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With how much the Wild Hunt affects Nod-Krai, especially the Lightkeepers, it's always nice to see life brewing in Piramida. Whether it's Knights of Favonius coming over with some drinks to have a toast over a job well done, or if there's some good news going around, or if it's something as simple as two trainee teenagers being excited to see the very Lightkeeper they look up to and is the sole reason why they want to become Ratniki as well.
Dragana and Paivio came to a halt in front of an extremely familiar abode after running throughout Piramida, all the way from their own lodges to here. They knew that the Captain of the Nightmare Orioles had just come back home from a mission that required him to stay at the camp below Kipumaki Cliff for a couple of weeks, having had no time to stop by Piramida at all, let alone spend some time with the two trainee children. So now that he's back, and after the promise he made right before he left, of course the teens were excited.
They silently fought over who was going to knock on the door, until both just went ahead to shoot their shot, knocking three times in sync. There was silence before there was some stumbling heard from inside, and they could hear Illuga’s voice, but it was too faint to make out what he was saying. There was a thud, and Illuga’s voice grew a little sharper, but it then faded, and shortly after, the front door opened.
“Oh, hello!” Illuga greeted the two, but… he looked as if he was mauled by a bear.
His hair was messy, face just a teensy bit red like he'd ran a marathon at maximum speed at all times, his coat was slipping from his shoulder and the leather strap of his upper shirt was uneven. He was missing the purple fabric and his vision along with the knee gear he always wears, the same goes for his thigh straps and the white fabric he wears over his boots. His gloves were nowhere to be seen, either, and he kept a hand on his neck, right where his scar peeked out from his clothing. “What are you two doing here?”
Paivio inspected Illuga with narrowed eyes.
Illuga stayed still, deep down feeling extremely nervous, but not showing it.
Paivio couldn't see it, no matter how hard he looked. “Are you serious, Illuga?! You promised you'd train us when you got back! Don't tell us you forgot!”
“Oh, oh!” Illuga quickly remembered. “Right, I did say that…” he mumbled, mentally cursing himself for forgetting. “Come on in.” He stepped aside, letting the two teens in.
Dragana continued to look Illuga up and down as she stepped into his abode, faint concern catching on her face. “Illuga… are you okay? Why are you so messed up?”
“Oh, uh..” Illuga glanced to the side, almost looking suspicious. “I was in a hurry to get back home… I only just arrived and didn't have time to freshen up.”
Dragana hummed in understanding. ‘That does make sense, since he's so busy all the time.’ She let it go.
Suddenly, Paivio spoke up. He was standing at the dining table nearly in a corner of the room, where there was a blue clothing item draped over a chair. “Wow, cool! Whose cape is this?” he asked, lifting it from the chair and inspecting it, then gasping. “Woah, there's a pocket inside of it- perfect for hiding a small weapon!”
Illuga’s eyes widened momentarily as he watched it unfold. “Oh, err- it's.. It's mine,” he quickly approached the boy, but took the cape from him gently. “It's old, I just.. keep it maintained for old time’s sake. It's no longer my style, but uh.. I still have good memories of it.” He yapped up what he hoped was a good excuse while he opened his bedroom door just a teeny tiny bit and threw the cape in before quickly closing it again. When he looked back at his guests, Dragana looked a little suspicious of him, but Paivio looked full of awe.
“That's awesome! What weapon did you use??” The boy asked excitedly as he plopped down on the couch in the room.
“...A dagger,” It doesn't hurt to follow what the cape indeed hides, right? “Though I mostly just used it in case of emergencies, or up close hunting.”
Paivio let out a noise of intrigued understanding, placing a hand on his chin and nodding his head slightly, fully mulling over Illuga’s words and seeming like he was impressed by the made up short tale.
Dragana, however, wasn't as quickly persuaded as her brother. “Huh, I didn't take you as someone who'd carry small weapons like that, Illuga. Didn't you say that daggers were inconvenient?”
“..I did say that,” Illuga confirmed, remembering how he spoke about his weapon preferences during a training session with the two teens. “But I was different back then. Now, I think they're inconvenient. Back then, I liked to have one on hand.”
Illuga was afraid that he was gonna have to make up more faux reasons to make the girl believe him, but she appeared to finally be persuaded as well. “I see.”
“Anyways, enough about me.” Illuga clasped his hands together. “How have you two been? I'll get you something to drink.”
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A good hour later, they were all hanging out in the living room- well, if you could call it a living room. Illuga’s house is basically all one room save for the bedroom and bathroom. The dining, living room and kitchen were all one big area, separated by decoration and furniture. He did have a loft above the couch, but that's been turned into an open office/storage area.
Instead of training, they'd fallen into fun chatter.
Dragana was just telling a story about something that had happened at Piramida during Illuga’s absence, when there was a loud thud coming from Illuga’s bedroom. The two teens immediately turned to the sound. “What was that?”
“Uh,” Shit, how was Illuga going to cover that? “Uh, that was Aedon.”
“Aedon can make a sound that loud?” Dragana asked, not convinced.
Illuga hummed. “Yeah, he's a true warrior.”
Dragana once again gave him a look that indicated that she had trouble believing him, but Paivio had stood up while Illuga was focused on his sister, and he was now at the bedroom door.
Illuga’s eyes widened, noticing the boy too late. “Paivio-”
The boy opened the door, but before he could peek into Illuga’s room, Aedon flew out! The Kuuvahki infused bird circled around Paivio, as if saying he was happy to see him. He then flew over to Dragana and did the same.
“Huh, guess it really was Aedon…” Dragana murmured, drifting from her suspicion.
Paivio laughed as he closed the door again, not even looking into the bedroom to double check for anything else. “Aw, he just wanted to get out!”
Illuga refrained from letting out a deep, relieved sigh, but he still did it mentally. He was going to have to give Aedon extra treats for saving his ass.
Aedon knew that he was going to get rewarded. Perhaps that's precisely why he let himself out of Illuga’s lantern and bedroom.
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Only half an hour later, Illuga waved the two kids goodbye with a smile on his face, watching them go back to their own lodges. He told them that he'd help them train another day. He just didn't mention the word ‘promise’ this time. He closed the door in front of him, and as soon as it was closed, his hand fell to his side, and his smile faltered. He discarded his coat and hung it on the same chair the cape had been draped on before it was tossed aside, revealing his bare arms and thus also the bite and scratch marks on his biceps. He marched past Aedon, who was now perched on a bookshelf close to the couch, not even batting an eye at him. He made a straight line to his bedroom, and nearly pushed the door out of its hinges when he opened the door, and a slam echoed throughout the house as he shut it behind him.
There was Lohen, still on his bed, half na- oh, no, actually… fully naked now. He was laying prettily in the center of the bed, fully bare and slightly arching his back as he gave Illuga a look that told the Ratnik that he did it all fully on purpose.
“Took you long enough,”
Illuga looked Lohen up and down, before he silently discarded his upper top piece and his pants before sinking himself onto his bed and crawling over to the other, towering over him. He grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head, making Lohen look even more enticing. “Why the hell did you alert those two when I told you not to make a noise?!” He hissed, keeping his face expression mildly angry.
Lohen enjoyed this, though. He had a smug smile on his face, knowing exactly what he was doing. “You kept me waiting for one and a half hours, ‘Lua. I got bored.”
“Bored?” Illuga repeated. “Just bored? Bored enough to potentially ruin two children's innocence, were they to see you in my bedroom half, if not fully naked?!”
“Eh, I was more focused on ruining your pristine reputation rather than exposing myself,” Lohen said with a shrug of his shoulders that he still managed to do despite being pinned down. “Don't worry, I stayed under the covers until I heard you wrap up your little hangout.”
Illuga groaned in irritation. “And I'm going to make sure you're going to have to stay under them for a few more days.” He then plunged down, devouring Lohen's lips in a deep, passionate and borderline nasty kiss.
While Paivio and Dragana walked home, there was a bit of an awkward silence between them. Yes, they were happy to have seen Illuga again, but something felt… off.
“Hey, Paivio?” Dragana decided to speak up. “Illuga has been home for at least a day or two now, right?”
Paivio glanced at his sister before he had to look away again. “Yes… The sound from Illuga’s bedroom wasn't really Aedon, was it?”
“It can't have been…”
Then, as if they had some sort of telepathy, they looked at each other, and in sync asked:
“Do you also know about the rumors about him and one of the Knights of Favonius?”