^^ good thing is I'm stupidly lax with inspiration for this story again. Everyone dance with me -dances-

Ok -cracks fingers- let's see if I can do this in one sitting.

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Fay swallowed roughly, finding his throat suddenly dry.

Kurogane lightly frowned and turned his head away from the blonde, beginning to follow the other men. The magician panicked briefly and looked to the children, unable to resist smiling reassuringly at them.

"Come on you three… we're going to visit the other tribe…" He said in his new fluent tongue, and the little ones nodded. Kurogane didn't turn to look if Fay was following, which unnerved the blonde a little, but he supposed this was the beginning of Kurogane's challenge and he wasn't supposed to be disturbed. At least this way the blonde could frown in peace.

Sakura tugging lightly on his pants with a slight whimper drew his attention downward. She and Mokona were huddling around his legs as closely as possible while Syaoran glared at anyone or thing that looked at the girls wrong, which, in his little mind, everything was included. Fay curiously studied Sakura to see why she whimpered, though he could find nothing wrong. He smiled apologetically down to her and she shook her head, gazing quickly around them before looking at him again. Catching what she meant, Fay lifted his eyes from her and looked about. He jumped slightly from what he saw.

The five of them were surrounded by brown wolves. The wolves were walking alongside the men, but they were growling and giving hungry glances as the smaller once. When the hell did they get there!? The blonde indignantly frowned and moved to pick Sakura up since she was the most afraid out of the three. Mokona was younger, true, but Syaoran quickly grabbed her hand and they stayed as close together as possible.

They walked for however long, Fay didn't even think to count the time passing, and they were still going through the forest. It had turned even worse with the mugginess and Fay was finding it slightly unbearable. He alone was sweating terribly, and Sakura clinging to him was definitely not helping. He didn't put her down though for the wolves were still around them. And he wasn't wearing much in the first place, so it's not like he could start stripping. Not that he'd want to with this company. His feet started to ache now, not being used to walking for such long distances, and his knees were starting to crack with every decaying log they had to stumble over, which was happening more often than not the deeper they got into the forest. He was beginning to wonder if they were going in circles; he could've sworn he saw that leaf before…

Just before he vocalized his bothers in a lyrical voice, he was able to hear the sound of rushing water. He looked in front of him to Kurogane to see what the man was doing. He wasn't too surprised to see him hopping over another dead tree with ease, not a glisten of sweat on his back or shoulders. He did, though, seem as tense as a taut string. His muscles hardly quivered with his walking like they normally did. Fay began to worry. Kurogane this tense was always bad.

He wanted to smack himself. Of COURSE this was bad. They were, or rather, Kurogane was going to go through a lot just for the sake of Fay and the children. The blonde wanted to mope over this and make it better somehow, but it seemed this was the only way. The sound of water was getting louder now. Fay's worries began to grow. What if the challenge was something like… oh he didn't know… fetch piranhas or something. No, that was stupid. O-or maybe it's kill a wild boar… nah, that was stupid too, Kurogane went hunting all the time. And it had to do with the waterfall anyway. He bristled. What if it was jump off the waterfall? There shouldn't be a problem with that, should there? The sound hadn't gotten too loud, so the falls must not've been big or anything with sharp, jagged, penetrating, deadly spikes at the end that would run Kurogane through…right? Right. He felt himself start to hyperventilate and instantly tried not to think of that.

The sound of the falls were louder now, less like the sound of wind through trees but more like the crashing sound it made against his boat when he arrived here. That worried him even more. Sakura looked up to him in concern, and when Fay looked down at her she seemed stiller than normal. He blinked when realizing he was shaking. He smiled at her and shook his head. Taking deeper breaths he tried to calm himself and thought back to some things that wouldn't make him panic. Kurogane's mother. She was so sweet and nice. He hoped she was doing well, wherever she was. Where she was… his crew. He hoped they all crashed and burned on their way back to this island if they came back. If they came back… if he came back… if he left… If Fay had left… if Kurogane had left… if Kurogane leaves…

He shook his head again. He didn't want to think about the taller man leaving him, much less dying. This was all he had left. The girl in his arms and the two other children around his legs. Kurogane. The clothes on his back. The cave behind him. The trees around him. The ever changing forces of nature. This island. Its inhabitants. The beaches that touched the waters that led to distant shores. The village decimated by the shoreline. The buried family and friends. Kurogane's family and friends. Kurogane.

The sounds of the falls were loud, but not quite deafening now. He looked up when he realized some of the men were shouting toward one another up farther ahead, probably the ones waiting for Touya's arrival. Kurogane looked like his body was about to break from stress. Even if he couldn't see his face, Fay knew the warrior's jaw would be set and his eyes focused. This was it. The first challenge. The first relekihlic.

The blonde noticed they had stumbled upon an opening and that the sound was loudest in his right ear. He swallowed roughly again, his throat still dry, and didn't dare look to the right. When the men started to go that direction he audibly whimpered, making Sakura look at him again. She hugged him tightly and patted his shoulder for comfort. Fay would've thought about complaining about the heat again but his mind was too busy focusing on looking elsewhere, anywhere but the ground and up ahead. The foreigner wasn't too lucky for much longer.

His eyes had stayed fixed on the path only to see it narrowed and eventually hugged the side of a very, very, very steep cliff. Fay assumed it was 20, no, 30 stories high and wider than a train. He, of course, had no depth perception in his moment of panic, and would soon realize it was probably a couple apartment buildings wide. A larger block of homes maybe. Fay's eyes didn't just stop there. They traveled up the thread of river to the white mist of the falls and followed the long stream to the top, where two ant sized men stood waving their spears in greeting. Fay whimpered again.

They walked a short distance (a hell of a lot shorter than what Fay assumed it'd be) to the peak of the waterfall, barely able to hear one another there. The waterfall was wide too. One would definitely not be able to cross it in a jump like he had hoped. There was a fallen tree that served as a bridge a couple meters away from the cliff, but even that seemed a bit unstable. Fay would rather walk 30 minutes up the river to cross safely than to go up on that log. He hoped to all high heavens Kurogane wouldn't be forced to.

They stopped walking and Fay became aware that, even though his feet were killing him, the walk there was really too short. He shifted Sakura in his hold and gasped faintly for air when he found it slightly hard to breathe. Things all of a sudden were happening too fast. The heat was rising, even right next to the breeze of the waterfall, Kurogane was facing the challenge, the wolves were getting restless… oh god, Fay thought, what if they feed me to the wolves if Kurogane fails? He shook his head. Kurogane wouldn't fail. Kurogane never fails.

Touya walked to the edge of the waterfall and looked down. Fay personally thought this would be a rather nice opportunity to knock him down. He would hopefully miss the jagged rocks and water altogether. The mage huffed lightly and moved a hand to wipe his brow to rid of nasty thoughts. The man wearing a skull over his face looked back to Kurogane, who bent his head slightly in a nod before walking forward. Touya looked to Fay as well and the lithe man stiffened. He smiled to Sakura and set her down, patting her head along with Mokona's and Syaoran's before hesitantly walking over to where Kurogane was as well.

The tattooed man didn't even glance to Fay when he approached, but the smaller didn't dare look up out of nervousness. Touya was scanning over both of them almost expectantly before he reached in the pouch around his neck to pull out the blue necklace Kurogane always wore. Fay stared at it for a moment and for once was glad that his own was tucked safely away in his shirt. He didn't think he could handle losing it for some reason.

Touya looked back down the waterfall and gripped the necklace in his hand. Kurogane's presence almost became thicker and Fay found he could hardly breathe next to him. The taller was too tense, his aura was overwhelming with apprehension. Since when could Fay even feel aura or anything? The blonde looked down and tried to regain himself, thinking if he didn't control his breathing he'd pass out from not breathing at all.

"Kurogane," The deep voice said, surprisingly louder than the falls in the small whisper it was. "You're first relekihlic is the Waterfall." He announced. Fay thought Kurogane would snap with something like 'no duh dipshit' but nothing came from the taller man's mouth. Touya continued, waving the necklace in front of them like it was a piece of meat to the starving wolves.

"This will be your prize, as I've mentioned before. It will be the first of three relics that will symbolize your tribe for future generations. The challenge…" He paused, looking at Fay. "…is a test not only for Kurogane, but for the mage as well. At the bottom of the Yama Falls are rocks that would kill a man if he merely jumped down to the river. Many shaman have tried to permanently clear the rocks out to get to the cave below but they always form back days after."

Fay stared in awe at the brief summary of history, wondering if magic was always such a huge part of their living. He chanced a wayward glance at Kurogane and the other was still stiff, almost like he wasn't even listening to Touya. The blonde looked back to the skull-wearing man and frowned lightly when he noticed he hadn't clarified the key points of the challenge. As if almost sensing these vibes…

"The first part of this challenge is to retrieve the gem. The catch; it'll be at the bottom of the waterfall." Touya said, his hand extending toward the open air above the running water, fingers letting the string slightly slip. Kurogane tensed even more and even shifted forward, eyes watching the gem like everything else wasn't there. Fay moved a hand to his collarbone and flared his nostrils to try and breathe better. The tension was clasping tightly against his lungs. He couldn't stand it. He had to do something that would keep him breathing.

"A-and the second part?" He blurted out, subconsciously knowing talking would help. Touya froze lightly at the words and his eyes behind the mask narrowed.

"…Make the stones disappear, mage." He commanded, letting the necklace slip through his fingers to fall down the forever long distance before walking toward the other men. Kurogane made a strangled noise and he took a step forward to watch the necklace slip into the background of the water, not even able to tell where it had fallen. When he lost track of it completely he snapped his vision to Fay with an alert expression. The mage looked back to him and felt everything stop.

"No. No don't jump." He said softly, stretching his hand out to grasp Kurogane's arm. It didn't, for the other man moved out of reach to stand on the ledge.

"I trust you, idiot." Kurogane said over his shoulder, stretching his arms out to his sides. Fay let out a small cry that sounded like a choked 'no' and would've closed the small distance between them had Kurogane not taken the time to jump. Fay watched completely helpless as his lover plummeted down faster than he thought he could to the bottom. Fay fell to his knees and gripped the edge of the cliff, shouting after Kurogane an incantation he learned for battle.

"Rithannen I geven, Thangen I harn!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, fear causing liquid glass to prickle at the edges of his eyes. When he didn't see the rocks move or explode like they had in battle Fay closed his eyes, his hand moving to his own necklace to clutch it tightly. No… no he didn't want to lose him. The sound of the falls were deafening and yet it was like he couldn't hear anything. Everything seemed to freeze or slow down and the image of Kurogane was swallowed by the mist of the falls. Fay would've opened his eyes to see this but found he couldn't, feeling his insides twist painfully at the thought of leaving Kurogane. He was gone, too out of reach to grasp. Fay was powerless to get him back.

"Dannen le, A ú-erin le regi!" Fay screamed, feeling his eyes overflow for the countless time. 'Why must I always cry?' He thought with exasperation.

What he didn't notice was his necklace underneath the fur was beating like a heartbeat, fast, rugged, panicked, softly mimicking one of real life in a dangerous situation. It was glowing faintly, brightening and dimming with each beat of the nonexistent heart it held. Fay did notice, however, that his hand was warm. He sniffed lightly and looked down to it curiously, wondering why the heat had changed. This warm wasn't the muggy kind of warm like he had felt earlier, but more of the sweet, soft warm he felt whenever hugging or kissing the man he loved. This only made him fear for Kurogane's life even more.

"KURO-SAMA! AMIN UUMA MERNA LLE GURTH!" He sobbed to the waterfall. His necklace began to beat harder against his chest, slipping from the confines of his clothing to hang out in the open for all to see. Fay had to open his eyes when the red light suddenly fell into view, so bright and flashing that it looked like a beacon. He stared at this for a moment before the thought dawned him that the other necklace might be glowing too. He looked over the edge frantically for any sign of Kurogane on the bank. Spotting none, the man sank slightly in hopelessness.

"Kuro-tan…" He whimpered lightly, his fingers going over the necklace to shield its light somewhat. He stared down below with a frown and prayed Kurogane was alright.

--

Kurogane had dove into the air without remorse or regret, knowing everything would be fine. He moved his hands in front of him to guide his fall into the water, though his eyes did not meet the sweet and crisp blue behind the mist. He instead saw pointed edges of jagged boulders that the falls crashed on and leaked through to the river. He gasped lightly and closed his eyes tightly, knowing he couldn't avoid it now.

He didn't expect to go right through them. His body hit the water so hard it knocked the breath right out of him. He had no control over his body as it was tossed and flipped in the rushing current, choking on lack of air and eyes blinded by the mixture of motion and bubbles. He felt his head hit a smaller rock along the edge and he grunted as best he could out of pain, seeing all sorts of colors before it finally went black. That didn't stop him from trying to get out of the water.

The man eventually surfaced with a gasp, coughing out water violently as hard as he could. He was desperate for air. His arms lashed out at something, anything to stop him, groping around for a hard surface to cling to. His hands found a rock and he held on like no tomorrow, feeling the water rush by him. He still couldn't see, no matter how many times he blinked.

After he received his breath back and panting, he felt around for something to lead him to some sort of shore. He was surprised to find sand so close. He didn't question it and pulled himself out of the water as much as he could before flopping down on his chest. He heaved his breath raggedly and closed his eyes, trying to think over what to do next. He was apparently blinded from that collision so it'd be harder to do anything, especially find something.

Kurogane stilled himself and calmed. He took in the noises around him instead of trying to find his way around by touch. It sounded like… he was in a cave… the falls were close by but not as close as he assumed they'd be. The current must've taken him underneath the falls. He moved off the sand with a frown and kept his eyes closed, thinking he wouldn't need them. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, thinking over the current that had pushed him to and fro. He moved this way… he took a couple steps to the left… and then this way… he moved forward… then this way… he slapped his hand to the wall and felt over a turn in the stone, smiling to himself. He could hear the falls in front of him, but also to the left. He slid his foot to the right somewhat and could feel the edge of the water. He continued to move along the side of the cave wall, listening to the falls getting louder with each step. Pretty soon he could feel the faint spray of the mist against his cheeks and he knew he was close enough to search for the necklace. A near impossible task, but he'd do it.

He got on his knees and moved his hands over them, listening to the falls and how they splashed against the rocks. He would've concentrated on them a little more to find out where to start searching, but a faint voice met his ears. His head lifted and he listened. Kurogane didn't know what he was saying, but it was beautiful. Like… well… he didn't know… he'd never heard anything so pristine, even if it was a scream.

He stood again and moved toward it. He had to know what that sound was… what the beautiful sound was… more screaming came and it sent a shiver down Kurogane's spine. His foot hit water again but he didn't care, it got him closer to the sound… Then his name… it was faint and a mutilated version of it, but by dammit it was his name. It made him double over from too many emotions at once. His nose sank into the water easily and he listened to the echoing of his name in the cave behind him. He wanted to cry out and beg for more of that sound. He wanted to throw a tantrum until the bird sang again… wait… bird? What was that sound?

Kurogane didn't open his eyes but sat up, realizing he was sitting in freezing water and had shoved his hand down his pants. He didn't know whether to laugh or yell from the complete confusion he suffered. Whatever trace of an erection that he thought he had was gone now, due to the cold water and the realization of what he was doing.

"…What the hell was that?" He had to question aloud. It was the most enchanting thing he'd ever heard… it made him drop to his knees and crave pleasure in ways not meant for public. It made him not even realize what he was doing, like it controlled his mind for a brief moment. His head tilted upward. It had come from the sky… and then it hit him. The only thing that could make him do something ridiculous and completely out of character was that magician, that idiot. Fay.

He sighed at how stupid he felt, glad there hadn't been anyone around to witness it. He pulled himself out of the water and his hand out of his pants, trying to think of what to do next. The sound of Fay's voice had completely distracted him. He sighed once more and sensed for that certain energy his necklace had given off since birth. He frowned when he couldn't find it. Standing up he began to move along the edge of the rock again, feeling his way through. He took a step in a weird direction and suddenly gasped from the sharp temperature change. A few moments ago it was muggy, warm, sweat-inducing weather, now… it was like he wasn't even standing by a waterfall… it was cold… he opened his eyes and found his eyesight might as well have been permanently gone. It was so dark. He could hardly sense things anymore, which shouldn't have been a fucking problem.

He stepped further into this coldness, and where there should've been water was solid ground. He frowned lightly and knelt, moving his hand over the surface of the floor. He jumped back in surprise when he found it was liquid. He was walking on water?! Since when the hell could he do that?! Under his bare feet it felt like stone, but his fingers were still wet from touching the water. Kurogane paused and folded his arms, trying to think over why the fuck this was happening. Fay's voice was beautiful to the point he wanted to rape himself and now he was walking on what were supposed to be white rapids like they were dry soil. He moved a hand to the bridge of his nose. Magic. Of course. He knew Fay would want to keep him safe, but he didn't have to make him so damn horny too. He supposed that was an added bonus to the spell…

Shaking the thoughts away, Kurogane opened his eyes again in hopes the magic would've healed his eyesight. Much to his disappointment, he could only see black… wait… He moved to the left a little. Yeah, only black. He looked down. Black. He looked up. Red. He blinked. Red? Was he seeing his blood now? No, this red was a brighter, more innocent red. Like that of a cardinal. He stared at it only to realize that was the direction Fay was. His mind instantly ran over the possibilities and came to the conclusion Fay had somehow magically activated something in the necklace. Which meant…

He looked around again, frantically this time. He had to see if he could find the blue necklace. He supposed if the red light was visible in his blind state, the blue would be too, and that sure as hell helped with searching through all the damn water that was the same color and darker. He began to walk about, trying to see over ground he hadn't covered.

The only problem with this was; it seemed walking on water was only temporary. He took a step away from the cold and instantly he was waist deep in the lesser current. He coughed when he realized he had been deprived of air in that coldness. He frowned and paid no mind to it, hoping it was just one of Fay's spells. He continued to look around for the glowing blue light, if any, and ended up chest deep in water. The spray of the falls was extremely strong then, coating Kurogane in what could be mistaken for a heavy shine of sweat. He frowned and decided now would be a good start to look underwater.

He sighed heavily before inhaling, moving himself all the way into the water. He opened his eyes and looked about, ignoring the stinging of the water rushing into them from the current. He had to find it. He briefly wondered how stupid Touya was to say this would be the first part while casting a spell would be the second. It's always longer to do something by hand than to magic it better.

Huffing, Kurogane took another breath and began to swim, always keeping an arm out straight to guide him and avoid collisions. He had stopped about two before he had to take another breath. When he did he heard the falls to his right, making him frown lightly. He'd gone too far in the wrong direction. He found that he could stand and the water came to his mid-thigh. He wiped his upper lip clean of water while thinking over what to do. He looked up and was still able to see the red glow, even if it was faint, so the blue must've been glowing too.

He frowned and sat down where he stood, closing his eyes. What had Fay said to make his glow? His name right? And it wasn't his whole name, but Kurogane knew he meant him. So saying idiot or white one was ok, right? What else was there to it? He said something in that pretty language… He didn't understand a lick of it though.

Kurogane opened his eyes and frowned. What would Fay had said in this particular moment? Seeing his lover recklessly jump off a cliff for a piece of jewelry that superstition was based off of. 'Kuro-sama, you're the biggest idiot I've ever met'? Nah, that's too out of character. 'Kuro-sama, you're… the biggest idiot I've ever met'… that seemed to be a good one actually. He sighed and closed his eyes, letting his face meet the sky.

"Why couldn't you have trusted me too, mage?" He asked softly. He opened his eyes and watched the red light fade, knowing the blue light wouldn't be visible any longer. He lowered his head and looked through black eyes to the rest of the dark world. Now that he thought about it, Fay might've said something about losing him… like… he was afraid to… something that he'd already told him before…

Kurogane sat there thinking it over again. What had Fay said to him? That he didn't want to lose him? That he wanted to be with him? Things that had nothing to do with the current situation? He sighed. Well… Fay had been afraid of him dying… He couldn't help but smirk at the stupidity.

"You idiot, you won't have to watch me die…" He said softly, moving his hand through his hair. He looked out to the darkness as if looking at Fay sitting in front of him, just far away enough to be out of reach.

"Don't you hear me?" He questioned, and the image of the fake Fay he'd created simply continued to smile. Kurogane growled and fisted the sand.

"You bastard! Can't you see I won't allow myself to die!?" He snapped at him, but Fay shrugged and giggled like Kurogane had asked if he was seeing someone. The man was unusually aggravated by this behavior and chucked a handful of sand at him, to which it went right through.

"Damn you! Why would I let myself die if I have you!?" He barked, allowing his voice to rise. He suddenly saw Fay's eyes open and he looked over to the right as if something had called his name. Kurogane blinked and looked over as well, startled by the faint blue light. It slowly began to fade again and Kurogane panicked.

"Ugh! Why does everything that connects me to you fade?!" He barked, moving his eyes to Fay again, but the blonde was still staring at the light. Kurogane looked over to it again and realized that it was beating like a heart, like the beacon of red light higher up. He began to move toward it, realizing it was deeper underwater. When it began to fade again He turned around and yelled.

"YOU IDIOT, I WON'T DIE!" He hollered to whatever he could, and instantly the blue beacon was shining so brightly it blinded him, and he was already at a loss of all his vision. He took a deep breath and dove, having to swim deeper than he thought it'd be. He couldn't help but let a smile of relief and satisfaction reach his lips when he put his hand on the cause of the beacon, feeling over it to see it was his beloved necklace. He closed his eyes and kicked off the bottom of the small pool.

As he surfaced he noticed the color of the water started to become lighter as well. He was surprised to see that once he broke the top he could see completely clear now. Hadn't… hadn't he blinded himself on that rock? Wait a minute… That bastard was crying wasn't he? He had the overwhelming urge of calmness like he had when he proved Fay he wasn't doing harm. He wondered if Fay was glowing too…

At the top of the waterfall Fay gasped at seeing Kurogane's faint being poking out of the middle of the swell in the river and a faint blue shining from what he could make out was his hand. That yell from down below wasn't his mind playing tricks on him. He looked over to Touya to see what the other man thought, but instead saw him and the rest of his men staring at him either critically or in awe. He stared at them before standing.

"…K…Kurogane's emerged." He said with hesitance, moving his hand to point to his lover at the bottom. Touya looked on from behind his mask and Fay could tell he was grimacing.

"Until he's brought us the first heirloom, this task is yet to be completed." He looked over to Fay. "You made the rocks vanish. If you are indeed shaman material, then they will stay vanished. If not, they will appear once more in three days."

"S-so what does that mean? That this challenge will last until then?" Fay questioned nervously, glancing down to the children that were now huddled around Touya's legs, Sakura especially.

"It means until we clarify your magic, you're going to be at the edge of that man's blade." Touya said with a frown, lifting his finger to point at Kurogane walking back toward the waterfall to climb up the side. Fay bit his lip and looked down as the dark haired man began hoisting himself up the steep cliff, having to look away out of fear that he'd fall. He knew he wouldn't, but Fay couldn't stand even imagining it. He looked up to Touya with a sudden burst of determination and anger. He removed his hand from his necklace and pointed at the masked man.

"You might look at him, at us, as if we're not good enough, but mark my words, if we're to lose the judgment of a person who only shows his face after we're weak and tired and been through hell, then I will personally kill myself. We won't lose to you, Touya, nor to your challenges. You can count on that." He said with a deeper voice than he thought he had, making the dark haired man look at him through narrowed eyes that almost looked closed.

"Then we shall see how your death comes about." Touya replied, folding his arms in disgruntlement before looking down at the man climbing up the side of the cliff. It took some time, but eventually Kurogane pulled himself up to the top, his chest heaving breaths roughly but his eyes burning. He stood proudly, sweat licking the water from the falls that was drying on his body, and around his neck was his birthstone. Touya scrutinized this and snorted in displeasure, looking to the rest.

"He's done it. The first half of the first relekihlic is completed." He said in a final tone, looking at the other man.

"As I've told the mage, in three days we will return here, and when we do the stones will be here, or they will not. If they are, then the mage has failed the relekihlic and he will be either banished or killed. If not, we'll continue to the second relekihlic. Until that deciding moment, we part ways." Touya said, bowing his head with a scowl. Kurogane mimicked the movement breathlessly but smugly. Fay watched the other turn to leave, gasping when he noticed the three young ones moving with him.

"What about the children?!" He asked in a soft panic, making Touya face him once more, looking over his shoulder.

"Sakura is my birth sister, I will take care of her as such since her adopted mother is no longer with us. The other two will merely stay with us until all the tasks are complete. We'll keep them well protected and will return them to you at the end, if at all." He said before turning again. Fay moved to reach for the man to get the children back but Kurogane's hand grabbed his wrist and lowered it. They stood and watched the men and wolves retreat to the opposite direction, left standing at the edge of the falls in the deafening silence of the waters.

Fay looked slowly up to Kurogane, a delicate frown on his face. Kurogane glanced down to him after a moment from realizing he was being stared at. They locked eyes and in their silence the blonde couldn't help but reach up to place his hands on the taller's face. Moving to face one another, Kurogane slipped his hand around Fay's body, the first contact they had mutually had all day.

"…What did you call out?" Kurogane muttered softly as Fay felt over his cheeks, chin, and jaw. The blonde gave a weak smile and lowered his hands to the man's shoulders.

"Rethannen I geven, Thangen I harn. Dannen le, A ú-erin le regi. Kuro-sama… amin uuma merna lle gurth." He recited easily, though when Kurogane didn't show any signs of recognition Fay closed his eyes and shook his head.

"It's a couple incantations I learned when I was practicing in my homeland. 'Rethannen I geven, Thangen I harn' means 'Earth shakes, Stone breaks'. I learned this in a spell book about destruction of the earth. I used it often when some material too rough to break by hand or any tool became an obstacle. Dannen le, A ú-erin le regi… that…" Fay blushed lightly and looked away, not even having realized what he said until just then. "…It means 'You have fallen, and I cannot reach you'…" He looked back to Kurogane and smiled sheepishly out of embarrassment. The taller raised an eyebrow at the smaller man's sudden shyness, but said nothing about it.

"And the last one?" He questioned, remembering what it had done to him physically. He clenched his teeth and tried not to think about it. Fay thought over the phrase for a moment, just staring at Kurogane, before he bowed his head with a soft and dwindling smile.

"Amin uuma merna lle gurth… I do not want your death… it wasn't technically a spell I've ever used before… I don't even know where I remember it from or if I just made it up. Amin uuma merna lle gurth, it could just be from the ancient language I studied in…" Fay looked up and shrugged. "Why?"

"When I surfaced in the cave underneath the waterfall I couldn't make out what you were saying…" Kurogane replied easily, though he looked away, the light blush starting to take over his face. "…when I heard your voice I didn't know it was you. I thought it was something mystical. I couldn't focus on anything but getting closer to that sound… and when you said my name…" He sighed; they had sex before, Fay could tell how he acted then, why should it be hard to actually say? "…let's just say I couldn't stand straight."

The blonde tilted his head cutely, definitely not getting Kurogane's point. He looked down at the man's chest to study it in his thought, going over what the dark haired man had said. If his voice sounded mystical… that suggested his spells were actually more than effective, seeing the first spell was for the rocks only. Then again, the second was meant for Kurogane, saying that he couldn't reach him. If Kurogane heard this, it would make sense that he would be drawn to Fay's voice calling out to him.

"…I hadn't said your name in an incantation…" He said slowly, his face scrunching up in confusion. "I said it in between spells in hopes you'd hear me."

"I heard it alright…" Kurogane muttered, almost inaudible above the water. Fay bit his lip and looked over his lover's face.

"…Maybe… I've been gifted with a Siren's Song?" He questioned lightly, making Kurogane stare at him in stupor. Fay sighed and blushed, looking to the other side of the opening.

"A Siren's Song is only among the most powerful wizards as a spell that I probably didn't know I was conducting. It's called that because they can sometimes shout or sing, and those listening or whoever it's meant for will have an unbearable desire to do whatever the song says. I just shouted your name, so it could've been a bunch of emotions that you didn't know how to cope with…" Fay replied, flattered that he might be such a powerful being but at the same time he was very afraid of that. Kurogane sighed again and wrapped his arms tighter around the smaller body.

"That's it exactly. It didn't last long, but that was it…" He said with a small frown. Fay's hands tightened into fists on Kurogane's chest and he placed his forehead against his collarbone.

"Kuro-pu… that much magic isn't meant for my level of wizard power… have I been getting stronger without knowing it?" He muttered feebly, and Kurogane frowned and looked elsewhere.

"Could be. But you're learning to control it, aren't you? If you continue to do both, things won't get out of hand and you won't hurt anyone unless you mean to." Kurogane reassured the smaller, to which Fay hesitated. He thought about what to do with his magic and found he had no control over how powerful he got… He slipped his arms around the taller man. What if he got so powerful he was always using spells and magic by even just breathing?

Kurogane sighed for the umpteenth time that day and lifted a hand to lift Fay's face. They looked at each other for a moment, then the taller moved silken strands out of the other's gaze.

"We should head back now… we'll think more about it at the cave." He said softly, to which Fay nodded. The dark haired man released the other and turned to walk away from the waterfalls, and the smaller followed. Kurogane blinked and looked down to his left when he saw the pale hand slipping around his own. Moving his vision to Fay, the tattooed man raised an eyebrow. Fay just smiled and shrugged. At least this way Kurogane wasn't out of reach.

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Eh, this seems short in length but has a shit load of words so that's fine with me -w- it definitely took longer to write than the last chapter, but school's like a bad pimple on picture day; never wanted, ESPECIALLY not now.

The language Fay is speaking is Elven. Yes. Elven. Fear my mad dork skills. The two phrases 'Rethannen I geven, Thangen I harn' and 'Dannen le, A ú-erin le regi' are from two songs from LOTR that I cleverly manipulated into my story. Kukuku. 'Amin uuma merna lle gurth' is the same Tolken Elven, but from a dictionary I found online. I have an obsession, leave me alone (you especially, Ashine-chan).