Uncaged [Sequel to Forever Caged]

Kyran was sitting on the edge of his bed, fighting off his grogginess. He was freshly showered, and had dressed in somewhat tight black jeans, a flowy deep red shirt, and his leather vest and armguards were put on over it. His inky black hair was a damp mess, and his mismatched eyes were still unsettled from the night before. He watched Lesara in silence as the naga tried to squeeze himself into his purse. He might've been laughing had he been more awake, because Lesara was squirming every which way, trying to see which body part would be easiest to put into the bag first.

Lesara squirmed around, grunting and huffing. "I don't think this is going to work!" He said, frustrated. "Why don't you just slide your tail in?" Arna suggested.

Shinda was seated at the room's small table, sipping at some coffee. "Yes, go in backwards."

Lesara looked at the little purse nervously. "You know what? No. This is a bad, bad idea." He handed it back to Kyran and sat down on the bed next to Arna. "You three are just going to have to deal with my bulky butt. I have ultimately decided that I am not getting in there."

Kyran took his purse back and just set it beside him. His eyes fluttered shut, and he started to nod off. Shinda grinned and moved from his seat to push Kyran backwards, who let himself fall back on the bed. He grunted at Shinda, but decided not to make a deal out of it and just laid there. Shinda snickered and looked to Arna and Lesara. "All right Les, but that means twelve days of ocean travel."

Arna burst out laughing as green tinged Lesara's cheeks. The mere thought of being on another boat made him queasy. "Oh my... No, no I think I'll be alright. I doubt these purses were made to transport people anyway, right?" He looked to Kyran nervously, and sagged visibly when he saw the boy was almost asleep again.

Shinda smiled and patted Lesara on the shoulder. "The ship will be bigger next time, so you won't feel the rocking nearly as much. Also, Arna, what did you do to Kyran last night?"

Arna shrugged. "I don't remember. I don't think I did anything. Did I?" He looked at Kyran, suddenly worried. "I hope I didn't do anything too stupid."

Kyran grunted and rolled onto his side, back facing everyone else. "No, s'all Shinda's fault."

Arna's eyes went wide. "What did you do? You didn't sneak in while we were asleep, did you?" Lesara almost fell over laughing.

Shinda laughed and held his hands up in defense while he shook his head. "No, no, I was busy with Lesara. I think he means the drinks. Right?" Kyran grunted a "Yes."

Arna relaxed. "Oh... Kyran, are you hung over?" He looked to Lesara. "I feel fine."

Shinda sat at the foot of Kyran's bed. "Poor Kyran here is what's known as a lightweight. Was he throwing up earlier?"

Kyran made another noise and half-heartedly kicked Shinda's side. Shinda grabbed the leg and held it in place, then gave it a little pat. "No, I just feel sick," Kyran mumbled.

"All right, well get up and eat something, or go visit the toilet bowl. We can't wait around here all day."

Kyran grumbled something incoherent and kicked Shinda harder, and was rewarded with a grunt. "This is your fault in the first place, Mister 'If-you-don't-join-the-game-I'll-give-you-more-cousinly-affection.'"

Lesara petted Kyran's back. "Go eat some breakfast, you'll feel better. Next time, just take Shinda up on that affection offer."

Arna looked at his master, flabbergasted. "He tried to molest Kyran! That's my job!"

Kyran growled softly, scrunching his face in annoyance. "Or Shinda can just stop being so incestuous."

Shinda sighed, smile fading. "Aw, it's all in good fun."

Kyran kicked Shinda a third time. "No, it isn't, and it's completely one-sided." He pushed himself up to glare at his cousin. "So quit."

Shinda raised his hands and slid off the bed. "Alright alright, fine." He went to resume his spot at the table, flopping into the chair. "Either way, wake up, because I'm not going to carry you."

Lesara shot a dirty look at Shinda. "You naughty man," he waggled his finger at him, then grinned. "Alright boys, we will head out in a bit. Get ready."

After packing their things and restocking their food supplies at the market, they set out. They didn't have much choice but to rent another wagon, pulled by a fresh pair of bull orns. They loaded up, and Shinda drove them out of the town and onto the wide road. Thankfully, it was better made than the previous one, and was much more level and less bumpy.

Inside, Kyran had Shinda's map unfolded in his lap, looking over the curving trail he'd traced. They were heading southwest now, around Ketilts Forest and to the port city Abrahé. He estimated it would take about five days' travel, and said as much.

Lesara had his tail curled up beneath him, and a book in his hands. He had given up trying to teach Arna anything for the day. He was far too distracted to learn anything useful.

His eyes would bounce between the pages, and the boy sitting on the edge of the wagon, looking out as if lost in thought.

Kyran folded the map and slid it back into Shinda's bag, then crawled over to sit by Arna and rest his head on his shoulder. He was still feeling a little queasy from last night's drinking contest, but since he'd gotten some food in his stomach the effects were starting to wear off. "What's on your mind?" he asked softly.

"Lotta things," he said, putting his arm around Kyran. "I've never been this far from home before."

"Neither have I," the requiem replied thoughtfully. "Though I guess, really, I'm going home. It's...kind of a strange feeling."

Arna looked at Kyran and asked, "Is it a good feeling?"

Kyran shrugged, looking at the passing road. "I dunno yet. I mean I'm looking forward to meeting my family, finally, but with the situation over there it might not...quite live up to my dreams, you know?" he said with a small chuckle. "I'm not sure what to expect." He dropped his voice to just above a whisper then, not wanting Lesara to hear. "Though I think I could happy anywhere, long as I have you with me."

Arna blushed and smiled. "Guess that means I'll be with you forever, huh?" He kissed the top of Kyran's head.

Lesara was pretending not to hear, but he couldn't help but grin. Ah, to be young and in love.

Shinda called back from the driver's seat after a long time had passed, "Awfully quiet back there. What's going on? Usually you're complaining about how hard Eleshad is."

"We're having a sexy party," Lesara called back. "I have the boys bound and gagged."

"Master!" Arna called out in shock.

Kyran flushed and was glad he was facing outwards. That was one of that last things he wanted on his mind.

Shinda's laughter traveled through the curtain. "And you didn't invite me? Shame on you!"

"Well I could drive and you could take my place," Lesara suggested. At this point, Arna had grabbed a book and lobbed it at him. He missed the naga, but assumed he hit Shinda when the book slammed against something solid

"The feth was that, a whip?" Shinda asked, twisting to move the curtain so he could peer through. He looked at the boys in the back, then at Lesara, and feigned a mask of angry disappointment. "You liar, there's no bondage going on back here!"

Kyran felt his entire self burning by this point, and buried his face in Arna's chest. "Can we not talk about this, please?" he said, voice a little muffled.

Arna stroked Kyran's hair. "Don't worry. If we ever got into that, it'd probably be you tying me up." He then bent low and gave Kyran a quick kiss.

Kyran kissed back lightly and gave a small smile. "Maybe."

"Anyway, don't you think you should be watching the road, Shinda?"

As if to prove his point, the wagon hit something hard and jostled a bit. Shinda harumphed and turned back around. "It was just a rock. The orns can see the road well enough anyway.

Lesara chuckled and wiggled his tail tip at the boys. "Now now, none of that." Arna looked away innocently.

---

Kyran was setting water to boil in the pot while Lesara prepared the food for dinner. Shinda had dragged Arna away from the small camp, intent on training the boy properly. He had his broadsword in hand, and made Arna wield his bardiche instead of a stick this time.

"Why are we doing this again?" Arna asked nervously. He wasn't sure he could trust Shinda to be nice with him like Kyran usually was.

"Because you lost the bet," Shinda said with a smirk. "And because fighting Kyran isn't the best training." He slid one foot back and held his sword up in front of him, lowering his body slightly into an easy stance. "The important thing for you is to keep your legs apart, knees bent and stay low. I know the enchantment makes it lighter but it still takes momentum to keep going, and the last thing you want is to lose your balance mid-swing. Axes are power-oriented weapons, and are very hard to block without a shield. Even with one, the impact taxes the muscles and a good blow will usually stun someone long enough to follow through. One well-timed swing can be enough to take out a person completely. And remember to use all your resources if someone gets in too close."

Shinda shifted from his stance and stepped forward to trace his fingertips along the edge of Arna's blade. A white glow trailed after his hand and wrapped around the sharp curve of the metal. Shinda did the same to his own sword, then stepped back several paces and resumed his stance. "There, now we can fight without worrying about real injuries. Bruises are the most you'll have to deal with." He smiled, and angled his sword a little lower. "You move first."

Arna sighed, then steadied himself, nervous. He took a rush at Shinda, swinging up with his axe, putting as much force as he could behind it.

Shinda backed up, bringing his sword down to meet Arna's axe. The metal collided and his blade skidded down the axe's edge with a sharp grating noise as he spun away and backed up further. "Good, keep going."

Arna brought his arm up, then swung back down. He was easily keeping pace with Shinda's blocking, assuming the man was doing it to show him where to hit. When the metal clashed and grated, it tore away the sense that Arna was fighting Shinda, leaving Arna just fighting another man. His motions became somewhat more precise, albeit still unsure.

---

"Arna! Pay attention!" Lesara snapped. "You need to know these things."

Arna shook his head. "I'm listening," he said. Lesara's shoulders sagged. He noticed that Arna had not been focusing well at all for the past few days. He leaned to Kyran and asked, "Do you know what's bothering him?"

Kryan looked at Lesara, shrugging and spreading his hands. He scooted closer to Arna so that their sides touched. "Hey, something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh. No, nothing's wrong." It was a bit of a white lie, but he felt that it wasn't that big a deal. He laid his head on Kyran's shoulder and smiled up at him. "Just thinking about you."

Kyran smiled and raised a hand to pet Arna's head. "Is that all? You're not usually this distracted."

Arna made a soft noise as he relaxed a little. Lesara looked at Kyran and raised an eyebrow.

Kyran gave a half shrug and mouthed, "Maybe later."

---

The sun rose and set six more times, and they'd passed into Zekal the previous day, making Kyran realize just how wrong he'd been about his time estimate. Shinda had said it would take at least a week, after all, hadn't he? They were at the foothills of the mountain chain, right between the daunting sand-dusted peaks and the border of Ketilts Forest. Shinda had slowed down considerably as the road wound about the hills and became more gravelly, meaning it would probably tack on an extra day or so to their journey.

Eleshad studies continued, and Kyran had managed to pick up the language rather well by this point. He still had trouble wrapping his tongue around the vowels, but at least he could understand it when Lesara spoke.

Arna tried desperately to listen, and he even succeeded in picking up enough to form some basic sentences. Overall, however, Lesara was as hard to focus on as a history lecture.

Lesara's ears drooped. "Alright, I've kept quiet enough about it. What's on your mind?"

Arna simply shrugged. "I dunno. Being in a weird place I guess."

The naga's shoulders relaxed a little. "I guess. You haven't been more than a couple miles away from that house since you were young."

Kyran tilted his head. "Is that all?" He smiled. "I think seeing all these new places is exciting, but it's a bit hard to be distracted by the scenery closed in a wagon like this." He leaned forward and kissed Arna lightly on the cheek, and took the opportunity to whisper in his ear, "When we get some time alone, will you tell me what's really wrong?" He nuzzled his love's neck before sitting back.

Arna smiled and nodded a bit, hoping Kyran would catch it and Lesara would mistake it for the cart jostling. Lesara looked at the boys suspiciously, but decided they weren't planning anything too silly.

"Shinda, I think you should give those poor orns a rest for a little bit."

A wispy sound came through the curtain, and it took a second for Kyran to realize it was Shinda sighing.

"I suppose you're right," he said from up front. "It's starting to get late anyway, and I want to set up camp before full dark."

Moments later the wagon pulled off the road and came to a halt, and Shinda hopped off the seat. He groaned and stretched, and walked around a bit to get rid of the stiffness from sitting for so long before tending to the orns.

Kyran stretched a bit too before sliding out of the back of the wagon. He stood there for a while, just looking around at the landscape. It stretched out before him, sky-scraping mountains and rolling hills rising to the right, and lower land and the forest border just off to the left. Peering through the trees, he thought he caught movement, but staring for a while longer he decided it was just his imagination.

Arna poked his head out, and let his eyes wander over the edges of the mountains. "Wow, they're pretty," he said softly. He got out and went to stand next to Kyran. "I've seen pictures, but it looks way better in real life."

Kyran smiled and brushed Arna's hand with his own. "It does." He looked at the treeline again, and asked quietly, "Do you think we might see any foreshad here? Shinda says this forest belongs to them."

"Maybe. But I'd rather not think about that." A slight shudder ran down the boy's spine.

Lesara watched the boys and then looked to Shinda. "I want to give them alone time. But I don't think it wise. Oh great Shinda, guide me."

Shinda lashed the beasts' reigns to a lone tree and let them be, heading back to the wagon. "Guide you with what?" He looked between the naga and the boys, then at the forest. "Mmm...Let's set up camp."

Lesara rolled his eyes. "Ever wise you are, Shinda."

Arna turned to watch the older men, then turned to Kyran. He was sure they wouldn't hear him over the noise they were making unloading things. "Did you still wanna talk?"

Shinda crawled into the wagon with Lesara and started going through their things. Because of the rapidly cooling weather they'd taken to sleeping inside, rolling out their bedrolls and letting Lesara curl up around them. It was simultaneously warm and defensive, because any would-be bandits had to risk waking a naga before they could get to any loot.

Kyran pulled Arna away from the cart a bit and took his hand, as though they were just taking a casual short stroll. "Yes. We might not get another chance."

Arna nodded and put his arm around Kyran. "What did you wanna talk about?"

Before they could get too far, Lesara hollered, "Don't go too far! It's getting dark fast!"

Kyran stopped about then. He looked Arna in the eye, serious. "What's been keeping your mind so busy? I can tell it's not just being on the road." He gave the barest of smiles and continued, "Sometimes I watch your face and you just seem kind of...I don't know, I think uneasy is the word?"

Arna sighed. He thought a minute, searching for the right words. "Do you think we may actually have to fight soon? It worries me. I'm just a huma, I have no magick or any special skills." He then turned away. "What if something happens and I can't protect you? I still have nightmares from... you know..." He still wasn't comfortable talking about what had happened over six months ago.

Kyran made a face, wrapping his arms around Arna's waist. "I would never have gotten away if it hadn't been for you, Arna. You saved me, and helped me become stronger. That was no easy thing to do..." He sighed softly and raised up a bit to kiss the side of Arna's neck lightly. "Don't doubt yourself. I think you're stronger than you give yourself credit for."

Arna held Kyran close. "But am I strong enough?"

Kyran opened his mouth to speak, but got cut off by Shinda. "Ok you two love birds, get back here and help us with dinner or you won't be eating."

Kyran rolled his eyes and grinned before planting a kiss on Arna's lips. "I think so," he said before turning back for the wagon.

Arna blushed and trotted behind Kyran. "What did you want us to do?" he asked.