Prism

[DotCom]

For a moment, it was like it had been in the desert after the first snake had attacked. Before she knew the cold, hard truth of it all, when she was cradled, exhausted and happy, in the safety of his mind. Now, like then, she could feel a whirl of chaos outside, though of a different variety, a hundred conscious minds she could feel, varying degrees of anger and hatred and confusion. But none of it reached her. For the first time, she could simply shut it out, turn it off, through a strength that was not hers, but a new species of Aavan and Cerebrae. The stares passed over and around her and she was content to settle into that familiar cradle on his back and let sleep wash over her, knowing he was safe, and because he was safe, she was, too.

She felt two consciousnesses, each vaguely familiar, detach and follow, and was too content and too tired to feel fear. She opened her eyes and gazed at the two Aavan behind Mori, one a vibrant red, the other a regal sort of white-gold. She stared at them both, probably a little too long, half asleep and curious. It did not occur to her to be frightened. Just as the knowledge of what Mori called the Heart-Bond had come, so did the knowledge that these Aavan were close, perhaps kin, and would not harm her, for Mori's sake, if not her own. Nor did she think they meant to hurt him. She could feel in them both a powerful love for her Aavan, so she smiled at them almost drunkenly and closed her eyes again.

She was all but asleep when the warm comfort of a clean bed, her first in weeks, invited her in, and that alone nearly pulled her under. The gentle touch surrendered her again to her own exhaustion, and when she felt Mori settle in, and beyond him, the two Aavan take up a guard position at the door, she knew, for now, at least, she had nothing to fear.

The blue washed over her as the exhaustion struck true, and she drifted off to sleep, content that she and Mori would be neither separated nor harmed, and little else mattered to her.

 

[Kaisaan]

----

Mori woke in sporadic bursts, most of them short, to see his mother caring for Rora. When her violet eyes met his of the same shade, the black Aavan didn't feel the need to growl, to warn and he simply smiled at her, eliciting a smile and a flood of relieved tears from the female Aavan as she reached over and stroked his head for a moment before moving back to the Cerebra he was curled so protectively around. Mori's mind and the remaining toxin in the rainbow-faced female's system was acting like an anesthesia and there was no chance she'd wake as Anesa cleaned her hands, treated them and bandaged them with a patient gentleness that Mori knew she was using as if she treated her own child.

She was Heart-Bonded to Mori. Rora might as well be another child to her and the red, female Aavan knew it. She left the two alone again when she'd finished and Mori drifted back off.

The next time he woke was to feel a hand on his head and immediately after the powerful and yet protective, comforting presence of his father. He didn't open his eyes, but his lips curled in a smile, picturing the blond hair and green eyes - so like Rask - and nearby, on the other side of the bed, he felt the warm, gentle presence of his mother and it only took a brief touch to her mind to know she was feeding Rora and making sure she was hydrated, taking care to make sure the Cerebra didn't choke. He was vaguely aware that she'd been doing the same to him earlier if his full stomach was anything to go on.

Mori went back to sleep, knowing they were both safe and cared for.

When he next woke it was to the presences of his brothers and Mori was much more inclined to wake fully. He yawned with a mouth full of fangs, wide and with a small whine at the end before his body stretched like a lazy cat in the warmth of the bed. His mind was already wrapped around Rora, it always would be, but he made sure to give her a more conscious form of reassurance at his movement, soothing any fear of abandonment in her mind. He wasn't leaving and everything was still safe. She could sleep as long as she needed to.

He looked to his brothers then, both of them in their smaller forms much like his parents had been and Mori gave them both searching, wary looks, unsure of what they were feeling. Their minds were hovering around his, not entirely sure they wanted to feel the changes within his own, unsure they were wanted and then Tac moved forward and he carefully sat on the edge of the bed. His orange eyes flickered from his little brother to the Cerebra next to him and then back to Mori again and his mind extended, questioning. The black Aavan accepted, feeling the gentle strands of red filter into his consciousness and he smiled even as he sat up slowly and reached for his older brother without hesitation. The smile that came over Taconos' face then was enough to light up the suns and he returned Mori's embrace, holding him tightly.

"Tac-"

"I know. I know, little black. It's all right. I understand."

The reassuring words, the acceptance in them, relaxed the knot in his stomach, but it didn't dissolve completely as his violet eyes lifted from Tac's shoulder to look over at his gold-haired brother, definitely the more stubborn of the two elder siblings. Rask was looking at Rora, his expression somewhere between wary and interested and his green eyes flickered from her to Mori as he sensed his little brother's gaze. Cold eyes instantly softened a bit and Rask seemed to relax a bit against his will as he came forward and did nothing but ruffle Mori's hair.

"You just can't do anything quietly can you? The whole damn tribe is in a tizzy."

The words were not accusatory, but rather affectionate, amused and Mori's eyes widened a bit. "I didn't-"

Tac pulled away with a chuckle. "No, Moridryn, you didn't hurt anyone...not seriously anyway. But you have been sleeping for the better part of a week. The Elders are anxious to speak with you and your bonded."

 

[DotCom]

Even before she awoke, Rora knew she had never had a single night of sleep so peaceful, let alone several in a row. She'd been sharing the nightmares and dreams of others for as long as she could remember, so long it had become natural to awake once a night, gasping, if not screaming, and trying to remember when she'd developed a fear of water, or fire, or trees. Like the blind who didn't realize how blind they were until given sight, Rora had adapted, learning to manage on fewer hours of rest, assuming it was normal and would be her life forever.

Even the short weeks spent away from the city had seen strange dreams. Some of them she knew to be visions now -- a curiosity in its own right, but nothing to be fretted over now -- but others were subtle manipulations from the sky and earth, little things her mind could not filter out.

But.

The...Heart-Bond with Mori had given her a peace she'd never thought possible. It would require practice to be able to truly filter and sort the many things coming to her at every minute of the day, but Mori's strength at least gave her a way to dampen the flood. Those first few nights as the two slept off the exhaustion the month in the wastelands had bought them, she found herself, for the first time, completely trusting of someone. The many false emotions in her head had meant years of not even trusting herself, let alone others. But this new thing, this bond afforded her a security unlike any she'd ever known, and so Rora slept. She slept more deeply than she ever had and ever would again, first sleeping off the more immediate exhaustion of her days in captivity, screaming in a fevered rage, half mindless with fear. She slept until the toxins left her bloodstream, and until her useless fight against the gray shadows was little more than a memory. She slept long days in the desert and longer hours in the forest, and then she slept over two decades of sleepless nights.

She slept deep and fast, singularly aware of only Mori there beside her, asleep in a resounding peace of his own. Sometimes, in her sleep, she rolled away from him, though this never lasted long. Another few moments would find her curled against his side, as if even her subconscious mind could not stand to part from him.

She half woke other times, vaguely aware of other minds around her own, though they were minds that loved Mori and so she didn't care. Sometimes, there were hands on hers, or in her hair, gently soothing in a way so foreign and kind, Rora might have cried, were she more fully awake. If they were a dream, they were the loveliest she'd had in some time.

But for the most part, Rora didn't wake. She could feel Mori there beside her, and that was more than enough.

Though Rora wouldn't know it, Mori was right in thinking his waking and slight movement would send a sudden spark of panic through her. It was only then she began to fight sleep, and she had done little more than offer a plaintive whimper before that soothing blue presence in her head promised it would stay. Rora settled immediately, the tension going out of her body, though the waking process had already begun.

Mori's was, at first, the only presence she felt, and she was more than content to do so, so comfortably happy, she nearly went back to sleep. She could tell what he was thinking, only that his mind was reaching out to others, a combination of joy, wariness, caution, and hope. Rora felt the other two minds there almost instantly, and with the realization, memory came flooding back: the two Aavan who had followed Mori, the last thing she'd seen before falling asleep. As she began to wake, she began to question: how long had she been sleeping? Who were the two Aavan? They sparked no panic in her mind, she could feel only love for Mori, and was not immediately afraid.

But this place was vast and new, and Rora was sure she had never been around so many Aavan in her life.

She opened her eyes.

Unsurprisingly, the first thing she saw was Mori, and felt all the better for it.

The other two Aavan were less reassuring. She sat up slowly, having no intention of hurting these two when she could feel what they meant to Mori. But her hand coiled protectively around his as she watched them warily, half searching for a way out in case they attacked.

 

[Kaisaan]

Mori didn't answer his brother as he sensed Rora waking, his attention immediately shifting to her above all else and he watched her with fondness as her mind started to speed up, to start questioning, taking interest and he smiled softly when she sat up, a flare of amusement flashing through his mind and into her own when she started looking around and he spoke gently. It was in the Cerebrae tongue and his brothers looked absolutely flabbergasted to hear it. They knew he could speak out loud, not that he could speak the alien's tongue. Mori paid them no heed yet, though, his free hand moving to brush her hair back from her face, greatly pleased to see that the deep color of her markings were coming back.

"There's no need to be alarmed, Rora."

His mind filtered more into her then, telling her exactly who Taconos'Vanar and Raskiis'Banuas were. His older brothers by four years, Rask was the first-born and Tac coming after him. His gold-haired brother was a gold-white Aavan with the white Aavan power of water. He was powerful in both power and demeanor and he was temperamental. He was quicker to anger than he was to forgiveness but in most cases his anger was in the protection of those he loved and he was a great believer in justice. He needed to learn some mercy and to think before he acted, but his heart was in the right place. Tac was the complete opposite of his brother. A red Aavan with the power of earth, he was very thoughtful, very prone to listening before he spoke and he was greatly interested in learning. He had a quiet wisdom and often times he was the buffer between Mori and Rask when they didn't see eye-to-eye. He was the diffuser in any situation and if anyone was going to accept Rora first, it was him. You could know that if Tac was angry, there was a damn good reason for it just as you could know that if Rask was still and quiet than something was very wrong.

Such was what Mori gave Rora, simply telling her who his brothers were, both reassurance and a fair warning so that she might not be so surprised by their actions. Above all else, though, he poured his affection and protection into her. No one was going to harm her. He wouldn't let them.

His violet eyes opened after a moment and he realized his forehead was against hers with a slight smile before he pulled back again. "We've been sleeping for nearly a week." he answered without prompt and then looked to his brothers, reopening to them. Tac had not moved from the bed, but in the same way Rask had not moved toward it, both of them looking steadily between their brother and the Cerebra.

"Tac, Rask, this is Aurora Skyfall." And how he knew that didn't even need to be questioned anymore.

Tac looked to the female then and his mind reached for her own, but he then hesitated and looked to Mori. "She does not understand our tongue. Can she form a mind connection with another Aavan?"

"She's a Cerebrae. They can't even comprehend that kind of connection." Rask supplied with a growl and Tac shot his brother a look even as anger ignited inside Mori and his growl rumbled around the room, violet eyes narrowed. "She is not like the others." he snapped back and Rask opened his mouth to speak again, but Tac sent a clear warning for him to shut up and instead the gold-haired Aavan give a shake of his head and he left without another word. Mori growled after him and Tac put his hand on the black Aavan's shoulder. "Just give him time. It's a lot to take in; your return and now your bond to an enemy specie. You must be patient with him, Moridryn. With many of them."

His orange eyes looked back to Rora then and he gave her a smile that was a bit cautious but held a friendly aura about it. "Will you tell her I said 'welcome'?"

Mori finally smiled a bit and he looked to Rora as well, pulling her closer into his side, his chin nuzzling her head in a purely animal-like gesture of care. "Tac welcomes you. And Rask...he is a stubborn ass, but he will come around."

 

[DotCom]

Rora watched the exchange quietly, able only to catch general sentiments, save for Mori, with whom she shared everything but his native tongue. The lighter colored Aavan did not like her. She sensed that immediately, though given what Mori had 'told' her about him, that was unsurprising. She watched him the longest, though it was not out of caution. She was somehow sure he wouldn't hurt her, not if there was a chance of hurting Mori, as well. She was also sure that if she ever did anything to hurt Mori, he would find her out anyway.

She knew then and there that he was her favorite, though she had no doubt her own stubbornness would come to a head first. She smiled cautiously as he left, feeling only a little guilty that she had cut Mori's reunion with his brothers short.

The other, red-skinned, was quiet, gentler, easier to love, and easier loving. He offered a smile, though the caution was plain there, and for that, Rora could not and did not blame him. She offered a smile back, and her right hand was halfway to her shoulder, her left hand extended in the traditional greeting for meeting a new Cerebrae before it occurred to her Cerebrae tradition would mean nothing to a tribe of wild Aavan.

That realization bid her falter for a moment -- a tribe of wild Aavan. She'd never seen one before, and several Cerebrae didn't even believe they existed anymore. All of them able to talk, too, though none like Mori could. She looked at Mori, then his brother, sensing the cautious welcome there, then to the opening through which the one called Rask had fled. She was not nervous, could not be nervous with Mori so close, and she snaked an arm around him, just as eager to be close as he was.

"Tell him...thank you," she said slowly, still watching the red Aavan before her. How unlike Mori he was, in appearance if nothing else! "And as to your other brother...Rask. You said much the same of me once." She smirked and looked up at him. "Besides, he loves you. I can't fault him for that."

 

[Kaisaan]

Mori snorted.

"I can." he growled back, but the irritation wasn't aimed at her, such would she feel, but rather toward his older sibling and Tac, not even entirely sure what they were speaking of, smiled a bit at the irritation coming off his younger sibling, having felt that many times over from both his brothers regarding each other. Such stubborn wills they both had and yet they were very different in how they applied them...and in some ways so very similar. Mori, for instance, would not initiate a fight like Rask, but he'd damn well finish it and both brothers would battle until one or the other was too exhausted to fight back anymore. But they had to reach that point to stop because neither of them was actually going to back down.

Mori would apologize first, though. He didn't actually like conflict and while Rask liked the taste of battle, he didn't like being at odds with Mori either. However, he was far more stubborn and even if he KNEW he was wrong, it would take days, maybe weeks before he'd admit it. In the end the two siblings didn't always agree but they always found some common ground to meet each other with respect.

Tac had no doubt they'd figure this out, too.

In the meantime, he watched the black Aavan and the Cerebra together, noting their actions and a fainter, more secretively amused smile came to his lips as he clearly saw something he knew they did not, something many others would not see yet either. The emotion captured Mori's attention and his brows rose. "What?"

The red Aavan chuckled, but shook his head, orange eyes filled with quiet laughter. "Nothing. Merely remembering your spats with Rask. I trust your next one won't disappoint?" He dodged the pillow Mori grabbed to throw at him with more laughter. Mori's eyes narrowed, knowing full well his brother was keeping something from him, but if there was one thing Tac knew how to do in the midst of telepathic family members, it was keep a secret.

The black Aavan let it go, instead looking back down to Rora. "She says 'thank you'." he supplied and Tac nodded, but looked a concerned kind of thoughtful after a moment. "Moridryn, the Elders are going to want to speak to her. Can she understand nothing of our language?"

A shake of the head and Mori's fingers reached up to card through Rora's dark hair, his mind tinged with worry, the emotion bleeding through the strands that connected the Cerebra and him. His violet eyes met her green then, voice quiet. He wasn't scared that she would be harmed or taken from him, but he'd only ever seen the Elders three times in his life and none of those times had he could away from them liking what they'd said, the information they'd given him. And they were not always patient or kind in the delivery of their wisdom. He knew Rora's mind was fragile enough right now. He could still feel it, was sheltering it as he slowly helped her start cleaning up the pieces, but she wasn't better. He knew that and it would take weeks before they would truly understand everything about each other down to the last breath, the last minuscule thought. He didn't want anything to damage that.

"Tac says the Elders will want to speak to us. They are the oldest Aavan on the planet, the wisest and they make many decisions for the Aavanian species, not just this tribe. They will want to speak to you."

 

[DotCom]

Rora smiled as she watched the brother rejoin as if there hadn't been some six years' separation between them. That she knew the fact without having been told did not occur to her. There was no reason nor time to overthink things here, so she watched, content...until her eyes fell on Tac. She could feel a thought brewing there, indecipherable, faint as the touch of breeze on a still day. She studied him a moment longer, as if be trying to unfold the singular emotion, she could figure out what it was, what it meant...

Mori's words in her language broke her concentration, and the worry she could feel in him made her forget her task. She looked up to him at once, eyes wide and searching, more afraid for him than she was herself. Was his brother coming back, hid disapproval having boiled over? Was Mori himself hurt, still healing from the touch of the shadow creatures? It was not so long ago he had been ill, bitten by the desert-snakes she still felt such hatred for.

"What?" she said, just as he started speaking, and then she had to make herself sit still and listen, confusion slowly overcoming the anxiety. A frown knit her brow.

"Your Elders want to speak to me?" She looked at Tac then back at Mori. "Do they speak like you? How...I don't think I can understand them, and I certainly won't have much to say...unless"

She trailed off, understanding sweeping over her, and she nodded somberly. "They must think me your captor. I don't blame them, I nearly was. After all, a Cerebra in an Aavan village..." She swallowed hard and met his eyes evenly, resigned to pay for Risa's crimes.

"Can they sever the bond, Mori? Even...understanding what I am to you, if they blame me for all that's been done to your people..." She looked out to where Rask had disappeared. "I think your brother may have had the right idea."

 

[Kaisaan]

Her emotions jumped from one extreme to another and it was the first time Mori had been able to feel her thought process, to follow it. If the emotions had not been negative ones, he would have been much more fascinated by it, but as it was his mind immediately wanted to flood into her own completely, to wash away the worry and the guilt, to cover everything...but Mori restrained himself for the moment. He'd done such things as a child. When his mother had been upset or his brother angry, he'd tried to smother the emotions with his own, tried to 'fix' it but that actually did nothing more than suppress the other person. There were ways of doing this, of giving comfort, of guiding negative emotions into positive ones and helping someone find the light again, but it was not done appropriately by forcing those emotions away.

What he'd been doing for Rora in the last week had been shielding her, not suppressing, but even that was not healthy long term. They would both have to deal with their inner demons, but now they wouldn't be dealing with them alone. Right now, though, Mori let Rora's emotions be, let them wash over him without becoming them, letting her have that freedom, but her last question... His mind couldn't stay still any longer and it did flood over the Cerebra then.

It wrapped around her and it didn't push aside the worry, the fear, it comforted it, whispered truths into it until it had to disappear because there was simply no where for it to be. "Rask is rash and he does not understand, therefore, his opinion is invalid at this time." Mori said firmly. "They can not sever it, little rainbow, I promise. To do so would be to kill me. They can not do so." he assured her, his voice filling her head, his hands having come up to her face again, his forehead resting against her own, eyes closed as he tried not to let righteous anger bubble up inside him.

Tac felt it clearly, though, and Rora would too, and the red Aavan rose from the bed with quiet grace and calmly left. He would return soon, perhaps with Anesa as well, but for now he could easily tell when his presence would be best left out of a conversation. There were things here that needed to be smoothed out before anything else happened. Besides, he should find Rask and save any poor, unfortunate Aavan who might have crossed paths with his brother...

"They can not blame you for all the crimes of your people. I will not let them blame you for my captivity. You had nothing to do with it. Risa's actions were not yours, Rora." His violet eyes opened then, stern into her green. "One Aavan does not pay for the crimes of another in my culture. We are all responsible for our own actions and we are judged accordingly by them. You never tortured me. You did not try to kill me. You did not starve me or hurt me. Risa did and the owners before her did. Not you. They can think what they will, but I will show them the truth." It would be a simple matter of opening his mind to them, letting them see his past and they would know.

The Aavan's fingers brushed back through her dark hair, absently noting that she needed a bath and for the mats to be brushed out. Such was not what he cared about right now, though. No, he wanted to soothe her, to make her happy, to mend her torn mind and her broken spirit, to fix all the damage the years had done to her. But he had to have patience. He had his own problems as well and only in time would they become whole in each other.

Mori sighed softly, lifting his head to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. "They can not speak like me. No Aavan can. It is why we never spoke to your people. It is beyond our capability and we do not understand your tongue. Our minds are not adaptable to such things. I am, apparently, very strange in the eyes of the Aavanian race. I will translate for you, Rora. Do not worry."

 

[DotCom]

The presence was different this time, not obliterating or washing away the sudden anxiety, but soothing it, little by little. Rora had become Mori, at least in part. She could see the truth in his words. The Elders could not and would not attempt to separate the bond, and that alone was enough to slow her racing heart. She was confident that she could survive any means of torture, physical, psychological, and anything in between, so long as they didn't break the bond. Those fears, too, were assuaged. The Aavan were a larger race, built for war like the Cerebrae never could be. And yet, for as primitive as the Cerebrae assumed they were, they were gentler, and more peaceful, too. As with Rask, she had nothing to fear unless she tried to hurt Mori, and she would sooner take her own life.

She nodded slowly, only half noticing Tac had gone, and so savoring Mori's closeness all the more. She felt the anger rise in him, and winced at thoughts of Risa -- not out of loss, but out of sympathy for Mori. For weeks she had been feeling only guilt, but she need only remember, only feel what Mori had felt, to begin to believe her actions against her sister had not been in vain. She knew quite abruptly she was easily end anyone who tried to do the same ever again.

"I'm not," she said after a time, and found it to be true. There were many things here she did not understand, many creatures much older and larger and more powerful than she, and many of them with hatred for her people. But she did not fear them. She knew they would not hurt Mori, and was confident that even if they did try to hurt her -- and why should they, if Mori spoke true? -- she could live happily on knowing their bond was whole and true.

"I'm not worried," she said again when she could bear to sit back to look at him. The sight made her smile, and then blush at the smile. She cleared her throat and looked away. "And if it's any consolation, I'm...quite different from my people, too."

 

[Kaisaan]

For all he was in her mind, Mori was actually genuinely puzzled by that reaction from her, that shy, blushing smile and it caused a happy expression to come to his own face, unbidden but welcome. The fact that he didn't understand the reaction didn't bother him. She was happy, calm again and that was what he cared about as the black Aavan gave a chuckle as he leaned forward and his face nuzzled against her cheek without any hesitation at all. Even like this, he had the same mind as he did as the towering scaled creature he could shift into. There was no true distinction between his large form and his small one in Mori's mind, no difference in how he thought, how he acted. Only in some of the things he could do. And nuzzling was something he could do in both forms, so he did.

Such was a way Aavan showed care, fondness, love, all those kinds of emotions and it was something that came naturally to the black Aavan.

He pulled back with a purring sound in his chest, reverberating through her mind as well, something that didn't affect his speech in the least. "I had noticed that." he agreed with her, violet eyes meeting green with curiosity, the blue within Rora's mind seeping deeper, languidly into the recesses of her mind. At this point he was simply exploring a maze, but not yet opening any of the doors along the way. He could have. He could have started to rummage through every memory, every thought, every emotion, but he didn't want to. That would harm her, that would not be out of care and trust and therefore the very thought was appalling to him. No, he had complete and utter access to Rora's mind - and she to his, though, he could feel that she'd not yet tried to delve deeper than she already was and he didn't mind; this was new to her - but he wouldn't make any kind of decisions until he got her permission to do so. Simple as that.

So instead of searching for the answer within her head, he merely exuded patience, acceptance and a possessiveness that was completely fierce and dangerous and not apologetic for being so.

"Do you know why you are? Why you can do what you can?" He wanted to ask much more; how had she gone so long without noticing what she could do? Was it easy to use such power? Was it her power that was trying to drive her insane or some other source? Could she use these powers at will or only when she was stressed in some way?; so many questions that ran through his mind, but Mori tried to focus on the two he'd already spoken of. He knew she'd be aware of the other ones, but hopefully he was keeping a bit of a damper on them.

Maybe. This was pretty new to him, too, for all his experience with mind connections. You only ever got ONE Heart-Bond.

 

[DotCom]

Rora shook her head wordlessly. She was frowning again, though now as if in deep concentration, as though by thought she could figure out the questions that had been plaguing her since Risa's death. She could feel Mori moving about her mind, and was content to let him do so. Perhaps he would see an answer she had not.

"I...don't know," she asnwered after a moment, when rummaging through her own memories proved useless. "I don't know. I've...I was, I am the only Empath that's been born in about 100 cycles, but...even the other Empaths can't do...that other stuff. Only the Telekinetics can -- and not even them, not with the Pushing, and the Dreaming, and not as powerful as me. When I was little, I thought it was just my coloring, but now..."

She looked up at him abruptly, half able to feel, if not to hear his other questions, half buzzing with questions of her own. "Did I hurt anyone here? Do you know? I...when it happens like that, I sort of...go somewhere else. Like the first time, back at Risa's, I was just so angry, so scared she would...that you would..." She trailed off. Perhaps it was the Heart-Bond, or perhaps it was something else, but the thought of Mori dying made her weak down to her toes, and she found she didn't want to linger on it any more than necessary.

She shook her head. "I don't know. I just saw you hurt, and it was like my...my mind turned off. Even back at the villages, I can only see flashes..." She paled suddenly and closed her eyes. "I hope I didn't hurt anyone, I -- "

She looked up at him, somber, almost pleading. "I would never, ever hurt you. But I think...I think I'm very dangerous. Not just to Cerebrae and the deser...uh...trus...cor? Those things that tried to kill you. But anyone. Everyone. If I can't control it, I could..." she trailed off again, once more unwilling to finish the thought.

 

[Kaisaan]

He knew any other Aavan would have been lost at her wording, the way she backed up, changed her sentences mid-way, speaking as she thought with little filter when she was deep in thought or scared, but Mori knew her mannerisms. He understood her speech perfectly well and now that his mind was woven with her own, he understood how she was communicating completely. He didn't need words to feel the cold fear that went through her at the thought of him dying - and the same fear lurked in himself for her sake, he knew - and he shook his head, reaching out to push her hair away from her face. He opened his mouth to speak, but remained silent as she was already moving on and he listened patiently, but that look...

How in the world could anyone turn away from that forlorn, hopeless, pleading look? How could her people not see what he did? How very amazing and gifted she was? How very much she'd needed their acceptance and true care, how she'd needed gentle guidance, no rules and more, and more restrictions until it strangled the beautiful life within her? How could they be so blind?

The black Aavan's heart hurt with a pain that was almost literal as he pulled her into him again, into the security and warmth, care of his embrace. She was in his lap now, her back to his chest, his arms wrapped around her, protective just as his mind was. She was his now, not theirs and he would do what they had never done, had never even tried to do. He would nurture her, protect her. He'd teach her to love the life around her and to see the world with a new set of eyes. He would soothe her when the power became too much and he would bring her back to herself when the darkness drew her away.

He would love her with any kind of love she needed to bloom into the most radiant of flowers; unique and gorgeous, deadly and fierce, but always, always his and always accepted just for who she was.

Mori's temple touched the space above her ear and his lips were near it, voice quiet and deep, rumbled like the very thunder in the sky but so much softer, much of the power within the sound contained in his chest. "You are not what you believe yourself to be, Rora."

It was all he said. It was all he needed to say as his mind seemed to blow like a soft breeze into the very depth of her being, into the core of her mind, her heart, spirit. This was what he'd been looking for so very gently, so very patiently. This place that harbored such vicious lies or such powerful truths. The root of all confidence or all self-loathing. The place the light came from and the breeding ground for the darkness as well. And Mori knew he could not sweep in and simply clean it out of everything bad. No.

But he could breathe a new truth into this part of Rora, plant the smallest of seeds that would glow with a light that would not go out. He gave her one word. Just one to start with. One word to battle that one poisonous hiss he could feel, hear in the very depth of her. Sinitrus. His mind gave it an instant glare when it tried to whisper such to him and such was the force of the anger, the disapproval, the will he leveled against it that it fled from him, not leaving, but knowing where it was not wanted and that was anywhere he was.

No, he had a new word for Rora.

Special.

 

[DotCom]

Even as an Empath, it took her a long time to understand the word, and once she did, her instinct was to recoil. Special? No. No, not special. Never special. Alone, perhaps. Destructive, certainly. Monster and murderer and everything in between.

And yet, when she tried to turn away, he was there, calming, welcoming, patient, in every corner of her mind. Had the darkness ever spread so quickly, so smoothly? Did the darkness even exist any more? Rora was not so foolish as to believe either of them would be healed in a day. But this new thing, the Heart-Bond, was a powerful creature.

She wanted to speak, to tell him thank you, but it was as if everything she'd ever known -- everything that wasn't Mori, at least -- had fled. If someone had asked her her own name right then, she wouldn't have been able to answer. There was only Mori as he was, the knowledge that she would die if he asked it of her. And now he was there, holding her, cradling her close, his breath on her neck, and Rora --

Rora blushed to the very tips of her toes and jumped up so quickly she nearly stumbled. She tried to meet his gaze and found she couldn't, tried to speak, and could not make her tongue obey. For a moment, she was concerned the darkness was back, that this was all a fever dream on the floor of the cavern where she waited while Mori died. Then she remembered his touch and blushed three shades brighter.

There was a different word in her head now, one she could not voice, and one she hoped Mori could not here, if even it was a word. Like as not, more a feeling, one she found both powerfully overwhelming and inexplicably calming. And for the life of her, she could not name it.

"E-elders," she choked when at last her brain remembered how to make sounds from her tongue. "I--you...said...I mean...from before, when..." She tried to look at him again, then found herself turning away once more. Did Aavan not believe in shirts?

Oh, and he was in her head, and...

"I...was just...we ought to...Elders..."

 

[Kaisaan]

It was a very good thing he knew her intentions about the same time Rora herself did because Mori had just enough time to move his head back and release her before she leaped away from him. He might have bit his tongue otherwise because she would have hit his jaw, but as it was, he merely looked at the Cerebra with the oddest mixture of expressions on his face, a combination of amusement, curiosity, confusion and a strange type of knowing that even he wasn't really aware of.

The emotion coming off her...he almost felt like he should know it. It felt familiar in such a strong way and yet it was foreign all at once, but he felt his mind, his heart responding to it, growing warmer, as his entire being was flushing much like her face was and Mori tilted his head, the curiosity, more than anything else, growing.

This was interesting. Was a Heart-Bond supposed to feel this way? It wasn't painful, quite the opposite, in fact. So perhaps it didn't need to be worried about.

That decided in his head, in the deeper parts Rora had not yet tried to reach, to explore like he had her own head, the black Aavan rose from the bed. His body told him that it would like to sleep more, but his mind knew better and his legs put up a token protest before cooperating as he moved to Rora. His hands turned her to face him slowly and like he'd done many times before by this point, he cradled her head and simply pressed a kiss to her forehead once more.

"It's all right, little rainbow. We'll go see the Elders now, after we get you cleaned up." he whispered to her before pulling back again with a smile, completely calm and not in the smug, superior way she'd often thought of him before all this, but rather with a genuine confidence that he radiated into her as well just by being near her, not even really brought on by the connection between them. He knew what he'd done had been a bit overwhelming for her. He could feel that, hear it, see it, but he also knew it hadn't harmed her. But Mori would leave it alone for now and he stepped back from her in time for a presence to make itself known in the doorway.

A very large presence in the form of a red-blue Aavan who peeked her great head into the room almost cautiously. A purely red Aavan stepped past her and even as he walked, Tac shrank down into his more humanoid form and the other Aavan followed, shrinking down into an older woman with long red hair and the same violet eyes Mori sported. She smiled to see her son and Mori's mind flooded with the love he felt for her as he took a step forward and found himself enveloped in her arms. A safety only a mother could grant, an acceptance and memories sank into him as her mind connected to his.

"Mori, my baby. It is so good to see you awake."

She let him go a little and Mori smiled as she nuzzled her cheek against his. "I missed you, mother."

Anesa palmed his face, smiling brightly at him. "I know, but you are home now and that is all that matters." She looked past him then to Rora, studying the Cerebra for a moment as if trying to gauge something before she looked back at her son and gave him a raised brow. The black Aavan came by the facial expression naturally. "Are you not going to introduce me to your mate?"

If there was EVER a time Mori was going to go beet red, it was in that moment and he did. Spectacularly. He gaped at his mother and she merely looked at him with that calm impassiveness only a parent can project. And Tac...well Tac was practically on the floor he was laughing so hard. Mori was finally able to cast his brother a venomous glare and then he looked back to his mother, shaking his head. "She's not my mate! She's...she's my...she's...." Mori struggled for the word that had been so easy to say earlier, but now it seemed to elude him, taunting him as if it knew he didn't need it, shouldn't be using it and Tac finally was able to stand, clear his throat, though he didn't need to and speak.

"Perhaps the word you are looking for is 'bonded'?"

"Oh, shut up, Tac!"

His brother snorted his mirth again and Anesa shook her head fondly at her two sons before she simply moved past Mori and to Rora. Stopping before the Cerebra, Anesa didn't need speech. She simply leaned forward and enveloped the smaller female in a hug that was clearly welcoming.

 

[DotCom]

Rora couldn't describe what she felt at the exchange between the Aavan she knew to be Mori's mother and Mori himself. One moment, she'd been trying to remember how to speak, and the next, she'd been...staring at him, dumbfounded and blissful and trying to ignore the blush creeping up her neck.

And then his mother and Tac were reentering the room, and Rora was walking the line between 'mortified' and 'relieved' as Mori turned his attention elsewhere, and she stood back to watch. For a moment, she simple reveled in the warmth of homecoming, smiling because she knew Mori was happy, and because she could feel the love and affection coming from his mother and Tac both. A soothing balm as compared to the bits she kept getting from the other Aavan.

They stepped back from the embrace, and Rora waited patiently as his mother -- Anesa? -- looked her over, much the way Tac had when they'd first awoken. The older Aavan had eyes exactly the same shade as Mori's, and why that made her blush again she couldn't guess. Perhaps she was just realizing she was meeting Mori's mother covered in weeks' worth of filth and grime. She was just about to put a subconscious hand through her hair when Anesa switched her gaze to Mori and...something happened.

Rora couldn't say what. There was communication, she knew. She could feel Anesa ask an innocent, sincere question. It felt kind enough, but then Mori was bright red, so abruptly, Rora thought he was ill again and took a half step forward before his embarrassment pushed her back. She watched, wide-eyed and half flushed herself as Tac convulsed with silent laughter, and Rora tried to figure out what to say, anything to say, and how to say it.

But Anesa came to the rescue first, simply moving toward Rora. Rora smiled as best she could, expecting another translation from Mori...and receiving the warmest embrace she'd ever known instead.

It was strange, how despite such a severe language barrier, so much could be conveyed through such a simple gesture. Rora could feel the warmth and welcome in the Aavan's embrace, but she doubted very much she needed to be an Empath, or even bonded with Mori to feel it. There was a mother's love there, clean and indescribable, so strong, that for a moment, Rora felt horribly homesick for Sumilah. And then Anesa's compassion overwhelmed even that and Rora found herself returning the embrace with tears in her eyes.

When she stepped back she looked at the older Aavan with a look of mingled love and awe, wanting so much to say something, bothered that she couldn't. What she wouldn't have given to sit with the young mother and simply listen. To stories, reassurances...tales, perhaps, of Mori's childhood...

But that was for later.

She looked at Mori, somewhere between urgent and mortified. "How do I say...I mean, tell her...tell her I said thank you, okay? But...but be nice! Not just thank you, more than thank you. And...uh...her...um...she seems very nice..."

Rora trailed off, fervently hoping all her interactions with Aavan wouldn't be quite so awkward.

 

[Kaisaan]

Rora's own emotions were enough to still the turbulent tossing of his own and he watched her with a small smile forming on his lips, ignoring Tac completely when his brother gave him a nudge in the ribs before moving to lean against the wall, arms crossed as he watched everyone in the cavern. But Mori's eyes were for no one but his Cerebra, though, pleased immensely to feel how his mother affected her. This is what he wanted for her; this love and acceptance, warmth. It was relieving for him to know his mother would provide it for her, that Tac had accepted her. That only left his father and Rask, his sister if he ever found her.... But that was worry for another time.

Right now there was no room for worry and it was a chuckle that exited Mori's mouth at Rora's stuttered, earnest words. A blue wave of affection washed over her mind then as he spoke, smiling softly at her. "Mano širdis girdi savo širdis." were the supplied words and they immediately made Anesa's face brighten in delight as she smiled at Rora and reached out, touching her head gently with a soft nod before she pulled back again and Mori moved to step in beside Rora, explaining the phrase to her.

"It means 'My heart hears your heart'. She is pleased you understand."

The black Aavan gave her a smile of his own, proud of her, before he looked to his mother again. "She needs to be cleaned, but..." It kind of went without saying that there was an issue of gender and privacy and Anesa chuckled, but nodded. "I will help her, Mori." she assured and she reached a hand out for Rora's hand even as Mori place his palm on the Cerebra's lower back, his mind lapping soothingly at her own. "My mother is called Anesa. She wants to take you to bathe. She will not leave you and she'll bring you back to me when you're done. She will keep you safe." he assured.

And Anesa might have not known what was being said, but she knew enough when to offer Rora a gentle smile, her violet eyes a great deal older, gentler, nurturing than even her son's were.

 

[DotCom]

It was only then Rora realized she had not been apart from the other Aavan in over a month. Not since rescuing him from Risa, and killing Risa to do it. There had been a few hours that first week in the forest when he left to hunt and she bathed in the river. Prior to that, there had been a month after first having met him, when she returned to find him near dead.

But outside of that, her world had been Mori, only Mori, even when she still thought she hated him. And now they were to be separated.

She wasn't...afraid quite. She believed him when he spoke, because he was everywhere, and because she trusted him completely. She did not think the Aavan would try to harm her. Nor did she believe she would fall under any harm with Mori's mother -- Anesa, he'd confirmed. But the idea of being away from him...it twisted in her gut, writhing like a venomous snake, like one of those that had tried to take his life.

She smiled at Anesa, but her glance at Mori was not so even.

"Will you be alright?" she asked. "I...what if they're angry at you for bringing me here, what if...the Elders, what if they disapprove? What if something happens, and I can't get to you, and...and..."

It occurred to her she was being irrational, that her worry would only upset him. And it would be lying to say a bath did not sound heavenly. But separation from Mori seemed to high a price to pay. She did not want to have to hurt anyone. But if they tried to hurt him, she would let no one stand in her way.

 

[Kaisaan]

He felt everything she wanted to say, would say even before she said it and by the time Rora was done speaking, Mori had her head in his hands, his forehead to hers in a pose that would become theirs and theirs alone. His eyes had closed, his mind doing the talking for him as he softly shushed her, hushed the fear with a patience that seemed to have no end. He was deeply fond of her, she was his. How could he not have infinite time to soothe every worry she might feel? The blue wrapped around her more securely and in that moment is was obvious how relaxed his mind had been within her own now that he was actively protecting her again, comforting her.

"Rora, shh... Easy, little rainbow."

His fingers moved up into her hair a little even as his mind continued to purr around, within her own. "I will be fine. The Elders hardly scare me and they have disapproved of my actions many times. It does not alarm me and they will not harm me." Mori smiled just slightly then, more felt than seen even as his eyes opened to look into her green, his own actions prompting her to do the same. She was in his head, she would know, even if it was just impressions to her at this point, what his actions were, that he was now looking at her with more than mental eyes.

"Nothing is going to happen to me that you could not get to me." One of his fingers tapped gently against her temple. "You are always with me and I am with you. Distance can not separate us. Do you understand that? My mind will not get weaker because I am farther away and neither will yours, not unless you wish it to be. You have but to call for me, in here" Again he tapped her temple. "and I will come and I know you would do the same."

The smile widened. "But my mother will be with you and she will keep you safe, and Tac isn't going to let me out of his sight, either." He pulled his head back, petting her wild dark hair back gently, smoothing it down before his fingers brushed over the colored marks on her skin. "We will be back together, and much better smelling, before you know it. All right?"

If she truly said she wasn't - or even if she said she was and didn't mean it - he would change his mind. He would come with her and keep his eyes shut the entire time if he had to. He would do anything and everything to make her happy, to keep her from being afraid.

 

[DotCom]

She studied his face for a long time after he finished speaking. Not because she wanted to refuse, and not be she didn't believe him. She didn't, and she did. But because that strange, indecipherable feeling had returned. A combination of not just wanting to be near to him, but needing to be near, coupled with a desire to laugh at absolutely nothing, and be everywhere and nowhere at once. She ought to have been embarrassed, or at least just curious, but for the life of her, she'd forgotten how to think as she stared up into his eyes.

"Okay," she said almost breathlessly, nodding slowly, because she knew he was waiting for an answer, even if she didn't have to speak it. Then again, "Okay. Yes. I...of course."

Then she remembered there were two other people in the room and backed away, now embarrassed. She was being foolish, she knew, allowing every small concern to overwhelm her. Perhaps she was only tired, still overcoming the effects of the toxin in her system, or her month in the wastelands. Or perhaps Mori just made her foolish, to where she forgot to think and reason like a person, and could only imagine great, sweeping moments of possessive behavior.

She smiled apologetically, then turned to go off with Anesa, the idea of a bath suddenly all the more appealing. She'd taken about to steps before stopping abruptly, considering something, and then swearing under her breath in resignation.

It happened quickly after that -- pivot, step, up on her toes, a quick, light peck on Mori's cheek, where soft, glistening scales caught the light like tiny, black diamonds. Then away again, blushing furiously, Anesa's hand curled around her own, nearly pulling the poor woman behind her, despite having less than no idea of where she was going.

 

[Kaisaan]

He'd been smiling after her, not at all worried by her behavior. When they got some time alone again, he would explain to her that such a thing was normal. Young Aavan experienced it when they first began to make connections outside their families, usually with friends or a guardian, someone who taught them. It was natural to feel like you were floating, like your emotions were all over the place, like your could hardly think, could only react, like the person you were connected to was was the only thing grounding you to any type of reality. And yet, you weren't scared. You were safe and you trusted this person, you knew nothing was wrong.

It was a strange feeling and one that would pass with time. Rora would become more stable, more confident in this bond and whether she realized it yet or not, she would soon be just as deeply inside his mind as he was hers. Mori had just known what to do sooner so she would feel more like the 'child' in this circumstance. Whenever she was ready, though, his own consciousness would let her move forward within his own head. But it was her decision.

And he wouldn't rush it.

This was new to her, he knew and so her reactions were purely endearing to him.

And then they were startling. He was the only one who sensed her sudden mental battle with herself, who understood the curse she uttered and then he was the one who felt her lips upon his face. Wide violet eyes looked after her in complete, sincere surprise long after she'd disappeared from sight and then the black Aavan felt a warmth spread through him, a happiness that made even his feet tingle and sent his mind abuzz. He didn't know what this new emotion was, but it was back, strong and Mori felt his face redden again in a reaction he knew shouldn't have happened.

He couldn't help it.

"And you say she's *not* your mate?"

Tac's teasing voice shook Mori out of his trance and he reached out and gave his brother a shove. "Shut up." It was a more a grumble than anything and the red Aavan laughed and swung an arm around his shoulder. "Oh, come on, my love-struck little black. About time we reintroduced you to soap."

Mori wrinkled his nose and gave a whine of protest, trying to wriggle out of his older brother's hold but while they both stumbled and swayed here and there as they went down the tunnels, wrestling in all truth, the black Aavan couldn't get away and Tac couldn't stop laughing.

It felt to Mori in that moment like he'd never left and in his heart, he was happy.

---

Well. She'd not expected that!

Anesa found herself laughing inwardly at the look she'd seen on her son's face and she took a more speculative study of the younger female now following at her side, her face still seeming slightly flushed with her embarrassment. Perhaps her innocent question had some merit after all despite what Mori said. Perhaps they were mates and the two young ones just didn't yet realize it. Like it or not - and she didn't - Anesa knew Mori had left in a crucial stage of his development. Yes, at twenty he'd been an adult, long past puberty, but he'd been coming into the point of his life where Aavan learned what it was like to long for a mate.

They discovered how courting rituals worked and were taught through explanations by older mated Aavan how the bond felt when you met the one you were supposed to be with. How it happened fast and sudden, but how that wasn't a bad thing, natural even.

Mori had learned none of it and if Anesa were to guess, she'd wager it hadn't been on his mind at all for the last six years. And now this Cerebra had come along, had created a Heart-Bond with her son...but she'd seen two or three Heart-Bonds in her life. One between brothers, another between a young Aavan and an older one and the last had been purely between friends who were mated to another the both of them. Those bonds had been different, felt different than this one did and Anesa did not think it had anything to do with the fact that Rora was of a different species.

Of course, she could not tell the other female what it was, but it still made Anesa smile as she led Rora into a new cavern that was, quite frankly, huge. Steam rose up in the air, the hot spring - a lake more like, fit for an Aavan in full form - creating a warm environment. Anesa pointed to it and then nodded at Rora. She could use it if she wished.

The red Aavan let go of the Cerebra's hand, holding up her own hand in a gesture to both stay and saying she'd be one moment as she moved to a cabinet against the wall and pulled out a large towel, a soft thing that she showed Rora with a reassuring smile. There would be something to dry her, cover her when she was done. Now for clothes....Anesa had to think more about that one...