by Emily Wilson
Kato huffs a laugh as he thinks of his drawing back home. “Yeah, we definitely have to do that.”
“At least building is fun.”
Based on Azrian’s face, he doesn’t agree, but they hug Ronan and set off to find Kato’s brothers.
“You think they’re outside or in the city?”
“Probably just outside. Teagon found out that Axis will play fetch with his leg,” Az explains with no small amount of humor in his voice. “I've never seen something so funny in my life.”
Tugging him a little faster, Kato rushes outside in hopes to see the game. It seems they just stopped playing when they find them and take a seat on a giant rock. “Tired already, Axis?”
“No. I don't tire, not this easily. Bored is more like it... it was only amusing the first forty or fifty times.”
Nut jumps onto Aleon’s lap and startles him, making the others all laugh when he gives in and pets his ears. “You guys spoil him.”
“I tried to stop it,” Azrian says defensively. “It's all Kato's fault.”
“Me?” Kato searches his brain for an argument and comes up short. “Okay, that checks out.”
Nut slaps Aleon with his tail as he leaps up by Kato and settles between him and Azrian. “Want sweetbread.”
“They don’t have any here... maybe Az will make sweetbread when we get home.” Kato smiles innocently at Azrian, who sighs and begrudgingly agrees.
Aleon rubs the spot Nut hit. “Oh, right. You guys are leaving really soon, aren't you? In a day or two?”
“Actually...” Azrian squirms a little and then nods to Kato. “You go ahead. Ask them.”
Everything else forgotten, Kato smiles excitedly at his brothers. “We’d like you to live in Embermeadow with us. Will you both consider moving in?”
“Listen, bro. Your house was nice and all, but I take up a lot of space,” Teagon warns. “I'd love to be closer to you, but us fitting? Not gonna happen.”
He grunts when Aleon elbows him. “I'm sure they know that, stult,” Aleon says sharply. “Is there a house near you we can buy or something?”
“As much as I’d like to make a joke about being able to fit in tight spaces, I won’t.” Kato coughs a laugh and hits his chest. “We meant with us. It will be hard at first, but we plan on building another house on our land.”
Teagon relaxes. “Look at that, Ale. Our little brother wants to build us a house.”
“I don't think that's quite what he—”
“Nope, that's what he said. I heard it,” Teag insists, but he doesn't last long before he's laughing too. “I'm kidding. Aleon will help you build it, don't worry.”
Azrian sighs and takes Kato’s hand. “I don't regret this yet, but something tells me we might end up doing exactly that at some point. Maybe we should start building sooner rather than later?”
“Are you guys talking about us?” Aleon interrupts before Kato can answer.
“No. We’re talking about—” his mind goes completely blank as he tries to lie, “—um... rocks.”
“Rocks?”
“Rocks,” Kato repeats to his brother before answering Az. “I panicked. I think I already regret this. Yes... we’ll start as soon as we get home.”
Azrian shakes his head, no doubt wondering what he's getting himself into. “So that's a yes, then? You two will move to Embermeadow with us?”
“Consider it done,” Teagon says with a wide grin. “Not like anything was holding us in Bridgehelm, anyway.”
“Nothing at all? Not even the librarian?” Kato asks with a grin.
Aleon thinks it’s funny and when Teagon shares the story of their messy breakup, Kato understands why. He may not have experience outside of Azrian, but he knows that definitely isn’t love and he’s glad his brother got away.
“Yeah... it was a mess. I’ve stayed away from relationships with women ever since. She was scary when angry. Guys are way more easygoing.”
“I don’t know about that. Az is pretty scary when he’s angry, too. Luckily, it’s rarely pointed at me.” Kato pokes Az’s ribs and makes him jump, then dodges the return attack.
“Very funny.”
“I think it was funny.” Kato pulls him in and kisses his temple. He may like messing with Az, but deep down, Kato knows Azrian’s the best thing that ever happened to him and he wouldn’t trade him for the world.
“OF COURSE YOU’RE DOWN here.” Kato grins at Aleon as he pulls away from Riley. “Were you trying to do sex next to the dragon?”
“Ugh! Kato, how many times do we have to tell you not to say it like that,” Aleon groans, but Riley just laughs.
“He does it on purpose.”
“Stay out of my head.” Kato pulls Az in and lifts his gaze by his chin. “Cogitare are annoying, huh?”
“Incredibly, thanks for finally noticing.”
Kato rolls his eyes because he knows he deserved that and then kisses his lips. “We’re actually down here to say bye.”
“Bye? I thought you took your oath?” she asks.
“I did. But we’re still going home. We miss our bed. Aleon will just bring me back every day.”
“Convenient. You paying him for his services?” Riley jokes, and Aleon laughs like she’s the funniest person in the world.
“No. Just like he didn’t pay me for healing his back after you scratched him.” Both of them blush at the same time and Azrian laughs at them. He seems to enjoy not being the one blushing in this conversation. “And regardless, he’s coming here every day, too. He doesn’t mind.”
“I don’t. Even if I wasn’t offered a job, I’d be fine with it because I’d just come see you every day.”
Riley smiles at him in a way Kato’s never seen before and then pulls him in by his tunic. “Good.”
“Okay, should we go?” Azrian asks, shielding his eyes from their heated kiss but Kato stays put.
“No, I actually wanted to ask something before we go. Riley, how’d you get the dragons on our side?”
Cindreg lifts her head and blinks at them like that was the dumbest question she’s ever heard. “I think I’d be better suited to answer that one, don’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kato forces his body to stand tall. “I didn’t want to bother you, but yes, I’d love to discuss it with you.”
The dragon hums and even though her expression doesn’t change, Kato feels as if she’s smiling. “They joined my side. Not yours. They would follow me to the stars.”
All that does is fuel more questions, and Kato fights the urge to read her thoughts for himself. “Why?”
“Why? Because once upon a time I was a leader just like you.”
“I’m not a leader,” Kato retorts, stepping in closer than ever before. “You led dragons?”
“Yes you are, and yes I do. I may be here, but my guard will always be loyal to me, as I am to them.” Cindreg’s tail swings as she gets comfortable. “When they began hunting us, we had no choice but to band together.”
“And how did you lose?”
The snort she releases lets Kato know she’s still bitter about it. “One of our own turned. He was bigger than the rest of us and he took a deal. Kill us and he would be allowed to live. While he did kill many of us, I inevitably killed him.” Cindreg smiles proudly at her victory.
“I see. So because of that, you saved the remaining dragons and they’ll always be loyal to you.”
“Precisely,” she says plainly.
Kato scratches at his head and meets her eyes. “And why did you help us?”
She glances at Riley and then back at Kato. “Because I like her.”
Kato and Riley both catch the lie in her mind and share a quick look. He nearly doesn’t push — everything inside him tells him not to press the giant man-eating dragon — yet he can’t stop himself. “Be honest.”
“I do like her.” Cindreg glances at Azrian so quickly Kato would have missed it if he wasn’t staring right at her. “And it was written.”
“Oh,
for the love of every star in the sky!” Az hisses. “You're just as bad as the rest of them.”
Cindreg spreads her wings then and flies off, and Kato chuckles kind of bitterly. “Now that I work in government, I should ban cryptic sayings.”
“Start with Cettia. And Hanigen. And the entire Regnum. Just... ban everyone. Can we ban everyone? And make it a rule that the next person to call me by my full name is going to get locked up in Deadrun?”
He can’t help but pull Az in for a kiss, smiling against his lips at the thought. “Can I ban a god?”
Riley snorts then and interrupts their moment. “I’d love to see you try. Even Kato the Great can’t ban a god.”
Kato the what? “Please don’t call me that.”
“Teagon started it. He’s been telling all the locals to call you that,” Aleon admits.
“Well, I don’t like it. I’m not worthy of a name like that. Not yet.”
“You're right. No one deserves to be called something so incredibly cheesy,” Az jokes, but the twinkle in his eye says what his lips did not. He thinks Kato is pretty damn great.
As much as he wants to live up to the way his loved ones see him, Kato knows he has a long road ahead of him — but it’s okay, because he won’t quit until he deserves it.
IT SEEMS A LITTLE SILLY to Azrian to continue all of these farewells when they're not truly leaving, but they seek Hanigen and Neginah out all the same after failing to find Jase and Tague. Azrian wonders to himself if he’ll be able to get away with not coming back here for a few weeks or even months if he goes through the motions now, but something tells him that he’ll be seeing the inside of this mountain again far sooner than he wishes.
“Your presence will be missed,” Neginah says with a soft smile. Her arms start to spread like she's about to hug Azrian, but she thinks better of it and lets them drop to her sides again. “Are you sure we can't convince you both to stay?”
Kato chuckles. “There aren't enough coins in all of Athoze to convince him to live here.”
He has to believe that there are enough coins to sway him, but he also highly doubts they'd ever be allocated for such a stupid thing. “I don’t think either of you will even know we’re missing. Kato will be back every day the Regnum are in session and I'm sure I'll visit once or twice,” he says lightly. “And you're more than welcome to come to Embermeadow to visit us.”
“We might take you up on that. It's been a while since either of us have been out there and we’re both due a vacation,” Hanigen says with the first sign of a smile Azrian’s seen from the man in days. “Speaking of which, have you two considered taking a little time off?”
“Not really.” Kato glances at Azrian apologetically. “Every day we take off is another day that the Venandi roam free. We’ve come too far to just let them go.”
“No one says you have to let them go—”
“But we are saying that you should take care of yourselves.”
Hearing the twins finish each other’s sentences again settles something inside of Azrian that hasn't felt right since the battle. Every part of him knows that Neginah wasn't truly against them and wouldn’t have done what she did if it weren't for Guara's influence, but Azrian had seen the way Hanigen was looking at her — and the way that Neginah was beating herself up. Part of Azrian had been afraid that they weren't going to find their way back to this, so the evidence is more welcome than he'd thought.
“Y’know, Jellycrai,” Az starts, “a vacation isn't a bad idea. I know you won't take a full week, but maybe a day? We could stay the night in Redhaven before going back home. I'm sure Ronan would love it and so would your brothers.”
Kato looks strained as he weighs the pros and cons of such a thing, but ultimately relaxes. “I think we can spare a day. It's getting late anyway; we could go stay there tonight, see the city tomorrow, and head home by dinner?”
“I'd be okay with that,” Azrian says with obvious relief. Kato might've agreed to take it easy, but not one part of Azrian believed him then and he doesn't believe him now, either — but he'd been truthful when he'd told Kato that this is one of the things he admires the most about him. He just wishes Kato would care a little more about his own well-being, instead.
“You'd better get moving then,” Neginah prods. “The inns in Redhaven tend to fill up quickly and it sounds like you'll need a couple of rooms. We’ll see you soon.”
This time, Azrian leans in and hugs her. It's such an out-of-character move that even the Oculare seems shocked, but her thin arms tighten around him as she relaxes. “Take care of yourself, Neginah.”
As he switches twins with Kato, Azrian studies the lines on Hanigen’s face then leans in to hug him, too. “Any ridiculous visions on your mind we should know about? Maybe a lost sky city this time or the wife of the pistalus we killed ready to seek revenge?”
Hanigen laughs, but it's a dry, bitter sound. “I don't think you want to know the things I've seen, Azrian. The future is constantly in flux. Just... live in the moment, alright? Things may yet change for the better.”
“Well, that's what we’re doing all this for,” Kato says firmly. “To change things for the better.”
Somehow, Azrian doesn't think that's what Hanigen was talking about, but he won't be the one to tell Kato that. His optimism and fierce drive are the only things keeping Azrian upright these days and he’ll be stoned before he lets anyone ruin that. “Come on, Jellycrai. Let's wrangle up Ronan and your brothers and get to Redhaven. The faster we get checked into a room, the better.”
With a last wave to the twins, Kato takes Azrian’s hand and leads him back inside the mountain — for what Azrian hopes is the final time.
WAKING UP NEXT TO KATO in a room all their own feels amazing, even if Azrian knows it's fleeting. He rolls a little closer and drapes an arm over Kato’s stomach, then tries to stay as still and quiet as he can so he doesn't wake him up. Kato needs rest more than any of them and Azrian won't be the one to disturb that, not when Kato looks so peaceful like this.
He watches the rise and fall of Kato’s chest and thanks Cettia silently for each and every one of those breaths. With all they’ve suffered, even just one thing going differently could've robbed them of this. It hurts to think about.
Content to lay just like this until Kato wakes up, Azrian starts to drift off to sleep again — until a knock on the door has him jerking back to consciousness and carefully extricating himself from the bed. He nearly trips as he pulls his pants back on and makes his way to the door, but the handle helps steady him as he opens it as quietly as he can. “Teag?” he whispers. “What are you doing? The sun’s not even up.”
“Couldn't sleep, glad you're up. C’mon.” He reaches in and yanks Azrian out of the room, then looks at his bare skin and pushes him right back in. “Put a shirt on and then meet me out here.”
Ruffled, Azrian hisses an insult or two under his breath as he hastily gets dressed and slips his shoes back on. When he meets Teagon in the hallway once more, he glares at him. “Where are we going?”
“Just c’mon. Have you ever been to Redhaven?”
“Sort of. Not for sightseeing, though, and not this early in the day.” He struggles to keep up with Teagon’s long strides, but it makes him smile in pride. Teagon isn't missing a beat.
They sneak out of the inn’s lobby and duck out onto the street, and only then does Teagon relax and start to speak at a normal volume. “I left a note for Ale. He’ll grab Kato and Ronan when they wake up and meet us out here, but I wanted you to see something.”
“Me?” Azrian asks as they start moving again. “Why me?”
“You're part of the family now, right? I mean, you two might not be married, but you might as well be. That means I get to show you all the cool shit I find, and you have to pretend to like it.”
Thinking of his own experiences with family, he's almost positive that's not how it works — but something about the twinkle in Teagon’s eyes has him softening. “Okay. Lead t
he way, big guy.”
They head out of town with Azrian’s Videre light illuminating their path, but when they come to a jagged, steep cliff, Teagon stops and grimaces. “Uh... any chance you wanna help your future brother-in-law up?”
Azrian’s jaw goes slack. Teagon’s taller and heavier than he is, so this has “disaster” written all over it. Teagon doesn't give him a chance to express that before he starts climbing and Az is forced to hurry behind him.
It's precarious and dangerous, and they slip more than once on their way up the rock face. When they finally reach the top, Az lays on the ground facing the sky and struggles to catch his breath. “You get to stay here now until Aleon finds us,” Az pants. “I'm not helping you back down.”
Teagon barks a laugh and taps his shoulder before pointing off into the distance, so Az reluctantly sits up and follows his gaze. “Wha– oh,” he whispers. The sun is just starting to come up, and from their position, there’s absolutely nothing blocking their view of the horizon. The sky slowly explodes in brilliant colors that suck the air right out of Azrian’s lungs. “Sweet Cettia.”
“Thought you might like this,” he says fondly. “Found this spot the last time I was here, but I gotta say... the company was a little better last time.”
From Teagon’s tone, Azrian thinks he's serious and prepares to smack him — but one look at the amusement on his face has Azrian snorting. “Shut up. You're going to ruin it.”
To his great surprise, Teagon does shut up. They sit in silence until the sun is fully risen and they hear Kato, Aleon and Ronan arguing at the foot of the rock formation. Az rolls to peer over the side and grins at all three of them. “Good morning, shadowheads. Are you an Itinerae or what, Aleon? Just jump up.”
The look of embarrassed realization on Aleon’s face is even funnier than Azrian thought it would be, but a second later, all three are standing tall over his prone form.
“You may wanna get up, Az,” Teagon teases. “Ale might step on you.”
