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Xilarn huffed, lips puckering in distaste. "I'm not short," he grumbled conspiratorially. "You're just tall. I expect you've got the blood of your freakish and bloodthirsty Sisters to thank for that." For all that Kennet still seemed (at least mildly) humored by the situation, Xil could only shake his head and scoff. His companion really was more temperamental than Xilarn himself... While incredibly frustrating, it was also draining, exhausting, even. And while he personally didn't feel the underlying issues for his distress were resolved, they were at least dampened enough that he could let it die for now. The Oban sighed. It wasn't often that he distinctly wished for the "home" of his Suati abode, but at least there was an actual bed waiting for him there. Here he had only his tent and a shaggy raptrix pillow.

And a hybrid, apparently.

"Didn't I tell you to come here?" Xilarn griped as Kennet sank to the ground in front of him, pressing lightly to his chest. "You never listen to me. Never. And you really have gone mad if you think I'm just going to allow you to lay about out in the open plains of Sauti." He dipped down, bracing one arm beneath Kennet's knees, the other at his back, and lifted him up, with only a staggered pace to balance himself. Kennet, thankfully, while tall was not as thick as Xilarn was, though it didn't exactly make him an easy weight by any standards. "I may be short, but you're frickin' heavy, lazy arse," Xil complained as he carted Ken off to where he made camp.

"My bounty?" Xilarn snorted, an amused smirk rising to his features, despite the short moments that had passed between then and the annoyance of earlier. If he said nothing else about Kennet, he was at least good at that; being such an inconceivable oaf that it was almost impossible to stay angry at him. "My bounty certainly has a mouth on it. It just doesn't know when to be quiet. But-" He ducked his head, leaning down to catch Ken's lips with his own briefly, before the distraction could send them both careening to the ground

"Still mine, if it pleases you," he murmured as he pulled back, fingers tensing against Ken's legs and back.

It shouldn't have taken Xilarn half as long as it did to actually make it back to his encampment. The tent he'd set up, couple with a small fire pit and guardian mutt lurking outside, would have to be home enough. They wouldn't be a great deal safer from very much. But at least the sand wouldn't blow over them in their sleep. "I carried you this far, didn't I?" Xilarn huffed. "You're lucky I'm considerate enough to do even that for you. Though I do suppose you're tired enough of walking, after your trip."

"Mhm," Xilarn hummed, leaning down to set Kennet back on his feet before the tent. "If you're so tired, you'd best take a nap," he advised, straightening himself as he spoke and running an experimental fingertip from where he'd held Ken's knees, up the length of the back of his thigh before skimming away. "Never mind that there's plenty of daylight left, and we won't be able to set off for-" For home to Xilarn, though Ken had no reason to see it similarly. "-for Kesris until the first light of dawn. Though, I suppose since you're tired, you'll probably have no trouble sleeping even that length of time."

He gave Ken a nudge forward, inside the small and undoubtedly even more cramped shelter before following. Xilarn had been out near Tale hunting... And if the coming hours progressed as they had so far, he wouldn't be making much headway with that. It was bothersome, but- "Though you do sort of owe me, I suppose," the Fire male commented off-handedly. "For ruining my hunting expedition with your loud mouth."

Xilarn watched Ken's face scrunch, knew what unfamiliarity looked like, particularly when sailscales were "those weird scaled things." His brows pinched, head tilting ever-so-slightly to the side. Kennet was a native to the lands outside of Oba. While he may never have been expressly to Sauti, Xil always assumed that he'd still know of the town and animals and people that resided here. He tried not to look irked that even he'd traveled farther than a native savage.

Instead, he took up a perch on the mats and blankets of his bedroll, reaching for a canteen of water and taking a few gulps. Satisfied with that, he blinked back up at Kennet. "Do you really not know of anything outside of Juahar and Tale? I mean- If you've ever looked at a map- There really aren't all that many notable towns in Tendaji to memorize..." And lizard meat was disgusting, anyway. It had been in Oba and it unsurprisingly was here as well. Eat a sailscale. Gross.

Xil extended an offered hand to his taller companion from where he sat, twining his fingers through Kennet's and tugging him down to sit o him. "Really?" He questioned with an amused hum. "Are you going to use your big mouth to aid in that as well?"

Xilarn's brow furrowed. He strongly disliked not knowing where he was going, particularly when he was looking for something specific. He opted out of mentioning that Kennet may very well never have found him, if he was just wandering around hoping for the best. Particularly if he was avoiding town due to their lack of acceptance of hybrids. Never mind that he'd have to get over that if he really was interested in staying by Xilarn's side, considering Xil lived in Kesris now. But instead of vocalizing his myriad of concerns, he only murmured, "You're lucky, then. To have found what you were looking for." So lucky that the gods must've had a hand in it.

Xil's fingers traced up the side of Ken's neck, dusting over his cheek and coming around to cup the back of his head, tangling fingers in his dreads to root him there. "It's actually infuriating," Xilarn scoffed as he leaned forward, touching the tip of his nose to Ken's. "How sometimes you're so quick to want to 'please me' and how other times you just make me want to- I don't know, bite you, maybe. You really are the most insolent person I've ever met."

"But it's... kind of funny, really," Xil hummed, perching forward to press his lips to the taller male's, pinching at Ken's bottom lip with his teeth and giving a light tug. "You still followed me. You took your time about it, and as irksome is that is, you're still here now..."

Xilarn blinked, crinkling his nose at the off-hand commentary about biting, and Kennet's concern that he'd actually be rough enough to cause scarring. Never mind that the Fire male did not even remotely want to imagine himself with a mouthful of Kennet's blood and whatever piece of flash he'd apparently ripped off. That, if anything, would be a pretty serious mood-dampener. Absurd little hybrid child.

He caught the curve of Kennet's hip in his hand, holding him still and pinning him close to Xil's own. "'You're ready,'" Xilarn scoffed sardonically, hardly managing to quirk an incredulous brow at Kennet in between kisses. 'Ready' seemed like a fairly generous word, considering Xilarn highly doubted Ken had ever bent over for anyone before. Not that it wasn't possible. And not that Xil particularly wanted to entertain that thought. "Do you expect me to see you, yell at you, then progress immediately into f**king you? While I appreciate your ceaseless endeavors in tracking me down, you have yet to really win me over."

"Besides, it... Maybe I don't just want to rush into it. Maybe I want to feel like you love me. Maybe, I'd like to show you - slowly - my feelings for you." He smirked, tilting hsi head down and closing his eyes. "But if you'd really rather I just plow the 'insolence' out of you, it'd just be mean not to give you that much."

It had likely never been more of a struggle not to smile, but Xilarn kept his expression passively neutral as he settled down on his side in front of his hybrid companion. Kennet's whining aside, he didn't seem terribly put-out, and Xil strongly doubted this would be the last he heard of... further actions. So with a quiet hum, he lay down, threading his arm through Ken's and layering it across the taller male's hip, tugging him forward and pressing close against him.

"I am happy you found me," he assured on a quiet murmur, dipping his head into the notch of Kennet's shoulder to press lingering open-mouthed kisses there. "And you're an idiot. But you're my idiot, and I'm happy being close to you too."