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Mystic Heart Odyssey

Part 7: Downtime

Chapter 5

We've had loooots of flustered Kuna time in MHO so far. I'd say Lykou is overdue for his share of awkward and embarrassing moments~

-Llox

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Lykou yawned and stretched, then immediately realized something felt... off. For one thing, there was a distinct absence of someone beside him. Granted, there were plenty of times Kuna got up first, but there was a small part of his mind that always made him worry when that happened, in case something was wrong. But besides that, everything felt somewhat strange. There was no blanket on top of him. The ground felt smooth and flat, yet somehow almost insubstantial in a way that was impossible to describe, as he could push through it if he tried.

He also felt lighter than usual- and already far too alert for someone who just woke up from a sound sleep. As his eyes adjusted to the strange dim lighting that surrounded him, he gained all new reasons to be startled. He sat bolt upright when he saw the landscape he'd awoken in. It was totally unlike anything he'd ever seen. A vast expanse seemed to stretch out into infinity in all directions. He wasn't sure what was holding him up, because there didn't seem to be anything to stand on. The area under him had a faint dim glow, but it seemed to follow him wherever he touched the invisible "ground" and otherwise fade away.

He got to his feet and realized he was fully dressed- in his original chaser outfit, at that, without any damage. It was in pristine condition. As he looked around, he noticed there were shimmery glowing discs floating in the air throughout the expanse. "H... hello?" he called out anxiously. His voice faded away rapidly, with apparently nothing to bounce back off of. "Is... is anyone here?? Kuna??"

There was no response. He started slowly walking forward, growing increasingly unnerved by the bizarre situation he found himself in. "Man, this is weird. Where the fuck am I?"

He suddenly froze and stiffened up. He waited.

"What was that?"

His mouth hadn't moved, but those were definitely his thoughts, in his voice- or at least how he heard it when he spoke. But he definitely hadn't spoken aloud. Suddenly, memories started trickling back and he facepalmed. "Right! I used the charm," the external voice said. As he started to calm down, he grinned a bit. "So this is what the astral realm is like. Does seem to fit what Ku described."

He paused for a moment, then sighed and rolled his eyes up. "Aaand I've gotta start practicing to shut you up before Lana and Daisy get here," he mumbled aloud. "Focus, Lykou, focus."

The konuul looked around a bit and looked for things to examine. "Right, Ku said these things are all-" the external voice began, then he quickly furrowed his brow and rolled his eyes up as he cut himself off, "-dreams, memories, fantasies, and so on. I said shut up, dammit. Keep that stuff inside."

"Although I guess technically this is all in-"

"-side. Fuck. Stop that!" he argued with himself. He grumbled a bit. "This is gonna be harder than I thought."

He quickly hurried over to examine one of the discs, hoping to distract his inner thoughts a bit. When he got close enough, an image appeared and he watched as an older memory played out. A very familiar face appeared- Naira. It was from his younger days, a bit before he became a spirit chaser.

They were at the lake, goofing around in the waters of Shimmer Loch, laughing and carrying on without a care in the world. She suddenly stopped and looked down as her foot brushed up against something on the lakebed. She called for a time-out in their little splash-battle, then dove underwater for a moment. When she popped back up, she holding a rock with some shiny bits sticking out of it. Sunstone.

"...okay, I think you officially win," Lykou's past self said, ogling the rock with wide eyes. "How'd the shore-sweepers miss that one?"

"They probably haven't been out to this side of the lake in a while," Naira said. "That's kiiind of the reason we came out this way, isn't it?"

"Right, right," past-Lykou replied, chuckling. "Whatcha wanna do with it?"

"Wellll, we're supposed to hand it in so it can be put to use," Naira replied, holding the stone up to her chin thoughtfully. Then she grinned at him.

Past-Lykou grinned back. "Right, so what are you actually gonna do with it?"

"Why Lykou, I'm shocked!" Naira said, putting on a feigned offended look. "You think I would just go and break tribe rules like that? I'd never!"

"Welllll... if you won't, then I will," he quipped, then quickly grabbed it out of her hand.

"Gah, hey!" she responded, playfully growling as she grabbed his hand and started trying to wrestle it away. "I found that, it's mine! Give it back!"

He grinned as he twisted around, trying to play keep-away as she splashed him and tried to wrestle the rock back. "I'm just protecting -pfft- you from temptation!" he teased, intermittently sputtering as water was splashed in his face. "Don't -pfft- give into greed, Nai! You know Leis wouldn't approve!"

"All the more reason I'm -ngh- getting that thing -pfft- back!"

"Nuh-uh, mine now!"

They laughed and wrestled around in the water for several more minutes. Then Naira paused to catch her breath, while Lykou took a few steps back, panting and grinning at her. "Looks like I win."

Naira narrowed her eyes and grinned devilishly. "I guess so. Perhaps I should reward the victor," she said, slinking up to him with a seductive expression.

"Er... N-Nai?" past-Lykou said nervously with a slight blush starting to appear on his face as the other konuul pressed up against him and clung to him in a very sultry manner. "W-what're you-"

Before he could finish his sentence, her hand slid down and found something to grope. "Shhh..."

"N-Nai... w-what if someone sees-"

"Then I'll be able to show them-" she started in a seductive tone, then she suddenly snatched the rock out of the distracted boy's hand and held it up victoriously. "-the lump of sunstone I found! Hah!"

"H-hey!" past-Lykou objected, shooting a playful glare at her as he tried to snatch it back, to no avail. "That's playing dirty!"

"It's called winning," Naira replied with a big grin as she backed away, clutching the stone in both hands. "Don't be a sore loser now~"

Past-Lykou chased her around for a bit. The stone exchanged hands a few more times over the next half hour or so. Eventually, they tired out and went to the shore, then sat down next to one another, panting and laughing. Lykou had won out in the end, but he happily handed the stone back to her once they sat down. "Seriously though, whatcha gonna do with it?"

"Hmm... dunno," she said, looking it over. "Not very big, so probably kind of limited options."

"Could make some arrow heads or a speartip or two," past-Lykou said, scratching his head thoughtfully.

"Yeah, because I'm such an avid hunter, right?" Naira snarked. "Guess it could make a decent knife though."

Past-Lykou nodded. "Everyone could use a good knife. Even gatherers. Which... that's still what you're gonna stick with, right? Sure you don't wanna become a chaser with me?"

She shot him a look. "I like regular, decent meals, thanks. And again, I don't hunt."

"I could do that for both of us. Think of it, out in the wilderness, on the edge of Asher territory, all on our own," he said excitedly. "We could stay up as late as we want, eat when we want, make our own fires-"

"Dance under the moonlight, chase squirrels, eat bugs," she cut in, smirking. "Yeah, sounds like a blast."

"Nai c'mon, I'm serious!" he said, pouting a bit. "And who knows? We could finally see some spirits! Together! Maybe we could convince Oren to come with us, too."

"Doubt it. He might go along with things, but he's not exactly the adventurous type," she pointed out.

Past-Lykou sighed, deflating a bit. "Fiiine..." He crossed his arms. "I'm still gonna do it though. And I'll see a spirit and have magical stuff happen and have a cool story to tell, and you'll be jealous."

"Well..." Naira said, then grinned. "You'll need a good supply of spirit charms, then. Never know if one of them will be hostile."

"Already made a few, remember? You helped me!"

"Don't have one with sunstone yet though, do you?" she said, holding the stone up and wiggling it a bit. "Bet that makes 'em extra potent."

He blinked a few times. "W-... Nai, you don't have to do that. You should-"

"I want to, you goofball. If you're gonna be going way out there to the edge of our territory regularly, you should have the best ones you can. Plus, when you look at it, it'll remind you of home so you don't stay out too long," she insisted, then leaned over and gave his cheek a brief little kiss. "Now c'mon, I'm hungry and it's almost dinner time."

Past-Lykou beamed and his tail swished around as he got up and followed after her. "I'm gonna convince you one of these days!

Meanwhile, present Lykou slowly reached out and ran his hand across the shimmery disc with a slightly sad smile. It felt kind of like smooth glass, with a slight tingle to it. "Miss you, Nai. I promise I'll get back home soon..."

Not wanting to get any more emotional, he took a deep breath and pried his attention away, turning to go check out one of the others. After picking one to inspect, he realized it was a dream. Specifically, a recent potent nightmare. He immediately recoiled and hurried away, trying to shut out the familiar voices that boiled back up in his head. "F-fuck, wish I could just... get rid of that one."

He stopped and sighed, realizing the words had yet again not come out of his mouth. "Really need to figure out how to shut you up." He looked around a bit, then scratched his head. "Wonder where Lana and Daisy are, anyway..."

As he looked around, hoping to see them turn up any moment, he spared passing glances at several more of the discs. It was a mix of memories and dreams, for the most part- though he did spot a particularly steamy fantasy in one of them, which made him blush and grin. As much as he was tempted to see what it'd be like to interact with it while being lucid, he managed to pry himself away before he got himself in an embarrassing situation for the half-lepne duo to find him in.

A few moments later, he saw a much, much more recent memory that flustered him even more. He bit his lip and reached out to run his fingers along the disc as he watched himself and Kuna in their very special moment together. "Fuck... wish I could tell you how much you really mean to me, Ku," he murmured. "I just hope I don't mess things up with this stuff. At least you definitely seemed to enjoy it too. That face, I swear..."

Again, he sighed and managed to pry himself away so that he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of his dreamscape-guests, whenever they showed up. His mind was apparently on a particular roll by that point though, apparently. The next disc also showed a familiar sereva's face. But he didn't recognize the situation, so he was pretty sure it wasn't a memory. They were walking through a village- Lakefire, in fact. "Must be a dream... I don't recognize this one though."

He furrowed his brow and sighed again. "Shut. Up," he chastised his not-quite-so-inner monologue.

While he was distracted with that, however, he let his hand stray a bit too close and the moment it touched the disc, he felt a strong tug. He could have resisted it easily, had he anticipated it, but since it came as a surprise, he ended up stumbling over and colliding with it instead. The next thing he knew he felt himself get sucked in. He remembered crying out and falling through a void that gradually grew darker, until eventually everything went black.

*****

"What is it you want to show me so bad, Kou?" Kuna asked with a slightly amused tone as Lykou guided him eagerly through Lakefire by the hand. "We've been back for over a month now, I'm pretty sure I've seen everything and met everyone at this point."

"You'll see," the canid said, his tail swishing. "C'mon!"

They passed a number of the other Ashers, who happily greeted them as they passed by. Lykou cheerfully greeted them in return, but didn't stick around for conversation. Kuna, still a bit shy, waved back to them, but mostly let Lykou do the talking. Eventually, they began passing through the outskirts of the village, and started making their way around the lake.

"Okay seriously Kou," Kuna said, starting to grow a bit concerned. "I've got people to help patch up! Nobody else here has that kind of mag-"

"They can wait a little while. Nobody's that badly hurt right now anyway," Lykou insisted. "Leis earned that bump on his head fair and square anyway."

Kuna snorted. "...yeah okay, he kind of did. But still, I'm still trying to make a good impression on everyone! I was gonna try helping the weavers again afterwards."

"There'll be plenty of time for that later. Besides, it's been months now. Everyone knows and loves you at this point. Stop worrying!"

Kun narrowed his eyes and grinned, then hurried up a bit so he was no longer being half dragged by the canid. "You know Kou," he said, bumping his shoulder up against the konuul's. "If you wanted a quickie, you could just say so. And we don't have to go to all the way to the far side of the lake for some privacy."

"Wh- no! Kuna!" Lykou retorted, blushing and shooting him a look. Still, he couldn't help but grin again after a moment. "Look, you remember that old shrine I told you about?"

Kuna blinked a few times. "W-... yeah? Kou, is that what this is all about? You already showed it to me a few weeks ago, you goofball!"

"I fixed it up. I want you to see it again!" Lykou said eagerly.

"That could've waited until this evening, you know," Kuna lightly chided him.

Lykou stopped and shot him a hurt look that cut straight to the sereva's heart. "But... but I'm really proud of it..."

Kuna hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "...dammit, no fair using that look on me!" he said, immediately wrapping him in a tight hug. "Fiiiine, let's go see it."

The konuul's chipperness immediately returned and he giggled as he pulled him along. "Good! C'mon!"

"And I thought Naira was manipulative," the sereva playfully complained. He smirked after a moment, though. "You owe me extra cuddle time and kisses tonight."

"Pfft, like I wasn't gonna give it to ya anyway," the canid retorted.

Kuna giggled. After a few minutes of walking in silence, he nudged the canid. "Still can't believe you didn't say anything until the end of that journey, you know," he said, grinning at him with partly-lidded eyes. "We could've used that alone time together so much better if I'd known how you felt."

Lykou blushed and rubbed his neck with a sheepish smile. "Well, you know, I didn't want to risk messing things up," he said, then his smile faded a bit. "Dunno what I'd have done if I creeped you out and scared you off in the middle of some unfamiliar place far from home, after all we'd been through."

"What, like I'd just run off?" Kuna retorted. "Worst case scenario, if I hadn't felt the same, it might've been awkward at times, but you know I'd never abandon you."

"I knowww," Lykou said, then grinned and gave him a quick kiss. "At least we've made up for it since then."

"Started to, anyway," Kuna replied. "I say we continue in that shrine."

"Gee, Kuna, I'm pretty sure that's some kind of sacrilege or something," Lykou retorted playfully.

"Hey, I don't think spirits really care about that kind of thing," Kuna said, then reached back and playfully groped the canid's rump, making him yelp and blush. "In fact if Sulyr's any indication, there might be some that would appreciate a show."

"Ku!" Lykou blurted out in surprise, then smirked and reciprocated the act. "You're in a mood today."

"Can't help it," the sereva replied. "You bring it out of me, sexy boy."

The two traded playful banter and little signs of affection as they made their way around to the far side of the lake, towards a small, isolated structure tucked among some trees. As they got closer, Kuna could tell that the path near it had been cleared away and cleaned up a good bit. And the building itself definitely looked in better shape from the outside- not to mention a good bit bigger than he remembered it being before. It was also decorated up, with some ornate lines and swirls carved into the sides and some simple candles lit along the short ramp up to the entryway. Some fresh flowering vines hung around the door, draped around and across some posts sticking out from the surrounding wall. Instead of the door, a curtain of decorative beads was hanging over the entrance, which Lykou stepped up to pull aside for the sereva.

"Wow... you weren't kidding!" Kuna commented as he stepped up the ramp. He smirked at Lykou briefly as he passed through the door. "So that's what you wanted me to grow those for, huh?" he said, glancing up at the flowering vines briefly before stepping inside completely. Once inside, he looked around and admired the various depictions of different spirits from old Asher lore that lined the interior walls. There were a few wooden statues as well. It was all lit up by a combination of crude candles and a few slatted windows near the entrance. He couldn't help but smirk in amusement at a figure that somewhat resembled a distorted sereva- the aliki-ka. He still had to wonder how they got that idea in the first place. Despite the distortion, the similarities were uncanny. "I take it you had some help?"

"Yep," Naira said as she stepped in behind them, startling the sereva. "He always used to bug me about cleaning this place up, but he started getting a lot more insistent a couple weeks ago."

"Not that we mind," Oren chimed in as he stepped in after her. "I was glad to put my carving skills to use again anyway."

"Woah, hey guys," Kuna said, turning to greet them. "What're you doing here?" He glanced down at the statues. "You made all these, Ore?"

"I made the candles!" a boisterous voice declared as a familiar, extra tall konuul bent down and stepped inside.

"Kezh-??" Kuna said in surprise.

"Well, with help anyway. But I ki-" Kezhna began to say, cutting him off, then paused when Naira nudged her side. "Er... got the materials for them, anyway."

"What's... going on...?" Kuna asked, growing increasingly suspicious, but grinning at the same time. "Is this another one of those little ritual things? How many does it take to become a full-fledged Asher anyway?"

"Just the one," another voice said as an older konuul stepped in, with her mate following in after him. "So guess again."

"Ylva?" Kuna's eyes widened. Lykou's friends and sister he could see, but his parents? "H-Haldan? What're you-"

"Just call me Dad now, kiddo."

"And Mom. Might as well start getting used to it."

"W-...huh?? What do y-... wait," Kuna said, then spun around to look at Lykou questioningly. "Kouuu...?"

Lykou smiled innocently, though his face was noticeably flushed as he held something behind his back. "S-so um... hey Kou, you remember back in Clovaria, the um. The day we left Kerney, there was that big celebration, and Faergus and Moyra, um-"

"Get to the point, loverboy," Naira teased.

Kuna was blushing brightly by that point as the implications started to dawn on him. "K... Kou...??" he stammered, bringing his hands up to his mouth as the konuul pulled out a finely-decorated Sunstone bangle, just the right size for Kuna's wrist.

"Okayokay, uh... Kuna," Lykou said nervously. He leaned in for a moment. "Sorry, not exactly the time for nicknames," he said in a near-whisper, then leaned back again and continued, "I've been deeply in love with you for a while now, before we even officially became mates. I can't even imagine life without you now. Would you bless my heart and soul, and become my life-mate?"

Kuna's eyes teared up for a moment as everyone held their breath. "...yes. YesyesyesyesYES!" he finally blurted out, leaping into Lykou's arms and showering him in kisses, which the konuul happily reciprocated as much as he could, his own eyes tearing up with joy as well. The others let out a cheer and started applauding and chattering a bit in the background, but neither Lykou nor Kuna bothered to hear a word of it.

Finally, Haldan raised his voice above the rest, "Well don't just stand there, put it on!"

Lykou grinned at the sereva in his arms, who shakily lifted his arm up. The konuul then slid the sunstone band down onto his wrist, to another outbreak of cheering. Their hearts were racing as they stared into each other's eyes. "I love you, Lykou," the sereva said softly.

"I love you too, Kuna," Lykou replied. They both smiled blissfully, then closed their eyes and leaned in for a deeper kiss.

...only Lykou instead ended up bumping his face into something much larger and fluffier than he expected. He opened his eyes and blinked in confusion. What appeared to be a very large white paw had suddenly taken the place of the sereva that'd been there a moment before. He pulled back and realized he was holding onto the foreleg attached to it, rather than his lover.

"Lykou, ah'm flattered, bit ah dinnae see ye that way, lad," Daisy said in amusement. "Best we jest stay friends."

Lykou stumbled over backwards and fell on his rump in surprise. "D-Daisy?? What are y-"

"Oi, ye could've let him have his moment, ye ken," Aelana chastised her other half lightly as she stepped into Lykou's field of view a couple yards away, with her arms crossed. She shot him an apologetic look. "Sorry tae interrupt, lad."

"W-where's-" Lykou started to ask, then glanced around. He was in the middle of the woods, with no shrine, lake, or village anywhere in sight. Nor were any of his friends or family present. "Wait... how are you both... y'know, 'out' at the same-"

"Because this isn't real, you dumb-dum," a familiar sereva's voice chimed in behind him.

He whirled around to see Kuna leaning casually against a tree, with his arms crossed and an expression somewhere between smug and amused.

"W-wha..?" Lykou responded, frowning. Then his memory started trickling back. "Wait... right, I... I used the charm..." He smacked his forehead and sighed. "Now I remember... I was in the... astral realm earlier, and I guess I, uh..."

"Fell into an... interestin' dream, looks like," Aelana remarked tactfully, with a small smirk.

"Mibbie we shoulda stayed quiet a wee bit langer," Daisy suggested, leaning back and crossing her forepaws with a big grin. "Mighta gotten e'en mair entertainin'~"

"Ach, ye would like that, would'n ye," Aelana chided, rolling her eyes a bit. "Sorry fer her, Lykou."

"You kin be, cus ah'm not," the wolpertinger quipped, snickering.

Lykou was blushing furiously as he slowly got back to his feet and rubbed his arm self-consciously. "Uhhh... h-how much did you guys see?"

"Na too much," Aelana cautiously suggested. "Jest... weel...

"'nuff ta tell ye got it bad fer 'im," Daisy said, nodding over to the sereva. "Nae jest lust, either."

"You know, probably just the whole proposal and us making out like crazy thing," Kuna chimed in nonchalantly, then shrugged. "No big deal."

Lykou glanced back and forth between Kuna and the two dream-guests with a mixture of confusion and embarrassment. Aelana was giving the dream-Kuna a slightly perplexed look and stroking her chin thoughtfully. Daisy was sitting back on her hind legs, with her forepaws tucked behind her back, grinning at Lykou. "I... w... um... ehehe, w-weird dream," he stammered out. "Dunno w-what could have, uh, i-inspired-"

"Not fooling them, Kou," Kuna said with a smirk.

Lykou jerked to look back at the dream-sereva with a mixed expression. "I... uh..." Finally, he sighed and wilted, glancing back at the other two with a sheepish grin. "Okay yeah, I um... I might... kinda... really have a little... crush on Kuna..."

Kuna snorted. "Oh please, a crush? Kou, if they weren't here, you'd have your tongue down my throat even knowing this was a dream." He paused and stretched a bit, then dropped his arms to his side as he flashed the konuul a seductive grin. "Heck, you're probably even tempted with them here, arncha?"

"Is... is it normal for dreams to talk to you like this?" Lykou asked, blushing furiously. "S-something feels off here..."

"Ye ken, ah wis thinkin' tae same thing," Aelana agreed, stepping forward. "Usually, most ordinary dreams tend tae... weel, settle doon when we step in. Kuna had tha' demon tooth affectin' 'is, bit I dinnae ken what might be causin' this..."

"Just goes to show how strong his feelings are. Even mighty Sylthean dream magic tis no match fer his heart," Kuna said, then stood up straight and sashayed seductively over to Lykou. He wrapped his arms around him and smiled up at him with a sultry look, making the konuul's blush intensify again. "You know, if you'd just get up the guts to admit it ta me in the real world, all this..." He paused, then leaned in close and lowered his voice. "...could be real."

With a somewhat dopey grin, Lykou stammered and made several false starts at a response as he wrapped his arms back around the sereva. No longer completely in the mentality of his dream-self, his previous confidence had faded a bit, but he was certainly enjoying it nonetheless.

Meanwhile, Aelana continued to give the sereva an odd look. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and slowly slid over to her suspiciously quiet wolpertinger half. The slight accent slip-ups in Kuna's words hadn't escaped her notice. "Waiiiit a damn minnit... DAISY!"

"Hmm? Yes Lana?" Daisy replied with an exaggerated innocent look.

Lykou glanced over, though he found it hard to focus on much else besides the seductive sereva hanging off him so temptingly. While still surprisingly life-like, the object of his undeclared love had grown oddly quiet and less active, even as he continued to gaze lustfully at him. "W-what's... what's going on?"

Aelana stormed over, jumped up, and smacked the wolpertinger's face. "OF ALL THE IMMATURE SHITE, DAISY!"

Daisy was largely unphased, and just snickered and rubbed her face in response. As her other paw came back into view, there was a noticeable sparkly glow around it. "Ach, fine fine, ah'll stop," she said, rolling her eyes. The glow faded and Kuna's eyes rolled up as he suddenly fell limp and gradually slid off of Lykou to the ground. "Sorry Lykou. Couldnae resist a wee bit o' fun."

Lykou stared down at the sereva laying at his feet. It was definitely surreal- despite still appearing to breath and very much look alive, he was just laying there idly, almost like he was in a catatonic state. The konuul shivered a bit and took a couple steps back. "O-oh... r-right, dream stuff..." he murmured, then looked up and shot a flustered glare at the wolpertinger, though the bashful smirk on his face proved he was more embarrassed than truly angry. And truth be told, he did at least enjoy the moment while it lasted. "R-really Daisy??"

Daisy shrugged. "Cannae help mahself," she said simply, then glanced at her lepne half. "S'what we get fer leavin' me with all th' mischief." She turned back to Lykou with a smirk. "Dinnae let yer soul split inta two, lad. Ye'll end up half chaos 'n' half borin' as shite."

"That is QUITE enough o' you," Aelana growled, then waved a glow-coated hand in the air, opening a portal nearby. She then grabbed onto the wolpertinger's oversized ear and gave it a good yank, then started tugging her towards it. She glanced over at Lykou and nodded towards it. "Let's git oot o' this dream afore she gets any mair dumb ideas."

"Ach, c'mon Lana!" Daisy complained, tugging at her ear as she begrudgingly followed her. "Leggo, dammit!"

Lykou sighed as he started to walk after them. But just as the two visitors exited, there was a brief pulse through the dream world. He paused as he heard a grunt behind him. Looking back, he saw the sereva sitting up and looking around in confusion.

"Huh? What happened?" the dream-Kuna asked. He blinked and looked up at Lykou. "Kou?"

Lykou glanced back and forth between him and the portal, then rolled his eyes up and took a deep breath. "...fuck it." He suddenly trotted over and helped the sereva up, then pulled him into one more deep kiss. When he pulled back, the sereva was blinking and blushing, but grinning faintly. He smiled back bashfully. "...some day, Ku. Hopefully."

The canid then turned and darted through the portal, leaving a somewhat dazed dream-sereva standing there with his head tilted in confusion and a flustered grin on his face before his false reality faded away.

*****

Lykou stretched and sat up, then rubbed his eyes. He once again felt unusually alert for having just woke up. But as soon as he saw his surroundings, he realized he actually hadn't. At least he remembered and knew where he was this time. He sighed whistfully and rubbed his head as he got up, as the memory of the dream he'd just left ran through his mind.

But then he spotted Aelana and Daisy nearby, looking at him with a mixture of concern and, in Daisy's case, mild amusement. He quickly straightened up and put on an awkward grin, rubbing his head and blushing a bit. "Ah, h-hey, there you two are. W-weird dream huh?" he said. After a moment, his smile faded and he folded his ears down and dropped his arm back down to his side. "Ah who am I kidding, you saw plenty."

"Aye..." Aelana said calmly as she walked over to him and gently rested a hand on his shoulder. "Dinnae fash yerself, lad. We're na judgin' ye. The heart wants wit the heart wants." She then shot a glare back over at the wolpertinger. "And we won't be playin' any mair games wi'i, will we, Daisy?"

"Aye, t'was just the once," Daisy assured her, rolling her eyes. "Sorry again fer that, Lykou."

"Ehh, it's... alright," Lykou said with a bashful smile, shrugging a bit. "More embarrassed than upset. Besides... even if it wasn't real, it was kind of nice in the moment, I guess."

"Fer the record, most o' that dream was still made frae yer own heart 'n' soul, Lykou," Daisy assured him. "Ah jest meddled a wee bit at the end afore we left."

"R-right..." Lykou replied. "To be fair, this is the first time I think I've had one that went quite, err... that far. I... guess that stuff's just more on my mind than usual tonight."

"Probably from us having some fun earlier," his external voice cut in. "I really hope the casual sex thing isn't a mist-"

"aaahhHHSHUTUPSHUTUP!" Lykou interrupted himself, clutching his head and rolling his eyes up a bit. He groaned and tugged on his ears a bit in frustration. "How the fuck do I STOP that mess??"

Aelana stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, as Daisy strained to hold back a huge snickering fit. Finally, the wolpertinger couldn't hold back. "Anything else ye wanna share with us lad?" She nudged and winked at Aelana. "We really should've waited a wee bit longer, mighta had a real show!"

The lepne sighed, her expression turning flat as she facepalmed. "Daisy, ah swear," she muttered, then turned her attention back to the konuul with a reassuring smile. "Again, no judgement, lad. Jest the nature o' this place, 'specially since yer na used to it, much less with guests."

"I don't suppose this is all just another dream and you're not really here yet?" Lykou asked hopefully, still mortified.

"Afraid not," Aelana said, shaking her head a bit with a mildly amused smile. "Anything else ye wantae avoid inadvertently tellin' us, ye best try nae thinkin' aboot it."

"Well, you already know my big crush on Kuna and the fact that we uh... s-started the whole 'special friendship' thing today," Lykou said, doing his best to avoid looking either of them in the eye. "Not sure of anything that might top that. And obviously I don't want to keep trying to think of anything."

"Special friendship, hmm?" Daisy chimed in. "Yer so claise lad, just tell 'im how ye really feel already."

"Dinnae push-" Aelana started to interject, shooting her a look.

"N-no way!" Lykou quickly interrupted, shooting her a wide-eyed, anxious look. "W-we're still on a journey through unfamiliar places, for who-knows how much longer... last thing I want to do is make things awkward or freak him out." He sighed. "Can't count on the wishful thinking from my dream that it'll turn out alright either way. I just... have to wait until we get back to Lakefire."

"Ah think yer bein' a wee bit paranoid, lad," Daisy continued. "Whit makes ye think he doesnae feel the same?"

"W-well... I dunno," Lykou said, rubbing his arm a bit. "I've suspected sometimes, but I'm sure that's just wishful thinking, too. Plus, given his past, I'm worried about it just being me taking advantage of his ignorance. He never even had any friends before we met, so I doubt he has any experience with infatuation or love or anything like that. I might tell him and he'd go along with it because he doesn't know any better, then when he actually has those feelings for someone else, he might resent me or something..."

"Ah... didna think about tha'," Daisy admitted. "Still think thas a wee bit paranoid, tho."

Lykou rubbed his neck. "Well, either way, like I said, I need to just wait until the journey's over. I can at least hold out until then," he said, then smiled a little. "And I mean, as much as it drives me crazy not being able to kiss him and tell him how I really feel, at least we still get to spend lots of time together. And I'm lucky he's such a cuddlebug..."

"Aye, ye both are," Daisy said with a smirk. "Particularly fer a couple o' 'best friends'."

"A'right, thas enough Daisy," Aelana cut in, then turned back to Lykou and rubbed his back softly. "Awkward start aside, tis good ta see you again, Lykou. We wis startin' ta worry aboot th' two'a ye."

"S'been a while, aye," Daisy agreed, then grinned. "Havin' some fun adventures, ye?"

"HAH!" Lykou blurted out, his face immediately betraying his distinct lack of amusement. "Fun?! More like a nightmare!"

Aleana and Daisy both recoiled slightly at the sudden, intense response. "...aye?" Aelana hazarded.

Lykou blinked, then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to shout," he said, then rubbed his face. "And I guess, to be fair, there's definitely been some good times, too. We did make some great new friends in this one island place. Unfortunately, that was partly from them having to save our asses from a demon and his powerful magic cohort, plus all the people they duped into following their weird false-spiritual group."

Daisy and Aelana stared at him with wide eyes. "...demonic?" Daisy asked. "Ah don't s'pose yer bein' figurative?"

"Nope. Literally a demon. Er. Pact demon, I guess," Lykou said. "It was awful. They were killing off magic users that might threaten Kairangi's- that was the demon's mortal partner- influence over the island. Sacrificing them to the demon, who was posing as the main spir-, er, god of the island, while ironically framing anyone they sacrificed as the actually corrupt ones. They captured Kuna and I, then split us up and... fuck, I hate even thinking about it," the konuul rambled, starting to tear up a bit at the end. "If Kalei hadn't helped us escape..."

"Ah take it thas one o' them friends ye mentioned?" Aelana asked.

"Yeah. He was actually one of the members of that group, but a low ranking one. Once he found out the truth, he helped me escape, then we both went and rescued Kuna when they were taking him to... y-you know."

"Lad, ah'm so sorry," Aelana said, gently wrapping an arm around him. "That soonds awful..."

"Ah'll say," Daisy agreed, lightly laying an oversized paw on his shoulder. "Mighty glad ya found some decent folk tae help ye there."

"Yeah... thank goodness there are good people out there. Heh, actually, on the bright side we actually managed to turn around and defeat them," Lykou said, perking up a bit. "After Zyn came by and told us how. I have to say, I really misjudged that guy."

"Really now?" Aelana asked, stroking her chin curiously. "Thas interestin'."

"Downright unbelievable if ye ask me," Daisy said skeptically. "A jarzin actually bein' helpful, na jest a meddlin' shite? One workin' wi' Ink, nae less? Thas a hard yin tae chew."

"I'm starting to think he's a bit different from the others. Certainly different from Ink," Lykou said, then smirked. "Don't get me wrong, he can still be a bit of an obnoxious show-off, but he's been bending over backwards to try and help Kuna and I as much as he thinks he can get away with. Even risking upsetting Ink just to get a brief message back to Naira just so she knows I'm still alive."

"Weel, how d'ye like that?" Aelana mused. "Never thought ah'd see the day..."

"Ah'm still skeptical," Daisy said, then stretched out on the ground and grinned. "But s'lang as he's helpin' ye, ah guess he can't be all bad. Congrats on defeatin' a pact demon though, lad. Thas no wee feat. Why don't ye tell us the whole story?"

"As long as tis nae too painful," Aelana added with a concerned look. "No pressure, Lykou."

"Well... I was planning to tell you what all we've been through since you last spoke to Ku, after all," Lykou said with a shrug, then blushed. "You know, before the whole... dream thing."

"Weel mibbie it'll help distract ye from that," Daisy said, crossing her paws casually. "And we'd both love ta hear aboot it all."

"That's true. Frae what ye told us so far, 'n' knowin' Ink, ah'm sure ye got plenty ta tell," Aelana said, conjuring up a couple fancy padded chairs for her and the konuul to sit down in. "But only as much as yer willin' ta tell, lad."

Lykou looked around for a minute, then smirked a bit as he sat down. "Shame I can't do that magic stuff, or I'd make a campfire pop up in here."

Daisy grinned. "Ye have a damn guid point," she declared as she conjured one up for him. "One storytellin' fire, fit fer a true hero like yerself."

Lykou smiled over at the wolpertinger. "Thanks," he said, then took a deep breath as he thought back. "Let's see, considering when Kuna visited you two..."