Forever Caged [Complete]

Harhar, it's not all over yet! I'll post the final two chapters once midnight passes. So check back in...2 hours if you're reading this on the date of posting.

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Chapter 32: United


The next afternoon, Reyvn had finally finished cleaning up the mess in the library. He plopped in his chair, and relaxed with the book Lesara had been kind enough to retrieve from Rendell's crumbling manor.

Shinda made sure a doctor was called, and decided he liked Ravis about as much as Reyvn did. Shinda hovered around Cherry, making sure she got everything she needed, and that she was healing all right.

Lesara knocked lightly on the door before entering. "Hey, Reyvn? You busy?" He slithered to the desk, and presented a small package. "This is the gift I promised you"

Reyvn marked his spot and set the book down, standing to greet Lesara. He looked down at the small silk pouch, and carefully took it. "I'd forgotten all about it," he said softly. He undid the bow that bound it shut, and reached into the little bag.

Nestled in Reyvn's palm was a small crystal kitten. It had a ruby bow and was sitting on what appeared to be a ball of yarn carved from an emerald. "I found that in the tomb I raided, believe it or not. Watch this." Lesara bent down and whistled a soft, low note. The kitten's paws began to glow and small glowing flecks started to float around in the emerald.

Reyvn's eyes widened in wonder. He stared at the carefully, painstakingly carved thing, and smiled. "It's beautiful," he said softly. He stared for a while longer before turning his odd eyes up at Lesara. "I love it. Thank you so much."

Lesara leaned over the desk and hugged Reyvn. "I really am sorry I made you go to him. I won't do anything that stupid ever again. Can you forgive me?"

Reyvn set the kitten down and returned the hug. "It's all right...I don't think you knew what he would do to me, or you wouldn't have sent me."

Lesara heaved a relieved sigh. "We had Ravis look at Arna. He's doing fine now, he's even put down that silly cane." He chuckled. "He looks like such an old man with it. I've also decided that he is allowed in the library. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether or not you want him in here."

Reyvn smiled, pulling away from Lesara. "That's great. How is Cherry doing?"

"She's fine. She's woken up spry as ever." Lesara shrugged. "She'll be bedridden for at least a few weeks, but it doesn't seem to stop her more... natural wantings."

Reyvn made a face, shaking his head. "Well I suppose it's good that Shinda's staying." He then remembered something. "Oh, Shinda said he knows my father. I'd like to go looking for him some day."

Lesara clapped his hands together and propped his chin on them. "Your father, you say? Oh my, this could be quite exciting." The idea of going on another trip pleased him. "Of course we'll go, as soon as everyone is better. Oh, speaking of which, Arna wanted to see you before the night's end. Dunno why, guess he just misses you already." Lesara had thought that what Reyvn and Arna had going on was just the cutest thing.

Reyvn grinned, nodding. "Probably. Before we go, I'd like to learn another language and how to use my swords. From what Shinda was saying, I think we have a very long trip waiting for us. I want to be able to defend myself from now on, without relying on luck."

Lesara ruffled Reyvn's hair. "Oh my, looks like a chunk got cut off somewhere along the line." He held up where it looked like Reyvn's hair had been sliced. "How'd that happen?"

Reyvn turned his head, startled. "Whoa...I didn't even notice. I don't remember having anything sharp thrown at me in the past few days. Maybe one of the tendrils that got me?"

Lesara shrugged. "Well, it's not that noticeable, really. I'm sure it'd grow back out fast enough."

Reyvn pulled his hair back and smiled. "No, it's all right. I was thinking about cutting it short anyways." He ran his fingers through his silken knee-length hair, then said softly, "It was grown so long because Koumori wanted it. And everyone that's brought harm to me has loved it... Arna likes it too, but I think he's the exception. I don't want to have a constant reminder of the people who hurt me most following me around forever." He looked back up at Lesara. "Can I ask you to cut it for me? I'd do a hack-job if I did it myself."

Lesara smiled softly. "Of course I could. Just head down to the kitchen in a bit. I have a few things I need to attend to first." He slithered out, waving a goodbye to Reyvn.

Reyvn watched him go, then organized his desk before going to meet Arna, wherever he was.

Arna was out back, sitting in the gazebo. He had finished the work that needed tending to, even though Lesara had to help him feed Rendell's remains to the man-eating plant. He was quite satisfied watching the world go by peacefully now.

Reyvn found Arna easily enough, and went to join him. He paused in front of him, smiling. "Hi," he said softly.

"Hey." Arna scooted over to make room for Reyvn. "Feeling better?" he asked.

Reyvn sat down, relaxing against the wooden bench. "I'm fine. How's your leg?"

"Much better now. Doc gave me some awesome healing stuff." Arna patted his leg. "It's just a little sore now."

"That's great. It...kind of sucked, seeing you with a cane." Reyvn laughed quietly before turning to face Arna. "So, Lesara says he'll help me find my father. Why don't you come with us?"

Arna laughed. "That'd be really great, actually. I haven't been anywhere cool in a long time." He hugged Reyvn close. "D'you think your dad would be happy to see you?"

Reyvn hugged back, resting his head on Arna's chest. "I hope so. If he even recognizes me, that is. I wonder what he's like?"

Arna thought about it for a minute. "Maybe like Shinda with wrinkles?" He petted through Reyvn's hair. "Aww, a chunk got cut off."

Reyvn laughed. "Maybe." He pulled back. "Oh, yes. It must have happened during that last fight. I asked Lesara to cut it short for me."

Arna gasped. "Why? It's so pretty!" He clung to Reyvn and gave his best puppy-eyed pout.

Reyvn sighed, still smiling. "I know, and I was afraid you'd do that. But...Well, it serves as a reminder for the people I hate most, and what they did to me. I don't want it following me around anymore."

Arna kept his pout up. "You'll grow it back out eventually, right? You won't cut it too short, right?"

Reyvn leaned forward to plant a kiss on Arna's lips. "Maybe, and maybe."

Arna kissed back, enjoying the feel of Reyvn's soft lips against his own. "Just don't shave it all off. You'd look funky bald."

"I'm not going to go that extreme. Just right about here," Reyvn said, raising his hand to mid-neck level.

Arna looked at Reyvn's hand, then bent down to nuzzle his neck. "Oh yeah, that's gonna tickle." He kissed his neck gently.

Reyvn slid his hand to Arna's shoulder and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the light kiss. "Arna," he said softly.

Arna nibbled his neck gently. "Hm?"

Reyvn blushed at the nibble, then pulled back and put a hand on Arna's cheek. "I love you."

It was Arna's turn to blush. He picked his head up and kissed Reyvn lightly. "I love you too."

Reyvn kissed back, and remained with Arna for a time. "Oh, that's right, Lesara wanted to talk to me about something." He stood up, offering his hand to Arna. "Come on."

Arna took his hand. "Ok," he said, then followed Reyvn to the kitchen. There, Lesara had set up a stool with a tarp, and he was waiting with a pair of scissors.

Reyvn made a face at the sight. "All this just to cut my hair?"

Just then, Shinda walked in. "You're cutting your hair? Wow, you certainly don't waste time." He chuckled, then went to the fridge.

"What do you mean?" Reyvn asked as he went to go sit on the stool.

"All this crap happens and soon as it's over you whack your hair off to forget about it." Shinda tossed a package of lunch meat on the countertop. "Right?"

Reyvn blushed a little. "I...guess that's right."

Shinda shook his head. "Well whatever, it's your hair."

Arna flung an arm over his face and stuck the other out, as if to stop something. "Oh, woe is me! I can't bear to watch!"

Lesara shook the scissors at him. "Arna, quit horsing around. You'll just make it that much harder."

Shinda laughed at him. "I think someone inhaled some bad pollen."

Reyvn made a face at both of them. "I think you're both silly."

Lesara shrugged. "Oh drat, he found out. Alright Reyvn, how hard am I going to cry?"

"This hard," Reyvn replied as he showed Lesara how short he wanted his hair cut.

Lesara did the same thing Arna had before. "Oh, Arna, I think you might be right!" He laughed, and began combing Reyvn's hair. "You've developed a sense of humor, Reyvn. It suits you quite nicely."

Reyvn chuckled softly. "Well it's all thanks to you three."

Shinda was busy slapping a sandwich together. "Why, because we're all nutjobs?"

"That's exactly why."

"If you were my little brother and not my cousin, I would give you such a noogie for that."

Lesara held the scissors away from himself, as if they were about to explode, and snipped a little bit of Reyvn's hair. Arna mimed fainting, and the naga sighed. "Alright, we didn't die! It really is a damn shame you want it cut. But sometimes people need a fresh start I guess." He continued snipping at Reyvn's hair till it was about as short as he guessed Reyvn wanted it. He held a mirror up for him and asked, "What do you think?"

Reyvn took the mirror, and turned his head to examine the hair cut. He smiled, pleased. "I like it."

Shinda popped the last of his sandwich in his mouth, brushed off his hands, then went over to Reyvn. "It needs something."

"What's that?"

"This!" Shinda grabbed Reyvn in a headlock, made a fist with his other hand and proceeded to rub it against Reyvn's head.

"Ow, ow!" Reyvn grabbed Shinda's arm, and squirmed out of his hold. "What was that for?"

"Because I could do it," Shinda laughed.

"Congratulations, you are no longer a noogie-virgin." Arna crossed his arms and laughed. "The messy thing does look cute on you though."

Lesara picked up a long strand of Reyvn's hair. "What am I going to do with all this? It's just too pretty to throw away."

Reyvn pouted at Arna, then hopped off the stool. "Well I'm glad you like it."

Shinda looked at the shiny mess on the floor. "That's a good question. Doll hair maybe? Weave it into something?"

"Doll hair indeed! There aren't any good doll makers on this continent as far as I've seen!" He vaguely remembered giving Reyvn a bath when he first came in, and thinking about making a cloak out of his hair then. "Weave it it is. It'll give Cherry something to do till she can go back to the shop. Till then, it seems I'll have to mind the place." He picked up armfuls of the hair, and tried to lay it out neatly.

Arna looked at Reyvn, then went to run his fingers through his now-short hair. "Man that's gonna tickle," he said to himself.

Shinda helped Lesara lay all the hair on the table. "I don't think Cherry'd be very happy weaving Reyvn's hair. She acts like she doesn't like him much."

Reyvn ran his own hands through his hair, feeling weird now that it was so short and light. He twisted his upper body to look at Lesara and Shinda, thinking for a minute.

Arna looked to Lesara. "Are we done with stuff for today?"

Lesara nodded. "Arna, go rest a bit, you've worked hard. As for this," he looked to the pile of shiny black hair, "I suppose I could learn to do it. I don't know if I trust a merchant with it since it seems like it'd be a rare thing."

Shinda twisted his face in thought. "Yes. It is Requiem hair, so by default it has a slightly magickal property. Personally I prefer to burn it so no one else can use it, but you seem so attached, so I'll let it be. By the way, that message you sent. You said I could ask for anything I wanted as payment for helping?"

Lesara nodded. "Except for my servants of course. But yes. What would you like?"

Shinda sighed, frowning. "Well now you say that. I wanted to ask you to relinquish your ownership of Reyvn. I came to help because I didn't like that he was being kept as a slave to some demon. I still don't like that he's your servant, but I don't mind so much because you don't hurt him."

Lesara's tail tip waggled. "Well, I'm not going to keep him forever. Also, Reyvn said he wanted to go looking for his father. You should join us, it would be lots of fun."

Shinda smirked. "Well I'm going to be the one leading the trip when we go. You leave without me and you're screwed. Since you do intend to keep Reyvn for what I'm sure is several years, I'm going to stick around to make no more shit happens to him. As for payment..." He paused, crossing his arms in thought. "I still have to think about it. But if we find his father, you will release him won't you?"

"All things depending," Lesara said skeptically. "I most likely will, but he's more than welcome to come back if he desires." Lesara smiled at Reyvn. "Your bed will always be ready for you here after you leave, just so you know."

Reyvn smiled back, a little nervous. The air was starting to feel tense. "All right," he replied quietly. "Shinda, I remembered something. My name starts with a 'K,' if that helps."

Arna raised his eyebrows. "You mean 'Reyvn' isn't your real name?"

Reyvn looked to Arna and shook his head. "That's the name Koumori gave me when he found me, because I was too frightened to tell him my real name. There was a little raven on the sign next to me where we met...and he thought the name fit."

Arna nodded thoughtfully. When he decided the answer satisfied him, he started making his way out of the kitchen. "I'm going to take a nap. Reyvn, wanna come with me?"

Reyvn smiled softly. "Sure."

Shinda raised an eyebrow. "I'll let you know when I remember, but that does help."

Arna stretched and put his arm around Reyvn, walking him to his room. "You know, you're a really good cuddler."

Reyvn slid his arm around Arna's waist once they were down the hall. "You're not bad yourself."

Arna stuck his tongue out. "I dunno. I mean according to Cherry, I don't know what I'm doing with her. How would I know what to do with a boy?"

Reyvn shut Arna's door after they entered the room. "Well," he started softly, "I could show you."