"Kados likely will be the hardest to rally," Laene added nonchalantly as we approached some of the entertainment areas on the ship.

I'd inquired after the others in my Riniere and had been directed to a drinking establishment that Kados liked to frequent. "I'm hoping he'll see reason behind the action after we explain the nuances of the human women's fears and what they might think of us. Despite everything I do believe he's a reasonable male."

Laene didn't comment, but I could almost feel the brand of a pointed look scorching between my shoulder blades.

"Despite everything I believe he's a mostly reasonable male."

That warranted a manner of assent from Laene behind me, nothing too spirited but it was something.

We stepped into the hall and it was raucous with laughter and noise. I spied Kados and Kayle at a far counter, engaged in conspiratorial whispering, or at least that was the feeling I got from the room. Emotions and feelings itched along my skin, skittering up and down my spine causing the broiling emotions inside to froth further and further, like a pot nearly boiled over.

I thought of the way I would phrase my plea to my friends. Kayle, I wasn't worried about, with a glance I could show him my thoughts and their severity. Truly, I could even ask for Addy to show him her thoughts on the matter if he weren't convinced. Kados --well like Laene said-- he would be the hardest in the group. Kayle was easy...only it wasn't Kayle that Kados was with.

Bask, one of Kayle's brothers, stood talking to Kados, who --while not quite drunk-- had certainly been drinking.

The least approachable of Kayle's brothers, Bask was wider through the shoulders and not quite as free as Kayle seemed to be, however that seemed to be common among Prince Roan's Riniere. He had a piercing gaze even for those boasting an Ionina bloodline, with ice blue eyes rimmed with surprisingly dark lashes. The most off-putting thing about him was the aura he put off after he went planet-side. He hadn't ever been foreboding, he had a stronger presence that's for sure, but after he was called down for a match and came back with nothing to show for it that dark aura seemed leech into the space around him.

A similar thing happened to most males that went down. It was some mixture of sadness, mourning, and likely self-loathing, probably. The miasma was hard to decipher, Bask's particularly troublesome.

"Kados. Bask." I greeted both of the males, in turn, Laene a constant presence at my back.

I got a short warning, a trickle of unease and then a flash of anger from Kados. Bask's emotions were unusually subdued. He inclined his head to me, "Esayr," He intoned fluidly returning the greeting. His gaze flicked to Laene behind me before returning to Kados, whom he'd been talking to before we interrupted. "Kados was telling me strange tidings."

That prickle of unease stirred the pot. Something is wrong. I was no Guided Val'Dornn, but even I knew nothing good was about to happen. I looked to Kados, who had the good sense to look somewhat remorseful even while his anger still stewed.

Bask arched a dark eyebrow up into his hairline, "Not so talkative now?" He pushed off from the bar slowly. He was taller than both Kados and me, Laene the only one of our little group rivaled him at the moment. He turned his icy gaze to Laene, "Strange tidings about you."

I could feel Laene freeze behind me.

Kados stood up angrily, "Drop it Bask. I was merely angry."

"Were you lying?" Bask didn't even look at Kados when he spoke, instead, he searched Laene's face, looking for answers that he wouldn't be able to find.

Kados was silent.

"Not lying, but likely vastly overblown," Laene answered for him.

I stood at his side, and while I couldn't feel his emotions like I normally could, I could see the rigidity of his posture and the tick of a muscle in his jaw that told me he was furious.

I turned to Kados, "What have you done?" I whispered.

The room was quiet, everyone focused on us.

"I was angry." His brows drew down, regret tinged his voice, but it wasn't a sorry. Not yet.

"You fool." It wasn't his information to tell, especially as it was still undecided as of yet. Laene had the span of one Earth season to decide if he would pursue his search until then he could not be branded Unsearching.

Bask's eyes blanked, whether he'd realized he'd glean nothing from Laene or had jumped to his own conclusions, only mindreaders could guess, instead, he spat out, "Disgusting." He leaned back against the bar behind him disdain plain on his face, "And you call yourself Val'Dornn."

The pot kept simmering.

"I don't know what I expected from you really, though. You don't really feel it do you? You're just broken like your mother. She probably wasn't an actual match anyway. A blessing, since you won't be hindering the process for those of us actually worth matching with."

That menacing darkness could have eaten the stars. It licked at the edges of my vision. The pot boiled over. Before I knew it, my hand connected with the side of Bask's face. He stumbled to the side into some chairs that had been pulled up to the counter nearby.

There was a breath of silence before the room erupted into chaos. Where there had been no one around us only moments before, suddenly my vision was filled with people, first and foremost Bask, who for only a moment looked surprised that I'd struck him. That dark aura shivered for a moment, revealing a bleak expanse of sadness. Then just as quickly it flooded with anger.

He shoved forward off the bar, advancing on me. He slipped through the tide of people effortlessly, by the time he got to me he'd already had his hand raised to strike me. I'd felt it coming, could feel the intent behind it before he made it to me.

I managed to dodge of the way, but he grabbed me by the collar and swung me around until my back connected with the hard wood of the counter he'd been leaning against just a moment before.

I didn't dodge the next hit, his or the table's when my head cracked back into it from the impact. Lights danced in my vision. Just as I saw Bask pull back for another hit, I felt his grip on my shirt shake loose and he was shoved away from me.

A mop of blonde hair rushed him, "What the fuck are you doing, Bask!"

The knock to the head and the boiling atmosphere had me disoriented, but I recognized Kayle's voice. How he'd shown up so quickly I had no idea. Suddenly I was hauled away from the bar, knocking into bodies of males. The area quieted immediately, helping to bring back at least a small amount of sense. Laene had my arm in a vice as we dodged through the chaos.

I blinked away the last of the stars to see Addric forcefully parting the sea of males, many of them trying to pick a fight with our group. With Laene. Word of his situation had gotten out, likely. He would have an even harder time now that he wasn't dealing with one sullen friend and a disappointed prince.

I glanced behind us, looking for Kados. He had taken up the back position, all traces of inebriation gone in the seriousness of the moment. Kayle had disappeared into the wake of people, however, I could just barely hear a shouting match that sounded to be mostly him.

The trek back to Kados and Addric's room was relatively uneventful given the circumstances. The right side of my face throbbed where Bask had struck me, my brow line particularly sore where one of his knuckles had split the skin.

Addric stood at the doorway to their room, allowing Laene and I entrance. Kados floundered in the hall for only a moment before Addric grabbed a hold of him and tossed him none too gently into the room along with us. "What were you thinking?" He exploded, mainly on Kados, but he looked to all of us.

"He wasn't thinking," even I couldn't believe the anger in my voice. My patience was running too thin. I was never an angry or violent male. I prided myself on being a helpful emotional influence...not this, never this.

"I wasn't thinking." Kados echoed.

"You're a fool, brother. A passionate fool, but a fool nonetheless. It wasn't a grievance for you to air to anyone and everyone at a bar! A bar of all places! Males go there to nurse their wounded pride! Look at what you've done." Addric pointed to Laene and I. I'm sure we both looked haggard.

Kados didn't look.

"Look at what you've done, Kados." Addric's voice turned deadly. They rarely ever fought, but sometimes...every once in a while they would use a tone with each other, and this one far outpaced any other serious tone I'd ever heard them use with each other.

"I can't," he choked out the words.

"You can't or you won't?"

"I can't!" Kados sucked in a ragged breath, "I'm sorry. Gods I'm so sorry. I can't stop myself sometimes. I went to cool off, but Bask came to ask about Esayr...and I don't know how, but I was-- Gods I was just mad. And I betrayed our trust amongst us. I can't...I don't feel like I can look at you both after what I've done," he stared at the ground as he spoke.

I wandered over to the faucet and grabbed a nearby rag. I ran hot water over it and placed it gingerly to my face.

The door to the room slid open and Kayle barged in, "What in the grand expanse happened back there?" He glanced between all of us, looking to see which one would offer any kind of explanation.

"Kados made a fool of himself and target of Laene," Addric glanced to me, "and Esayr as well for that matter."

"I think I managed that just fine myself." I pulled the rag away, noting the faint tinge of red.

Kayle was there in a second, the lightheartedness that he usually carried with him melted away as he checked my face, "You'll bruise...badly. If it makes you feel any better Bask will too."

I waited, and just as I anticipated Kayle locked gazes with me, I could feel the tug in my mind that told me he was searching for answers and I let that barrier slide away so he could get them. I watched his pupils constrict and dilate a few times in quick succession while he rifled through the thoughts he'd gathered before he nodded and turned back to the group. "Before we can solve the problems out there," He inclined his head to the door, "we have to solve the ones in here." Kayle pulled me forward until we all stood in a circle.

We hadn't done this since we were younger less mature males with affronts to our pride that in retrospect were nothing but tiffs. None of us complained, however. We had a fracture amongst our group that must be dealt with before it became a break.

"We gather here to air our grievances," Kayle intoned.

"We leave here with mended souls," the rest of us echoed.

*****A/N*****

This is a little bit of a different flavor to an Esayr chapter. Our boy is fraying at the seams, which is an interesting turn of phrase given the context of their society at the very least. When I first mentioned Bask and he was nothing more than an extra name on a paper, I pictured him much lighter and friendly. Hylar, Bask, and Lirin were a group of pretty golden-haired boys all leaning against each other and laughing in my mind. I think maybe that was an aspect of Bask's personality from before, before he joined Roan's Riniere and before he came to Earth and endured some struggles whatever the extent of those struggles might be. I hadn't actually had plans for Bask aside from maybe side appearances but it seems the fates (and friends) had plans for him far beyond what I anticipated. He'll be around to stay, probably, the little brat.

Love,

Layla