Welcome to Gaia! ::

Maeron's home was some strange combination of cluttered and organized. There were books and stacks of parchment scattered about along the edges of the room, as well as on any hard surface such as shelves or tables. To the untrained eye, it probably appeared messy, but the Orderite only considered it to be that way when he couldn't find what he was looking for. And he didn't think that was much of a problem for now.

The night had gone by quickly enough. The boy, Raemos that Mae had brought along with him had seemed pretty worn out from the dragon battle, and had fallen asleep pretty quickly. Like usual, Mae's father had been away, so he'd offered the room to Rae. It really was more like a guest room, anyway. It was rarely ever in use. But by the morning, Mae was eager to hear more from the youngster. It wasn't every day that he had a friend over, after all!

Darke did not share his companion's enthusiasm. For all that Mae was cheery and trusting, the Alikein did his best to counter it. They still knew nothing about the kid, and Darke couldn't shake the feeling that there was something... off about him. In any event, he didn't trust the bandaged boy, let alone while his precious Bonded was sleeping. Darke spent the night glaring at Mae's bedroom door from the inside, daring someone to breech it while his boy was dreary and vulnerable. Despite the night being quiet and uneventful, Darke was still perfectly grouchy in the morning. He sauntered along behind Mae while the boy prepared an early-morning breakfast.

Mae cracked another egg into a small bowl and stirred them all together. He didn't usually go out of his way to cook breakfast. It was too much hassle to only feed just Darke and himself. Besides, he'd learned pretty quickly that the Alikein preferred a morning hunt to the fried scraps of Sheron the Orderite had sizzling over the fire now. Of course, today, Darke settled. Mae could sense the uneasiness of his companion like a thick blanket wrapped around him. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, he tossed a half-cooked strip of meat at his feathered friend.

Darke was briefly distracted by Raemos entering the room, and the slab slapped the side of his muzzle, dangling briefly from his face before the Aiskala slurped it up. He sent Mae an annoyed stare, to which the Orderite only replied with a shrug. Darke really needed to get the thorn out of his claw and be a little more welcoming! "Good morning!" Maeron replied with abnormal cheer. "Nah, don't worry about it. I'm almost finished." Plus... It'd be a little crowded in Mae's tiny kitchen with all three of them crammed in there. Darke took up enough space as it was...

He pulled out two dishes and loaded the plates full of eggs, meat and bread. Darke, of course received a much hardier helping that Mae set on the table next to him. It was at very least six pounds of food, and pretty much everything the Orderite had in his kitchen. He joined Darke and the table and beckoned for Rae to do the same.

Maeron blinked in surprise as he reached across the table to accept the package. Even Darke perked up curiously, despite his suspicions. Something from a tailor? For him? He didn't remember buying anything... These days he did most of the shopping for himself, well, by himself. Since both he and his father were out and about on a regular basis, they almost never saw each other. It had been days, in fact...

But as Mae opened the package and looked at the contents, he did kind of vaguely remember complaining that he was ripping his clothes during all of his adventures. His complaints were rewarded with two sets of combat-wear. A little more durable than what he'd been traveling in. He grinned and looked up at Rae. "Well, thanks for coming all this way! I mean..." He itched his cheek in embarrassment. "I can't just walk away when someone's in trouble, y'know. Even if they aren't an Orderite." The Orderite grinned stupidly, and Darke instantly felt his feathers rise.

Not an Orderite. Mae didn't realize, of course, but the Alikein suddenly felt positive that was exactly what happened. They'd saved a not-an-Orderite.

Heedless of the sudden unease coming from his feathered companion, Mae could only grin. No one had ever called him 'cool' before. Or looked at him with what the Orderite assumed was awe. It was hard to tell through all the bandages, though... He nibbled on a piece of bread thoughtfully. He looked like a pretty young kid... Younger than Mae, anyway. "When you've seen as much as I have-" Darke rolled his eyes and huffed here. The purple-headed boy was a dolt for sure. 'As much as I have,' indeed. But Mae continued unabated. "I guess you do become pretty awesome!"

He finished off the food on his plate and collected his and Darke's dishes before dumping them in the sink. There was, of course, a lot he hadn't seen... He'd heard of kids even younger than him (maybe around Raemos's age?) going to Ayr to train... Was that beneath him now? Maybe his new friend had been there before. "But there's a continent a little north of here that I haven't seen yet. I've heard lots of dragons live there. Have you been to Ayr?" Mae questioned.

Mae rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he plodded back to the table. This kid hadn't seen Ayr either... Maybe he'd never even left Serenia... How old had he and Darke been when that big Gaili had brought them to Eowyn? Probably about the same age. Ah, but maybe this kid had parents that actually watched over him... It seemed unlikely, since he'd nearly been eaten by Aedauns, but it was still possible, right? Oh! But he'd been here on an errand. "So, you made your delivery..." The Orderite started slowly, leaning on the table and tapping his fingers. "What are you going to do now?" Would it be weird to invite him on a trip? To Ayr? They could go and explore it together... Mae hadn't ever explored anything with a friend. Except for Darke, of course, but the Alihora was more like an extension of himself than a 'friend.' I mean... Mae didn't have any near-future plans, or anything... If he wanted, he could easily slip away from Serenia for weeks, and the chance of anyone missing him was slim to none.

Mae nodded sagely. "Ah, so you've still got someone waiting for you, then..." He was just a boy, of course, so he certainly had responsibilities and obligations to his family. And those were far more pressing than any dream the Orderite had of going to Ayr. He could find other ways of occupying himself, especially since Darke could fly him anywhere he needed to go. The Alihora huffed indignantly at Mae's train of thought and swished his feathery tail back and forth. "You didn't impose." The fuchsia-haired boy argued. He was more than happy to have someone he called 'friend' over at his home. And maybe they could meet up in the future. I mean, the kid did know where he lived. "You're welcome to visit anytime you need a place to stay or are passing through, or, ah... just if yo need someone to talk to, I guess." He added with a shrug.

The Orderite smiled as he led the younger boy to the door. "That sounds like an idea to me." He replied with a nod. The only person he ever got letters from was his mother... Her writing was near illegible, so hopefully Rae's wasn't any worse than that! He led his new companion out to the porch. "Yeah!" Mae beamed. "Just lemme know when you're ready. Have a safe trip back!" He said as Rae headed off. When he turned to head back inside, all he saw was Darke's annoyed expression, peeking back at him from the doorway.