Strength in Differences

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Her touch helped the panic reside back down into the depth of his being and Nik carefully used the sand to cover the vomit, moving back away from it a bit and Kaulu following. He kept his arm around his stomach, knowing it would be touch and go for a few minutes whether it would rebel again or not. He finally looked to Kaulu and nothing came to Nik's tongue. She already knew. He couldn't tell her anything he'd not before. He couldn't think of anything and therefore he didn't try. His body simply moved, pulling her own into an embrace.

He buried his face into the crook of her neck, his entire frame shivering as if plagued by a harsh winter gale and he clung to her. He wasn't crying, didn't feel like he could, but the emotions to were there and right now he just needed her. He needed something to stabilize him as the world felt like it was spinning out of control. He knew it would only get worse as the time to leave approached and Nik didn't WANT to feel that way. It wasn't fair. He wanted to cling to the happiness he'd found here until the last minute.

But fear and memories and dread had other ideas and he didn't entirely know how to fight them.
 
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They moved away from the contents of Nik's stomach silently. No one said anything for a few moments before Kaulu felt herself being pulled into his arms. She held him close and tight, arms securing around his slim back as she felt him trembling. He wasn't crying, she couldn't feel any wet droplets on her shoulder, but that didn't mean he couldn't start at any moment, that he wasn't suffering horribly.

One hand threaded gently through his white hair and the other rubbed his back soothingly. She was the first to speak but in her own language, voice as much as a pleasant caress as her hands were. "It'll be all right... it'll be okay." Of course there was no telling these words were true... but they needed to be said. It broke her own heart seeing her husband like this, to be so afraid of going back to the people he should be excited as all the heavens to see.
 
Nik didn't understand what she'd said, but he didn't have to. He knew her comfort by this point, understood the touch and the tone, and he simply let himself sink into it, holding on to his wife tightly. He didn't want to take her into this. He didn't want her to know what his life was like, never wanted her to experience even the tiniest fraction of it. But he couldn't stop this and it made him sick to know that.

He didn't leave Kaulu's embrace for a while.

---

The next five days were a roller coaster for Nik. The Chaktawe were determined to make these days happy ones for the couple before they left and Nik did feel happiness in small doses, intermittently and during those times he was able to nearly forget everything all over again, to smile and laugh....and then something would remind him and he'd feel like he was falling, clawing at the walls trying to stop his descent and failing completely. He knew it wasn't helping Kaulu's confidence at all and he felt guilty for that and even more so for the times he woke her at night, the nightmares having returned.

At one point he'd offered to sleep on the ground again, to spare her his restlessness and the times when he gasped awake, disoriented and scared enough that he'd scrambled away from her twice...in the same night. But his wife had firmly told him no and he'd stayed in the bed with her, knowing that if he hadn't been close to her he probably would have been screaming in the night or not sleeping at all.

When the day came to leave, Nik had merely reverted to quiet unless he was spoken to...and he was spoken to by many who wanted to bid Kaulu and him a goodbye. It served to remind him of all the connections he'd made among the Chaktawe...and how much he was going to miss them. Finally the Royal Family were the last ones left and Nik stood beside Diamond, watching as Kaulu said her farewells.
 
Five days passed and the end of the week was now here. During those five days, everybody was set on making them the happiest days they could be. Kaulu felt more happiness than Nik did, glad her people took such care in making them happy. But she always had that itch in the back of her mind... the itch that made her nerves unsettle.

It was worse at night. Emotions of happiness often disappeared and Nik's nightmares had plagued his mind once again. All feelings of peace had fled to be replaced with unbelievable fear, and Kaulu had dealt with this most of those five nights. Her husband woke up in a start, frightened and completely disoriented to where he wouldn't recognize the woman beside him, reaching out and trying to calm his spirit. When he regained his consciousness, he wanted to sleep on the floor but she had firmly told him no. That wouldn't help anybody, not Nik, not Kaulu. So he would stay in bed with her.

The day to leave had finally made its way to them and too many farewells to count had been made. But now it was just her family and each of them hugged Kaulu like there was no tomorrow. Which, in a way, there wasn't. Not with their beloved daughter and sister.

She almost cried but bit back the tears, knowing that she would be back with her family soon enough.

"Nik!" Iko called, running to his side as she tackled him lightly in a bear hug. "You didn't think you could leave without giving me a hug, now did you?" she asked, smiling as she looked up at him.

"Yes, we would like a hug or two from you as well, Niklomaus," Chenoa chimed in, striding closer with her husband in tow. Kaulu smiled slightly as she stood by.
 
Nik made an 'oof' sound as Iko made impact, but his arms came around her naturally, without hesitation, something he would have done just four months ago. He chuckled softly, surprised he was able to do so, but grateful for it as he gave her a gentle squeeze and a smile back. "Of course I didn't. I simply wanted to test your patience." he teased back fondly before placing a chaste kiss to her forehead and pulling her close again before releasing her. "Be good and do go easy on that crush of yours. The poor boy doesn't quite know what he's gotten himself into yet."

His pale blue eyes went to Chenoa and Ha'upu then, a bit startled by their words but accepting. He hugged his mother-in-law easily enough, smiling at her when he pulled back, knowing he was going to miss her warmth and acceptance. He'd not had a mother growing up and he'd always wondered what his own would have been like had he known her. It was easy to imagine she'd have been like Kaulu's.

Nik admittedly hesitate for a fraction of a second before embracing Ha'upu. The male Chaktawe had been nothing but kind to him, but Nik's experience with male figures had not been good ones. Women were rather neutral to him, but men...that was another story. But still he hugged Kaulu's father and when they departed from each other, Nik looked to both monarchs and he gave them a bow of respect unique to his own people, something they never gave outsiders. But Nik didn't consider them outsiders. They were family now.

"I will bring your daughter back to you. You have my word."

He smiled a bit sadly then. "I will miss you all. Thank you for welcoming me, for helping me belong."
 
Iko only responded with a roll of her eyes, though she did smile and continue to hug him. She closed her eyes briefly at the kiss to her forehead and her mouth gaped at Nik's next words, his tease about her crush. She nudged him playfully and laughed a bit before releasing him and turning towards her parents. She watched him go to them.

Chenoa hugged him with full acceptance, even giving a small kiss to the top of his head as he pulled away. Cha'upu hugged Nik in the same way. Both hugs from the elder Chaktawe were filled with how much they welcomed Nik in their home, how fondly the two had thought of him. They were greatly fond of him, in fact. They were grateful for the man he was. They appreciated everything he had done for both them and their people, how he was willing to learn and how well he treated not just the city folk, but their very own daughter.

"I know, Nik. I have my trust in you," Cha'upu said, a small smile curving his lips.

"We'll miss you, too. Come back soon, okay?" Japikoa said, coming up to his side now and touching his elbow gently before smiling moving to the side of her parents. "You're are always welcomed here," Chenoa chimed in.

Kaulu smiled and returned to her husband's side. Jahidi entered the courtyard then. He had been asked to join them in their travels. It was with his arrival that they knew they needed to be on their way in order to cover good ground.
 
Nik had only nodded to Japi, feeling the threat of tears in his eyes at their words, happy tears for once, but he held them back, smiling a bit before he looked down to Kaulu and then to Jahidi. A sigh escaped him. It was time to go. And he still really, really didn't want to. Still, Nik mounted his mare and once the two Chaktawe had done so as well, he led them out of the courtyard and into the city. They were waved off then by many people and soon enough they were in the desert. Three days of their travel would be in the sands, but by the end of the third day they'd hit the treeline of a forest, the place most battles between their two peoples had been fought.

Two days travel there would take them to the rolling hills and plains of the Sidhe people and from there they'd travel another day or two - depending on which place they were to enter the earth - before they'd find the secret paths underground to the Sidhe city. Nik would only start leading them when they got into the forest.

----

Such a day came far too soon and all three found themselves looking up at the forest, the sands ending rather abruptly and the temperature already cooler this near his own homeland. Nik wasn't sure if either Jahidi or Kaulu had seen this forest before - he hadn't thought to ask if they'd fought in the war between their peoples - but he gave them a moment to look at it before urging Diamond forward, the mare seeming to perk up considerably at the smell of vegetation and the promise of less sunlight beating down upon her.

Nik shushed her gently, looking around at the trees, realizing he'd actually missed them after four months. His fingers reached out as he passed one, touching the bark with a faint smile and he wished they could just stop here, not go any further, but he knew they couldn't. They were just that much closer to the Sidhe and Nik tried not to think about it. Instead he listened carefully, searching for something, not quite sure how close they'd be to it, but hoping.

Sure enough, about twenty minutes later he heard what he'd wanted to find and Nik looked back to the two Chaktawe. "Anyone care for a bath?" The sound of running water, a river, could clearly be heard.
 
"Ah," Jahidi snorted, already moving his horse towards the direction of the running water. "Greatly." Once they all had come to the river, he quickly slipped off his tan horse that could blend in with the desert sand. He moved towards the river with dramatic need and Kaulu chuckled, directing her horse near the river and dismounting, trusting it to freely roam as it pleased. It wasn't often a horse of the great desert came upon such a treat. Not even a Chaktawe had this great pleasure very often.

Kaulu glanced to Nik then before walking to the river bank, dipping her toes in the water and almost pulling back. She grinned, looking back to her husband then. "The water is so much cooler than the river in the desert," she explained before looking back and pressing her foot deeper into the pools. Jahidi was undressing in the meantime. He would have jumped in with his clothes on, but... that wouldn't have been very smart, now would it? And he was too excited with the water to think about only getting a rag and washing. No, he wanted to be in the water. And there wasn't any holding him back, really.

She would only stay in this spot for a few more seconds before she pulled back, looking to Nik as she ignored the almost naked Jahidi behind her.
 
Nik couldn't help but smile at Jahidi's eager reverence of the river and he looked to Kaulu when she spoke, nodding his understanding as he slipped off Diamond and sent the mare away to graze and drink as she wished. They'd gone far enough and slowly enough from the heat that he wasn't worried about her growing colicky if she took a bellyful of the cool river. He approached his wife then and reached out, touching her cheek gently, briefly before he looked back to the water. If there was one thing that the Sidhe had plenty of, it was this.

His pale eyes flickered back to her black. "You should feel it in the winter. It freezes over with ice and swimming even for a few minutes will stop your heart and still your blood."

"You are full of such joyful information, Nik." Jahidi chimed from the water and Nik raised a brow, but shook his head before he started to pull his own shirt off, more than ready for a proper bath, too. Once again his complexion didn't hide nearly as much dirt as the Chaktawe's did. He stripped down to the same amount of clothing Jahidi had on, not concerned about Kaulu at this point. No, she'd never seen him except without a shirt and even those times it was because he was injured, but that hardly registered to him at this point as he entered the water with nary a flinch, more than used to the coolness even after four months in the desert.

"Think about it, Jahidi. I came to your people at the end of summer. Autumn has passed and now we are coming into winter. You don't know these lands nor the cold. Better I warn you now."

The other male paused and frowned, looking a bit more cautious about the information. "It can really kill you that fast?"

Nik smiled, a grim, confident and yet teasing glint to his eyes. It was clear he was a bit unstable in his emotions right now, but he was trying to be lighthearted...sort of. "Quicker if you don't know what to do to last longer."
 
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Kaulu smiled faintly at the touch, gazing at his features as he looked out to the water. When he looked back to her and spoke about the winter waters, she looked to the river and then Jahidi. She laughed a bit at his chime before taking this time to remove her pants and over shirt as well. She bared more than any of the men had probably seen but not essentially too revealing.

She followed Nik in the water soon after and watched the two men converse, a smile showing how she was amused as her body slowly accustomed to and welcomed the cold water.

"And what is that?" Jahidi asked. Better to know and learn now, yes? Better safe than sorry.
 
Nik wasn't oblivious to Kaulu's lack of attire, the amount of skin she was showing, the curves of her body and he looked away quickly as a heated blush stained his cheeks and he went under the water quickly, knowing he could use the excuse of having to get the dirt out of his hair if he needed to. He was better when he came up, but tried to avoid looking at her directly this time, surprised by his own reaction to her and not sure if it was all right or not.

It wasn't like he could ask either, so he focused rather on Jahidi's question, looking down at said water and letting it run through his fingertips, letting its voice greet him, whisper ancient words he didn't know, but found soothing anyway. Water was always soothing to him. "Remain calm and tread water. The worst part about falling through the ice is that people tend to panic. Keeping calm and keeping your head above water while you attempt to breathe normally is the most important part. If you have fall right through and go under the water, you might feel like you're dreaming, but you're not. It's just the shock of the cold."

The Sidhe almost spoke like he had some personal experience in the matter, a slightly remembering look in his eyes. "It's important to find the direction from which you came because that ice has already shown the ability to hold your weight. Make your way to the edge of that ice slowly and pull yourself up as far as you can. If you can get your torso all the way out, lay it on the ice then that's good because you can generally pull yourself out and roll away from the hole." He swirled his finger slowly over the current, watching as the top part of the river, just a small section of it started to push back against itself, creating foamy white bubble and waves. "If you can't get out you'll lose heat much faster, but drowning isn't what you're in danger from; hypothermia is."

Nik paused and Jahidi, eyes a bit wide, spoke up almost hesitantly, as if he didn't actually want to know that answer to the question. He hadn't seen the water trick yet, too busy staring at the Sidhe as if he'd grown a second head. "So..what do you do if you can't get out?"

"If you can't get out, try getting your arms, hair or clothing to freeze to the ice. This makes it possible to lose consciousness and still not slip under. The longer you can stay lucid, the better your chances that someone will hear you, but you have to keep awake and keep calling out. If you can't escape the water on your own after about five minutes, you won't be able to. It will sap your strength and struggling further will hasten the process. That's why it's important to stay calm."

Jahidi nodded slowly, looking at the water and then back to Nik, acting for all the world like the water was going to instantly freeze on him right now. "So..what you're saying is that water is evil where you come from?"

Nik snorted. "Something like that."
 
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Kaulu listened to Nik as Jahidi did. She knew this was good information to learn and stick in her head; she had no plans of falling through the freezing water but if it so happened, at least she would have the best advice to remember. After watching the two for awhile, though, her eyes were trapped to the attention of the surrounding forestry. All of her life - with few exceptions - she had only seen sand. Mounds of sand. Dunes of sand. Sand beneath her feet and in between her toes, sand traveling with the wind and making a stop on her flesh or in her hair. Most often she welcomed it, but there were times when she didn't like the harsh way it irritated the buildings or her own body, the way it liked to blanket everything in its path. But, such was life, and through her years she learned to accept these unique desert storms and know that it was only the way of the earth.

But now she would be living in such a lush land, with rich green grass and water below her and tall, strong trees stacking above her. No - not even that. She would be underground, far below the earth where the Sidhe resided. She wondered what it was like. From how high the Sidhe held themselves, she imagined their underground cities to be, well, grand. Maybe majestic or mystical or something of the sort. Or maybe it would be similar to her home; a bit simple but still lovely. At least in most people's eyes.

At Niklomaus's snort, she pulled her eyes from their new environment and back to the two men. "Don't worry, Jahidi. You will at least manage yourself to get stuck to the ice and then Nik and I will come to your rescue," she teased. Jahidi moved his arms to splash her but after a quick giggle, she dove underwater to just barely miss the splash.

"Da** woman," he muttered, though there was a smile hinting on his lips.
 
Nik chuckled a bit as he watched his wife disappear under the water and then worked on getting the sand from his skin, dunking his head under again to scrub vigorously at the dirt in his hair before coming back up and shaking it out like a dog might. It was rather nice to be able to use this much water again, freely and he'd admit that was one thing he'd missed from his homeland. The trees were another and for a moment he simply listened to the wind rustling through the leaves, a sound as sweet as any desert melody. The hills and grass and sky sang songs here, too. Different songs than the desert, but just as ancient, just as important.

And the wind ranged here as freely as it did over the sand...though, it hadn't been very vocal as of late, not since that one day at the red rock hills. The warning given to them had gone very dormant in everyone's mind, though not forgotten and Nik had to wonder when it might rise again, what it meant. He wished he knew as every so often, for a few minutes at a time he got that feeling of danger, of dread that curled through him like poison before departing again. He couldn't make sense of it, though.

And right now the Sidhe had enough to worry about with his family. It wouldn't be long before they'd be with his people and that thought was enough to make Nik feel sick right now, something he breathed carefully against as he forced his attention back to the water and the people with him. No. There would come a time when he couldn't push the fear away, but it wasn't here yet.

He sank back into the water and looked around for Kaulu, noting that she was under the water. With a faint smile he dove under as well and very quickly grabbed her ankle, grinning when she looked back at him before he turned right around, quick as an otter and started to swim away, inviting a game of tag.
 
Kaulu took advantage of his as she ran her fingers through her hair, getting out as much dirt as possible before she felt a tug around her ankle. She looked down and behind her, spotting Nik grinning at her. Her own lips curved into her own grin right as he turned around and began swimming away. She immediately started chasing after him, though she could admit that he was an excellent swimmer. But she wasn't so bad herself, for the webbing in between her toes helped not only with sticking above the sinking grains, but also flow or push against the currents of water.

Jahidi in the meantime left the two alone to whatever they were doing underwater - frankly, he didn't want to know - and continued to wash his sturdy physique. That is, only until Kauluwehi had tagged her husband and swam from him, hiding behind the other male warrior but quick enough to move away just in case he decided to join in the fun. But for now she used him as a barrier between her and the Sidhe, grinning as she peered from out of Jahidi's legs and to Nik.
 
When she managed to tag him, Nik came up for air with a laugh and looked around for her with mirthful pale eyes. He caught sight of her behind Jahidi and gave her a look. "Oh, that's not fair." he complained lightly before he ducked back underwater, missing entirely Jahidi's words to them both. "Really? Don't use me as your shield! I'm not getting involved with this!" And yet, he didn't move, laughing at them both, but rather glad to see his Princess relaxed despite being in a new land and the Sidhe loosening up. He wasn't sure why Nik was so on edge going back to his people, but it worried him.

Nik for his part was plotting. He'd not gone for Kaulu yet, knowing that they could chase each other around the Chaktawe male for a while and not get anywhere. No, instead he was fully intending to be a bit devious and a bit of a cheater, but all in good fun.

It came to him quite suddenly, this idea and with a grin, the Sidhe let his eyes start to glow, water starting to be pulled away from the two standing in the current, not enough to dry up that part of the river, but enough to stop the current, something Jahidi noted immediately as he looked back at Kaulu. "Uh, Princess-"

He never got to finish as the water suddenly developed into a wave that went crashing against the two, more then enough to sweep them off their feet, but not carry them away.
 
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"Oh, quiet, Jahidi!" Kaulu called to him, though her tone was light and cheerful before they all continued to laugh together. Nik still hadn't gotten to her after a few tries and she looked at him directly, lower lip being bitten as she waited for his strike. Her jet eyes were fierce with the excitement and fun, but just as joyful as her laugh. That changed as soon as she caught sight of Nik's eyes glowing. She stood straight.

"Cheater!" Kaulu laughed, hearing Jahidi's words in the background as she suddenly pounced on the man, holding onto him as the wave crashed against them and swept them under. Their laughter was drowned with the rest of their bodies and Kaulu appeared out of the water first, Jahidi only moments later, and she wiped the water from her eyes before searching for the devious player.

"Using your powers... tsk, tsk." But it was only a tease, and obviously so with the grin gracing the woman's face. Jahidi, on the other hand, was laughing as he wiped the water from his own face.
 
Nik grinned. Outright grinned, completely unrepentant as he shrugged and Jahidi gave him a narrow-eyed look that wasn't hostile in the least. "How did you do that? I thought you only controlled fire!" Sure, he spoke to the wind and the earth, but that hadn't been controlling. The male Chaktawe was a bit confused and more than a little curious now to know that their were things about Nik, in plain sight, that he'd not caught on to.

The Sidhe shook his head, wet hair dripping. "I can control all of them, Jahidi. Some more proficiently than others."

The other male's jaw dropped and Nik snorted. "You can't catch fish that way." he advised cheekily and Jahidi clamped his mouth shut, still pondering over what Nik had said he could do as the Sidhe in question approached Kaulu, the grin back. "You cheated first." he pointed out, giving her dark hair a gentle pull in affection.
 
Kaulu giggled at Nik's cheeky comment and gave Jahidi a friendly and reassuring pat on the back. When Nik approached her, she turned towards him and raised an eyebrow, hands on her hips following. "I cheated first?" she asked, looking up at towering male. She glanced back towards Jahidi then, eyes traveling over him briefly before she shrugged and looked back to her husband. "I wasn't cheating. I was merely using my... surroundings..." the volume of her voice trailed off at the last word because, well... that was exactly what Nik had done and they both knew it.

She smiled and shook her head, hands falling from her hips as she nudged him playfully and a bit affectionately. She was about to suggest for them to start to dry off and leave, but she thought better of it. She didn't want to be the one to ruin the fun, to hurry them back to the awful Sidhe Royal Family, so she didn't. She just simply sunk back underneath the water and enjoyed the muted sounds around her.
 
Nik liked that he'd won the argument and he joined Kaulu back in the water for a time. The three of them played, spoke of nothing of importance and relaxed for an hour or two more before they all knew they had to go. After dressing in clean clothes and eating, they were off again, still somewhat relaxed and jovial, though.

The next three days were ones of up and downs, but they kept traveling, found things to laugh about, things to smile about and Nik kept his mind busy by explaining the land around them, its history and many of the species that called it home. They'd come to the rolling plains the day before and now Nik knew they were nearing his people. Upon exiting the forest they'd come to a rock formation that had contained a message scroll in a hollow in the stone, telling them where they were to enter the underground. It was closer than the two day journey Nik had been hoping for and it was clear they'd be coming to the Sidhe today.

And it was clear what that knowledge was doing to Nik as he grew quieter and less engaged the further into the hills they rode, the mounds starting to grow in height. They'd find a wide cave somewhere in these labyrinth of hills and the halfbreed would have given anything to not know exactly where it was located. Mist had shrouded the land around them, enough to make anyone get lost for days at a time in this place before they found their way out - if they did - but Nik led them true.

The atmosphere was not lost on Jahidi and as they grew closer to their destination, he leaned over slightly in his saddle and spoke to Kaulu, concern in his face. "Kauluwehi, what troubles him? Should he not be happy to see his people?"
 
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Although Kaulu wished for all of them to stay in near the river, to not have to continue with their journey, she knew that the longer they took, the more suffering Nik could go through and that was the last thing she wanted happening to him.

They traveled for three more days. Nik had done a good job with distracting himself by basically touring his wife and companion; he explained their environment, its history and its inhabitants. It was good to learn, it was, but soon even Nik's voice lessened and he withdrew from engagement. And it was only because they were becoming closer to the Sidhe, everybody dreading it but the halfbreed the most.

And Jahidi noticed this just as well as Kaulu. He just didn't know why, and that was a slight problem.

"There are many things you do not know about him, Jahidi. Things that are not in my right to explain." She glanced to the Chacktawe male. "But please, if anyone asks you if you've noticed anything strange about him, tell them no. Tell them that he's been the best man possible for me, that he was the best to uphold the treaty. Whatever you feel is right, but do not mention his powers or anything of the sort." Her tone and eyes were stern, but Jahidi could easily see the fear and concern held in her eyes.
 
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