[Training] boy drama is sillier than a drama llama

Zavien

Haulani isn't nearly as cold as New Haven and Zavien has to admit for the millionth time today that the move is a good idea. Sol rushes up ahead, exploring the area near a place he and Soh are considering during their trip out here. 

It's a nice enough place. The house is cozy and big enough for their growing family. The area seems friendly and it's close to the clinic. It's even high enough up the hill that it reminds him of Stormbreak, even if he avoids the nearby cliffs. Overall, there haven't been any downsides, and it only confirms the decision - much to his relief and frustration. 

Wanting to focus on something other than the impending move, Zavien gravitates subconsciously towards the familiar sound of clashing swords, Sol having found the practice ring set in the middle of the city. He can already feel his muscles loosening, his hand drifting towards the hilt of his starblade as he debates finding someone to go a round with.

We wear our scars as proof

that we are still alive.

I'm never gonna quit, got my legacy set in motion

It turns out that the older you get, the more you realize everyone is full of shit because no one knows what the fuck they're doing. Adults have just been pretending to have everything under control, but everyone is just one belt-loop snagged on a door handle away from losing their goddamn mind at any given time. This, all because everything you're supposed to do each day leaves hardly any time for the things you want to do, which sounds like the complete opposite reason to be alive at all, and everyone's grumpy about it even if they're pretending they aren't.

The only way to keep your head above any water at all seems to be mimicking sea otters to your fullest capabilities. This, of course, requires that you hold onto someone when you're afraid of floating away. That you find the right tools to help you crack open the best parts of life. That you adapt to your environment so you can chase opportunities in the sea and on land. That you scrub the saltwater out of your fur. That you...on second thought, he might just be spending too much time with Craig.

Craig is one of the locals that bums around the beach, and Kaisel's too much of an extrovert to pass up conversation on patrol, even when said conversation somehow circles back to sea otters every single time. Admittedly, he's learned some cool shit. Sea otters don't have to go to the store because they forgot green beans, or scrub the fifty-some-odd toilets of a sweeping estate. Sea otters seem to be having a grand ol' time, honestly, and Craig certainly seems to enjoy both life and sea otters plenty. Maybe there's a secret there after all.

What Kaisel has actually started to realize, other than Craig's affinity for the world's softest animal, is that you have to find a way to carve out time for the things that matter most to you. It's why he's here, stretching out in preparation for a good workout, needing the physical and mental release as much as the ice-cream guilt repentance. It's also why the double date just never quite made it on everyone's plates on the same day at the same time. They're all busy people, and while they've made time for each other before, wrangling four of anything is always much harder than three or two, and sometimes just the one, yourself, is more than enough to manage in a day.

Still, like a sea otter who's discovered a cache of urchins, Kaisel isn't about to let this opportunity pass him by. He catches sight of Zavien as he rises up from touching his toes, and immediately his hand shoots up and gives a vigorous wave. "ZAVIEN!" he shouts, already making his way to close the distance. "Hey! Looking to work up a sweat?" He offers a smile, though it's anything but easy. It's weaker around the edges than normal, threatening to buckle beneath uncertainty, the soft roar of his pulse rising behind his ears betraying his confidence with a swell of anxiety over how this might go.

He hasn't forgotten the way Zavien turned away at the rodeo, or the request for amends his invitation had returned. What he has forgotten is the slow churn of ire for the man who betrayed his older cousin, especially now that the shock of it has dulled with time. As evidenced by Sohalia's continued happiness, perhaps it's for the best that this is the man standing beside her rather than another.

What remains between them is something stale, and he means to let it breathe today, one way or another.

Kaisel

So welcome to the fire, I'm the one with the lighter

Zavien

His name echoes through the space, the familiar voice echoing far deeper. Zavien shifts his weight, tension coiling up his spine in preparation for whatever insult the man might throw his way today; but as his eyes raise to the smiling face, that dreading anticipation faulters. There's a tightness to the smile Kai wears, as if he can feel the unspoken words, the lingering frustrations and doubts making him nervous. It's a shocking comparison to the carefree expression he remembers, along with all the good times they've had, laughing and joking and having fun. He hadn't realized how much he missed that - how much he missed having a friend. 

While it's easy to hold anger and hurt when the source is leagues away, standing in front of him makes the conflict feel childish and weak. Zavien sighs, trying to push out months of emotions in a single breath like flipping the cap on a pressure cooker. They resonate deep, but they're distant, as if time and effort have caused them to drift farther than he noticed. 

Sol looks up from his feet, seeming to teeter uncertainly between supporting Zavien and saying hi to the man they had previously called 'friend.' Unspoken permission flows down the bond, a quiet reassurance that he plans to try moving past whatever slights he'd felt. 

The golden dragon rushes forward on bounding limbs as his bonded nods. While Zavien's greeting isn't nearly as friendly or excited as the bright chirps of his companion, it's not cold either, a hollow breeze attempting to stir the rays of light. "I was thinking about it." He takes a deep breath, looking more closely at the clearing of sparring people before his gaze lands back on Kai, cautious even as Sol begs the man for scratches. "Are you free?"

We wear our scars as proof

that we are still alive.