#serlot

They missed the opportunity to do an "Akira slide" reference in the movie!

And yes! I know Raya looked better doing this, but I'm still trying to figure out how to draw Tuk Tuk at that angle, for now enjoy Namaari's version 🐈‍⬛✨

Ao3 link!

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Raya awoke shaking, both from the terrible dream and the cold night's chill. Winter had fallen on Kumandra, and while it wasn't common in Fang, a light snowfall was silently settling upon the city. Raya sighed, rubbing her eyes and trying to clear the terrible image of Heart's fall from her mind. Though it had happened over 8 years ago now, and she and Namaari had discussed that fateful day and put it behind them, Raya's dreams were still haunted by the memory.

She sat up in the large bed in Fang's guest chambers, shivering. She and her father were in the city for the annual trade council between the tribes; Raya had come along to observe the formalities of the council in preparation for the day when she would take over Heart from her father. She also secretly relished the chance to visit with Namaari. Their friendship had been growing into something more the past few months, and both girls were simultaneously shy and excited to extend their boundaries and welcome each other more closely into their lives. Progress was slow, but they were learning more and more how well their differences complimented each other and how well they got along.

She looked over to the corner where Tuk Tuk lay on his cushion. The pillbear was curled up tightly, protected from the cold by his thick armor. Raya smiled as a muffled snore drifted out from between the armored plates. She would find little respite from the cold with Tuk Tuk, but that didn't bother her. She had someone else in mind.

Raya hopped off the bed and slipped out of her room, closing the door softly so as not to wake Tuk Tuk. She walked quietly down the still, dark hallway of the guest chambers, passing the room where her father's snoring rivaled Tuk Tuk's. Turning the corner she continued down to the room at the end of the hall and stopped in front of a large door carved with images of serlots and waterfalls.

Raya opened the door slowly, creeping in to check the surroundings. The room was bathed in a soft bluish-white glow, the shadows of falling snowflakes dancing slowly down the walls. On her pad in the corner, Binta cracked open one glowing yellow eye, saw the intruder was only Raya, and closed it again. Raya crept over to her. She had grown quite fond of the serlot, who was surprisingly gentle with her friends despite being a ferocious enemy. "How's my favorite purrball?" Raya whispered, scratching Binta in her favorite spot under her chin. True to her nickname, Binta began purring and gave Raya a light lick on her hand. Raya gave her a few more good scritches before turning back to the rest of the room.

The light from outside lit the open room well enough for Raya to see Namaari curled up under her blankets. She looked so peaceful, a sharp contrast to her usual rough and confident demeanor during the day. Raya was suddenly hesitant to disturb her and turned to go back to her guest room, thinking she could grab an extra blanket along the way, when she heard rustling from the bed.

"Raya?" Namaari's voice was raspy with sleep. "What's wrong?"

"I- I can't sleep. Too cold." Raya replied, thinking it was best to keep the nightmare to herself. She looked sideways at Namaari, and the look she got back suggested the other girl knew something else was up.

Namaari gave a resigned sigh, but a smile played at the corner of her lips. "Of course you are. You're standing there in nothing but your night clothes and it's snowing out. Come on over."

Namaari turned onto her back and put out her left arm. Raya hurried over to the bed, crawling up beneath the blankets Namaari had pulled away. Raya settled down at Namaari's left side. She folded her right arm to her side and draped her left arm across Namaari's stomach, resting her head on Namaari's chest in the crook of her shoulder. Her right leg stayed extended out alongside Namaari, but she pulled up her left leg and hesitantly started to rest her knee across Namaari's hips. It was a step that Namaari hadn't allowed until recently, saying it made her feel trapped. Raya waited for a rebuff, but none came. She settled her leg down, happy their trust in each other continued to grow. Raya heaved a deep, contented sigh and breathed in the pleasant smell of her friend's warm skin and faded lavender perfume.

"Better, dep la?" Namaari asked, her right arm joining Raya's left in its place on her stomach after pulling up the blankets.

"Mmmmm" Raya hummed happily, and felt her friend's chest shake gently with soft laughter. Namaari folded her left arm around Raya's back and trailed her hand lightly up and down Raya's shoulder.

"Anything else on your mind?" Namaari asked quietly. Raya played with a loose thread on the seam of her friend's shirt, considering telling her about the nightmare, but she didn't want to ruin the peaceful moment with bad memories. That would always be a stain on their relationship, but they had agreed to learn from it and move forward. Maybe tomorrow, but no, not now.

"Nope." Raya said, and nestled deeper into her friend's warmth. Namaari didn't push. Her hand drifted down to rest more comfortably on Raya's side, and Raya felt a gentle pressure on the top of her head as Namaari leaned her cheek against her. Namaari's breathing deepened as she slipped off back to sleep, and Raya listened as the other girl's heart beat slowed. Her head rose and fell slowly, hypnotically, as Namaari breathed.

Raya couldn't believe their relationship had come so far. There was a time she would have laughed at such a notion, and challenged anyone who suggested it to a fight for insulting her. Raya thought back to their fight in this very palace the day the dragons returned. Her stomach clenched as she remembered just how close she had come to letting her rage win, to cleaving her sword into the young woman she now lay snuggled beside. What if things had gone differently that day, and she had let her sword complete the blow? What if her last act before turning to stone had been murder? What if-

Raya swallowed a yelp of surprise as a heavy weight suddenly dropped onto the foot of the bed. Apparently unwilling to let the cuddle puddle proceed without her, Binta had jumped onto the bed and now settled herself across the girls' feet. "Binta, you big fleabag!" Raya whispered. "You scared me half to death!" Binta simply began purring, the sound resonating through the mattress. Despite the scare, Raya was grateful to the large cat for interrupting her spiraling train of thought. Raya listened for any change in Namaari that would indicate her serlot had woken her up, but she detected nothing and Namaari slept on. She must be used to such interruptions, Raya thought. Calmed by the serlot's purring and Namaari's steady, warm presence beside her, Raya slipped peacefully asleep as the snow continued to softly blanket the city below.

Amity and her Palisman, welcome to the team you’re in good company.