#kipling the apprentice

That is, until Ozy and his friends, after so many years, finally returned. They came with more friends this time, who hailed from even farther lands and had never seen this rough layout of ancient lagoons and coral rock.

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One after the other, Khleo and Theo jumped off the edge of the tallest rock. The sounds Theo made seesawed between bursts of boisterous laughter and raucous whoops as she cannonballed into the warm basin of liquid turquoise. 

Kipling, Vehanoush and Taro were keeping to themselves off by the entrance to the sea caves. Kip had them working on a project that she, when probed by Khleo, said was a secret and that no peeking whatsoever was allowed until they were finished.

Ozy and Bakri were hanging out in the shallows, right between the leaping rock and the entrance to the sea caves. Thanks to the ruins and the rocks, there was enough disrupted sunlight to create a warm, dappled umbrella of shade. 

Ozy was supposed to be helping Bakri ease into some deeper water to practice swimming, but the latter was more preoccupied by the faded glyphs on the broken limestone. The harder Bakri looked, the more he noticed a circular pattern forming. 

Before he could comment on it, Ozy pointed to a ring of glyphs and said, “Grey mages have always traveled the Doors in teams of three. The Elders sometimes referred to it as the cadre.”

Bakri studied the depictions a bit. Then he asked, “Why three?”

The beads in Ozy’s locs whispered as he bent closer towards the rock and dragged his finger from one glyph to the next. “Three roles. Three specific functions. First you have the locksmith. Then the architect. And finally, the support flex.” He straightened up. “They can be powerful forces to be reckoned with on their own, but together…”

There was someone calling Ozy’s name from off to the right. The grey mage’s entire demeanor changed as he waved to where Kipling was sitting with Vehanoush.

Ozy and Bakri waded over near the entrance of the sea caves. Normally, Bakri would have hesitated at the sensation of the water level rising up his back, but he was preoccupied by the glyphs shimmering in and out of focus along the walls. And by the sheer wonder in this blend of tropical waters and forgotten history.

Once they reached Kip and Vehanoush, it was hard to listen to what they had to say over the exclamatory echoes of Khleo and Theo hurling themselves off the rocks in the distance.

“We can go somewhere quieter,” Kip said as she spread out the project she and Vehanoush had been working on: friendship bracelets made from cowrie shells and dark twine. It didn’t surprise Bakri that Vehanoush had seemed to master the technique even though this was their first go at it.

“There’s a lagoon not far from here called the Enchanted Pool. The water is so clear that you can see all the way to the very bottom.”

Vehanoush’s eyes lit up at Kipling’s description. Ozy started nodding enthusiastically with every word. Just as Bakri was coming around to the idea of visiting waters deeper than the ones they were standing in, Vehanoush caught his attention with the bracelet they had made special for him. 

While she tied it around Bakri’s wrist and he was quietly admiring the smoothness of the shells, Ozy called out for Khleo and Theo. The grey mage’s voice bounced against the arching walls of limestone like a powerful bell. Despite this, they got no reply from the two cliff divers. Nor could they hear them splashing in the water.

Once again Bakri was being pulled in another direction. Though he didn’t mind. He waded through the shallow water with Vehanoush, keeping close to the sandbars while Ozy and Kip pushed into slightly deeper waters so that they could swim to the spot where they last heard their friends. 

Vehanoush showed Bakri the friendship bracelets they had made for Theo, as well as the other members of Bakri’s team, Heîv, Sevak, and Abisoghom.

Soon they wandered out from under the shade of the rocks and entered into sunnier waters. It appeared that Khleo and Theo had left their playground and instead sought refuge on another exposed shelf. Khleo was lying on her stomach, her arms folded under her head. 

Theo had taken advantage of Khleo’s lower back, resting her cheek just left of Khleo’s spine with her body facing away from the approaching group. Kip and Ozy both chuckled at the army of small conch shells slowly working their way up the rock and over Theo’s legs and hips. 

“They played so hard, they wore themselves out,” Bakri noted, smiling softly as he bent to pry a conch shell off of Theo’s ankle.

A soft ripple of noise came from where Khleo’s head was. “I’m up. Just resting my eyes.”

Theo interrupted them with a yawn and added, “Yes well, I’m definitely fast asleep.”

As soon as Kip said something about having a surprise for the two of them, they were both very suddenly upright and holding out their hands for Kip to drop gifts into. 

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The six visitors sat in a row on the reef, their legs dangling over the water. A shifting array of brown skin glistened with salt and tiny sand crystals under the midday sun. Kip and Vehanoush tied everyone’s bracelets on for them. Theo celebrated the loudest, laughing and positively delighting at the way her cowrie shells clicked and snapped the more she flicked her wrist.

Bakri asked Ozy to finish telling him about the glyphs and what they stood for. He wanted to know about those three roles that each door lord cadre fulfilled. And if those same roles applied to Ozy, Kip and Khleo – then how exactly? 

While Vehanoush and Theo were excited to hear about this too, Khleo reminded everybody how hungry they all were. So Ozy’s explanations would have to wait until they got some lunch. The three newcomers pouted, but agreed that it was definitely time to eat and hydrate a little.

Ozy reminded his new friends that they would have plenty of time to learn about the Doors. He promised Bakri that he would show him more glyphs in the sea caves. As well as the monastery where he grew up alongside Kip and Khleo.

He would show them everything worth seeing. He promised them.

Ozy really wanted his new friends to have that chance to see whatever they had their heart set on.

Khleo sensed Kipling’s approach, but they didn’t move until they heard the loosening of robe and the soft rush of silk as it dropped to the tiles. Not until Kip smoothly wedged her leg under Khleo’s head and positioned them in her lap did Khleo finally open their eyes. They snuggled against Kip as she worked her fingers into their hair, detangling the barhand’s stubborn curls. 

Khleo was content to watch Kip with eyes half mast, taking in the soft parting of her lips and the wrinkle in her nose – signs of her concentration – radiating that sweet intensity that Khleo was always longing to touch.

Kipling asked Khleo how their night went and if they had a chance to have some fun in between shifts. Khleo said that they had, but they weren’t that tired; they could have a bit more.

Then they reached up to draw Kip in for a kiss. Though the angle was off and Kip wasn't expecting it, the two of them came together with ease and a quiet, familiar passion.

After a while, Khleo made a needy sound in their throat. Kip’s name tumbled from their lips in the form of a question. Kipling dragged the kiss on, pretending not to hear until Khleo’s question became a soft, raw beg meant only for the gardener’s ears.

When Kip answered, Khleo rolled until they were rightside up and wrapped their arms around her waist, following up with, “Tell me what you want.”

“To relax,” Kip chuckled as she surrendered and joined the barhand in the bath.

Khleo was all feline grins and evasive teases.

Yeah, yeah. Sure. 

They pulled Kip into the water, steadied her in their lap. They nuzzled the skin under her jaw and gently massaged her waist like they were testing bread for firmness.

“I just want to hold you,” Khleo whispered into Kip’s skin with none of that purring this time.

The gardener felt the barhand’s sincerity. She hugged their middle between her thighs and sank into their muscular embrace with complete trust, as she had countless times before. 

No more resistance lingered between them. Only warm water and deep, tender bonds. 

Every time Kip returned a kiss or fixed them with that syrupy gaze — in shyness, fondness, or both — Khleo’s whole body swelled with so much emotion and… with a very gentle, very profound sense of rest.

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Sun Bai didn’t stay.

He never stayed too long anywhere. Or with anyone.

“Mmm. Bai?” 

The person Bai was carrying bridal style finally stirred as he was leaving the palace grounds. Solo de la Vega pushed a wavy blue lock of hair off of his slightly damp brow. 

“Where are we going?”

The pirate adjusted the dressmaker in his arms and projected his answer with his mind.

[We’re meeting up with your sister. Go back to sleep.]

Solo blew a soft raspberry. “I can walk just fine.”

Bai didn’t bother to argue because Solo was already unconscious again, proving an unspoken point. 

The walk was kind of far, but the streets of Vesuvia were quiet and the moon was full and out. Bai easily found his way to the building with the restaurant on the top floor.

Soon he was easing into a booth across from Sascha de la Vega. Her brother had come alive again in order to kiss her on either cheek and exchange some words of familiarity. 

Then he stretched out along the dark leather seat, resting his head in his sister’s lap and choosing to sleep through what he had called “an improper breakfast at ungodly hours.”

Sascha and Bai were left alone to catch up. 

“Are you happy, Bai? I waited for you this time.” Sascha gently teased when the server brought over platters of hot vegetables and fried squid. 

Bai dug into the rice as soon as it touched the table.

“I am happy that you waited for me.” He said with a completely straight face, as opposed to his usual sneer.

Sascha leveled her gaze with Bai’s slate gray eyes. “What happened to your glasses?”

“I broke them.”

“What about the back-up pair that I packed with–”

[Those got broken too.]

Sascha shook her head. She reached for her bowl, but Bai scooped it up before she could touch it. He filled it up with rice, some onions and cabbage. When he got to the squid, he lifted a chubby piece over the table and offered it directly.

“Here, Sasch. Try this one.”

Sascha was painfully self-conscious as she bit down on the fried meat, terrified that some crispy bits would stick to the corners of her mouth.

“If you want my glasses to stay intact,” Bai said, “maybe next time you could come along and… keep an eye on me.”

Sascha leaned back, dabbed her mouth with a napkin, and swallowed that very delicious bite.

When the gunslinger averted her gaze and finally spoke, Bai arched an eyebrow in what might have been hopeful intrigue.

“. . . Maybe next time I’ll think about it.”

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Oz’mandias retired early to his chambers. These rooms were far from all of the entertainment and festivities, yet he could dimly feel the party winding down several floors beneath where he lay.

He knew even after all of the guests found their way home or unconscious, it would be a long while before he wasn’t alone anymore.

When the one he was waiting for finally made it back, his lips curled into a smile against the pillow.

“Was the night everything you were hoping it would be?”

There was a sudden, soft intake of breath.

“My gods, Oz. You’re still awake?”

Nadia said it with the lightest trace of laughter in her voice as she eased next to the grey mage. Before Ozy could respond, she grazed her palm against his forehead and pressed a kiss there.

“Then again, I suppose the sun sleeps for no one.”

Ozy found her lips. “And gems never stop shining… rubies especially.”

Nadia’s throaty hum sent vibrations between them. “I do not want to be a ruby at the moment. I’ve been shining for everyone all night long.”

“You’ve dazzled the crowds enough, haven’t you?” Ozy’s voice dropped a little towards the end, feeling the pressure of those unspoken expectations – of the even stronger ones that came from the self.

“I have.” Nadia breathed into his locs as they embraced.

Ozy agreed with her, his soft smile at odds with the excitement in his hazel eyes. He drew Nadia down beside him. “If you can stop being the gem that you are, then I want to stop being the sun. For now.”

Nadia pulled the blankets over them both. 

“Yes. For now… we sleep. Until the day calls us back.”

Drico refused to take off his rose gold boots even though they weren’t making things any easier. Perhaps if he could find somewhere to rest without so many damn people around, he could collect his bearings and come back to the exhibits.

Drico found himself stiffly shuffling down an empty breezeway that was sandwiched between the palace conservatory and one of the reception halls. The further he walked, the more the walls on both sides became shrouded in a blanket of green until it was not clear which sort of room he was entering. 

Well, wherever he was now was private. The walls closed in around him and several panels drowned out the silence with indoor waterfalls. 

Andrico sighed as he took a seat on a stone bench and wrenched off his boot, swearing that he would never play around in a room that dark again no matter how tempted he was by the individuals he had seen going inside.

How did I even let Jasna and Marie-Carmel talk me into– 

Oh yeah. They cornered him at the same time. That was how.

Andrico zipped his boot back once he had rolled his ankle a few times and confirmed that he was going to be fine. Probably.

He stood up from the bench, took a moment to admire the alternating walls of greenery, stone and water before looking around for the exit.

That’s when he noticed a deep cut in the wall of stone. Like some kind of shelf. He craned his neck, not expecting to see much, but slowing down once he realized that there was glass at the far end of the depression. 

On the other side of that glass were two masqueraders having a lot more fun than Andrico was at the moment. 

He… lingered. 

As he worked his cock with his right hand and braced the stone wall with the other, he wondered if the masqueraders on the other side knew of this secret spyglass.

Whether they did or not, they finished up before he did and abandoned their spot. Andrico was left still hard, restless, and as grumpy as ever.

His mood was about to take a turn for the worst when he heard footsteps entering the secret terrarium.

Andrico sheepishly tucked his cock back (not that it mattered when his entire costume was sheer teal) and apologized for trespassing on what he assumed was a private space.

“It’s fine,” the masquerader said with a smile. She gestured at Andrico’s waist. “Do you need some help?”

It was then that Andrico felt himself blush. Not so much because he had been caught helping himself on someone else’s turf, but because he suddenly recognized whom he was speaking to.

The woman on the other side of the spyglass from before. He was certain.

Before he could answer her first question, the masquerader — Kipling, he learned later on — was bending down and tilting her head in concern.

“You’re hurt.”

Andrico glanced at how he was favoring his foot and shrugged.

“Just a small sprain.”

He hoped.

“Small or not,” she stood up straight and offered her hand toward the vines dangling from above, “I can have the room take care of that.”

Andrico looked around at the enchanted space with renewed interest.

“Really?”

Kipling let the vines spiral around her wrist and torso. “It’s a recovery space as well as a pleasure hall. It’s nice when you need to spend some time off your feet. The only condition is that you have to take off everything. The room will do the rest.”

Andrico liked what he was hearing so far. But more than that, he was simply grateful that those annoying series of events brought him here with Kipling.

“In that case, may I help you undress?”

Kip dismissed the vines with a slight nod. Andrico took their place, sliding his fingers under the delicate straps of floral lingerie and freeing it from her body with relative ease.

“Are you always this polite?” Kip murmured as she drifted close, possibly daring Andrico to tear away the rest of the lingerie.

Then the man remembered how he saw her through the spyglass — with her eyes shut tight and her smile radiant whenever her partner yanked handfuls of her hair. There was also that delightful laugh she would let loose given the right amount of manhandling. 

Before Andrico knew it, he was ripping the pretty thong piece off and finding Kipling’s lips in a shallow, heated kiss.

Kip kissed him back evenly, exploring his pierced cock with one hand and the nape of his neck with the other.

His gold boots dropped onto the mossy carpet. Then everything else. 

Kip groaned at the new warmth, her turquoise-studded nipples tightening at any sort of contact with Drico’s hands or chest.

When Kip’s hand drifted up past Drico’s nape and into his roots, he caught her fingers between his like an angry bramble bush. Though the look in his eyes was anything but.

Kip met his serious brown gaze with her own.

“Can I let down your hair?”

She held his gaze and her breath as he regarded her one last time. Andrico noted the rendering of freckles across her nose and cheeks that was so similar to his own. Kipling kissed him then. Perhaps to snap him out of this trance, perhaps to put him at ease, he didn’t know.

With that, his hand fell away, giving her the freedom to take down his hair. Her other hand went back to stroking his cock. Drico bit back a moan as his hair came down and the tension left his body.

Kip whispered something that sounded like relief, but it also could have been praise. She encouraged Drico to shake out his curls. The humidity in the hall brought out all of his uneven volume, but he didn’t care.

Even though he had only had the pleasure of feeling his cock in Kip’s hands, Drico wanted the pleasure of her body, her mouth—

“I don’t want to come yet.” He grunted something of that nature. He almost regretted the words as Kip disengaged and took a step back.

“I’m glad you said something.” She said it fast and under her breath, as if she were chastising herself for getting caught up in the moment.

Before Andrico could reach for her again, the gardener held up her hand and rested her fingertips against his slightly heaving chest. The pressure she applied was just enough to make him take a step back. Then another. And another until Drico rather gracefully stumbled into a swing made out of plants.

Oh right. The rejuvenating vines. He’d almost forgotten about that.

“Just relax.” Kip whispered, taking down the rest of her hair now. Her curls and coils reacted to the warm air much like Drico’s. 

Kip walked backwards into another set of vines. Naked and comfortable, she arched her back into them, letting the enchanted plants hoist her up.

Andrico felt surprisingly secure in his swing net, though he suspected the perfume from the tiny blossoms had something to do with how relaxed he felt.

Kip looked more at home in the air. She showed off a few angles before swinging closer to Andrico. Then she called upon her plant magic in order to line them both up with another spyglass. The view of the palace pleasure rooms was better than Drico could ask for. 

At first they paid Ozy a visit, hoping for some advice. Ozy’s suggestion was simple, but really, it wasn’t helpful at all.

“You should talk to the Doors.”

Khleo wasn’t sure what Ozy meant by that since the only thing they could extract from the Doors were mythical beasts and gentle giants. Kipling had already seen the way they followed Khleo around. So what could they possibly offer in terms of a gift?

Ozy must have seen that Khleo was struggling because he gave them one more hint.

“I always thought the best gifts were experiences you could share with the one you cared about the most.”

Khleo thanked him, deciding that she could work with that. Before Ozy left, she asked him to leave a Door open for her. As soon as she got off work, she and Hefe entered the framework in search of the perfect gift for Kipling.

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Like always, Khleo was late.

Kip gripped the deck of cards between her mittened hands, hoping that they wouldn’t get damaged by the cold. The gardener stood on the edge of the Dark Forest. She thought it was a strange place for them to meet, but that’s what Khleo asked for.

“What did you get me this time?”

Khleo suddenly emerged from the woods with Hefe at her side.

Kip pretended like she hadn’t heard them. “Get over here! It’s cold!”

Hefe broke out into a silent lope, determined to reach Kipling first. The gardener grunted as the lion threw her forearms onto Kip’s shoulders. She almost lost her balance, but Khleo caught up to them and used her impossible strength to take both Kip and Hefe into her arms. The barhand lifted the other two off the ground and purred as Kip hugged her back.

“Sorry I kept you waiting,” Khleo whispered. She dropped the lion so she could hold Kip properly. The gardener and the barhand chased away the evening chill with a soft kiss.

Hefe made a gurgle in her throat after some time. The gardener and the barhand broke apart reluctantly, but stayed close enough to keep warm against the cold.

Wondering where Khleo was hiding her present, Kip handed over her gift first.

“It’s a Tarot deck,” she explained as Khleo turned the cards over in her hands. “I imprinted it with your magical signature so that the images on the cards will reveal themselves to you based on your subconscious.”

Khleo was impressed, but she wasn’t sure what she would need it for. “I can’t read people’s cards like you, Kip.”

“But you like reading them,” Kip said, sweeping an errant curl out of Khleo’s eyes. “Not to mention, Asra says you’re getting better.”

Khleo fell into one of her silences. Kip was patient through it, knowing how loud it probably was inside Khleo’s head. A few beats passed before the barhand pulled Kip in for another hug and whispered their gratitude in her hair.

Now it was time for Khleo to show Kip what they had gotten for her. They had to admit, they were nervous.

Hefe gave them an encouraging nudge.

< Come on, cub. She’s waiting. We’ll show her together. >

Khleo followed her familiar’s lead. They showed Kip the impression left by Door that they had passed through earlier. A Room full of griffins as Khleo recalled. Passing through gave Hefe the wings of an eagle. She could fly the two umbras around Vesuvia.

Khleo helped Kipling onto Hefe’s pale back, explaining that the spell wouldn’t last forever. So they had to make the most of it.

And they did.

High over Vesuvia, they soared. The air was biting cold, but Kipling held fast to Khleo, who held fast to Hefe.