Feather Flight: All Those Arrayed Against Us (part 21)
An AU Kuja fic, shonen-ai, language
*****
Chafing his fingertips together to measure the magical charge left, he was comforted by the steady tingle in his blood. Healing Laro hadn’t taken as much effort as he had thought it would. The genome watched the soldier leave before making his way back to the main room of the spacious tent. Cots were along every wall and in rows down the middle, housing the wounded from the past several weeks of battle. The smell of stale blood made him wrinkle his nose. He had never been a fan of attending to sick and injured on Gaia, thinking himself above such petty concerns. Now they just served to remind him of his mortality. It wasn’t a cheering sight.
// But then… until a few weeks ago… I was no better than any of these men… They were hurt maybe retrieving the very shard I used to save myself… //
His conscience, although late-blooming, was very logical about things. Torn between letting nature take its course, or getting involved, he froze in place listing to the random sounds of pain. Kuja smiled sickly. The ironies in life were always more amusing when they happened to /other/ people. The little moral voice in the back of his head wasn’t above pressing it moral advantage. He was already involved. The only reason the others weren’t asking him to help was because they were still too innocent to know what he was capable of. Cursing his luck, and his generous impulses, he knelt down next to a man who was practically mummy-wrapped in bandages, not quite touching him in order to check his status. Without help the young soldier would be dead by morning. He bit his lip in frustration.
// You’re a coward Kuja… //
The voice sounded remarkably Zidane-like, high handed and smug in the knowledge that it was right. Kuja cursed it under his breath.
// But if I spend all my strength on healing them I’ll have nothing for tomorrow… //
The argument sounded pathetic, he twisted his fingers into his robe. Tactically speaking, Laro could probably manage one more day just fine without him. No matter how talented, one mage, in relation to an entire war, wasn’t really all that much different from one cannon, a convenient tool, but hardly likely to change the course of the battle unless applied with careful planning. And as far as Clay knew or would report tomorrow, all he was good at was single combat against hollow shells.
// If I were them, I’d hold me in reserve, wait for the most opportune moment… So /think/ every twelve hours… that’s your window… and it’s already been two… so in ten more hours you charge up and get on with your life whether you do or don’t try to help these poor people… //
The selfish, and traditionally far more vocal, part of him pointed out that using /that/ much magic would probably leave him rather queasy until he was able to artificially restore what was spent. If he wanted his reunion with his lover to go unspoiled, and mentally he agreed fervorently that he did, then it would be better to conserve his strength. Putting his own juvenile needs ahead of those selflessly dying, it had a nasty ring to it. He blamed Laro. The man’s damnable sense of honor was contagious. There was no question of what /Laro/ would do in this situation. Kuja ground his teeth, reminding himself that that sort of selflessness was probably what had almost killed the dark-skinned fighter earlier that afternoon. Someone had to be the voice of reason and moderation.
// Just ten hours, and you can walk it off as if you slept the whole night through. What the hell could happen in ten hours…? Aside from your hypothetical rendezvous with… and he would understand… if you told him… he would… be proud… //
He stood up as if stung. // Shit. // Kuja could almost feel another layer of his supposed ‘evil’ nature burning away as he cleared his throat to get one of the doctor’s attention.
“…Excuse me… is this all the wounded… or is there another tent…?”
“Um… well these are the worst… we try to let the less wounded men go back to their teams to rest and help with camp duties… they get depressed if they stay around all of this…” The young man gestured around at the cots.
The genome thanked him and then started counting. Spell-for-spell, a group this size was best handled all at once. He wished he had an artifact to make the casting easier, knowing that it was impossible. At least it seemed that all spells were more potent here then back on Terra or anywhere else. He had expected the cure spell to leave Laro sore but functioning, instead it had all but restored him. It reminded him of his attempt against the training-dummy, and gave him confidence that even the first level spell would do a fair amount of good for those around him. He could always go back and repeat the process for the more severely injured if he had the strength. At the very least, he’d buy them an extra day.
// Or an extra ten hours… //
In a fit of devil-may-care generosity, he included the exhausted doctors in his count. They looked like they could use a jolt. Kuja compared the final number in his head to the level of his energies and did a depressingly quick calculation. It could be done, but he’d be good for nothing until morning.
// But I wanted… //
He crushed the childish thought and started rolling up his sleeves. The other medics in the room were simply staring at him as if he had gone crazy. He was inclined to agree with them. “… Is Ms. Anne present? I would like to speak with her.”
“…Mr. Kuja are you… can you?” Guessing his intent, the woman was at his side, wide-eyed and rather unintelligible with hope. “… but there are so many…”
“… I may need to lay down when I’m done. I really have no idea what spending this much all at once is going to do to me…” He sighed. “Still, it ought to be attempted.”
“But your health!” The doctor really was a considerate creature, even now thinking of him instead of the dozens of men lying in the room. He selfishly basked in the concern even as he shook his head. He had no delusions anymore that his life was worth all that much more than anyone else’s. If he had, why would he have bothered to slog half way across a continent to fight at Laro’s side?
“It won’t hurt me… I’ll just be useless until the next cycle on the shard, that’s all…”
“You’re sure?” The red head fidgeted. “You know what will happen if you over extend…”
“Hush woman, you’re making me nervous.” He smiled grimly. It wasn’t true. He’d have been nervous even without her anxieties. Wracking his brain he couldn’t remember ever trying to cast on this many people all at once. Not anticipating any weird magical side effects of collateral drain of energies didn’t mean there wouldn’t be some. Kuja didn’t like working without a margin of safety, but he didn’t see what choice he had. Finally prepared, he gave a silent blessing that it was too late for anyone to be cutting or stitching at their patients. The last thing he wanted was to alarm some doctor by having the wound close around him as he worked.
The spell swarmed inside his head as he built it, cot by cot, dabbing out an invisible floss of energy to each and every occupant, for the main bulk of the energy to spool down when ready. By the time he was done he stood at the center of a virtual web. There was no time to back out of it now, he decided fatalistically ad he murmured the final word of the litany. “… Cure.”
In hindsight, he realized he might have wanted to warn the people involved about the visual component of the magic. Green and gold light filled the room, blossoming forth from the beds like the progressive flares of a dynamite fuse as it burned. Some of the doctors shouted in worry as they moved to check patients only to be engulfed by a flash of their own. Luckily one of the primary after-effects of the spell was a sense of calm and wellbeing, otherwise Kuja might have felt rather silly about starting a riot.
Power bled out of him quickly enough to send the blood rushing from his head. He blinked and sank to the floor to put his forehead on his knees, trying hard not to black out.
// Being heroic feels like shit… //
Around the room, the change was immediate. Men suffering from simple broken bones and lacerations shook off the sleepy lethargy and sat up to find themselves whole. Soldiers with more complex problems and missing limbs found their fevers and infections gone as if they never had been, one officer, shattered arm still aching but now whole looking, got two of his more intact neighbors to put aside their congratulatory dance and come help him peel off the itchy bandages on his forehead. The worst of the injured slept a little easier as the pain faded, bodies soaking up the strength offered to knit together weeks’ worth of tissues in minutes. Newly rejuvenated field medics and nurses shook off their surprise and bustled into action.
The only person not better off from the spell in fact, was its instigator. Feeling fairly self-pitying, Kuja grumbled as his personal physician helped him to his feet and guided him into a private side chamber. Blessedly a cot, and the blanket-covered tripod where his shard was stored, was at the ready. Settling him onto the bed, she fussed over him a moment before scuttling off with promises of something to drink. He stared at the canvas ceiling for a moment, trying to be happier for the people celebrating their ‘miracle’ just beyond his screens. It almost helped. Mustering energy to move, he reached out and tugged the drape off his crystalline companion.
The sight of what was underneath made him forget himself in a struggle to sit up. The milky surface was twinkling happily, light sheeting across the face of it in vague patterns of lines. Tired, he tried to fathom what he was seeing, but the activity was beyond his befuddled understanding. At least the solution was simple.
Reaching out again, he put two fingers on the stone’s surface, and mentally prodded the power contained within. The genome resonated with the magical ‘focus’ for a moment, getting a sense of what it was pulling from. It felt a little different from usual. Instinctively he understood that the angle wasn’t perfect, but somehow, the link to Zidane’s crystal was still there, long after it should have been cut off. Not one to argue with convenience, he happily began to pull, losing himself in the comforting wash of power from the distant source.
*****
Something sparkled to life on the virtual map, a power surge measured where no power should have been, right in the middle of the continent. The phenomena caused a flurry of alarm among the watchers, and even the Queen was distracted from her egg-laying in order to be informed. This wasn’t the first surge to be detected, but it was different from the others, breaking the pattern they had witnessed for several weeks. She stared at the bright point of light, equally as intense as the known sources, it burned like a new Tower on the map, a com-crystal transmitting, but not to her ship. The large insect clicked her mandibles in annoyance.
What is its source?
Her advisors hissed softly, not wanting to admit ignorance. It had been less alarming before, when the
light had come from far away from the actual battle deep into where the natives
still held sway and she could not see. Over the past weeks it had begun to move
however, moving toward the battle line even as her
It didn’t seem like a weapon. The sporadic flares didn’t effect the other Towers, nor did they prelude any attacks that she was aware of. Shifting, she waved one of the attendants closer.
Has there been any
report from the
The drone nodded briefly, chirping out the ground commander’s most recent message. Her antenna shivered with alarm. Magical energies weren’t supposed to be possible beneath the net. The erratic and damaging power of the natives was sealed off. Inspecting the dark patch on her map, the set of disabled Towers, she wondered if her opponents had /this/ as their intention all along. Crafty creatures. The Queen vaguely recalled the specimen they had captured several years ago. A frighteningly illogical and savage mind, cluttered with emotions that she couldn’t understand. An entire species of individuals was a terrifying idea. Even after three decades, she didn’t see how they could function. Somehow in their chaos, they had found a sort of strength.
Can we link this rogue
crystal to the Net? I wish to communicate.
Several advisors moved to speak at once, gesticulating wildly in disagreement. The Queen overruled them with a thought, goading the one at the controls to do as she ordered. Chattering nervously, the young attendant complied. A gold line twinkled into life on her map, jumping from one of the Towers at the edge of the void right into the very center of it, bringing the mysterious crystal into her network.
Following the open channel with her thoughts, she found to her surprise, that there was another consciousness there ahead of her. The crystal itself seemed to be aware.
Who?
Confusion, alarm, and curiosity to match her own, for a moment she wondered if she wasn’t somehow catching a reflection, seeing her own awareness bounced back at her. There was something wrong about it, the mind feeling unpleasantly alien as it came in contact with her own.
… who are you…?
She almost let go of the channel in surprise at the
demanding question. Not Selwe, she tried to understand the overtones of the other
sentience. Impressions of exhaustion, warmth, and strangely, /softness/ came
along with the words. The concept, unknown to her people except by proxy,
confirmed the fact. Pushing away her distaste, she tried to get clarification. The last native she had tried to communicate
with hadn’t been at all receptive. The specimen might however have been an
inferior sample, despite her drone’s insistence that it had been treated as a
Are you Mammal?
There was a stronger wave of confusion, this time tinted
with amusement. I am Kuja.
Who are you?
We do not know ‘Kuja,’ that is an incorrect designation, are you Mammal? The chance for an exchange of information was too promising. She tried to make the other mind understand her demand. It stubbornly refused any sort of deeper probe, forcing her to accept only the information volunteered. Resolutely, she pushed again.
I am a mammal I
suppose, are you the Queen?
The creature’s mind was well protected, none of the openings available that she was expecting. It wasn’t even similar to the specimen’s, leaving her in a completely unknown situation. That was the problem with individuals, she decided, no two were ever alike. They could never be regulated and controlled like her army could, and so were fundamentally useless as servants or slaves. Unpredictable, they were simply too dangerous.
We prefer to think of it as making for stimulating conversation. Having experienced the alternative personally, I can vouch for the fact that having everyone thing the same way is frightfully dull. Not that I’d expect you to agree.
The thought caught her off guard, the information unsolicited. She almost dropped the channel a second time, suddenly aware that while she could not read her new contact, he – she stored the sense of gender away for further study – was under no such limitation. This individual might easily be able to crush her consciousness if it wanted. Common sense stated that she terminate the connection immediately. As interesting as the exchange of information was, it was too dangerous. This mind was not like the other mammals, it was an aberration, pulling power from elsewhere on her network, she regretfully prepared to destroy it.
Different isn’t always
dangerous.
Reading her thoughts again, the sentience seemed
fearless. Either it wasn’t aware that
she was about to terminate it, or it was confident that she didn’t have the
ability. She considered the problem as
she replied. Differentiation is inefficient.
Differentiation is necessary for survival. The calm voice disagreed.
She pushed the thought aside. The last time she had had an
actual argument was with another Queen. That had been centuries ago and she
hadn’t like it then either. Of all her children only her advisors,
and maybe the
You will be destroyed.
No. We won’t. Impossibly, the native reached down the channel, following it back to the Tower. For one horrifying instant it the mammal seemed to be everywhere at once, consciousness taking in the entire network. The power she held in reserve in the conduits to burn him away fizzled and released harmlessly in the atmosphere. You cannot stop me.
It was too much. The Queen terminated the connection to the rogue, afraid of what the crystal and its master were capable of. Shaking she watched the computer projection for a moment, the twinkle of light in the darkness gradually fading, presence gone elsewhere. There was no doubt that it would be back. Such power, in a male no less, was incomprehensible. Cleaning her antenna, she came to the only logical conclusion possible.
Sent a message to
*****
“Kuja!”
He let go of the shard and became aware of the shouting around him. He didn’t remember having stood up, but he obviously was since his initial impulse was to take a step back. Weak-kneed he staggered, and was caught from behind. The genome leaned into body behind them, trusting whoever it was to keep him upright as he tried to coordinate his arms enough to cover his ears with his hands. Everything was too bright, too loud, he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to explain his complaint with a tongue that felt just as strange as the rest of him.
“… stop shouting…. Stop shouting…” His voice sounded like it was coming from far away. Somehow he must have made himself understood because instead of the din of everyone bellowing at once, they fell to hushing each other loudly instead.
“… Masa…?” The volume was more reasonable. Pulling his hands away from his ears, he dared to open his eyes a crack. Focusing on things became easier as he concentrated on it but things got dizzying when he moved his head too fast. His human prop pulled him backwards and down onto the cot. “Come on Masa… you’re going to be fine…”
“What the hell happened?” Another voice loudly disagreed.
“Keep your damn voice down. Idiot.”
Slowly, ears followed eyes in returning to working order. Instead of hearing everything as if from over a bad communication link, the different voices started to sound familiar. Testing his theory, he cleared his throat lightly and made an educated guess. “… Laro?”
“I’m here.” Literally in the man’s lap, the genome inhaled and easily picked out the overtone of soap.
// He’s whispering…? God… What a headache… Did I just… what the hell was that… //
“… What happened?” He tested his voice again, pleased that it sounded more normal than before.
“Just about everything, from the sound of it… I leave you
alone for thirty minutes… Thirty! …and you single-handedly attempt to put my
entire army into disarray… at
“…didn’t mean to…” Looking around with more confidence, he easily identified several members of his audience, including a rather gray-faced Gerrick and a crowd of stunned doctors and senior officers. It reminded him of something. “… The injured?”
“It’s a bloody miracle…” The oldest of the medics was looking at him as if not entirely sure whether to kneel in thanks or start fussing over his blood pressure. Kuja wasn’t entirely keen on being on the receiving end of either. He didn’t have much of a choice, Anne, being the most inured to his magical antics, was already reaching past his general’s cradling arms in order to catch his wrist in a practiced hold.
She smiled at him encouragingly. “It’s amazing… we sent half of them back to their teams because we couldn’t find any reason to keep them here… by morning they’ll probably want to canonize you.”
“No thanks. Just… thought I could help…” He replied weakly. The oldest of the three generals was back as well, watching him with a sort of ironic smile. Kuja didn’t quite feel up to dealing with the man quite yet, eyes skipping over some avidly curious men on crutches in order to stare at the crystal shard. There was no sign of anything malignant about it now. The shimmer was still there however, going just as strong as it had when he had touched it. It was a mystery, but one that could wait.
// … There was someone there… the Selwe…? Incredible… //
He would have to tell Laro and the others, just not right now. The mage shook his head to get rid of the last of the weird detachment he was feeling. Whatever the aftereffects of the odd conversation were, they didn’t seem to have done any permanent harm. Rubbing his fingers together he could feel the crackle of energy there and waiting for him as it should be. She hadn’t interfered with that at least. He wondered if she could.
// She knows, every time I tap the crystal, she seems to know… but I don’t think she knows why… //
The moment of heady realization, when he had caught a glimpse of the Net from the inside, had been amazing. The level of control the aliens had over the crystals, and the frequencies they emitted was comparable to Terra at the height of its power.
“I’m alright now… sorry about that…” He made to move, but Laro only tightened his grip, seeming to want to keep him close. “Really… no harm done…”
“What was that?”
“… feedback, I think.” Kuja tried to turn and face his lover, but was at best only able to manage a glimpse of the long nose and a few of the wet braids tickling his forehead. “What did it look like on this end?”
“You were lit up like a bit of lithium.” Gerrick commented dryly. “And that was /after/ your little rainbow-colored fireworks display in the main-tent.”
“Not fireworks.” He disagreed blandly. “Just magic, that’s all.”
“… that’s all he says… You nearly scared the crap us, pulling a stunt like that with no warning…” Not appeased at all, the young officer scrubbed his head with his hands in frustration.
Anne finally relented with a sigh and let his arm go. “Pulse… a little elevated… probably due to excitement…”
“No, really?” The genome gave her a sour look. She simply stuck her tongue out.
“We tried to pull you off the stone, but you were sort of… stuck…”
“Good thing you didn’t, you might have hurt me.”
“You didn’t look like you were doing very well as it was!”
“Ah well. For what it’s worth, I don’t think it will be happening again.” He felt a little silly holding court from Laro’s lap while the others debated the meaning of it all around him.
The dark man simply murmured, “Why not?” at a pitch only he could hear.
Leaning back a little for a more private conference he tilted his head. “… because they won’t be stupid enough to try and interfere with me like that twice.”
“… /they/…?”
“… We’ll talk later, hmmm?” He petitioned, wanting some time to get his thoughts together. “… I’m really alright. Better then I was when I arrived, in fact. Could we perhaps continue this… somewhere a little less rowdy?”
“Hmmm.” The muscled fighter caught Anne’s attention as she packed up her kit. “… What do you say, Doctor?”
To her credit she simply shrugged, keeping the long explanations to herself. “He’s in good health. I’d say some peace and quiet is definitely in order. All things considered he’s done more good than harm tonight.”
“Fair enough. Tell the chief that I want a full report on those released from here in the morning… sometime… Everyone else…?” The general looked at his audience with tired humor. “Its late people… go to bed, would you?”
*****
Aside from the small man’s grumbling protests, Laro found it no burden at all to carry him the short distance from one tent to another. If any of his sentries wanted to gossip about it, they were welcome to. Somehow, he had a hunch they had more exciting things to speculate on at the moment. Forty odd young men who up until an hour ago had been slated for transport back from the front due to injuries were now bounding around the camp as if they were fresh off of a week-long-vacation. By morning even those out of sight of the ‘miracle’ would be talking about it as if they had been there themselves.
A hand prodded and then more aggressively jabbed his shoulder, making him pause to look down. “I’m carrying you, and that’s final, stop nagging!”
“Shut up and hold still a minute!” Irritated, the silver-haired man seemed to have completely forgotten about his complaints, intent on craning his neck to look up. “… stars!”
“Huh?” He tilted his head back to take a look for himself. Overhead the twinkle of distant constellations spanned the darkness.
// Yes… stars… Oh! He probably hasn’t seen clear sky yet! Stupid…. //
“Yes…” He smiled, “lots of stars… Pretty aren’t they…”
“That’s why the shard was working… there’s no interference…” pulling on his shoulders for leverage, the dainty mage studied the heavens carefully. In the distance where the next Tower stood, the edge of the Net spread forth, golden lines branching out and disappearing into the distant horizon on all sides. The irregular shaped hole overhead enormous when seen from beneath.
“Whatever you just did, Masa, it was amazing… They pulled me out of my damn bath because the Tower over there suddenly tried to spawn a new thread right over our heads… Maybe the Selwe were trying to close the gap… but it’s gone now…”
“… No… I don’t think so…” The slender man settled back into a more convenient hold. “I think that might have been my fault.”
“Your… you can control the Net?” Not sure if he wanted an answer to the question or not, he walked quickly towards ‘home.’
“Who me? No, I don’t think so… but… I think… I understand how it works a lot better now…” Using their relative privacy, the pale scholar tried to explain what had happened. Laro was just happy he had them safely inside the tent and seated on bed before most of it sunk in. Feeling more than a little shaky himself, he couldn’t help but hug his partner close to prove he was still there. The way the smaller man described it, was too close to the things he remembered.
“… Don’t ever do that again…”
“She didn’t hurt me. I don’t think she even knows how…”
“Still… don’t…”
Finally face to face, the long fingered hands reached up to soothingly pet his forehead and neck. “Shhhh. See? I’m fine…”
“I know…” Internalizing the message was another problem, he willed his limbs to stop trembling. Obviously Masa was unhurt, it hadn’t been the nightmarish experience he remembered.
// That feeling like someone is peeling you open and climbing in to try on your body for size… god… get out… get out of my mind… // He shook off the horror with a shudder, forcing himself to think only about the present warmth and companionship. It had been months since he had anyone to hang onto, it was remarkably pleasant.
“Shhhh… what is it Laro…? I’m here, you can tell me…”
“Too…” There wasn’t even a word for how bad it had felt. It had been worse than any torture he could name. “… too ugly… I don’t want to think about it right now…”
“Then don’t.” Masa agreed with a chuckle, twining his arms around his neck, to return the embrace. “I don’t mind.”
“Thank you.” He sighed in relief. Even fresh from the toil of the road, his lover smelled good. A moment fumbling with buttons had the already loose jacket free and pushed out of the way. Laro burrowed his face against the elegant sweep of the man’s neck, inhaling deeply.
“I must smell like a mix of motor oil and antiseptic…”
“No… you smell like sweat and desert… and a little of antiseptic…” He didn’t bother to move his head, speaking directly into the slender shoulder. The reply provoked a snort of laughter from his pillow.
“Don’t suppose there’s any hot water left…”
“Probably a whole tub full… I’d only gotten through the preliminary rinse off… wanted to soak a minute or two without carrying half the crud in with me… but then I got distracted…”
The silver-haired man chucked at his aggrieved tone. “… Well… I’ll wash your back if you wash mine… hmmm? That way we can be clean when we curl up later… and you can tell me again how much you missed me.”
// And here I thought that no force on earth could compel me to move from this spot… //
The soldier sat up slowly and smiled. “… You have yourself a deal.”
*****
Up with the dawn, Clay spared himself the luxury of a clean uniform and a meal eaten while not on the road. Sitting at the officer’s table with the others he speculated about the aliens movements, the efficiency of the new guns, and whether or not the oatmeal tasted more like grits before paying his complements and cheerfully making his way to the command tent to see what the senior officers had planned.
What they had planned apparently, was to sleep in.
Ibat’s second in command gave him a shrug, “The Kai is up, but he’s an old guy, you know? He went down to look at the field, saw the bugs weren’t fixing to move with the dawn, and figured he was still tired. Said we could meet in an hour.”
“Where’s Nazer-Kai?”
“Can’t say that I’ve seen him yet today. Probably sleeping in as well, since he was injured yesterday.”
// Right… injured… then healed… then… //
He /really/ didn’t want to think about what might have, could have, probably had happened once the general had carried Kuja off into the night. He having had quite long of a day /before/ the incident in the hospital and its bizarre aftermath.
// Just as ‘doting’ as before he left… what a way to run a bloody army… // Irritated, he decided to follow Ibat’s lead and stalked to the ridge to take in the view. The sun was still pretty low, bathing the valley in cheerful yellow. Scanning the entire barren basin proved that there was nothing moving around. The litter of black shells, especially at the base of the hillside was just that. He sighed as he slouched down next to the lookouts, wondering what the aliens were up to.
“When was the last time you guys had a quiet morning like this…?”
The captain put down his scope and rubbed his eyes to give them a break. “… Does ‘never’ count?” He and his assistant grinned at each other before looking back at him. “Well not since laying claim to this lovely bit of rock, at any rate, sir.”
Clay snorted, wincing as he tried to look towards the horizon where the enemy was hypothetically waiting. “… No movement at all?”
“Oh, they’re out there all right. At the moment we’re just doing a few counts while they’re standing still, see if we can’t keep a tally of what we’re up against, sir.”
“And what /are/ we up against?”
“Everything but the kitchen sink.” The younger officer brought the optical reader back to his eyes, trusting it to filter out the excess sunlight and let him get back to work. “… more are coming in every day… big ones… Yesterday’s count should be on file with the Kai’s staff, sir”
“The kai’s are both taking the morning off…”
“Today looks to be a good day
for it.” Either not hearing, or not acknowledging his sarcasm, the captain
seemed perfectly content with the news. “…
“Fair enough, I’ll stop distracting you from your duties then.” Turning back to camp, he decided he might as well kill some time looking through the reports. To his surprise, the oldest general was back from his nap and doing much the same.
Ibat lifted his mug in an informal salute. “Ah for the vigor of youth. I hear you’ve been waiting on me, boy, my apologies.”
“I hear you’ve only just arrived yourself…” Acquiring his own cup, Clay helped himself to some of the reports as well, browsing through the logs for the crucial details. The amount of action the army had seen in the past two weeks was remarkable. Hardly a day seemed to go by without some sort of skirmish.
“Indeed. Saw a few interesting sights along the way too… Makes me glad to see that Nazer was kind enough to catch and keep the highlands, I can tell you that.”
The younger general looked up from his charts, quickly catching the meaning. He grimaced at the memory. “I ran into a Digger down in the passes last year… lost three squads…”
“Evil critters…” The gray haired man agreed. “There’s one in the count as of last week, but they haven’t spotted it since.”
“… wonder where it went…”
“Hopefully? Far, far away.” The kai snorted again. “Ask my major about the one that nearly ‘got’ him, we ended up stealing some of the plating off what was left of it and armoring our jeeps.”
Clay looked up at the senior officer, impressed with the candid revelation. If there was one man in the military that deserved everyone’s respect, it was the ancient soldier calmly sipping his coffee on the other side of the table. It was funny to realize that this was the first real conversation he’d ever had with the living legend.
// God, here I was being my usual stupid self… and never realized that I was talking shop with none other than Everet Ibat… I can’t believe it… I’ve really /made it/… I’m a /general/… //
After all the frustrations and politicking that had come with his initial promotion, he had never thought he’d get his chance in the field. It was soul satisfying to sit back and realize that it had finally happened.
“What’s the matter son, you look like you’ve just had an epiphany.” Chuckling, the older officer picked up another file, flipping through it idly. “Damn, I don’t have the patience for this that I used to. Let me know if you find anything exciting.”
“Yes sir.” Pleased, Clay put himself to work. “Is there something in particular you’re looking for?”
“Yeah. Advanced technology… I figure I can just beat it out of Nazer if the lazy sod ever drags himself out of bed, but in the mean time, a little proactive reading won’t hurt, and from what I’ve gleaned so far, the fellow could really use a few hours of R&R with a sympathetic… companion.” Pale blue, the old man’s eyes twinkled mischievously.
“I don’t want to think about it.”
“You’re the one who brought the little thing here…” Ibat argued congenially. “You must know something about the fellow, although god knows I nearly took him for a woman on first inspection.”
“You’re not alone in that, I assure you.”
“Nazer has always had interesting tastes, I suppose.” The general leaned back in his chair, “… where as I’m too old for them… and it looks like you’re too rule-bound. Pity, you’re young, you ought to enjoy life more.”
“I prefer to focus on my work.”
“Trust me, it’ll still be there waiting for you if you let it sit for a while.” Scratching his chin, the grizzled man sighed in amusement. “… Still, it’s a shame to waste such a convenient morning… and some of my news just can’t wait.”
He watched as the senior officer pulled his feet off the table and stood up, stretching in a way that proved that sixty or not, he still had plenty of muscle to back up his brains. “Off to kick the boy out of bed, hold the fort would you?”
“You’re going personally?”
“Well it’s hardly the sort of thing I’d force a junior officer to do.” Ibat grinned, “… it’d be bloody embarrassing now wouldn’t it… besides, it’s not often I can make Nazer blush, I find it reminds me of the good old days.”
“Good luck.” Determined to never volunteer to go anywhere near the dark skinned soldier’s tent for anything short of alerting him to the imminent end of the world, Clay refilled his coffee and reading.
*****
Laro came awake with something tickling his nose, he tried blowing it away, but got a mouthful of the silky stuff instead. Brain waking up in lazy stages, he tried to cope with the situation and finally, resorted to opening his eyes to take a look. The sight was an altogether lovely one. Even in the tawny shadow caused by the canvas, Masa seemed to be made of polished silver and palest cream. Leaning closer to the sleeping features, he noticed a faint scattering of sun-induced freckles just along the top of the nose and cheeks.
It added a childish air to the normally impeccable man that he hadn’t had since his time on the coast. Not able to help himself, Laro leaned down and kissed them lightly, not really want to wake his lover quite yet. Somewhere deep under the tangled sheets, a tail tickled his knee playfully. He chucked at the touch and shifted a little to avoid it.
// Masa must be dreaming of chasing something. //
Remembering the silvery man’s occasional cat-like antics only made him smile wider. He carefully pulled a hand free from the bedding and tucked the errant strands of hair away from the delicate face before burrowing close again. With a little wiggling he was even able get his arm back beneath the sheets as well, sighing happily as he caressed the bare skin of waist, hip and thigh. Tired as they had been, they had managed a perfectly acceptable, even playful, reunion. Given the anxieties surrounding his last seduction of the cat-man he was pleasantly surprised at Masa’s enthusiasm. It was nice to be wanted after all; it had been hard to tell from just letters alone.
The mage murmured in his sleep, shifting a little in order to curl closer into the embrace, lips moving gently against his cheek. He couldn’t guess what time it was, surprised that his aide hadn’t tried to wake him. Usually he didn’t need the help, up even before the sun when he couldn’t deal with his dreams anymore.
// Did I even dream last night? I can’t remember anything after… /that/… // He smiled against the soft skin of Masa’s neck.
// Probably passed out in a way completely uncivilized and started snoring… //
“… Laro… you’re either laughing in your sleep… or… just laughing…” Yawning hugely, his lover tried, and failed to find an alternative to his initial assumption. The soldier surrendered his ability to pet the soft skin in favor of pushing himself up to capture a kiss. It wasn’t much of a struggle, the silver haired man was more than willing to help him welcome in the day in style. There was definitely something to be said for waking up to a willing lover. He tried to encourage the hands running down his back, but found his mouth otherwise occupied.
// Definitely nice to be missed… //
They moved with no particular urgency, waking up to each other and to the pleasures offered with no agenda in mind. The sweet rush of release swept through him, carrying the last of the cobwebs with it. He kissed the damp forehead beneath him, feeling the shorter man tremble under his seeking fingers and mouth as he found his own fulfillment. Masa sank back into the pillows with a contented sigh, allowing himself to be kissed and fussed over without complaint.
“I don’t envy whoever does your laundry today Laro… they’re going to have a fit over the sheets.”
“They’ll get over it… and if they don’t… I guess I’ll learn how to do them myself.”
“In your /copious/ free time… of course.”
Laro laughed at the dry comment. “Believe me, Masa, if there is the chance of them getting dirty in the same way again, I’d /make/ the time to scrub them between skirmishes.”
“You are impossible…” The pale scholar chuckled, pulling him down for a thorough kiss. “… but I admit, I’d be hard pressed to resist a man willing to do his own laundry just to thrill me with fresh linens…”
“See? It’d be worth being late to a war or two…” He joked as he settled back down beside his lover, wrapping his arms around him to keep him close.
“We’ll have to get up eventually.”
“Hmmm,” the dark man agreed, not willing to take the initiative just yet.
“If only to tell the old man that peeping is extremely rude.” It took a moment for the words to sink in; Masa’s conversational tone lulling him into a false sense of calm.
Laro propped himself up on an elbow to peer across the room. Sure enough, a very familiar gray haired officer was waving congenially at him from his sitting area. “How long have you been there…?”
“Seem to have come in just in time to catch the end of what must have been a rather amusing bit of speculation on the erotic properties of laundry. Pity your friend there has such good ears.” Completely without shame, his old teacher toasted them with his mug.
Masa, still curled against his shoulder, sighed in annoyance. “Voyeur.”
“Possibly, but usually I prefer more breasts.”
“… Stop it both of you.” Wishing that the ground below would swallow him up wouldn’t resolve anything. He closed his eyes, willing his cheeks to their usual hue. When he was somewhat confident that he could manage to look at his former teacher with out cringing, he opened them again. “I take it I’m late to my own debriefing?”
“Not really, but if you don’t get your lazy ass out of bed soon, you will be.”
“…pushy old fart.”
“Insolent puppy.”
Masa’s not so kind and loving hands assisted him out of bed with a firm push. His lover promptly claimed the rest of the bedding, burrowing under it with a happy sigh. Not amused, he covered himself with a towel that was conveniently in reach before digging under the blanked for a pinch-able bottom. The yelp was definitely entertaining, as was the embarrassed blush when the smaller man sat bolt up right and hissed at him.
“… Surely our new strategic advisor should be briefed as well?” He smiled sweetly as the older general simply laughed.
“I take back everything nice I’ve ever said about you, Laro Nazer.”
“You don’t mean that.” He chuckled as he tucked the towel around him and padded off behind the screen to quickly scrub down with the now cold water.
A grumbled, “The hell I don’t.” drifted from the vicinity of the bed.
“I’ll see you in an hour then, boy, Mr. Kuja… we’ll provide the coffee, of course.” Ibat made his escape in characteristic style, strolling out before he could put on a pair of pants and yell at him properly. It was for the best, he decided as he emerged from the screened off tub in time to be tackled by kiss-seeking-cat-man. They very nearly both ended up head down in the cold water as he tried to regain his balance under the onslaught, but it ended rather satisfactorily, voracious lips teasing his and briefly distracting him one last time from the world beyond the canvas walls.
Just as soon as it began, it was over, Masa wriggling from his grip in order to quickly tidy himself and dig through his bag for a fresh change of clothing. Somehow they got out into the sunshine without mishap, and he squinted at the horizon, amazed at how late the morning was. He sighed realizing that it really was time to get to work.
“Come along, /general/.” His lover chuckled, “I actually want to hear what your old letcher has to say… not to mention check over the maps…”
“I still can’t believe that /you/ are our damned strategist… why didn’t you /tell/ me before yesterday?”
“I didn’t want you not following perfectly good advice because of any misconceptions you might have about /me/,” the silvery man rationalized calmly. “If I could have thought of a way to come here and continue my role anonymously, believe me, I’d have considered it.”
“Surely I’m not /that/ bad…” Laro tried to defend himself. “I mean, how was I to know…”
“I tried to tell you… you just were too busy worrying about your ‘poor fragile flower’ to listen…”
The general cringed under the analysis, grimly realizing that while Masa was capable of sweetness in private, he was determined to be all business otherwise. Falling in step, he sighed and lead the way to where the others were waiting. “Yes, Mr. Kuja, anything you say Mr. Kuja, my sincerest apologies, Mr. Kuja…”
“I love you, Laro.”
Said so quietly he might have missed them, and very possibly meant entirely in jesting reply to his complaint, they were still enough to make him turn and stare. The pale courtier simply raised a eyebrow, feigning ironic amusement, but the look was completely done in by the pink blush in his cheeks. They stared at each other, seeming mutually amazed, until Masa coughed slightly to break the mood. “… Stop staring at me, I’m not going to repeat myself.”
“Oh.” It would take some getting use to, he decided; this mixing of business and pleasure. His brain simply couldn’t keep up.
“… The meeting…?” His lover prompted helpfully.
“Right.” Laro shook himself and tried to get back in an appropriately military frame of mind. It didn’t help that in reality he wanted to do nothing more than start dancing for joy.
*****
*****
Next time. Battle battle battle… finally. Jeez Kuja, pick it up a little, will ya? --Lunar