Nik's guards were all good people; even if they would dislike Kaylum because of being from Tesh, they would still protect him and keep him from harm. Any other guards…well. They might not hurt Kaylum, but they might also allow him to be hurt, for no reason other than hate.
“You still better escape with me if the opportunity arises,” Kay said after a moment, as if that wasn’t obvious. He just really did not like the idea of going through with his promise if Nik died.
He finished preening and shifted back to human form. Curling up into the fetal position, he closed his eyes, trying to get used the cold stone floor.
Nik nodded slightly. "If only for the sake of my country, yes." He said, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the wall again. He didn't know what else to do now, what else to say. His leg was hurting, and he was so tired. His lungs caught every now and then from all the smoke he had inhaled while fighting.
Xiomara was on the floor. Her arm was raised to shield herself. Tears streamed down her face, which was pulled into an expression of pain. Someone was whipping her. Kaylum couldn’t see who it was, but they loomed over her as the whip struck her body. The snapping sound it made rang in his ears.
Snap.
Crack.
Snap.
Make it stop.
Make it stop.
Kaylum’s eyes flew open. Grief seemed to surge through his chest. He looked down, only to find himself staring at his body, still curled up.
What? How was this happening? His powers weren’t working. How could he still astral project?
He looked in Nik’s direction. The prince’s soul still glowed inside him, the thread connecting it with Kay’s.
Great ancestors, Kay muttered to himself, what the hell?
Nik was quiet, just sitting in silence with his eyes shut, unaware of what was going through Kaylum's head right now. His own mind was caught in thoughts of his country and what he could do to help it in some way, though he had no idea what he could do from here, caught in Seren's grasp.
Kay tried to breathe, but he didn’t have lungs to breathe with. Ah, nevermind. Calm down, let’s try to figure out where we are, he told himself. If he could still astral project, might as well put it to use.
This cell couldn’t confine him now. Kay walked through the walls and out of the tent, and the rest of the camp spread out before him. More tents and fire pits were scattered about, and beyond them stood a forest. Beyond that were the hills, and still further, on the horizon, were the shadows of the Tesh mountains.
Longing filled him. He fled, diving into the forest. Mother. Father. Xiomara.
The forest was large and deep. He was still making his way through it when he felt a tug in his navel. Or at least, what he thought was his navel. He could go no further. The childish desire to scream and sob and whine filled him now, but he had no eyes to cry with, no voice to wail with. The wails he did make were unheard, nonexistent. Only he could hear them.
That tugging again. Kay felt himself go cold with fear. He turned. Thank the ancestors that he had the thread connecting him to his soulmate, otherwise he would have never found his body again. Well, perhaps he could without it, but the forests of Kevra unknown to him. Their unfamiliarity and his emotions smothered his sense of direction.
Back in the cell, he quickly dove back into his body. A close call. His eyes opened, and he was surprised to find that his face was wet with tears. Perhaps he really did cry.
Nikolas was silent and unmoving, unaware that Kaylum had managed to leave the cell in some small way. His eyes eventually flickered open, widening slightly when he saw the tears on Kaylum's face. "Are you alright?" he questioned softly. Sure, the two did not know each other that well yet, but that did not mean that Nik was unconcerned about Kaylum. Kaylum was his soulmate and the only ally he had here; it would do no good to alienate him.
After a moment he registered Nikolas’s voice. “Fine,” he said, wiping at his tears. After another moment, he added, “Hot here. Miss the mountains.”
Indeed, it was warmer here. It made his skin itch. The cold floor wasn’t really that bad in this way. It was just uncomfortable.
"Ah." he knew it was a bit warm now, but come night, when the temperatures dropped, it would not be comfortable for either one of them. The question was, would Seren provide blankets or cots, or would they have to sleep on this floor with nothing but the clothes they were currently wearing?
He was quiet, recovering. He closed his eyes again, and eventually they completely dried.
They were still closed when he spoke again. “I can still separate my spirit from my body,” he murmured. “Do you want me to see what Seren is doing?”
He looked over at Kaylum when the other prince spoke again, cocking his head faintly. "I…if it would be safe for you to do, then it might be a good idea. If we have some forewarning about what he is planning to do, then…" he trailed off, not sure if knowing would make it better or worse for them in the long run.
“If I travel too far from my body, or if I am away from it for too long, I will become separated from my body forever. I will die,” he warned. “But Seren shouldn’t be too far away, and if the time limit is reached, I will know, and I can return to my body.”
Nik nodded slightly. "Alright. So just…don't stay away too long, then?" he asked, looking at Kaylum still, studying him carefully. "Is there, ah, anything that I need to do, while you're…doing that?"
“Not really.” Then he thought for a second. “Well, maybe smack me if something happens here. I should be able to feel it.”
He let out a huff of air that almost passed as laughter. "I can do that, I suppose." he replied, moving so that he was within arms reach of Kaylum. His foot was still unwalkable, and he kept it stretched out in front of his body, wincing faintly when he jostled it too hard.
“Great.” He opened his mismatched eyes again, watching Nik move towards him. He continued to stare, even when he reached smacking distance. His ear twitched. Maybe he should’ve moved instead so Nik wouldn’t have aggravated his leg.
Too late now. Kay closed his eyes. His body went limp, and his spirit separated itself from it. Every time he did this, his attention couldn’t help but be drawn to Nik’s soul and the thread that connected it to his. They both glowed and shifted in a hypnotic way. Some of the darkness in his soul peeked through. Kaylum turned and left the cell and tent. For a moment he got confused, but then remembered the direction of the tent they were first inside. He peeked in to see if Seren was still there.
Seren was indeed still there, standing and talking with someone else. He wore a signet ring on his left hand; if you looked closely, you could tell it was the Kevran royal crest. Nik had the same ring. In Seren's hands was a dagger, which he passed back and forth between his hands idly as he spoke with the other man. They did not seem to be discussing anything of importance right now; only rations, and some fights their soldiers had gotten into amongst each other.
Kaylum studied the two humans. Their souls moved like globs of glowing honey inside them. Seren’s seemed to glow brighter than the other man’s. Curiosity made Kay want to get closer and examine their souls, but that wouldn’t be very productive. He listened to them talk for a minute or two, and then got bored. He returned to the cell and his body.
His eyes opened. “He’s just talking to another human guy,” he reported, uncurling his body and stretching his limbs. “Nothing of note that I could tell.”
Nik looked at him when Kaylum spoke, raising his eyebrows faintly. "About what?" he asked curiously, blinking over at Kaylum. "His torture plans, his troops?" he ran his hands through his hair, trying to figure out what to do.
“Nothing of note that I could tell,” Kaylum repeated, slowly this time. “A few of his soldiers got into a fight, apparently. Seren also asked him for his report on their ration supply. Who knows, maybe they’ll remember to feed us.”
He thought about astral projecting again later. Perhaps something will change by then.
Nik sighed faintly. "Sorry. Uhm. Did you catch what the fight was about, maybe?" Was it the normal, run of the mill scuffle that any army got into? Or was it something more? Was there anyone in Seren's ranks that would be willing to help the two princes, or were they on their own?
“Not much, but it sounded like it was the result of too much alcohol consumption.” Kaylum shrugged. “Do you want me to go back?”
"No, it's fine." he replied, shaking his head faintly. "You do not have to. It's not…" he shook his head again. "I don't know if we would learn anything useful right now, if they're still talking about the fight."
He watched Nik for a moment, then ran his fingers through his dreadlocks. “Alright then. We should probably rest now anyway.”
He curled up again, which made his dreadlocks fly everywhere as he let go of them. One of them landed on his face, and he brushed it aside.
Nik watched him, then looked away, leaning his head against the wall again. "Alright." he said softly. He was not sure he could sleep, though; his mind was too wrapped up in what was in their future.