgas tittered. She reached for a new sheet of paper.
"Na," Alfdis said. She spoke earnestly to Besai, who replied, shaking her head patiently.
"She wants a turn," Besai explained.
"Oh." Kai pondered this dilemma. "Well, I only have one pen… Can you tell them that it's Alfdis' turn once Atgas has filled this piece of paper?"
Besai nodded and translated Kai's verdict. Both girls looked less than satisfied, but Alfdis settled down nonetheless, and Atgas drew with slow deliberation, dragging out her time as long as possible.
Over the next hour or so, both of the girls- and Besai- received several turns with the pen. Atgas seemed to prefer her circles and scribbles. It took a while, but Besai eventually realized she was drawing portraits of her mother—Choia.
Alfdis, on the other hand, drew pictures of animals. There were birds, lizards, even a dog.
Besai drew landscapes, like Kai's. The trees in the grove inside the compound. The lake, and the gushing river that flowed from it.
Or, at least, that's what she claimed they were: in all honesty, her pictures were nearly as difficult to distinguish as Atgas'. And though Kai did tease her about it, he really did love the effort she put into her work. She knew what she was drawing, and that's all that mattered.
Eventually, when the ink bottle was half gone and twilight fell, requiring that they light a lantern, the girls began to doze. Besai led them to their beds—a number of blankets spread on the floor on Besai's side of the small room—and they were soon asleep. Besai returned to Kai's side and burrowed under her blanket.
Kai, in the process of cleaning the ink splatters from his tray with a rag, frowned slightly. "You okay?" he asked.
Her head bobbed beneath the blanket.
"You feeling sick?"
"No."
"Tired?"
Another nod.
Kai patted the blanket over her head—she murmured indistinctly at this—then attended to the papers on his tray.
He spent the next few minutes examining the pictures his girls had made in the lantern's light, writing the artist's name on the back of each. Then he stacked them all and put them on the table: he was going to keep these forever.
After taking a drink of water Kai picked up his hill drawing from where it lay beside the lantern and examined it again. He paused, staring at a series of marks on the picture that hadn't been there when he'd last worked on it. "Aww…really?"
Besai shifted. Pulled herself to an upright position, rubbing her eyes. She must have dozed off for a minute.
"Sorry," Kai said. "Did I wake you up?"
Besai shrugged again, pulling her hand away from her sleep-shadowed face. "Still having trouble?" she asked around a yawn.
"After a fashion," Kai said, showing Besai the hill. She squinted at it.
"Who did that?"
"Judging by the oblong-ish shape with the strands of mutated hair sticking out of the top…Atgas."
Besai chuckled. Kai joined her, caught between exasperation and amusement.
"Well…now it's less cold, I guess," he said.
"I like it," Besai affirmed. She reached for the pen. "Let me draw on it, too. A bird in that tree, or—"
"No!" Kai attempted to snatch the pen from her, but she pulled it out of reach. "Besai—Ow!" He grimaced, hugging his throbbing ribs, helpless to stop her as she put the pen to the paper, scribbling into one of the leafless trees. "Sai…" he groaned, wheezing: it hurt to expand his chest enough for a full breath. "Help—No, please—I'm dying!"
"No, you're not. Hold still, and let me finish my bird."
Kai surrendered, turning his attention to breathing in a way that didn't make his ribs feel like fire. He groaned, feeling lightheaded, and hugged his chest. Honestly, that woman… She didn't look it, but she could be quite savage when it suited her needs. What did I get myself into?
"There," Besai said, proudly holding up his defaced artwork. Now, slightly above Atgas's picture of Choia, there was another oblong(ish) image, smack dab in the center of a leafless cherry tree. This image, however, deviated from Atgas' in every other way: two circle(ish) things that Kai supposed were the bird's eyes near the top. Stick legs protruding from the bottom. Two other shapes—Kai did not dare try to identify their geometric(ish) names—on either side of the bird's body. Wings?
And, of course, who could forget the beak, a spot of ink so thick that Kai wondered how the paper didn't have a hole in it.
The pain in Kai's ribs subsiding, he untangled his arms and squeezed her hand. "It's perfect," he sighed, mirroring her smile. "Absolutely perfect."
Gosh McDarnit, so much fluff. I hope you liked it- I've been slaving away at this for a whole week. Ridiculous. XD T'was a nice birthday present to myself, though. I'm fairly happy with how this scene turned out.
*Commentator voice* A special thanks to my two dear friends, EMB and StoneByrd, who made this dream of mine a reality!
Seriously though. I've been trying without success to write KaixBesai fluff for so many months, but then I finally came to them for help, and...wow, it was a mistake not asking them sooner. Their suggestions really saved my skin here. And having EMB over my shoulder, critiquing as I tried to wrap this monster up last night, was a tremendous help.
I probably just looked like a lunatic, though, muttering to myself, slapping my face, and jabbing the backspace key every other sentence.
Did you guys enjoy? There's a nifty little box down below where you can leave your thoughts. :) Have a great weekend!