Reunion (1/4)

Malakai let out a soft sigh as he sat on his caravan steps, looking down at a tattered cloth he had in his hands. It was the remains of his last cloak and he had a nice bandage over his left leg and his side from the same situation he'd lost it in as well. It'd been a challenge to say the least getting Leshen into his new pen. He'd hoped that maybe he'd have an easier time with it when he was in his calm state, but... being in that pit had taken a toll on him apparently and he wasn't even surprised. 

He didn't blame him.

In the end he'd walked away with a mangled arm, a gash across his side and his leg, and had just about managed to get out without getting eaten by Monti, who pinned Leshen with his leg and grabbed Malakai in his mouth, tossing him out the way before doing similarly with Leshen, only instead of the hard fall into the grass it was a hard fall into the rune enclosed cave he and Rivia had made together. 

Leshen had howled all the next day and night until his voice broke off into a pained, wheezed hiss while Mal dressed his wounds and helped Monti dress his too.

It'd been a few weeks since then, and while he still had a gauze around his side and his leg bandaged up, he was pretty much good to go. Monti had healed even faster and just had a new scar across his nose now, which Malakai was grateful for.

His thoughts drifted to Fidelia, not for the first time that month, or the one before it. Since she'd been gone to visit family, there'd rarely been a day that went by that he wasn't curious how she was doing, or if she'd come back or not, like her note said. He wished he had a way of contacting her back, but he didn't - he just waited and hoped his friend would return so he could thank her properly for what she'd did at the time he found the scroll jabbed into the tree, rather then when she did come back from her long visits all that time later.

Reading her note and seeing the sheer amount of effort and time she took out of her life to find a solution for Leshen after his attack on her had touched his heart in a way no other had before. While he did purposely try to keep his and the dark dragon mix's bond distant for his own sanity and health's sake until Leshen could possibly heal enough to become himself again, he still cared deeply for him. Hoped he could fix him, even a little bit. He felt Leshen’s agony like it was his own when they'd first formed the bond, and he never wanted him to have to feel that for the rest of his life, let alone on a daily basis like he had been. 

Since he'd been in the magic-proof pen, he seemed to be doing better. He owed Fidela for all of it.

Right now though - he was glad she hadn't been here for Leshen's transportation. Thinking of her being hurt again by him wasn't something he liked to contemplate at all. 

Heaving a long sigh, the vernid finally stood. He picked up the large stick Rivia had found for him, picked up a basket of food in his other arm, and started to make his slow way towards where he'd set it up. Rivia, sensing him move, got up as well to follow, staying right by his side like she always had. Grimsby wasn't anywhere in sight.

~**~

Coming home had been well, odd, for the first few days. Quiet took over the home and the village was not boisterous. Not loud with singing or seeing children play in the road as cattle was moved around. The only sound was the crackle of fire or maybe the wind that carried the soft whistles of a family chatting in their home. Not like when they first settled and the sound of hammering could be heard day-in and day-out. Or the sounds of soft conversation, the clinking of beers together for a night talk. She missed those days with Akeem, not her Akeem. Not the one who was here.

Those thoughts stayed with her in the quiet of the house when she came home. She had missed it before, but seeing her family had bloomed something inside of her chest. Fidelia wasn't one for trying to do a soul-search. She knew who she was, she knew the feelings and why they were caused. Maybe her mellizo pissed her off that day or her hermana took a tool that she didn't really need. Or she disappointed her madre, she knew that. She could figure that out as easy as it was to stitch a simple thread.

But here, the home she had built with her hands, it caused something inside of her chest. She had to leave it, at least for a bit. Vita caused a fuss like she always did when she didn't get her way, but she had curled around her shoulders. More obedient than last time, possibly feeling the tightness in her chest. She needed someone that she could actually talk to, someone who she hadn't seen for awhile, who she thought too much of.

She didn't know if she could though, that tightness had overwhelmed her when she first realized it. It was funny, really comical to be honest, that her Akee had figured out her feelings quicker than she had. The damn bond they had, it was hard to keep a secret when your feelings were read out to them. Akeem never asked though if she wanted to go back as they flew. His wings beating steadily while Vita dozed in her tight curl.

She couldn't go back to that damn quiet village. It was so quiet, too unfamiliar if she thought hard about it. She had become a frenzy in there and the stress relaxed as they left it farther along. She'll get used to the quiet like she had before, it took time, the logical side of her knew that.

Fidelia lightly pressed her hand against Akeem's neck as they neared it. Feeling the beat that linked them, pulsing with the same beat at the same time.

"You excited?" He whispered, shooting a look at her as the trees from Malakai's continent slowly started to form before them.

"Nervous," She admitted, feeling Vita curl tighter.

"It'll be fine. I'm certain he missed you as much as you did," He chirped, as he dived down to try to find a landing spot. 

She swallowed nervously, feeling like a niña all those years ago. Comical really and she lightly patted Akeem's neck as his wings beated against the air, swaying the trees as he started to land.

~**~

Malakai's ear twitched a little bit as he heard a change in the breeze, his heart leaping as his first and immediate thought was that he was in some kind of danger. 

Let it come, a voice whispered in the back of his head. Let it devour you whole like I never could.

Rivia glared off into the trees, knowing exactly whose thoughts had pierced into Malakai's, and therefore her, head. 

Knowing he'd hear her, she bellowed. 

"Leave him alone, Litch."

Malakai scrubbed his head hard before looking back at the sky. Rivia had been more annoyed at Leshen than she had at the noise of beating wings. That could only mean one thing.

Rubbing his eyes and trying not to look as physically and emotionally exhausted then he actually was, he stood up a little straighter and offered a tentative wave as Akeem finally rounded the corner of Monti's border boulder and into his sight. Rivia stood her ground, not even turning to watch him land as her entire body turned to the treeline and the new dirt path that had been worn into the grass, her tail twitching dangerously just behind Malakai's legs.

Mal barely noticed her, focused entirely on the figure riding the large ocean hybrid. She really did come back. A tired smile graced his muzzle and he called out.

"Fidelia. You're back, huh?"

~**~

Akeem fluttered, shooting up dirt in places as he circled to land. His tail dipped down, hind legs touching the ground before he finally landed. He fluttered his wings as his pulse slowed down underneath Fidelia's finger tips. Her pulse was speeding, trying to focus on the breathing Akeem had. His gills fluttered near her finger tips, as he laid down, pushing his legs underneath him, tail curling as he looked down at the vernid.

He chirped excitedly at the sight of him, lightly flapping his wings a bit, before relaxing them. He twisted his head though to watch his rider, Fidelia slowly untangling Vita from her. Vita squirmed, spine shivering before relaxing as she was carefully placed down on the shell of Akeem's back, his wings making a guard for her.

Her heart relaxed, Fidelia gently slid off Akeem, who nuzzled her roughly before puffing air into her ear.

"Akee!" She scolded and she gently batted his snout away before she turned back to Malakai. Her ears lightly flicked back, before she shot a grin at him.

"Yep," She laughed, finally leaving Akeem's side to walk towards Mal. "After a long two months with la familia."

She eyed his tired form and snickered, placing her hands on her hips. "Sleep well?"

~**~

Malakai seemed to hesitate for a long moment, before his sense of awkwardness was far outweighed by the surge of emotion suddenly exploding in his chest, clenching his stomach. It finally hit him that she was actually back. She came back. And... she helped Leshen. Without him even asking her, he could-... he could thank her now. Really thank her. What should he say? What could he say? What could he possibly say...

His real eye gleamed with a slight sheen of barely held back tears, before he dropped his walking stick and closed the distance between them in two long strides. Ignoring his wounds, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her, his voice a little choked as he tucked his head over her shoulder, his real arm trembling weakly from the rush of feeling - of relief and happiness and shock at both of those emotions. 

After a long somewhat awkward silence, he spoke. 

"T-Thank you..." he whispered, shakey.

Rivia finally did turn her head at the rush of weird complicated emotions. Frowning, she glanced towards Akeem, not having seen what had happened beforehand, not knowing if she should start huffing or stay quiet.

~**~

Feeling Malakai, the shakiness, the trembling, inside him shook Fidelia. She tensed as she felt his arms around her, feeling his chin lightly dig into her shoulder. Oh gods, she missed him and she almost crumbled as she tentatively wrapped her arms around him. She didn't know where to place her hands and she simply gripped him. Relaxing into this hold that she didn't think would happen. 

Her ears twitched at his words and she breathed, feeling her chest rattle inside. He was shaking so badly, how his words trembled like that. A purr split from her throat, for comfort, to comfort him. Soft and quiet, barely audible to the others. 

"You're welcome," she whispered, voice soft. She didn't know what to truly say, her flipping through the reasons why he would thank her. 

Akeem, from the area he laid, could feel the happiness seeping off them. His heart twinged with Fi's, feeling the confusion and soft love she held for the other rider. He turned his head to meet Rivia's gaze and he shot a smile towards her. His gaze returned back to their riders though, the smile never leaving.

~**~

He hugged her a fraction tighter as he felt her hands on his back, ears pinned as far back as they could go and tail dragged out limp behind him in the grass, finding a kind comfort in her familiar scent that he'd not really had before she'd left - or if he did, he'd not noticed it until it was gone again.

He let his eyes close and he took in a deep breath to try and calm his racing thoughts and heart rate a little, not wanting to actually start crying like an idiot when she probably didn't even know what he was thanking her for.

Not able to face her as he spoke as a result of not wanting to start sniffling, he just loosened his grip a little bit, but didn't let go. The sense of urgency was slowly fading from his grip around her, but.. his arms never fell back. Later he'd question why he felt totally fine touching and being touched like this when two months earlier he'd have been jumpy if Fi had hugged him, but right now, it felt safe and warm and nice.

He couldn't remember the last time someone outside of his family hugged him and his immediate response was to feel safe. Her purrs probably were helping, he would also later add to rationalise the odd behaviour.

"Your runes..." he murmured, voice a little less shaky now he'd calmed down a bit. "You... Your runes, Fi..."

Rivia looked from Akeem to the two riders for a slow second before realization seemed to click in her head. She narrowed her eyes and snorted loudly through her nose. She saw how it was. Fidelia was going to have a lot to prove in the coming weeks, but for now, Rivia just sat down and waited for the exchange to be over, grumpily watching to make sure Fidelia didn't do anything that could unintentionally hurt whatever this strange feeling she could sense in Malakai's chest was. She half hoped it wasn't a heart attack brewing.