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Growing up Fain had never been alone. His brother had been a constant touchstone in his life. When he had completed Wraith’s trial of worth the hunger had not truly touched him, if his brother could do it surely he could too.
When his brother died, that hunger crept back in.
Fain was shaken out of his melancholy by the soft sound of snuffling as Adelgis turned over in the hammock besides his. As bright eyes met his in the dark he felt a gentle presence in his mind, then,
“Fain? It won’t do you any good to dwell on the past. Do you still want to work on your flesh bending? I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d help.”
Fain nodded, feeling a little silly that Adelgis had to be the one to shake him of his stupor. He carefully disentangled his legs from where Wraith lay protectively over them, running a hand over the smooth bone of his wendigo’s snout as they quietly made their way to the deck of The Suneater.
The night was cool and clear, the soft sounds of the crew mostly quieted except for the few on watch high in the rafters.
Adelgis was rendered pale and slightly unearthly in the moonlight, his long black hair providing heavy contrast to the glow of his skin. He was strange and beautiful at night, like a visitor from another planet. When he turned to meet his eye there was a slight furrow to his brow, as if he wasn't quite sure how to interpret Fain’s thoughts.
Proffering his arm he stepped into Fain’s grip,
“Go ahead, and don’t worry about hurting me you’ve seen me take much worse.”
The memory of watching the abyssal leech be removed from Adelgis’ perfect skin sent a shiver down his spine and a sickness to his stomach. He was no stranger to blood, Calisto’s crew had spilled plenty of it, but to see Adelgis writhing on that table as the beast who had fed from his soul was pulled from his body? It was not an image he would forget quickly.
Adelgis’ eyes flicked to his, brown meeting bronze. Fain knew most found that piercing gaze creepy, or felt unnerved by the intrusion in their thoughts but he felt nothing but relief when Adelgis sifted through his memory. He wasn’t sure he would have been able to express the horror he’d felt in that moment aloud, and Moonbeam wouldn’t make him lose face by explaining himself.
“I’m alright, I’m not made of glass.” Adelgis’ tone was softer than Fain deserved. He felt a swift spark of shame, how would he ever get strong enough to be useful to Volke if he let his cowardice hold him back? With a quick nod he gently took Adelgis’ wrist, it was bony and light under his grip. The black stained fingertips of his other hand ran reverently down the smooth skin of Adelgis’ forearm, feeling the resulting shiver. He concentrated, and felt more than saw three shallow furrows appear in Adelgis’ arm. Tracing back over them he put the flesh back where it was supposed to be.
Adelgis flexed his fingers, curling and uncurling a fist, “You’ve come a long way, if you can do this reliably you’ll be a dangerous force to contend with.”
Fain’s chest fizzled at the praise but he tamped it down quickly, “I hope it’s enough.”
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Fain continued to practice with Adelgis anytime the whirring of his mind became too much to sleep, which was to say they practiced almost every night. He was gaining confidence, and had even used his new technique sparring with Volke that morning. Volke’s steady clap on the back and pleased complement still rang in his ears even hours later, the praise a welcome boost.
Tonight when Adelgis woke him from his restless dreams he shuffled willingly after him. But they didn’t head straight to the half of the deck Fain had begun to think of as their training ground, instead Adelgis led him to the small storage area near the captain's cabin and slid to the floor against some barrels. Bemused, Fain sat beside him, shoulders knocking intermittently with the rocking of the ship.
“What’re we doin’ over here?”
Adelgis’ head hit his shoulder and Fain desperately tried not to tense in surprise as soft black hair ran over his collarbone. “I’m worried that none of this is enough. Every night I catch glimpses of our enemies' plans, and there’s nothing I can do to stop them. What good is my mind reading if I can’t sense the important things!”
Letting his head rest gingerly on top of Adelgis’ Fain replied, “You do realize we would all be dead without you right? Hell, you’re so important even Eventide keeps you close.”
Adelgis made a little noise of protest, but Fain pressed on ignoring him. “You can’t expect to fix everything yourself, no matter how cool your mind shit is, it doesn't make you responsible for the war as a whole.”
“I just feel like I never have enough time. I’m always playing catch up when there’s a million things I could be helping with if I only understood how to use my dreams. I’m worn too thin.”
“If this is your way of saying you can’t help me train anymore I won’t be insulted.” Fain said goodnaturedly.
“No!” Adelgis said a bit too fast, smushing his head further down onto Fain’s shoulder. “No, that’s not what I meant. The couple hours we train may be the only fun I have all day”
Fain couldn’t see his face at this angle but he suspected the heat against his shoulder was a blush. “Awe Moonbeam you really do like me! I thought you were just showing pity to a washed up pirate.” He teased.
“Just shut up, I was trying to be sincere.” Adelgis grouched, reaching out to play with Fain’s closest hand. The black tipped fingers were interesting, and he traced the descent of color down the knuckle.
“Did it hurt? When you bonded with Wraith and they changed?“
Fain swept his thumb over both of their fingers, black on cool white. “Didn’t really notice if there was pain but god it itched somethin’ awful. I was just thrilled though. Couldn’t stop lookin’ at em and thinking they were just like my brothers. All I ever wanted to do at that age was copy him.”
Adelgis linked their hands, bringing them up to his lips. As he did he agreed, “They’re cool, I can see why you idolized him.”
Fain’s heart surged, and he hoped Moonbeam wasn’t paying close attention to his thoughts because his mind had been whittled down to the feeling of cool lips against his skin and the clutter of fingers laced between his own. Judging by the smirk he could feel on Adelgis’ lips as he trailed them down his wrist this was a fools errand, as Adelgis must know exactly how he’d affected him.
“You smooth bastard!” Fain finally spit out, tone heavily laced in admiration. “Have you been asking Karna for flirting advice again?”
Adelgis’ laugh shook through his shoulder, and Fain scooted closer to align their legs as well, wanting to feel the whole laugh. It was rare that Adelgis let go enough to laugh, and it felt good that Fain could make that happen.
“I may have asked Karna for a few tips.” He said smugly. “But honestly I’d been meaning to do this for a while.
With that he used his leverage on Fain’s hand to turn him, and slid a hand into the hair behind his ear to pull him close. When Adelgis finally sealed their lips together Fain sent a silent thanks to Karna for whatever advice had led them to this moment, then he used Adelgis’ resulting giggle to slide his tongue past his lips. Moonbeam’s hand untangled itself from his so it could join his other in his hair. When he gave an experimental tug Fain let out a whine and pulled him up into his lap.
Fain was snapped from the moment by a gasp and the sound of Volke’s exasperated voice, “Guysssss what the hell not on the deck!” As he hid his face in Adelgis’ chest he couldn’t even bring himself to be truly embarrassed. He’d caught Volke doing much worse and besides, Adelgis still had that brilliant smile on his face.