The Dragon and the Shrike

[Kuzo]

Coruscant
Continued from Muddy Waters



There were familiar pathways. They led to certain individuals. Doors that swung in both directions that connected her. But one in particular encompassed a tunnel through the Force with few defined limits. It yawned, familiar in its darkness, warm in its shadows. And it led to a particular beast. A dragon.

Her dragon.

Always before, they had tread respectfully in that passage way. But this time, Irajah swept through with a roar of wind and fire. In his mind, her eyes flamed golden, reflective in the conflagration. She did not come to him for help, to ask him for his aid. She came to him to take, because her need was a hollow belly, growling, gnawing. With a sharp tug, she took what she needed from him, a soft caress left behind. A thank you. A I will explain later.

And then she was gone again, dark wings and talons receding from Jairus Starvald's mind.

*****

She stood there for a long time, silent and thoughtful.

She might never fully understand just what had happened here. But she knew one thing.

A man she had loved, once upon a time, had come here to kill her tonight. In truth, that was all that really mattered. Everything else was details she could work out later. Or perhaps not at all. In truth, she wasn't entirely certain if she cared. With a shake of her head, she sent a pulse along the connection she shared with Jai. Letting him know that she was safe.

And that she wanted him to come home.

*****

Physically, Irajah had suffered very little from her encounter with [member="The Slave"]. Bruises only, even if they would be the lovely colour of a rotted sunset across her back and shoulders come morning. So much of what he and the Staff had done had been largely illusion, even if it had felt so real at the time. She could almost feel the phantom pain of where it had peeled her flesh from her bones- but there was not a mark upon her, and she knew that sensation would fade with time.

Still riding on the excess power she had borrowed from Jai, she stepped into their apartment. There was still fury in her. Still gold snapping in her eyes that had not bled back yet to their normal hue. Part of it was the anger after the whole encounter. It was the second time in recent days that someone had come into their space with the intent of killing one or both of them, and it infuriated her. That vexation was buoyed by the borrowed power, keeping it afloat and on the surface.

He was waiting for her there. Which was a relief on several levels, certain pathways.

"I think," she said, referring to first the attack at the mechanic's shop and now this, a certain sardonic twist found its way to her lips, "That we should both consider working late nights from home. The commute is murder."

[member="Jairus Starvald"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

He stood at their fireplace.

It roared already and the heat caressed skin, the music playing softly in the background and a glass of amber liquid resting in the palm of his hand. It was not often that Jairus found himself interested in brooding, but sometimes it was simply pleasant to enjoy some burning fire... both in the throat as well as on your skin. The door opened and the presence of Raja swept in just so.

Didn't need to turn around to confirm.

But turn around Jai did.

The glass put aside on the table for now as he closed the distance. Long fingers curled around her jaw, tipping her head up a fraction. Jairus watched, eyes brushing line to line, noting the deep fire of amber in her eyes. Then kissed her lips softly once. "Mmmm, it would cut down on the duration spend killing... time." The quip reversed as the joke was bounced back and then he smirked.

"Wish I could see the other guy. Drink?"

Indication of his head gesturing towards the second glass on the table, already filled for her with the same blend of whiskey.

There was no concern in his voice or even his eyes, but the immediate grasp of her jaw would have told a different tale. That jokes aside, his first instinct was to ensure that she was okay, before moving towards amusing quips and jokes between the two of them. "Settle down on the couch, love, anything physical or... mental, I suppose, that's bothering you beyond the bruises?"

The couch already had a medkit.

 

[Kuzo]

"Just a touch," she said in response to the offer of a drink, kissing him. Her mouth was tight, everything from the day a little too much, and besides, she still had the feeling of his power curled uncomfortably inside of her. They way they felt within the Force was too different to hold it comfortably for long. Perhaps with practice yes, but this was the first time she had ever tried anything like that, and it was not the same as his soft purr in her mind.

She accepted the glass, taking a sip- she'd been very conscious of her alcohol consumption lately, but this was well needed and she closed her eyes at the burn- different from the fire of rage, from the smoke of his power. Settling down on the edge of the couch, strung too tightly to relax just yet, she shook her head.

"No," she said. "Physically I'm fine. A cup of caf and a hot bath and, well.... and tomorrow I will hate everything, but physically nothing worse than the bruises."

Opening her eyes again, the glow still golden, she reached out her hand- she didn't have to, but it was always good to touch him.

Slowly, she let the power trickle back toward him. She kept the flow controlled, the opposite of how she had taken it. It was his, so it should not be any problem, but she was careful, nonetheless, his heart on her mind, as well as the strain on the life inside of her. In the moment it had been necessary, but now....

She sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly as she returned it. Reaching up, she rubbed her temples, a headache starting to blossom.

"I didn't even know I could do that until I had already done it," she admitted. The gold was starting to fade- not vanish, but sink back into the hazel. Flecks were left behind, reflecting the firelight clearly.

"As for seeing the other guy, well.... I've told you about him. I believe you saw him at Cerbera's. She called him Dorian. You'll understand why the meeting went.... not as I expected it might. Well, it's easier to show than tell, love."

[member="Jairus Starvald"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

He found himself behind her.

Fingers softly disentangled hers and warm tips rubbed gently in circular motions against her temples. The longer he rubbed the more pronounced the warmth became, slowly seeping into her skin and softening up the tension inside that came from prolonged mental exposure. "Dorian?" Jairus thought back absently, while focusing mostly on her skin and the low-key pain within.

"Hmm, I don't think- Oh." Nose wrinkled a touch at the memory that suddenly popped up. "He never seemed like much if I am honest... no offense." Even this Dorian had tried to murder Raja now?

Once upon a time she had called him a lover.

That would sting and to downplay him in his memory? Well, that would presumably not be welcomed warmly. It was for this reason that Jairus simply stated his opinion and no more, because he wasn't much from his opinion. A shade of a man, thin, frail, mind infinitely malleable without strict foundation that would anchor a person into a state of mind of their own.

No spine.

An eternal victim at the whim of others.

What Raja had ever seen in him was beyond him, but that wasn't surprising. Jairus was hunger at heart and it was when Irajah had shifted from victim to predator of her own that true partnership had been achieved.

"Show me, then, what this Dorian tried and how you repaid him."

 

[Kuzo]

"None taken," she said dryly, closing her eyes and letting the warmth from his hands flow through her.

Very little of what Jai's thoughts echoed was untrue. What residual affection had remained was thoroughly wiped away by his efforts of the evening. But her own words had largely echoed his thoughts in this moment, and she'd share that in a moment.

"And it wasn't him, in truth. Well, his actions, his choices certainly, but not him that incited the," she smiled slightly, "the borrowing. It was the thing he had with him. I don't know how deep that went and frankly my dear, I don't really give a damn either."

She leaned back against the couch, Jai standing behind it, his fingertips on her temples. That was unnecessary to showing him, but pleasant and for a moment she turned her head slightly to nuzzle one of his hands before opening the connection wide again and pulling up the events of the evening for him to sift through. She could have shared it as the experience, and she did- but she also appreciated the outside perspective, allowing him to take it piece by piece and look it over with deliberation, rather than at the break neck speed of experience.

"I don't know what it was, but it was a queen," she smiled, but the smile had turned to teeth. "I believe I would have had it if he hadn't run. I don't know why he did specifically but it hardly matters."

There had been a time, even as early as that evening, where understanding his motives had been worth the effort.

Unfortunately, attempted murder thoroughly removed someone from 'worthy of Irajah's regard' as far as she was concerned.

[member="Jairus Starvald"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

The first times they attempted this is had been mildly disorientating.

No matter how proficient one was in matters of the mind, there was something vaguely odd about slowly seeping into someone's conscience. Watching what they watched, feeling what they felt, hearing, Jairus could even taste the faint brush of the tea he had bought for her a week ago. But after so many times? After that passage way had been used in both directions over and over again, smoothing the walls into perfection?

It didn't have that weight anymore.

They watched together in her mind, him drawing her out of reliving the memory and wrapping his arms around her waist, chin on her shoulder. It wasn't real, but Raja had learned early on that that did not often present an obstacle for Jairus.

"Fragile mongrels feel their end coming a mile away, love." Jairus responded as they watched the scene together, one angle to the other, rewinding, pausing, speeding up where necessary. His touch gave them additional details that Raj would have missed in the heat of the moment. It was a more gentle and inclusive way of sharing rather than extracting through force. "He fled, because you are his end."

It was the image of the Darkstaff that gave him pause.

She would have felt it, his arms tightening as a brow rose behind her. "Something wrong?" Jairus nodded, because this complicated things to one degree or the other.

"That artifact is not a mystery to me."

 

[Kuzo]

It was easier to look at the whole thing critically after the fact. It was never possible in a moment to see all facets without the needs of now shadowing them. She frowned slightly, tugging up this detail or that, overlayed with his attention as he chose moments to look back at with deeper scrutiny that she might have over looked. They worked in tandem, rebuilding the narrative from its base parts, shifting some of the puzzle pieces to fit more snugly against each other.

"Oh?"

She had smiled at his comment about fragile mongrels, but the way he'd tightened brought a small frown to her face now, rippling through the images.

"That's good, but I don't like the way you said it. Care to share with the class?"

He would, even if she hadn't asked, but she could tell he was mulling over his own memories and knowledge to settle it before sharing whatever it was. It wasn't something purely academic, she could tell from the beginning.

[member="Jairus Starvald"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

Slowly they retreated from her memories and settled back into their own bodies.

Jairus gave one last rub of her temple, slowly shifting it into a brushing line across her neck, before he walked around the couch and back to the fire. It took him a moment or two. A bit more than that and that would be new for both of them. Usually Jai knew exactly what to say and when to say it. But this was different, this was a complication that he hadn't seen coming.

"Complication, rather big one." The Sith Lord finally mumbled. He turned around and watched her, then sighed. Hand extended and something shifted in the air. Like the breaking of light.

Bits and pieces.

A blink - it was always during a blink, as if it didn't want to be seen materializing - and suddenly a gnarled staff rested in his hand. Its surface polished elderwood, dark, the material gleaming and somehow even moving. Almost like reality had a difficult time grasping and holding it for an extended amount of time. It hummed softly and then it suddenly stilled.

As if it knew all the attention of the room had gone towards it.

The disembodied voice would come next.

"Would you like to destroy something today?" It caressed, its voice (male but achingly poetic) whispered in both of their minds. Jairus scowled at it, but did nothing to put it away for the moment. "Look familiar to you?"

 

[Kuzo]

Raj's nose wrinkled and she pulled her chin back just a touch. The look of disgust was less horror and more like she might give Kresh or Krait when they dropped a half mangled hawkbat on her desk, waiting expectantly for praise. Right before she used a rolled up newspaper to brush it off into the trash.

You could destroy them all, you two. Let me help you.

"Two of them seems like overkill," she murmured, sticking out her tongue a little.

It would be beautiful, Coruscant on its kneeeeees, begging.

"It's also incredibly obnoxious," she wrinkled her nose further. "And it's got a hard on for begging. Not even in a fun way either."

She glanced up at Jai, clearly with no intention of touching the thing.

"Alright. I'll bite. What the maw is it?"

[member="Jairus Starvald"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

Scowl turned into a frown as the whispering continued to crawl against their mind and with his own wrinkle of the nose he let the apparition fade into the air again.

It disappeared.

To wherever artifacts of shadows went.

As Jairus walked on over, he couldn't help but rub his hand against his shirt, as if there was something foul on his skin and he just had to get it out. "Agreed." Jai retorted while settling down next to her and shrugging. Had the Sith Lord known what he had broken and bound to himself all those years ago with Ardik? He most likely wouldn't have done it in the first place.

Avoided it completely.

Maybe throw it in a black hole.

Though the fact that it had been thrown in a blackhole before and was still around probably spoke of the success rate of that. She settled against him and his arm wrapped itself around her shoulder, pulling her close before he started talking again.

"The Dark Staff. Artifact of the Darkside- sentient... somewhat, powerful beyond belief and with a will of its own." She would have noticed that last thing. The Slave had not been powerful enough to break the artifact himself. It had dominated his body, made him move like a little puppet. "You need strength of mind and character above anything else, if you want to... control it."

A sheepish smile that seemed a bit pained came next.

"When I was younger I managed to find it. Break its will and bind it to myself." He scratched his neck a bit, nervously. "...you might already be aware that I was prone to making rash decisions like that."

He coughed next.

The Heart had shown that already.

 

[Kuzo]

She listened, quiet and patient while he explained. For a moment she was silent and then her eyes cast to his face.

"I have no unfathomable idea how you managed to survive as long as you have."

Serious and to the point, but no anger there. It was something she was slowly getting used to. These stories of sheer lunacy fed by his hunger. Irajah had never desired power for power's sake, so it wasn't something she could empathize with him on. But she could accept it as part of who and what he was, and while occasionally she'd tease him about it, after things had settled with his heart she did not harass him about it.

What good would it do now, after all?

But sometimes, she did truly marvel at how someone who had taken as many risks as him had managed to live long enough for the two of them to even meet.

"But at least that explains it," she said with a small, irritated sound. "There's no way he could have controlled it." It was clear from her tone that despite that knowledge, she had not changed her stance on the whole debacle. Before her death, before the separation of spirit into two parts, perhaps. That part of her willing to attempt to empathize with someone no matter what they had done was long gone.

Besides. It was personal. Irajah didn't care what he did to anyone else. They simply did not signify. But he had brought that down on her door step and that was where it started to matter.

"Glad I didn't try to wrestle the damnable thing away from him though," she mused absently.

Not because she wasn't all of the things Jai cited..... she had no doubts on those, not any longer. But because she would not have been prepared for the effects.

[member="Jairus Starvald"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

Oh, if there was one that could have managed it would have been her.

Stronger than him, she was, when it came to an indomitable mind.

She was more persistent than anyone he had ever met before and with the amount of lives rolling around in that mind of his? That truly said a thing or two. Jairus was just as happy as she was about her not taking the fething thing. It was plenty to have one in this household. He wasn't entirely sure what the effects would be, if these two would ever be in close proximity with one another.

"No, I do not suspect he could, no matter how hard he'd try." Jairus shrugged at that. There wasn't much sympathy within him for that sort of thing though. "I wonder how he got his hands on it..."

They were time-remnants, the Sith Lord assumed.

Or from different dimensions.

That was the complicated thing about the Darkstaff. Common laws of physics and reality didn't really have much grasp on it in the end, it had no issue popping up at the worst of times in history and making a complete mess of things.

One time an entire star system had disappeared because of it.

HIs head leaned back and eyes closed for a moment. Tip of his thumb rubbing alongside her wrist, back and forth, back and forth. It was a pleasant touch. Kept him centered and in the moment when the mind wished to recede into the silence and not return for a while. Jairus had spend hours like that back in the day. Just disappearing from the world and retreating into his mind.

The dangers of a mentalist.

"Our enemies multiply, Raja." Jairus calmly said then. Once his thoughts were gathered. "I do not think this will be the last time one of us gets ambushed. It's time we begin to prepare for such eventualities."

 

[Kuzo]

She settled easily against his side, back resting there and tipping her head back against his shoulder.

"Mmm," she agreed, a touch absently as she closed her eyes, sinking into his touch. There was no argument from her, either in his assessment or the need for action. Between the attack on the shop and now the Slave *in* her lab, well.

"Going to start giving Kresh and Krait free reign of the hallways upstairs," she mused. "I assume Cerbera told him where he could find me. I've been careful, I wonder if I should-"

But she paused, opening her eyes again so she could tip her head back, looking at him upside down from below.

"But that's not what you meant," she said, gaze sharpening slightly with interest.

There were still so many things about the Force that Irajah simply didn't know. Some of them were dismissed as not interesting, or too imprecise to be of use to her. That did not limit the interest in the initial discovery or exploration of a thing, however, and she sat up slightly, gaze level on him. She didn't have to dip into his mind to read the expression on his face and guess what he really meant.

"You want to make that trade of power easier," she guessed.

[member="Jairus Starvald"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

An exploratory nod followed.

It wasn't as easy as that, of course.

The Force, by and large, wasn't clear-cut and dry like science. It wasn't easily quantifiable, taken apart, studied and then replicated- circumstance mattered as did feelings, power of the moment, belief, all of that was equally important. It had always gone a bit against Raja's instinctive scientific approach. Hadn't made training her difficult or hard, but sometimes... challenging, perhaps. More often than not there would be that insistent question of, why does it work like this?

Always rephrased in a different manner, but always the same line of questioning.

"Partially." It wasn't the whole story, but it was part of it. "Our connection and bond is strong." His fingers brushed the line of her jaw, tenderness in his eyes. Jairus would never have guessed that they would end up here, not because of her... but because of him. Both similar in their desire for freedom and yet? This worked. It was instinctive and it was good and Jai was happy. They could be themselves and not have to worry about any judgement.

There was no pushing, no prodding, no forcing to be more than they were.

"But we could make it stronger- tie ourselves to each other in ways... I didn't think were possible when we met that first time."

It was a frank assessment, an honest one. He hadn't brought it up before now simply because Jairus hadn't been sure he would want it. There would be no turning back on this path, it would change them, shape them in ways that evoked feelings of... it wasn't fear. But concern. Because Carach, Lord of Hunger, had not yet bound himself to anyone in this way. That had saved him three times before. Three who he had loved, three who had left, abandoned and twisted him in ways that he hadn't considered possible.

"It would be the union of souls, Raja. Of essence. Not a simple matter, not an easy one, but one that would..." Hmm, was that possible? Cheating death in such a way? Jairus was sure it would work that way. But he had been wrong before, had he not? "It would be intense."

Simple declaration at the end as he chuckled.

That was an understatement.

 

[Kuzo]

Tipping her head back to nuzzle the line of his jaw, she smirked slightly.

"Oh be honest. I was an amusing distraction at a time an amusing distraction was exactly what you needed. A piece of candy, dangled on a string."

She said it with a smile and amusement in her voice. They had never specifically talked about it, but Irajah wasn't a fool. She'd known then that it was simply a fun time. Not merely. There was no merely placed on an enjoyable weekend with an enthusiastic lover. She hadn't seen it as anything else, even at the time. If anything, his continued interest had surprised her. It had evolved slowly, Irajah filling the spaces he made in his life for her at first. Until they were making room for each other.

Sitting up slowly, she shifted to look at him as he explained a little more of what he had in mind. It was not alien to her- she knew it by the tracing of fingers, memorizing certain marks on other lovers.

"Like what Matsu, Reverance, and Aver have done," she clarified, her voice thoughtful. "Their marks."

She studied him critically for a moment. She had never been the sort to push. Life happened as it happened, in particular with relationships. For so much of their history, it had been he moving them a step forward, her content to stay or move. But this was something far different. Even more so than deciding to build a family together and-

Irajah frowned slightly.

"Forgetting for a moment, the matter of how, is it safe," she asked quietly.

She didn't ask him if this was what he really wanted. If it wasn't, he wouldn't have suggested it. And she wasn't asking if it were safe for them.

With how luke warm she had been about keeping the pregnancy to begin with, it surprised her to find it one of her primary concerns in this regard.

[member="Jairus Starvald"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

Jairus nodded, but did not reply immediately to her concern.

Not because he doubted, but because a matter like this couldn't just be waved away. Not when it was their child that could potentially become a victim of what they could forge here. Was there a risk to the child? A risk to that fledgling life slowly solidifying itself inside of her? Jairus had been strict with his connection to her, ensuring that his mind would not brush against the one that would develop there.

Who could know what could happen?

But this was something else- not the same, more risky in some ways, but less risky in others.

The binding of souls... it was no trivial matter. "Just as safe as melding our minds and sharing our strength between each other is." Which was not the same as saying that it was safe. It just meant that it was within the parameters that they had mutually accepted. There would always be risks- that was simply the way they lived and unless they were willing to disappear from the Galaxy for a year?

It would be part of the equation.

"It would change things for us, Raj." Jairus finally said as she shifted next to him to get more comfortable against him. "Ways that we won't know until we do it."

 

[Kuzo]

She frowned slightly, tilting her head back to look up at him. He'd said they couldn't know how, so asking for clarification seemed particularly fruitless, so she stifled that urge because it would ultimately do nothing but go in a circle. Round and around, ultimately leading no where.

It was clear that he was comfortable with that risk- at least enough so to bring it up at all, but she set it aside for now, not really knowing how she felt about it. They had changed what they were, with and to each other, several times since they had met. That was normal, simply how long running relationships worked she'd come to understand. No one stayed the same, so who could expect a relationship to? All of the changes between them so far had been only for the better, but they had been gone into understanding the nature of what they were changing, not simply trusting blindly that the way they came out the other side would be better.

Irajah had left blind trust behind without a second glance.

She turned her head to lay a kiss at the corner of his mouth, then pushed up from the couch. She frowned slightly, then slowly started to walk in front of the fire. It was too slow and deliberate to really qualify as pacing, but only just.

"And the benefits?" She asked a moment later. "Is there a clearer knowledge of that at least?"

As always, practical.

It wasn't the binding part that concerned her in truth. It was the unknowing aspect of it that bothered her. Irajah liked experiments where she could see the results, where they could be duplicated if desired. That was science. The parts of the Sith, of the Darkside, of the Force itself that she rejected were the parts that looked like this. Where if you did something it looked different every time, with out rules that she could track down and learn and understand.

[member="Jairus Starvald"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

From the get-go there had been a distinct difference between the two of them. Large enough that it immediately caught his attention once Jairus began to teach her in the ways of the Force. She was far more concerned about the who or what than him. No, it wasn't really that simple. But where Jai accepted that some things simply *were* when it came to the Force?

Raj had a more difficult time with that.

"Mm is good." He mumbled softly against her touch before she moved away. For a while the Sith was content enough to simply watch her... 'pace', but as the first word passed her lips Jairus found himself on his feet once more.

Arms wrapping around her waist and catching her mid-walk.

Now his hand did softly rest on her stomach. Protective, sheltering and shielding, sharing warmth as his kiss brushed against her skin. "Power." Jai responded simply before smiling. They both knew that wasn't nearly enough.

"We would share our strength, our mind... our life. Hmm." Nipping at her ear softly before chuckling. "It would become *very* difficult to kill one of us, as long as the other was okay." That would make things easier as they moved forward and made more enemies.

"Our thoughts would be a breath away." A shrug now. "We do not need to decide right now. You can think on it as long as you need."

 

[Kuzo]

When he said 'power' she snorted. Loudly. A desire for power beyond what was necessary to keep herself out of the power of others had never been her goal or concern. The gathering of it like a magpie for the sake of owning this shiny bit or that bauble held little interest to her, and it was something she barely understood in others. There were so many better things to do with her time.

But she didn't interrupt, leaning back against his chest as he answered her question in a more useful fashion. Her hands slid over his, fingers soft as they covered, and she nodded.

"I need to research more," she said finally. That was, when Irajah was in doubt about a course of action that did not require a split second answer, her standard fall back. She needed more information, more data to make an informed decision.

Irajah squeezed his hand, tilting her head to lay a kiss on the curve of his jaw.

"It's not the connection itself. That part doesn't concern me at all, love," she said softly, making sure he understood that. It wasn't hesitation because it was him.

[member="Jairus Starvald"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

Magpie.

That thought brushed against him softly and it amused Jairus.

Once upon a time that had been him, a man with a hole in his chest and hungering for more. Filling it with forbidden knowledge, artifacts, holocrons, anything that he could get his hands on. It didn't define him anymore, but even now sometimes... it was a hard habit to simply shake. But Jairus did his best. Because she was right, of course, there were more important things out there to do.

Constantly hunting for another shred of power was a waste of time at this point.

"Mhm." He murmured before tilting his head down to catch her kiss on his lips instead. "Did not even cross my mind, Raja." Oh, there had been insecurities at the very beginning. Lose those that you love not once, not twice, but three times? And there will be something that snaps and makes you reconsider the image you had of yourself at the start of it all.

But it was not a worry now, long left behind during their time together.

"Take. All. The-" Every word punctuated by a kiss and a push. "Time. you... need." And they were back at the couch again. "Except tonight... tonight you are mine."

* * *​

​

It was about a week, before the situation cropped up again.

Jairus had offered some insight in the first few days and then let Raj go wild with it. It had always been this way- she'd listen, drain every drip of knowledge in him and then she'd begin her own research.

Not something that the Sith Lord minded.

It amused him and that was the extent of that. The day that she finished her research, coming a decision, Jairus was sitting in the living room. It was dark, the fire of the hearth burning bright and bathing in him amber light. A book on his lap and some caf, hot and steam rising, on the table next to him.

Pleasant.

A year ago he would not have pictured himself in this position.