"Hmm?" Kuno looked up to see Theo had appeared. "Oh, yes. They just get a little stiff if I'm sitting around for too long." He gestured at his legs, though it was probably obvious what he was talking about. "They should be fine now." Kuno stood up fully, glad that he felt a little more stable. He started towards the door to the library. "Thank you for asking, though." Kuno gave Theo a small smile. "Have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow." He pushed open the door, holding it for Theo. He had considered asking what they were doing that evening, but that might be seen as an invitation. Spending time with Theo hadn't proved itself to be terrible yet, but his plan for the evening was finding flowers for the queens– and Theo, maybe– and he doubted they wanted to come along.
Theo returned the small smile, still unsure of what to make of the man before him. Even though, or perhaps because, the day was over, he was still finding it strange to think of Kuno as the one who killed his parents. Surely that must be because he believed that Theo was not an enemy and had no need to show that other side of him. Surely he would kill Theo right now if he knew. It did not matter how he appeared to be. He was responsible, he took them away just when Theo was about to make things right–
They felt their eyes watering. Quickly lowering their gaze and wiping their eyes, they murmured, "Goodnight," gave Kuno a formal head bow, and walked out the door.
Kuno frowned slightly when Theo moved to wipe his eyes but decided that they'd simply gotten something in them. He returned the bow and turned towards the doors. After fumbling around in his menileofe for a few seconds, Kuno extracted a key and locked the library doors. It would be terrible if someone came in during the middle of the night and messed up all their progress, and he knew quite a few people would like to make a bonfire with the canyu books. It wasn't like he didn't also want to, but keeping them, for now, was the best option. Kuno realized halfway to his room that he was, in fact, walking towards his room and not towards the gardens. Around this time, there were a million vendors selling all sorts of different flowers in the market that he could go to. But Kuno figured that it would mean more if he picked the flowers himself. There were so many in the garden, anyhow, that taking a few wouldn't hurt anyone. Kuno changed directions, different flower combinations running through his head.
Why do you have to kill this guy anyway?
Ko was coiled on the bed. She had decided to spend the night with Theo, which he was secretly glad of. He found that snakes were the best creatures to ramble to when he needed it.
They pulled his sleepwear, a long tunic called a tìl, over his head. “I have to. Mother and father would want me to. I have to do it for them.”
Mother and father? Them again?
“It’s a human thing, Ko. You wouldn’t understand.”
She seemed to shrug. Fine. I’m tired. She buried her head underneath her coils. Well, maybe Ko was the exception of snakes he could talk to. Theo stroked her scales before going to the small desk beside the bed and opening up their journal. Their train of thought ran free as he wrote.
He didn’t have anything better to do the day after tomorrow, and it would be better to keep an eye on Kuno if he couldn’t do it in the library. They didn’t feel like celebrating though. Father would probably slap them if he saw them celebrating an Opreian event anyway. It would be interesting to see how it compared to Jiyo, if he was being honest. Perhaps he will go, though not to participate in celebrations.
He set down the quill pen he had been writing with. Why did it feel like father was right behind him, boiling with rage, ready to scream at them? Why was Theo shaking all of a sudden? The image of bloodied bedsheets flashed through their mind. No. Not now. Not now. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I know I have failed you, I know. Just please, give me more time, give me more time. I’ll avenge you, I promise, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, don’t hurt me, please-
Ko’s hiss snapped them back into focus. They had been rocking back and forth in his seat, tears springing in his eyes.
Theo…?
He closed his eyes, trying to breathe. Not now. “Sorry, Ko, I… I should sleep.”
She merely flickered her tongue at them sleepily. He slowly rose from his seat, blew out the candle, and slid under the covers, careful not to get in Ko’s space. Hopefully there would be no nightmares tonight.
Kuno placed the last of the flowers in the vase and stepped back. He could cast a preservation spell on them the next morning. It had taken a little longer than he thought to pick the perfect ones, and it was too late to worry about them now. They could last one night in water, anyhow. He was too tired to bother with much of a nighttime routine, settling with taking off his shoes and coat. He placed his eyepatch next to his bed, ready in case anything happened. Hopefully, this night would be a peaceful one, Kuno thought as he fell asleep. Unfortunately, his prayers weren't answered.
Blood dripped onto the stones beneath his feet. The stones were cold; he could feel the chill shooting up through the soles of his feet and into his heart. At this point, though, the cold couldn’t bother him too much. There were much more important things to worry about now. The sounds of fighting and shouting came echoing down the staircase at the end of the hallway. He limped towards it, leaning heavily against the wall. The smart thing would be to wait until the fighting died down. He was smart, but he was also scared. Scared that they would leave him behind if he didn’t get out there that instant. Everyone thought he was dead, probably, so why would they look for him?
(do you want to time skip?)
(Yeah, sure! Do you want to take it, or should I?)
(I can do it since it's my turn)
Someone was calling their name. They looked around, but there was no one. The castle was dark, only the faint light of candles giving the impression of walls and furnishings around them. The name called again, more desperate this time. A mounting sense of dread. The hiss of a snake. He found a trail of blood and followed it, but a huge shadow soon barred their way. His dread spiked, the dark figure looming over him, its intent unknown.
Theo awoke, softly gasping with fear. The soft light of dawn filtered through the window, almost as if it was sparing him from blindness, unlike some other mornings he woke to. They sat up, trying to steady themself. Had something happened before that sequence in the castle? He thought so, but he couldn’t remember. Ah well, it was better that they didn’t.
Ko was gone. He wasn’t worried by this, it had happened before. Snakes were not overly loyal creatures. Theo slipped out of bed and got dressed with only the soft sounds of cloth rustling punctuating the silence. He went to the kitchen to grab a simple fruit for breakfast, then made their way to the library.
The nightmares woke Kuno up early in the morning. The place where his right eye was supposed to be was burning, and the missing parts of his fingers ached too. Thankfully, it only seemed to be aftereffects from the dreams and faded quickly. He hadn't had nightmares like that in a while, and especially not about… that time. Dreams about that period in his life were almost worse than dreams about the war. He couldn't make himself go back to sleep, so he spent the time until the morning going over books about magic. He might have drifted off a few times, but he always woke up before falling into a deep sleep. By the time dawn arrived, Kuno had found a couple of new spells. He was also very tired, but it was a usual feeling for him at this point. He walked slowly to the kitchen and grabbed some bread and jam to eat. His way to the library was slow as well, though he managed to give everyone he passed a respectful nod. Thankfully, no one batted an eye at his rumpled appearance. An upside of living with people who'd gone through about the same thing he'd gone to– with one very large exception– was that no one really expected anyone to look all that presentable anymore. An impressively messy bun and very wrinkled clothes were nothing new to them. As Kuno approached the library, he started fumbling around for the library key, muttering a few curse words in Oprei as he did. He really needed to reorganize his menileofe at some point.
As they walked, they made sure to look as inconspicuous as possible so no one he passed by would approach him. They kept their gaze to the floor, walking at a brisk pace.
The fruit in his hand was a strange color, yellow fading into gold. It was just a little smaller than their palm, and had a round, oblong shape. Another native flora, he supposed. Looking up, he found himself approaching the doors, with only Kuno in sight. They bit into the fruit. Sweet, with a slight tang. Theo didn’t love it, but he didn’t hate it either.
They swallowed the bite, coming up next to Kuno. “Morning,” was all he said, since it was never pleasant to talk to another human being this early in the day.
Kuno looked up in surprise, hand freezing. "Oh. Um. Morning." He'd completely forgotten that Theo existed for a second there. Well… that was awkward. Kuno quickly fished the key out of his menileofe, wondering if a spell to help with sleeping existed and if so, where he could find it. Maybe he could ask someone, and if not, there had to be a record of one in a book. The trick was just finding the book. Kuno blinked a few times, stifled a yawn, and unlocked the library door. "After you." He waved listlessly towards the inside of the library.
They studied Kuno for a moment. They could tell he was tired, and probably didn’t get a lot of sleep. Theo felt the same, even though he got plenty of sleep the night before. They bit into the fruit again, wondering what he had been doing. They walked through the doors, then looked back at the other man, unsure if he should immediately get to work or not.
Kuno paused on the threshold, taking in the slightly less messy library. Well, at least it looked better than it had the day before. Theo looking back at him pushed him into motion. "Tal bila… just keep with the organizing. I have some, uh, new books for you. I'll get them." He started towards his pile, stared at it for a second, and decided to be lazy. "Zetai con yujie," Kuno whispered, waving a hand at a pile of books. It shuddered for a second, then rose into the air. He moved until he could see Theo's area, then gestured towards it. The pile of books smoothly floated in that direction, settling down gently. "I can move those somewhere else if you want me to," he called, doing the same thing with the next stack of books.
Theo nodded, quickly eating the fruit so he’d have both of his hands free. They watched the new piles of books float to their general workspace with fascination, still chewing on the fruit and moving in the direction of his stacks of books.
Swallowing the food, he replied, “No, here is good,” and bent down to look through the new books, skimming though the titles and authors while he continued eating. A lot of it seemed to be historical volumes, collections of primary sources, and the like. Theo put them in the nonfiction stack as they came, hoping to return to sorting the fiction stack once this was done.
Kuno nodded, sending one last pile of books over to Theo. He turned to his huge pile of books to be sorted, letting out a soft sigh. Sinking onto the ground, Kuno reached for the first book. Hopefully, there wouldn't be too many canyu books in this batch. He didn't need all that anger.
By the time noon rolled around, Kuno had fallen asleep over a pile of books. It wasn't a deep sleep, which was probably a good thing. At least then there wasn't the chance he could have nightmares. He'd fought the drowsiness, but in the end, he'd lost. Part of that loss had been him totally forgetting he wasn't alone in the library.
Theo sorted the new books into the fiction and nonfiction stacks, then returned the realistic fiction novels he had been working on the day before. Raised to do their tasks quickly and efficiently, they managed to get halfway done with the fiction stack by the time noon came. A few of the sub-genres of fiction now had books on their shelves.
He was going to simply continue working, but he noticed the library was quiet. Too quiet. Did Kuno leave the room? Looking out the window and seeing the sun high in the sky, they wondered if he had decided to go to lunch without him. Sighing and started to feel the first pangs of hunger, he walked over to where Kuno worked.
Seems he indeed didn’t get enough sleep last night. Something bubbled inside Theo’s chest as he looked on the sleeping man, a feeling he couldn’t quite place. They shook it off, reaching to tap Kuno’s shoulder.
“Sir? We should probably go to lunch.”
The tap on his shoulder was just a tap, but Kuno's heart froze for a second. He gasped softly, his eye flying open. After a few breaths, he realized that it was just Theo. Oh, oben. It'd been a light touch, but it had reminded him of… well, that. Sol, he really needed to remember he wasn't alone anymore. Kuno glanced away for a second, clearing his throat. "You don't have to call me 'sir', qle-Theo." He quickly rose to his feet, brushing some of the stray locks of hair out of his face. "Just call me Kuno, ilah?" Kuno peeked back at Theo for a second, giving him a hesitant smile. Hopefully, they wouldn't care too much that he'd fallen asleep. "Let's go get lunch." He started towards the doors of the library.
"If you insist, Kuno," Theo replied. A ghost of a smile danced on their lips; he found it somewhat amusing how Kuno was so startled when he woke, though they weren't sure why.
Glad to not have a cold serpentine body wrapped around one of his limbs this time, he followed Kuno out the doors, redoing their ponytail as they walked.
The nap had refreshed him, which resulted in his walking pace increasing drastically. He resisted the urge to glance around nervously– because obviously there wasn't anything chasing him or out to get him. There was just Theo following him to lunch and the various people of the palace. Nothing sinister, no enemies. Sol, he had to get ahold of himself. Kuno forced a smile at the people in the kitchen, quickly collecting a bowl of a vegetable and rice dish. "I'm guessing you're joining me again?" He asked, turning towards Theo. "If so, this way." Kuno quickly headed out of the kitchen, towards the gardens. The lily pond was what he needed, even if there was someone else there with him.
Theo simply nodded, taking a bowl and continuing to follow Kuno. Thankfully they didn't stay in the kitchen for too long, it was just as loud and chaotic as yesterday. After last night, he also felt rather anxious at the moment and was pretty sure staying in the kitchen would not help.
As they walked through the gardens, Theo tried to think of something to say to Kuno so it wouldn't be too awkward, but he couldn't. Perhaps it was because now it felt as though mother was now haunting him, scolding them for socializing with the enemy. Perhaps it was best if they just didn't talk. When they came to the table they had sat at the previous day, he sat down, rather lost in thought.
Kuno sat down– well, dropped into his chair would be a more accurate description– with a soft sigh. He gave Theo a small glance, glad that he wasn't trying to ask him any questions or make any small talk. Kuno really couldn't deal with that at the moment. He ate quickly, wondering why he'd gotten that dream again. It had shaken him up much more than he liked. Kuno absentmindedly adjusted his eyepatch, fingers lingering on it. Sol… if only he could just get rid of those memories forever. They did no one any good at all. After taking the last bite, Kuno pushed his bowl back and stood. "If you're ready, you can head back to the library. I'm going to stay here for a little longer." He turned towards the pond and settled down at the edge, staring at the flowers with a pensive expression.
Theo merely played with his food, still finding it rather foreign. After a moment they took a bite, just to get it over with. Unsure how they felt about the taste, they took another. And another. Theo pushed the bowl away from him. It was too strange, and besides, he wasn't feeling that hungry anymore.
Watching Kuno move to the edge of the pond, they pressed their fingers to their lips, silently reciting what they would say. Better to tell him sooner rather then later, they supposed.
"Alright then," he began a little shakily, "And just so you're aware, I've decided to attend the taveni-jolu celebration."
He still felt anxious, but now he wasn't sure why. It was just a dream, nothing more. He'd only been stressed last night because it had been their first day here, surely. They stood. Going to the library would help. Organizing and sorting allowed them not to think, and not thinking sounded like a very good idea at the moment.
Something made him pause. "Is everything alright, Kuno?"
"Oh?" Kuno turned back to look at Theo, his expression lifting slightly. "That's wonderful! Uh… remember not to eat breakfast before you come to the library tomorrow. You don't want to miss the taveni-jolu breakfast, right?" He laughed lightly and turned back towards the pond. Theo's next question made him freeze. The smile, still on his lips, slowly died. Was everything alright? Of course, it was. The war was over, and everyone was finally safe. He didn't need to worry anymore. So… why didn't he feel alright? Sol, why did Theo have to ask that? Kuno pressed his lips together, still facing the pond. "Iesa. I'm fine. Thank you for asking." He tried to relax his shoulders, but couldn't manage it. Hopefully, Theo would leave soon. Kuno really didn't need to break down in front of someone who was basically a stranger– not that he was going to break down at all, of course. Just… it would be more awkward in front of Theo. If it did happen. Which it wouldn't. Because there was no reason for it.
"No, I suppose I wouldn't," Theo replied. They watched Kuno intently. Just from his body language alone, Theo could tell he wanted the matter closed, even if they detected hints of uncertainty in his voice. They couldn't blame him; if the roles had been reversed, Theo would say and do the same thing. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder why. There was always the question of why when it came to this man.
He started tapping a finger on his leg, his anxiety suddenly returning. He couldn't stay here, it would be wrong somehow. Mother wouldn't want them to stay here.
"O-of course," he said, "Just concerned."
He turned, taking their bowl and heading back to the kitchen to put it up.
Kuno nodded his head, eyes locking on a particularly beautiful flower. He stayed there on the edge of the water for what was probably too long. But at the end of it, he did feel somewhat better. Less weird, at least. He stood slowly and grabbed the empty bowl from the table. In the kitchen, he said hello to Ry, who wanted to know why his assistant had come in earlier and alone. In response, he just gave her an annoyed look and left the kitchen. Even though he'd been away from the library for a while now, he still didn't want to go in just yet. He didn't think he could deal with much more of those terribly incorrect books. Kuno pushed through the doors of the library, pondering what else he could do. He could move the canyu books away and then think of something else as he did. Yes, that could work.
Theo wasn’t sure how long they’d been in the library before Kuno returned. All that was on his mind was getting the books organized, and quickly so he wouldn’t have to think about things. Unfortunately, sometimes his mind would get the better of them and they would sit and think much too hard about certain books and their contents and where they should go, which in turn fed into his stress.
It was just a matter of taking a breath and forcing himself to keep sorting, though. The fiction stack was steadily decreasing in number. Theo glanced at the doors when they opened, but never stopped their work.
Kuno glanced in Theo's direction, but he seemed like he was doing fine. There was no need to interrupt them, even if he wanted to. And he really didn't. Kuno studied the various pile of books, then carefully picked one up. There wasn't a need to do magic this time– he was perfectly able to pick up a pile of books by himself. Kuno carried pile after pile of books back to the storage, going slower than needed. After that, he grudgingly settled back into sorting, which unfortunately lasted until the end of the day. At least the next day was a day off. And probably the day after that, too, since taveni-jolu usually went very late and no one wanted to do anything after it.
Theo eventually settled into a somewhat less stressful pattern, almost going on autopilot as he skimmed through titles and sorted books on shelves. By the end of the day, the fiction pile had disappeared. A solid chunk of the library’s shelves were now full, arranged perfectly by genre in alphabetical order.
Theo found themself on the floor, staring blankly at the nonfiction stack. They couldn’t summon the willpower to begin working on it, and yet at the same time he was worried about being caught not doing anything. It was a strange sense of paralysis, though familiar too. He tried to keep his eyes open, even as a yawn escaped him.
(Sorry for the delay, life has been happening at a rather intense pace lately. :)
Kuno pulled himself back into a standing position and wandered over to where Theo was stationed. It looked remarkably better than it had earlier. Maybe the queens had been right about him needed an assistant. There was no way he would have been able to get all of this done. "You can go now," He said softly, not wanting to startle Theo. "This looks really good, by the way." Kuno gave them what he hoped was a thankful and encouraging smile. "Much better than what I could have done."
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