« « Something Entertaining - Cameron + Audley » »

[Audley Bohdan]

Kyle scrunched his nose up. "Yes!" he declared. "Uncle Aud, your mate is old! Not as old as Daddy, but he's still old."

Audley laughed lightly. "He isn't that old, Kyle," he responded.

"Yes he is," he said, nodding.

"Well, I'm eighteen. Am I old?"

"Hmm... almost. Over twenty is old. You're almost old," he told him, nodding.

"Really now? Well, Let's see if you still think that way in thirteen years," he said lightly.

"What's in thirteen years?"

"You'll be twenty," Riley told him.

"Wow...," the boy muttered, eyes wide. "But that's a long time from now," he shrugged.

Just as he finished his sentence the door open once more. A man with short dark purple hair walked in, his lean and muscular body filling the door. "Everyone is here I see," he said quietly, shutting the door behind him.

"Daddy!" Kyle shrieked excitedly and jumped off Aud's lap to tackle the man. "Daddy! Come meet Uncle Cameron!!" he said, taking his daddy's hand and pulling him to Cameron.

"Uncle Cameron...?" he repeated slowly, giving the guy a calculating look.

"Yessy, Uncle Cameron, Uncle Aud's mate! He's part Zercan and he's old, but not as old as you! You're really old, but anyway this is Uncle Cameron. Uncle Cameron this is Daddy," he said happily.

Ariston coughed lightly, ruffling his son's hair. "And to most others I'm called Ariston," he told him. He paused a moment as if waiting for something. "So.... You're my baby brother's mate, are you?"

Audley stood up, pulling Cameron up as well. "Yes he is," he said softly, holding his mate's hand.

"Right.... Nice to meet you, Cameron," he said in his ever quiet voice.

[Cameron Ainsworth]

"Over twenty is considered old now? Hm... Well, at least I'm only slightly on the old side," Cameron laughed at Kyle explanation. He had always loved younger children. It was amusing just to hear their opinions on things, just like the youngest Majikadai was doing. He looked from Kyle, giving his mate a wink, "Enjoy your last few years of youth. Apparently, old age slips up on you without warning."

His gaze shifted to the door again as yet another of his mate's family members walked in. Cameron had always thought he'd lived in a fairly big family, but his mate clearly had him beat on that issue, at least when it came to close family. He counted nine people just looking around--ten if he included himself. Though, when he thought about it, he figured his own side of the family would get much bigger in time. His brothers were almost old enough to start worrying about things like finding their mates and by the time they found someone to settle down with, the brunette was fairly certain he would already have at least one child on his own. The thought put a brief smile onto his face before Kyle made the introductions for him, standing up as Aud stood and wrapping his hand around the other's smaller one, taking the time to lace their fingers together carefully. Even holding hands, in all it's simplicity, hadn't started to lose the wonderful feeling it had.

"It's nice to meet you, too," The half-Zercan replied, musing silently to himself how many times he had said that or something similar since the previous night. It certainly seemed like he'd said it a million times.

[Audley Bohdan]

Ariston smirked amusedly. "Daddy what's funny?" Kyle asked, bouncing lightly.

"Hm? Oh nothing, kid. Just wondering how often he's said that. If he really means it," he said thoughtfully, studying the man in front of him.

Audley blinked. "Of course he means it, Ariston," he said.

The older brother shrugged and ruffled his son's hair. Aud knew that meant he was done with talking. He didn't talk very much, it just wasn't in his personality. Alexander stood up and walked over to his mate and took his hand slowly. Their people didn't show affection openly just because of the way they lived, and Aud knew just holding his mate's hand was a lot for his brother-in-law.

The mate's shared a look, and then as if figuring something out Alexander smiled softly. He turned to share the smile with the new couple.

"When are you going to talk with the Leader?" Ariston asked offhandly as Kyle tried to climb up his arm for some reason. Probably to try and get onto his shoulders.

[Cameron Ainsworth]

Cameron had been clearly caught offguard when his mate's eldest brother questioned his sincereity. That was certainly not something he'd been prepared for. Maybe he had been halfway expecting someone to disapprove of him or maybe question whether he would be a good suit for the younger Majikadai like Riley had, but he couldn't imagine how he'd come across as a liar. As the other studied him, he returned the look with his own confused expression. Cameron was the type of person that always wore his emotions right on his sleeve. If he really had been lying about being glad to meet his mate's family, they would've known it. Despite how nice he could be, the half-Zercan could have just as big of a temper at times. The brunette watched as Alexander rose to go to his mate, wondering just what they had shared silently before he turned to give them a smile.

"I'm not sure," He replied calmly, looking over at the younger boy, "It's all up to you when we go. I'm ready anytime you are."

[Audley Bohdan]

Kyle huffed when he couldn't manage to climb up to his dad's shoulders, so ran off to babbble to his baby brother. Audley watched him leave before turning back to his mate. "Probably soon," he answered.

"You'll be leaving soon after that too, then, I suppose," Ariston said, tapping his mate's hand lightly but was looking straight into his younger brother's eyes.

"Yes," he said softly. "I'll visit as often as I can," he added.

"They'll be no training in... hm, where are you going?"

"Zerca."

"...Zerca." He paused. "There will be no training on Zerca for you. You will have to stop your training here. You will be the first one to leave Sanjiv in a long time," he said evenly.

Audley looked hurt. He really didn't understand what was going on. Was his brother angry with him? All his words pointed to yes, but his body language said otherwise. He was so confused. "It's for an important reason, though," he said firmly.

"Yes, and what is that reason?"

"My mate. I'm leaving to be with my mate."

"So he can be happy?"

"So he can be happy," he agreed, then paused. Did he just fall into a trap?

"Exactly. But don't forget to be happy yourself."

"If I'm with Cameron, of course I'll be happy," he said irritatedly.

Ariston tilted his head, glancing at Cameron with a calculating look before shrugging and walking over the sink for a drink of water. Audley huffed and glared at his brother's back. He hated when the man didn't come out and say what he was feeling, or saying for that matter. It confused him to no end! "Well then," he muttered. "Are you done eating, Cameron?"

"I want to go to see the leader with you!" Kyle said excitedly.

"Kyle, it really isn't-"

"Pleee~eease Uncle Cameron?" he said, giving his new uncle puppy dog eyes and holding onto his hand lightly. He looked so adorable Aud wondered if his mate could say no. He was having a hard time remembering why he was going to deny his nephew going himself.

[Cameron Ainsworth]

Cameron just watched, not quite sure how to react. Besides, it seemed that this was more of an issue between his mate and his new brother-in-law at the moment. Of course, it was kind of hard for him to stay quiet when Aud agreed that he was going to Zerca to make him happy, even if only a moment later he'd said he'd be happy himself as long as they were together. He felt guilty again. Honestly, it wasn't like he wanted his mate to leave his family behind. But he felt like a jerk, being the one to take his mate away from the family he loved... especially the adorable little boy tugging at his hand.

"Er, yeah. I'm finished..." He looked to Aud and then back down at Kyle, not sure what to do immediately. Yes or no? ... Was it even possible for him to tell the younger boy 'No'? He doubted it. Even at the age of seventeen, Keiran's puppy eyes could kill his resolve and he was certain that if Aden allowed himself to act so childish as to try to con his eldest brother into something, it would work, too. Finally, he looked back to Aud, a pout on his lips.

"He's cheating," The half-breed declared to his mate, "How could you say no to that? It's not fair!"

[Audley Bohdan]

Audley smiled, laughing lightly. "Okay, Kyle you can come with us," he said. "But you have to be quiet, and you can not inturrupt us when we are talking, okay?"

"Uh-huh!" the boy said, nodding attentively. His uncle wasn't too sure he would remember that, though.

"Actually, this is something they need to do by themselves, Kyle," Alexander said lightly. "When they come back you can hang out, okay?"

"But I want to go to the leader's tree dwelling!" he said, giving his life bearer the puppy dog look. Too bad he had grown immune to that adorable look. At least that's what he told himself before he broke down.

"If you misbehave...," he warned sterning.

"I won't!" the boy grinned. "Are we going now? Come on, Uncle Cameron, let's go," he said without waiting for an answer.

Audley laughed lightly. "Calm down. And remember, you-"

"Have to be quiet when go outside, I know! Let's go, let's go!" he said while bouncing.

His uncle shook his head. "Okay. Ready Cameron?" he asked softly but Kyle didn't want to wait any longer so he dragged them both out onto the porch. "Have you ever gone to the leader's tree dwelling?" Kyle asked Cameron.

[Cameron Ainsworth]

Cameron laughed quietly. He didn't much believe that the peppy little boy would remember anything about being quiet and behaving himself whenever they arrived at the leader's house. Honestly... he looked like he could've just exploded on the spot with glee. Something Cameron had noticed was that children generally didn't get all excited and hyper about going places when they were going to have to behave themselves and be quiet at the places they were going to. But he couldn't tell the little boy otherwise. It didn't even seem like his own mother could deny him with that face.

"We're going, we're going. It takes longer for old people to get moving, you know," Cameron echoed back to the bouncing little boy, nodding a quick nod to his mate before they were tugged off to the porch by Kyle. Judging by the little boy's excitement, the half-breed figured that the leader's home must have been pretty interesting.

"Nope. This is the first time I've ever been here. I've only been to one home here and that's the one you just pulled us out of," He answered.

[Audley Bohdan]

"Oh, is that because you're foreign?" Kyle asked, scrunching up his nose curiously.

"Do you understand what that means, Kyle?" Audley asked gently. "Cameron is from a different planet, Zerca. This is his first time in Sanjiv. You haven't seen him before because he has never been here."

The little boy nodded. "Okay, then you'll really like the Leader's house! It is really really cool and big and there's a Medi-box!" he rambled, continuing to tell his uncle everything about the place.

Audley chuckled as he prepared for their walk over to the tree dwelling. He looked around the ground below them carefully. Nothing looked suspious so he threw the ladder over the edge. He knew in a moment his grandfather would be out to pull it back up. After they climbed down they would have to walk to the center tree and climb up the ladder there.

"Now, Kyle, you have to be quiet. We have to listen for anything that sneaking around, right?" he said sternly, yet gently because Kyle was still young.

The seven year old looked a little put out at being interrupted, but nodded. "Can you carry me on your back as we go down the ladder, Uncle Cameron?" he whispered hopefully.

"I think I should carry," Aud suggested softly.

"But I want Uncle Cameron to," he pouted, looking up at the other boy pathetically.

[Cameron Ainsworth]

“Really? Sounds nice,” Cameron replied quietly to the younger boy’s explanation of the leader’s house, more so to just humor the boy than anything. To him, big houses really didn’t mean much excitement and medi-boxes weren’t really all that unusual to see. His grandparents’ home had conditioned him to large homes and when he was a child, he’d seen quite the number of medi-boxes himself from a number of broken bones and nasty cuts. But he knew that it must’ve been something to the younger boy, simply because they lived in two very different ‘worlds’, so to speak. So different that they were almost complete opposites. The brunette gave his mate a look and laughed quietly to himself, the whole ‘opposites attract’ statement coming to mind as Aud explained the need for silence to Kyle. When the younger boy turned around to him, though, and gave him that look, he couldn’t help but let out a low groan.

“You should really stop doing that whole ‘pitiful look’ thing. It’s impossible to tell you ‘No’. But, it’s your fault if I end up dropping you. Feline grace only works so well, especially when you’re only half Zercan,” He scrunched his nose, sticking his tongue out playfully at the little boy before kneeling down, “Now hurry up and get on if you’re still wanting a ride down.”

[Audley Bohdan]

"Yay!" Kyle cheered, as quietly as he could manage. He crawled onto his uncle's back and wrapped his arms around his neck once he stood up again.

Audley sighed softly. "Alright, let's go then," he murmured, climbing down the ladder first. He paused going down a few steps to see if Cameron could manage climbing down with Kyle on his back. Not that he doubted him, it would just be awkward. The ladder was always moving, so it would probably be hard.

When he saw his mate start to climb down he continued himself, always checking to make sure his family was alright and that the area was safe. They reached ground in no time. Kyle talked to Cameron the whole time about this and that and the other.

"Okay, now we just go to the center house," Audley said quietly. His grandfather had just peeked over the railing and pulled the ladder up part way. The youngest of the trio jumped off his uncle's back, landing safely on the ground. Aud placed a finger over his mouth, giving the boy the "be quiet" sign. He nodded.

They reached the center tree, which was around the same size as all the others. Though the tree house was slightly bigger. Not width wise, but height wise. Audley waved up at the landing and a ladder was dropped down to the ground after a moment. He motioned with his head for them to climb up. Kyle crawled onto his back this time. Aud also climbed up first after thinking over it carefully. The guard up there would be hesitant about Cameron, and him going first would not be as polite.

So he crawled up, glancing down every so often to make sure Cameron was alright. The ladder here was a little sturdier, but longer. It still didn't take very long to get to the top though. The three of them were met by a pale man with pale hair, and light colored furs adorning him. He held a spear in one hand and was eying Cam in such a way that said he wasn't afraid to use it.

Audley glared, taking his mate's hand protectively. Even if it was the man's job... he didn't like those looks aimed at his mate! "We were expecting you," he said quietly. "But not you," he pointed at Kyle. He smiled shyly as he was placed on the ground. "You know you will have to wait out here while the older people talk, don't you?"

"What? I wanted to see the Leader's house!" he pouted. The pout would not work on this man though and Kyle knew it. "Aw... okay. Can you show me your spear again, Rahal?"

The pale man nodded and then motioned for the older boys to go inside. Audley tugged on his mate's hand, pulling him through the door. Inside was a small room with some couches placed in a circle. It was pretty plain, since this was only the room you were to wait in. There were a few other doors and a ladder coming from a whole in the ceiling. It was an actual wood ladder, not the bendy ones. This led to the upstairs where the leader lived.

"Come, we wait here until he can come out. It shouldn't be too long if he was expecting us...," he trailed off, sitting on one of the couches. "There is more to this dwelling than just this room. Kyle was not exaggerating when he said it is large. Not as big as your grandparents' home, but big for here."

[Cameron Ainsworth]

Cameron had hardly caught a single word of Kyle’s chattering as they descended the latter, focusing instead on keeping his grip while his mind was swept up in a rather pleasant thought. He had always had fun entertaining children—he’d done it most of his life, after all—and only after carrying around the younger Majikadai did he fully realize how nice it would be once he and Aud had their own children where he could spoil them rotten and then some if he wanted to (which, of course, he would). He smiled a bit to himself—now he just couldn’t wait.

The brunette was quite thankful that they had reached the end of the latter when his feet finally touched the ground again, maintaining his silence and treading quietly after his mate and nephew. When they reached the leader’s home, he gave the ladder a wary look. Oh well. At least they were going up for the time being. It was much easier to head up than go down. Bringing up the read this time, he scaled the latter without any real difficulty, only stopping for a moment to rub his palms together after they’d made it to the landing.

It certainly seemed like the guard that Cameron assumed had dropped the latter for them seemed like he was less than ecstatic to see them. Or, rather, he noticed that the spear-wielding man was giving him in particular looks that seemed borderline hostile. He was distracted, though, as his mate protectively grabbed his hand, and then further sidetracked when he noticed how friendly Kyle was being with him. He smiled as he was tugged away again, wondering if the younger boy was always so cheerful, or if he’d just caught him on an exceptionally good day.

“Big for your standard home in the middle of Scrijx Citi, too,” Cameron nodded, “I just wish they had homes like these on Zerca, minus the whole tree and ladder part. The homes have a really nice feel to them, but the climbing thing wouldn’t work well for me.”

The talk of homes suddenly made him realize that he’d soon be in the market for a new house, making him wince mentally at the thought. Homes in Scrijx weren’t exactly cheap by any standard. Those that were on the bottom of the pricing list generally weren’t all that big or of any quality, either. He had already had one hell of a time getting a decent apartment, and he could only imagine how many sleepless nights an actually house would cause. But, it was an inevitability, and even so, he looked forward to whenever he finally had a real home to live in instead of a little place he had to make payments on every so often, constantly under the rule of an unpleasant landlord.

“So, they were expecting us… How do you think the leader’s going to react?” He asked quietly, leaning over a bit to place an innocent kiss on the other’s temple, “I imagine he probably won’t be exactly happy to let you go, will he?”

[Audley Bohdan]

Audley smiled, shrugging slightly. "I am not really sure," he answered. "It isn't every day that some one leaves the village. The Leader's reaction will be hard to foretell."

Though he did hope the man wouldn't be do angry about. If he accused him of turning his back on the village or something as bad he didn't know what he would do. Of course he would have to leave but... it would just be harder.

One of the doors opened, and in walked two men. They were each around the same height, but the one with darker brown hair had a stronger look about him. Not strength wise, he just had the air of a life-giver. Beind him was a man with shoulder length light blonde, almost white, hair. The middle-aged man's eyes were a piercing green.

"Hello Audley," the brunette greeted, and blonde nodded silently. Then there eyes rested on Cameron.

Audley stood up, pulling his mate up with him. "Good morning. Cameron, this is Andre," the blonde, "and Taraz. Andre, Taraz, this is my mate Cameron. We both come to you with bitter sweet news."

"Turin and Cheyenne explained yesterday's events to us. Come, let's go into the next room," Taraz said, motioning the younger two to the other room. Andre smiled, holding onto Audley's arm so they could walk in first. The teen smiled back, letting a breath of relief. Taraz pushed Cameron forward, the both of them following behind the other two.

Just as they were reaching the door Andre turned his head and then Taraz nodded. "On second though, Andre needs to speak with Audley alone." Then he closed the door, shutting the other two inside so he was left with Cameron. "So... Cameron. You are a city dweller?" the brunette started, standing in front of the door.

[Cameron Ainsworth]

Cameron stood whenever Aud did and nodded his silent greeting whenever the younger boy introduced him to the older two. In the back of his mind, he noticed that he’d seemed to be picking up the ‘Do not speak unless spoken to’ kind of habit. It was fairly amusing to him, how different he acted around people when he ditched not caring about what others thought about him and instead adopted a desire to make a very good impression on whoever his mate introduced him to.

He was a bit interested in seeing more of the home whenever Taraz mentioned relocating one room over. Following his mate and the blonde-haired Majikadai—or rather, being pushed along—he was briefly surprised when he was suddenly denied access to the room.

Well, it was only sensible that they would want to talk to Audley without his mate present first. He understood that, but he still couldn’t help but feel a bit jittery when his mate was in the next room and out of sight. The half-breed didn’t think that anything bad would happen to him, but it made him nervous to be apart. He bit his bottom lip slightly, giving the door a pitiful look before Taraz’s question finally broke his staring contest with the door.

“Yes,” He answered simply, giving one last quick look to the door. He could survive a few minutes without the other, couldn’t he? “I’m currently living in Scrijx Citi on Zerca.”

[Audley Bohdan]

Taraz nodded. "Interesting," he murmured, catching the younger man's glances at the door. He had to feel sorry the boy, being seperated so soon, even by a door, was difficult. Andre knew what he was doing though. Not like he could oppose his mate anyway.

"Andre should not take long," he assured him. "Don't worry, Mr. Cameron. You will be able to feel if anything is wrong, no matter how unlikely that is."

~*~

Audley looked back at the door uncertainly, but was pulled back to the Leader as the blonde spoke to him.

"You plan on leaving the village," he said bluntly. The teen could only nod and try to read the older man's expression. "You realize you have to stop your training, correct? Once you stop, you can not start again. Your journey will be ended prematurely. It won't be finished," he said seriously.

"Yes, Andre, Leader," he said quietly, studying him uncertainly.

"Yet... where one journey ends, another begins."

"Sir?"

"You have found your mate, Audley. There is no greater journey than that, young one. No greater journey indeed," he murmured. "There are special markings for this. I am excited, yes," he said, only his eyes showing it. "No one has had this privledge before. Usually we have to share the journies, you will spend all your time on your mate. The even will be all the more special if he takes part in the marking as well."

Audley was quiet for a long while, blinking. "So... you aren't angry?" he murmured.