Author's notes: Just a short note this time, as the story slowly starts to enter a proper sort of plot, although I suppose you could argue that there has been a kind of plot through the last few chapters as well. A fair amount of time has passed in the first half of this story – a year passed between the first chapter and Alfeegi's first kiss with Javon, and almost another year has passed since Kai-stern has been away.


Kiss: The Road Home. Sound of Waves.

It was time to return home to Draqueen. Nine months on the road had worn on Kai-stern as it always did, his love for adventure and travel waning as the continuous nature of living out of his backpack and spending too many nights out in the open dragged on. The travel was not all that bad by itself, but at times it seemed as though dealing with the harsh conditions and physically demanding routes was often the only actual break he got, as the complicated and complex politics of the citadels and townships he visited demanding far more from him. He always ended up returning to Draqueen emotionally and physically spent, and sometimes even then Kai-stern only ended up being allowed to rest for a couple of weeks before heading off to a new destination.

Kai-stern hadn't needed to return to Draqueen via Breen, a small township that sat on the coast and relied heavily on the fishing industry to survive. But he had spent over two months traveling though nothing but forest and had found himself suffering horribly from claustrophobia, and there was just something about the salty tang of sea air that Kai-stern found almost irresistible. Perhaps it was because the first place he'd ever considered safe had been a seaside township that was located much further to the north than Breen. He'd fled from his own village only weeks before, finally having found the courage to leave, when he'd stumbled across Marinias and its beautiful sandy beaches. He'd never even seen sand before, let alone the ocean, and Kai-stern had simply stood there for hours, toes sinking further into the sand as wide eyes looked out in wonder at the open expanse of crystal blue water. The locals had surely thought him strange, and while, looking back, they'd been rather rude and dismissive of him the moment they caught sight of his fair hair and unnaturally pale eyes, at the tender age of 18 rude and dismissive had been the best Kai-stern had ever been treated.

He occasionally thought about traveling back to Marinias just to see how it had changed, but it was a thought that never lingered for long. As beautiful as Marinias had been, it was still far too close to a huge amount of bad memories that Kai-stern was still attempting to forget. Time had made those memories almost obsolete, replacing them with ones of laughter and friendship, but there was always the fear that returning anywhere near his old home would bring those memories back completely.

And Kai-stern would much rather focus on the future.

The beach at Breen was not quite as golden and the waves not quite as clear, but Kai-stern found it wonderfully relaxing, all the same. He sat himself down on the sand with a glass of ale, slowly sipping the frothy brew as he watched the waves lap gently along the shore. The soothing sound of the waves was almost like a wordless lullaby, and for just a moment the tension in Kai-stern's shoulders and his general tiredness was washed away.

Alfeegi would have loved it here.

Kai-stern smiled wryly. He was used to Alfeegi invaded his thoughts by now, and instead of causing some form of internal conflict like it might have done several months ago, the thought of his friend just helped Kai-stern relax even further. This trip had been more difficult than most, and the strain of having to deal with the threatening turmoil in Sandi coupled with the famine that had decimated the crops in Seria had taken its toll on Kai-stern. He was going to sleep for a month when he returned to Draqueen, reports and write-ups be damned. Of course, Alfeegi would surely put a crimp into that particular plan, and Kai-stern doubted he'd even be allowed to grab a short nap during his first couple of weeks back. After all, he'd been away for almost nine months, and hadn't done a single sheet of the paperwork he was supposed to do during the course of his journey. He supposed he could start it now, but the sun was just wonderfully warm, and there was a gentle breeze that invited sloth-like behavior.

Besides, Alfeegi was all kinds of cute when he was angry.

Kai-stern had a feeling that Javon thought so as well, although the other man was far too polite to ever even imply such a thing. But Kai-stern was sure he'd seen a smile play on Javon's lips on occasions when Alfeegi had been in full ranting mode, his eyes blazing every shade in the spectrum between lavender and grey, his hair flying behind him as he angrily stalked to and thro. Alfeegi, Kai-stern had noted with amusement, actually tried to control his temper when Javon was around, and if it wasn't for the fact that Kai-stern would rather have Alfeegi to himself for even just a couple of minutes, he would have made sure to tell Alfeegi that he hadn't done any of his paperwork while Javon was still in the room.

Javon had been a good influence on Alfeegi, and while Kai-stern could admit to being somewhat jealous of the other man, that Alfeegi had found someone that he could spend time with on a romantic level was not something Kai-stern could begrudge. There were still stray glances at Ruwalk, and sometimes sadness still lingered in Alfeegi's eyes, but Javon was making Alfeegi happy, and that was all that really mattered.

Well, that was what mattered most of the time. Kai-stern was far from perfect, and more than that, he was very much human. Occasionally – usually when he'd drunken slightly too much and ended up in someone's bed – he wondered why exactly it had been Javon that Alfeegi had chosen, and not someone more … accessible. But those were the ramblings of someone plied with alcohol, and in his more saner (and sober) moments, Kai-stern merely felt more bittersweet about it all than anything else.

He wondered if Alfeegi had ever been to the ocean. Perhaps he'd take him out here, one day. The view really was quite beautiful, and the beer was decent enough. Not that Alfeegi ever technically drank, although there were several bartenders who would argue otherwise. Kai-stern had never seen Alfeegi drunk again after that first night, but it wasn't rare for them to have something vaguely alcoholic together from time to time, although Alfeegi had this strange habit of claiming that Kai-stern forced or pressured each drink down him.

Draqueen was only a five day hike from here, through the Mystica pass and across the Lifica lake, where mermaids were rumored to haunt the depths. He'd never seen one in any of his travels, but if there was one thing that his many trips had taught him, it was that local superstitions and fairytales often had some basis in fact. The cynical part of his nature immediately attributed such things to demons and black magic, but occasionally something that seemed too wonderful and fanciful to be true actually was. He still had fond memories of being prepared to attack a well hidden glade where strange happenings had been reported, only to stumble across a handful of tiny pixies who had been putting on their own miniature midsummer's festival. It had been quite a delight to simply watch them as they danced and sung beneath the moonlight, tiny wings glistening gold and silver.

But there had been no pixies on this trip, just politics and diplomats. Kai-stern would rather face down demons, at least they were generally fairly uncomplicated in their desire the kill you.

It was not until the sun began to set that he finally left the beach, making his way back to his inn. He would head off at dawn, but until then he was going to rest in a nice, comfortable bed that came with no strings attached for the first time in months. While it was still possible that someone might try to kill him in his sleep or poison his food here, Kai-stern allowed, it was more likely to be in a simple robbery attempt gone wrong or deceivingly bad cooking. He ignore the odd glances that people sent him, the whispered comments spoken so quietly that human ears wouldn't be able to catch them – at least, human ears that had not been enhanced through immortality and all its perks. They were comments that Kai-stern was well used to now, ones that quietly questioned the colour of his hair or the shade of his eyes, and he found them to be far more amusing than intrusive.

Kai-stern had to sidestep around a pair of young sweethearts kissing in the corridor that lead to his room, his amusement turning wry as he wondered briefly where his own youth had gone. The thought flickered away quickly as he unlocked and opened his door, his eyes immediately falling on the innocent looking envelope that sat on his desk. A maid had probably left it there for him while cleaning, Kai-stern thought carefully as he eyed it with concern. It was not the means of how the letter had gotten into his room that bothered him, and more that, even from the door, Kai-stern could see how the envelope was stamped closed with the Sandi seal.

And it had been almost nine months. Kai-stern was ready to go home.

With a groan, he quickly reached out and opened the letter, only to find his worst fears confirmed. Sandi's king was requesting that Kai-stern visit them before returning back to Draqueen, apparently he was needed to sort out some dispute that was sure to be silly and insignificant. Sandi was a whole week of traveling to the west, and while it would only take him four or five days to travel from there back to Draqueen, the route he'd have to take to get to Sandi didn't actually take him any closer to home. Kai-stern had no idea how long it would take to sort out Sandi's latest round of problems, but knowing their king, it would take far, far longer than it should.

And he would have to leave tonight, even though the room had been paid for until the morning. Alfeegi was bound to lecture him for that, even though it was hardly Kai-stern's fault. It would now be another couple of weeks – at least – until he would see the other man again, and that deflated Kai-stern just a little. It had been months since he had seen a truly friendly face, or any face really that hadn't been ruled by motives and politics, and he had been looking forward to being able to finally let his guard down and simply relax with a friend, especially if that friend just so happened to be Alfeegi. He had been looking forward to catching up with Rath as well, and as he repacked his bags he self-consciously checked to make sure that all the gifts and knickknacks that he had picked up for the young demon were safely tucked away. Sweets and toffee, maps of demon invested areas, a new jacket. A book (with almost more pictures than words, naturally) on the art of swordsmanship, another simply with art associated with the samurai. Nicks and knacks, knacks and nicks. Alfeegi was going to blast him for wasting his money in such a way, while Ruwalk was sure to give him that look, the one that said that Kai-stern wasn't fooling anyone, not even Alfeegi. Alfeegi, at least, had the decency to pretend otherwise.

But maybe Rath would like something Kai-stern had bought, and knowing that was enough.

At the very bottom of his pack, cushioned between layers of clothes and socks, there was a small gift that had been carefully wrapped for Alfeegi as well. A small, delicate scroll that dated back at least 3000 years, it was inscribed in a language that Kai-stern had never seen before, and was sure to fascinate Alfeegi to no end.

Not that Rath or Alfeegi were going to be getting his gifts anytime soon. With a grunt, Kai-stern swung his increasingly heavy pack up onto his back, mentally calculating how far he could walk in the few hours left before dusk turned properly into night, before heading off once again.

The road home had just become slightly longer.