#sssb update

Owen was an adventurer! He was! He was a nomad, a thief, an enjoyer of all things sugar, and a fan of shiny things! He has traveled far and wide, exploring further than any of his clan members before him. Whenever he and Scott visited Chromia, his friends and family would gawk as he told them elaborate tales of their adventures. It was obvious that he was spectacular!

He had even learned to open doors! And how to shift back and forth between his llama form and human-like form easier, which was probably more notable. It was effortless, now, unlike before.

It wasn't bad before, existing only in his llama state, not being able to shift. Owen liked being a llama, actually! And, sure, he got a little jealous (only a little though) when his siblings and friends would be able to morph from fully llama to a human-like llama hybrid, but it was fine! He was just upset that they got to do new things and he couldn’t, but look at him now! They haven’t done what he has. He was now the one who could do new things they couldn’t. They were probably still back home at Chromia, the home Scott built for them several years ago.

Scott. Owen couldn’t help but smile wide at the thought of his partner in crime. Scott was a truly amazing person, even if some hated him for his tendency to have sticky fingers. Honestly, if they wanted to keep their valuables, they should have kept a better eye on them! Amatures.

Scott had befriended his people, the llamas, back when they didn’t have a place of their own. It was nice to have companionship, even if some of his clan was hesitant to accept his presence. Owen was drawn to him immediately, knowing there was something special about the fae. Plus, Scott never treated him as less than just because he couldn’t shift like the others! Scott made Owen feel special, valued, and wanted, and he didn’t do anything to warrant Owen questioning the genuinity behind his actions. 

Now Owen was baffled (still was, to be honest) that Scott eventually gave up his adventuring to settle down and build up an empire like the others that have been popping up the last century or five. It was more of a settlement than anything that continued to expand, creating a place where his clan of llama shifters could be safe, comfortable, and free. They no longer had to wander and hope they had enough to eat or a dry place to sleep. In their new society, they could afford to have fun and foster a healthy life for themselves.

As previously mentioned, the other llama shifters were skeptical of Scott’s intentions at first, but the fae was determined to prove himself to them. Owen never truly understood why Scott would give up so much for them to build Chromia, and when he asked, he was never given an answer that made any sense to him. Like, why would anyone give up an exciting life like Scott’s? Owen couldn’t dream of doing such a thing!

“Why did you help us?” Owen remembered asking one night, shortly after the spooky swamp slime helped– uh, sorry, that’s not very polite of him, and that’s bad or whatever. Yeah, yeah, he got it, okay? Anyway, he asked shortly after Witch Shelby helped him unlock his ability to shift. He had always been able to communicate well enough with Scott and his fellow llamas, but shifting to a human-like body meant he had a proper voice box, which had so many perks! Even non-llamas could understand him better now!

“Hm?” Scott reoriented his body so he could look at Owen as they laid on the double-wide bed together. After a while of Owen sleeping on top of him in the single bed, Scott gave in and expanded it. Owen was very pleased the first time he saw it. “What do you mean?”

Owen furrowed his brow, lip jutting out in a little pout. Was what he said not clear enough? Scott must have noticed his annoyance for he reached out to scratch behind Owen’s ear. That did make him feel a little better. “I mean, why did you bring us here– bring my clan here– and build up Chromia for us? You don’t have to hide it, we’re a lot of work, but I can’t figure out why.”

“I’m not sure why,” Scott admitted as they laid on the double-wide bed together. “I suppose I just felt drawn to your people. I’ve always loved llamas, having a soft spot for them, and, with my left eye, I could see the magic ingrained in each of you… I could tell your clan weren’t meant to be wild. Your people were suffering, stunted, and starving… I just couldn’t leave without doing something, you know? I hadn’t expected to become a recognized empire, but I suppose none of the empires on this continent are as formal and rigid as those in storybooks or tales from other places beyond the seas. This is new land, relatively speaking.”

“But don’t you want to adventure?” Owen didn’t understand why Scott would leave such a grand life behind. He had never thought of it for himself, before, but Scott told all these thrilling and daring tales, and now Owen couldn’t help but dream about going on adventures of his own one day. It would be easier now that he could use hands. Those things were much more useful than the two toes and soft bottom padding that made up each of his feet, he had to admit.

“Of course I do.” Scott dropped his hand and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. “I never stopped hearing the call, but the llamas, your clan, they… they still need me, so I ignore it for now. I know I won’t stay here in Chromia forever– I just can’t, it’s just not in my nature– but I will stay until I am confident Chromia can function without me. I won’t let all of our hard work collapse just because I’m gone. Hopefully this civilization will still be here for future generations of your clan, even after I meet my demise.”

As a fae, Scott couldn’t lie. He could speak in half-truths and work around wording, but the sentiment seemed too direct for him to actually mean anything else. Instead of giving a verbal response, Owen moved closer to Scott’s side and snuggled up beside his best friend. The warmth of his body heat and the sound of his beating heart lulled Owen to a content sleep.

Best friend wasn’t an accurate term anymore, though it sometimes felt as if it were, like right now. Owen, in his full llama form, was stuck watching irritably as Scott flirted with some random guy. He knew that Scot had flirted with strangers before to get others more willing to offer him information, or to distract them while Owen snuck past to steal something, but Owen didn’t always have to watch. 

In fact, he almost never watched, and he didn’t want to! He hated it, he found, growing increasingly aggravated every passing second. Watching Scott flirt with other people so deliberately was a new experience for him. Owen was used to the sort of teasing-flirting he did with people such as the sheriff of Tumble Town, but that was different than whatever this was!

Scott had mentioned something to him about him needing to be there directly as a llama for whatever reason– likely as part of the tale Scott was spinning to make it true enough to not be a lie, allowing assumptions to do the rest of the work for him. Owen was aware that Scott had explained it all to him, but he only half paid attention and forgot most of what was said.

Who could blame him though? Owen had gotten distracted by the shiny colors of Scott’s heterochromic eyes, which, for note, was a common occurrence. Scott was very attractive, and most people agreed, but Owen wasn’t sure if it was a Scott thing or a fae thing. Owen would have thought longer about that, but the blue and yellow of Scott’s eyes captivated him. The irises seemed to dance and sparkle, so enchanting that Owen’s mind went blank, his thoughts focused purely on Scott.

Perhaps it was still partly Owen’s fault. Scott had asked if he was okay with the plan, in all fairness, and Owen had nodded in agreement, pretending to understand when he actually didn’t. It might not have been the right move, looking back, but what else could he have done? Admit that he wasn’t listening? Of course not! Owen really, really despised being looked at like he was nothing but a nuisance.

Okay, he often was a nuisance and he enjoyed doing so, but he wasn’t nothing but a nuisance! And it was different when it came from Scott. It hurt more.

Owen had no problem spitting on the random ill-tempered blacksmith or greedy merchant, but he restrained because he knew Scott would hate it. He didn’t always do what Scott wanted, but he liked making him happy. Scott was his best friend, his partner in crime, his boyfriend, after all! 

Besides, Owen didn’t like feeling dumb or unintelligent, so he often refused to admit he didn’t know something. He knew he would “have a pass” or whatever the phrase was, considering he was raised mostly in a llama form when his clan focused more on survival than education, but still!

Stupid man, Owen thought bitterly, scratching at the ground and creating lines in the dusty dirt with his two curved toenails. What does he have that I don’t? Is he an amazing llama like me? I don’t think so! Llamas are better than boring stinky humans. Hmph!

The line of thinking was immature, Owen knew. He knew a lot of things now. Scott had been teaching him all sorts of information that he didn’t know before. The fae was an honest but kind teacher, never making Owen feel like he was an idiot for not knowing something, even if Owen managed to get on Scott’s nerves from time to time. 

Getting on others nerves was what he did best. Owen even took some pride in it! It was a skill to be used if one knew how to wield it, but he wasn’t so two dimensional that it was his only character trait.

Owen beamed brightly at his internal usage of some of the things Scott had taught him. See! He was learning! He was a very capable llama shifter, much better than that stupid, stinky human man.

Jealousy flooded back in as Owen remembered what they were doing. He huffed, glaring at the man Scott was flirting with. They were getting too close for comfort, and Owen didn’t like it. In fact, he hated it! He hated it so much, and he wanted to do something about it, but he logically knew Scott didn’t mean it. Like, who would give up dating a llama shifter for him. Owen gagged with disgust as he imagined Scott kissing him like he did Owen.

“Owen!” Scott exclaimed in surprise, turning to him with wide eyes. Owen blinked at him, not sure what he did until Scott turned back to the man, apologizing. “Sorry about him, I don’t know why he did that.” “Hmph!” the man grunted, taking a dirty rag out of his pocket to wipe the spit off his face. “This is why you should travel by horse, not llama. The only things llamas are good for is for meat, and even then, they’re hardly worth the effort.”

Scott’s mouth dropped open, and then he clamped his jaw shut. He blinked at the man rapidly, clearly baffled by his words. Owen appreciated the horror he had on his face, enlightening a hint of smugness within him. In fact, the man’s disgust delighted him, so he spat on him again, hoping to get an even more satisfying response.

Scott didn’t try to apologize for him this time around, only sucking in his lips in an attempt not to laugh. The stinky man started to curse Owen out, but Scott didn’t make them stick around this time. Scott blocked the human from potentially hurting Owen before promptly excusing them in faux-politeness. Owen trotted happily beside his boyfriend as they departed, pleased to get Scott away from the evil man.

Once they got far enough away, Scott stopped to inquire, “What was that about? What happened?” Owen scoffed in a response before spitting again, but this time his spit was aimed toward the ground and not a person. He then kicked dirt over the glop of liquid and stomped on it to get his point across.

Scott rolled his eyes affectionately, a small smile on his face as he stroked Owen’s fur. “Well, I can’t say I disagree. He deserved it, but the progress I made with him may be tarnished now.”

If Owen were a perfect boyfriend, maybe he would have felt bad, but he didn’t. They didn’t need him if Scott had to act like that with a llama murderer! Owen must have shown his distaste, because Scott squinted at him as if trying to read small print before letting his eyes widen. “Wait, Owen, were you jealous?”

Owen froze for a moment, though he wasn’t sure why. Embarrassment tugged at him, and he hated it. Owen averted his eyes, not wanting to talk about it any longer. He just wanted to go back to the bed and breakfast they were staying at, shift into his llama hybrid form, and cling to Scott so tightly that he would never feel the need to flirt with others for missions again.

The thought was selfish and silly, and he knew it didn’t mean anything to Scott, but Owen… ugh, this was all so frustrating! Why couldn’t he have just settled down, fallen in love with a nice llama back in Chromia, and maybe adopt some young crias?

Because I didn’t want that life. Owen knew this to be true. He believed, once upon a time, that all he wanted was a nice simple life and a place to call home, but Scott had changed that. Scott had opened up his eyes, showing him a world of possibilities Owen hadn’t even thought to dream of before! 

Owen still loved Chromia, and it would forever be his home, don’t get him wrong, but he didn’t want to stay stagnant in one place forever. Not anymore. He wanted to travel the continent, see all the sites there were to see, explore every ancient ruin and dark cave there was to explore, taste test all the various sweets out there that existed to taste… Owen found himself wanting more from life, and Scott helped him get there. Scott made his life better, and he loved Scott, and now, after all this time, Owen couldn’t bear to lose him. Especially not to him, as irrational as that was.

Neither of them said anything until after they arrived at their room in the quaint, repurposed house they were renting. Owen willed his body to morph from being fully llama to mostly human-like before they entered, knowing most people were more accepting of him being inside when he looked more like a person than an animal. I still don’t understand why people prefer animals outside. Sure, they don’t always have as complex thoughts as me and my clan, but they still deserve nice things!

Alas, that was an annoyance he could rant about another day for jealousy still coursed through his veins.

Now that his front legs turned into arms again, he planned to make use of them. Owen surprised his boyfriend by wrapping his arms around Scott’s torso, pressing his chest against Scott’s back as tightly as he could while burying his face in the crook of Scott’s neck. The left side, not the right, because the right had his braid completed with dazzling accessories waterfalling down and over that shoulder.

Scott smelled vaguely floral and earthy, but also like the misty scent of light shining through crystals stuck in musty cave walls. Owen often contributed the pleasant scent to him being a fae, but it was so undeniably Scott in Owen’s eyes that it didn’t need another explanation to make sense. He breathed in deeply as he strengthened his grip, refusing to let Scott go even when his boyfriend’s lungs hitched in response to the extra pressure.

“Owen, that’s too tight.” Scott’s words came out airly, but they didn’t sound like a reprimand. Owen wanted to ignore the hidden instructions behind those words– Scott had taught him all about reading between the lines– but he didn’t want to continue hurting him, so he reluctantly loosened his grip. Now free, Scott turned to face him, facial features soft and gentle, a side not everyone got to see.

I get to see it, Owen bragged in his head proudly. Scott was his. Few people other than Owen got to see every side of the colorful founder of Chromia, and Owen liked to think he was at the top of that exclusive list.

Scott took Owen’s hands in his, brushing his thumbs against both his hands in a soothing motion. “Do you want to tell me why you spit on Mortimer?”

“I spit on many people, so you’ll have to be more specific.” Owen played the ignorant card, though he deduced this Mortimer guy was the same stinky murderer Scott was flirting with earlier.

Scott gave him a look, one Scott gave him when he knew Owen was intentionally playing dumb. He still didn’t reprimand him, however. Instead, he specified, “The man I was getting information out of just before we walked here.”

“The murderer you were flirting with,” Owen corrected with a growl somewhere deep in his throat, the sound almost foreign. It felt strange, even now, to make llama noises in this form despite having unlocked the ability to shift years ago.

“So you are jealous.” Scott concluded, letting go of Owen’s hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t even a question anymore. “Owen, I told you what the plan was, and I asked if you were okay with being there when it was happening this time. If you had told me otherwise, I would have found another way to get what I needed from Mortimer. What did I say about communicating your needs to me?”

Owen bleated uncomfortably, not enjoying the guilt that came with Scott’s words. He stumbled backwards, his back hitting the wall with an audible thud. A distressed cry bellowed from within him, tears pooling by his eyes, suddenly and out of nowhere. He assumed it was out of nowhere, but he could never be positive of that potential fact. Owen slunk down to the floor and hugged his llama-esque legs close to his chest. 

Emotions were difficult and so very complicated. He didn’t like them. They were the worst thing he’s gotten the pleasure to explore (look at him sarcasming correctly!) now that he wasn’t in a constant state of survival with his clan. Those memories didn’t seem to be his anymore. It was like they were lifetimes away, and he was sure he was a much different person now.

Scott settled down on the floor beside him at some point, but Owen wasn’t sure when. He didn’t say much at first, simply rubbing circles on Owen’s back. As his whimpers quieted, Scott started to murmur gentle reassurances and compliments into his ear. Owen leaned over, allowing himself to fall into Scott’s chest. Scott held onto him as he continued to sooth Owen with nothing but his touch.

“I don’t like seeing you flirt with other people,” Owen finally admitted, not daring to look Scott in the eyes. “I don’t like the way they look at you. You’re my boyfriend, not theirs! They should back off, but they don’t, and I just want to spit on them.”

“Whatever you thought was happening between Mortimer and I didn’t mean anything real. It was all shallow, just as it was with anyone else.” A little part of Owen twisted at the supposed reassurance, sharp and blaring in his chest. Scott pressed a kiss in his dark brown hair and then several more. Owen still didn’t say anything, keeping his jaw clamped so tightly it hurt. Scott broke the silence. 

“What I say to you isn’t shallow, though. I mean it when I say that I love you, Owen. You’re a wonderful companion in all positive definitions of the word. You’re determined, and creative,” Scott gestured to the copper wire flower earrings Owen made for him for their one year anniversary, “and you never fail to make me laugh. I love you, Owen. I’ll always love you, even if I’m flirting with other people. You’re who really matters to me like that.”

Owen pulled at his orange vest, using the fabric to help dry his eyes before peering up at Scott. His brown and orange met blue and yellow, and all felt alright in the world once again. “I love you too, Scott. More than sugar.”

“More than sugar?” Scott echoed, eliciting an off-guard giggle. “Well, isn’t that some high praise, coming from you.” “It is, it is,” Owen nodded very seriously, half meaning it. What could he say? Sugar was fantastic. “You should be very honored.”

“I am very honored,” Scott agreed as he leaned in to briefly place a slightly-lopsided kiss on Owen’s lips.

His eyes lit up at the small display of affection, quickly scrambling upright to ensure the proper angle. “Again?”

Scott laughed fondly at his enthusiasm, eyes crinkling with his amusement. “I wouldn’t be opposed.”

Holy llama mother, he is so pretty! I love him so much, Owen thought giddy as he closed the gap between them once again. The tension and mild resentment that had tightened his muscles eased with each kiss, leaving only bliss in its wake. His insecurities swapped out for confidence as Owen regained his boldness, taking charge and deepening the kisses exchanged back and forth between them. Scott made a noise in surprise, but he didn’t push away, trusting Owen to not go too far too fast and hurt him.

They broke off several times only for them to come back together again, seeking each other out like they were running out of time. They were both out of breath when their make out session (Scott taught him so many words and phrases, and Owen still thought this one was a little silly) came to an end. 

Owen used the wall to aid him to his feet, barely giving either of them time to refill their lungs with air as Owen pulled Scott up with him. Without really thinking, Owen dragged Scott over to the bed and flopped down, not even bothering to get under the covers.

“Owen!” The exclamation came out sort of like a stutter crossbred with a laugh. Owen simply flashed him a grin as he cuddled up against Scott despite their untraditional position in the bed. Scott sighed fondly as he allowed his limbs to become limp enough to more or less form shape to the board Owen’s curling had created. “Should we change into more comfortable sleeping, do you think? Or at least get under the blankets?” “No,” Owen disagreed, and he meant it! He didn’t need special clothes or the artificial pelt of a blanket to sleep comfortably. They were nice, sure, but at the end of the day, all he wanted was Scott. “Just cuddle with me. Nap time. Close your eyes.”

Scott paused for several heartbeats, long enough for Owen to think he wasn’t going to respond, before whispering his agreement in the form of a faint, “Okay.”

Owen smiled against Scott’s chest as Scott accepted fate, indulging Owen in his desire for physical affection as they napped right here, right now, no exceptions. Scott was good to him like that, only protesting further if it truly bothered him, but otherwise going along with Owen’s whims. He may have felt bad about not allowing Scot a blanket if the weather wasn’t so warm lately, warm enough for Scott to kick off most of the blankets in the middle of the night anyway.