the honor

Frustration colored Kuno's voice and her brow arched in quiet surprise, it felt as if he hadn't quite come to terms with the loss and Raven didn't want to fill in the lines for him, his life was his choice. She couldn't blame him, she turned into a rabid creature capable of paralyzing and murdering those who were bold enough to mention her parent's imprisonment in her presence, it wasn't something she knew how to talk about very well.

It panged her to hear him suggest the guest room, that wasn't why she came, she might have been low on coin but she had slept beside the highway enough nights to be comfortable making camp, it might have been what he needed so she nodded. "If that's what you want." She stifled laughter when he ruffled her hair, it was obvious that he was uncomfortable at that point and she hoped that his ghost wasn't going to stop her from sharing his bed.

She tried to wait in the guest room, splashed some water on her face and eventually the suspense of waiting to talk to him won over and it really wasn't that long before she found him in the kitchen, soft footsteps and a gentle tone in her voice. "I've lost people too, I understand. It's okay if you're in love with her." It felt like being vulnerable and made her want to squirm as she half admitted to how much she loved him.

Of course, Raven was here now. It was impossible for him to tune out the noises of her wandering around in the other room, wondering if she was comfortable. Happy. Deep in his heart, he wanted to share all of this with her, even if he didn't have much. Except, he didn't even know how long he had with her here. Was she planning to stay for a night? For a week? Forever? Kuno quickly dismissed the thought. He didn't want to get his hopes up, not when he'd finally finished rebuilding them up from scratch.

Instead, he busied himself with dishes, his sleeves rolled up and hands deep in soapy water when Raven found her way into his kitchen. Kuno froze for a moment, lips parted as he debated what to say. Her voice had been so gentle, and he liked to think it was a tone she reserved only for him. Quietly, he turned off the water and dried his hands, sticking them in his pockets as he finally spoke, "I do love her. Of course I love her. Part of me probably always will." He shrugged, as if he'd finally accepted his own, painful fate. "But I can't be in love with someone who's not even here."

Kuno took a couple of steps foward, moving only slightly closer, unsure if his words were helping or hurting her. But they were ones he needed to say, regardless. "But you're still here, for some reason that I haven't quite figured out yet." He chuckled and scratched the back of his head, grateful for whatever was keeping her around, even if it was only for a little while. "Feel free to enlighten me, if you want."

Kuno's eye contact broke and when he stepped away, she missed the warmth that his body had offered, allowing her own eyes to skate across the room, inspecting the life that he had built for himself and as he found space on the shelf, she leaned over to latch the window behind her. She didn't want to drag in the summer rain through the open window that she had arrived in and she nodded at her crow that had found shelter in the crook of a great oak outside, a silver pedant dangling from his beak.

She misses the flicker of emotion that crosses Kuno's face as his back in turned to her, and when he returns he has a photo frame in hand -- her dark eyes watch him carefully as he speaks and her breath hitches. She had tried very carefully to forget about the wife that had come before, about the loss that he had suffered and the love that he buried.

She feels as if the paralyzing venom that came from her touch had seeped into her own bloodstream, he is saying something else than what she is hearing, all of her doubts and insecurities swirl around her mind and she is guarded, careful to not display her jealously for a women that is dead and gone. She feels rooted to where she stands and it takes great effort to speak past the knot in her throat. "She's pretty." She does not offer more words, fear has her by the throat.

"She is. Or was? I don't know." He sighed in frustration, though it was clearly directed at himself rather than Raven. Even whether to use past or present tense was a constant question. There was no guidebook on how to talk about these things, and even if there was, well... he couldn't really read. With a gentle shake of his head, he placed the frame back on it's shelf, making sure it was nice and straight.

As he turned back to Raven, his eyes locked on the pile of groceries he'd dropped on the floor minutes prior. It seemed like a good excuse to give her some space, if she needed it. "Why don't you go get comfortable in the guest room? There's a bathroom across the hall, too, if you need to freshen up. Just make yourself at home, and I'll come check on you in a bit." He smiled genuinely, trying to reignite the playful atmosphere from earlier by ruffling the top of her dark hair.

He pathed towards the kitchen, dragging in bags of groceries as he went. The moment Raven was out of sight, he let out a long sigh, pausing to feel whatever he needed to feel before he busied himself with unpacking food, that he'd mostly purchased in servings of two. He'd make her breakfast in the morning, if she stayed around. He hoped she would.

Freydis, possessing faith in their ability to rise to the demands of Soul Breathing together, was not completely free of nerves regarding what might await them and what might befall them if they failed in their task. She had meant to steal a moment of privacy for herself, but when she made out the sight of Kuno sitting alone not far in the distance she chose to approach instead.  “I’m afraid normal has lost quite a bit of its meaning these days,” she stated in return. The world was as strange as it was dangerous, and trouble seemed especially adept at finding them. She offered him a gentle half-smile, but it was not entirely devoid of a certain sadness. “Much better than the last time we saw one another,” she assured him, but her expression faded into a curiosity before she sat beside him. “I hope you’re recovering well from the most recent misadventure?”

Perhaps fortunately, he and Freydis hadn't crossed paths often after their discussion aboard the dreadnaught. It hurt badly enough to see strangers battered and broken, pushed to their limit - he was glad he didn't have to witness his friends suffer as much. "That's good. I'm really glad you're okay." He replied earnestly, though he anticipated it'd be a long time until she, or anyone else imprisoned, were truly well and back to normal. But as Freydis said, what did normal even mean, now-a-days?

The climb to the Tower had always been steep, but today it felt endless. The wind bit at her exposed arms, carrying the scent of crushed sage and lilac. The path curved like a question mark around the hillside, past her beloved greenhouse. Below, mist clung to the lower ridges, shrouding the bay in silver. She wasn’t the same young witch who'd once climbed this trail, fearful and untested. The Tower was home.

When the stones gave way to a long stretch of ancient steps, she saw him. Kuno stood at the outer post, his frame unmistakable even beneath the Guardian’s uniform. For a moment, Rüya froze, her heart hammering in her chest.

"You survived," she replied, her voice cracking as she dumped her satchel on the ground. "That’s… more than I let myself hope for." Without thinking, she threw her arms around him. "Thank you for protecting us," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. They’d been imprisoned beside each other. Shackled, starved, and broken beneath the decks of the ship. Rüya remembered the sound of his voice in the dark, speaking just enough to keep her tethered.

"My apologies," she said, letting go abruptly. “It wasn’t my intention to disturb you. Truth be told, I wouldn’t blame you for wishing I hadn’t come back."

Clearly she was grappling with her own demons of guilt and self-hatred. He wished her words didn't sound so familiar. When she wrapped her arms around him, he instinctively squeezed back. "I'm alright." That was all he could say without feeling like a liar. He wasn't doing well, and he'd definitely been worse. So, for now, he was simply alright.

"Shhh, none of that nonsense. I'm relieved you're safe." He pulled away, squeezing her shoulders with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He pried his eyes away from the worry on her face, towards her bag lying on the ground. "Let me help you carry your things up to your room. You must be exhausted." Without waiting for an answer, he leaned down and picked up her satchel, slinging it over his broad shoulder.

Kuno gave a whistle, and another guard from within the front hall came to relieve him of his post, temporarily. He offered his free hand and a warm smile to the Witch before him. "Shall we?" She'd just finished climbing the front steps, and there were only more stairs awaiting the tired healer within the Tower.

yunou._.u:

Her hand subconsciously covered the twin flame rune on her wrist as if it could silence their tether, their minds were elsewhere on the Dreadnought and their magic was leashed, her rune glowed faintly before dying in spark and she paid it no mind, not ready to confess to the desperate wants that she kept so close to her chest.

Divination was part of the Elvhen way of life and her mother didn't have time to teach her much but she had studied it through stolen books as an attempt to close the distance between herself and her lost heritage. "The Archer is often a symbol of focus and strength, it takes power to steady your bow, hold your arrow and wait for a precision shot. When you pull the Archer from a deck, it means that it's time for swift, decisive action but focus and discipline is required for reaching your target." Her nose crinkles at the word disciple as she has never cared for it and she intentionally ignores the double meaning of giving Kuno such a card and deck. "Don't mention it, I made sure Bojangles got his treats too." A happy caw comes from the open window where her bird is perched.

"Right." he left it at that, as he suddenly appeared very busy, looking around the room to find a proper place for the cards. They were, again, among the nicest of his belongings, and it only felt fitting to have them on display. His tiny apartment only had so many places worthy of such a gift, but finally his gaze locked on a small shelf floating on the nearby wall.

"Here." Kuno announced happily, wiping off a small spot of dust with his sleeve and replacing it with the cards. The glint of a metal frame inches beside caught his eye and his smile threatening to falter for a moment - with his back to Raven, he allowed it to. Perhaps this was the push he needed, a reminder his life was once very different, a reminder life was fleeting.

Kuno turned to Raven to show what was in his hands - a framed drawing a street artist had made many years ago of him and Clove, only dating then. It seemed like too long ago. He'd only mentioned her to Raven once, when they'd first met. He wondered if she even remembered. "This was her, by the way. My wife." Was there ever a good way to bring up your dead wife to the woman you were falling in love with? He figured not, but he was trying his best. "I don't know why I'm bringing her up really. I just thought for a long time I'd never feel like this again, but I think tonight, I'm realizing I was wrong." He didn't met her gaze, nervous as to her reaction, wondering if she understood what he was trying to say.

For long aboard the Dreadnaught, her touch would rip away hope and squashed any kindling of revolution underneath heel. There was poison that ran through her veins and touching him made her weary that he would fall ill, and yet he seemed more alive than ever, her touch hadn't paralyzed him.

Her eyelids drift closed when she felt the kiss brush the crown of her head, and it's too tender that she feels like tossing a molotov cocktail on the whole damn situation. She pulls away slightly and presses a kiss to his lips, she might not be good at talking about feelings but she did enjoy physical affection, indulging in wants of the flesh. Her thumb brushes the line of his jawbone and she tries to put all that she cannot say into the touch.

Her lips brush into a smile when she pulls back and takes a step back to put more space between them, the red string that connected them felt like it was enough to kill her. "Bojangles got his snack of seeds and nuts, gotta have munchies in the guest room. Here, the Duke had a complete kink for astronomy." It was a deck of cards, art cards that seemed to reflect the hall of murals and on the front of the deck was the archer, reflected in silver stars and the figure of a boy with a bow.

He chuckled at Raven's choice of words but gently took the cards from her grasp. His rough fingers ran lightly along the intricate lines of the first drawing, almost scared he'd ruin it with his touch. It was, officially, the most expensive thing he owned, though any gift from Raven he would have considered invaluable.

Warm eyes studied the art for a moment further, before lighting up with recognition. "An Archer. It's... beautiful. What does it represent? Do you know?" Still smiling, he turned his gaze from the cards to Raven, a brow raised. He didn't understand enough about astrology to know the card's meaning, but he certainly hoped it was a fortunate one. Part of him longed for the days when he was, simply, a boy with a bow. The other part was touched that Raven had thought of him, when faced with such art. "Thank you. For the cards... and for thinking of me."

Breaking in through his bedroom was something she could do in her sleep, and she feels alien -- half girl and half something else, the fey blood made her not quite human, feral and bird like. When she hears the key in the lock, it takes everything inside of her to not retreat, to blend into the shadows as she has done many times when those whose home she broke into return.

Seeing him is like remembering who she is and it was a lot easier to be a bandit in the night, remembering who she was meant remembering all that had happened. He greets her with relief and she can't stop the smile that breaks across her lips, she has been swift footed and she crashes into him, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her head in his chest. "I brought treats." Bojangles had already had his, she had broken into a chest last night at a Thieves Mission in a Duke's guest bedroom and stolen treats for her boy and bird.

The weight of the long day he'd carried home with him seemed to vanish once his arms were around her, his eyes fluttering shut for a moment while he squeezed her tightly. He had to crane downwards just to rest his chin on top of her head, his lips ghosting the edge of her hair as he planted a feather light kiss on her crown. He didn't dare allow himself to do anything more, unsure of just how she'd react.

He'd been nervous when she first mentioned her invitation to the masquerade, but didn't think it his place to complain. She didn't owe him anything, after all. While she was perfectly capable of handling herself, they'd only just recently and barely returned home, and she deserved more time to heal. Luckily, he'd been worried for naught. "Sounds like a successful mission, then?" Kuno was certain she'd tell him all about it later, and he'd be glad to listen.

Although seeing Raven unharmed and smiling was gift enough, he couldn't deny he was curious now as to what she'd brought him. Kuno kept the rogue wrapped in his arms but pulled away just enough to see her face, whilst he grinned downwards. "And what might those be?"