Malik in the House

Having shared via telepathy bright and clear teleport coordinates to the small stone shelter that Zeke and Seldan have erected, Seldan now sits on a rug big enough to be a thoroughly cleaned and conditioned dire bear rug, brought in from the gods only know where and spread out fur-up before the fire. The wind howls outside, but inside the rustic shelter, the warmth of a dancing fire in the hearth flooding the place and sending flickers along the walls of a space that is not otherwise lit. A pot of some stew, vegetables, and herbs has been cooking in an iron pot by the fire for some hours now, but there's still plenty of piled wood, plenty of tea, plenty of snow outside for water, and plenty of heat.

He's stripped down to the sort of shirt he favors to exercise and do heavy work in, a sleeveless and loose-collared affair, and a pair of trousers, his feet left bare. His arms are wrapped around his knees, and he stares absently into the fire.

There's a quiet knock on the door followed by the entry of a blue-scaled sith-makar. Zeke sniffs the air as he comes in, and makes an appreciative noise at the smell of food and tea. His eyes take in Seldan a moment later however and he tilts his head. "Peassssce on your nessst kin. What isss on your mind?"

What is on Seldan's mind? Where to even begin?

Seldan looks up and around at the knock on the door that by now has been crafted to seem but part of the mountainside, but relaxes at the familiar voice. "Peace upon this nest, Zeke. Too many things, I fear, but I would not burden you with minor matters. Would you select tea for us? I have offered to Mal the coordinates for this place, but I know not when, or if, he means to join us, despite his words of seeking adventure."

There's a small rush of air, followed by the tell-tale change in pressure that causes the inner ear to twitch ever so slightly, a surefire sign of the sorts of displacement that come along with one suddenly appearing where one was not previously. Malik comes in through the door, dressed in something much more functional than before -- today, the wizard has chosen his typical, drab, earthen-colored adventuring gear rather than the bright colors and exotic fabrics he favors at other times. Stepping in behind the Sith-makar man, he offers the blue-scale a shallow bow of the head, eyes bright. "Hello old friend," he greets, musical accent still strong even if the enunciation of the words come clearer and faster than when they first met, the rewards of long practice.

Glancing at Seldan, he offers the man a warmer smile still, the light in his eyes shifting from affection to something deeper. He looks around the room, considering the surroundings. "I like it. This feels like you."

Zeke makes his way toward the tea, sniffing again, this time to aid him in another way. "Thisss one doesss not mind sssharing wordsss with kin - ever." He offers gently to the other man, slowly picking out a tea and then discarding his initial choice as Malik abruptly joins them. Another tea more to Malik's preference is chosen instead and offered to Seldan.

A bright laugh bursts from Seldan as Malik appears almost upon command, and he stands, his entire demeanor brightening from the pensive one he'd worn. "Do you venture outside, to see the outside, do not close the door," he warns, moving to take the tea chosen, and greet the Tsuran. "Mal, do you go outside the door, you will need to mind where it is," he warns. "It is built that none may know of our presence."

"Well do I know that it does not burden you to do so, and yet is it in my mind that you carry burdens enough, Zeke. Naught have I heard from the Mourner since we returned - and judging by the banns and the talk in the city, she may be otherwise caught up." A hint of impatience there, for sure.

Malik sets down his bag in the corner, turning to remove his cloak now that they're out of the elements and there is no real danger. Once that's accomplished, he moves toward Seldan, wrapping his arms around the other man's waist and moving in to steal a quick, light kiss. "That, my love," he teases, "almost sounds a challenge. But perhaps one for later."

Zeke's selection of tea gets an approving nod from Malik. A glance between the two of them, measuring the mood for a moment before he asks, "I fear that, had we no burdens to share amongst ourselves, we would find that our lives had grown rather boring." He reaches out to squeeze Zeke's shoulder, and then runs a hand over Seldan's cheek. "Perhaps," Malik suggests, "I can help share burdens for both of you?"

Zeke accepts Seldan's words, his eyes flickering from Malik to Seldan and back again. "Thisss one isss well." He offers to Malik. Indeed, thanks to Seldan he is doing considerably better. He lets the tea steep, eyes nictating slightly and settling onto a seat where he can be comfortable. "Thisss one isss sssurprisssed to sssee you Malik."

GAME: Seldan rolls sense motive: (7)+19: 26

"You shall see." Seldan returns the kiss with a quick, light one of his own, and accepts the gesture with a chuckle. He then turns and sets the tea to steeping, using the mage's hand cantrip to gesture the tea kettle over towards the teapot and pour water, then return it to what must be a hook inside the hearth itself.

Only when that is done does Seldan wander back over to the large, coarse rug, and direct a steady, long, measuring gaze at Zeke for a minute or more. "I must confess that I was also surprised when Mal came looking for me, and near froze himself to death wearing Tashraani veils in the Redridge in winter." Quiet teasing holds a susurrus beneath the words. "I had - thought your adventuring days done," he admits, lowering his eyes.

Malik gives a light chuckle. "I admit," he starts, "that I have no love for this city. Not the way that you two seem to. Were it up to me, I would have let them burn themselves to the ground, or worse. Constantly attempting to save them from themselves seems to cause no end of troubles." A look at Seldan, here. "At some point, all children have to learn that touching a hot stove burns. And when they do, you don't summon a cleric." This for both of them, voice growing more serious.

"But," he continues, "my days of adventuring are hardly over. I simply needed time to devote to my studies. In a quieter, more accommodating environment. And then I grew bored." He shrugs, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "If you don't *wish* my assistance, I'm sure that I can find some manner of trouble all my own..."

Zeke chuckles lightly at the image in his mind of Malik freezing in the snow. Not meanly, but with amusement he can't quite help. He accepts his cup of tea and motions for Malik to join at the warm hearth. "Thisss one knowsss you have little love for Alexandria Malik. Thisss one would never turn assside your aid, but thisss one isss sstill sssurprissed to ssee you here. Teaching a hatchling not to touch the fire." He flashes his teeth.

Seldan's initial bright pleasure at seeing Malik melts away, and he takes on the aspect of an alabaster pillar - fair, impassive, and stone-like. "Your aid is always welcome, Malik. It is as Zeke says. I have little enough love for Alexandria, and yet I undertake a task far greater than Alexandria alone. Here is where the clues that will guide me lie." He casts a glance to a shadowed corner, where a bag that looks to be filled with documents sits by a cot holding a bedroll.

That said, he seats himself on the rug, returning to that pensive look, staring into the fire.

Malik's own smile melts somewhat at seeing the change in Seldan's demeanor. "And, once again," he sighs, "I have managed to say the wrong thing, it seems." A look to Zeke, here, considering a moment before moving to join the sith-makar -- but not before moving over to take the bag of documents that Seldan looked at earlier, his own features turning to the neutrality of a scholar engaging in business-as-usual. "To what conclusion do you feel the clues you have gathered lead you?" he asks Seldan, rummaging through the documents he indicated.

"I have not yet read them." Seldan does not turn around, continuing to stare into the fire, not watching Malik as he rummages through the satchel. "Lady Akorinil kept copious records, and they will take time to sort through. It is my hope that they will provide clues as to her whereabouts, or reason for leaving so abruptly. She disappeared without trace, soon after our return from the Forest of Whispers. It took us considerable time to find her safehouses. It is my hope that it is not too late."

"I must examine more closely her map of anomalies," he goes on. "With the matter of Kol Demontry's return, I - find myself distracted."

Malik looks through the papers, not finding anything that marks his immediate interest in the stack. "Anomalies?" he asks, turning to raise an eyebrow at Seldan, then following his gaze to the fire. "Magical, or otherwise?" The mention of the vampire's name causes Malik to actually frown, his own eyes getting a fire in them rarely seen in the man -- one of actual hatred, rather than the passive annoyance that other such problems tend to bring with them. He visibly tenses for a moment, remembering something from some other time before forcing himself to relax, running through the disciplines of his training to return to the task at hand as he reaches for tea, turning to Zeke. "Kol won't be without a new object of his obsessions for long, I would wager. It should at least make him easier to find. Less so to destroy." A beat. "Again."

"It issss difficult to do ssso much alone." Zeke states calmly, drinking his tea slowly and with purpose. Sniffing it often to keep himself grounded. He seems to be very focused on the tea. Malik speaks to him and he blinks in surprise, turning to look at the other man. "He hasss already found sssuch. The resssult wasss... Thisss one isss still healing the one that he took sssuch a keen interesst in." The sith seems quite displeased with the vampire, his brow ridge furrowing.

Seldan seems to have wholly forgotten about the tea, and answers only, "Magical, I believe, though the map will confirm their exact nature. It is quite likely that the anomalies are of the Void." His eyes do not move from the fire, seeming content to allow Zeke to explain more fully.

Malik nods, taking a slow, steady breath as he considers the subject of anomalies. "Well." He starts very slowly, cautiously. "I am not -- unfamiliar with such maps." A look to Seldan here, considering. "I am not quite as good as *she* at such matters... though I'm not sure that 'good' is an appropriate qualifier, and given the -- realities of the different paths you walk, I can't suggest seeking her counsel. So. You may have to settle for my somewhat second-rate assistance in such matters, unless another would be better."

Looking between the pair of them, though, and feeling the tension in the room, he adds, more mildly, "They are lucky to have you both. As am I."

Zeke blinks again and rolls his right shoulder in a half shrug. "Thisss one iss only doing what comess naturally to thisss one. Thisss one can not sstand to ssee one in pain and do no-thing." He looks at Seldan and then looks at Malik. "You have been away from your cihuaa for sssome time, you were ssstudying? Did you not missss him?" It's a rather forward question from the sith-makar.

Malik looks to Zeke, this time his turn to blink. "We are bonded," Malik tells Zeke, brow furrowing as he touches his temple. "There is no place in the world where I cannot reach out and be in his presence, as can he. As for being away -- bodily, perhaps," he admits. "Our various duties have put us in some physical distance. But it is nothing that a spell cannot remedy. And -- his physical needs are attended to as much as he wishes." Malik's confusion at the question isn't exactly hidden, but he glances at Seldan from time to time. This is area where the wizard would hold nothing back, though details of their private life aren't something that they often discuss even in front of their closest friends.

"Mal." For the first time, Seldan looks up and turns towards Malik, measuringly. "And do I reach out at the wrong moment, what spell shall I cause you to lose, perhaps with disastrous result? Nay, Mal, to reach out via the bond is always a risk," he reminds gently. "That is closed to me, when we are apart, that I not visit disaster on you unwitting. As for the physical part, it is so, though our schedules permit less often - than either of us could wish." He shakes his head, his eyes lowering. "In truth am I grateful to see you now, doubt that not, and yet do I continue to do Eluna's work. That may I not turn aside from."

Zeke seems as though he is about to say something of his own, but Seldan's words stall him, and he ends up saying nothing at the moment. Allowing the two to speak to one another. To share their words as is necessary. It seems important to him that they have this conversation.

Malik simply puts the papers to the side. There will be time to look at them later. Seldan's words *are* important, and he takes the time to listen to what his husband says. Understanding comes at last, though. Folding up a bit to rest his arms on his knees, his tone is soft, gentle. "I see," he starts. "So. This -- is a sacrifice that you've been making for my benefit. Denying yourself both forms of my comfort because you wished me to have the space to pursue my own goals, while you labored for your goddess." He slides over next to Seldan, asking quietly, "do you not think I knew precisely what I was getting into when I married you?" He leans over, kissing Seldan's bare arm gently. "If I lose a spell, then it will simply teach me to anticipate interruption in the future and to discipline my mind further. As for your work -- nobody is asking you to turn aside from it. Or if someone is," he corrects, "then they are a selfish fool. As to the rest..." A small smile here. "I think we can find a way to remedy that later, once business is concluded."

Though he turns his attention back to Zeke. "I believe, though," he adds, "that our friend here has more on his mind." A nod in Zeke's direction. "And in fairness, he should be allowed to air his grievances. It seems that he's been taking on burdens that should have been borne by me, and if he has anger, or doubts. Well. That seems more than fair."

From the look Seldan wears, that's precisely what he thought of the situation. His eyes are lowered to the rug. "If that be so, then the shelter here shall be Zeke's alone for a few hours," he murmurs, leaning his head on Malik's shoulder if the man will let him. "Mal, listen carefully. Zeke is dealing with a man who was taken and tortured by Kol Demontry, or a dream-realm replica of the same. I know not yet which, and that is among the things I must learn, would I see an end of him." And he would, from his tone. "Zeke's burden's are heavy, and require the same sort of care you would use at the lake."

Zeke shakes his head and rises ponderously to his feet, setting his cup down. "Thisss one will go. Thisss one needssss only a plasce to sssleep. You two need to ssshare wordsss and thiss iss better than out-ssside." He moves toward the door.

"We've said the words we need to say for the moment," Malik assures the blue-scale. "That isn't what we're here to discuss, and there will be time for other things later. Besides," he assures, "beyond that door it is winter in Alexandria, and with a word I can return Seldan and I to a place where wearing a thin shirt can make you feel over bundled in the heat. Stay, friend." Malik gestures to the place where Zeke was just before. "Apologies for dragging you into something that you should not have had to witness. Let's discuss the matters we came to. The rest will keep for now."

Seldan sits bolt upright when Zeke turns to make for the door, and with swift, angry gestures draws a set of sigils before him. The words of power are spoken firmly and with control, and blue-silver-gold light shimmers for a second into being along the wall that holds the door, effectively blocking any exit. When he speaks, though, the words are steady, even, and tightly controlled.

"Zeke. It is as Mal says, and I do not desire to chase you through the snow for another night. Come. Drink tea. The shelter shall be yours this night, and that which needs saying shall be said-" He pauses, a ghost of a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. "Never mind that. It is so, that Mal and I should share words, but, if he is to walk with me on this hunt, that I undertake it not alone, he should hear what you have to say."

Zeke huffs out a breath as his exit is blocked and he looks back on the pair. He studies them for a very long moment without a word and then rejoins them. "Thisss one isss..." He huffs again and scrubs his head with his claws. The scratching noise is uncomfortable, but he sits down and looks from Malik to Seldan and back again. Seeming to come to a decision. "There are... totemsss. Sstrange thingsss from the realm of dreamss which brought thisss verssion of Kol back to the world. It isss uncertain if he isss real or not. Dream or reality."

Malik listens, leaning over to rest his own head briefly on Seldan's, a small gesture of affection. But then his attention is back on Zeke, giving the blue-skinned makar time to process -- and attempting to hide his amusement as Seldan block's the other man's way, though whether he does a good job or not is anyone's guess. The wizard never was good at hiding his true thoughts.

Still, the mention of the totem gets him slightly more serious. "I had a similar concern," he notes. "If this creature is from the realm of dreams, it's difficult to know if it's the same Kol we dealt with previously, or someone's nightmare of the creature."

"Mourner Verna's," Seldan supplies. "I have not yet faced him directly, and it is in my mind that that will be a truer test - does he have memories of me, or nay? Does he not, then it is most likely a conjuring of the dream realm. Mistake this not, Mal. The statues are divine artifacts, and very much have the power to manifest from dream to reality." He has settled back down on the bearskin rug, and finally, finally, reaches over to pour tea. He reaches for Zeke's teacup to refill it as well, pressing it back into the makari's claws once filled.

Only when tea is served does he take up his own cup, finally. "I -" He falters. "It is well. The current crop of Guildmembers has a good bit more sense than they who came before."

"Thisss one doesss not know if he isss real or night-mare." Zeke takes the tea and sniffs it, taking a deep drink despite the heat and pulls it close to his body. "But hisss handsss sstill can caussse harm, hisss appetitesss are... dark thingsss. He ssseemsss to have awarenesssss of hisss own passst. Sso perhapsss he isss the sssame vampire." This realization seems to strike Zeke and he looks at Seldan.

"Sseldan, he ssspoke of sscarsss on hisss feet. To thisss onesss patient! That meansss he remembersss!"

And now Malik is furrowing his brow again, at the mention of what Dream Kol may or may not know, deepening still when Zeke starts to mention scars. He glances between the pair of them, wordless for a moment as he holds his own cup over for Seldan, since more tea is going around. But suddenly another thought occurs to Malik, looking at Seldan. "There is another that we should warn, should he truly remember you."

That information has Seldan's attention, and he frowns at Zeke. "Even so? Of what else did he speak?" He sounds startled - clearly, it had not occurred to him that the patient, always unnamed, might know anything. He is only distracted from his focus by Malik's remark. "And who is that?"

Zeke shakes his head. "Thisss one hasss already sssaid too much Sseldan." He flickers his eyes toward Malik. "You know that thisss one can not ssspeak of what a patient hass told thisss one. But that much thisss one had to ssshare - for the hunt. You underssstand?" He hopes that Seldan does, because he does not wish to push this line with Seldan.

Malik listens, though he gives a nod to Zeke. "Given that we know not the identify of the patient, only what he related to you regarding his attacker, the patient is safe. You've revealed nothing of his identity or his treatment. Only that he was a witness to something said by a monster. I think that whatever vows you've made are likely quite safe, especially in the face of such evil." And then, to Seldan -- "You should consider checking in with the one that Kol's former master attempted to use against you previously, if he remembers the events of the past. Perhaps others."

"I do." Seldan inclines his head to Zeke, a clear apology, and turns his attention to Malik's words. "I - know not whether I would be welcomed, and yet shall I send her word, perhaps coded in a letter. It would be well to know if she is well. There is much, though, that we must learn of him and -" Here, he hesitates. "I have teleport coordinates for Kol's current lair, and yet am I loath to use that, for it is in the midst of an enemy war camp."

Zeke hums thoughtfully and relaxes when no one presses him for further answers. He sips his tea some more and this relaxes him also. "Thisss one mussst to sssleep." He offers gently, not wishing to be burdensome. "Thisss one wasss not expecting a visssit, and musst be up early. Will you two be ssstaying?"

Malik gives a small nod, but at Zeke's words, he leans over, kissing Seldan's forehead. "We will not," he answers for the pair. "As you said. There are things that we should say to each other before the night is through, and we have other places we can be for that." He slowly stands, offering Seldan a hand. "Should you still be so inclined," he teases.

With a low chuckle, Seldan takes the hand, but stands of his own accord, finishes his tea, and sets it down on the hearth. "I shall bank the fire for you. Leave the cups, I shall see to them tomorrow when I return. Peace upon your nest, Zeke, and we shall share words when next you return." He suits actions to words, quickly banking the fire for safe sleep before returning to Malik. "The teleport is yours, Mal. Do not neglect the precession, for I am not clad for a camel's stall." A quirk of a smile tugs at his lips.

It isn't long before the pair of them have gone to say and do what needs to be said and done.

-End