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"Scar."
Grian was perched at the foot of Scar's bed. When- why-
"Grian..?"
"I can't ask Stress, she'll start interrogating me. Faerie courtship. How?"
Faerie courtship… What? "You know … vex courtship is different, right?"
"I know. Tell me."
"Grian… what time is it?" Scar struggled to sit up in bed.
"3am. Tell me how to woo a vex."
What the hell was Grian doing in Scar's room at 3am asking about vex courtship. Could Scar go back to sleep instead? Why vex courtship specifically? "So it's a vex?"
"If I wanted to say who it was I would have gone to Stress for help."
He did say that. Who did Grian even spend time with that was a vex… "Is it me?"
"I love you, Scar, but no. Just tell me what to do."
"Uh… vex courtship is as violent as we are."
"Something I can use, Scar." Why was Grian annoyed when he came to Scar for help at this hour-?
"Big. Big displays are good. Something aggressive, a show of strength. We love that. Gifts. Things you've hunted for. Meals are good too… why not court them your way?"
"I don't want to be misunderstood."
Cub was working on total chaos when Grian, carrying something large, crashed into him, knocking them both to the ground. The deadweight Grian had brought was… the corpse of a hermit.
“I brought you a gift.” Grian said, as if that made sense. Then he paused and plucked one of his own feathers to give to Cub.
“Did the, uh, gift… did they respawn?”
“Yes. Of course. I’m not going to murder my friends completely.”
It was starting to make a lot of sense. “Would you, if I asked you to?”
“I know you wouldn’t ask me to.”
“That is true.” Cub considered for a moment, looking Grian over.
In the distance, Scar could hear Grian chanting his name.
"...-Scar Scar Scar Scar Scar-"
He looped around Scar before crashing into him.
"I tried to take your advice."
"What advice?"
"This morning. Keep up. I brought him a corpse of a- you know what the details don't matter. I also gave him a feather." Grian was covered in blood, which was mildly concerning actually, with his hand pressed firmly against his shoulder.
Well this sounded vaguely familiar? "You're courting someone?"
"That's the idea. I told you that this morning. I need your help again - He took a bite out of me! Scar, what does that mean?!"
The blood was a lot less concerning. "Why are you courting a vex?"
Grian gave him a withering look.
"Right, no questions. Did he kill you?"
"No."
"Did he seem happy?"
"Yes."
"Then it means he's interested."
"Then how do I- what do I do about it?"
"You don't let it heal completely. He wants everyone to see it."
Grian's eyes widened in a kind of awe. A kind of understanding. (Not a complete understanding yet, but good enough).
He grinned. "I'll be back later with more questions!"
Oh, great.
At least this time it was before Scar went to bed, not the middle of the night.
And he was cleaned up, the bite healed just enough to stem the bleeding. He was wearing a tank top, too, to show it off.
"You seem to have this figured out." Scar said. "Why do you need me?"
"Because I don't have this figured out and you're my friend, I trust you."
"Can I guess who it is, then?" Scar was pretty sure that he knew. Someone he spoke to that afternoon seemed almost uncharacteristically joyful.
"No. Should I respond to the bite in some way?"
"He'd like it if you bite him. You know - claim him back."
"Claim?"
"It's a claiming bite. You know I'm going to figure out who it is, right?"
"Give me a few more days to pretend you have no idea."
"Scar?"
It was dark. Again. Grian had woken him up. Again. "What?"
"He wants me to live with him. I only approached him yesterday, and he wants me to live with him."
So maybe Grian wasn't up to all that courting a vex entailed. Shame. It was too late to go back on it now. "You've known him for years." Scar said. "It was bound to happen sometime this week."
"This week?"
"The longest any vex I know has waited to move in with their partner is a month."
"So… it's normal?" Grian said.
"Absolutely."
Grian perked up at that. Scar should really have been more concerned for Cub, but sue him, he was tired.
"Oh. Thanks. Sleep well, Scar!"
"Yeah, thanks" Scar grumbled, "there's also a name thing, ask me in the morning."
And then Scar buried his face in his pillow.
Grian wandered out of Scar's basement, looking incredibly happy with himself.
"How's it going?"
"Cub helped me set up a nest down there. I haven't had a proper nest since I was little."
"How come?" Scar couldn't help but ask.
"You don't need a nest when you're alone. Some people make them anyway for comfort, but it's only really a nest if there's people to share it with."
Oh. That… Scar took back his half asleep fears of a vex relationship overwhelming Grian.
"You said something about names."
"Right, I did say that. Vex are faeries, at the end of the day. Give Cub your name. Don't just tell him what it is, give it to him."
"How do I do that?"
"He can talk you through it, G, it's all in the phrasing. Let Cub handle the rest."
Grian looked about ready to turn and run back downstairs to do just that when he paused. "I really appreciate you helping me. I know I'm being difficult."
Grian had been explaining his nest to Cub all morning.
Had been. Now he was upstairs asking Scar about something. A large part of Cub hadn't wanted to let Grian go, not to talk to another vex.
But Scar was their friend. Cub trusted Scar.
That didn't mean he didn't want to know what they were talking about. It was pretty easy to convince himself to sneak up the stairs to catch the conversation.
"-Give Cub your name. Don't just tell him what it is, give it to him."
"How do I do that?"
"He can talk you through it, G, it's all in the phrasing. Let Cub handle the rest."
"I really appreciate you helping me. I know I'm being difficult."
Grian had been… asking Scar what to do. In a really annoying way, apparently. An avian - or whatever Grian actually was - wasn't going to know the intricacies of vex courtship, but Cub hadn't thought to question it when Grian did things correctly.
Cub slipped back downstairs before Grian could, sitting in the nest to wait the few seconds it would take to-
"I'm back!" Grian said, grinning as he slipped into place, right beside Cub.
Cub pulled Grian onto his lap. Grian all but melted into his hold.
"Hey, G. What were you asking Scar about?"
"He said he wanted to tell me something, so."
"About what?" Cub pressed kisses to the healed over bites on Grian's shoulder.
Grian’s face flushed, “Well, I’m not a vex-”
“Obviously.”
Grian made a distressed noise and buried his face in the crook of Cub’s neck. “I’ve been asking him about vex courting. I wanted to make sure I did this right.”
“And what did he say?”
“He told me I should give you my name.”
“Can I have your name?”
“You can. How do I-”
“You can have my name, it’s Cub.”
Grian didn’t react to the rush of magic Cub felt on saying that. He’d really just done that. Given everything he was to Grian.
“Okay, so I just phrase it the same way? Uh… I don’t think I know what I’m actually giving you here. You can have my name, it’s Grian.”
Another rush of magic.
"There. Grian, you officially belong to me."
"I feel like I'm missing a lot of context here."