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That couldn’t have gone better, probably described Sajahka’s entire impression of the situation. When he felt dirt beneath his boots again, Sajahka felt—satisfied. Ready. Tired perhaps in some small portion, but it was still a distant thought. He couldn’t afford yet to indulge it. That time would come, and he was familiar with putting off such things. He watched as Leukos twisted, appreciating again with leisurely interest that he was a truly beautiful man, even under the most mundane of circumstances, and the early morning light warmed him as he stretched.

When Leukos moved, though, Sajah followed.

His yellow eyes flicked with interest to the beasts as they passed by various corrals—he’d never been uncomfortable near any, even the largest, and there was a curious thrill spurned by locking eyes with the fiercest of them. Most were not especially dangerous. But all shared the same handicap he did: none of them could speak to their masters.

At the large, sliding door and powerful waft of scent that came with it, Sajah’s nostrils flared briefly, but otherwise, he did not budge. Instead, his eyes moved. The weight of dank, wet air was prominent, but a natural consequence of the circumstances as he immediately observed, and likely fitting, for the beasts within. Just as Leukos said.

Someone should be opening them pretty soon…

His attention moved to the indicated beast when Leukos spoke of her, and he felt—a stirring of curious intent as the beasts’ weight shifted across the sand and its snout pressed to the bars. His name is Sajahka. Sajah puffed out a breath, an unusual softness smoothing over the edges of expression.

He liked animals.

Animals had nothing foul to say or do. Animals did not whip one another. Animals were not jealous or cruel or selfish or vindictive. They competed—sometimes for life and death, but on an uncomplicated playing field all things considered, and certainly with no traps of their own design. Of course, this variety in particular had a great capacity for damage. Snaptrotters were large, dangerous, strong animals with predatory nature, and he would be a fool not to recognize that potential with respect. But this one knew Leukos, at least, and while caution was appropriate, fear did not cross his mind.

When Leukos looked to him, his posture relaxed a touch, and he stepped forward.

He gave a soft, low whistle of greeting to the beast as he moved in, coming in to stand near to Leu and watching her eyes move to focus on him when he did. Esmera. «Does she accept the touch of strangers?»

He brought himself near enough that his scent would be in the air for her to sense—perhaps nearer than necessary, even, thanks to how pungent it might be at the moment, but nevermind that—while still keeping at that distance so as not to startle her. Though it did not seem that she was perturbed by a new face, and she was likely accustomed to two-legged company.

Sajahka puckered his lips, making an old tune the origins of which he wasn’t even sure as he watched her shift under Leu’s gently attentive fingers, her tail sweeping the sand and gaze pinning on him. He popped his lips, and grinned at her. «Good morning. It’s early for both of us, isn’t it?»

She's a very well trained animal, but for now, I would refrain from getting any closer…

“Mm.” Sajah couldn’t say he was surprised—it had been why he’d asked, after all. Depending on temperament, particularly with more naturally predatorial beasts, it was often best to allow time for adjustments to new (especially strong or otherwise tempting or confusing) scents. He had seen beasts act up in an uncharacteristic flurry, or even take to previously unseen acts of violence in response to foreign circumstances or new people introduced too suddenly or in unsettling ways that otherwise startled them.

So, despite no immediate cause for fear per se, he kept the distance between them at where it was and observed from a peaceable vantage point. The latter suggestion, to clean, was also welcome. He listened as he followed, his eyes trailing with interest over the stalls and the other mostly-resting beasts as he took in the instructions—and then again to Leu when he reached, and held out a full bucket, which Saj took.

These beasts were used to more thorough cleaning than he was.

It was encouraging, though, to know they were well taken care of—not that he supposed he would have expected anything else of the place given what he had seen so far and Leukos’ temperament. The other man really had found himself the perfect job for his character, certainly with regard to his affinity for animals.

You can use that for privacy, if you want…

Sajahka’s gaze flit to Leukos, and he snorted. Setting his bucket down beside his basket temporarily, he set about stripping. He didn’t know what Leukos had been up to in the time between, and the last time he had seen the man, they’d been f—king, but knew he didn’t exactly make for the most appealing of sights, currently, and any attempt at making the process ‘alluring’ would almost surely backfire. He didn’t feel sexy, and now wasn’t the time for it besides.

But, nor was he shy, and he saw no reason to pretend so or waste time on modesty.

After removing boots, blades, and then the remainder of his clothes and depositing them in an empty basket as instructed, he hefted the bucket and doused a portion on himself, a shudder prickling under his skin to be suddenly soaked. Fortunately, even in the morning hour, the day was fairly warm, and the well water, while brisk, was not objectionable. It felt good, even, to run his hands over himself and begin to feel the outer layer of whatever had caked itself onto him — salt, sweat, grit — slough away like an unwanted outer skin.

Soap was an all but foreign concept, as he had simply never really had its luxury before, and even the knowledge that he was washing himself, quite literally, like an animal — or as these animals would be, anyway — could not dampen how good it felt. If a douse-down of water had been welcome and refreshing, there was little in his vocabulary to describe the difference it made to squirt this ‘liquid soap’ on a brush and scrub both building suds and bristles over his body.

Some of him felt as though it had never been cleaned quite so thoroughly, but surely that couldn’t be true. Still, he made good work of the advice, and by the time he felt there was nowhere the brush and suds hadn’t touched, he wiggled his toes in the wet, soapy dirt at his feet before reaching for the bucket again. After a dousing rinse and a shake of his head, he ran a hand back through wet hair to push it from his face—and flashed Leukos a wet grin.

He was, he realized only a half-second after, finding more excuses to smile in the past hour with Leukos than he had in some time before that. He dismissed the thought with a gentle mental push.

«Ta da? There is a man after all, somewhere beneath the scum.» One glance to his clothes, though, and Sajah knew Leukos had had the right idea. There was no way he wanted to redress in them now.

Leukos’ finger coiled into his hair, and Sajah’s gaze climbed, momentarily potently aware of all their circumstances, past and present: the pull of Leukos’ touch on him against his scalp, his nudity and how wetness only seemed to highlight that nudity at every angle where the air brushed his skin, the fact that before this they had been to bed together a number of times, that Leu’s was the only body he had shared intimate spaces with in that respect, and while he didn’t expect anything lasting from the man and had not even necessarily expected to ever see him again, here he was, inches in front of him—tall—present.

And he smelled like Leukos.

Of course he did.

Enough preening…

Sajah attempted to hold his position as Leukos withdrew so as not to lean and be too obviously—what? Needy? Deprived of his presence? His scent? What ridiculousness was that? Saj managed a flick and straightening of his expression as Leu returned with suitable clothes and slipped into them without comment. ‘Swim’ indeed.

The shirt swallowed him.

But he wasn’t small-

Was he?

Perhaps he was short.

He rolled his shoulders within the cloth, and pulled the drawstrings tight on the pants. Nothing was perfect. But they were clean. Perhaps he looked like a child in his parents’ clothing, but it wasn’t his fault.

‘Roll up the cuffs.’

He scoffed—and then obliged. It would do for now. As to the rest of it, however…

Did your…friend…take everything?

Sajah grimaced.

«He wanted to leave without me…I left first.» It hadn’t, at the time, seemed to matter. He hadn’t even returned to the place they had inhabited. What would he have there? The coin he had stolen was for Nyko. The items they had—everything was for Nyko, and what did he need?

Nothing.

His knives. His boots. His breath.

He shrugged. «I took nothing. And I have nothing.»

The rest of the day, fortunately, went without incident. Leukos made a show of the rest of the enclosures, Sajahka met with his first ‘boss’ under the head man, and by the end of the day, by some strike of lightning or luck, he had a job. He still wasn’t sure at its finale how it had all come to transpire so positively. His body still ached from its trials, but despite the sweat earned throughout the day, it felt better than any past ache, and he had a certain calm to him.

As the day neared its end, though, he couldn’t help but consider the fact that he still did not know exactly where he would go when the sun sank beneath the horizon. It had always before been wherever the masters bid, or wherever Nyko was, or… Some piece of ground on his way to this place.

Now, as he stretched and looked out over the place, listening to the more distant sounds of the ranch itself settling into an evening rest, he wasn’t sure where he would go before returning for morning.

Sajahka heard the approach, but didn’t actually look in full until Leukos came to a stop beside him, and his eyes climbed the other man, watching blue fingers twist into a braided black lock of hair as Leu waited. Shifted. Stood.

Hey.

The corner of Saj’s lip edged up, and he grunted at the statement that followed, nodding. «You’re stuck with me about until someone decides I ******** up, and I don’t intend to. Thank you…»

Again.

He had lost count by now how many times he must have said it, but at each point it felt relevant and appropriate, and until now, the job hadn’t been surely his. There was a certain permanence to signing papers, however. A new but invigorating concept. He had a contract. He wouldn’t be doing complicated things at first, only tasks that he had mostly already managed or were fairly intuitive and easily picked up once explained. But regardless, it was official in a way he never had been before.

He had an employer, instead of a slavemaster. And it was a uniquely satisfying feeling. Still, while in the first moments after Leu’s approach his thoughts were on Leu and the job solely, soon after they wandered back to where they had been—and he wasn’t sure what to do with them. He had already taken enough. More than enough. Too much from Leukos: more than he could likely ever repay fully, in truth, and that on top of the actual quantifiable monetary snatching which began their entire relationship.

And he hardly wanted to admit as he stood there that he had no idea where to go.

But Leukos surely already knew, or could discern as much without too much thought on the matter. He had arrived in a state, and already admitted to having nothing yet to his name. It was likely obvious that he’d be sleeping on the beach for now. If his pride would allow it, he supposed he might ask if there was somewhere in the facility he could rest in case of weather—but a moment after the thought occurred to him, he decided against it.

Even if Leu knew the details of his circumstances, he did not want to give the impression to the rest of his co-workers that he had nowhere to be but here. So, instead he focused on something else.

«Fun plans for the night? You must have found some cute a— here to harry by now.»

I'm just going to be frank with you, since you seem like the type to appreciate it… was a good opening, and Sajah couldn’t say he was disappointed as he listened. They had slept together, and of course it had crossed his mind. It was difficult not to, with Leu waltzing about as he—well, did. But, nor had he come here expecting anything. And he had already gotten worlds more than that.

So, while perhaps there was the briefest flicker of regret that the option wouldn’t be there—it was hardly one he felt entitled to, and not an unexpected statement, besides. The latter, I’m kind of in a relationship… was surprising in its own right, given how sternly the man had last insisted he wasn’t interested in such things.

But, if he had changed his mind, it wasn’t a surprise that something had fallen in his lap all but immediately. It was the last part, though, that had his gaze snapping upward.

Roommates.

Leukos—was offering that they live together?

He might not have been surprised by an invitation to stay a night or two while he got himself ‘on his feet’ in some sense of the word—though he couldn’t imagine what he’d be able to afford after only a few days’ or even a week’s pay with no other supplement. But the term ‘roommate’ implied to him more semi-permanency even than that.

He decided not to mentally push it for the moment, and take the terms for what they were worth. Snorting softly, the corner of his lip edged up into something of a lopsided grin. «I can accept.» He debated only a moment before daring to add, because he figured Leukos would appreciate the honesty as well: «It won’t mean I don’t want to f—k you still. But I didn’t come here for that, and I don’t expect it of you. I can keep my hands to myself…» His eyes trailed down Leukos, and perhaps, if the other man hadn’t seen fit to still take an eyeful of him while nude, or stand so near as he sometimes did, or reach and touch him as he was prone, he would not have even felt so emboldened, but as it stood, he didn’t especially care who Leukos was ‘in a relationship’ with. It didn’t much affect him. «But, if you feel like something that doesn’t fuss or expect roses…» He flashed his teeth. «I’m still single and good with my mouth.»

In the meantime, on a privately more serious note: «Beyond that, I could use all the friends I can get, and I will not make a hassle of myself. You have my word.»

There was no way, Sajahka decided, to watch Leukos’ cheeks heat and not feel at least a thread of satisfaction for it. Nothing is going to happen… At the mention of ‘un-tempting’ Sajahka scoffed, but it wasn’t a large concern. A place of his own wasn’t undesirable, though only time would tell if it would make the most sense once the opportunity presented itself.

«I will aim for that,» he assured, «if that is what seems will work best for both of us at the time…»

So far as he was concerned, he had dealt with wanting and not having already for an extended period, and surely it wouldn’t be vastly different to do so again. Admittedly, it had never been practical or logical in the past, and the circumstances were wildly different on a number of levels now. Leukos knew of his interests; he was not busily pining for anyone else; Leukos was interested not only in men, but in him, to some extent at least. But none of those differences seemed to make anything worse for him. Better, really, in most every way. He had no reason to expect anything from Leukos, but he did like him. He felt at ease in his company, he was intelligent, attractive, fun to share space with, and if Leukos already had someone to account for then perhaps they could just be good friends.

He saw no reason why not.

Perhaps Leukos still had reason enough to expect trouble, but for his own part, Sajah felt confident he could manage not to be a nuisance. He kept after his few belongings. He was quiet. He would happily bathe with regularity given the opportunity. They both liked boys, which was a point of commonality even if they were not with each other, and they could talk. They clearly got on well enough, even given higher bars of initial reason not to—such as having begun their relationship with a theft crime.

Everything was better now.

In some respects, at least so far as he and Leukos were concerned.

He had his own issues to resolve, but it didn’t seem as though those would conflict with being a suitable roommate, and though he had begun the day and many days prior with heaping quantities of pessimism, he managed to feel hopeful, in a way. Leukos had someone else, but Sajahka wasn’t looking for a relationship. Clearly, his attempts at that had already lead to undesirable results for all involved. Perhaps later, one day, maybe. It wasn’t as though he completely dismissed the thought of ever finding someone-

But at the moment, it did not feel likely.

For everything else that had occurred, Nyko was still there, somewhere lodged in his chest. Not even necessarily presently wanted, but part of him in a way he simply couldn’t dismiss. He still loved his best friend. It just hurt to, and in the meantime, it would probably be simplest for everyone not to have extra complications tacked on atop it all. Leukos was a good man, and Sajah could appreciate that, regardless of everything else. The details would work themselves out.

«I do not feel a need for immediate companionship…I think it has only gotten me into trouble so far. But I will be grateful for the boons your friendship offers.»