warmskies | Church Source 7

He leads Dimitri through the trees and underbrush with an easy grace that speaks of how familiar he must be with this kind of movement, this kind of life - he's told Dimitri he's a hunter, but Dimitri is getting to actually see those skills in action now. It's a solid fifteen minutes or so of walking before Dimitri will hear a snort ahead of them; a few moments later, they reach a tree that has two horses tied to it. One is a small bright bay with an intelligent face and dark mane and tail; the other is a heavier, shaggier black horse that's several hands larger than the other, no doubt meant for Dimitri. Claude certainly doesn't have any need for a mount that size.

"Ah, here we are," Claude says cheerfully; all the tension seems to have gone out of him by now, although something else is buzzing through him in his place. Adrenaline, maybe, or maybe pure triumph; the excitement of a well-planned and well-executed scheme coming off without a hitch. "These will get us well away from the monastery before it starts buzzing like a kicked beehive come daybreak."

--

At least one of them is graceful. Once they're in the trees, Dimitri feels as though he hits every single branch that even remotely exists, and just forges ahead regardless for lack of any better idea. It's not too unlike a bull forcing his way through, frankly, and that's honestly a fairly good description of it overall. At least he has a hand he remembers to use, grimacing. If there's any good news, is that he at least has the stamina to not lag behind at all.

...Although he sort of wants to, once he ears that snort, and his ears flick back slightly. It may be interesting to note that, even younger, Dimitri can't recall ever seeing any sort of horse. They simply weren't a native animal on the islands he grew up on, and the Intsehli there didn't really use them. At this age? Certainly not. Claude will find Dimitri's hand holding him back a bit simply because the Intseh simply doesn't move, eyeing the horses with awkward uncertainty.

"...Is there... a particular way to handle them...?"

--

Claude grins at him. "Relax, I'll show you how. It might not be comfortable for awhile while you're getting used to it, but trust me - it'll be fine." And, gently, he pulls Dimitri toward the horses.

Claude's horse pricks up its ears and whickers softly at him, in what sounds like an affectionate greeting. The other horse seems generally unimpressed and unmoved by everything that's happening. Neither of them seem uncomfortable with an Intseh; in the case of Claude's horse, he's visited Intsehli lands often enough that his horse is familiar enough with him, and in the case of the other horse...well, Claude actually traveled to a mixed-race city and specifically found a horse that is comfortable around Intseh.

He's well aware that Dimitri has never had the chance to learn to ride, or perhaps ever even seen a horse. He didn't want any more obstacles going into this than there's already going to be, like a skittish horse that isn't used to Intseh.

He guides Dimitri's hand out, palm flat. "Let him smell you. Keep your hand flat; they can be kind of inquisitive about biting fingers. Don't worry, though. As long as you don't spook them, horses aren't much trouble." Granted, Claude's people have a long tradition of horseback riding; Claude himself was comfortable around horses even before his village was razed. He may be a little biased here. "Riding them's a little more complicated, but provided you can keep your feet in the stirrups and not fall off, that'll do for tonight."

--

On one hand, everything is so new that the very much still pessimistic part of Dimitri's mind is fairly certain that it won't be fine. Somehow, in some way, it will not be fine. And yet... Claude, the real one which has touched him and fed him and made something of his miserable life, has made no promise he hasn't yet kept.

He's here, after all.

So Dimitri allows Claude to move his hand out towards the horse, doing his best not to blatantly display his unease in this new situation. His fingers very much want to curl inwards, an impulse Dimitri has to fight while the horse finally finds within itself to care about what's happening. Even best as he prepares, however, the actual snuff towards his palm makes Dimitri jolt in Claude's grasp.

He's not really had a lot of experience with anything bigger than him before.

--

Claude laughs. It's not quiet anymore; for the first time, perhaps ever, Dimitri's getting to hear Claude laugh when he's not trying to hide what they're doing. "I never thought I'd see a guy like you so nervous."

Claude reaches out and pats the big black horse's neck; the horse, after absently lipping at Dimitri's fingers, gives Claude a bored look. His head is bigger than Claude's entire chest, which doesn't seem to bother Claude at all. "He might look like a moose, but this guy's incredibly laid back. When you're as big as he is, you really don't have to be bothered about much of anything. Right, big guy?" He reaches up - considerably up - to scratch behind the stallion's ear, which the horse accepts with something like stoic tolerance. "Wyvern likes to tease him."

--

It's fairly easy now to tell where Dimitri is looking, at least with Claude besides him instead of the pair forced to face each other with the bars between them. With one side blinded, he has to turn his entire head sometimes to look at something... and right now, chin tilted down, head shifted, it's clear that he's quietly watching Claude. Watching the way he doesn't have to hold back at all, now.

That Dimitri himself doesn't have to hold back either is a message he needs a little while longer to truly process.

"...I can understand that..." It certainly hadn't been the size of those at the monastery or even any martial prowess that had really concerned Dimitri, after all. He looks back up to the large horse, trying to take note of how Claude is touching him. "Wyvern is... the other horse, then."

--

"My horse." Claude sounds fond. "We've been through a lot together. You won't find any better horses than the kind my people have...though I had to go pretty far to find one. There sure aren't many of either my people or their horses anywhere near the lands this branch of the church controls. Paid a pretty penny for him, too."

Wyvern either senses he's being talked about or is jealous of the attention the larger stallion is getting, and he steps forward to plow his head against Claude, refusing to be ignored any longer. Claude bursts out laughing, scruffing under the horse's jaw with both hands even as Wyvern leans back and tries to nip at Claude's braid. "Easy, you spoiled brat! What, am I not even allowed to pet other horses now?"

(Claude's been wearing his hair the way Dimitri likes it ever since he found out Dimitri does like it that way.)

--

Although he's not entirely conscious of the decision, Dimitri almost immediately places Wyvern beneath Claude in his priorities of what to protect. That sort of protection would be worth any injury, as he watches Claude brighten in a way he's never had the chance to see before. He lets it continue for a moment longer, before looking back up to what is... apparently his horse, and experimentally moves his hand closer in an approximation of what he saw Claude do only a moment before.

"Then what is this one's name?"

--

"That's up to you," Claude replies cheerfully, turning around while Wyvern puts his head over Claude's shoulder. Claude reaches up and casually embraces that big (though still significantly smaller than the other horse's) head with one arm. "He's yours, so you can call him whatever you want. Not that you have to name him right this second or anything. I've just been calling him 'big guy'."

The black horse seems to be studying Dimitri. It's not wary - as Claude said, a horse that big has very little to be nervous about - so much as it seems like the horse is deciding whether there's anything to interest him here. He seems willing enough to let Dimitri touch him, in any case.

--

Ah. Dimitri slowly pulls his hand away from his horse, remembering the smell thick in his lungs as he'd knelt there on the ground before the church's saint, how the red had looked in the darkness on Claude's fingertips. There's been a question hanging around the recollections, one that he hasn't been able to give attention to in their haste to escape. But now...

There's still dust on his hands, he thinks. Dimitri grinds his fingertips into his palms, and directs his one good eye to Claude. "...You said we'd talk. Once we were outside. Now, we are. The bones and blood... What are they, Claude?"

--

Claude's quiet for a moment as he pulls the items out of his pack. "I assume," he finally murmurs, "that they're from Intseh. Maybe former executioners. Unless they had some killed...specifically for this." He looks down at them. "That's why we're going to give them as close to a proper burial as we can manage. It's not nearly enough, but...it's the least they deserve."

--

Things make sense, when he says it so plainly like that. The feeling in the back of his skull that he'd had when he'd wondered whose bones they could be, the familiar smell to the blood that hadn't seemed quite the same compared to all the human blood he's ever spilled. Once more, he feels an overwhelming feeling roll over him much as what had happened when he'd first entered that room, only it's almost in reverse. Now, there's no waves of anger breaking against the inside of his chest. Instead, just that same numb and dizzying feeling fills his lungs.

He feels tired. He must look it, too, a weariness that fills up his one eyed stare near to overflowing. Dimitri doesn't say anything. All he does is, wordlessly, hold out his hands for both bottles.

--

Claude hands them over, also without feeling any need for words. But then he steps closer, pulling Dimitri's head down and resting their foreheads together for a moment. He doesn't know if it's any comfort to Dimitri, but...he hopes it is. It doesn't make him feel better, exactly, so much as...reassured that there's someone else there, feeling the same pain he is. Recognizing the same wrongs he does.

That's rare, in the lands they've been stuck living in for so long. Even more so for Dimitri than Claude.

--

There's no resistance to the pull. Dimitri wouldn't dare to even if he wanted, cradling bone and blood so carefully in his hands. He'd cry, maybe, if he knew how to. All he can do, instead, he crumple quietly against Claude's body, forehead to forehead. "I'd wondered," he says quietly, voice a strangled whisper, "where other Intseh were. When I was first made executioner. It was too practiced and smooth a tradition for it to be new. There had to be someone before me."

Glass clinks into glass as his hands shake. "...They were always there. They were there even before I became executioner." He presses down further, grinding their skin against one another. There's that distance in his gaze, where he's staring more through Claude than at him.

"This was to be me."

--

"You escaped, Dimitri," Claude murmurs, for what good that does. "And there won't be any others. We can't change the past, but...we're going to change the future. That'll have to be enough."

--

"It was to be me." A soft, miserable repetition. His eye sinks shut, too tired, too burdened, to stay open in the present moment. "If not for you..." Because Dimitri knows that's the only reason why he's any different from the executioner whose only remains are now in his hands, or any of the others before him. He was merely fortunate enough.

Fortunate enough to have a too-curious boy venture where he shouldn't to meet him. Fortunate enough that he was recognized. Not forgotten.

The nameless remains in his hands can't say the same. Not even for that last part.

"...Would you let me be buried here? In this place not my home?"

--

"I...know this isn't the greatest place to bury them." Claude's eyes shut for a moment. "They deserve to go back home. To their own lands, to their families. We can take them, if that's what you want...but it's a long trip, and the odds of finding their families are slim to none. We don't even know who they were.

"And explaining it to the Intseh, if we try to find their relatives...this is the kind of thing that can start wars, Dimitri. I've been compiling evidence for years, making plans for how to approach the Intseh, how to pressure the main branch of the church to declare this branch extremists and heretics, how to make sure we can prove they've done what we know they've done..." He opens his eyes again, giving Dimitri a strained smile. "It takes some pretty delicate handling."

He's silent for a moment. "...what do you want to do?" Then, even though he hates the question: "What would you want, if it was you?"

--

Now that's a question he's known the answer to for many years now, and Dimitri's eyes stay open just an exhausted sliver as he stares down between them. "I'd want... my ashes by those of my parents. I would want to go... back to them." The only time he could be with them again, when they'd been separated for so long.

"...Barring that, I'd want the head priest of the monastery to choke on my remains until dead."

Taking in a deep shuddering breath, he curls his fingers over the vials once more. "...I understand the difficulties in finding their family, their kin. Even finding the right island... would be a challenge all its own. That is not something I would want to inflict on you... Not after all you've done already. I merely... want them closer to our home. To our kin. Somewhere... we would no longer be alone." He has Claude, and he thinks that may be enough for a very long time. It's already been so much, over the last few weeks. But the other executioners... The ones he can see himself in so vividly despite never having laid eyes on them as they were...

They had no one.

A feeling he knows far too well himself.

--

"Dimitri." Claude's hands cup his face. "If you want to find them, then we'll find them." A ghost of a smile. "I didn't break you out so you could keep not getting the things you want."

He glances down at the bones, at the blood. "We won't be able to find out whose they were specifically, or return them to specific families. But...we can find Intseh families whose loved ones have vanished with no trace. Maybe these things can represent them, whether or not they actually are them, and that'll be some closure."

Claude looks back up at Dimitri. "You were right to ask me what I would do if this was you. I wouldn't let how difficult it might be stop me for you, so it shouldn't stop me for them. They don't deserve less, so why should I do less?"

--

"You're doing too much..." And it truly is too much, to the point that Dimitri isn't sure how he's going to deal with it all. If not for his current state of shock and numbness, well, he has no idea what he'd do. His brow is crumpled over his eye, looking down towards Claude.

"I do not want you to do all the work, Claude...."

--

"It won't be just me." Claude smiles at him. "You'll be with me, right?"

--

There's an ache in his chest, not too unlike when he had to lay and wait for Claude into the dark the night they'd touched one another. But different, somehow. Dimitri doesn't know what to make of it, not when his mental load is overburdened as it is. All he does is nod, hair crumpling with the movement.

"I will not leave unless you wish it of me." Another glance down towards the bottles. "...When possible... I would... like a way to carry them with me. For whatever is ahead."

--

Claude nods. "Once we get you some proper clothes, you can get a belt pouch like mine. And we can get some stuff to pack around them, keep them protected from breaking."

He grins, letting the conversation naturally transition to something a little lighter. "I just realized you're going to have to get used to wearing actual outfits. There's so much about your life that's going to change now...and I know it's going to be a lot." He puts his hands over Dimitri's. "But I'll be with you, too. We can help each other.

"And I can't even imagine the circumstances under which I'd ever want you to leave."

--

"It's already too much..." The idea of freedom, the remains in his hands, the responsibility of a name... and...

Dimitri glances wearily and warily towards his horse.

"...We still have to ride them."

---

"I'll show you how." Claude chuckles, gently taking the vials from Dimitri's hands and tucking them back into his pouch for now; Dimitri's got nowhere to carry them. Then he moves over to Wyvern, unties his bridle from the tree, flips the reins over the horse's head, and then gently pivots Wyvern so Dimitri can observe what he's about to do.

"This is a stirrup," he instructs, pointing at it. "You put your feet in the stirrups while you're riding. You can also use it to boost yourself up onto your horse's back, like this." He hooks one foot in it and then swings himself up, easily, onto Wyvern's back. "Always mount on the left side of the horse; most horses are trained to be used to that side, so it's usually easier that way."

He settles himself in the saddle. "What I'm sitting on is the saddle. These - " He holds up the reins. " - are the reins. They help you steer your horse. See how it's connected to the bar in his mouth?" He encourages Wyvern to turn his head so that he can point more effectively. "When you pull the rein on one side or the other, they can feel it, and that tells them to go in that direction. If you pull straight back on both sides, that tells them to slow down or stop - you just hold it until they slow down as much as you want them to, until they eventually come to a standstill. Just remember that their mouths are sensitive; you don't have to, and shouldn't, yank too hard. You can't force them to do what you want them to do no matter how hard you pull, anyway; all you can do is tell them what you want. A good horse that trusts you will want to do what you ask of it, because they know you take care of them and that you're not going to ask them to do anything harmful."

He gestures to his leg on Dimitri's side. "Your legs put in some work, too. Squeezing with your legs is part of how you stay on; don't let them flop around unless you feel like sliding out of your saddle. Your legs help give you control of your horse, too. You can press with your legs on one side or the other to underline that you want the horse to go in that direction. If you hit them lightly with your heels - don't worry, it doesn't hurt them at all - that tells them to accelerate. So they'll move from standing to walking, walking to trotting, trotting to cantering, and cantering to galloping. Don't worry about the words, they're not super important to know right away; just know that a horse has four speeds. Cantering's a decent travel speed, and probably what we'll be using once you're comfortable enough in your ability to not fall off."

He gives Dimitri an apologetic grin. "Sorry, I know it's a lot. But look, I'll teach you the basics by doing, at a nice gentle walk. It'll seem much simpler once you're doing the things I say, and getting a feel for them, instead of just listening to a lecture."

--

Dimitri is not going to be comfortable for a while, as it turns out.

Gods help his poor soul, because he certainly does his absolute best in trying to learn the basic ideas of horse riding, he really does. As with the language lessons, no one can say Dimitri is anything but a highly attentive student, or perhaps that's merely Claude working with a lot of favor on his side. (Or both.) It's just.... a lot. On the mental straining scale. Dimitri hasn't had even the slightest bit of time to prepare for the idea of freedom, let alone a break out, and now suddenly he's able to see the outside of the city, walk through a forest, and touch a horse. It's more than it sounds like when put to words.

So even though he tries his best, and clearly has already decided he cares about this horse a lot, well....

The journey to the cabin Claude has in mind is one full of Dimitri constantly having to be corrected, almost falling off, and generally having a rough time of it. The addition of a cloak almost seems to encourage his stiffness somehow, although it's not as though he needs any particular help in that area.

By the time they get to the hunters cabin, Dimitri at least is... mostly better. He's not an expert rider, but he's stopped threatening to fall off, and has a rough idea of how to guide a horse now. His ass is sore, granted, and the wide eyed look in his eye seems to imply he's going to either explode with energy or fall unconscious the second he doesn't have to do some sort of balancing act... but he's still there.

--

Claude is quite proud of his - friend? Is that still the right word, after they've jerked each other off and made their mutual attraction very clear? Probably not, but they haven't decided on a better one yet - even before Dimitri starts approaching passable, and is all the more so once they reach the cabin Claude's been leading them to and the word can actually be used. He leads Dimitri around to the back of the cabin, where there's a small stable; four boxes, which is two more than they need.

"Okay," he says cheerfully, hopping off of Wyvern. It's been a long, exhausting night for him, too - even if it's been significantly less so for him than Dimitri - but he's not going to show it. Not yet, anyway. He doesn't want any weariness from him to spread to Dimitri. "We're finally here, so you can relax. From here on it's going to be smooth sailing, and we can take our time getting you adjusted to things."

He pulls Wyvern's reins over his head before moving over to open the stable doors. "Lead the big guy in here. You can head into the cabin and wait for me after that; I've got to look after these guys a bit before we can call it a night."

--

"Is it?" Dimitri has less basis for his expectations on how things are to 'sail' than Claude, but all he can do is put his trust in his friend as he has been doing all night. There aren't many other options available. Guiding his steed mostly near the stables, Dimitri pauses as the hard part comes next. Claude gets the entertaining show of watching a very large and normally vaguely confident Intseh slowly and delicately begin the apparently complicated process of removing himself from horseback.

Listen... There's a lot of parts in play here. His cloak. His tail underneath his cloak. Feet, just... feet? Stirrups are a lot. But finally, he's successfully off of his horse and guiding him into the stables. Even with that done, Dimitri doesn't immediately leave Claude's side. He feels as if he's holding his breath, and about to burst out of his skin besides, but, more than that... "Do you not need help....?" All of this has left him feeling almost useless in what he can do, so entirely out of his element or the purpose he was raised for.

--

"I could use some," Claude allows, glancing at him. "But it means more teaching you what to do. Which I don't mind, but I feel like you've got to be pretty badly overwhelmed already, right? I was going to leave those lessons for another day." He smiles at Dimitri. "But if you really want to learn now, you could watch what I do with Wyvern and then give the big guy the same treatment."

--

"I..." It's not a bad point, and Dimitri glances out of the stables, claws uselessly grasping at air. Even if he did learn things tonight, he's suddenly not sure if he'd actually retain any of it. The only reason he's even sure that the lessons of horse riding have stuck to some degree is because he essentially had to force himself through it for some hours without stopping, because it was necessary. If he's going to waste Claude's time with teaching him, then a time when he doesn't just forget all of it might be for the better.

Finally, uncertain, his hands curl into his cloak. "...I will... wait." His body doesn't feel like waiting is a thing it wants to do, still, but... Dimitri lingers for a moment, as if not sure what to do at all without Claude, before he begins to shuffle to the door of the cabin. By the time Claude follows him.... He'll find Dimitri in the middle of the room curled up not too unlike what he'd often done in the executioner cage in the monastery, although the cloak he's still not removed makes him look rather more like a large lump. He's just... looking at everything.

--

It takes awhile before Claude comes in; forty-five minutes, at least. (He'd have been faster - he's quite good at caring for horses - but the big guy is a lot of horse.) Once he does, he unfastens his pouch from his belt, setting it and its somber cargo aside, and then pulls a bar down over the door, locking them in. Then he heads over to the fireplace and starts a fire - partially so they can see, partially to get the chill out of the cabin. Then, finally, he moves over to Dimitri, sitting down on the floor beside him.

He lets a companionable silence stretch between them for a few minutes before he speaks. "I'm sorry I didn't give you any warning about all this. You didn't have any time to prepare yourself for this. But...I didn't want to promise you anything before I could make it happen. Before I could prove you could believe in it."

--

Dimitri doesn't look at him until he speaks, still focused on his surroundings. Perhaps to a regular person, a place like this wouldn't be much to look at... but to him, it's unbelievable. It's an actual room, a building, something he'd almost forgotten the look of from his childhood, and not just the empty space of cage with no privacy.

"....I wouldn't have believed you." Dimitri understands that much. From beneath his cloak, his hand slips out until his fingers can touch the edge of Claude's clothing not too unlike how he once did during the first nights they met each other once again. "I still... am not sure if this is real or not. I cannot help feel that I will sleep, or touch something... and it will all vanish beneath my fingers."

--

"It's real." Claude grins, reaching out to rest his hand on top of Dimitri's. "What, you're not sore enough to be sure?"

The smirk softens. "I told you I dreamed of escaping with you from the church, ever since we were kids. As soon as I found you as an adult...I knew I could finally make it happen." He squeezes Dimitri's hand. "I also told you that dreams can come true, so just because this seems like a dream doesn't mean it's not still real. Sometimes life can actually be that good."

--

"I could be sore for many reasons." Still, there's a low bit of sulking to his tone that says he knows he's going to be feeling this for a while. He shifts his head to better see out from the hood, adjusting his hand to slowly slide his fingers inbetween Claude's.

"...I am scared to sleep. Just... in case. I know it is foolish."

--

Claude reaches up with his free hand and pulls Dimitri's hood back, mindful of the horns. "I'll be with you," he murmurs. "I'll remind you it's real as much as you need."

--

Dimitri's hair has never exactly been in a state of neatness, not for a very long time. At best, it's been wet and limp. At it worst, well, the hood has certainly mussed it up further, and the disheveled nature of it only seems to add to the tentative look in his eye as he stares up at Claude. Looking up at him now, the way Claude is still so patiently here...

"Am I allowed to want you?" he asks quietly, nails a brief point as his fingers squeeze down a fleeting moment. "I did not think on the answer, there, but..."

--

Claude blinks at the question, both surprised by it and touched by the simple earnestness of it - but then he smiles in a way that lights up his entire face. "I'd be extremely disappointed if you didn't, Dimitri."

--

Again, that faint glow of warmth starts up in his stomach, and he's almost just as tense and scared as he was that one night for all that he can't even begin to look away from Claude's face . Can't begin to think of doing that. Still- "Not- I do not know. But am I... allowed?" He finally tears his eye away, looking down at where their hands are joined together in quite solidarity and comfort both. "I am not.... I am broken. Bad." It sounds childish, when he puts it into such terms... but those are his base feelings, no matter what. He knows how much he has been changed, even if he has not had other Intseh to compare himself to since before he was forced into the church's services.

"There... must be others who are better." Normally, Dimitri wouldn't even humor the idea of a good human, not with what he's experienced, what he's been put through, so far from his homeland.... But if a Claude von Riegan can exist in the world, perhaps there is someone that can match him. And Dimitri... does not think he can.

--

"I don't think anything about you is nearly as distasteful as you seem to think," Claude replies, with a slight smile. "Though even if there was anything bad about you...it'd be because of what the church made you be. And now that you're free of them, you don't have to be those things anymore. Even if it takes you time to go back to who you are, or become what you could have been without the church...why would I judge you based on what the church has done to you? I've seen enough of who you're really like, who you're like despite them, to know I like that person." And like, Claude reflects, is a pretty mild term for it. But he'd rather not completely overwhelm Dimitri just yet.

"And, all of that aside...it really doesn't matter, anyway. Maybe there are others who are better, but you'd be amazed how often that's true for people in any relationship. And yet, somehow, people form relationships anyway." He smiles at Dimitri. "It's not about finding the best possible person. It's about finding the person you want. And there isn't anyone else I want. I want you. No one else."

--

It sounds easy, when Claude describes it so simply. For Dimitri, it doesn't feel easy. It doesn't feel like a thing that he can just... stop being. How can he be anything else?

...Still. He lets out a quiet breath, fingers squeezing down onto Claude's again. He supposes he had not believed that he would ever find freedom again, either. Perhaps, until he can learn to see a vision of his future on his own... It is fine if he simply relies on Claude for this. He hasn't been wrong yet, after all. With this acceptance comes the rush of exhaustion that's been threatening him all night, and Dimitri rises up into a more proper sitting position only to lean closer to Claude with his face to his shoulder.

"...I will do my best to be worthy, then."

--

"You don't have to do anything special for that," Claude informs him, lifting a hand to card fingers through Dimitri's hair. Which, for entirely unrelated reasons, reminds him of something.

"Hey, you want a bath? I bet it's been years since you've actually had the luxury of anything other than a bucket of cold water thrown on you. And it'll help with the aches from riding."

--

Oh. Right. Baths are a thing, for people, one of which Dimitri supposes he might arguably count as now that he's free of the church. "Is it that much different from having water poured on me...?" Also he doesn't really want to move, even with the promise of something that might help at the end of it.

It really is a miracle that Claude got him out of the monastery without at least three people dying.

--

"Absolutely." Claude chuckles. "We can share one, if you want..." He grins at Dimitri. "I mean, if you want to sit in a tub of hot water with me while we're both naked, of course."

Blatant manipulation? What's that?

--

It's called "Claude von Riegan", and it's cheating at the base level.

Another minute is needed before Dimitri reluctantly pushes himself upright, still looking exhausted on a few different levels. "Fur is different from skin, I hope you are aware," he points out quietly. He's had to deal with his fur wet (well, usually sticky, for some reason happening with Claude twice now in two very different situations), and he wants to make sure Claude knows this as well.

....But he'll still get in the water with him if that's not a point against the whole thing.

--

"Huh." Claude looks thoughtful for a moment. "That's true...I hadn't actually considered how that'd change things. I've never actually asked any Intseh how they keep themselves clean...weird." One more thing to be curious about. He adds it to the list. "Would it be uncomfortable for you, then?"

--

"Intseh are an island race..." Even a lifetime away from his home, and Dimitri still remembers that much, at least- looking out into the ocean from home. "We're used to water. So it would be fine.... The drying is... annoying." Too much weigh ton their fur for too long is irritating, although Dimitri supposes he can only ever speak for himself. He rubs at his eye with the heel of his hand.

"...It would be a problem more for you than anything, I believe." Since he doubts Claude has ever had the experience.

--

Claude shrugs and smiles. "Only one way to find out, right?" He reluctantly rises to his feet; he'd really rather not move, either. But the prospect of a warm bath - especially with Dimitri - is too tempting.

The bathroom in the cabin is set up rather conveniently, in Claude's opinion. There's a decent-sized round tub in the center of the room, under which a fire can be lit. Claude gets the fire going, then pulls open a spout on the ceiling using a hanging string. The spout itself is fed by a water tank on the roof that filters rainwater(with any excess feeding into a barrel beside the cabin, as a ready store of drinking water), so it fills the tub about halfway for him in fairly short order. He doesn't bother with more than that; the tub is a decent size for any one person, but with two people - one of them Dimitri's size - it's going to be fairly snug, and they'll displace a lot of water.

Against one wall, there's another spout - fed from the same tank - that comes down to a watering can head, creating a cold shower area to clean off at before getting into the tub.

Really, it's a clever setup. One Claude may have personally encouraged the church to adopt for its outposts...and if he might have gotten inspiration for it from foreign lands, does the church ever have to know? Honestly; sometimes he thinks that if he could prove that Almyrans or Intseh first discovered fire, then the church would start eating its meat raw.

It'll be awhile before the water's actually heated enough to be pleasant, so he makes his way back to Dimitri after he's made the arrangements. "You hungry?" he asks, grinning. "I can make you a hot meal tonight."

--

Dimitri has gone back to curling up on the floor with Claude absent for more than a minute, too tired to really want to be sitting up at all. It's more comfortable that way as well, now that his hood is down and no longer bothering his head. That it's the lowest form of comfort available to him in an actual cabin with an actual bed isn't really something Dimitri has thought about. A lack of experience plus just plain old exhaustion isn't really making him think that much.

Of course, that also makes it seem like he's in danger of falling asleep right there, but he stirs at Claude coming back. "I'm always hungry," he reminds Claude before reluctantly pushing himself up to his feet. The danger of falling asleep in that position is something he can recognize, at least. "You have food prepared here already...?"

--

"The hot food, no," Claude says cheerfully. "But I did plan on bringing you here, so I might have filled the pantry with some goodies that could keep sometime yesterday." He winks at Dimitri. "Why don't you go check?"

Not only is there food in the pantry, there's considerably more food than Claude's ever brought Dimitri before - it's clearly meant to be able to sustain both of them for days, with variety. The pantry is a small cellar, below ground so as to be cooler and keep things fresh longer. There's an entire (small, but entire) wheel of cheese, some sort of peppered, sharp cheddar. There are two small baskets of eggs that feel distinctly different when Dimitri handles them; he may want to check which are hardboiled and which are still uncooked. There are two loaves of bread - one seemingly normal enough, the other smelling of sweetness and cinnamon - wrapped in cloth. A preserve jar of pickled vegetables, including actual pickles. Some fresh vegetables, specifically carrots and onions and peppers. A bag of potatoes. Some cloves of garlic. A basket of fresh fruits, and a small bag of dried fruits. Some wrinkled things tied together that Dimitri isn't likely to recognize, but which are actually dried figs. Dried mushrooms. And a surprisingly large side of bacon, with some sausages nearby. And that's not counting what looks like assorted dry ingredients and spices, presumably for cooking things from scratch.

There doesn't seem to be any fresh meat, but since Claude is a hunter, maybe he's planning to go get some. (Actually, he already shot some earlier in the day, around dusk, and has the game in Wyvern's saddlebags, which he left hanging just inside the door.)

--

There is... a lot of choice before him, Dimitri realizes when he finally manages to drag himself over to the pantry- which he finds less from any indication or familiarity with a cabin and more after a few careful sniffs to get him on the right track. Yet, while aware of how Claude has always liked to vary the meals he's given him, it hadn't really occurred to him that the same habit would carry over to actual storage. Faced with more choice than he's ever had in his life, Dimitri freezes somewhat.

What breaks his deadlock is going along, at least to start with, in the same way that he's gone through most Claude meals: the things he likes, and the things he doesn't know. That's why the cheese wheel will get put up to the side. Right besides it are the figs. What one can make out of those together is pure mystery. It's not as if Dimitri knows how to cook. All he's doing is investigating the foods some more, turning over the pickled vegetables curious in his hand while he begins to poke through the spices.

"There's... many of these."

--

"Many of what?" Claude calls back to him. He's fetched the meat from his saddlebags - a rabbit and two pheasants - and is currently in the process of cleaning them. He can hear Dimitri, but he can't see what he's referring to.

--

Native speaker he may be. Surprisingly verbose native speaker with a lot more understanding of overly formal words than the average Intseh really needs, he may be. But Dimitri was taken from his home at a young age. It's unfortunate but not unsurprising that there are some words he... simply doesn't know, never had a chance to learn, because of that. So he flounders for a moment, unsure of how to even describe this.

...Well. Sometimes words aren't necessary.

Depending on how absorbed Claude is in cleaning his game, he might not listen to Dimitri carefully putting some spices and similar ingredients up near the opening of the pantry, or catch how the Intseh himself slips out... which means he might just turn around and suddenly find him Right There waiting behind him with an armful of ingredients. Mostly spices. There is the cheese wheel. Whether Claude is surprised or not, Dimitri clearly is waiting for his attention, and offers his arms out for a moment. "These."

--

Claude looks up from his work, blinking, and then laughs. "Those are spices. No surprise you don't know what they are, though." Claude winks at him. "No one else in the church does, either. I'm surprised they don't use flour to flavor their food."

He nods to the spices as he goes back to work. "Spices are things that add certain flavors to foods. You can add them to a recipe to make it taste better, although obviously you need to know what spices work well with what flavors. It can be pretty complex. Almyrans tend to use a lot of spices in cooking, unlike the church." He grins at the cheese wheel. "That cheese you've got there has some spices in it, actually. Not all cheeses do."

--

"I merely assumed that I was being fed the worst leftovers, so I will have to take your word on matters like that." Dimitri quietly tucks the different words Claude is using away, to try and remember when his mind isn't so overworked. There are a lot of things he wants to remember, to the point that he's certain he'll inevitably forget them. Carefully, he puts the spices down (and the cheese) out of the way.

He'll put them back.... In a moment. For now, instead, he just watches Claude's hands at work. It had never occurred to him to wonder about the process behind the food he'd been fed by anyone. What was the point behind such knowledge? But he wants to watch now. "...It sounds... important to you."

--

"Oh, you probably were, but once I became an accomplished hunter I at least got to eat the same things most of the rest of the church eats - the stuff not imported especially for those who have the status to afford luxury. Take it from me, there wasn't that significant of a difference." Claude chuckles, setting a fully cleaned pheasant aside. "Then again, I suppose I don't know if it's that the church is actually against spices, or if they're just too cheap to waste them on the general congregation."

He cocks an eyebrow at Dimitri. "Well, I do like well-seasoned food better than bland food, definitely. As to its being important...I guess you could call it that, though I don't know if it's as simple as the spices themselves being important to me. It's more like...it's a part of my culture that I missed, a part that the church condemned and kept from me for years. So, now that I can get away with it...I indulge as much as possible."

--

"From what I have seen, it seems you indulge in many things to spite the church." Food. Justice. Friendship. Giving a handjob to a 'demon'. Dimitri admittedly doesn't have a very in depth idea of what Claude gets up to in his average life, but he's pretty sure none of this changes very much.

Faintly, he realizes that this especially doesn't change much now that he's here, as a new part of that life.

--

"Well, you have to live for something," Claude says, without looking up from his work. "Which is something I expect you understand as well as anyone could. My goals have grown a little beyond that in recent years, but...that's how it started. Not long after they separated me from you, actually."

--

"...Your something seems to have borne more fruit." Then again, between the two of them, he supposes Claude always did have more freedom to get this sort of thing done. All Dimitri supposes he could do was wait, and wait, and wait, for something that never had any guarantee of happening.

He doesn't look away from Claude's work either, blearily trying to commit the method to memory as he has been doing with so many things tonight. "...I never did ask more about that."

--

"More about what? Me being sent away?" Claude shrugs. "Not a whole lot to tell about it, really. They sent me to another monastery of the same faith. Much smaller, of course. The one we just left is essentially the capital city of that branch of the church - that's why they're the ones with the executioner, and the arena. The place they sent me didn't have any Intseh for me to develop any heathen sympathies with."

Claude's voice falls into a pompous, condescending tone with those two words that make it clear he's quoting someone. As mockingly as possible.

"It was worse than the larger monastery. Mostly because they were told I was a misguided troublemaker who needed a firm hand to correct me, and if there's one thing this branch of the church specializes in, it's how firmly and eagerly they correct anyone they think needs correcting." He sighs. "Without you, there really wasn't anything good left. So...I had to promise myself that there'd be something to look forward to, if I kept getting up and rolling with the punches every day. And there wasn't anything that sounded more appealing than punishing the church."

--

As Claude talks, Dimitri moves himself behind him slightly to try and get a better look at the way he cleans game. It's a lot of slight movements that, eventually, culminates in him merely being practically chin to head directly behind Claude, chest to back. His hands he very carefully keeps out of the way of the other's elbows, curled into the cloak he's still wearing. It hasn't occurred to him to take it off.

"...I do not believe they were wrong, in that you are a troublemaker. Going places you were told not to, fighting cruelty and stealing their candy, stealing from the church's larders, stealing their executioner... But I would not say that is misguided." A certain dryness comes over his tone. "Although I am a misguided heathen as well."

--

Claude laughs at that. "Oh, I'm a lot of the things they said I was, and tried to make me not be. I just disagree with them on whether or not those things are wrong." He grins. "I personally like being a misguided heathen. I like that about you, too."

He's finished cleaning the game now, and is chopping them up and tossing the pieces into a pot. With some water, vegetables, potatoes, and spices, it'll make an great stew.

"Speaking of candy...hold that thought." Claude finishes dumping the meat into the pot, takes the fur and entrails to the pantry - he'll dry the furs to sell, and use the entrails for trap bait, but he's not preparing either tonight - and then heads into the bathroom to wash his hands under the shower head. Only then does he return to the main room and rummage in the saddlebags still hanging by the door. Then he tosses Dimitri a small cheesecloth bag. "Catch."

Inside, Dimitri will find some rather nostalgic candies. Claude saw them at the market and couldn't resist them.

--

Once more without Claude's immediate presence, Dimitri seems to settle down onto the floor for a bit of rest, yawning as the other disappears into the other rooms of the cabin. Bringing up food was a good idea because, much like other nights in the past, it seems to be the primary motivation for Dimitri's body to stay awake. Just enough to watch Claude move, but not really inquire about it. Frankly it's amazing that he manages to catch the bag so easily, blinking at the light weight in his hand, and even then that might simply be more the reflexes he's been forced to develop.

Finding what's inside... His claws curl gently around the bag, fingers at the string. "...You give me too much." It's soft, matching the draw of his brow and the awkward curve of his mouth as he looks down at the same kind of honey candies he remembers from their childhood meetings.

--

"Nah. You've been deprived for so long, think of this as the scales finally balancing themselves out a little." Claude picks up the pot with the meat in it and takes it just outside the door, where the water barrel is, to get some water for it. Then he brings it back and puts it on the fire to cook down for awhile.

That done, he reaches out and touches Dimitri's shoulder. "I know it seems like a lot. Especially all coming from one person. But we don't really have anyone but each other, and I was luckier than you in being able to find a way around the church's bullshit. And it feels good to be able to give you the things I know you deserve - the kind of things we've both always deserved.

"If the church had left us alone...both of us would have lived normal, happy lives with people who cared about us. Who'd do nice things for us, and feed us, and generally treat us well. Since we don't have that, the next best thing is to do it for ourselves...and each other. And you haven't had the chance yet, because the church hasn't given you that chance...but you're going to catch up. And I think once you do, then you'll end up doing as much for me as I do for you, and enjoying it just as much."

--

As with so many times before, Dimitri stays quiet and listens, this time with his claws rolling the bag's strings inbetween them. If they'd only been left alone... A lot of things would be different, he thinks. The scale of how different it is- that's hard to really grasp right now, although, now that the thought is in his head, Dimitri doesn't think he'll ever forget it. That he'll have to think on it more, in the days to come where his mind may be clearer.

For tonight, all he does is finally reach up, gently touching Claude's own hand. "...I do not think I will be able to give you nearly as much." He tilts his head back to look up at him. "Not when you are giving me my life. But I will give all that I can."

--

"I didn't give you anything that shouldn't have been yours all along," Claude replies, with a slight smile. "If anything, I just robbed the thieves who stole it from you in the first place."

He tilts his head. "Though I guess there's exactly one thing to recommend the church. If it wasn't for them, we'd probably never have met."

--

"It would just have been others." He looks down to the bag, thumb rubbing against the small bulge of candy he can feel within. "A different Intseh... to be an executioner. Different children taken from their homes. I... am fortunate in this regard."

--

"Agreed," Claude replies. "We didn't deserve what we went through, but...I can't actually regret getting to meet you, or being here now. And I wouldn't wish what happened to us on anyone else, for that matter."

--

"...It will not. At least... It will not be able to happen for some time." Perhaps the church has other books, detailing the summoning ritual, but in another place. Certainly the ingredients will take time to replace- maybe completely unable to be replaced at all, depending on how valuable the bone and blood of his people are to the process. Dimitri can only wonder if it was for better or worse that he didn't learn more about it. Perhaps he would have had a better idea of how to stop it better.

It's a lot of thoughts, a lot of wondering and regret that Dimitri can't really give proper attention to, and he slumps back against Claude's legs.

--

Claude strokes Dimitri's hair. "Hey, the meat's got to cook down for a bit, and the water for the bath's probably hot by now. Want to go wash up? Then you can be drying off while we eat."

--

Oh, right. That was a thing. He'd almost forgotten. Dimitri pushes himself up onto his feet again with some reluctance, still holding onto the bag of candy. "Is it prepared now...? It seems... more complicated than I remember baths to be." Granted, it's been a long time, and memories worn down by just repeated splashes of water onto him to get rid of blood... Maybe he's wrong.

Also, he was a literal child the last time he ever had a bath.

Still, he trails after Claude, ears perking up as he peers into the room where the bath is.

--

"It's a little different than it might've been from baths you remember, but it's still pretty simple." Claude heads into the bathroom and starts stripping out of his clothes immediately. Dimitri gets to appreciate what Claude looks like fully naked now, instead of just getting to see his cock.

"The bath is more for soaking in than getting clean. So before you get into it, you rinse yourself off under here." Claude walks over to the shower head. "You pull this string here, and that lets the water flow through; then you just let go of it when you're done. The soap's here on this shelf. Then, once you're clean from this, you just get in the bath and relax for however long you want."

--

"...I see."

Despite this affirmation, Claude may notice Dimitri doesn't immediately follow after him. Instead, he's just... standing there in the doorway, holding onto his bag, and openly staring at Claude's very naked body with ears staying perked right up. He has indeed never had a chance to see Claude this way, and really only vaguely entertained the idea in his rather recent dreams about the other man. He's just...

...Give him a minute.

--

Claude turns, notice Dimitri's staring at him, and grins. He turns to face him, a hand on his hip. "That good, huh?"

He winks.

--

Blushing is a hard thing to tell in Intseh, what with all the fur, but it sure is obvious to see something similar to it in the way Dimitri glances downards to avoid Claude's gaze... Only to immediately look up again because oh right.

"I...." His ears flick down slightly. "...You are well aware." He was attracted to Claude when all he had to go off of were vague and extremely attractive dreams. What is going to happen to him now that he's seen everything... It's going to be terrible. Finally, he begins to tug off the cloak he's been wearing for so long now, awkwardly letting it just... drop to the side of the door where he then puts the bag to be nestled within. "You have already seen all of me besides..." He hadn't felt shame in the immediate aftermath of their slight session, after all.

--

"Doesn't mean it's not flattering to be reminded." Claude grins, watching Dimitri undress with equally pleased eyes. "But yeah...I've definitely seen more of you than you've seen of me until now. The church was generous that way." Because Claude has absolutely enjoyed the view of Dimitri's bare chest, from the moment he found him again.

He drinks in the view of Dimitri for quite a few long moments, but eventually he turns back to the shower head to actually start washing himself off. This serves the dual purpose of keeping things moving along - there's food to eat, and both Claude and Dimitri are tired as well - and of giving Dimitri even more of a show than he's had previously.

--

Up until Claude says that, Dimitri had forgotten that going shirtless is a thing most other people don't really have to deal with. Sure, he's always seen the difference, but it was one of those things that didn't particularly penetrate. He pauses in the middle of him slipping off his pants, making a small noise of understanding. "Will.... I need a shirt?" He'd had a shirt, at one point, he thinks. It was just one of many things that ended up disappearing, somehow, over the course of his staying with the church, in that period of time before becoming executioner.

It's a thought for another day, he supposes, leaving his clothes in a not particularly neat pile with the bag of candy given more care than anything he was actually wearing. Coming to stand besides Claude, he inspects the shower with some curiosity before waiting his turn. Faintly, he understands he's dirty... but it's not an understanding that really penetrates until he starts the process of washing himself. His lip curls over his fangs as he begins to comb his claws through fur, finding dirt and various other bits in all manner of places. Any startled arousal he felt initially is placed to the side as he begins the very arduous task of cleaning himself thoroughly, eventually sitting down on the floor to better tend to the rest of his body. His feet especially, he's surprised to find, are extremely dirty, and Claude gets to hear him making some low growls of annoyance.

The church really was rather careless of the state of its executioner. As long as Dimitri was healthy, able to fight in his bouts against those the church had condemned to death, well, anything else were minor details that didn't bear too much thought. So he had food, a place to sleep with the occasional blanket when the months drew cold, and really not much else. Being cleaned was often nothing more than being forced down to dump water off of him, to remove the blood from his recent kill, and that was it. While that could get rid of the worst on his fur... Well. There had still been plenty more that wasn't really touched, and most of his body was often ignored since blood was most often found on his face and his claws.

He has... some work to do.

--

Fortunately, it's work that Claude is happy to assist with.

Dimitri may be so wrapped up in his attention to the lower half of his body that when Claude begins working soapy fingers through his hair, he'll be caught by surprise. But Claude honestly finds it soothing, almost enjoyable; there were years when he agonized over not having been able to do anything to help Dimitri, and now he can shamelessly pamper him. He much prefers this particular extreme.

Also, being able to enjoy this level of intimacy with someone he's very much attracted to is also distinctly pleasant. No matter how dirty he is. (And it helps that they're actively engaged in making him less so.)

"Just keep working on the rest of you," Claude murmurs. "I can get this. And your back, since you can't get there yourself very well."

--

Dimitri jolts, both at being touched when he wasn't expecting it (which is almost always) and the texture of soap gathering in his hair. Yet Claude's voice is quickly becoming a soothing aspect for him, the tension easing out of him in almost immediate order. "I didn't think of there," he replies, only taking a second's hesitation before he leans up into Claude's fingers where they're working at the base of his horns amongst all his hair. Dimitri only sees his front, and his back only concerns him so much in how it's connected to his tail.... which, for the record, is slowly swishing along the wet floor and occasionally lightly batting into Claude's ankles.

--

Claude enjoys it immensely. He's definitely going to see if he can swing washing the tail, too...

"It's never gonna get this bad again," he remarks, working soap through Dimitri's hair. "I mean, you won't be able to take a proper bath every day, especially if we're traveling, which we'll be doing a lot of...but you'll still be able to clean yourself way better than the church ever bothered to let you. And whenever you want."

--

"This, once a year, would be better than the church ever allowed me," Dimitri says absentmindedly, well aware of the bar so low that it is embedded into the earth. For now, he focuses on ridding himself of the dirt that's built up between his toes, wiggling them occasionally. He never thought his feet would feel different, but they really do right now, clean and wet.

Still, what Claude says is making its way through his brain slowly. "Are we traveling again soon...?"

--

"Well, if we want to take those things to Devan-Intseh, it's quite a journey. And they've been away for too long as it is. Also, while this place doesn't get used that often, it is a stop that people on church business use; that's what this cabin is for. So we can't stay here indefinitely, and we shouldn't try to. Best we move on after a few days - a week, tops."

Dimitri's hair is thoroughly soaped by now; time to rinse it out. Claude gently tips his head back. "Close your eyes for a minute. Soap can sting if you get it in them, and I'm going to rinse this out." Once Dimitri obliges, Claude tugs the string to pour down the water, running his other hand through Dimitri's hair until the soap is thoroughly washed away.

Dimitri's hair, even wet, already feels significantly softer than it did.

--

"A week is... seven days." It's more a verbal reminder to himself than anything as Dimitri follows Claude's instructions, fingers pausing near his ankles. If not for it being basic knowledge that every child had to learn, Dimitri supposes he'd never remember even something that basic. Time had started to become meaningless, within the church. He'd only started bothering to pay attention to the days... around the time that Claude came back into his life.

There might be something poetic there, but he's too damn tired to figure it out.

With the soap out of his hair, Dimitri reaches up to feel his hair for himself, ears twitching. "....Hm."

--

"Mmhm. Why do you ask? Did you not want to leave so soon?" Claude kneels down behind Dimitri as he begins soaping up his back. It's going to feel quite good, probably, since it's almost half a massage.

--

"It is not that. I'm merely.... wondering..." Actually, hold that thought. Dimitri might forget it entirely, even. As Claude's fingers begin to rub into his fur and down against the muscles of his back, he starts to forget even what he's doing, eyelid fluttering as he begins to slump steadily in place.

That.... That feels nice? He didn't know his muscles could do that? He didn't know his body could feel like that, in general, and he's already experienced a pleasant orgasm.

--

"Wondering what?" Claude asks, as he continues what he's doing. Dimitri seems to be enjoying it, so he feels no need to rush this.

-

An actual purr starts up before Dimitri's answer does, the sound rumbling from inside his chest to his back where Claude's fingers are still working patiently. When he speaks, the sound doesn't go away entirely, instead just making an odd sort of rhythm against his hands. "Wondering... what that will be like..."

--

Claude grins, leaning in to rest his head against Dimitri's over his shoulder. "I mean...pretty much everything is going to be new to you at first. It might be better to just wait and experience it firsthand than to try to speculate."

--

In turn, Dimitri leans back against him a little bit, the purr lowering from a miniature earthquake to something a little more... subdued. "I can't stop.... There's so much...." It feels like any limited brain power he has is determined to latch onto some thought... but the energy to think that much is so weak that he can hardly keep a grip on any one thought. And then another comes along...

He finally seems to become self aware, however, blinking as he raises a hand to his throat experimentally and the purring stops.

--

"You can keep doing that, if you want." Claude chuckles. "Intseh purr when they're happy sometimes. I've never heard you do it before, but then again, why would I have?"

He turns his head to kiss Dimitri's cheek. "Relax, though. Yeah, there's a lot for you to learn, and catch up on. But you don't need to rush it, either. We've got plenty of time. Besides, you'll be surprised how much and how quickly you'll pick up on things, just by observation and doing things over the course of the day."

--

If he knew how to start again, Dimitri would, but all he can do is rub at the base of his throat for a moment longer. It feels as though, now that he's thinking about it, aware, it's a complete mystery how he had managed to do it before. Even now, it feels strange to imagine himself having made such a noise.

He's nudged out of his thoughts by that kiss, and he lets out a slow breath. "You say things as though they are so easy...." There's a light splash of his tail smacking against the ground. "I cannot stop myself... but I will try to remember that." He'll fail but he'll at least have tried.

--

Claude laughs. "Compared to what we've been through? Everything from now on is gonna be easy."

His hands have worked their way all the way down Dimitri's back by now, and he pulls away to give that tail a look. "Hey, do you mind if I wash your tail? I've never actually asked any Intseh about touching their tails, but even if I had, I don't know how you'd feel about it..."

--

Dimitri looks over his shoulder to give his tail a look too, even as it continues to lightly flick back and forth. "I have approximately as much knowledge as you on how to clean it.... I suppose it should be fine." If there's some sort of Intsehli unspoken rule or bit of etiquette on tails, well, he's long since forgotten it, if he had ever had a chance to learn about it at all.

--

Claude nods, extending a hand to hold it at the end, near the fluffy (well, more sopping, at the moment, but who's counting) end of it. Then he begins gently soaping up its length, paying particular attention to the hair at the end. It twitches in his hand, but he keeps his grip on it. (For the moment.)

--

For most of his tail, Dimitri doesn't seem to mind it much. For an Intseh, it's merely another part of his body- nothing different than touching his arm. It feels a little... strange... as he's not had anyone touch it before, but nothing truly bothersome.

That's true for approximately 90% of it. It's as Claude's fingers go near the part of his tail closer to the base, Dimitri's body, that his tail begins to wiggle and thrash in his grip a bit more, and Dimitri himself shifts in an antsy manner.

--

Claude chuckles. "Are you twitchy because it feels bad," he asks in amusement, "or because it feels good?"

--

"It should hardly be a question," Dimitri mutters, trying to still himself now that he's been Called Out. "Considering where your hand is going." The base of the tail and his ass are rather near each other after all.

--

Claude grins. "You know," he purrs, "it's not as if either of us are likely to have the energy tonight, but just as something to think about for future consideration..." He leans closer to murmur against Dimitri's ear. "There's no bars between us anymore. If you want me, you can have me."

--

Alright, you know what-

Dimitri twists around suddenly, tail sliding right out of Claude's grip while one clawed hand immediately presses forward to pin the man down to the wet floor. There's no gentleness in the action, although Dimitri isn't anywhere nearly as rough as he could be, and he pushes downward all the further with his nails pricking lightly into Claude's skin. His fangs are just barely visible, lips twitching over them.

"In the church's book of commandments and great sins, is one item on their list nothing but your name?" he asks accusingly.

--

Claude is startled, but anything but displeased by the rapid and forceful turn of events. His eyes are wide when his back hits the floor, but honestly, if Dimitri felt a spike of arousal from Claude's words, then he's immediately repaid the favor with his actions.

Being roughly handled like that went straight to his cock, and there's a faint flush on his face that hints as much.

Once he recovers from the surprise, he gives Dimitri a charming grin. "Not yet, but I hear it's been put under review."

--

Exhausted as he is, Dimitri still has to grudgingly admit that Claude looks good like this: those stunning green eyes drawn wide, his skin shining slick with water, cheeks heated enough to be a temptation. He wants to see more of it, he thinks. For now, he just gives a low growl and ducks his head down. "You are..." A lot of things, frankly. But for now, he puts aside words in favor of flicking his tongue along the curve of Claude's neck before settling his teeth there and digging in.

All of Dimitri's expertise in using his teeth and fangs shows here. He takes care not to so much as break skin.... just what's beneath it, aiming to mark down something Claude will certainly feel well into the next day. But before Claude can get too excited...

A light grunt leaves Dimitri as he just settles down entirely on top of him, wiggling to make himself comfortable. It's still a 'pin', of sorts... but now less a sexual one and more that of a large animal that's decided it's Quite Done Thanks.

--

Claude laughs, a bit shakily, as his arms go around Dimitri. That bite didn't do his cock any favors, either, but he'd already accepted that they weren't likely to pursue anything tonight. If he's made that a little harder on himself...well, that's on him.

"Think you're clean?" he murmurs. "Only if you want to relax, the tub's gonna be a lot more comfortable than the floor."

--

"So no clever words this time, then," Dimitri notes dryly, absolutely going to call Claude out. Still, after a moment, he pushes himself back up into a sitting position right between Claude's legs and glances over to the tub. It was the whole point of coming in here.... and it did seem to take some measure of setting up. It feels as though it would be a waste to leave it, and he doesn't want to waste anything Claude sees fit to give him.

Reaching down to help Claude up, he asks, "Do I simply get in, then....?"

--

"Rinse the soap off your tail first," Claude replies with a laugh. "I need to rinse off too, after being on the floor..." He gives Dimitri an amused, pointed look. "But that should be enough."

--

Dimitri's deadpan stare says he regrets nothing and also this is Claude's own fault. Still, he gets to rinsing his tail soon enough, making sure to get the whole length of it, before he makes his way over to the tub. That's woken him up at least a little bit, enough to have more than enough curiosity to tentatively dip his claws in... and immediately pull them out with a startled twist of his mouth.

Hot water is... definitely a luxury he can't remember the last time ever having, if at all. It's new, strange... but not bad, past the heat that's more than he's used to. He dips his claws in again, adjusting to the heat slightly, before clambering in exactly that way with his upper body first and then his legs. Moving around too much is.... definitely something of a bother, a fact he notes with a small frown... but once he's settled with his whole body in? He can feel the heat washing comfortably over him, and he can't help it when his eyes slide shut.

Okay. He can... see why this is an appealing thing to do.

--

He'll find even more appeal when, a moment later, Claude slips in with him. Not only does this raise the water level, immersing Dimitri even more...but then Claude settles himself right between Dimitri's legs, leaning back against his chest like Dimitri's a particularly comfortable armchair. He sighs contentedly once he's settled.

"What'd I tell you? This is where you want to stretch out." Not that there's a ton of room to stretch, even without Claude sharing the tub, but the concept gets through. There aren't going to be many more comfortable places to relax than this.

--

That the bath could be improved wasn't something Dimitri thought could happen. Claude's inclusion clearly proves that very short lived impression wrong, and he lets out a content sigh of his own. When's the last time he was able to touch someone like this, simple body contact? The slight and fleeting touches he's mostly had with Claude before this pale in comparison, and Dimitri doesn't think twice to wrap his arms around the other man, hands curling over his stomach. It's... the weight, he thinks. The ability to feel so much of him, and how it presses down against his own body. It's nice like this.

Quietly, the purring starts up again at Claude's back.

--

Claude closes his eyes, melting into Dimitri even more than he already had - something he didn't think was possible. "From your cage to this in twelve hours or less," he murmurs. "Just goes to show how quickly things can change, doesn't it?"

--

"All you..." If Dimitri sounds barely awake, Intsehli barely comprehensible from his purring, well. There's good reason for that. His eyes have long since slid shut, and the warmth is so much more than he's ever had before. He has zero defenses built for this. Sleep is going to take him for a quick nap immediately.

--

"It doesn't matter where the change came from," Claude replies absently. "Only that, even when things are at their worst...you never know what changes may come."

He has no idea if Dimitri got any of that; by the time he glances up at the Intseh, he's definitely dozing. Claude just smiles and settles back for a good long soak himself, although he forces himself to stay awake. There is food cooking. It might take awhile, but it can't just be forgotten, either.

Besides, he's hungry.

Church Source 7 - s2 start