forum At War // OxO // Closed

Started September 19, 2021 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

Nik exhaled softly, pulling his hand back. "My apologies." he said softly, looking down at Kaylum. "Are you…alright? You were…making noises." he didn't know what else to say. How was he supposed to handle this situation?

Making noises? Kaylum frowned. He didn’t want to admit it, but he felt embarrassed for some reason.
“I guess not.” His voice was soft from sleep. “Just nightmares though. It’s fine.”

"Alright." he said softly, running a hand through his hair. "I just…wanted to wake you and make sure you were alright." he gave Kaylum a faint smile, still trying to be as encouraging as he could. "that's all. You can, ah, go back to sleep."

Wow, a human who was trying to look out for him. Maybe Kay shouldn’t be so surprised since it was his soulmate, but it was still a new concept he was trying to grapple with.
“I don’t know if I can,” he admitted with a shrug. “And I don’t know if I want to.”

Nik nodded slightly. "Right. Well. You don't have to go back to sleep, then." he cleared his throat softly, looking around the cell and then back over to Kaylum. This was not a situation he knew how to handle.

Somehow, Kaylum found it in himself to laugh a little. Nikolas’s awkwardness was apparent, and after what he saw, Kay was trying to find humor where he could. He rolled over onto his back and stretched his limbs.

Nik blinked at him, but finally let out his own soft laugh. "Sorry." he said in a quiet tone. "I am…not the best at handlng this sort of situation. Nightmares and trying to comfort people, I mean. It is not my area of expertise."

“No, please,” Kay said, “I’m the same way. But it’s funny when I see you do it. And you don’t need to do anything, really. I mean, I just assumed you wouldn’t care, so…”
As he spoke, he rested his hands beneath his head, staring at the ceiling. Now, his gaze drifted to Nik.

Nik shrugged faintly. "I just wanted to help. And you're my soulmate and the only ally I've got here. So. It just makes sense to care, at least a little bit." he looked up at the ceiling.

“That makes sense, I guess,” Kay shrugged. “I, uh… I appreciate it.”
After a few moments of silence, he asked, “Have you ever heard of human/shifter soulmates before?”

"No. But, to be fair, I had not researched it either. I'm sure it has happened before, but it probably just was not well documented. If it happened between commoners, it might not have been remarked upon much, especially if it happened in a border town." Nik said, looking at Kaylum again.

“Ah, yes. I mean, I’ve spent many hours in my palace’s archives, and I don’t recall reading a record of soulmates of differing species. But of course, I’ve only ever seen my palace’s archives, nothing else. The most I remember is a few cases where there were soulmates of different dragon types,” Kaylum recalled.

Nik nodded slightly. "I see." he said softly. "Well. It would appear that we may be unprecedented, then." he laughed a little bit. "I suppose that figures."

“And how timely,” Kay remarked with a sigh. “This will surely go down in history.”

He laughed faintly. "If we live through this, yes. Everyone will think it was a miracle of fate that brought peace to our time." he smiled faintly over at Kaylum.

Kaylum also quirked a grin, but sighed softly again. “If we live through this…” the grin faded. “If we live through this, I’m going to take a long nap.”

He laughed again. "Me too." his smile faded a little bit. "But after that, we'll both be a bit busy, ah, ruling our nations." he thought for a long moment. "How are we going to do it? Both of our respective capital cities are closer to the centers of our nations, it's…a bit far away. Obviously Tesh would not be happy if you ruled it from the Kevran capital, but Kevra would not be pleased if I tried to rule from the Tesh capital."

Kaylum rubbed his hands over his face. “Do you really want to think about that right now?” He groaned. “I don’t know. Rule from our own capitals and just… continue negotiating until we get a peace treaty? Or maybe we combine Tesh and Kevra and make a new capital.”
These were just random ideas from his brain, nothing more. He didn’t really think they had any merit.

"Well, if we marry, we have to combine the rulership. And live together. It's rather normal, for married couples to do so." he laughed faintly, shaking his head for a moment. "I'm not sure we can just…make a new capital, though. That sounds rather expensive."

“But what if..?” Kay stopped himself. Just because he didn’t want to marry Nikolas didn’t mean he was free to make that choice. “Well, maybe we don’t have to live together…”
The other prince was right about the financial aspect of making a new capital. Kay mentally discarded the idea.

Nik shrugged faintly. "This is running on the assumption that, as soulmates, we intend to marry." he added after a moment, clearing his throat and not looking at Kaylum. "It…might work out well for us to do so."

Not only that, but since everything that was done to establish peace went so horribly wrong, the only way they could repair it would be through political marriage.
Kaylum sighed. “Perhaps…”

Nik looked over at him again. "My apologies, if that is not something that you desire." he said in a quiet tone. "We do not have to marry, you know."

Kaylum met his gaze. “There’s no need. You know we… we have to. That is the only way we can repair what has been destroyed, now. I’m just being…” he frowned at himself. “Being stubborn. And in normal circumstances, my people do not marry so young. The idea is so… unfamiliar.”

Nik nodded faintly. "Yes, well. I hate to be blunt, but we don't have time to wait another 80 years or however long your people usually wait. If you wait that long, I will be dead." he looked at Kaylum, a faint frown tugging at his lips.

For some reason, the way Nik spoke made him laugh. “Oh, no, of course not. We just have to wait another 60 and I’ll be fine,” he teased. His parents had in fact gotten married in their eighties, that was the normal age.

"I will still be dead." He replied. "Or, well, very very old." he laughed a little bit, shaking his head. "But, yes, in order to do it within a good amount of time for humans– and my lifespan– if we are to marry, it will need to be within the next five years."

“The next five?” An incredulous expression crossed his face. “Great ancestors, you humans do not last long.”

"I told you, average lifespan is about 80 years. Total. I am already 20, which means I have already lived about a quarter of my life, assuming I make it to 80. Therefore, within the next five to ten years, at the maximum, is our prime time, at least for me."

“Alright, alright, I get the idea,” he huffed. A quarter? Kay had lived less than a tenth of his natural life. “Five years then. At the most. We may likely have to get married sooner.”