KOA
He's thrown the declaration like a stone into a frozen pond, it'll break the ice and fearing it might instead bounce back and smack him in the face. So to say that Koa is relieved by the former would be an understatement; he's fucking thrilled, ecstatic to see the crystals fracture and reveal oh-so-familiar waters into which he can freely cannonball.
"How soon we talking about?" Koa asks pryingly, dodging the elbow that flaps his way like a chicken's wing. "I think I have one, but I haven't worn it in... fuck, eight years now? Might have to get it let out a bit." He grimaces ruefully, flexing his back to demonstrate his musculature and the ways he's filled out. Peacocking? Yes, a little bit, but it's better than falling back into the things that they don't say.
But he softens considerably at Kai's next question, heart twisting in his chest. "Yeah, well, you never would have had to," Koa tells his cousin softly, the teasing bite smoothed at its edges by sincerity and love. "We're family, Kai. You're my cousin- fuck, you're my brother, okay? Nothing breaks the bonds of family," he asserts with the utmost conviction, grabbing Kaisel by the shoulder to pull into a half-hug. "No matter what."
Ah, but then the conversation turns back to Koa's love life, or the utter lack thereof. With a grimace the Dragoon pulls himself back, withdrawing his hand from Kaisel's shoulder to bury within his hair. "Pretty sure that ship has sailed," he with a wry shake of his head. "I, uh, I kinda ghosted her after Flora's party? Not on purpose - there was just so much going on with Noe and the Family and everything, and then all the work rebuilding, and I kept telling myself I'd reach out when things calmed down and I had my head on straight but I never seemed to have my head on straight. And then I went on my sabbatical and..."
He stops, inhaling through his nose and exhaling a heavy sigh. "So yeah, I kinda screwed the pooch on that one. I'd be surprised if she even wants to see me after all this time."
"How soon we talking about?" Koa asks pryingly, dodging the elbow that flaps his way like a chicken's wing. "I think I have one, but I haven't worn it in... fuck, eight years now? Might have to get it let out a bit." He grimaces ruefully, flexing his back to demonstrate his musculature and the ways he's filled out. Peacocking? Yes, a little bit, but it's better than falling back into the things that they don't say.
But he softens considerably at Kai's next question, heart twisting in his chest. "Yeah, well, you never would have had to," Koa tells his cousin softly, the teasing bite smoothed at its edges by sincerity and love. "We're family, Kai. You're my cousin- fuck, you're my brother, okay? Nothing breaks the bonds of family," he asserts with the utmost conviction, grabbing Kaisel by the shoulder to pull into a half-hug. "No matter what."
Ah, but then the conversation turns back to Koa's love life, or the utter lack thereof. With a grimace the Dragoon pulls himself back, withdrawing his hand from Kaisel's shoulder to bury within his hair. "Pretty sure that ship has sailed," he with a wry shake of his head. "I, uh, I kinda ghosted her after Flora's party? Not on purpose - there was just so much going on with Noe and the Family and everything, and then all the work rebuilding, and I kept telling myself I'd reach out when things calmed down and I had my head on straight but I never seemed to have my head on straight. And then I went on my sabbatical and..."
He stops, inhaling through his nose and exhaling a heavy sigh. "So yeah, I kinda screwed the pooch on that one. I'd be surprised if she even wants to see me after all this time."
Let me go, I don't wanna be your hero
I don't wanna be a big man
Just wanna fight with everyone else
I don't wanna be a big man
Just wanna fight with everyone else
Code stolen from Queen Sky
