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Xilarn could not help but notice that Kesris was not the most welcoming of settlements. On the other hand, it wasn't grossly volatile, either, which was satisfactory enough to the young Oban lad. While the Wind Earthlings there looked at him with suspicion and disdain, as long as he didn't intrude too close to any of their precious crops, they left him alone. He was permitted to trade with them, should he have anything of value. Xil was quick to learn that 'value' to the humble Wind tribes was not the same as 'value' to his own race.

They cared not for silver, gold, and finery; but for pelts, food, and livestock. Obtaining these things generally meant he had to stray quite a distance from the cabin he was politely 'renovating' on the outskirts of the settlement. And he could really only ever depart when Gadot was of a mind to fly him out. The raptrix held a strong preference for their Zena adventures. The cold was refreshing and welcome. Xil was not fond of Zena, himself, but he couldn't deny that the place was reasonable enough when he needed trading materials.

Today, however, he was more interested in moving west; closer to Tale, but not terribly near to its borders. Capramel meat was a luxury in Kesris. And it was here in this rocky, sandy swatch of land that the spitting creatures could be found in the wild. It would take days to lead a live beast back to Kesris. But killing and shearing them now would save time, effort, and... Gadot barked, a low rumbling sound as he threw his weight forward into the baying creature, clamping his powerful jaws about its neck a ripping a chunk right out of it.

And a meal for Gadot, anyway. Xil always doubted the raptix would fly him about if he got nothing out of it. And while he'd rather do his business quickly and leave as soon as possible, his companion deserved something for his trouble too. With a sigh, Xil sat back on the rocks, groaning and rubbing his eyes as the sun blazed overhead. "Do try not to make a mess of yourself, beastie," he griped at the sound of pelts ripping somewhere off ahead of him.

Ripping pelts and tearing muscle had quickly descended into gnawing bone. Xil cracked open an eye, casting his gaze out to the raptrix that had taken up a post on the grass. The remains of the capramel carcass were cast to the side, and Gadot chewed loudly on a single, particularly lengthy bone that Xilarn had no hope of identifying. The fluffy, feathery animal seemed content enough. Likely more so than he'd ever been in Juahar. The rocks of Sauti surely didn't compare to the mountainous crags and ice of Zena, but it was closer. Cooler. And the raptrix felt the change in the winds. Xilarn sighed. Despite how content his companion was, the Oban felt a lingering, ever-present loss in his gut. His land, his home, his family, his friends. He'd wanted them all gone. All changed to suit a changed life. And now they were. And it felt... unsatisfactory, somehow. Oh well. In time, the feeling would pass. He was sure of it.

He'd never thought animals were particularly stupid, but surely none were so unintelligent that they'd wander up with all the racket Gadot made. Nonetheless, when the raptrix raised his head from his kill, a low rumble pulsing from his throat, Xilarn sat up, a wary feeling of alarm coursing through him.

It was dashed quickly by a voice, a Tendajian voice, a familiar Tendajian voice. Xilarn moved to his raptrix's side as Gadot rose, wings fanning and dark eyes casting out toward the hybrid man. "Kennet!" Xil gasped in shock, moving instantly off toward the other man, raptrix in tow. A myriad of things rushed through his mind, each shoving their way briefly to the forefront and leaving Xilarn in an uncomfortable mixture of excited, confused, and tongue-tied. "You, what are you- Don't smack me in the head- Why are you here? This- You're quite a ways from home, and shouldn't you...? Gadot, would you-?" he pressed the raptrix's neck, encouraging the creature forward to take up a crouch next to Ken- idiot that he was for coming without shoes.

Xilarn grunted, lurching backward in shock as Kennet leaped out to him, caught him around the shoulders, and gave him a pretty substantial jostling before planting a kiss on his forehead. It wasn't as if he wasn't happy to see Ken, or didn't have a vat of dark satisfaction bubbling in his gut, it was just... wholly unexpected. For all the fuss the hybrid man had made about 'family' and 'protecting his home,' seeing him away from it... Well, suffice to say Xil hadn't expected to see much of Ken once he'd departed.

He stepped back, righting his garments and straightening his posture. Gadot gave a soft 'ruff,' as he moved forward toward Kennet again, nudging his nose between the hybrid's legs to encourage him off the ground and away from the harmful stones. "I... missed you also," Xilarn murmured, voice low. "But I just assumed you..." He rolled his shoulders, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck. "I assumed you wouldn't be interested in leaving your home, and I certainly wasn't going to stay. It seemed inconsequential to inform you. I didn't want to see you torn or upset."

His face heated, covered mostly by the darkness of his skin. "I didn't know what you would do. Didn't know what you wanted."

It really was too much to ask for things to just be stable for extended periods of time, wasn't it? He appreciated that the hybrid man had spent weeks searching for him; was secretly pleased that Kennet was so dedicated to the hunt. It was certainly more than most anyone else had bothered to do for him. But mentally, Xil wasn't ready for this; not ready for Kennet. He was only just barely starting to make a home here. Life was neither exciting, nor particularly rewarding, but it wasn't bad. It wasn't stressful. And with Ken's hyperactivity, his blunt and straightforward attitude, and his overall carelessness, Xil felt more trepidation than anything else.

He took a step back away from Ken, clay-colored gaze dipping toward the rocks at his feet. There was likely nothing on his mind that he could say without further upsetting his companion. Not 'please calm down' or 'do you think about anything before you say it?' and especially not 'if you want me and love me, why didn't you leave when I asked? Why didn't you leave with me before the battle?' Xilarn huffed softly, clearing his throat of the knot that formed there.

"We should find someplace to discuss things more calmly," he muttered at last. "I realize you don't care if you look like an idiot to passerby-" Never mind that the plains were empty besides the three of them. "-but I do. I'm trying to make things work here. I'm trying. And you... You've always been so reckless. So stubborn. With everything. The way you talk and the way you act. I-" He shook his head stiffly and whistled for Gadot to come to his side.

"I don't want to talk to you again until we're at my camp," he grumbled, raising his gaze to glower at ken as he knotted a hand in the solid form of his raptrix. 'Home' was too far away to make the trek now. And it wasn't exactly something worth showing off to begin with. That and if things took a turn neither of them expected, it wouldn't exactly do to let Kennet know where he lived now...

Xilarn's gaze flit off to the side, his lids narrowing and brows pinching. Heat gathered in his cheeks, bringing with it a swamp of buried frustrations, irritations, and persistent reminders of how unfair everything had seemed when he'd departed Tale. Alone. Alone and ashamed because he'd spent much of the last time he'd been anywhere near Kennet trapped in a tent, under the watchful eye of Tendaji natives who thought he was out to get them. That wasn't their fault, of course.

He had expected... Well, before he'd even reached the fight, he'd always held some expectation that Ken would leave with him. That during that battle, he'd see how little he'd really needed to be there and how little regard anyone else had for his choices, and they'd leave. They'd just leave. Together.

But that hadn't happened, and Xilarn had left alone. He didn't know where Ken went after that or why he'd stayed, but he did, and despite knowing so little, Xil didn't have much choice but to begrudgingly except that. The Oban swallowed down a tight knot in his throat, something that almost prevented him from speaking at all. "Don't 'really, Xilarn' me." The words came out in a hiss, caught between trying to sound forceful and feeling defeated before they'd really even begun. "Do you expect me to be happy? Happy that it took you eons to decide you really did want to come after me? I suppose it's only because the Alkidikes have had enough of you."

Kennet had been so chipper, only moments before; so carefree and unconcerned and dauntless and thoughtless, absolutely thoughtless, as he always was. There was a piece of Xilarn that knew this would end better if he'd let Kennet walk away. He'd have time to consider this new development. Both of them would, because the hybrid man clearly had no idea that he'd done anything wrong, and in the back of Xil's mind, he understood that his emotions were being unfair. He shouldn't rightly be upset at Ken for appearing before him now. But he was. And the irritation bubbled from his throat.

"I am not happy to see you," Xilarn quipped, going to great lengths to hold his head up and remain as dignified as possible. "You had the choice not to leave me at all, and you didn't take it. It's your own fault I haven't seen you in so long. Do not try and tell me you wanted to come here. You had nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to, so of course you would come back to your best friend."

He'd meant to keep his words succinct, to remain composed and in control, but Xilarn's tone fluctuated, dancing between low and rough and tight, choked sounds; as conflicted in execution as he was in mindset. "You would've been here already, if that's what you wanted. If you loved me you wouldn't have stayed back there for people who don't even like you. But you don't understand why I'm upset? Of course you don't; you're a ******** idiot, Kennet!"

Despite his best attempts, Xilarn's clay-colored orbs tilted down, landing in the rocky sands at his feet and holding there as Kennet spoke. His lips pinched into a thin line. Had he ever been so desperately in need of approval that he could so easily cast aside the things he wanted and the things he believed to fit snugly into a mold someone else had created? "No," he muttered tightly. "If I'd wanted that, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be with you. I wouldn't have left Oba at all. I'd be some... mindless servant, hardly better than the slaves we kept, but certainly thinking I was. Every step I've ever taken would be different. If I'd ever- ever wanted that approval, I could have it. But I wouldn't be me. I'd be Fire-soldier-drone, spitting on you because you should be less than me."

There was a short lapse of silence. Wind rustled through the dry grasses and picked up grains of sand from the plain and scattered them about. Xilarn's shoulders sank. He was angry, hurt, annoyed that Kennet really and truly didn't understand what he'd done to hurt him (not that it came as a surprise, or anything - he seldom did), and then turned the whole thing into a mass pity-party of self-berating frustration.

"Come here," Xilarn demanded firmly, extending an arm to reach for - but not to touch - the taller man. "That's enough of your screaming. Stop acting like a child. You did bring this on yourself. So stop throwing a fit. Stop trying to make me feel like I've done something wrong. Because I haven't. I haven't, and I refuse to believe otherwise. Come here and apologize to me, like you mean it. You can start with, 'I'm sorry, Xilarn, for abandoning you when you needed me.'"

He wanted to argue that it was Kennet's fault that they were at the battle at all. Xilarn had asked him not to go. Begged him to run away with him because he had feelings for him. Kissed him. Hadn't said he loved him. Perhaps he just wasn't as bold as Ken. But he didn't think anything he'd done had been unclear. If they'd left then, he wouldn't have been caught. They would've been happy together. The outcome of the battle wouldn't have changed at all. No one would care any more or less what had happened to them. They would just have already been here, together, not questioning anyone's loyalty, and certainly not screaming at each other.

But the commentary caught in his throat, and he swallowed it down. His fingers clasped around Ken's elbow, drawing him in and pulling his companion- his stupid, inconsiderate, reckless, vaguely apologetic companion- toward him. Kennet was here now. Xilarn knew everything he said sounded selfish, mean, cold- he knew he was being unreasonable (not that Ken was being any better), and anything he said would not serve to make things better. He wasn't going to tell Kennet he understood or that he was sorry for fussing or anything else that even mildly made it sound like anything he'd done was wrong. Because he'd probably never believe that he had done something innately bad.

But his palms slipped around Ken's hips, tugging him close; close enough that Xilarn, short as he was, could still dust his lips across Kennet's shoulder. "You are an idiot. I can't blame you for that."