Inkani is nervous.
Bin watched the greenery slowly pass by them as Karalius carried him toward his captain's home. The man seemed to be on auto-pilot, because no matter what their surroundings, whether it be the town or the forest, his footsteps remained steady and perfectly in sync.
He wasn't feeling nearly as bad as he had earlier, but he hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep before Inkani was back on deck, shouting orders to head for land. He honestly thought that Karalius would break the door down and attack them for being too loud, but before he could respond in such a way, he'd grabbed one of his cold hands and held it tightly.
The touch had calmed the fury in his eyes, to a point, but he had no doubt that if he got disturbed again once they got situated at Inkani's home, there would likely be hell to pay.
He was just settling down for the rest of the walk when a familiar scent caught his attention and he immediately perked up to look around.
Ah!
"Kara, look!" he said as he pointed a little ways off the side of the road.
His demon's gaze followed the direction he was pointing, and when Bin looked back to see what he thought of what he'd found, he noticed the slightest fraction of intrigue in the man's normally-dead eyes.
"It's our favorite tree, remember? Your mom had one planted in the backyard and we always used to press our faces into the fresh blossoms so that we would come back in smelling like flowers!" Bin said as Karalius began drifting in that direction without needing any instruction.
Without a single word he walked all the way up to the small tree. It was just-barely taller than he, himself, was, so it didn't take any extra effort for Kara to simply lean forward and brush his nose into a bunch of white blossoms.
When the man turned his attention back to him, but didn't step away from the flowers at all, allowing the blossoms to frame the left side of his pale face, Bin nearly began to cry.
Karalius noticed his change in demeanor quickly and took a step back from the little tree, then lifted his free hand up to brush the spot beneath Bin's right eye.
"Nana, what is wrong? Did you not want to see the tree?" he asked, not understanding.
That look of confused worry ended up doing him in. Tears began to stream down Bin's face like raindrops falling from the sky, startling Karalius even further.
The man tried to wipe away each tear before they fell, but his efforts were fruitless, making him even more stressed.
He looked back and forth between the tree and Bin several times as he contemplated what he could do about the situation, but when he eventually lifted a miasma-covered hand, seemingly intent on burning the tree down to stop his master's tears, Bin reached out and grabbed hold of it!
"I-it's not the tree, Kara," he stuttered, knowing darn well that it did involve the tree, but it was Karalius's actions with it that actually made him cry.
You're still in there.
His tears had come because of how relieved he'd felt when his best friend pushed through the darkness in his mind and did something they had done so long ago as if it were second nature.
When Karalius slowly lowered his hand again, Bin grinned and sniffled.
"I was just surprised, that's all. Now you've got pollen all over your face," he said with a light laugh.
"Does master not like the tree any longer?" Karalius asked, still not comprehending very well.
Realizing that the poor tree might still go up in flames if he wasn't careful, Bin got himself under control and reached up to finally wipe away his tears.
"Does the pollen not smell good to master? I don't understand," Kara said, his expression changing to resemble a puppy who just wasn't able to figure out how training worked.
The image of the man holding him somehow growing dog ears and a tail made Bin nearly burst out into a fit of laughter, but he managed to hold himself back, but just barely.
"It smells good. It smells good!" he said with an entertained smile on his face.
His response finally seemed to calm Kara down, because the miasma that normally shadowed part of his body slowly dwindled down to simple irrelevant wisps.
He'd actually never seen it so restrained.
"Would master like to smell good, too?" Karalius asked after a small bout of silence.
Bin looked toward the tree, then back to Karalius, his smile still firmly in place.
"Sure!"
He was just about to turn back toward the tree, expecting Karalius to close the distance between them and it again, when he noticed him lift his free hand up to settle against his hair... right before he leaned in and gently rubbed his cheek against his own.
I...
Bin's heartbeat steadily increased to an uncomfortable, and unfamiliar, pace, as Kara continued to nuzzle his cheek like an attention-seeking feline. The man then moved back just enough to press his nose to the same spot. The soft exhale of his breath as Kara lifted his gaze to meet his own nearly had Bin leaning away in order to break the contact, but he didn't want to startle him again.
So, he silently bit his tongue and endured the strange situation until, finally, with one last brush of noses, Karalius withdrew completely.
"I have always liked master Binan's scent, but now he smells sweet, too."
Bin looked away as Kara began to walk again, allowing them to fall into a comfortable silence. With the peace restored, Bin thought back to their current situation. He'd only ever been to Inkani's home once, and that was when the man had sustained grave injuries... from captain Moral.
The town was considered a haven for pirates and thousands had flocked there for safety in numbers. The royal navy didn't dare set foot there.
His thoughts on that subject faded away as they reached the top of the hill. They now stood in front of Inkani's large home, but for some reason, Karalius hesitated going inside.
Do you want an invitation?
Instead of getting a chance to voice that question, Bin was a bit surprised when Karalius suddenly turned and began walking around the outside of the home.
"Kara, where are we going? You can go inside. Inkani won't mind," he said quickly, though his words didn't seem to have any affect on the man's comfortable pace.
At least we aren't walking away, but still...
"Why don't you want to go inside?" he asked after a moment.
As he waited for a response, Bin noticed one of Kara's thin wings whip about as a particularly strong gust of wind buffeted them.
He reached out right as it drifted close enough, then caught it carefully between his fingers.
It feels just like leather.
Except it was much colder and thinner.
"Kara, how did your wings get damaged?" he asked curiously as they made their way around to the back of the house.
That's where Karalius redirected where he was heading and started moving away from the structure, making Bin quickly look over his own shoulder, worried... until he noticed where his demon was heading.
A few moments later they settled on a large wooden swing hanging from a mature oak tree. Karalius didn't begin swinging on it, but that was perfectly fine. With him having finally stopped completely, Bin took the opportunity to closely examine the man's damaged wing.
The other one didn't look any better, but he couldn't reach it comfortably from where he was situated straddling the man's lap.
"There was a bad storm when I flew to find you on your ship, but my wings had already long-since been wearing thin," Kara finally answered him. "The storm tore them further."
Bin frowned as he held up a particularly mangled portion of wing.
"Does it hurt?"
Karalius slowly shook his head from side to side as he lowered his hands a little to hold Bin's thighs, since he had straightened up onto his knees in order to get a better look at the man's damaged wings.
"It does not hurt. I rarely feel pain anymore."
That's good, at least.
Releasing the wing gently, Bin leaned back just enough to meet Kara's eyes.
"Can I run inside real quick and grab some items? I promise I'll be back in just a moment," he asked, keeping his words and tone calm even as he felt Kara's grip on his thighs tighten as he spoke.
He let his words hang in the air so that Karalius could process them in his own time, though he expected that his request would be denied since he didn't respond after two full minutes, but when the man did finally reply, Bin was taken aback.
"Master Binan may go inside to retrieve what he wishes."
When Kara's fingers slowly relaxed, then lifted to his waist in order to help him to his feet, Bin was still in shock. In fact, he was so surprised that he didn't move an inch even when Karalius stood up, too.
"Master?" the man asked after a silent minute passed.
That inquiry finally got him to snap out of his daze and quickly take a step back.
"Th-thank you! I will be right back. Wait here for me, okay?" he said, excitement clear in his voice.
Karalius slowly nodded, but didn't sit down again. It was clear that he didn't like letting him go, but he was still allowing it for some reason...
Bin turned and calmly walked up to one of the back doors of his master's home. He was inside a moment later, but instead of rushing to grab what he'd intended to, he calmly shut the door, then turned to look out the window.
Karalius watched the back porch with such extreme focus that he thought the man could actually still see him, but when a small orange and yellow butterfly suddenly began flying around his head off and on, his attention was slowly taken away by the small insect.
He watched the man watch the butterfly for several seconds before turning away with a small smile on his face.
While he'd only been to Inkani's home once, the man had still gifted him a room for whenever he wished to return, with or without him.
Heading up the stairs, he went in the opposite direction as Inkani's room and walked to the end of the hall before entering the large room there.
He immediately went over to one of his dressers and pulled out a sewing kit he'd requested the one time he'd been there in order to mend some of his and Inkani's clothing. His master had said that there were plenty of servants who could sew them, but he'd refused the assistance.
Inkani hadn't argued, and Bin was given a sewing kit within the hour.
I'll just bring some blankets and blood, too.
He wasn't sure if Kara would allow him back in the house, so he had to make sure that he grabbed everything he'd need, just in case.
By the time he stepped back outside, he had his arms completely full of items. Thankfully, Karalius hurried forward and up onto the porch in order to take some from him. They ended up sitting on the steps as they went through each item.
Kara didn't hesitate to wrap the blankets that were brought out around Bin's shoulders, and Bin quickly gave the other man a container of warm blood to drink. As the man sipped it quietly, Bin took his chance and settled himself behind him in order to truly look over his damaged wings.
As he gently stretched the right one out to its impressive, full length, he was surprised, and saddened, to see that it was far more tattered than he'd previously thought.
I don't know if I can mend this much damage...
He noted each cut and hole, eventually counting over fifty on just that one wing alone. Part of the main bone that connected the appendage to Karalius also seemed broken.
"Master, will you remove my wings?"
Bin startled at Kara's abrupt question.
"I-I wasn't going to!" he said quickly, not wanting the man to think that he'd intentionally cripple him.
There was silence for a short time as the wind rustled their hair and Bin wracked his brain on how he could possibly save the man's ability to fly, but when Karalius spoke again a while later, he fidgeted.
"Master Binan, will you remove my wings for me?"
Still holding the damaged right wing, Bin frowned.
"I... was trying to figure out a way to save them for you," he eventually said, sorrow in his voice.
Sure, taking the man's wings would make it much harder for him to catch up to him if he were to run, but he didn't want to hurt him. He'd never intended to hurt him, or for him to get hurt.
"I can no longer feel them and they are torn to the point of being useless. Will master not remove them for me?" Karalius replied calmly.
Hunching his shoulders, Bin sniffled, but took out the small knife he kept at his waist.
"A-are you sure?" he asked, knowing that Karalius didn't say things just to say them. The man had been sure the moment the words had left his mouth.
"Nana, please remove my wings."
Bin felt a tear slowly make its way down his left cheek, but he didn't dare say anything more as he lifted his knife and, as gently as he could, began removing the man's soft gray wings from his back.