家に帰して

` ` take me home ` `

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@Kei @Kyo


home.

a foreign concept. or so he had considered it.

he had left his home, many years ago. only a boy, raised to kill. but for what cause other than to appease a father he did not consider his own? they were blood, maybe. but blood did not ensure the bonds that it tried to demand.

here, in a new place, he woke. trees danced to peaceful rhythm. he could not hear it, but he would dance along too if he could the air carried new, crisp voices he had not before heard. and there ahead in the mountains. what awaited, he wondered?

first steps were always strange, especially in an unknown place. but how else would he learn?

if anyone lingered, he would find them.

if they challenged him, he would fight. but he would not kill. a testament to his will and own self discipline, despite what he'd been taught.

if they bid him leave, he would respect it. a wolf's claim was their sanctuary. their privacy was their right. who was he, an outsider, to ignore it?

but if they welcomed him. did he have an answer to this one?

well... only one way to find out.
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 rothskel ruled with an iron fist—necessary, if you thought hard about it. they had enough enemies targeting them, that even the softest of kingdoms that bent the knee under their wing had to be cautious.

 kyo? kyo only gave a shit if you’re a dick, and came in guns blazing. their little home, too, only has so many flags stationed around stating their interest.

 so when another ends up portaled here, called by their gates, the beast barely blinks an eye. whatever is going on here, people were called to the key. he carries himself casual, but obvious in his mark of familiarity with the place.

 “yo,” he greets. “you just wake up?”

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"yo"

a voice. then a body.

he blinks, stunned in place. a statue, almost. but only for a moment, as he regards the man.

“yes,” he finally answers, coming out of his sudden stupor. the other was clearly not in the same predicament as him. he had been awake for a while. by his scent alone, it was obvious that he had been here for some time.

“this place... what is it?” a question he had wanted answered since the moment his eyes had opened. it was beautiful, truly. but that beauty intimidated him in a way he could not explain.
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 a jungle, rests on the tip of his tongue.

 “niawaki key,” he settles for. it’s refreshing to get a basic question instead of accusations for the first time since he’d woken here, and dealt with another wolf who’s done the same. “my home.” the Wayfarer puffs with this quiet confession; the more he says it, the more he starts to believe it.

 “woke up here myself a while ago.” kyo settles down on his haunches, casting a sweeping gaze over the terrain around them. the trees, the roar of the ocean, the falls. his.

 after a beat, he offers another question: “you alright?”

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home.

this man had a home. something he lacked. it was disappointing. almost. it had been a well enough time. wandering. learning.

but maybe this was where his journey ended.

“it seems a good place to call home,” he admitted with a nod. a gesture approval. though, the other didn't need it. the sentiment was given anyway.

“well enough,” he answers, a quiet chuckle following. though, his expression speaks for his exhaustion where his voice would not. “who ever thought waking could be tiresome? my feet feel as though they have been moving for ages. but maybe i am just getting old.” not quite so. but it sure felt like it.
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 pride swells in his chest; not that he needs anyone’s approval, it feels nice nonetheless. some stranger is envious of his home. his first ever true one, at that. is he an ass for being smug about it? probably. he gets to dangle the steak in front of the hungry masses now.

 “thanks.” tail thumps next to him.

 “don’t say shit like that though, man. you don’t look much older than i am, and i’m not ready to be ‘old’.” kyo’s face scrunches, cringing a little at the thought. he’s barely begun. he never imagined growing old though; always thought he’d die before his second birthday in the pit.

 he shifts his eyes back to the guy: “guess you could rest a day with us, if you want?” unless he was somehow prepared for this plot twist and already had plans.

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first had come a chuckle for his joke, yet now he gave a booming laugh. “maybe not yet. but soon enough, we'll both be right there with each other.” as sad as it was.

with us? so there were more?

he gave a light shrug in a muted attempt of a reply. “if i'm not a bother. could use a good break.” the question of who else was here lingered on the end of his tongue. but the query held to the confines of his nosey mind.
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 the guy laughs like a clap of thunder—quiet, a teasing hint, before it grew into something so much more. kyo can appreciate the casual vibe. why are guys usually so much easier than women?

 he smirks at his guffaw.

 “you hittin’ on me already, old man? we just met.” kyo never resists the opportunity to poke fun at people wishing to be around him. the opposite effect is what’d been a norm for him.

 “wouldn’t’ve offered if it’d be a bother. just don’t expect us to lug you around or treat you like royalty,” he pauses, and because he’s got less of a filter than the stranger, asks; “what’re you needin’ a break from?”

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his lip tugs upward in a grin. letting the tease fall so easily on his shoulders didn't bother him as much. this was probably the first interaction with another man that he hadn't felt the need to be so uptight. it was a refreshing change. “so what if I am?” he quips, snorting in amusement.

“if you ever tried to treat me like anything short of that, I'd lay you out on your ass.” and he would. may be a struggle, with how close in size they were. but damn, he'd sure try.

“been on my own since a little over a year. traveling is fun, but it's grown tiring. the clan I come from isn't so... easy... on the young ones.” a nice way of putting it, to say the least. “mostly the males, anyway. just need a chance to feel like me again. not the way they wanted me to be.” but did he understand?
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 instead of the typical sputter or denial, this guy just rolls with the punches kyo tosses his way.

 “i’d tell you you’ve got shit taste, but i guess i’m flattered.” it’s his turn to do the chuckle routine. kyo is far from a looker; body riddled in scars that couldn’t be seen underneath his fur, and a face that only a mother could love… in theory.

 “you leave my ass out of this.” the Wayfarer nudges the shoulder closest to the guy at him. “i’d like to see you try.” it’d been awhile since he had a spar. not since windwalker died. maybe he’ll be able to convince this guy before he’s onto his next adventure.

 the answer he gets to his question sounds familiar enough that it makes him tense in his seat—just enough that it’s noticeable, but doesn’t shatter whatever air they’d got around them. at least, not yet. kyo loses the teasing smirk.

 “so, what, you’re hangin’ up your travelin’ boots?” did you find yourself out there? “what’s the name of your old clan?”

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“be flattered, or don't,” he shrugs. “I'd tell any woman the same about you.” the man had scars, sure. but didn't they all? besides, looks weren't everything. what he'd said in return was only a tease.

“oh, I'll say whatever I want.” now that it'd come to mind, squaring his shoulders a round or two didn't sound all that bad. but maybe a nap was warranted first. “don't tell me you'd chicken out?”

he can tell the mention of his past didn't sit well with the guy, but choosing not to mention it seemed befitting to the moment. “if I could have stayed home, I would. I never really wanted to travel, but shit happens. I come from the village of kageyama. boys train from their youth to become fighters. my father was the cheif, so of course he would expect the best from his son. I was the best,” not to toot his own horn or anything. “but I guess that wasn't enough for my old man. he treated me like shit, along with my younger sister.” and she got the worst of it. “he tried to turn me into something I refused to be. so, I walked away. plain and simple. did he hate me for it? yeah. do I care? absolutely not.” that was the cold hearted truth. but at least he was honest. “I'd rather fight to protect those I love.. not to kill those who don't deserve it. that's the son he wanted. a cold blooded killer.” and he would continue to refuse to be just that.
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 any woman? as if he were. “hey, now you’re making me feel average. what happened to me bein’ special?” a lot of kyo can be taken at face-value. straightforward, impulsive, and easy to banter with. it’s the last quip he has for him though, in regards to their dance of taste.

 “chicken out?” from a challenge? kyo barked a laugh. “name a time and it’s a date.” he rolls his shoulders; more than willing to bulldoze the dude over now if he wanted, but he suspects that he’ll be the one chickening out for a rest.

 as it were, they had more serious subjects to discuss. and this one, kyo listens to keenly. (he just needs the reassurance, that it isn’t who he is thinking of, coming back to haunt him in the way of another wave of agents on his tail.) rothskel isn’t mentioned. just this village and the typical cushy heir meets asshole parent and doesn’t quite know what a lap of luxury he could be in.

 kei would appreciate that he’d rather keep to his own than be out there killing unnecessarily. and kyo? kyo knows on a spiritual level how it’s like to be a soldier in another person’s chess match.

 “you’re right; shit does happen. better to live your own life than someone else’s.” other people would’ve probably gasped and fawned over the hardships this guy’s gone through. kyo feels like it’s the norm backstory for most in the empire. at least this guy had the choice to walk away.

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special? he'd be rolling on the ground laughing right about now if he had the energy. “special my ass.” he taunted, giving him a shove and wolfish grin.

“I'd take you now if I didn't think I'd collapse.” and he probably would. a dumb thing to admit, maybe, but this guy didn't seem like he'd drop him to the ground.

his own head did drop though. he had the choice to walk away, but someone else he cared for couldn't. “I would've rather had been able to get my sister out instead of me if I'd been able. she shouldn't have to live through that. but she's a survivor.” just like their mother had been. [q]maybe some day i can return home and get her. bring her here, to these wilds. they seem far more well equipped for her to thrive. just as I hope I can. in the right place. with the right people.[q] but did such people exist? or were there those here just like his shithead of a father and those croons he kept around like pets?
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 gods, how lucky could you be? to have the opportunity to go back and get the person who’s important to you out of the storm? hah. it turns him bitter, in a way.

 “sure, i know that feelin’. anywhere better than what was.” whether the right people and the place was out there for them? who knows. in theory, they could be, in the key. but kyo isn’t about to spill the true secret about the land this stranger’s ended up in.

 for all the old man knows, there is just a small group holding out here in the same boat as he is. kyo just likes to shove the home forefront. “now that you’ve spilled your guts to me, let's get you to bed, old man.”

 kyo gets to his feet. he wouldn’t take him close to where the hubs were that kei and he’s found, more on the shore where there are caves that’d do for a night’s rest—and where he could keep an eye on the guy.

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good to fade here or your next post! i'd be happy to start the next for him to meet kei if you're down

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“spilled my guts?” he speaks with a light tone. a ruse. where in truth, the conversation has turned his heart sour. the past pains him, sure. but it angers him more than anything else. but who was he to turn his anger on this stranger? he didn't deserve it. no one but his father did.

“yeah, sure. let's get the old man to bed.” he turns with a gruff sound and a roll of his eyes, beckoning for the other to lead the way.

sure, I'd love that!

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