Keiran allowed himself a languid stretch, the heat of the morning sun seeping into his sleep-stiffened muscles and casting a golden sheen across his charcoal fur. His lean muscles rippled as he moved, gradually transitioning his posture from stretches into stances. His paws skimmed over the smooth hardwood of the team’s living room. He was silent, even his breathing hushed to nothing, as he continued the ritualistic motions of a mock battle. There was no rush, no hurry. His expression was one of focus and calm; his face free of tension and his eyes softly shut. He didn’t need to see in order to practice what he knew by heart and soul.
This was something that Riley knew well. He’d been with Keiran long enough to know every posture and every stance. He knew that the Riolu would double the number of stretches during times of stress, sometimes slowing to repeat a sun salutation over and over again until he was satisfied that his movements were fluid. He knew that Keiran took extra care in his kata when he was tired, though Riley had yet to catch him in a mistake. He knew that he’d expend extra energy into mock strikes and punches when he was frustrated, and that when he was anxious he would shroud himself in a brilliant aura of black and silver- concerning but beautiful.
He’d even been known, on the rare occasion that something had him riled for battle, to practice in artistic aerobatic combat. He’d jump and flip in mid-air, using aura to lengthen his jump and twist at the very height of it. He struck with aura and body alike, light shining from his eyes and arms like a sun of cold fire.
This was Keiran’s magic, and to a magician it was absolutely mesmerizing.
Caught in watching his teammate dance across the living room floor, he didn’t take notice of Clive until he heard the gasp of surprise at his ear. The Espeon twisted to look at him, curious, and smiled in sheepish understanding when he recognized the awe in Clive’s eyes.
”…Is this… something he does often?” Normally late to rise, Clive had never been privy to this side of Keiran. He’d always been with Riley, either in heart or person, but his relationship to Keiran was less intimate in spite of friendship. The reverence of Clive’s whisper made Riley wonder if that would change. There was a small part of him that hoped it wouldn’t, though the rest of him did his best to brush that jealousy aside.
Riley nodded hesitantly, hoping not to interrupt Keiran as he shifted to practice another kata. ”Every morning,” he replied lightly. ”Not that you’d ever have seen it, Sleepyhead.” His smile was a lopsided grin, though the mocking expression did not reach his eyes. It never did. He cared far too much to ever really jab at Clive, and he felt certain that the Vaporeon would only echo those feelings. They were like brothers.
As if sensing that thought, Clive grinned weakly in turn. Riley noticed that the Vaporeon’s eyes were still locked on his vice-captain. He couldn’t blame him, considering how Keiran had started to move with swirls of silver aura at his paws. It ebbed and flowed with every movement, running like shining rivers over sleek black fur. ”-kind of pretty,” Clive murmured idly, sitting formally at Riley’s side. It didn’t seem right to slouch when this sort of practice went on right before their eyes. Riley shook himself; he wished he’d heard the start of that sentence. ”…Er, what he’s doing, I mean. Not Keiran- well, not that he isn’t, but you know what I meant.”
The Vaporeon’s grin shifted into an irritable grimace. ”That was horribly articulate,” he snorted.
”Now I see why you sleep in,” Riley agreed teasingly, though he wasn’t paying much mind to anything Clive was saying now. Keiran had finished the last of his kata, drawing his arms high overhead as he shifted into the tail end of another sun salutation. Mixing meditation and fighting was indeed “kind of pretty”; especially when Keiran did it.
The Riolu’s eyes finally slid open and the golden sunlight reflected back to give Keiran a heated, glowing stare. Their eyes met, shifted to Clive, and back again. Keiran’s face morphed into an easy and radiant smile. Both Eeveelutions smiled back, though Riley felt his stomach twisting and face warming at the thought of being caught.
Which was ridiculous. Of course Keiran had known they were there- there was no way he’d missed their conversation. ”Morning, Keiran,” he offered lamely, though he did his best to mask it with a showman’s charm. Clive’s trembling ”Good morning, K,” was so quick to follow that their words spun together.
Keiran stalked forward, for ‘walking’ was too simple a word to describe that smooth gait. ”Good morning,” he echoed back, his deep voice somehow lower and rougher in the mornings than Riley remembered. It was infinitely better than the false smoothness of his professional tones, as far as he was concerned.
”Ah. Thank you, Ivilon,” the Riolu added graciously, accepting a floating teacup from the air in front of him. Riley blinked, wondering how he’d failed to notice Ivilon’s presence in the room at all. Had he been there the whole time? He rather hoped not, watching as the Beldum offered a friendly ”Of course,” that seemed a little higher in pitch than usual. Had Ivilon stuttered?
They all stared as Keiran serenely tasted the first sip of tea, an approving hum spilling from his throat and sending shivers down Riley’s spine. He felt more than saw the matching shiver from Clive, and luckily for Ivilon his body was static.
’Please don’t notice, please don’t noti-‘
”Are you quite alright?” Keiran’s soft voice of concern interrupted his thoughts. It felt like the air had all slipped from his lungs at once, watching the Riolu kneel at his side to press a warm paw on his face. ”You are shivering, Riley.”
He was much closer than Riley had been expected and a frazzled lash of his tail was all that could answer Keiran without the air to respond. This seemed only to worsen the issue, as Keiran shifted his worried gaze to Clive and back. Looking for an explanation, maybe, though Riley doubted Clive would know. The Vaporeon must not have looked much better than he did, because Keiran suddenly looked as though the pair of them were dying in front of him. His azure eyes darkened, a frown forming deep shadows that marred his handsome face.
The Riolu set his tea aside, his paw sliding from Riley’s face to his shoulder as his other arm reached for Clive’s. He regarded them with an expression of confusion that made Riley’s heart ache. ”Your aura seems fine, but…” Keiran hesitated, now looking positively baffled.
”We’re just a little tired, I think,” he finally managed. Clive nodded weakly beside him.
Keiran smiled again. There was still worry in his eyes but he seemed satisfied with the white lie that spilled from Riley’s lips. It wasn’t a lie, he reassured himself. Not really, considering how early it was. ”Rest, then. Both of you,” he murmured kindly. Ever the gentleman, he retreated from the intimacy of their closeness with two silent footsteps. ”I’m happy to fill in for you this morning,” he insisted before Riley could object. ”It’s simply errands and paperwork until nearly noon. I checked your to-do list last night.”
Unable to find an excuse to the contrary, both Riley and Clive found themselves later curled up across their cushioned beds. The thick curtain between them muffled most sounds, but couldn’t entirely silence the soft sigh from his Vaporeon friend. ”…Of all the friends you had to bring back with you, you just had to pick him.” His voice was soft and playful, but there was a husky note to Clive’s voice that Riley didn’t recognize.
In spite of himself, Riley smiled. ”I didn’t, actually. He just found me anyway.”
”That just makes it worse,” Clive informed him with a groan, though Riley could tell that he was fighting back laughter. He realized abruptly that he was picturing the mischievous sparkle in azure eyes, not dark ones, and a heated embarrassment spread in his belly. Riley opened his eyes in silent protest of the mistake. That was definitely not how he usually thought of Clive or Keiran.
The soft clink of a cups and saucers could be heard from beyond the curtain, followed by the bright and gentle scent of clementines and cinnamon. His mouth watered, but he deliberately waited for Keiran to leave again before venturing outside the curtain for the tea he’d been brought.
A pot of liquid honey sat between the two saucers, along with a small stack of warmed biscuits. One of the two cups was missing, but the quiet crunch of a half-eaten biscuit was enough to tell him why. Clive, evidently, had just reached from under the curtains to drag his breakfast in. Neither one of them had been brave enough to actually look Keiran in the eye after the earlier embarrassment. Relieved that he wasn’t alone in his awkward fascination, Riley chuckled aloud. It was promptly followed by a startled purr, as a sip of his tea revealed that Keiran and Ethfael had somehow managed to perfect yet another recipe.
Worse indeed. Keiran was not a magician, but he definitely practiced magic.
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