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 Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 4:51 pm
"Washing your hair." Yunan replied without missing a beat, his voice calm and collected despite the tightness growing in his chest. This whole situation was so unlike him and just being so close to someone was both a thrilling and terrifying experience. It was off putting to say the least for the man who was used to avoiding any emotional ties outside of the select few members of his family. "I am not demeaning your feelings." He began finally as he worked on Nyko's hair with nimble fingers. "More so I was just startled by them." His voice was quiet as he twisted through strands of hair with soap and water, the soap fragrance reminiscent of spices and forest. It wasn't like the ocean he knew but it still brought something familiar to him as he recalled his favorite herbs in his Aunt's original shop before they had expanded and the familiarity brought him some comfort, the vague memories making him perhaps a bit more sensitive than usual.
His fingers slowly started to slip from hair towards neck, his fingers working along the finned ears that he found so fascinating about the Matori before trailing back up to work on untangling some wet curls. "My mother was the one full of emotions but she did not live long enough to truly control how I was raised. Zena is a colder place and if you do not show restraint then you do not survive...over the years that settled on me and so I'm not completely certain about how to react in situations where I feel affection towards another." Yunan admitted quietly as his fingers stilled almost thoughtfully, his expression drawn as he pondered his own words. Did he feel affection towards Nyko? How close had they grown in the past couple of months while working together? It had been a subtle change and yet here they were without Yunan ever realizing when it truly began.
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 5:12 pm
"Felt like it," Nyko murmured. Now that he wasn't spouting angry threats and his blood had calmed the matorian was aware of just how quiet the room was. He could hear the popping of bubbles in the tub, the sloshing of suds through his hair and while he couldn't see Yunan he could feel him. Legs that ghosted his sides, fingers massaging his scalp...It should have been scandalous, but instead it was intimate and not because of the physicality. They were being more open with one another than he had been with anyone in a long, long time.
When Yunan's fingers moved toward his ears Nyko found himself leaning into the touch with a low 'hmm'. "Your mother was from Matori?" Of course it was a question he'd had in his mind, but had never wanted to ask. Which side of his family was from Matori and which was from Zena? "Was it always like that?" Hearing as much made sense, but it still saddened Nyko to know so much of his personality had been tamped down by one societies culture...
"In Oba everything happens behind closed doors. If you were caught you were beaten, but it happened all the time anyway." Nyko mused with a small smile. "At least, as much as I saw. I was always too scared to try and when I left Thessia was just so bright." He sighed and moved a little closer to the other man. "She was never really what I wanted, but it was the first time I could have something without it being taken away."
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 5:43 pm
Yunan clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth as if to chastise Nyko, but it was more so out of his own amusement. For someone who had so much spark it seemed that he was hurt more than anything from Yunan's previous reaction. "I am sorry then." He managed quietly before listening to Nyko's question and giving a nod as his fingers lingered around the Matori's shoulders as he sank into the warm waters of the bath. His own body was aching from their night together but he gave no hint of it as he continued to move here and there, washing his own hair next while the pair of them truly spoke to one another.
"She was. My father was from a high ranking household in Zena, but they bonded during the Oban war." Yunan replied softly as he reflected upon his own nearly forgotten childhood. "When I was a youngling we would dance along the shore and I would listen to her singing as we watched the sunset. Needless to say when she left this world I did not get such kindness in Zena with my father's family." If anything just remembering his mother's spirit made him think of Nyko and how enamored he had been by the Matori's singing. Was that how Yunan had fallen into this trap? Not that it was unwelcome...just unexpected. Just as it had been when he first met the Matori and woke up in his warm embrace that very night.
"I see." Admittedly jealousy was something that reared its ugly head within Yunan but the rest of Nyko's words gave him pause. "It seems in a sense we both have had to adapt to our environments." His voice was thoughtful, almost gentle as he traced his fingers along Nyko's back as if to search for evidence of long ago beatings. One physical and one emotional. Yunan's punishments had been sticks across the hands by tutors while the lack of affection had twisted something inside of him. It made him greedy now and uncaring of others, but this Matori who had reminded him that warmth could exist was now admitting that even he hadn't always seen anything bright. "Is your Thessia someone that will be desperately hurt if you leave or would you even dare leave her if she brings such brightness? Though I also cannot say that I can stay in Belrea because once my business is finished here I intend to go back to Matori and continue business there." Yunan had not run away but instead had embraced all of the harsh realities to build up his own strength. It would be selfish to ask Nyko to continue with him if Belrea and Thessia could make him happier than returning to a country that had brought him so much pain. Still, Yunan let the question linger there as he stayed in the bath with his arms floating around Nyko, almost as if embracing them while they allowed the soap and water to surround them.
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Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2021 3:46 pm
A part of Nyko wanted to shirk away from anyone spending that much time around his back, but then again, what did he have to hide? The vast expanse of his back was littered with deep, ugly scars from countless whippings and while on stage he was carefully covered by makeup but here....Here he was painfully exposed.
When Yunan moved onto his own hair Nyko took the opportunity to run a sponge over his skin. He thought temporarily about running it over Yunan's own, but their current position didn't really give him the chance. "It's nice that you had her for as long as you did, though; memories of a mother's song are some of the most comforting." As much as he hated his own mother some days, the thought of her song as she molded spectacular dishes was just the thing he needed.
"I'm not...really sure." He didn't want to hurt her, but Thessia was still such a mystery to him that he wasn't entirely sure she would be hurt. "Sometimes I wonder if she likes me or just where I've kept her. She worked hard to get us here so I've been doing my part to repay her, but I'm not sure what she's thinking..." Admittedly they did have fun fooling around, but when he looked into her eyes there wasn't the same amount of love that he'd seen in passing couples. Either Thessia was good at hiding her affections or...
"Wanna know something? It's going to sound stupid, but I've always thought about going back to Oba." He turned just enough to look back at Yunan, but not enough to break their 'embrace'. "I've always wanted to go back and buy their estate right out from under them! How great would it be if they were the ones to be tossed out into the street without a coin to their name?"
Nyko snorted. "It's petty, and I should be happy in Belrea. I'm someone here, not just a piece of furniture, but I'm not the forgiving type."
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Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2021 5:13 pm
"Sometimes." Replied Yunan almost wistfully before leaning his head back for a moment to let the water fully flow over his face and into his hair. It was strange showing such a vulnerable aspect of himself but strangely Yunan wasn't worried about it when he was with Nyko. It felt like they both had their own twisted journeys and in a sense understood certain parts of one another that others simply couldn't seem to grasp. It wasn't a complete mirror, but there was something there for certain. Or had he simply gotten weaker about such things while in Belrea? Truly it was time to wrap up business and return to his harsher reality soon enough.
"The shop always needs a good hand to help keep an eye on things...someone native from Matori could potentially prove more beneficial for the Matori and Oban based herbs and medicines." Mused Yunan thoughtfully, if a comfortable life in Belrea was what the woman wanted then he would gladly bait her along towards that hook. What was stronger? Her own personal desires for comfort or her attraction to Nyko? Either way he didn't want to linger on that woman, not when Nyko had caught his attention already with his thoughts.
"Then go and do that." Replied Yunan with a soft chuckle. "Why not make them pay for their past mistakes? The lot of them are still so arrogant that they could use the punishment." His expression shifted, that cold mask slipping back over the previous vulnerabilities. "I have business here but when I return I fully intend to trample over more of the nobility and climb to power. It was an elaborate game, a dance of wills that he thoroughly enjoyed every time he took out an opponent and claimed what they had for himself. Though speaking of claiming things for himself...Yunan leaned forward, his chin grazing Nyko's shoulder as he got closer to the Matori. "We can discuss plans more once we finish up here else we'll miss our tea."
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