Lord Chris Sonom (
chrisisofaith) wrote in
makinglies2022-11-01 07:43 am
The Moon in the Sea


City of Deismyr, The seat of power for the Northern Coast of the Moonsea. A port and foundry city, rich in trade and exports of manufactured goods. Predominantly human population with mixes of dwarf, tiefling, elf, halfling, and others.
The emblem of a lighthouse with a feather wrapping around it emblazons the flags and the shoulders of the city guard. A storm rages over the Moonsea itself and casts the day in a dark haze for how close it is, but the working day isn't over, despite whatever ruckus might disturb the pattern of city life.
Near the northern-center section of the city stands a tall keep that looks more like a manor house at first glance, were it not for the fortifications and the single tower at one corner, a clock and balcony at it's top. The flag of the city adorns it along side another emblem: a set of feathers, crossed at their ends, a cluster of three six-pointed stars nestled between the spread pinions.
If the city is the seat of the Northern Coast, this keep is the seat of the city, and where particularly noticeable troublemakers are brought, lead through the long main hall with it's doors and halls stretching off it, under the balcony of the second and third stories overhead, and into the main throne room. There's no other word for it when four city guards line the walls and a large throne rests on a dais at the head. A Large desk can be seen against the far wall behind it where a man stands from it and moves to take his place in his oversized chair. The runner had said it was urgent and while the Ardri doubted it was truly more important than what he'd been working on, it was also a break from pouring over tedium.
Dressed in blacks and deep greens of a regally-styled outfit, the Ardri settles back, leg crossed over the other and an elbow braced on the arm of the throne to support his chin as he waits for this errant 'intruder' his guards had found in the city.

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"Hello, Sam. It's nice to meet you, I'm Chris...and I'm sorry everything's been so scary and confusing today. May I talk to your daddy for a moment? You can stay right there with him and When we're done, I promise we'll find something to make it better, okay?" He finally glances up to Jacob --it is Jacob, it has to be, even with his memories still caught in that dream-haze, the name has never left him-- but then lets his eyes fall back to the boy for his permission.
Barely a moment later, however, the doors open again and this time a cat-woman walks in with sleek black fur and bright green eyes. "Chris, she's- Oh." She pauses, considers the scene before her and continues. "My apologies, but she's awake and asking for you."
Chris glances over to her and gives a nod. "I can take her." He looks back to Sam with a small smile. "Sorry about that...so, can I borrow your daddy's time a moment?"
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It echoes around in his head like laughter in an underground cave, a memory that floods back to him in the same moment, joined by so many others as the wall that held them back crumbles. Sam doesn't seem to notice, too distracted by Chris.
"You know my dad?" He says, turning now his own feet at on the floor, apparently no longer interested in being held and he pulls out of Jacob's grip. Not to go far, just to look at Chris and then turn his head as the door opens, just as Jacob does.
But Jacib is also reaching for Sam again, ready to pull him back again if whatever comes through the door looks dangerous.
"Dad!" Sam says in an excited whisper that everyone in the room can hear, "That lady's a cat!"
His eyes are as wide as dinner plates, but when Chris addresses him again he nods, granting permission before adding, in a much more hushed, awed tone: "That cat lady talked."
"I don't think she's a cat," Jacob says, "I think she's a lady who looks like a cat."
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"She's a Tabaxi, her name is Wind and she's the nanny here. And thank you, Sam...I do know your daddy." Gods, does he...
Finally. Finally he lets himself look at Jacob, now at eye level and seemingly paler than he did a moment ago. That vulnerability breaks through the cleric again, hope and fear and anticipation warring for a place in his expression until he can clamp down on it again.
"Jacob Frye...you're a long way from home...love..." How and why and all the reasonable questions he should be asking settle respectfully at the back of his mind, waiting for a time when practicality can re-assert itself. "Do you remember me? Even a bit?"
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"Sammy." He says gently. "Close your eyes for me."
The boy may or may not have done so but Jacom moves his hand to cover the child's eyes, his other movibg to the back of Chris' head to knot in those golden threads.
"Of course I do." He says, leaning in and kissing Chris before the younger man can ask any more silly questions. Of course he remembers him, don't be ridiculous. He remembers him and all their adventures. True, his memory was foggy before but now? Now its clear as crystal and he can not help the relief and joy that spread through him.
"And clearly you remember me." He adds when he let's the kiss break, his hand moving to Chris' shoulder to hold him tight, and dropping from Sammy's eyes.
"Sammy, Chris and I know each other from a long time ago. Before you were born. We stayed at another city together. This is... this is your city, on Moonsea?"
The question is uncertain, but asked because he thinks he's right in saying that, even if he can't recall what that city was called.
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When the kiss breaks, his hand slips to the side of Jacob's neck but he keeps close. "Of course I do." He echoes. Gods, he just wants to hold this wonderful man close, kiss his face, remind his arms what it feels like to be curled around Jacob Frye...later. Even if he has to find a way for them to get home, they can have that at least. He tells himself that instead of listening to the little voice that offers maybe they don't have to leave...that little voice was an unkind thing.
At least Jacob's question offers a distraction. "Yes. Deismyr, though it had a different name when I told you of it. Melvaunt is a thing of the past." Destroyed and rebuilt on the ashes with a new direction, new government, new resolve. He shakes his head a little. "I still don't understand how you're here...it's been well over a year since...that place...and you've your son-" He looks to Sam and offers another little smile. "He looks like you."
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He will admit to being surprised, because that's no easy feat, although enough time has passed for him that perhaps Chris has been able to make miraculous progress. He has a goddess on his side, after all. That no doubt helps when you want to get things done in a hurry.
"Longer than that." Longer than a year, for him anyway. But he doesn't seem to care, not when Sammy is with him, he knows the boy is safe. "I don't know either. We went to sleep in London, we woke up here. If I'd had any idea that you were here, we would have come up here immediately. I... I'm sorry about the guards." He remembers the one who held the pike at Sam, and corrects himself. "Most of the guards."
He moves his free hand to his son then, brushes his hair back. He does look like Jacob, but the chin isn't quite the same, the dark a touch darker than Jacob's own. He's not going to grow up as broad as his father, Jacob's pretty sure, but that might work in his favour.
"Dad," The boy interrupts, "I'm hungry."
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He stands as Sam makes his needs known and Chris turns that gentle look on him again. "Well, good news: plenty of food to be had and-" The door opens again and Wind, the Tabaxi from before returns. Braced on her hip is a little tiefling girl around three years old or so, her skin a deep blue with long red hair and matching red eyes. Her horns are small things, barely past her hair and only just starting a small curve. Chris' face lights up as he turns and heads to meet them.
"Ah...there's my princess. Sleep well, sweetheart?" The little girl nods and wraps her arms around Chris' neck as he takes her into his arms. She opens her mouth to say something, but then turns her face to bury it shyly into Chris' hair. "Oh, starshine...it's alright." He walks them back over to Jacob and Sam. "They're friends. Closer to family, no need to be shy."
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He isn't sure what the time is exactly, but they ate just after it got light and the sun wad high in rge sky when they'd been brought here. No wonder he's hungry, he burns through food like a furnace through charcoal.
Jacob gets to his feet when they're interrupted, and much like his son, his attention is on the little girl. Not because of her oddly hued skin or horns, he recalls meeting someone with some features before. But what throws him is the obvious paternal love Chris shows, his voice, his pose, the look in his eyes is full of love.
Rather than be jealous that Chris has clearly found some sort of happiness with someone, Jacob finds that he's just happy that Chris has this joy in his life.
"We're both very pleased to meet you." Jacob says, his hands resting on Sammys shoulders, and the boy nods eagerly.
"Charmed, Miss." He pipes in.
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"Hello and..." She glances to Chris who nods to her encouragingly. "-welcome to our home distinguish guests."
Chris beams and shifts her over so he can put a hand on Jacob's shoulder again. "Good! Very good. We're working on it. Let's get that food and we can talk more." As he leads them through the door Wind had come through and down a hall deeper into the keep, his hand trails from shoulder to back, never quite willing to leave contact off from the other man if he can help it. He doesn't have to wonder why, at least, there's still some part of him that's afraid this is fake, that Jacob and his son will vanish into smoke as soon as Chris stops paying attention.
"What sorts of things do you two want to eat? Whatever it is, I'll make it happen." He shoots Jacob a small smirk. "Perks of being a posh bastard..."
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Sammy doesn't want to stay by Jacob's side as they walk, deciding he likes Chris and young Aliyah, he trots along on Chris' other side. If he's aware of how close Chris and Jacob walk, he doesn't mention it.
"I like toast. And boiled eggs. But the yellow bit should be runny so you can dip your toast in." The boy says, "But if we don't have eggs then I like to have mash and sausages. What do you have?" He asks the girl in Chris' arms.
"We'll happily have whatever is easiest." Jacob says, as his son babbles away, enjoying the familiar hand on his back. "Because we aren't posh. But you look like you're doing very well for yourself."
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Chris lets his fingers dart up to touch fondly at the hairs along the back of Jacob's neck before they return to his back. "Eggs are plenty easy and you both are worth any effort." He'd have to fight his cook, Lightless, for the kitchen, but they'd figure it out.
He gives a small laugh that is more performance than real, but a well-practiced one. "I'm king, of course I'm doing well for myself. More importantly, the region's doing well. Those in the city are jumpy and cautious for injuries taken in recent past, but generally there's peace enough. I..." He pauses his words a moment as the kitchen door approaches and Aliyah wriggles in his arms to be set down. He obliges her readily and she takes Sam's hand to 'lead' him to the Kitchen. "Don't get under foot!" He calls after her then looks back to Jacob. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around you being here, love. I'm...more happy than's fair to you, but the 'how' is- ah, sorry. I said it'd wait."
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Chris did tell him, a long time ago it seems, that he was the ruler. A king. Jacob just hadn't really taken it in. He'd thought it was a position more like a Duke, running a city state. But what's the different between a Duke and a king, really?
He blinks, looking back at Chris, turning to face him and putting his hand on the other man's elbow.
"Don't. Don't think about how's, or why's, or any of that. Not for the moment. Tomorrow we can worry about all of that. Right now I want... I want to hear about how you are. How long has it been? What... just tell me everything."
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He pauses a moment, his fingers curling into Jacob's shirt as he cocks his head. "Aliyah's my daughter, adopted when someone left her at our door. My friend offered to take her in, but he's a brood of nearly ten already, I figured I could handle one little girl. Just...in case you had thoughts of some Queen in the wings you'd need to be mindful of."
He had a couple Prince Consorts Jacob would need to meet certainly, but Chris had almost no concerns for it, Kallian was charming enough to sweep Jacob off his feet and Ra'ah would respect the man's rouge-like abilities. He'd win them both over in no time, once they were eventually back in town....if Jacob were around that long. He probably shouldn't be planning so far in advance.
He burries that thought away, though, it was too unkind to dwell on.
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"Girls are much trickier than boys," Jacob teases, although he really has no evidence or even experience to back that up, he does easily fall back into the habit of gently joking with Chris. It's easy, natural, despite everything around them being... not. Well, it's easy and natural for Chris, and for Aliyah, it's only unnatural for him and Sammy.
Speaking of the children, he looks up, watching the two of them, making sure they're not doing anything more than wriggling into the hearts of the kitchen staff, wanting to try everything and anything.
"What about other kings?" He asks, attention going back to Chris, offering a soft smile. "Don't worry, I promise not to... cause problems." He should probably let go, but Chris doesn't seem about to let go of him, and besides, he recalls that Chris, like Jacob, was never solely with one other person.
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For his part, Chris settles himself and Jacob, an arm wrapping around the other man as well, in a corner of the kitchen where they'd be largely out of the way before he answers. His hand comes up to cup along Jacob's cheek as he looks at those lovely hazel eyes. "You cause all sorts of problems, Mr. Frye, don't tell falsehoods...but you needn't worry. I think you'll like them and I'm certain they'll like you. Malik Kallian is a bard and a charming fucker, he'll dive right for your heart in no time. Ra'ah Akumati might be a little trickier, but he's a rogue and thief, I'm sure a little challenge of skill would have him warming to you in no time."
Chris' expression turns searching a moment. "They're out of town, though and will be a while yet. You might not have to deal with them...unless you're intending a longer stay."
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"That's in general. I mean specifically." He points out as Chris gently warns him against fibbing. And while he appreciates that Chris knows him of old, this is... uncertain ground. He is a no one here, a man with his child that don't belong, and he doesn't intend to make life difficult, for Chris or his partners. They sound... well, they sound just the sort of men that Chris would be with. Each of them a little like himself, or perhaps he's a little bit like both of them.
"If I have the chance to meet them, know I will do so gladly." He means that, truly, based on Chris' words alone they seem like men he could get along with. But he doesn't know how long he and Sammy will be staying. How can he, when he has no idea of what brought them here? But there's a hesitation in his words too. Is his presence here going to mean explaining the strange city they met in? Will Chris' menfolk accept that or is the whole thing going to simply cause headaches and heartaches?
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He reaches over to take Jacob's hand and bring it up to his lips for his attention. "What's in your head, love? And how's your heart while we're at it? You and he've been through a lot in the span of hours and even if we're shelving the why, we don't need to shelve how it's effecting you and what you're feeling."
Chris looks over towards the children and how the leonin has found a step stool for Sammy to stand on to watch him cook with the direction to keep his hands at this side for his safety, while Aliyah is lifted onto the chef's broad shoulders to watch as well. And dig her little hands into his mane of hair, but she was Chris' daughter in that regard, always wanting the feeling of hair past her fingers, even if it was only an innocent thing.
"He's of you...so forgive my forwardness that I'd claim a want for his safety and happiness no different than if he'd been of us while you both are here. That includes taking care of his father for him."
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"My mind and heart are as one, at least in this moment. Full of happiness for seeing you, for seeing you safe and with a little one who adores you, but... I can't pretend that I'm not worried that I might make your life harder. And it must hard already with a city to care for."
He shakes his head though, as if to disregard all of that worry.
"It has been... a trying morning. Waking up somewhere unexpected does not bode well in my experience, even more so when you have a child with you and there are soldiers chasing you." He let's out a slow breath, looking back to his son, pleased to see him doing as he's told and keeping his hands out of the way. He's not even leaning forward too much. Thank goodness.
"I think my heart will stop racing by the evening. Seeing you made it go even faster, but in the very best of ways."
And then Chris says of us in that way that makes Jacob rememeber the before, the times they had met and Chris' body had been different, and if not for the actions of the city, such a thing could have transpired. He feels heat spread up his neck, and he tries to fight it, letting out a soft laugh.
"There's almost no one else I would trust with his safety quite as much as you." He confirms.
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Chris turns more in Jacob's direction even as he notes the Leonin beginning to serve the food onto plates. Their privacy was about to be broken, but he could say his peace. "You are worth fighting for, protecting, and carving a place into my life for, Jacob. So long as you want to be at my side, I will make that happen, because it's surely where I want you to be as well."
He turns Jacob's hand to kiss the inside of his wrist with a sharper smile. "And were the kids off exploring the garden, I'd show you exactly how much I still appreciate your physique and the lines on your face, even with every other eye in this room still present. I'll happily seek to make your heart skip a beat whenever I next can..."
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But he doesn't even get the chance to offer that because Chris is offering to protect him, and Jacob can only smile in return, this expression tender. Chris no doubt can protect him, find a place for him here. It might be necessary too, depending how long returning them might take.
"Chris-" He begins as Chris begins to kiss his wrist and it sends a flare of warmth through him, from his wrist all the way to his toes, and his cheeks heat too. Especially because he too can see the plates being filled and brought this way.
"You're terrible," He says with a soft laugh, because how can he fail to be anything but flattered and worked up by those promises. "And here I was about to ask if there was some way I could serve you. Seems like you already have a few ideas."
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It gives Chris a chance to listen and watch the man across from him...and think on a more serious answer for him. How he might serve Chris. Was there an answer that didn't just serve the crown? He didn't want that for Jacob. The years had clearly been hard on him. didn't he deserve some rest? Chris didn't want to break what peace he might find while stuck here.
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That's why now Sammy seems to be watching the kitchen staff here, waiting for them to sit down before he eats, and looking at his father when they don't.
"I think they've probably had breakfast already," Jacob tells him gently, "Go on, eat before it gets cold. You've had a real adventure this morning."
Calling it an adventure clearly catches Sammy's imagination, it seems clear that the little boy longs for the adventures he believes Jacob has, and the fact they've been on one together here makes him smile from ear to ear. When Aliyah suggests playing in the garden, Sammy immediately starts setting out an idea for a game- escaping the imaginary guards of the evil fortress.
Jacob lets them talk, hopefully not forgetting their breakfast, and begins on his own, his attention moving to Chris, unusually quiet.
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It looked good on him.
He could remember thoughts, now seemingly long past and part of a fever dream, but quiet nights lay in some of them. Vigorous fucking had led to quieter moments of dozing and Chris would sometimes wake up just to trace Jacob's face with his eyes, if not his fingers. He'd indulged in thoughts of what a child between them might look like. Impossible and something he'd kept to himself, especially after it became impossible, but he can see it clearly now. Another life.
Enough so that when Jacob looks back to him, Chris stares at him a moment too long before jerking back to himself as color flares over his cheeks. How silly of him, he could be imaging all sorts of tawdry things he wanted with the other man and he's here daydreaming about a quiet life he couldn't ask of Jacob, no matter how much he loved him still.
He looks down to his food. "My apologies, I was thinking you look good like that: being a father. Suits you well." He shakes his head a bit and spares them both. "When we're through, we can go to the gardens while they play or leave a couple staff to mind them, if you need rest?"
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Jacob can't think of what. Chris seems happy here, woth his lovely little girl and his menfolk, even if they are away right now. He has his city and his people, which was something he had cared about so much when they had first met. What could his life be lacking?
A little selfish thought in Jacob's mind says me, but he privately scoffs at the thought. He's here now, and while he might well have to go again, that seems like it will take some time to arrange. Likely months, if not more. And while Jacob can't imagine what people in London will do if he's away that long, he can't do much about it than help Chris as best he can. Which might not be at all.
When Chris seems to return to the here-and-now, and makes his observations about Jacob as a father, he feels his own blush return.
"I'll take the compliment from a man who is himself a good dad." He replies, nodding towards the two little ones, making up their games. "I know neither of us thought we'd be in this position, but we seem to be doing something right."
He reaches out then, to touch Chris' wrist. He doesn't say anything, nothing needs to be said, it's just a gentle, brief little touch that says... a great deal, truth be told. I missed you. I'm proud of you. You deserve happiness. and all manner of things besides.
But then he removes his hand, picks his fork back up.
"The garden would be nice. Let them run around and tire themselves out, and we can talk."