Completed To be Boundless

[Larkin]

"Kor, she went on a date with him!" Larkin gave an exasperated sigh, his friend just was not getting it. "I could just wring that pretty boy's little neck just for looking at her." He had been pacing erratically for the past twenty minutes near the pond he and Kor had first had their exchange.

He had resorted to muttering to himself, giving slight outbursts that probably made little sense to the blind intiate that had been forced into listening to it. The pacing certainly didn't help him look any better. He only paused his pacing to stroke the glossy black feathers of Repent, or to offer him a snack from the satchel of treats he had started wearing just for the birds that always hung around Kor.

"Ivan has no good intentions, he's a playboy and she's just going to get hurt." Larkin wouldn't admit it, but many would have said the same of him none too long ago. Throwing his hands up, a scoff leaving his lips as he tutted around like a mother hen scolding her chick. "She's even late. Probably his doing."

He looked to Kor to say something, but didn't really expect too much of the typically quiet intiate. He scanned the direction Zephyrine should be coming from, folding his arms and tapping his foot. He was only upset because he was worried, though perhaps he was a little more worried than was necessary.

Kor Zephyrine

 

[Kor]

This had been persisting for nearly half an hour, Larkin walking in circles, lips awash with concern for their mutual friend, Zephyrine, amid the news she'd been engaged in some vague relationship with Ivan Skender. Kor hadn't moved since he'd begun, perched upon a tree stump by the edge of a lake with his forehead resting on a propped knee, blind eyes closed as Repent enjoyed Larkin's attention.

"I understand your anger, Larkin." Kor finally found a moment to interject. "I find Skender to be distasteful, but he's not worth my rage. Nor is he worth yours." Not too long ago, Larkin had a perfectly reasonable motive to be wrathful. He'd only just begun to get over that, and there was scant reason to place another emotional hurdle in front of himself.

Truthfully, Kor had been surprised to hear the rumors himself. The feelings it brought to his chest had been... somewhat confusing. He knew disappointment, but he could not decipher what exactly it was that he felt it towards. Perhaps he'd simply thought Zephyrine would have better taste. Perhaps he worried about what being in a relationship would do to her commitment to leave with the two of them.

Perhaps... it was something more.

No matter what nagged at the back of his mind, he was handling it far better than Larkin.

"Part of our pact is that we do not make decisions for one another. Being led by the hand is what we seek to escape. If Zephyrine chooses this path, and it hurts her, then it is what must happen. I will take no pleasure in witnessing it, but I will not act to stop it."

Not unless Ivan forces my hand...

The thought briefly came to him, causing his milk-white eyes to open and his head to rise up as a change in the wind blew the hood from his head, the messy black hair underneath flaring up against the breeze. "You and I have both already learned this lesson. She has not."

Larkin Zephyrine

 

[Larkin]

Larkin was still muttering under his breath as Kor forced his way in. He wanted to argue with
Kor, wanted to fight his words. Still, with a puff of air, and irritation still on his lips, he conceded to him. There was something in his words that stifled the frustration and anger from Larkin. He nodded slowly in concession, even if Kor couldn't see it, he would pick up the change of mood in the air, he was good at that.

He sighed, feeling deflated. He really cared for Zeph, she was like a little sister to him, and he couldn't stand the thought of her getting hurt. He knew she would have to learn and grow on her own, but a part of him just wanted to hover and help, make things easier on her.

"I know that you're right, though it pains me to admit it. As much as being here at the academy tests us and breaks us, this is one hurt I hope to never see from our Zephyrine. I understand it's inevitable and that I can't protect her from everything, but do you blame my desire to try?"

He rubbed his face with his hands, a groan escaping his lips. "You've been particularly patient with me today, listening to me go on and on like an idiot." He tilted his head towards Kor, a smile finally crossing his face. "I know we didn't trust each other very much, but I do now consider you a friend."

Kor Zephyrine

 

[Kor]

Larkin's sudden show of sentiment caused Kor's brows to rise, the faintest glimpse of a smirk rising on one side of his mouth as he tilted his head up at the musician, staring with blank, unseeing eyes. "You'll have to forgive me. I'm still working to understand the definition of that word. The first person who called me that... I think I felt something more for."

It had taken time for him to come to terms with the fact he'd felt something beyond fondness for the girl of sand. Only after the pain of her death did he admit himself capable of such a deeper emotion. "The second was Zephyrine, and now you. I am growing to trust you, I am learning to be comfortable around you. If that is friendship, perhaps we are indeed getting there."

Kor wrapped his arms around his knee, resting his chin against it. "But there are also things I don't understand. This fretting about, this need to protect Zephyrine from negativity and harm. Why? She must learn, as all creatures do. If she does not face this trial now, she will face it later."

Kor ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, his glazy eyes narrowing.

"Graduation approaches soon. We cannot afford to delay pain. What comes next will bring enough of it."

Larkin Zephyrine

 

[Larkin]

Kor's admission to his feelings was enough for Larkin. He knew Kor had been an outcast, ignored, tossed aside. To know that he was starting to trust Larkin was a positive. He could acknowledge that the other boy was trying. He returned the smirk on Kor's lips with a soft smile on his own. "It's enough to know that you trust me to an extent, and when you figure out what you define as friendship, and decide that that is where we are at, then I'll gladly accept it. "

Larkin had stopped in front of Repent again, stroking the inky black feathers of a creature that Larkin had started realizing was fairly intelligent. He sighed as he avoided looking at Kor, even though it really didn't matter. "I know she needs to learn and grow like the rest of us, it's just that all the things that have harmed me in my life, I do not want her to hurt like I did. She's important to me, and it would pain me to see her hurting. I know it's inevitable, and I am sorry that I threw a tantrum like a child. I just worry about her Kor, and I don't want to lose her. She's like a sister to me."

At his mention of graduation, Larkin nodded solemnly. "It is heavy on my mind, though I'm anxious to start preparations. I am ready to leave this behind, and I will gladly follow your agenda whatever it may be." He brushed his hands off and stretched as if ridding himself of what had transpired. "Alright, I'm good. We just need Zephyrine here and we can start."

Kor Zephyrine

 

[Zephyrine]

At least she got to bathe after that rather grueling training session.

Even as she walked the distance to where Larkin had told her they would be, she could still feel her muscles ache even more so than they had done after her month in Vel Castere training with Dreadlord Nevarro. Before she could round the last corner of the path, she stretched her arms and groaned aloud. No doubt Kor and Larkin would hear her, but Zephyrine wore a large grin seeing them both.

Very few occasions did the three of them get any time together all at once, and seeing her two most cherished friends gave her a sense of happiness. "Glad you all could make it." She called out, now lifting a small bound parcel from her satchel at her side.

"A little present from Vel Lameus came in."

Three signet rings custom made for the three of them. It was a surprise for Larkin as she had not told him about the commission, but Kor had been there with her and helped make them more suited to each of them.

Kor Larkin

 

[Kor]

Kor did not have a chance to further reassure Larkin, though he found the man's apology to be somewhat unnecessary, given Kor had already expressed that he understood the turmoil he faced. Perhaps his fretting was a tad heavy-handed, but he didn't consider it to be an outburst. Especially not after some of the episodes he'd had with Zephyrine early on in their partnership.

Before he could say as much, Zephyrine herself finally arrived to the meeting spot, turning the final bend of the path with outstretched limbs and a smile splitting her face. Repent let out a low trill, his throat rumbling against Larkin's attentive hand as he flapped his wings to announce Zeph's presence to his master. Kor rose a brow, smirking at her choice of greeting to them.

"Glad 'we' could make it?" He balked, "You're the one lagging behind. Rather uncharacteristically, might I add." Zephyrine took pride in arranging these meeting places and times, often the moment Kor decided they needed to happen. It saved him trouble, so he wasn't about to take that responsibility away from her. "Our friend has been worried about you, and I'm not speaking of Repent."

Kor wasn't currently connected to his companion, but his keen sense of hearing could make out the sound of jingling mettle as she rose the parcel, and he made the connection with Vel Lameus quickly.

"Oh, those are done? Took them long enough."

Zephyrine Larkin

 

[Larkin]

There she was, finally. Larkin breathed a sigh as relief as she rounded the corner. It was quickly replaced with irritation at her exclamation, his back turning towards her as he folded his arms. Luckily Kor spoke before he did, his words would have probably had a bit more of an unintentional bite to them.

He shot Kor a look as his worry was brought to light and with a huff he turned back around. He couldn't help but deflate as soon as he saw Zephyrine. She was smiling, and he just couldn't stay upset at her.

He looked between the two, Kor seemed to know exactly what she was talking about, but he seemed out of the loop. Confused, he looked back to Zephyrine, his lips a thin line. "Don't keep me in suspense then, what is it?"

Zephyrine Kor

 

[Zephyrine]

She stopped short a few feet from them, tearing into the packaging before taking three small boxes in her hand. They were deep blue and made of a soft velvet, each box handlettered with a K, L, and Z to denote which box belonged to whom. She gave the respective ring boxes to each of her friends, grinning with excitement and anticipation.

When Larkin opened his, he would find a silver signet ring, a lute engraved into it and given colour by a magical paint. On the inside of the ring, carefully written was the word 'to be boundless'.

Words Zephyrine had spoken to Kor as a goal she wished to work towards.

The same words were etched into each ring, and Kor's signet denoting a raven with a small, dainty diamond eye. He had been there to help tailor each ring to the right member of their little crew, but this would be the first time he would see the design come to fruition. If only he could see through her eyes, he would have been able to watch and be mesmerised as the silversmith designed their rings for Zephyrine to approve.

And her own signet ring revealed her favoured double ended spear. Depicted were two, crossed together. Zephyrine liked how mobile she was when wielding dual weapons, how she could so easily manage such a feat.

"Well, what do you think?"

Kor Larkin

 

[Kor]

Kor carefully reached out to take the small velvet box, resting it in the center of his palm and holding it up to Repent, whose eyes began to shimmer with the telltale glow of a connection with the raven's master. With the sight of his partner, he opened the box and plucked the silver signet from the slot within, holding it up for Repent to inspect.

"I'll admit..." Kor smiled just a bit, as he felt the bird's instincts to peck at the shimmering silver ring barely restrained by his magic. "The craftsmanship is better than I'd expected. Perhaps the wait was warranted after all." The woman in the shop hadn't struck him as a particularly adept type; people so warm and welcoming as her weren't usually the best in their field, but she'd proven him wrong with this product.

"Something we thought of while on a mission together." He briefly explained to Larkin, his own head turning to follow the bard's voice-- Repent was far too fixated on the ring. "A symbol of our union, something to remind us of the trust we've built." Kor did not doubt that, after Graduation, there would come trials that would test their faith in one another. He was not so gullible to imagine the three of them infallible in their emotions and ideals.

This ring was small, but the cold silver on his finger would be present even in the black void that was his world.

"I considered buying you an actual lute, to replace the one you smashed up in the lake. Then I saw the price."

Zephyrine Larkin

 

[Larkin]

Larkin watched with slight amusement as Zephyrine tore into the package, it was nearly childish how she savaged the little blue velvet boxes out. Already his irritation was waning, he could never stay upset with her. She was the one constant, closer to him than anyone. When Larkin spoke of her, he spoke of her as a sister. Kor and Zephyrine were his only family, and he wouldn't let them go for anything. Maybe he just loved to easily, and that's why he had been burned by so many in his past. He certainly had the scars to prove it.

He opened the box gently, quietly studying the silver ring inside. So much thought and care had been put into it by them. he pulled it from its resting place, examining every angle with appreciation. He turned his back to his friends as he slid the ring on, a tear sliding down his cheek as others threatened to join it. He quickly wiped it away, fixing a smile on his face as he turned back around. "This is amazing, thank you."

Kor's remark made him laugh, and he nodded at him even though it was likely Kor couldn't see the action. "An instrument of the caliber of the one I destroyed comes at no small cost. I did keep a piece of the old one as a reminder. I've just never asked Zephyrine to fix it because I needed to mourn that part of me that you met that day."

Kor Zephyrine

 

[Zephyrine]

Zephyrine held Larkin's hand and inspected the signet ring with a wide grin. She did he same for Kor, and even dared to lift her hand close enough for Repent to crane his head and see her double ended spear engraving. "I even told Kor we could use my inheritance, but you can imagine that only made him even more adamant to change his mind." Zeph gave him a smug look.

"Besides, we are going to need some coin to get us situated once we leave after graduation."

An inheritance left by her adoptive Dreadlord father, who did not need much serving as Proctor for some years. It was coin inherited over generations of Caddel's and Zephyrine the last of the name. She kept all the funds in her room, trapped and hidden until she could take the chest with them.

"Right... should we go over the plan? Make sure we are on the same page again after I insisted we change plans...?" Her suggestion was to take the reserves option, allowing them time to collect their resources and recoup at Russ Caddel's home in Vel Anir. She had thought that perhaps once they left Anir, she could transfer the deed of the home to Thraah and her family, seeing as it was such a perfectly good home that would do well for a large family. The last time she visited there, she felt the overwhelming and cavernous interior make her feel small.

 

[Kor]

Kor couldn't pretend to understand Larkin's sentimentality, especially towards something so trivial as an instrument, but if the time he'd spent with his two friends had taught him anything, it was to hold his tongue when his words were less than kind. He did not need to understand, only recognize.

"I believe the phrase often used is 'It's the thought that counts', so I'll say that I paid it a thought and nothing more from my pocket." He smirked, offering his best attempt at a joke. He had seriously considered the gift, but Zephyrine's revelation that she possessed a sizable inheritance, something she'd not mentioned expressly to him before, gave him other ideas. "Besides, you make enough noise with your mouth, you don't need a set of strings."

Carefully, Kor slid the ring onto his finger. The craftsmanship was apparent, as the signet was a perfect fit, exactly to specification. It wouldn't have mattered, as he needed to stop Vel Lameus anyways, to pick up the chain he'd ordered. Still, even blind he found himself holding it up to the light, admiring the glimmer of sunlight off of the silver surface.

"My preparations have been made long in advance." He answered softly, still examining the ring. "The only difference your plan makes is how long I must wait. I will leave this choice to the pair of you, but we shouldn't dally around for too long. My bones grow wary of idling."

Larkin Zephyrine

 

[Larkin]

Larkin let Zephyrine take his hand for a proper inspection, raising an eyebrow only slightly at her words. Kor had changed some, from when they first met. He had grown, had learned to be a bit more friendly. It might be a farce to the real thing, the care that he was attempting, but Larkin like to think he really was growing to truly care for Zephyrine and himself.

He started to chuckle at Kor's comment, but it turned into a full-blown belly laugh as Kor teased him and his talkative nature. That was a first, and it absolutely made him double over, eyes tearing up. It had caught him completely off guard. "That is fair enough, how you both put up with me is a miracle!" He subsided with a final chuckle, returning to the business at hand.

"It matters little, the route that we take. If you think it is wise for us to hide out and collect funds, then I am fine in doing so. If you came to me and said we should abandon it completely and leave Vel Anir tonight, I wouldn't even question it." He was loyal to them both, and whatever they wished of him, he would make it so. He had no arguments to present. Zephyrine's plan was as good as any.

Zephyrine Kor

 

[Zephyrine]

Zephyrine chewed her cheek.

"I have things to settle after graduation... but you both do not need to wait for me. We can meet up somewhere..." There was lots she had to sort, to settle. An old friend to repay, a boy to say goodbye to, and a home she needed to give chance to watch grow small behind her as she made to leave for good. "But where?"

What was their future to look like?

"Elbion? Alliria? Can't see either of you having fun in the Empire or Cortos..."

 

[Kor]

"It is not a simple task." Kor admitted to Larkin, though the lack of bite in the words as he ran his fingers over the ring was telling. "I do believe you wished to strangle the breath from my lungs at one point." There was an irksome feeling in his gut. Not out of any scorn or annoyance towards his two friends, but at how he felt now, with the end of this chapter of their life looming closely overhead. He'd expected to be ready, to feel eager to leave all of this behind and be the sole master of himself. He'd expected to feel scorn for this city that had done little but hold him back, like a caged bird wishing to fly free.

Instead, he almost felt a pang of sadness.

Even Kor himself would admit that he'd changed over these last months. It was undeniable; The anger and hostility that had ruled him since his youth was no longer a bellowing roar reverberating off of the sides of his mind, but an occasional howl, still present and very powerful, but allowing peaceful interludes that allowed other aspects of himself to surface, long hidden beneath his scorn and hatred for as long as he could remember.

"We won't be staying in one place while we wait." He eventually offers Zephyrine, though likely not what she wished to hear. There simply was no safe place for exiles close enough to Vel Anir for them to hunker down for any substantial period of time. "When the cage opens, I won't be slowed. However..."

He'd been thinking about this, about Zephyrine's dilemma. He knew her unfinished business would take some time to sort out. Perhaps he could not relate to the many bonds and threads she'd weaved with this place they'd lived for so long, but if she and Larkin had taught him anything with their presence, it was how those bonds felt. He had them now with his Boundless brethren, felt their presence in a way he was frighteningly unfamiliar with.

He could not take that from her.

"...Zephyrine. I want you to take Repent with you. When you're ready, I know he'll bring you back to me."

 

[Larkin]

Larkin cared very little about leaving. He couldn't get away from his memories fast enough. A lover that nearly killed him, and another that made him want to die. The memories haunted him still, and he held no love for his current home. the only reason he hadn't left yet at this point, was because he had met Zephyrine and Kor. He stayed for them. The fact that Zephyrine wouldn't be coming with them was extremely unsettling to Larkin, and wracked him with extreme unhappiness, though he wouldn't say anything in front of her, he hadn't even opened up to Kor about all of the things he was feeling, clinging to them like a safety blanket.

Finally, he spoke up once more, his eyes studying the dirt beneath his feet, he was getting wrapped up in those feelings, though he attempted to bury them once more. "I think that is a good idea Kor. I will of course be sticking with you, while Zephyrine figures out what she needs to. We can plan as we go and use the birds to communicate as we need to."

Zephyrine Kor

 

[Zephyrine]

First, she felt guilt.

To take Repent brought up a sliver of fear inside her, for seeing the favoured companion being forced to remain behind had her momentarily forgetting Kor could use any bird to see. And Larkin would be there for him too. But the proposal was a good idea, a better guide to lead Zeph to the boys.

She shrugged, trying to appear casual as she played with the signet ring around her middle finger on her right hand. "How will that work for you? Would you be able to see me, Kor?"

Zephyrine felt a little foolish asking this. When it came to learning deeper into one's magic, Zephyrine felt as if she was prying into private information.

Kor Larkin

 

[Kor]

Kor smiled, almost meekly as he shook his head. Perhaps it did seem he wished to use Repent as a meant to surveil Zephyrine's actions until she found her way back, but it wasn't the case. "From that distance, no." He spoke a white lie. It was indeed possible for him to link with Repent from considerable distances, at the cost of clarity. Even so, Zephyrine's business was her own, and he had no desire to peer into her private life in so voyeuristic a manner. "But, I trust you to take care of him. The same as I trust you to return to me."

Trust. It was a big word for Kor to speak, something he didn't place lightly in anything. Before Zephyrine and Larkin has shifted his way of thinking, he had no trust at all. Even now, speaking the word aloud, a flitter of nervousness bounded about in his chest. Expectation of betrayal, panicked planning on how to react to the knife in his back.

For them, his friends, he swallowed those feelings.

"Besides..." He crossed his arms over his chest, closing his eyes thoughtfully. "I'm going to have my hands full babysitting this one." One could've sworn Kor gave a chuckle. "He might have mellowed out a little, but I don't believe for a second he's not going to bring me trouble." Larkin was holding back, it didn't take a master of psychology to know he wasn't nearly as coolheaded about this as he seemed, but Kor knew that pain, and together they would bear it.

"So do us all a favor and don't take too long, yeah?"

Larkin Zephyrine

 

[Larkin]

So, the plan was decided, at least momentarily. Things would change, as they always seemed to. Nothing ever went by plan, but they were trained for that, despite the shit show that was the Academy, they were trained in the art of war. He almost wished he was afraid of the path they were starting on. He wished a lot of things, and even the thought of his own demise lingered, weaving tendrils through his brain. He knew now, that he would happily die for either of his friends, if only to give him some rest and respite from the world.

As Kor teased him, Larkin broke from his thoughts, a cheeky grin splitting his lips. He did not escape his brain so easily, but he could pretend, for them. "Hey! I have no idea what you're talking about, I am the epitome of innocence and not inclined to cause any trouble of any sort!" He laughed then, taking in his two friends as if this were the last time they'd ever meet like this. He went and hugged Zephyrine tightly, worry beginning to leak through his façade. "Hurry back to us, we need you."

Kor Zephyrine

 

[Zephyrine]

"I haven't left yet." She grumbled, trying her best to push Larkin off but despite their skillsets, he had a good hold on her. With a sigh of exasperation, she relented. "Kress, you aren't going to be teary when the time comes and you both leave, will you?"

But from Larkin's embrace, Zeph peered to look at Kor.

"You look after him." It was not a request, nor an acknowlegement of Kor's words earlier. It was a command almost. Perhaps it was to cover up the softness she felt whenever she was in his company, but it did not matter now, and it did not matter ever. "I need a home to return to when I finally catch up with you both."

 

[Kor]

A scoff met her command, though as playful of one as Kor could manage with his demeanor. Crossing his arms, the boy rolled his eyes hard enough to make one look to see if Repent was flipped onto his back. "Don't coddle him, he can take care of himself just fine." When he wasn't tearing apart expensive instruments to feed to fish or getting impromptu electroshock therapy during heated moments with the ladies, anyways...

On second thought, maybe he did need to be monitored.

Either way, he must have been watching through his raven friend, because as Larkin ensnared her in a tight embrace, Kor's head canted off to the side, making a show of looking elsewhere, as though the foggy sky was so fascinating this time of day. "All of us are completely capable on our own, which is what makes us so powerful as one." The Boundless were not partials made into a whole, but three wholes combined into something much greater. "We have our faults, yet these weaknesses are compensated for by our others."

Which is why splitting would be stressful, especially for him. Kor had allowed himself to be weaned off the constant use of his magic to see, and now would have to acclimate to near-constant connection to Repent, Archene, or one of the others again. Larkin would be there, but he wasn't quite as familiar with Kor's needs as Zephyrine.

No point in griping though, standing straight, Kor offered the both of them a nod.

"It'll be late soon, we should head back. Zephyrine, Larkin, whatever happens after Graduation..."

There was a pause, as he rolled his tongue in his cheek contemplatively.

"It's been a pleasure to know both of you."

Zephyrine Larkin