Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lithian curled his toes in the sand. The kernels, warm and damp, ground against the soles of his feet, and as an incoming swell skittered up the shore, washing over his feet up to his ankles, he shut his eyes.

Following the exchange of promises in which he and Casseth expressed intentions to mate through ceremony, Lithian’s already limited time spent on the Celestial Plane had dropped so drastically much that he finally spoke with his parents about the potential of a more permanent residence on Eowyn. They’d disputed it, at first, always having hoped that — of their many adventurous children — Lithian would be one of those they could rely on to build a life closer to home. After extended discussion, however, and extrapolation on a number of factors, none of which included the true nature of his relationship with Casseth, Ahtti’sha and Navhin Bhardvaris had consented that he was of age and of a level of skill in his training to begin branching more fully out on his own. They’d agreed to continue funding his living expenses and even a search for a small, temporary house on the grounds that he begin exploring means of supporting himself.

When Casseth left Eowyn, chasing after — in Lithian’s opinion — a madman of violent tendencies, he’d buried himself in that endeavor as a means for distraction. After his extended stay in Casseth’s home during the time of his poisoning, Kilian and Vallarah had opened their home to him, and insisted that the offer extended for as long as it took for him to find residence of his own. He’d thanked them graciously, and as the days wore on, he continued to remind himself that chasing after Cas could only rationally make things more complicated.

As another wave rolled in, Lithian stepped out into the water. Boots already placed aside in the sand, he walked, heedless of his remaining clothes, wading deeper until only the ocean surrounded him and ensconcing himself in the pulse of its heart. Stretching his magic out, his physical form disintegrated into the waves, and he stretched like a swell, spilling in every direction and dancing through the current.

Lithian noticed the disturbance at the shoreline surely as a touch to the shoulder: the press of something and responding ripple through his range of senses. He condensed his focus accordingly, pulling together into a more single-entity mindset to observe and classify who had stepped into the surf. All but immediately, he surged forward.

Casseth.

It was a messy, jerking process, sharp and sudden as a band of stretched elastic rubber snapping back into its untampered-with form: one minute a wave crashing against and around Cas and the next, Lithian, whole and clinging, kissing Casseth wetly and trembling as he did. “Cas—Cas, Cas…” He breathed the name with all the reverence that he devoted to his prayers, pressing it into Cas’ lips and touching on instinct — back, arms, shoulders, cheek. His eyes settled on the narrow scab on Cas’ throat, and then the nick in his ear. Immediately, he stepped back. “Oh—god, I’m sorry, I’m sorry—you’re hurt.” Defensive as a baowi mother alerted to danger directed at her cubs, Lithian’s tone instantly shifted, his eyes taking a precise, critical sweep of Casseth’s body. “I should have checked first. What all did he do to you? What happened? Where are you—? Your leg.”

Lithian dropped to his knees in the sand and surf, oblivious to the oddity and uncaring who might happen their way as he touched a hand to Casseth’s leg. Surrounded by his element in its largest form, Lithian found his magic all but giddy to dance forward at his push.

“Poison. You were poisoned. Again…is this the worst of it?” His hand glowed, energy gathering before waiting for a response and spilling over, into the bandages and down, to the wound itself. “I’ll need to remove these, clean, heal, and redress them,” he went on, almost talking to himself now. “But first we need to get you home, and fed, and changed, and rested, and…”

Only when he glanced up, taking Casseth in again, properly, did it occur to Lithian how ridiculous the full approach must have seemed. Diving at him out of nowhere. Soaking him. Talking incessantly. And then falling to his knees in the surf only to continue babbling on. Cheeks warming appropriately, he cleared his throat and stood.

“Sorry. I…” He reached out, thumbing over Cas’ cheek. “I got you all wet.” His brow furrowed, and then a soft laugh, cracked with relief, escaped him breathlessly. “You’re alive…”

Lithian flushed, hesitating, and then shutting his eyes as he held Casseth to him. “I need to get you home,” he said, voice quiet as his fingers traced the shape of Cas’ back — as though to remind himself it was still there, under his hands. “Your leg needs to be seen to, and you should get your weight off of it for at least a few hours…you must be exhausted.”

Together, they made their way back to Casseth’s home, Lithian drying his feet and redressing properly before following close at his intended’s side. He found himself reaching out periodically, touching Cas in brief, grazing brushes with his fingertips, savoring the fact that he was next to him again, and eventually, after a brief intermission for food, Lithian got Cas to his bed, where he insisted on tending to his leg.

There, with Cas propped at the edge of his mattress and the late afternoon sun spilling through his mottled curtains, Lithian knelt on the floorboards. He maneuvered Cas’ leggings aside, removed his boots, and worked with painstaking care to remove the gauze bindings used to dress his leg, not wanting to agitate the wound in the process. When he finished, he manipulated water up from a wooden bowl at his side and began the initial cleaning process, sending the liquid trickling up, over, and around Cas’ leg like a transparent, watery glove.

“I worried for you every day,” Lithian murmured, keeping his voice gentle and unaccusing as he could manage. “Imagined so many…so much that could go wrong. How the gods might steal you from me…” After funneling the water back into the bowl, Lithian dampened a clean cloth brought it up to the wound, drawing it down in several gentle, dabbing strokes before hanging it over the side of the bowl and unstoppering one of his own flasks. “There are no words for how grateful I am to have you back.”

He sought out poison first, guiding his magic to chase after any lingering remnants of it before focussing its full attention on the remaining physical damage, any present infection, and potential scarring. Fortunately, the wound was well dressed, largely clean, and as such easy to tend to. Soon, his work was done, and Lithian sat, lingering on his knees before Casseth, his palm resting idle on the newly healed skin of his leg.

“I never want to feel fear like that again…”

Lithian breathed out, leaned up, and pushed. He guided Casseth back, up to a sit on the bed, and then further still, down, onto his back on the mattress. Following closely after, he nudged his boots off and rocked into a looming pin over his lover, his hair a blue curtain to either side of Cas’ face and his wings giving a terse stretch and flit. After a moment of silence, he touched his fingers to Cas’ wrist, gripped lightly, and drew his hand up and back to his hip, where he urged it forward along his skin.

“I’ve missed you,” he said with meaningful emphasis, and he dipped his head, adding further push to the words with a n** and tug of his teeth along Casseth’s lower lip. “Convince me that you deserve forgiveness…”