He couldn't speak.
Bin just stared at the man before him as tears streamed down his face.
I made you like this. This is all my fault.
He'd deserved all those times Karalius had come after him. He should have just let him change him, or kill him, or whatever would have happened, happen.
Heck, he was just trying to form those exact words and give the man permission to do as he wished when Kara suddenly reached up and pressed his cold hands to either side of his face, then used his thumbs to wipe away his tears.
"When you are changed, emotions become very quiet. There will be no need for tears," he said with a calm expression on his tired face.
Bin closed his mouth and coughed a little, then sighed out a breath, sniffling.
"Th-there won't be a-any nightmares today," he finally managed to say, making Karalius tilt his head curiously.
"There are always nightmares, master Binan. I am used to them."
You're a terrible person, Bin.
"Master Binan, I do not need to rest today. Master must get better in orâ" Bin had reached up and pressed two of his fingers to Kara's lips, silencing his repetitive monologue.
"I understand, Kara, but I don't think I can rest by myself, and I don't think I can sleep with you staring at me all day," he said, trying to get the man to agree to at least lie down and shut his eyes for a while.
It seemed to take his mind a bit to put his words together into something he understood, but when Karalius finally spoke, Bin felt his tense body finally relax the slightest fraction.
"I will lie down with master so that you can sleep well."
Bin smiled sleepily and with a bit of effort, helped Karalius finally lie down. The man's body was oddly stiff, and it didn't take long for Bin's mind to process why.
You don't show emotions, but you are literally scared stiff to simply try to sleep...
As Karalius stared up at him with his cold, dark eyes, Bin took that rare moment to look him over. His stomach couldn't handle what he saw and quickly diverted his gaze away from the multitude of scars covering the man's chest and arms.
"Nana, why do you still not sleep?" Karalius asked, making Bin quickly yank the blankets up and over them as he settled against him.
"I-I am sleeping. Right now, I'm going to sleep!" he stuttered out, then closed his mouth to cough a little.
Once he was done coughing he looked up, his cheek pressing against the man's cold shoulder.
"You have to close your eyes, too. I can't sleep when you're watching me," he said sternly, making Karalius quickly shut his eyes. .. though he still kept his head tilted towards him on the pillow.
You are such a kid underneath that adult exterior.
Or his understanding had diminished to that of a child's, but he didn't want to think that such a thing had happened.
As he continued to think through his myriad of thoughts, Bin found himself drifting off, quite content against his chilly heir.
It didn't take long, however, before he was awoken by stressed panting and quiet, terrified cries.
His muddled mind took a few moments to register the situation, but as soon as he realized what was going on he quickly scooted upward a bit, then wrapped his arms around Karalius's jerking head.
You're going to hurt your neck moving like that while you're asleep.
Heck, he would have smacked him pretty hard with his forehead, too, if he hadn't tucked his head against him at some point while sleeping.
He immediately considered waking the man to end his nightmare, but then he remembered that he often didn't sleep because of that exact reason, so if he woke him up, he likely wouldn't try going back to sleep again.
Dammit...
Hugging Karalius's head to his chest to try and keep it from moving too much, Bin leaned closer and carefully whispered to him.
"Kara? It's okay now, sweetheart. Your master is right here. Binan is here and he won't let anyone hurt you."
Of course, he knew that his words weren't completely true, because honestly, Karalius was much stronger than him, so if they could hurt Kara, then he definitely wouldn't be able to prevent anything, but he was more focused on the here and now, and right then, Kara needed to hear what he needed to hear.
He'd evidently made the right decision, too, and as he continued to whisper reassurances, Karalius slowly began to calm down.
When his head stopped swinging from side to side Bin reached up with one hand and began running his fingers through the man's messy hair.
Someone needs a bath.
Or, at least, his hair washed.
Once Kara had completely calmed down again, Bin settled himself back down to rest.
Unfortunately, the man startled him awake not an hour later. This time he really was crying out for him, making Bin hurry to reassure him again before he woke himself.
That situation repeated itself nearly five times that day, and even continued well into the next night before Inkani silently slipped in to check on them.
Bin quickly pushed himself back up into a sitting position when he saw the man enter, but his arms immediately began to shake in response, exhaustion making him nearly fall back down to the sheets right then and there.
Inkani saw his struggling right away and moved to the edge of the bed, then leaned over, reaching for him.
Bin couldn't do anything but accept the assistance and allow himself to be lifted up and over a soundly sleeping Karalius, then hugged tightly against his own master's chest.
He was a little nervous about leaving Kara alone, especially after how many nightmares he'd had, but Inkani didn't seem interested in discussing anything. At least, not while they were still in his room.
So, Bin remained silent as Inkani stepped out into the calm, cool air. It was already well into the night and a plethora of stars were shining down on them from above.
"My Bin, drink," his sire said, immediately pulling Bin's attention away from the stars and down to a small spot on Inkani's neck that had clearly just been scratched open a bit for him.
He immediately did as told, surprised at how hungry he was one he'd slipped his fangs into Inkani's neck.
"You are sick, Bin. You should not have stayed up taking care of him all day," Inkani said, his tone chiding yet gentle.
He knew that he shouldn't have, but Inkani also understood the pull he felt towards Karalius, even if he refused to accept him as his heir.
Heck, Inkani had taken care of him for nearly two weeks straight to be sure that he'd survive the change when the most he did for the previous people he'd changed was give them their first feeding before never seeing them again.
Inkani was just opening his mouth to speak again when they both heard the door to his cabin slam open right before a rather disheveled Karalius stormed out.
He was already hissing and would have likely been spitting fiery miasma if he hadn't just woken up seconds earlier.
When he noticed that Inkani wasn't even bothering to bare his fangs in response, and Bin was simply looking at him from where he remained held in his own master's arms, he actually managed to calm himself down a bit.
Of course, that didn't stop him from demanding his master back, though. In fact, he didn't even bother with words, and instead walked right up to them.
The only thing that stopped him from grabbing Bin right out of Inkani's arms was Bin reaching over to press a hand to his chest gently.
"This is my own master, Kara. He saved my life, and he was just feeding me a bit more since I didn't sleep much," he said, then stifled a quiet cough with the crook of his arm.
Karalius didn't look happy, but understanding did dawn on his face after a few moments.
"Master did not sleep? I slept very well..." he said, making Bin's heart sigh with relief.
Thank god you got some rest.
The man did look quite a bit better, even with his messy hair and plethora of scars. His eyes weren't as dark and his skin had the slightest fraction of color to it.
Unable to hold back his relieved smile, Bin gestured for Inkani to let him down. His master clearly wasn't happy, but he did as told.
Once back on his feet, Bin turned to Karalius and was about to check him over when he was suddenly lifted right back up!
"H-hey! I'm not a child! I can walk just fine by myself," he said as he poked Kralius's forehead, only for the man to completely ignore him as his attention returned to Inkani.
The two were silent for quite some time as the wind began to pick up, rustling their hair. When one of them finally did speak, it was his master.
"I'm not interested in causing problems, nor do I plan to get between you two, but my heir has clearly not rested yet, and you, on the other hand, look much better. Are you treating my Binan appropriately?"
The arms holding him tightened slightly as Karalius held him closer.
"I do not know why master Binan hasn't slept well. I was told to rest, and then, when I woke up, he was gone..."
The despair he heard in Karalius's voice made Bin purse his lips, then lean forward to wrap his arms around the man's neck. Before he could speak, however, he began coughing again, but this time he couldn't manage to stop it as tremors wracked his exhausted body.
It took quite some time before he managed to regain control of himself, and right as he finished his last, gruff cough, a small piece of honey mint candy was slipped between his lips.
"You need to watch him closely, okay? I'll send up some medicine as soon as I can get it made, and he needs to sleep as much as he can..." Inkani said, his voice drifting around his aching head like the wind itself.
The cold hand rubbing his back slowed to a stop in response.
"I will make sure that he rests. I will not sleep this time," Karalius said, making Bin inwardly sigh.
The man needed more rest, not less, but he couldn't, and wouldn't, argue with Inkani. So, once their little group parted ways Bin was brought back into Inkani's room and settled into bed.
He was tucked in with one blanket before another was pulled up overtop it. Then another... and another.
By the time he finally managed to convince Karalius that was warm enough, the man had used up all of the blankets on the bed, spare chest, and even the one stored in the bottom drawer of Inkani's dresser!
Karalius then made sure that he'd finished his candy treat with a quick mouth-inspection, just to be sure that he had nothing to choke on, then demanded that he go to bed immediately.
This guy... acts more like master Inkani than I thought he would.
Glancing to his right and up, Bin watched Karalius watch him from where he sat cross-legged at his side. The man's eyes narrowed in response to his attention, silently telling him that he was currently not sleeping, as he should be.
Alright, alright. I'm going to sleep.
And he did, and while it was kind of odd to know that Karalius was staring right at him the entire time, that awkward feeling eventually shifted into something closer to a secure one.
He might not be strong enough to protect Karalius in most cases, but he knew darn well that no one would dare try to mess with his heir... and if they did, they likely wouldn't walk away from the confrontation.
With such a strong person watching over him, it was no wonder that he easily fell asleep once he finally let himself relax again...