From Lovers to Friends?

[Darastrix]

Zira had waited until a bit past the time of day he remembered that Kleio usually came home from his shop. If things weren't going to go well, he didn't want to meet Kleio in public. He himself could just teleport away from a very awkward situation, but the other man didn't have that luxury and he didn't want to see Kleio publicly embarrassed. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. And after nearly a year, he dearly hoped that things could be better between them.

Fidgeting slightly, Zira made his way to Kleio's door and took a deep breath before knocking lightly at his door.

[Kender Bard]

There came some shuffling from within - Kleio would likely be relaxing in a chair with a small glass of wine at this point of the day - and the door opened. When Kleio saw who it was, he stood very still and surprised for several moments before blinking and stepping aside to invite Zira in. "Zira, I wasn't expecting you," he replied quietly. "Please, come in."

[Darastrix]

"Twilight said you'd come back from Ronduin," Zira murmured, smoothing down his feathers as he stepped uncertainly into the room. "How...how have you been?"

[Kender Bard]

Kleio quietly shut the door and paced back to his seat, not sitting but picking up his wine glass and taking a sip. "Oh," he murmured. "I'm well enough. The trip was lovely; Ronduin is a beautiful place. It was interesting to see where my ancestors came from. What of yourself?"

[Darastrix]

"I just returned from Naurorod," Zira told him, resisting the urge to shuffle his feet. "Lovely land, though the heat was almost more than I could handle. The native Fires were amused."

It might be impolite, but he had to get a better sense of his footing there. Zira lowered his mental shields, though he didn't actively try to probe Kleio's mind. He was just hoping to catch wind of anything the other man might be projecting.

[Kender Bard]

Kleio seemed to be dizzy with emotion, many of them conflicting; sorrow, nervousness, regret, timid happiness, guilt...

But he very carefully did not show any of this. "I can imagine," he murmured with a slight smile. "What were you doing in Naurorod?"

[Darastrix]

Guilt? What in the world would Kleio have to feel guilty for? Zira firmly believed that if there was guilt to be had, it was his own. But he couldn't question Kleio about it, or he might think that Zira was actively rooting around in his mind.

"Officially, to negotiate trade agreements with their leader, Ann. Unofficially...." Well, Kleio did live in the same building as Zack, and Zira was involved with him. It was pointless to try to avoid the fact. "Zack wanted to go back to Clan Fira and since I'm not as sun-sensitive as before, he wanted me to go as well."

[Kender Bard]

Kleio nodded and remained silent for a long few moments as he took another, long, drink of his glass, draining it. "So," he sighed. "Are you and he doing well and happy together?"

[Darastrix]

Zira nodded slowly, feeling an irrational pang of guilt of his own. He knew he shouldn't feel guilty for being happy, of all things, but he did wish Kleio happiness as well.

"We are," he admitted, "though he still lives here and I live in my manor. He has a daughter now, too. From last year's Sinfest celebrations. The priestess, Bun-Bun--" Zira's lips twitched slightly at the woman's name. "--she wants us to have her."

[Kender Bard]

Kleio's melancholy expression turned to a brief burst of real happiness. "Oh, Zira, that's lovely," he said passionately. "Children are such wonderful little blessings. I bet she's very cute as well; I hope the three of you make many happy memories together."

[Darastrix]

Zira smiled as well, glad to see a happy expression on Kleio's face. "She held off naming her until we came back," he added. "So many people here have kind of nature names, and fall is such a pretty season, and Zack wanted to name her after his best friend, too, so we decided on Autumn Twilight."

[Kender Bard]

"Twilight is probably honored," Kleio replied. "I always thought that, if fortune saw it fitting, I had a child I would try to name him or her after Sonya in some way." He wasn't sure if Zira was sure who that was, though. "She is the reason my friends and I were rescued, really, and who made King Twilight the man he is today."

[Darastrix]

Faintly, Zira recalled Zack mentioning the woman Twilight had told him about when the prince had told Zack his own story. "Twilight loved her, didn't he?" he murmured. "He told Zack about his time in Morilanta and mentioned a woman, but he never gave her name. Zack said with the way Twilight spoke, he didn't have the heart to question him about it."

[Kender Bard]

"He loved Sonya with all his heart," Kleio agreed. "We all did. She took care of us, and though we didn't know it at the time, we all looked to her to save us from our misery or at least make it more bearable. Don't get me wrong; he loves Dusk dearly as well. But if circumstances had been different, he would have surely wed Sonya. But she was murdered by the church for trying to 'poison the foreign prince's heart'. We all have a little memorial to her in the garden. Sometimes we go there just to think or to ask questions. It's comforting. I miss her even to this day."

[Darastrix]

"My mother has something similar for my other siblings," Zira murmured. There was so much about Kleio he still didn't know. He wondered if it would still be that way had they stayed together. "I wish I could have known her; she sounds like she was a very strong woman."