[Rosekitten]

He never said a word to the fact that he ate something this time, least he seemed to have some will to live even if it was a minor one. Well least that was one less thing he had to bother worrying over. He was thinking for a while today the guy was going to starve himself to death. Not that he could say much he never ate anything when he was captive.. though at the same time Thalion was a bit more lenient as far as captors went.

Finishing what he had in his bowl he stood once more and left Mizuki to whatever was plaguing his mind. Though in truth Thalion at the moment had his own demons he was dealing with. He seemed to almost be in a sort of auto mode as he went about putting anything that was left away and cleaning whatever was used in the process, aside from what Mizuki still had.

Why was it bothering him so much, he had other things to worry about and now he couldn't get Mizuki out of his head. Even the dreams that had been plaguing him from the first night of being captive were being renewed in his head. He finally settled that he just needed to sleep .. that had to be it he was just tired and over thinking on all of this.

He never said a word, even though normally he was cursing at Mizuki for being so damn silent all of a sudden when he knew very well the man could talk, he had no problem running his damned mouth at his own encampment. He walked over to the bed and flopped onto it like the night before. Though he did turn a little to speak, not that he thought Mizuki would move from the spot he seemed to claim but still. "you don't have to sleep in the floor.."

He didn't have any smart remark this time around, though he had worn himself out trying to figure out what was going on really. But he had a point there was a few chairs and a half sofa in the living area... hell anything hard to be better then a hard floor. There was also the bed, though granted it wasn't very big and that's not quite what Thalion meant when he said Mizuki didn't have to sleep on the floor.

[Pinkie]

Mizuki listened to Thalion go about his buissness. He watched him under half lidded eyes. Mizukis mind was whirling with questions. Why had he kissed Thalion? Not only that why did the other male kiss him in return? Why did he come back for a second go? It made no sense to Mizuki. No matter how long or hard he thought about it nothing changed and he gained no answers.

When Thalion spoke about not sleeping on the floor Mizuki actually looked up to him. "I dont sleep" He said simply "Since I was six...I dont sleep" He said "So a very very long time this mind has not slept" He said to Thalion in a stotic voice. And it was true, meditate? yes. Sleep? No.

[Rosekitten]

With that odd answer from Mizuki he moved and sat up looking at him with a rather odd expression. "don't sleep.. you have to sleep sometime, geese if you don't.." He laughed a little before speaking again "no fucking wonder the East is fucked up." He shook his head a little, that was a bit scary really if this guy really never slept.. he could have been in real trouble if he remained as a captive.

"Your probably not going to answer this but whatever. So why don't you sleep.. I mean you do some form of resting or else you wouldn't be alive." He had to admit he was curious on if he'd get a answer, aside from that he didn't care. Ok he did care a little he didn't really want to try and test this guy to see if he'd stab him in his sleep or not..

Really he wasn't all that curious about why or what caused him to not sleep, he was still focused on his own thoughts and it was preventing him from being as tired as he thought he was. 'why the hell didn't I solve anything!' he screamed in his head, the second kiss was suppose to settle it not make his questioning worse. He should have just left well enough alone but no he wanted a damn answer or to prove that it wasn't true.

[Pinkie]

Mizuki looked at him and contiplated if telling him was such a great thing. But seeing what situation he was in it really couldnt hurt. "I meditate deeply for hours each night" He said simply "Deep enough that it restores my energy" Mizuki said not looking away from Thalion. "I sleep once a month for four hours. Thats it" Mizuki said simply ever since the age of six. When I came to the castle of the east" He said like it was nothing.

And it was true though. Every word of it. He was sure that Thalion wouldnt try something while he was meditating. If he had really wanted to he would have done so already.

[Rosekitten]

He blinked a few times trying to figure the strange man out, apparently even grand Generals had issues.. not that he didn't already know that.. "that's.. a bit odd.. ever think you can't sleep cause you choose the side that's going to lose in the end?" He smirked a little before laying back down, sure he didn't have to torment the poor guy with thoughts of his army being slaughtered but Thalion wasn't the type to leave such a comment unsaid.

In ever fiber of his being he knew that the West would stay free of the Easts control. They had to.. there was no free lands left anywhere else. This was it, the last of the free people all fled here. Not only that if they lost then most of them would be slaughtered.. it would be looked as possible threats to the kingdom. Hell Thalion knew for sure his head was already due on a silver plate not to mention a few others he could name off.

"whatever then, either way if you don't sleep I sure as hell am." Or at least he was going to try.. unless his mind planned to play tricks on him tonight as well and curse him with a dream he didn't want to see. He rather missed when he didn't remember or didn't have dreams about now.

[Pinkie]

Mizuki said nothing to the cheap threat the other used against him. Mizuki almost wanted to laugh when he said it though managed to stay exactly how he was; calm. Mizuki removed the damp towel that was on his head and held it in his lap for a second. He then stood and walked it back to the bathing area. Taking his shirt Mizuki ripped another peice off of it before placing it on. Taking his hair he took his time and braided it. His hair was his only pride and joy. For no matter how much his soul was tainted it remained untarnished.

After he tied off his braid he walked softly back into the room. Though he opteded for sitting in the same place he always did Mizuki couldnt help but glance at the other male beside him. Did Thalion care for him? Mizuki shook his head and closed his eyes bringing his braid over his shoulder to rest on his chest once more. What was Mizuki to do? How could he really be falling for this man?

[Rosekitten]

He never moved or acted like he noticed Mizuki moving about a bit, really he probably didn't notice. He was trying to sleep no matter what happened. His mind was being overly active and it was starting to wear at him. He just needed to sleep to forget it, or that's what he was trying to tell himself.

Though his mind had other plans for him, probably a good three or four hours after going to 'sleep' Thalion sat up suddenly. He stayed there for a moment before resting a hand against his head and moving a few stray hairs out of the way. Another damn dream, why were they getting worse now. This one.. it went further then the last one. His breathing was even unsteady from it, what the hell. He needed to get himself under control.. he half wanted to still blame Mizuki for this. It never started till after he was captured.

At this point he'd rather have nightmares of the land being ravaged then this.. anything would be better. He felt like his own body was betraying him for how it was almost lusting towards the dream. Was it even possible for your mind and body to betray you? Either way he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight either it seemed.

Though a odd thought crossed his mind, maybe it'd make him tired. "Hey.. Mizuki, you .. dumb question your probably awake. He sighed a little before speaking again to go ahead and try to strike a conversation, though he wanted to cover up why he just suddenly was awake as well. "What happened? Rather when you first went to the Eastern castle, something had to happen for you to stop being able to sleep right?" He half didn't expect a answer, but he asked anyway.

[Pinkie]

Mizuki sat there and just listened to the soft noises around the room. The little creaks the house made and something shifted. The soon even out breathing of Thalion letting him know that the other male had fallen asleep. Everything was finally quite. Mizuki straighted his back and hung his head a little. Meditation was a great thing. He thought before he cleared his mind and sat there absolutely still.

Mizuki was good going for a good four hours before the large intake of air from Thalion broke his concentration and it was over just like that. Listening as the male began to speak Mizuki wanted to laugh at the stutter of words. But then when he was asked about...that he kinda faulted a little.

But he felt that the male beside him needed to know for some reason and Mizuki was fine with telling it "When I was young my kin and I lived free" He said "We lived in our home lands with out a care. It was like a dream" Mizuki said slightly dipping his head a little "All dreams end though" He said "The night of my sixth birthday our village was raided by the kings army" He said in a voice that seemed to be so far away "Everything was buring, dying..." Thats when Mizuki paused a moment "I can still hear the screams" He said.

"During the entire thing they collected the children together" He said "They took us to the castle and left us in the castle caves of the far west wing" Mizuki said in a shiver "Thats where day after day I lived. Scavenging for anything to stay alive." Mizuki said so matter of factly "It wasnt until I was 15 when I attacked a gaurd and the king saw something in me' He stated "Thats when I left the hole." Mizuki said shrugging his shoulders a little "In those days it was sleep and die" He said.

[Rosekitten]

He seemed to listen well enough to the tale Mizuki had. It wasn't what he was expecting. Though he should have.. it was a similar tale to what eh had heard from others. Hell the same would have happened if the king's army had gotten his parents instead of mere bandits.. probably now that he thought of it the thugs saved his life. He had to consider himself rather lucky the more he thought about it. The drows still had the lands that were native to them.

Dreams might not last forever but.. he wasn't going to give up. The odds were stacked against the West. Thalion wasn't as foolish as he made out to be, he was a natural born leader even if he avoided doing so and played the role of a idiot at times. He wasn't going to let what happened to Mizuki happen to anyone here, not while he drew breath. But he kept such protective thoughts to himself.

"I see.. why serve him then?" He probably was going to get to a point where Mizuki didn't answer him but he had to know what drives a man to serve under the very being that killed everything and destroyed the home he once had. "I'd rather choose death then to server under the one who destroyed my homelands.." To be honest Thalion was a bit craftier then just rolling over and dying.. he'd play out whatever role needed and work his way through the ranks if it was required just to get close to the target he wanted.

Really thats half of the reason he was n the Western army.. he had a contract that he was following to kill one of the commanders, needless to say he succeeded in doing as the contract said.. though at the same time he was captured due to a minor mistake. There's a bit more to this tale but you can figure out the rest as to why Thalion is his rank.

[Pinkie]

Mizuki looked to him "It was serve him or die" Mizuki said "And...I didnt want to die" It was the truth and it was so simple. Mizuki didnt want to die. That is why he kept forcing himself to do what he needed to do within the kings army in order to make it. To see and breath another day. Though it would seem that those days were over.

That was the last conversation on the subject that they had. After that Thalion did just what Thalion did and brushed it off with a comment. After that he laid back in his bed though he didnt sleep or rest. Neither of them did.

The next day was the same thing. Going to work coming home. Going to work comming home. Going to work, getting bugged by the little girl whos name he found out to be Neimi, going home. The days began to blur together. How long had he been there? Getting used to Thalion and the people. Talking with the male more and more. Simple words and kinds gestures took a while to bloom but they were going to be in full force...sooner or later.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-One year later-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mizuki sat there on the edge of the bed with his back pressed against the wall his feet out before him. They had just made it home from the days work and his shoulders hurt. Mizuki had now been in the west caves for little over a year amd everything has changed. He began to know and talk with the people. He made his peace with some while others still didnt know if he was to be trusted. Neimi and Mizuki had even made up and were now very close.

Though Mizuki still didnt talk much to others he felt it easy to share his voice with Thalion. Thats when Mizuki looked up to see the male comming out of the bathing room. Towel around his waste, one on his head his right hand trying to dry his damp locks. "You look like a drowened rat" Mizuki said to Thalion with a smile. Over time they had begun to joke around and even play fight at times, even making crude jokes at one another just to get a rise. And Mizuki loved it! It was something he could do to keep the male beside him. Mizuki had fallen and fallen hard for the pissed off male infront of him. It was safe to say that Mizuki was in love.

[Rosekitten]

It was hard to believe he had put up with Mizuki for a year, between him and the kid it was half like having a small family.. especially after Neimi got over her fear of Mizuki. At the same time it seemed to work on Thalion, he had changed a little. Though it wasn't anything drastic, he was still his normal crud self and pretty much whatever came to mind probably came out with little to no regard of who he was talking to.

Though he had to admit, he started enjoying the company as time went on. He was use to just having Neimi come and go but Mizuki was always there. After a while things settled out a bit more when Mizuki started accepting the fact he didn't HAVE to stay in the same damn spot for all the hours they were home.

Whatever that caused the two to not kill each other over a year ago he had to admit he was glad for it. Though it did take half of the year for him to finally settle with his mind that the thoughts weren't going away no matter what he did.. that and the few awkward moments they had every once in a while ended up getting worse and worse each time.

He was in the process of drying his hair when the comment caught him attention. He stopped for a brief moment with a slight glare at Mizuki before a smirk crossed his face. "Least I don't look like a mop when wet, I'll take drowned rat any day" He had a point, Mizuki's long hair went everywhere when it was went or damp.

Once he had dried his hair to the point he was happy with it for now he walked over to Mizuki who was sitting there and grabbed his chin with one hand after moving the smaller towel from his head to his shoulders. "besides, you must like this drowned rat. You've stuck around this long" He had given Mizuki the option a few times to go elsewhere, or they could get him a place of his own but he never seemed to take the offer.

[Pinkie]

Mizuki watched him and snorted alittle at the wet mop comment. Then Thalion walked over and leaned down grasping his chin saying something that made Mizukis heart flutter "Besides...you must like this drowned rat. You've stuck around this long" Thalion had said in a lowered voice filled with some hidden emotion that the male had yet to admit to.

Mizuki couldnt help the actions that took place next. Grabbing both ends of the towl with a strong fist he slowly pulled the other male towards him giving him the option of pulling away if he wanted to. Though there was no resistance as their lips met softly in a tender kiss with Mizuki closing his eyes.

[Rosekitten]

Oddly he was expecting the kiss, he would have done it himself if Mizuki hadn't of beaten him to the punch for it. Even if he was coming to terms with this.. he still tended to pull away at times like he didn't want to come to terms with it still or something made him fear getting close to Mizuki. Then again Thalion never really got close to anyone.

He held the kiss for a moment before moving a hand and forcing Mizuki back onto the bed staying over top of him. He couldn't resist doing so really, it was just perfectly set up.. After he had accepted that these thoughts weren't going away it became worse over the year. The feeling of his lips against Mizuki's even the slightest touch, he almost wanted to say he longed for it. Any sort of interaction like it was a new found addiction for him.

[Pinkie]

Mizuki accepted the light push when their lips broke apart. He landed back into the bed with his elbows so he could still look at the man before him. Thalion... the rude, blunt trouble maker that he had grown to love. He ever wondered when the day came when Thalion said those words to him. The thought that brushed his mind made his ears drop a little dipping below silver hair that covered the bed under Mizuki with some captured by his bare chest, flowing down like little rivers of silver water.

Mizuki had almost gotten used to wearing his hair down when they were at home. He often wondered if Thalion liked it. But that was just one thought floating among many. Looking up to meet eyes with Thalion Mizuki gave a small tender smile one that was tarnished by his thoughts.

[Rosekitten]

What was it about Mizuki that did it. Over the course of the year he found himself less and less able to part ways with this man. Even when he had to due to certain errands he needed to take care of.. he'd count the hours as they passed slowly.

The word love never crossed his mind, but then again it wasn't something commonly brought up with his kind int he first place let alone with the early childhood he had gone through. Granted Mizuki had a rough start early in life as well but at least he remembered his home. One day though maybe he'd say the words that Mizuki longed to hear, maybe they wouldn't be too late when he got to saying them.

One hand stayed on Mizuki's shoulder seeing as he had stopped him from pushing his back all the way, not that he couldn't force him down if he wanted. Even if Mizuki was taller, strength wise Thalion still had the upper hand at least in the hand to hand department. His free hand moved towards Mizuki's face and lightly brushed aside a few stray strands of silver hair that were getting in the way pushing them back behind his ear.

"don't look at me that way" Thats half of what started any of this in the first place, he almost seemed innocent, Thalion knew better then that. Mizuki couldn't hide what some of his thoughts were not even with such a smile. Though not like Thalion was any better if he knew or thought he knew what Mizuki was thinking then it was the same damn thing he was.

[Pinkie]

Mizuki gave a little dip of his head "And how is it I whould be looking at you?" He asked rubbing his face into the others hand as he brushed his hair back. Looking back to Thalion with lust filled lavender eyes he resched forward his fingers lightly brushing the marks left from the meddalian that would never go away. Every time Mizuki saw them his heart began to hurt. And now matter how many times he said sorry for everything he had done they never went away.

Mizukis dropped more at the thought. Then he leaned forward and closed his eyes as his lips brushed over those marks with tenderness. If he could take them back he would.