It was all quite sudden. One moment, Allan was making his way down a quiet country lane with a light drizzle wetting the earth; the next, there was a body pressed against his, his own name echoing in his ears.<\/p>\n
The one who’d collided with him was smaller than him, and incredibly light even for that size; so it was that he only lurched back a step rather than tumbling into the mud. Laughing, he sought the shoulders of the one suddenly embracing him, giving them a squeeze. \u201cAnd a good day to you as well, Raskin,\u201d he said with a chuckle. \u201cYou’re looking well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The storm drake seemed to suddenly become aware of the fact that he’d just seized Allan in a tight embrace in the middle of the lane \u2013 and while it was no city street, teeming with people, they were certainly attracting some<\/em> attention. His grip loosened. \u201cAh… forgive me,\u201d he said, rather more softly than he’d called Allan’s name. \u201cI suppose I’d grown even more fond of you than I had realized.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo harm done,\u201d Allan assured him. Lacking horns of his own to touch to Raskin’s, as friendly male drakes were wont to do in greeting, he settled for giving one a firm rub. \u201cEven if I wasn’t expecting quite so, ah, intense<\/em> a greeting, it’s very far from unwelcome.\u201d<\/p>\n Raskin tilted his head into the touch for a moment, then drew back, gripping Allan’s shoulders in turn. \u201cThe last I’d heard, you were still in the Great Drift with Tabar. When did you get back?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot even an hour ago,\u201d Allan confessed. \u201cAnd I had no idea I’d find you<\/em> in a little farming village like this. Are you with the others, or on your own?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere were some highwaymen hassling travellers on the road,\u201d Raskin explained. \u201cThe three of us put a stop to the worst of it. Krall and Katia are helping to deal with the stragglers.\u201d The drake shrugged, wings shuffling. \u201cIt’s left me at loose ends, but it does need doing. Some company would be welcome indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n Raskin was a potent elementalist, to be sure; but perhaps, when one wanted prisoners rather than casualties, too much so. Killing wasn’t the only thing he could do \u2013 or he’d be an utter wreck; he was unfond enough of it being easy <\/em>\u2013 but his magic was chancy that way. \u201cCompany I’d be glad to provide, dear friend,\u201d Allan said. \u201cTabar wanted to pay a visit to the local smith, and might take the afternoon about it, so I’m on my own as well. I was just looking for a place to get a meal when you found me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFood I can provide,\u201d said the drake.<\/p>\n And so he did; good, hearty fare at the inn where he and his companions were staying. They didn’t have much chance to catch up properly<\/em> over their meal \u2013 much of what Allan had encountered in the north wasn’t something he wished to air in the common room \u2013 but they swapped a few tales of quiet days travelling, of hunts, of good turns done by and for each of them. Raskin’s tales in that vein were quite a bit more exciting; all of Allan’s were domestic, as there simply hadn’t been any other sort to do.<\/p>\n \u201cIn all the weeks I was there, I never saw any<\/em> of the snow-cats fighting each other,\u201d he recalled as he followed the drake up the stairs. \u201cNot even the good-natured scrapping that’s so common in Farnhold. Leave the cities behind, and it also seems they cast aside violence. It was an amazing thing, but,\u201d he shook his head, \u201cI had some trouble enjoying it properly. I kept waiting for something to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey are friendly folk, in their own quiet way,\u201d Raskin said, pausing at one of the room doors. \u201cWould it truly have been that conspicuous? I’d have thought that I wouldn’t have missed such fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI might not have,\u201d Allan granted, \u201cif not for how they did<\/em> end arguments.\u201d<\/p>\n He waited until the door was shut behind them to go on, \u201cI think Tabar is rare in how spare he is with words \u2013 and he might well be holding himself back in just how friendly he is. I did witness arguments over this or that, from time to time. But those who argued always parted on amiable terms \u2013 and no few times, they helped get there with a quick sexual exchange, there and then. Right in plain view! Among the same sex, more commonly it was nothing more than a quick touch if it wasn’t a chaste embrace, but if it was a man and a woman \u2013 or if they otherwise did<\/em> fall within each other’s interests…!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s… quite friendly indeed,\u201d Raskin admitted. He sat on the fur spread before the hearth. \u201cMaybe it’s for the best that I didn’t go along; quite apart from the cold weather, I’m not sure I could have borne the sight of that<\/em> without saying or doing something inappropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n Raskin was not inclined toward violence or jealousy; so what did that leave? Allan sat beside him, resting a hand on the drake’s knee. \u201cIf you’d have been inspired to seek out some company… well, I’m not sure you could<\/em> do something they<\/em> would think inappropriate. The first settlement we reached \u2013 a dozen adults, half as many children… The headman invited us in out of the blowing snow and offered me his own bed to get warm. Complete with his mate.\u201d<\/p>\n He could almost hear<\/em> the blink that met that<\/em> news. \u201cIs that… typical, for them?\u201d<\/p>\n At least Allan wasn’t the only one who found it rather daunting. \u201cApparently so. Twice I was there when bands met, and they exchanged the same sort of hospitality. Though in those cases, they seemed to be old and familiar friends already. Almost family. Perhaps literally so.\u201d<\/p>\n The drake’s hand settled atop his. \u201cAll right,\u201d Raskin said after a long moment. \u201cYou were probably right. They’re much<\/em> friendlier in their usual habitat than they let on.\u201d<\/p>\n Allan let his arm curl around the drake’s midsection as they leaned against one another. \u201cI missed you,\u201d he sighed. All the casual, friendly lovers in the world couldn’t replace the drake’s straightforward affection. With him, once Allan had learned a few basic cues, there was never any wondering just what a particular gesture meant.<\/p>\n And right then, weary from the road and dizzy from the experiences he’d had, that straightforwardness was a thing to treasure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fresh from a trek through the snowy north, Allan comes across an old friend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fist-of-the-north","tag-flash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}