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Journey Back to the South Part 6~

[Warning: Mentions of a graphic animal death, mild smut(-ish), and profanity. 18+. SFW (kinda-- just be smart people)].

Part 6~

The Traveler and The Kokhurian

After the nightmare that you had with the ferret, Muriel leaped into almost every dream. He may not have been there the entire time, but he at least made sure everything was alright. It makes you wonder if that’s one of the reasons why he never slept well in the first place. Thankfully nothing tragic occurred like it did that night. Some flashes of memories popped here and there about Ezavior, your ferret familiar that toy had apparently when you were younger. Mostly the memories were like how he would scurry about around your pockets, how he liked to hide things under your sheets, how cute his little squeaks were when how excited he’d get when you brought him food—he particularly loved eggs, how he would like to burrow himself in your neck when he was sleepy, and how he was there to listen when you were sad... sweet memories such as that. You also remember that you could hear his voice, like you and Asra can hear Faust. It was high pitch and screechy, but still a male’s voice, almost like a child’s.

It’s strange. You still can’t remember who gave you Ezavior. Neither can you remember who the person was that killed him, their face, or why they did (if they had a real reason). All you do remember is the pain he felt and his horrified screams when he was being killed. You could feel him as the life was being drained away, it was like a part of your soul being ripped away from you. Feeling every bone in his tiny neck being snapped under the pressure of that figures’ hand. A familiar is bonded to the soul of a person. It was devastating for you to feel that all over again, but coming to terms that it was actually real somehow helped. You dealt with it once, you’ll do it again... you have to.

One thing you do know is that with Muriel being there next to you physically and in your dreams makes all this better, makes you feel stronger. He just wants to be there for you anyway he can. He always makes you feel like you could accomplish anything being by his side. Despite what he might think, he’s very comforting and supportive, especially when you need it the most. You love him even more for that.

In the mornings, you’d find yourself tangled up in Muriel’s large arms, even more so than usual. Both of you didn’t mind though, you both enjoy the closeness and contact of one another’s skin. That one rogue rooster never fails to wake the two of you up around day break. Today was no exception and you both lay there in each other’s arms annoyed at the loud calls and soon you hear other people start to stir outside. Your hands and cheek right resting on Muriel’s chest, left leg draped over his torso while his arms are wrapped around you, both of you laying on your sides, facing each other.

“....Rhemi…” Muriel finally whispers, rubbing the small of your back and shoulder with his large warm hands. “...Rem…Hey, Rem.”

“....Hmmmmm?” You groan slightly irritably, not ready to leave the bed quite yet.

“It’s morning. Gotta get up.”

“Ugg….....Nooo.” Quickly you loop your arms around his neck trying to get a few more minutes of warm cuddles.

He snorts at your grumpiness. “Rem…” He whispers with a yawn as he continues, “..Una is going to be waiting... C’mon.”

“Nnnnnooooooo.” You groggily whine burying yourself into his chest more, enjoying the warmth. “...Don’t wanna. It’s cold… Don’t make me...”

He chuckles softly through his nose. “Fine…. You don’t have to get up yet, but I do.”

“Nnnnnoooooo! You’re sooo waaaaarm!!” You wrap your leg a bit tighter around his torso.

He kisses the top of your head and whispers again. “I’ll stoke the fire—“

“—Don’t want fire….. Rhemi want Muri!” You moan, muffled by his bare chest.

A warm huff blows out from his mouth.“...You're worse than Faust.” He grumbles but you can feel a smile on his lips as he attempts to very gently pry himself out of your vice like grip. But it's useless, he’s stuck. He sighs deeply and shakes his head, he could easily force himself out of your grip if he really wanted to. But of course he doesn't, he never does anything that may somehow hurt you. He then moves his left hand to the back of your head, pulling back your hair and starts to kiss your shoulder and neck sweetly, trying to wake you up. And unfortunately it’s working.

You can’t help but smile a little and start to let go of his neck, but lace your figures loosely through his hair as you slowly roll onto your back and finally open your sleepy eyes, feeling a bit aroused. You mischievously smile, gliding your right hand on his morning wood. “...We can get other things up~”

You feel him tense up suddenly. “—R-Rhemi!” He grunts pulling away from your neck, feeling his face and chest getting warmer and his expression looks torn. You start to kiss his lips and cheek. He shivers and groans a little as you continue to sleepily stroke him through his pants and love on him. After a few seconds of kiss you back, his eyes fly open, snapping himself out of it and pulls himself away now that he has the chance. “—Hey! N-No! That’s not—....You…. You’re terrible!” He says trying to hide a grin and red painted on his cute face as he sits up looking a bit adorably flustered.

You cutely giggle, still feeling groggy. “Yep~.” Yawning as you speak, “...But you started it!”

“D-did not.” As he makes his way out of the bedding and stands up to get dressed. “...You just instigated.” He mutters under his breath.

You finally sit up and stretch your arms a little. “...Fair. What can I say, I can’t resist you~” Muriel turns away from you so you can't see his full silly love drunk smile. It’s noticeable getting a little colder the past few days and you shiver without Muriel’s body heat. Inanna notices you feeling cold, trots over and lays her heavy body in your lap. “Oof. Well, good morning to you too, Inanna.” You scratch her head and she licks your face a little. She is at least warm and you hug her furry neck. “Ahhhh. Toasty wolf. Thank you, Nana.” You could honestly go to sleep with her, but you know you shouldn’t.Eventually you get yourself out of soft warm bedding, wash yourself up, quickly get dressed and splash some more water on your face.

For the past few days Muriel and you continued to spend half the day apart. In the morning he would go off with Una, Keavy and a few other people in the fields learning how to grow plants and spreading seeds, today was the last day. You both would meet back up around the early afternoon. While he was busy doing that, you would start the morning working in your journal, write down the story from the night before and other things about the Kokhuri. Then, as promised, you started to teach Ava how to use the shadow puppetry, a type of illusion spell typically used for entertainment.

Ava was in charge of the early morning patrol a few hours before dawn until the mid morning where someone else took over, then they’d sneak away to the hill side where you liked to work near the camp with all the forget-me-nots and other wild flowers so you could teach them in peace. To make things easier, Ava even made a speech board of some kind out of one of the pages of the small notebook you gave them. Such as, ‘thank you’, ‘show me that again’,’please slow down.’, ‘Is this correct?’, ‘explain that again’, and ‘I don’t understand.’ and whatnot. Common things. You even start to pick up on some of their hand language after a while.

Ava is surprisingly a quick learner, very quick. By the first day they nearly had the concept down and were able to form a small animal. It took you about a week to even get that far when you were learning it. Their aura and magic is a beautiful darker blue color with little bright sparkles in between that remind you of starry night sky. It feels almost like Muriel and Una’s. Very organic and earthy, solid, strong, but it smells of freshly cut herbs.

The Kokhuri just continue to amaze you with their ability to overcome adversity. Ava was no exception. But one thing has been bothering with you that you want to know. Why? What are they going to do with this? Not that it really matters, they may just want to know for fun, or to just show off. But Ida did say that they don’t have many friends… They don’t seem to be the party going type either, so what else could it be for?

“Wow, Ava you’ve really got the hang of this, haven't you.” You say before you both sit down in the tall grass mixed with all the wildflowers and forget-me-nots, taking a small water break. Ava got most of it down and is now able to manage to manipulate multiple figures at once, they even enquired about making some kind of smoky atmosphere and other different effects. That honestly is a very extensive use of magic, but then again, like Muriel, they’re a lot bigger than you are, and probably have a bit more to spare. But the question still lingers in your mind eager for an answer. Your curiosity is overwhelming and you can’t take it any longer, you have to ask. “H-Hey…. Ava?” They look up at you and raise their brow sharply telling you that you have their attention. They still are a bit easily embarrassed by you, but they seemed to have gotten over some of it, or at least got better at hiding it. “... I’ve been wanting to ask… why did you want to learn this so much?”

Ava’s eyes widen from the sudden question. Cheeks faintly pink for a moment as they avert their eyes and lips tighten. With a heavy heartfelt sign, they pick up the notebook, turn to a fresh page and begin to write a small sentence. Once they are done, they hold the small notebook to their chest, still looking away towards the ground, unsure that they really want to share it or not. You tilt your head smiling and try to look as sincere as possible. “...You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, Ava. It’s your choice. But if you do, I promise I won’t make fun of you or anything.”

Ava glances up with their green eyes and takes in a large breath and reluctantly hands you the notebook with a sheepish face. It reads; “...There have been stories of a different type of Master Speakers centuries ago that used magic to tell the old tales. They were called Illuminators, but the practice was lost over time.”

You glance over to Ava after you read it quietly and flutter your eyes, your thoughts connecting together. They wanted to be a Master Speaker like Gilbert… Wait.. That makes way more sense now! You feel a small smile creep across your lips as you open your mouth to speak. “Ava…. Do you want to the be an—“

Suddenly Ava snatches the notebook out of your hands and stands up. Ripping out the page they wrote, shredding it into small pieces appearing irritated with themselves for some reason. They make a few movements with their hands frustratedly as if to say; ‘Forget I said anything.’ And tries to shuffle away, looking rather embarrassed.

“Hey! Wait… Ava!” You stand up and quickly grab the crease of their left wrist and they abruptly stop, whip themselves around, beaming at your hand and blush crazily. You let go and kindly smile. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed! I don’t think its a bad idea at all! I….I heard that you wanted to become a Master Speaker.”

Ava jumps as you utter those words, surprised that you know that. They’re brow narrows in suspicion. They make a gesture pulling up an imaginary hood over their head, they’re asking if little Ida told you. You hold your hands behind your back and nod your head a bit, your tone a bit apologetic sounding. “Yes…. It was Ida.” They scowl and huff a sharp exhale, holding their arms tightly, shaking their head to themselves, looking at the ground. It wasn’t really your business to know such things. Then their face starts to soften again and they scratch their right cheek. Eventually lifting their eyes back at yours with such sheepishness like they didn’t want to look foolish. “Ava, I don’t think it's silly at all. I think it's really awesome actually!”

Their brow lifts up and blush gets even deeper crimson. “...You think so?” They say with their hands then rub their shoulder with their opposite hand. You knew that at least.

You give them a reassuring smile and pat their bicep. “Of course I think so, Ava. It’s beautiful… Perhaps you can’t speak anymore, but I think becoming… what was it called, an Illuminator?” They nod a little. “...Becoming an Illuminator would give you a great opportunity to still do what you love.” Sluggishly a small grin forms on their lips, but avert their eyes back to the ground. It seems like they needed someone to talk about this, needed encouragement or approval. You understand that. Sometimes you get in your own head too and just need someone else to tell you it's okay. It may be hard to talk about any of this with their family. Ava’s voice being lost seemed to be a very sore subject, especially to Gilbert. It was tragic what happened, probably traumatic to their family.

Lightly you playfully punch their bicep and smile wider showing your teeth. “C’mon. Let's get back to—”

“—Ava!!!” Shawn calls coming over the hill with two look staffs, cutting you off. You both turn around to where Shawn is calling and his gaze meets his sibling’s. “Aha! There you are!” He comes barreling down the hill half yelling to be heard. “...You promised some sparring time before you take your nap this afternoon!”

Ava closes their eyes tightly, throws back their head and gently slaps their forehead then says, “Sorry” with their hands.

Shawn smiles gingerly as he gets closer. “Yeah I figured you forgot. It’s ok I have your—” He then realizes that you're there and gives you a strange look. “Hey, there...Rhemi…. What are you doing here… with Ava…. alone… without Cousin Muriel…” He squints his eyes a little, looking warily at the two of you.

Ava and you look at him blankly. Nooooo. It’s not what you think, Shawn…. “Oh, we’re—” Ava clears their throat and secretly shakes their head. They don’t want anyone to know about this apparently. You blink your eyes a few times and think up a quick excuse. “...Ahhh… Ava is teaching me their hand language.”

“....Rrrreeeeally?” Shawn darts over to Ava with a raised eyebrow and they nod their head, shooting him a rather convincing looking expression. Well… technically, it's true. They are teaching you. His gaze returns to you, eyes squinted again. “Doooooes… Cousin even know you two are like… hanging out?”

“Yes. Muriel does.” You snort a bit when he asks that and give him a reassuring smile. “And he’s fine with it.”

Shawn's face softens and he shrugs. “Alright…. If you say so.” He turns away for a moment, putting down the two staff and doffs his parka and folds up a little.

Ava writes in the notebook again quickly then hands it to you before he looks back. “Sorry. Guess we’re done for the day. Thanks for not saying anything. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” You give them a sneaky quick wink, they flush all over again and you stifle a giggle. There is something about a Kokhurian blushing that is just so damn cute~.

“Hey do you both mind if I stick around?” Feeling curious you feel the need to watch. Muriel and you actually keep up with your combat skills ever since last year. But you haven't really spared or seen others spare. You want to see what these two could do.

Shawn and Ava exchange a quick glance, Ava shrugs with pink still stained on their cheeks. Shawn grins and also shrugs. “I don’t see why not.”

You take a seat on the hillside Ava takes off their fur cloak, they even pull their hair back into a small ponytail, showing their shaved sides. The two of them get really to start about twenty-five or so feet away. Both equipped with training staffs, much like Muriel’s quarterstaff, and they take their positions. Ava charges quickly at their brother, taking the offense, they jump up and bring down their staff and Shawn blocks hastily and pushes them off. Their style is similar to how Morga’s was now that you think about it, a bit aggressive, but very effective.

Shawn is able to get off the defensive with them and it goes on for a while until Ava finally knocks the staff out of Shawn’s hands and it goes hurling over the hill towards camp. “Shit!” Shawn mutters as his weapon goes flying. “Flying stick!!! HEADS UP!!!” He shouts cupping his mouth to amplify his loud higher baritone voice.

Instead of hearing a wooden clack on it falling to the ground. You hear a fleshy sound, like someone caught it. You whip yourself around, a smile automatically takes over your lips as you see your favorite Kokhurian making his way down the hillside, Inanna trailing behind him, Shawn’s staff in hand. He apparently caught it before it could hit anyone.

“...Dropped something?” He scoffs with a small grin at Shawn as he makes his way down, then tosses it effortlessly back to him.

Shawn catches it then scratches the back of his head a bit embarrassed at himself. “Ha… Yeah, sorry. Thanks, Cousin.” Ava grabs Shawn’s shoulder to get his attention and speaks to him every expressively with their hands as their staff rests on their collarbone and shoulder. Looking like they are giving him pointers before getting started again. “Yeah, I know! I know...” he grumbles.

Inanna brushes against your back and curls around your side when she reaches you. You scratch behind her ears. “Hey, Nana.” You quickly glance up to Muriel before you look back to the sparring match, smiling up at him. “Hello, handsome~”

Muriel takes a seat next to you handing you a half of a juicy green apple that he must have cut. You peer down for a second at the piece of fruit and your stomach growls at the sight of it, realizing how hungry you are, magic does that to you. “Ooooo! A green one, my favorite! Thank you, Love~” You take it happily, he even cut out the core so it was easier to eat. I love this man.

Muriel snorts at your enthusiasm. “Figured you were hungry… Ida gave me it before I came down here..”

You continue the conversation, but keep your eyes on the match. “Well that was awfully sweet of her!” You take a bite of the crispy apple enjoying it immensely.

“Yeah, it was.” He says under his breath.

“So...How was it today?” You ask with a bit of apple still in your mouth.

Muriel shrugs sharply. “...Fine.” He summons up a little magic into his hand and with his pointer finger he blooms a patch of budding wilding flower next to both. Taking your eyes off the sparing for another moment you watch in awe as they sprout effortlessly. They’re primroses. He plucks one carefully and gives it to you with a little pink of his cheeks. “...Guess I’m teachable.”

“Wow….” You take it with a wide sweet smile. “That is incredible, Muri!”

He scratches the back of his neck, his attention back at the sparring, Ava repeatedly winning and disarming Shawn. “W-Whatever… Just a flower.” He shrugs trying to not make a big deal out of his accomplishments as always.

“Flower-s! Plural! And you can grow a whole handful after just a few days! Una’s right, you are a natural.” You say lovingly before taking another bite of your apple, leaning your head in his arm, then proudly place the flower behind your left ear. Muriel’s blush darkens and the corners of his mouth curl up into a little grin.

A hard wooden crack followed by a sharp gasp and Shawn shouting, “—Look out!!” Makes you jump. Before you could blink or think you throw up both hands and cast a large shield with your magic. —THUUUMMMMM!!!!!

Luckily you were able to block all three of you from the staff but drop the last quarter half of the apple in the process. You moan sadly, then Inanna darts between you and the piece of fruit with her big yellow eyes. You snort, “Help yourself, Inanna.” She doesn’t hesitate at all as she starts to munch it down making very quick work of it. It has dirt stuck on it now. Oh well… better than it going to waste I guess.

Shawn looks towards you both very apologetically and concerned. “Are-are you both alright?! I'm so sorry!”

“Yeah. We’re ok, Shawn.” You utter, more saddened by your apple now completely gobbled up by Inanna than you are concerned about nearly getting hit.

Muriel grumbles then horse whispers to you. “Why are you just sitting here?... Do you want to be hit with a flying piece of wood?”

You smile a bit mischievous, sarcasm thick in your tone. “Hmm. You’re right, that's on tomorrow’s addenda.” Muriel can’t help but bark a short laugh at you and you giggle with him a little. “I was just curious how they fought. We only saw them in action for a brief moment less than a week ago.” You both watch as Ava irriatedly smacks the back of Shawn’s head and scolds him silently. “....Besides. Don’t you think someone could use pointers?” You look up Muriel with your big eyes and twirl a piece of your hair, trying to look convincingly cute. But he gives you a very blank look for a moment. Your smile falls and you stick out your bottom lip. “...They’re training to be prepared to protect their family, Mur.”

Muriel thinks about your words for a moment, then looks back towards Shawn as he finally makes his way over to the two of you. Muriel sighs as he stands to his feet and grabs the staff from the ground. As Shawn approaches, Muriel looks down at him, making Shawn shrink into himself a little. He smiles warily as Muriel just gazes at him unsure if he’s angry or not. Muriel exhales through his nostrils and softens his face a little. “....Have ….have you ever been in a real fight, Shawn?” He reluctantly asks.

“Other than you two?” Shawn rubs the back of his neck looking into the sky pondering. “....No…. No I have not.”

Muriel huffs. “First thing in combat, try not to lose your weapon. So long as you can help it.” He says a little grumpily and he hands the staff back to him. “...You're not holding it right either. Ava needs to hold theirs closer together, but you need to hold it like this.” Muriel adjusts Shawn’s hands while he watches intently. “...’Bout shoulder width apart… elbows in…” Muriel takes a step back and folds his arms. “...Now try it.”

“O-okay.” Shawn nods sharply and runs back over to Ava taking his stance, seemingly retaining Muriel’s instructions. Ava comes back at him the same way they did before with a jump attack, he seemed to be able to defect a bit easier this time. Ava then tries to disarm him again, but this time was unsuccessful and he pushes them back which he wasn’t able to do before. Shawn just glances down to his staff and arms completely blown away. “For the love of Great Father, that actually worked!!” He says, uttering a startled laugh.

Ava smiles wide then drops their defenses and shoots Shawn a very proud older sibling look. They walk over and grab their brother’s shoulder and tugs him close for a quick one-armed hug and messes with his hair a little. Once the two finish they’re small celebration, Ava looks towards Muriel with a determined look on their face. Shawn then smiles wide and glances towards him too. Muriel stiffens, not looking very enthused with the looks on their faces. “Good idea, sis!—Muriel, Ava wants you to show them what you’ve g—” He stops as he sees the deep scowl on Muriel’s face.

You stand to your feet and grab his hand. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to…” You loudly whisper to him. “...But it’s no different sparing me.”

He sighs and thinks about it for a moment, eventually softening his scowl. Reluctantly he reaches out his hand for Shawn’s staff. Shawn tosses it over to him with an excited grin. Warily Muriel stares at it then looks over to Ava. “Ava... If you get hurt—”

Ava splutters, cutting him off, leaning on one leg, and starting to speak with their hands with a cocky looking large smile like they had during the games a few days ago. Shawn snickers to himself before translating. “Ava said, ‘Don’t worry about me, Cousin. I’ve seen my fair share of fights. Like you, I’m Kokhurian, I don’t go down that easily…. Besides I’m a lot better than him.’...—Hey! Wait a minute!! Ava!!!” Shawn whines a little. “Give me a break! I’m still just learning! Papa was able to teach you!” Ava laughs muffley, smacking their knee that he actually translated that out loud.

Muriel snorts a little and has a soft smile on his lips, looking just slightly more relaxed as he pulls off his cloak. You open your arms with a proud smile and hands it to you. Carefully fold it as best as you can and place it on the ground and take a seat back with Inanna as he makes his way over towards Ava, rolling up his long sleeves. Shawn sits a few feet away looking a bit excited, like he’s been wanting to see this for awhile. Muriel is not that much taller than Shawn, but he’s much more muscular. Ava has a lot of muscle too, but not quite as large as his. But they obviously have a lot of hidden strength being their smaller build physique. During the Brùth Carachd game, they took out more than a handful of people around Muriel’s height and even ones who were taller, so this should be a very interesting match.

Muriel and Ava take their positions, but the air stays rather light, no maliciousness anywhere. Ava is the first one to make a move as they charge toward and slam their staff towards Muriel’s head he quickly blocks it with the middle of his and pushes them away. Ava recoils and smacks it back down, they both push back with all their might, the look on Muriel’s surprised face is a bit priceless as he apparently feels Ava’s strength. You can tell he has to fight to push back a bit more than he expected. This is the first time he’s ever fought against another Kokhurian.

The atmosphere may be friendly, but the tension is getting increasingly higher as Muriel throws Ava off, recoiling into an attack, pushing Ava away and for the first time placing them on the defensive. It keeps going back and forwarth, making it very interesting to spectate. Shawn just stares in awe as he finally gets to see his Muriel in action. “Go, Cousin Muriel!!!” He cheers with a huge toothy smile. You can’t help but gawk at your hermit’s strong forearm muscles as they tense and relax, how his broad shoulders move so gracefully somehow. Ooooo… My god… How the fuck did I manage to nab this hunky man? You think to yourself, and immediately feel a pulse from between your thighs radiate all of your pelvis.—W-why are you getting horny at a time like this, Rhemi?! Stop that! You shake off the thoughts and realize that this match was getting even more intense. It seems like the two of them are now giving it their all, just barely holding back. Somehow Ava knocks Muriel off balance and Ava smirks confidently. But just as he nearly falls he catches himself and finds himself a clear opening and whacks Ava’s staff out of their hands and it goes flying the opposite direction of you and Shawn. Ava just stares at the flying staff, their mouth gaped ope, completely dumbfounded. Both breath heavily as silence takes over the hillside. Ava then gives a large smirk and looks back at their opponent, seemlily very impressed. Muriel smiles a little back, looking relieved in a way.

Shawn jumps up with both arms raised, shouting. “WOOOOOHHHH!!!! That. Was. AMAZING, COUSIN!” Muriel lowers his defenses and wipes the sweat off his brow with his forearm, sticking the butt end of the staff into the ground. Ava comes to his side with a very good sportsman-like and gives him a playful punch on the shoulder and opens their hand for a hand shake. Muriel flinches a bit, but then then takes Ava’s hand firmly. You feel so proud of him right now. This is a very important step, you know how hard it is for him to fight. But this is a good way to bond with his kin, and good practice. Shawn quickly makes his way over to him and you stand up and make your way over too. Pink takes over Muriel’s cheeks as Shawn continues to praise him. “I have never seen my sister lose at anything!! You’re a really good fighter!!! Where did you ever learn that—?” Ava hastily smacks their brother upside the back of his skull and shakes their head. “-Ouch… What was that for?” He mumbles, rubbing the back of his head as Ava quickly speaks with their hands. “...What do you mean it’s none of my business?” He mumbles and Ava gives him a sore look as they speak again with their hands. “...Well how am I supposed to know he doesn’t like talking about it?” He loudly whispers and Ava just beams at him irritatedly looking like they are thinking, ‘Could you shut up already??’

Muriel looks at Ava with confusion, his brow furrowed a bit. “....I never told you that… how do you know?” Ava blink rapidly for a moment and scratches their cheek, unsure how to answer. He sighs sharply. “...W-....was it Una?” You finally make it next to Muriel’s side as Ava pulls over the invisible hood over their head.

You tilt your head and raise an eyebrow. “Ida?” Ava nods their head slowly looking a bit sheepish. “Little Ida… You’re little sister, the adorable six year old?”

“We only have one Ida, Rhemi.” Shawn snickers a bit.

Muriel shakes his head to himself looking a bit more confused. “I… I never told— ...I wouldn’t ever—” His words suddenly die in his throat when another thought comes to his mind, and stumbles on his words. “....Does she—...Can they—…. She’s like your mother isn’t she?”

Ava and Shawn exchange wary glances for a moment before both nod slowly to answer him.

“You mean… Ida can leap into the past too?” You ask, feeling almost as shocked at Muriel. The other day when he and Ida were making flower crowns, she touched his scarred cheek then asked if someone ‘bad’ hurt him. That makes so much since why she was so empathetic towards Ava, and why she seemed to know more than Muriel told her. Did she… see all of it?

Shawn shuffles his feet a little, looking a bit awkward. “Ida is the only other person that we know of that has one of the gifts—” Shawn’s eyes widened for a moment in realization. “Oh! Wait, Papa said that you were one too right, Cousin?”

Muriel flutters his eyes, still completely shocked at the discovery, almost looking frightened by the thought of Ida being able to see such things. He probably wouldn’t have let her even touch him if he had known. You lightly grab his arm and it snaps him back into his senses. He swallows hard before answering. “Y-...Yeah… I can leap into dreams apparently.”

“Wow! Really? That is a really rare gift. At least that’s what Papa told us.” Shawn attempts to make him feel better, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

Ava huffs and walks over to Muriel and places their hand on his shoulder. He looks up from the ground and they start to speak with their hands. Shawn translates for them. “Ava said, ‘... Sorry. I’ve told her countless times not to leap without asking. But don’t worry, she’s still young and is learning. She can only see little glimpses. Not full memories yet.’..”

“...What… What did she see?....” He murmurs almost sounding afraid to know the answer.

Ava inhales deeply, looking a little guilty. They know it wasn’t their business to know. Shawn watches them for a moment as they move their hands before speaking. “... ‘Ida only saw someone with a large spear cut your face and that it hurt you and how scared you felt at the time. That’s all…’..”

You lean into Muriel’s slightly trembling arm, and stroke his now very tense bicep with your thumb. “...Ida didn’t think anything less of you, Muriel. Remember? She stayed with you after she leaped. She wasn’t afraid at all, she still isn’t afraid of you.”

“Were…. were you a warrior, Cousin?” Shawn can’t help but ask. He’s confused and just wants to know.

Muriel is very reluctant to talk about it. But you hold his arm tighter as he opens his mouth to speak again. “...I ...I was forced to fight as a gladiator back in Vesuvia.” Shawn tilts his head confused, not seeming to fully understand, but Ava’s eyes widen with sadness and shock. They seem to know exactly what they were. Muriel then sneers with a bit of anger in his tone, “... it's a person who fights and…. and kills for ‘entertainment’.” Ava looks to the ground and appears to somehow empathize. Then they pat his shoulder comfortingly and look up at him with an understanding expression.

Shawn looks like he feels so guilty even mentioning anything. “I ….I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have ever asked if I’d known.”

Muriel takes in a large breath, the shaking finally ceases. “...It… it was a long time ago…” He mumbles then clears his throat to continue and speaks a bit louder. “...I don’t like to fight… unless I have too.” He glances at you with his mossy green eyes and holds your hand. “....But I will fight to protect the people I love… I will fight to protect my family...” He looks back up towards Shawn and Ava and his eyes soften a bit looking like he feels a sense of pride. “... And I mean all of them...”

Ava and Shawn smile widely, admiration behind their gaze. Ava starts to speak with their hands again and Shawn translates once more. “Ava says, ‘That’s why we fight too… Not for sport, or glory, but to just keep the one we love safe’…” They pause for a moment, taking the staff out of Muriel’s grasp and hands it to Shawn. “... ‘Thanks for sparing me. You’re a very strong person, Cousin.’…”

Muriel smiles back just a little. “You’re welcome….” But then his smile falls a little. “....what about Ida?”

“Don’t worry about her. She leaped into...” Shawn looks to Ava for a moment then and seems to change the subject. “...Well... I’ve never seen Ida so social before meeting you. She seems to be coming out of her little shell since both of you arrived!” Shawn says with a jolly laugh.

Muriel snorts, “It’s probably Inanna.” Inanna raises her head up from the grass with a prideful look. Ava just sputters into a large muffled chuckle at Muriel’s words. The rest of you can’t help but join in, even Muriel does a little.

“But really, she likes you two. A lot… She doesn't care about that, Cousin. Neither do we. You're our family. Momma and Papa, Tad and Ronin, Evander, and a lot of the other elders had to do things they wished they didn’t. You have to do what you must to survive. ” You smile up at Shawn. He may be a young man. But he’s pretty smart. All of Gilbert and Una’s children seem to be wiser than their years.

“...Thanks.” Muriel utters, the smile never leaving his lips and starts to look like he feels better after listening to what Shawn and Ava had to say.

Ava looks up towards the sky inspecting the sun and stifles a yawn. “Guess it's time for you to get some sleep, eh, Ava?” Shawn says, starting to walk up towards the hillside backwards. “Hey! If you won’t mind Muriel, tomorrow if you're not doing anything can we do this again? You’re a good instructor, maybe you could… spare with me? It’s nice having someone my height. No offense, Ava.” They shrug, unperturbed. “...T-That is if you wouldn’t mind...”

Muriel peers down to the ground and thinks about it for a moment while rolling down his sleeves. “...Maybe. We’ll see.”

Ava and Shawn smile widely. “Awesome! Hey, we’ll catch you both later for the games and dinner!”

As the two of them start making it up the hill you grab Muriel’s right arm with both of your hands and look up at him lovingly. “I’m very proud of you, Muriel. You handled that very well.” Muriel shrugs a bit looking over toward the hill, but as soon as Shawn and Ava are out of sight he leans down, holds your jawline, stealing a quick but passionate kiss, completely taking you by surprise. You blink a bit with a startled grin and touch your lips very delicately. “Well~ What was that for?” You giggle.

He flushes a little and shrugs again as he grabs his cloak from the ground next to Inanna. “...Felt like it.” He says trying to stifle a devious smirk.

You look up at him warmly with a stupid smile. Your smile then falls, suddenly remembering, “Oh crap! Hey, Muri! We are having Tad and Ronin for tea this afternoon!”

“We—we are?....Wait who now?” He scratches his chin a bit confused as you collect your cross body satchel.

“Tad and Ronin! The couple that made me breakfast the other day.”

“Oh… W-why are we having tea again with people again? We’re with people all day.” He grumbles a bit, obviously feeling apprehensive about meeting more new people.

“So you can make your acquaintance with them! Don’t worry, they’re really nice.” He doesn’t look very convinced. But you don’t really have time for that. “Come on, Muri.” You attempt to coax him, grab his wrist and tug it along up the hill, and he of course goes obediently despite his grumpiness.

Hastily you both get to the tent and you both quickly clean it up a bit to make it look presentable then start to heat up the tea kettle, brewing up a nice blend of earl gray. Soon after Tad and Ronin showed up to the tent and even brought fresh berries and some tea cakes from their home. Apparently their port was famous for them, they actually tasted a bit familiar to you, but you couldn’t exactly put your figure on it, and you ignore it for now. Muriel was of course a bit wary and shy as always, but once he realized how kind and welcoming they both were, he started to slowly relax. You all converse about how things are going lately; Tad had been tasked with making baskets with Shona and a few other people. Ronin was busy with Gilbert fishing, hunting, fixing a few things there and there, and helping out like that around camp. It was so interesting to see how every Kokhurian seemed to have a job, a place and a purpose, even though they weren’t really a true band anymore. They took care of one another, they loved one another, and it shows.

After a while Ronin just stares at Muriel for a moment, seemingly remembering something fondly. Muriel flushes a little, feeling a bit uncomfortable under his gaze. Tad nudges Ronin gently, and he shakes his head and scratches the back on his neck. “Sorry, Muriel… You just… You look so much like him… Artturi that is.”

The corners of Muriel’s mouth curl up slightly, and his shoulder relax a bit after hearing that. “...It’s fine… I’ve been told that. A lot actually.”

Tad just smiles and snorts a bit taking his little cup away from his lips. “See, everyone else says that they see Artturi, but all I see is Glenna’s face with Artturi’s stature.--Mmm! Rhemi, this tea is amazing.”

Ronin scoffs a bit at his husband. “PFFT! Are you kidding me,Tad?? Look at his face! That’s Art’s face!!”

Tad just smirks. “That's alright, my sweet. You can just be wrong.” He looks at Ronin pointedly through a sideways glance and slips his tea sassily.

“Hmph. Whatever.” Ronin growls under his breath. But then they both exchange cute little playful grins.

“... Did you both know them as well?” Muriel finally asks.

“Mmm...” Tad takes away the cup from his lips again. “Well, we were just teenagers back then. I didn’t really know Artturi like Ronin did. But Glenna was a mentor to a lot of us here during the winter gathering. She taught a lot of us how to use herbs for medicine. She was very skilled with them. She was even called the—”

“The plant shamen.” Muriel interjects, and Tad nods with a grin. A faintly prideful smile creeps on Muriel’s lips and takes hold of your hand and you squeeze a bit back. “...Una said that too.”

Ronin pops a few berries into his mouth and washes it down with a bit of tea before he speaks again. “...Art was a part of my band. A lot of us kids looked up to him and Gilbert. Those two were like brothers. They both were brave, strong, and kind. The man I always strived to be like, I still do. I was really sad when they both left for the southwestern band.” Muriel nods to himself, a bit of bittersweet expression on his face. “Oh! That actually reminds me.” Ronin then takes a very large knife with a leather sheath out of his fur cloak. It looks actually like a small sword to you, but in his very large hands it seems to be a normal sized buck knife. “Here.” He passes it over to Muriel, who takes it very carefully and marvels at the craftsmanship. The wooden handle is beautifully carved and has three bears, one large, one medium sized and one small one. Even the leather sheath has gorgeous details in it. It looks like the tundra that the camp is on, the snowy mountains surrounding the land. “It was your father’s. He gave it to me before he died.” Muriel glances up from the knife towards Ronin and bats his eyes in disbelief, hands stiffening a bit. He said I’d make better use of it. But since you came back to us, I feel like it was only right that you should have it instead.”

Muriel eyes widen as they shoot back up. “....Wh-what?? N-n-no! I-I…. I can’t. He gave it to you. Not me.” He hands it back to him tentatively, unable to accept the beautiful piece of work.

Ronin just shakes his hands with a reassuring grin. “Only reason why he didn't give it to you was because you were just a little cub back then. I remember you leaving happened so fast too… those days seemed like a blur. I think you were four or five, just a babe really. You must not really remember it do you?” Muriel shakes his head, a bit of sadness washed over him.

Ronin pushes the knife back to him. Muriel just stares at it in his hands, his thumb feeling the carving on the handle, unsure what to do as he opens and closes his mouth a few times. Struggling for words. “... I… I don’t know what to say, Ronin…. T-Thank you.” A bit of blush washes over his cheeks again.

“You’re welcome, Muriel... I have a lot to thank because of your father. Artturi was the one who got me into carpentry, actually. He was very skilled with his hands… He even made that knife. Smelted the iron and everything. He used to make hand crafted knives like that and other things… He even traded them with some other tribes in the Steppe.” Muriel doesn’t look up at him, appearing to feel a bit guilty still, and Ronin seems to read that too. You pour more tea into his cup and he looks at the hot liquid for a moment before speaking again. “...I guess in a way I’m like you, Muriel. I didn’t get to know my father either.” He finally meets his gaze again and listens intently. “..Mother died giving birth to me. Father died when I was about three or four and I was actually raised by my grandparents. I heard all these great stories of who he was, but I still felt like I was robbed of my folks…. The battle took the rest of families and ravaged their things.” Ronin then shakes his head and smiles at Muriel a bit. “...But now you have a little piece of him. I’m just happy I was lucky enough to know him. Wouldn’t be the same person without him.” Tad interlaces his fingers with Ronin’s as he leans into him slightly.

You place your hand on Muriel’s very stiff knee and smile lovingly at him and he smiles softly back before looking back at Ronin and Tad.“... T-thank you, again. I… I don’t think I’m worthy of this, but—“

“PFT!” Tad almost chokes the last of his tea. “Are you joking?! You’re a hero too apparently!”

Muriel flushes all over again and groans a bit and looks pointedly at you. You shrug and stifle a snicker. He still doesn’t care for being called a hero, but you can’t help but think he’s adorable when he’s flustered like that.

Eventually it was almost time for the games, and all four of you say your goodbyes for now, Tad and Ronin returning to their tent. While the two of you got ready for dinner, you caught Muriel just gazing at his father’s knife. He normally doesn’t like having large sharp weapons like this on his person, but this is different. It also made you feel happy that now he actually has something from his parents. You can definitely relate to that too. You have your Aunt’s necklace, a green gemstone that you treasured and wear everyday. Even though it's just an object, having a small trinket can make a world of difference. You feel just that much closer to her even though she is gone. You barely remember her, you can’t even remember her face, but you know you were close somehow. It must be the same for Muriel in a way. The little bear on the handle had to be him. You just have this feeling in your gut that it is. Ronin’s right, he is meant to have it.

Some time later, when the games were over and dinner was being passed around, you feel a very cold icy stare from someone across the large tent. Glancing over to where Ava always sits with Ida and a few of their other younger brothers, you find Shona just glaring at you very scornfully for some unknown reason. You try to ignore her beaming glare and continue to eat, conversing with Una and Gilbert a bit pretending not to notice, but it proves to be rather difficult. She hasn't paid any mind to you for a while, seeming to forget, or ignore, that you existed since the first day of the gathering after you beat Ava in the Brùth Carachd game. So why is she now glaring at you? What did you do to upset them?

After Gilbert tells another story, Muriel and you return to your tent rather exhausted. It has been a very long day and all you both can think about is resting. Both of you start to get undressed and do you nightly routines.

“...Why was Shona staring like she hates your guts tonight?” Muriel asks while sniffling a yawn taking off his shoes while you brush your hair.

Placing the brush down you groan and fall onto the bedding. “I have no clue. All I know is that they don’t like me because I’m an outsider. I don’t think I did anything else to them.”

Muriel reaches down and pushes a stray hair out of your face. “... You’re not to me though.”

“I-I know! Don’t worry, I don’t mind, Muri. Shona is the only one here who seems to care! Everyone else has been great.…” Muriel plops down on the bedding beside you, taking off his belts. “...Whatcha think of Ronin and Tad?”

He snorts a bit. “You’re right. They are nice… I still have no idea why Ronin gave me that knife.”

“Because it was your father’s.”

“I—I know. It just feels so… wrong. He said he looked up to him, but I barely remember him.”

You stand on your knees and wrap your arms loosely around his shoulders from behind and place a few kisses on his neck. “It’s a gift, Muriel. Sometimes gifts are ones that are important to giver, which makes it just more special.” You tug his trunk onto the bedding and he lays his head down onto your lap. Petting and scratching his hair and scalp and lightly massaging his neck muscles, both of you enjoying the heat of the fire.

He’s nearly boneless by the time he inhales deeply, groggily speaking again, trying to make sure he doesn’t fall asleep in your lap. “...You’ve been sleeping better lately.”

“Yeah. I guess so.” You sigh a bit.

“... Any new memories?” He asks just above a whisper.

“No. Not really. Just a few about Ezavior… He used to curl up and hide in my pockets as a kid… but that’s all.”

He reaches up and cups your left cheek, concern behind his eyes. “...Nothing else?”

Shaking your head a little and kissing his palm. “I promise.” You lean into his touch, then rub your tired eyes.

He grins a little taking back his hand. Reluctantly with a little grunt he sits up off of your lap and grabs the blankets. “...Should get some sleep.”

Nodding in agreement, you both get settled in for the night, Inanna joining you at your feet. So you find yourself drifting off into a refreshing dreamless sleep.

——————

The next morning you got up earlier to write some more in the journal before Ava got off patrol. Muriel wanted to make sure that Una and Keavy didn’t need any help with anything before it was time to spar again. You get to a good spot on the hillside and get starting on jotting down last night's story. It was especially interesting last night. I was a folklore about a man who could speak to animals. As soon as you get about halfway done, you hear footsteps from behind you, their gait sounds just like Ava’s. You look up at the sky, it’s still not the time yet, but you place the journal back into your bag. “Huh… You’re a bit early. I thought you weren’t off until—” You turn yourself around and to your surprise it’s not Ava—instead its Shona. Still looking as sour as ever to you. “Oh! Morning, Shona.” You stand back up to your feet, brush off the dirt and grass, and greet her as sweetly and kindly as you possibly can, but she rolls her eyes. “How have you—”

“—Please…” She scowls, interrupting you. “...We’re alone. Drop the cute bubbly little magician act. It’s annoying.”

...But I am bubbly. You stick out your bottom lip and your brow slightly narrows. Well. That was rude. Especially first thing in the morning. “... I’m…. I’m not acting, I was just saying good morning, Shona... Am I not allowed to greet you?”

Tense silence chokes the hillside as you both just feel an icy light breeze blow over the tundra. Shona finally breaks it with a hard sigh, she speaks firmly and almost seems to be looking down her nose at you, making you feel a bit infuriated. “I don’t know what Ava has been doing lately. But I know you have something to do with it. And in case you haven’t noticed, you have a betrothed. Or do you intend to break two of my people’s hearts or something?”

“Pfft!! What?!” You can’t help but splutter, then quickly stifle a chuckle. Shock takes over her face, but what she is implying is very absurd. “Okay, okay. Clearly, you don’t know me at all.” Your smile falls and a serious frown pulls down your lips tightly. “... Please understand, Shona. I would do anything for Muriel. And I mean anything. He is the only person whom I want to be with in this world. I love him. Very, very much. I would never hurt him. I would never betray him. And I have no interest in anyone else. Don’t mistake my kindness for flirtatiousness.”

Shona folds her arms loosely and looks down at you even more. “Well, unless you're incredibly dense or just don’t care, my sister for some weird reason likes you... Spending time with them is going to send the wrong message.”

Starting to feel a irritated by her incredibly unnecessary rude and mean demonir you place your left hand on your hip and sound firmer in your tone and tick off numbers with the other. “Well. First off, Ava is an adult, they know I perfectly well that Muriel and I are together.—Secondly, all I want is to be your sister’s friend. In case you haven’t noticed, they don’t have many. And thirdly, it’s nothing like that… we’re—” You catch yourself before you say it out loud and you drop the hand that you were using for counting. Ava made it clear they don’t want anyone to know. You can’t betray their trust.

Shona taps her foot waiting for an answer. “You’re…. What?? What in the world are you two doing together for half the day?”

You huff sharply. “I… I can’t say. I’m sorry Shona.”

Her nostrils flare as she growls and throws her arms down to her sides furiously. “GAH!—They won’t tell me. And now you won’t tell me?! If it’s something you two have to hide, then apparently it’s not good!!”

“Shona, I wish I could tell you. But Ava asked me not to say anything to anyone!”

“Fine!—You know what... I don’t even care—Just stay the hell away from Ava!” Shona turns sharply, her long braid whipping around her head and she starts to stomp up the hillside.

Your shoulders sink a little, you can’t just leave things like this. You don’t even dislike her, you don’t know her enough to come to a conclusion about how you felt about them. “Shona! Wait!!” You dash over to her, in a way, you can understand her frustration. You don’t know why Ava is so secretive about wanting to be an Illuminator either, and you hate it when people keep secrets from you too. On top of that, Shona is not only Ava’s sister, but their twin, the two are incredibly close. They have a bond you will never understand, and you don’t want income in between them.

Luckily you’re much faster than Shona and grab hold of the sleeve of her parka before they could get away. She stops her stride, darts her head around, jerking back her arm. You can sense such intense furry in her eyes when you slightly touched her. You stick up your hands to look as unthreatening and apologetic as possible. “Shona…. Look. I... I know you don’t like outsiders very much. I get why you don’t...” Her eyes widen as you say that for some reason, but you continue. “...Neither did Ava, but then we got to know one another….So … so maybe if you’d just… give me a chance and… and get to know me, then… I don’t know… maybe we could also be—”

“—Friends?!” Shona half shouts making you start a bit. “HA!! You expect me to be your goddamn friend?!” She scoffs almost amused by the mere thought as she turns her entire body the rest of the way around to face you again.

You shrug a little, feeling a small bead of sweat on your brow. “Y-...Yeah… Maybe… What’s so wrong with that?”

Shona sneers hard, towers over you, then digs her very long left pointer finger firmly on your sternum, her brow furrowed and eyes angrily squinting. “Look, NewComer. I was trying to be nice before…” You blink a few times at that statement and try not to make a face… Really??? Could have fooled me... “... but I don’t want to get to know you. And I never want to be your damn friend. I don’t dislike outsiders. I dislike you!!” What? Why do you hate me?! As she finishes her very mean rant, you see Shawn, Ava, and Muriel walking over the hill. They all pause as they see and hear Shona angrily speaking to you. Looking furious, Muriel takes a large step to walk down the hill but then Ava hastily throws their arm out and pushes him back as they storm down the hillside first with an every more enraged face. But this conversation isn’t over just yet. You have to know the reason for their anger and try to fix it if you can.

“Why, Shona? What did I ever do to you?” You start to feel your heart beating faster in your chest feeling pressured that you have to find the answer.

She stares at you for a moment, like she isn’t going to answer you, but then she opens her mouth once again. “...You’re…. You’re a Traveler! I knew it the first time I saw you…It’s in your damn eyes.”

You feel your stomach drop when you hear that word again and how much pain it has seemed to have caused you years ago, but you press on. “O-ok…. so I’m part Traveler. So what? What does that have to do with anything?”

“I… I just hate Travelers!!” Ava starts to rush down the hillside a little faster as they hear her trying to stop Shona. But you want to get to the bottom of this. Why do they hate Travelers? No one else seems to dislike them… Well, accept maybe Ava, until they go to know you.

“Why?!” You ask with a bit of force behind your tone.

“I… I just do!!—It’s none of your business, NewComer!”

You throw up your arms in frustration. “Fine! You know what, Shona? I didn’t know I was one until a few days ago—I don’t have most of my memories before four years ago!”

She tuts sharply. “Well isn’t that just convenient!”

Your face contorts a bit at that, it stung a bit more than it probably should have. “—I don’t know anything about them, Shona! Nothing! So, please! Tell me why are you so threatened by me!” She takes a step backwards and starts to tense her shoulders and fists, her face becoming red hot. But you just soften your gaze as she grows even more enraged, you just want to know. You plead,“...What have I done to you? Why do you think you need to protect your sister from me? Aren’t we going to be family?”

Her entire face twists in disgust when you utter those words. “...YOU?!....—You will never be my family!!!! Kokhuri are my family!!! And it is my job to protect my people from getting hurt from people like you!!”

“Wh-what?! Shona, I haven't hurt anyone! I-I would never dream of hurting any of you! I… I love your people!! What in god’s name makes you think I’d hurt them?!”

Just as Ava reaches out for Shona’s left shoulder, unexpected tears swell in her furious green eyes, completely taking you off guard as she screams out, “--BECAUSE IT WAS A TRAVELER THAT ALMOST KILLED MY SISTER!!!” Ava stops dead in their tracks just inches behind her. Their eyes wide, their outstretched hand starts to tremble, face turns white as their eyes dart towards you.

You feel your lungs holding in your breath....

To be continued~

Sorry about being so long since the last chapter. I know I post rather quickly compared to most though. I hope you guys keep enjoying this long journey! But I’m very excited for the next half of this story!

As always, enjoy my hot trash my little hungry raccoons!!

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