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[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

[After this. Kain and Zephyr tear through the air, riding rapidly to Matoya's cave. As it approaches below them, Kain feels that familiar knot of dread in his stomach that the place always gives him. But this time not because of the old seer.]

[They soar along and downward, Zephyr landing and making impatient sounds at Kain. He leaps off of her, patting her and leaving her to rest. That was a faster flight than usual and he worries over her overexerting herself. Time she gets some much needed rest, as he approaches the cave.]

[A flood of emotions and anxieties fills his mind. What if she's already gone? What if something else horrible has happened to her because of neglecting herself? All the 'what ifs'. Including a quiet and dark thought that starts with: what if she doesn't really...]

[Ignoring the side of him that tells him this is futile and he doesn't deserve this, Kain heads into the cave. The clanking of armor can be heard as he approaches.]

Comments

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[Fortunately the portal is in the first half of the cave, far enough away from Matoya and her incessant grumbling that one can almost forget the old seer resides there. Almost. Reis has managed to avoid coming in contact with her, although that is the result of her plaintive staring at the portal out. Such a murky and mysterious aperture, and yet much as she wishes to, she dares not step through it. She stood in the gap and took the curse meant for Beowulf. There is no way she could now endanger him and all of Ivalice, not even for the joy of being reunited after so long.

Where the children have come and gone, worried for the Dragonkin, Reis remains seated and looking on. It is her way of bidding him farewell. Ideal to do it now while the others are away at the shrines, although she's got no inkling just how much time has passed. Even the clanking of armor goes unremarked by her, nothing more than background noise, most likely someone who has true need to leave.]

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[Kain pauses, standing there and watching her. It hurts so much to think this, but on seeing her there, he realizes that perhaps he's here to say goodbye. He really isn't sure. But for just a moment of time he has a pang of doubt.]

[He looks to the portal beyond her. He has no desire to leave- and hasn't for some months now. But even he falters in this moment of uncertainty, at the thought that Mount Ordeals is somewhere, reachable beyond that portal. The simple answer to his problems...]

[...but no. No answers were meant to be simple. He's learned this the hard way. He's learned a lot, here on Gaia and being his own person is one of those hard-won lessons. He's not Cecil. He can never be Beowulf. And he most certainly can't be his father, or Golbez, or anyone else he aspired to be like over the years.]

[But he can be Kain.]

[After another brief hesitation, he speaks up.]

Reis...

1/2

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[The sound of her name is all it takes to snap her out of her reverie, succeeding to garner her attention where others have failed for days. When she turns, her face lights into a brilliant smile and she scrambles to her feet.]

Kain!

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[She's thrilled beyond words to see him, and yet... why is he here when he should be elsewhere? The smile dims to concern and worry. Has he come to take his leave after all? The very thought makes it feel as it the stone floor of the cave has dropped out from beneath her.]

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[Kain looks concerned over her expression. He pauses a short distance from her, sorrow overcoming his features for a moment. But he keeps Rosa's words in mind, along with Zephyr's dragon-y encouragement.]

...Reis...

[He speaks her name again, softly, and steps a little closer.]

I don't know if words will mean anything...

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[That hesitation. It is as she fears. Kain intends to leave and with him goes the last of her will to continue on. She looks down, unhappy, but trying her utmost to mask that so not to sway his decision. Selfishness isn't in her nature and she could never live with preventing someone from seeking their happiness for her own sake.]

You have come to say farewell, have you not?

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[Farewell to her... or so he assumes.]

I've come...

[Why was he here? Kain struggles and fights off the last pangs of self-doubt. It's now or never. The way she sounds, she makes it seem as if she's about to go right through now. He can't let her go so easily.]

[His darkness would take by force what he desires. But he's not going to be that way. He can't ruin this, he refuses. So he takes another step closer, cautiously.]

I've come for a more important reason.

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[There is relief and yet worry all at once. He has not come to take his leave. but then for what reason would he sound so grave? Her mind races trying to discern what could be so harsh that Kain would come to this place to tell her. Please let nothing be wrong with Zephyr... or him. She could not bear it.

Reis takes a step closer and looks up, eyes searching for answers. Her voice fails her, betraying the tinge of fear that's creeping up on her.]

What is it?

1/???

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[Only Kain would manage to make this seem like a far more serious and grim moment than it should be. He stares at her intently for a moment...]

2/???

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[And keeps seeing visions of her stepping through that portal and ripping his heart out as she goes.]

3/???

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[NO. NO MORE FALTERING. NO GIVING UP. NOT ANYMORE. A REAL MAN, A DRAGOON, NEVER GIVES UP.]

4/???

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[But Kain's expression turns nervous and he looks almost... scared. The man who is so courageous in battle, who ran off to certain death without flinching is actually more fearful of this than anything he's faced. It could ruin everything if she takes it the wrong way. It could make her choose to leave him sooner. He feels so lost about this. He'd know what to do against an army of manikins. He hasn't a clue what to do now. Expressing himself in words has never been his strong suit. But perhaps actions could speak louder...]

[He closes the distance between them, continuing to give her an uncharacteristically nervous expression.]

I wonder if you would object...

[There's no time left. If he never tries now, he'll never know. Ever.]

5/5! :D!

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

[Kain throws aside all caution and takes the risk. He leans in closer to kiss her.]

1/2 *hugs the poor guy*

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[Poor Reis is entirely at a loss. It's so peculiar for Kain to behave in such a way. His natural reserve aside, have they not come to a place where they can speak freely? And he appears scared, though for what reason, she cannot comprehend. All she knows is it feeds her own fears that something atrocious has happened and will somehow rip him away from her too.]

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[However. Once Kain begins to lean in, all comes to sudden clarity of intent. This is her chance to convey what she's been unable to say for far too long. Reis places a hand on his chest and leans up, meaning to meet his kiss, and with all the passion befitting her draconic ancestry.]

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[To his surprise, she's not pushing him away or fleeing. Both were things he'd expected. Yet... any doubts of his are melted away by the very passionate way she responds. Never before has he felt like this, not even on the greatest, highest jump he's ever had.]

[Kain matches her intensity with his own, arms going around her and holding her close to him as he kisses her. If there's anyone who can handle and match the strength of a dragon- naturally it's him. He won't break away until there's finally a need for air.]

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[Escape is the furthest thing from Reis' mind. Rather, encouraged by the touch of strong arms around her, she presses herself in closer, harder, unwilling that they should be any more distance between them on any level.

When she pulls back to breathe, it is only that far and no further, leaving them almost nose to nose, with her hand straying up to caress that beloved face. This is the most alive she has felt for well over a year, and her plea is simple.]

Please, do not leave me.

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[Yes. Better than the highest, fastest Jump imaginable... better than dragon-flight even... Kain would agree wholeheartedly about feeling more alive right now. He savors the feeling of her being so close. All his doubts are gone forever now. To have someone desire him back as much as he desires them... This is the first time he's ever had that. He knows what he's been missing, and he never wants to lose it.]

Reis, I'm not leaving. But I thought... that you were.

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Nor am I. There is too much which compels me to stay.

[And she is currently snuggled up to a great portion of that reasoning.]

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[Kain nods, giving her an intense expression, no longer concealing the passion he feels for her. He's been holding it back so long- even from himself in a sense.]

I need you here. With me. You matter too much to lose...

[He makes bonds as strongly as a dragon after all, and his whole world would just crumble without her in it.]

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[And when Reis gives her heart, it's fully and forever. She's known for months where it lay, proven when grief crippled her once more when Kain vanished.

She cups his face in her hands, matching his intensity with a tender earnestness.]

I care not to live without you. Where you go, so too do I.

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Nor I without you. I couldn't bear it. I care about you, Reis. I have for some time without realizing it...

[Even Zephyr of all individuals, had caught on sooner than he had.]

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And I you. I did not wish to burden you with a heart you did not ask to carry.

[From the moment he'd mentioned another, she'd relinquished all hope, resigned to her loneliness, and unwilling to inflict that trouble upon him.

Reis pulls his face down to her own for a long and lingering kiss, and when she pulls away, her eyes are dancing with newfound hope and joy.]

Though, it is yours to claim, should you desire to do so.

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[Kain returns that kiss and answers without hesitation.]

I claim it and give my oath that I'll forever guard and honor it. It won't add to, but will lighten my burden. There's nothing I want more.

As I will give you mine...

[Something he doesn't offer lightly, and he knows she's aware of this given his past. Kain had known the same of her, that there'd been someone else. It had been a horrible thing to think of, being in another of these situations where he was again the outsider, in love with the wrong person. Yet... here they were, and it was better than he could have imagined. He gazes intently into her eyes for a moment and...]

[...very slowly, a very subtle smile forms on his lips.]

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[A smile is so rare for Kain that it draws a brilliant one from Reis in turn, much as his vow does. Overwhelmed with happiness, where moments ago there had been no hope left to her, Reis crushes herself against Kain in a fierce embrace and lays her head on his chest. She is listening for the cadence of his heartbeat while drawing peace from having him near.]

I shall guard it with my life.

[She knows too well how precious his offer is and would gladly lay down her own existence if it would safeguard him. He's saved her from dying to her own despair and would spend her life to repay him for all that he's done.]

My beloved... Would that I had spoken sooner and spared you any pain.

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[That earns even more of a smile, faint and subdued as it may be on Kain's face. Beloved. He's never had that before, never had someone to call that or be called in return. He feels... his emotions are no longer fully in his control right now, but in a good way. He doesn't have to hide or repress his desire any more either, something he's spent his whole life doing.]

The fault was mine. I was lost in the past... but now I wish to make a future, in Gaia with you. You and Zephyr have become my family.

[Not that it makes his homeworld 'family' any less, of course. But it's time he has someone special for himself. Ironically enough, he feels that he is the one who needs to repay her for all she's done for him. She's saved him from himself too, particularly when he'd revived from the Lucavi incident and had been ready to give up. She'd reminded him what he has to live for.]

I love you. I... need you.

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I love you.

[And oh how she needs him. Perhaps she cannot pinpoint the precise moment it happened, it grew so subtly. Yet when he'd vanished, Reis knew then how vital he'd become to her existence: not just for his young dragon's sake but for her own growing dependence on his presence in her life.]

Fault lies with me also. Too long I lingered in grief for that which was lost to me.

[But when her sadness turned to guilt, she'd clung on all the tighter to the memory of what she'd had, for fear of betraying him with her feelings. Unfair to either man, and yet now she could at last lay to rest those dark days and look to the future with hope.

Unable to resist the need to touch more, now that she is free to do so, Reis runs the back of her fingers along his face, eyes shining with unveiled adoration.]

I could not see what lay before my eyes. You are my life.

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[To think he'd started to assume he could never find this kind of connection with someone. Perhaps having Zephyr had truly made all the difference- she had brought out a compassionate side of him, one which cares more than he usually likes to let on. And Reis had seen that in him. Just as he sees how kind and caring and passionate she is...]

[He loves the feel of her touch, and the look in her eyes... he returns it with his own passionate gaze. He's so very new to this kind of thing. But somehow that doesn't seem to matter as much as he'd thought it would.]

No more grief, Reis... I want to see that you're happy. You deserve it.

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That is my wish for you. I will do all within my power to see that your happiness is secured.

[To enforce that, she follows with a warm smile and nod.]

No more grief. I have no need of it.

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I'll make sure of that. I'll be at your side, at any time you have need.

[Kain feels a tremendous weight lifted off of him by all of this.]

...This is the first I've ever felt this happy. I would say you've accomplished much already.