Chapter Text
Kal was having a day. Yes. Catering to Larry while traveling could certainly be considered one of the days of all time. He’d rather be at home with Luca, but his husband asked him to do this one favor for him, and Kal just couldn’t refuse. Kal can never refuse a request from his husband.
Which is how Kal found himself in the middle of nowhere guarding Larry while they enjoy lunch. He can hear a dragon in the distance, but seeing as Larry hasn’t reacted, its unlikely to be an issue. He’s almost certain the man would react if he heard it.
Turi doesn’t react either. Is it too far away for them to hear?
Turning his attention to the nature around them, Kal focuses in on the sounds around him, feeling out the vibes of the place. There’s a stream nearby. He’ll have to avoid that. Maybe send Turi over to refill their water. A cave sits a short distance away. They’ll have to check it for animals, but it could provide shelter should they need it.
The dragon screams again, closer this time. “What’s that?” Larry asks like he’s never seen a dragon before.
“Dragon,” Kal mutters, finishing his food and setting the dishes aside for someone else to clean. “Shouldn’t be a problem till it grows closer. When it does, stay back and I’ll protect you.” He grins just a bit, earning a glare. Good. If he can’t be with Luca, he might as well tease his brother-in-law.
“Turi. Would you refill our water while I have a chat?” Larry states. She’s hesitant, but agrees. Kal raises a brow, wondering what Larry wants to talk about.
Larry starts in on some petty annoyance of his while Kal’s attention is drawn to the dragon that’s now clearly making its way towards them. Its wings flap menacingly, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Get in the cave,” Kal growls, pulling at his magic. He may have never won against a dragon before, but that sure isn’t going to stop him now. Larry listens, rushing into the easily defensible location.
His magic flares around him as he feels a shift in the air. Things are about to heat up. Propelling himself towards the cave entrance with his magic, Kal only just has enough time to shove a hand out, blocking the entrance with one of his crappy barriers he could never get right.
Dragon fire spreads across his lightning as he adjusts his output to ensure none gets past him. His tattoos itch as they heat up. It’s fine. Aloe will heal him when they get home. He just has to kill this dragon, and they’ll be set.
Grinning, Kal shifts his magic while keeping up his shitty barrier. Gathering a solid amount of sparking, crackling electricity in his other hand, he waits until the dragon has to switch tactics.
The fire lets up, letting Kal take a few steps away from the cave as he dispels his barrier and unleashes several sharp blades of lightning at his target. They strike true, slicing deep into the dragon’s throat and pouring her blood everywhere. She howls, her gaze focusing on Kal as he brings another set to bear.
A taloned foot comes for him. He doesn’t have the space to dodge while still protecting Larry, so Kal decides to bring up a barrier at his side while removing one of the dragon’s wings and slicing open her belly with his magic.
Her roar is heard as that foot smacks into him despite the half-formed barrier, sending him careening deeper into the cave. Pain erupts in his skull as his vision goes black.
Illario wasn’t exactly sure what he had just watched. He knew of Kalias’ tendencies and his frankly stupid amount of magical power, but he’d assumed that, much like the rest of Allona’s siblings, Kalias would have done a half-assed job of protecting him at the very most. He really should have known better. Kalias only does things whole-assed or not at all.
Then again, it’s possible he was just stunned by those tattoos glowing a brightly shining deep purple instead of the faint white they normally do. The fact that he killed the dragon was another matter entirely, even if it was mostly through blood loss.
Given all that, it’s only right that he go check on the reckless man and make sure he’s still breathing. His cousin would be the least of his issues if Illario returns with Kalias’ dead body.
“Sir!” Turi calls, slipping past the giant lizard at the entrance. “Are you unharmed?”
“I’m fine. Help me with Kalias.” He knows he’s not going to be able to carry the man out of here, but they need to make sure he’s not going to die before they get back to Treviso.
“He’s got a head injury.” True. The man’s bright white hair is covered in blood. He would have noticed it sooner were it not for the stench of burnt flesh surrounding the man.
“He’s still bleeding,” Illario observes. “Got any bandages?”
“Yeah, but not nearly enough for everything.” Hm? “You haven’t seen the several massive wounds in his side, have you, sir?” Ah. yes. That would be a problem. “Looks like the dragon really got him good.”
Illario sighs, pulling off one of his shirts to use in the endeavor. “You want the bandages on his head, chest, or arm?”
“You take his arm. Should have enough for the rest of him.” Illario nods as Turi pulls out their supplies so that they can get to work.
Lucanis rushes into their bedroom like the man possessed he was. He’d only caught the sight out of the corner of his eyes, but his wonderful, loving husband was definitely hurt. He and Spite didn’t know how bad it was, but knowing Kal, it’s bad. His husband is an idiot with his own safety, and there’s almost nothing that can stop him once Kal’s set his mind to that recklessness of his.
“Kal!” The door slams open. They don’t even know who did that with all their attention on their husband being tended to in their bed. “How is he? What happened?”
“A dragon happened,” Illario states. “He killed it, by the way. Turi and I were about to leave to arrange for its corpse to be brought back. I’m sure there’s some use for it.” Lucanis really doesn’t care about the dragon right now. Not with Kal injured and burnt and still bleeding out on their sheets. “Didn’t know he could glow like that, though.”
Glow? Right. Right, Kal’s tattoos glow different colors depending on how hard a fight is for him. Rook had described it as something to do with his magic and the tattoos. He’d have to double-check the journal to be sure.
“What color?” Lucanis demands. He can see that Kal’s burns are bad. Maybe not as bad as that time with the gods, but bad nonetheless.
“Purple, edging on black.” His cousin informs. Bordering on third-degree, then.
“On your way out, summon an alchemist as well as the healer,” Lucanis demands. Kal’s going to need more help than he thought.
His cousin and the guard leave him alone. Lucanis sighs. He’s got a few hours until the kids finish their lessons with Emmrich. Viago’s covering for him right now, and Spite wouldn’t let him leave even if he’d wanted to.
Well, he supposes he can start treating some of Kal’s wounds. Moving to the supplies they keep in one of their bedside drawers, Lucanis looks over his husband.
Kal’s pale. His brilliantly white hair is stained with blood. He’s sluggishly bleeding through the bandages and what Lucanis thinks could have once been Illario’s shirt. Deciding where he’d do the least harm until healers arrive, he peels his cousin’s shirt from the blood-caked limb.
At least Illario was smart enough to leave a dish of warm water nearby before he left, not that Lucanis has any idea when his cousin had the time to do so. Taking a moment to gently wipe down the area, Lucanis ends up with the water being a murky brownish-red and a much cleaner arm to patch up.
The multitude of gashes in Kal’s arm aren’t as deep as he’d feared. Yeah, he can handle this. It’s a simple enough matter of disinfecting the wound and stitching it back up. His husband may be immune to nearly all types of poison, but there’s no sense in letting him get a nasty infection just because Lucanis was complacent.
The door to their room swings open just as he finishes cleaning out the wounds on Kal’s arm. “We’ve got it from here, Master Dellamorte.” Lucanis doesn’t want to leave, and neither does Spite. They settle for situating themselves on Kal’s mostly uninjured side to let the healers work.
Lucanis has nothing to do but sit there, anxiously, as he waits for Kal to wake up. He’s already changed out their soiled bedding, he’s made sure Kal is resting comfortably, and he’s even managed to convince Spite to be patient.
So he sits there, Kal’s hand in his, Spite occasionally moving around the room, and with one or more of Kal’s siblings visiting at any given time. He’s not sure what to talk about with Rook right now, but at least the youngest of Viago’s de Riva’s seems fine with the silence for now.
A subtle groan draws his attention, and Lucanis realizes the grip on his hands has grown stronger. “Kal?” Both of their attention is on the man.
Those sunning eyes peak open, landing on Rook for a solid minute before Kal blinks lazily and flicks his gaze over to Lucanis. Lucanis can see the exact moment something clicks in his head. “You’re pretty hot.” Kal’s sleepy voice states. “Wanna fuck?”
Lucanis needs to take a moment to rein in his emotions. “Kal, love. You’re injured.”
“I guess?” Kal grins at him. Ah. That’s the same grin from the Ossuary. “Won’t stop me from getting to know someone as hot as you, though.”
“What do you remember?” Lucanis states, glancing at Rook for some backup. Rook, however, is deep in thought.
Kal blinks at him. “That you’re pretty hot?” Lucanis sighs, burying his face in his hands. Of course, his idiot of a husband would have amnesia. Why wouldn’t he? Nothing’s ever simple with Kal around, and while normally that just makes Lucanis’ life a little more exciting, there are times like now when it has the opposite effect.
The door slams open. “Is that Kal I hear?!” And now Queenie’s here.
“Yes, but you might have to heal the idiot,” Lucanis mutters, looking back at his husband. Kal’s staring at something behind him. Ah. Illario’s back.
“You’re pretty hot too, ya know?”
His cousin smirks at the response. “Yes, well, I’ve been told as much many times. At least your eyes are still working.”
“What’s wrong, big baby brother?” Queenie moves to ruffle the younger de Riva’s hair, but Rook keeps his silence for a moment.
“Are your sister and her Warden coming as well?” Illario inquires.
“I’m right here!” Ah. Bishop’s arrived as well, with Davrin right behind her. Lucanis turns to Kal, waiting to see how he reacts. Nothing happens. He glances over at Rook. There’re several emotions playing in that multi-colored gaze of his.
“Why are you being so noisy? Can’t a man work in peace? Grand. Viago’s here now, too.
Kal blinks, gets that grin on his face, and opens his mouth. “You’re pretty attractive, too.” The room goes silent. “I’d be willing to take all three of you.” A confused squeak comes from his side.
Despite the way his face burns, Lucanis’ attention snaps to Viago. The older man blinks once. Twice. Thrice, then grabs the enchanted thermos he’s never seen without these days and takes a long swig of whatever is inside.
“Oh my god, Kal! That’s Dad! You can’t just flirt with him like that!” Queenie burst into laughter.
“Did you just call him Dad?”
“What else was I supposed to say that Kal would understand? ‘That’s Viago, the man who raised you, that we all think of as Dad, but never actually tell him to his face?’”
“I’m going to go drown myself with whatever I have lying around since someone hid all my Up and Adder. You deal with this, Dellamorte. You married him, after all.” He did. What was he thinking?
Lucanis grumbles as he’s pulled from his sleep by something. “Mmm. Luca?” His eyes fly open as he races to locate Kal despite his husband being right beside him. “What happened?”
“Apparently, you tried to fight a dragon,” Lucanis smirks, a gentle hand moving to tuck a stray strand behind a pointed ear. “You won, by the way, just don’t do it again?”
Kal smiles at him, warm and soft. “Can’t guarantee that.” He mumbles. “Cuddle with me?” Lucanis smiles. Everything will be fine.
“Sure.” Shuffling closer, Lucanis lays his head gently on the uninjured side of Kal’s chest after giving his man a swift kiss. It’s so much easier to fall asleep with Kal held close like this.