A Touch of Warmth

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Early morning fog blanketed the capital city, glowing with a hint of pinkish-orange sunlight as it broke over the trees. The city never quite slept at night and the sun brought with it early morning chores and vendors setting up for the day and a few morning patrols.

Had Sebastian managed to sleep the previous night, he likely would have refused to leave his room. But he hadn't slept and he was bored of staring at the four walls and his snake and he didn't want Baird or anyone else offering 'fatherly' encouragement to move forward with his life. So this morning, he had tugged on a few layers, disregarded his uniform and armor and forced himself outside for a run.

The cold air was sharp in his lungs, waking him up more effectively than he could have asked for. After a loop around the training yard, he found himself warmed up enough and yet aching to keep walking rather than stand around on guard duty all day. So he collected his guardsman cloak and excused himself from the castle for a day off in the city. Sebastian wasn't sure what he wanted to accomplish, but as he walked along the road out of the gates and toward the city proper, he felt a sort of weight lift off his shoulders, as if being trapped in the castle itself was oppressive to his already melancholy mood.

The captain followed the main road and soon found himself passing through the market. His blade rested on his hip and he kept his hands folded under his cloak. Normally he visited the tavern but it was a bit early for that. He cast a cursory gaze over the shops but he had no desire or compulsion to shop either, simply taking in the growing crowd and feeling oddly outcast from the moment.

Feleti Eidothea

[Feleti Eidothea]

The hustle and bustle of the capital amazed leti even in the early morning. Though now that he had made a few friends and been shown around a little he felt much less intimidated by it. He too had snuck out of the castle in the early morning to enjoy a nice walk though for very different reasons. He had thoughts of perhaps visiting lady pandora's shop, or exploring a bit more of the sprawling streets. His mood was high and there was the usual gentle smile on his lips.

He had been so focused on getting his bearings as an army medic in the big city that he had almost forgotten. No perhaps forgotten was the wrong word because he never stopped thinking of it, but he had distracted himself enough to almost believe it wouldn't happen.
There he was watching a trader set up their stall whilst exchanging idle chatter, from his peripheral he saw the recognizable uniform cloak of a royal guard. He turned expecting extend a casual greeting, only to see the man's face and freeze. There was no mistaking that face. There was no mistaking that blade. Even though he had thought about this moment for years, now that it had happened he felt himself panicking.
He stood there for a moment unable to get words to form, wondering if the man considered him friend....or foe..
But that was only for a moment, as the shock faded into a more pure panic he turned on his heel to dash away.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

He didn't think much of the groups he passed or the snippets of conversation he overheard. The longer he walked, the more exposed he felt without his armor. Maybe he should have elected to take out a patrol instead. The soldier didn't know what else to do with himself besides work.

There were all sorts in the capital. Drab clothed commoners, brightly colored merchants, foreigners from other isles...but it was still early enough that most were locals. Even then, his gaze drifted over the familiar shock of white hair without so much as a spark of recognition.

At least not at first.

Sebastian had successfully put his time in the cave in the mountain out of his mind, for the most part. There were always flashes that tried to invade, especially when it came to bathing but even in small moments that reminded him of the healer. But recently, he had become more and more conscious of how...lonely his life was. And how much he had fond memories of that other life.

If Feleti had simply stood there and not moved, the soldier likely would have kept moving. But at the commotion behind him, the vender calling after his suddenly absent conversation partner, Sebastian turned. His heart thudded in his chest and before he realized what he was doing, his feet carried him after the phantom.

[Feleti Eidothea]

He wasn't sure where he was going. Hell he was only half sure WHY he was running. The healer ignored the startled noise of the trader calling after him. The tittering of the people in the market wondering what the sudden flurry of movement was about. His mind was blank as he fled through the winding streets.

It wasn't as though he genuinely thought he could lose the man. His body just seemed to have chosen the flight response. Before he knew it he had run far outside the recognizable part of the city. He passed strange buildings and increasingly unfamiliar streets cobbled together in a way that only heightened his panic.

Eventually his luck ran out as chose the wrong alley to turn down and was promptly faced with a dead end. What now? Climb the walls like a thief? Or....? He slowly turned to face his pursuer.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Sebastian thought about calling after Leti. But then he was only half sure it was the healer. If it wasn't him, he would feel like an idiot and if it was him...he didn't know what to say. So he only panted and continued after him.

He knew why Leti might run away from him. He knew less what he would do if he caught up.

As they pushed through the crowd toward the emptier streets and dashed over the cobbles, his instinctive reaction to chase started to fade. The odds were it wasn't even him, striking hair or not. He slowed and then skidded to a stop at the end of the alley, pressing a hand to the far wall, panting and sucking in air.

And then he looked up to meet those soft silver eyes and the sharp features and feathery hair and it was his turn to stand there speechless.

[Feleti Eidothea]

He sure how he had hoped their meeting would go but this...wasn't it.

As their eyes finally truly met again an awkward silence settled between them. At least now that he was cornered here he had been force to actually look at bastian's face. It was somehow a little calming to see his own confusion mirrored in the soldier's face. His dark brow furrowed in that familiar way. Leti searched for something to say but there wasn't a greeting in the world that seemed to fit the strange gravity of the situation.
For a moment he stood there looking a bit like a caught rabbit. Then when Bastian didn't make a move to actually capture him he found his body moving again. Not away, but toward bastian.
His feet carried him right up to the guard and his hand slowly rose up to rest on the man's chest as if asking a question.
This was perhaps a pretty foolish gesture but he couldn't help it. His eyes gazing up at bastian as if silently wanting some kind of confirmation that the man remembered the time they had spent.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

The soldier had never imagined he would see the man again. And if he ever did, he had convinced himself he wojld do what he had to do. What he was born and bred to do. And yet here he was, just...standing there.

More than anything, he tried to convince hinself to leave. He couldn't allow the moment to continue forever and he couldn't allow himself to move forward, but try as he might, he seemed entirely unable to make his feet go backward.

As Feleti moved toward him, he panicked, but still found himself standing there, unable to find the resolve to turn away. As the healer's hand pressed to his chest, he stopped breathing.

His dark eyes broke from Leti's to look at the hand on his chest and then finally lifted again, a more determined look on his face. His hand reached up to grip Leti's hand and then a moment later he brought his other hand to Leti's cheek, threading his fingers through his white hair and pulling him into a brief kiss.

[Feleti Eidothea]

His heart pounded in his ears for a moment as he waited for bastian's response.
All at once the tension was released as bastian gripped his hand. He practically melted into the kiss letting the weight of their years apart seep back into his heart.

His hand gripping bastian's tightly even as he drew out of the kiss. For a moment he was still struck by a lack of words.
Then all at once the words leaked out of his mouth slightly above a whisper "I missed you."
Leti's silver eyes were burning with the truth of the words he couldn't deny. No matter what happened from here, that at least was a fact.

somehow it now that it had happened it almost seemed silly that he thought he could have avoided it. He feet and training had been drawing him closer to the man ever since that last night together.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

It was easy to let himself be carried away. To let his feet and his hands take him where that locked part of his heart wanted him to go. Just because it was easy didn't make it wrong, but he still wasn't sure it was right. After so many years apart and not seeing Leti, it was easy to say yes and hard to say no.

He too kept his hold on Leti's hand as they drew apart and he immediately needed to feel the man's warmth against him like he had so many times before.

"I..." he cleared his throat. "I missed you too, Leti," he said, the man's name a hesitant addition, both of their tones suggesting that a stray word might break the fantasy. And then heedless of anything else and grateful for the deserted alley, Bastian wrapped his arms around his old friend again for a deeper, more passionate kiss.

His chest was heaving when he pulled away, as if only then realizing this wasn't the time nor place for that sort of behavior. He glanced back toward the street that had brought them here, orienting himself after a moment, though his grip holding the healer to his chest didn't slack.

He was still surprised to see Leti here, wondering what had finally brought the man away from his cave and the small village.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Hearing the confirmation, hearing his own name on bastian's lips again made tears well up in Leti's eyes. He hadn't known how badly he had been waiting to hear those words. There was no hesitation as he wrapped his arms tightly around bastian and kissed back with need.
He could have stayed like that for much much longer but he too came to his senses as they drew back apart. His breath also a bit ragged as he too glanced at the street. His gaze however turned back to his reunited lover rather quickly. He knew that more than ever they had to be careful. Somehow despite knowing that he couldn't find it in himself to pull fully away.

He also wanted to ask about bastian, he had known the man was a soldier but it seemed he had been... promoted?
Even now he was still finding it hard to talk about the present...it felt like it would inevitably lead to them both having to acknowledge that they shouldn't be here. That they shouldn't meet.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Sebastian wasn't exactly sure what to do after that. What did normal people do when they were reunited with someone they loved? Get a drink and talk he supposed. But it was still early for one and he wasn't great at the other. Especially recently. He'd be starting all over again with Leti, but he barely wanted to think about how they had parted ways or the fact that they were on opposites sides of his father's war. None of the bigger picture mattered, at least not in the face of this moment.

It took him a moment to get words out, simply studying Leti's face like he couldn't be sure it was really him standing there. He didn't want to just dtand there, he wanted...well, he had an urge he hadn't acted on in a very long time only he wasn't sure where to go.

But before any of that, he had something else to say to the man who had saved his life years ago. "Thank you," he said earnestly, if rather out of context.

[Feleti Eidothea]

For a moment he was caught just staring back into bastian's eyes. Being looked at so thoroughly brought a slight worry to his heart but it was somehow familiar as well.
When bastian did break the silence it caused leti to utter a soft chuckle. He wasn't sure what the man was thanking him for, saving him?, for protecting him?, for coming all the way here? either way it didn't feel like he was owed anything.

"I did it because I wanted to." He replied without hesitation, because it applied to all of them. He fidgeted and glanced at the cloak "so....you're a guard?" He slowly edging into the inevitable conversation. It seemed that for now his neck was safe. Even so it felt a little awkward getting into the details.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

He wasn't sure either and he didn't specify further even after Leti's hesitation, though the chuckle did confuse him a little. He was being serious. He didn't feel he owed the man anything, he just... wanted to let him know he meant it.

"Yes," he said, both caught off guard and grateful for the distracting question. "Guard captain," he clarified. The question and his answer brought a bit of reality back to the moment and he let his hold on the other man loosen, though he didn't move away, since enjoying the closeness. "What brought you here?" he asked.

[Feleti Eidothea]

Leti too loosened his hold in response but didn't move away.
He too enjoyed this small comfort of being near the other man. He was a little surprised to hear that the man was so high ranking. But then he had known all along that the man wasn't an ordinary soldier.
He had the urge to congratulate the man but of course it probably wasn't a very recent promotion....

"I decided to become a field medic like Cain once was. I've been working in the army medical clinic for nearly a month now. " He replied sounding perhaps a bit more proud than he meant to. It wasn't too different to his past work as a healer considering there wasn't a war on. Well not an external war...he had yet to brush shoulders with the internal war.
He glanced at the unfamiliar road outside the alley "Actually...I'm still not so used to the city... I'll probably need help finding my way back to the castle."

[Sebastian Arcturis]

He'd had a much more important and looming promotion to Warden Inquisitor, but he wasn't about to talk about that. It was already awkward enough not negating what he was and standing next to a mystic of all things. Luckily not very many knew what he was. And hopefully less knew about Leti. Bastian certainly hadn't breathed a word.

As it was, he wasn't sure whether to congratulate Leti or not. He sounded proud of himself, so he supposed it was warranted. "Congratulations," he offered. "I have not seen you." For a whole month? It was less indicative of whether he got injured or not and more that he simply didn't seek out medical attention. There were a few reasons for that. Some involving his depression, others involving Leti. He probably should have, after the whole snake incident.

"Oh," he glanced from Leti, to the street and then toward where he knew the castle to be. It seemed to call a sort of temporary halt to their questions. He took a step back toward the street. "This way."