So We Meet Again {Elessar/Liam}

[Zirin]

The sun was only beginning to rise as Cayin made his way into the stables, quickly going about his morning routine of feeding and caring for his beloved runner Wrythen. He had only just arrived at the Weyr the previous night, but already he was itching to go for a ride. He knew there were other things he was supposed to be doing, like getting settled into the candidate barracks and, more importantly, seeking out the friend he hadn't seen in Turns.

Lehr chirped quietly from his place on His' shoulder, his tiny claws gripping his ear gently as he looked around the stable. He was a little nervous about all the new sights and smells, but his curiosity demanded that he look about. Cayin gave a gentle smile and stroked the small flit's head before taking hold of Wrythen's reins to lead her out of the stables.

"We'll go for a quick ride and then go see if I can't find Liam... yeah that sounds like a plan." He spoke aloud, figuring no one else would be around to hear him at such an hour.

[Elessar]

Liam looked up from where he was brushing Cavallo in his stall. It was an activity that he did daily, sometimes more than once. There was a quiet solitude with the activity, and he gretly enjoyed this solitude, for daily chores as a Candidate were generally busy and noisy and the break was welcome.

Hearing a voice from another stall, however, he stopped brushing his horse and dropped the brush. In the corner of the stall, his dog Thunder stood up, ready to come along with his master. Liam nodded to the dog and exited the stall, where he followed the strangely recognizeable voice to another stall, where a sorrel and white paint horse stood next to a young man that Liam would recognize anywhere.

"CAYIN!" His voice held a tone of clear excitement, and his eyes flashed with happiness. "You're back!" Liam was clearly overjoyed, but did not rush into the stall due to his lack of knowledge of what he assumed to be his friend's horse. "In all these years you couldn't visit, not once?! Why are you back?! Are you staying? Did you get searched? Are you a Journeyman now? Are you here to stay?!" The barrage of questions was followed by breathless silence. "Please stay."

[Zirin]

He turned at the sound of a voice, at first not recognizing it as it was deeper than the voice he remembered, but one look at Liam was all it took for Cayin to break out in a happy smile. Apparently today was his lucky day! Liam had come to him! He stepped out of the stall, making sure Wrythen wouldn't go anywhere before moving to grab the other man up in a quick, friendly hug.

"You've grown Liam," He said first, smiling as he sorted out the various questions he had been asked. "You know how busy apprenticeships can be Liam... I wanted to visit, I just didn't have the marks to come this far until recently. Now I'm here though, and I got to see you so soon, I feel so lucky." His smile only grew as he looked over the man he hadn't seen in forever. With a cheeky grin, he pointed at his knots, the colours showing his apprenticeship in the glasscraft. "I'm supposed to pick up the candidate knots later today. What about you?"

He jumped suddenly, running back into the stall to rummage through Wrythen's saddlebag before coming back out a small leather package. "I missed a lot of your birthdays..." She said sheepishly, handing over the little package; within was a simple decorative necklace. he had wanted to do something more special, but having not seen Liam in Turns he didn't know what the man would like anymore. Lehr cheeped curiously from his shoulder.

[Elessar]

Liam was startled by the hug, but returned it fiercely. His grin only spread, and he patted his oldest friend on the back, moving away from the hug, his eyes shining happily. He was so overjoyed to see his friend again!

He laughed at Cayin's comment. "You've grown, too! More than I have, though!" It was true, as Cayin was a bit taller than he was. "And I know, I know... you know I would have come to visit you if you would let me. But yes, it's certainly lucky I ran into yo so soon!" He grinned back at his friend happily, and nodded at the knots, but then blinked. "You're a Candidate?! Me too! Izanycorth and Kayath just clutched, so lessons should be starting soon and we might have a touching!" He smiled widely.

Liam blinked as his friend suddenly started searching through his saddle bags. As Cayin handed over a small package, Liam found himself blushing. "My birthdays were nothing special..." He opened the package and gasped. "Cayin! It's beautiful!" He immediately clasped the necklace around his neck, where it hung with his other jewlery. "So, you brought a horse, huh? Let's take a ride! I've got a horse of my own, and a dog."

The Candidate whistled, and Thunder surged forward, sniffing eagerly at Cayin's shoes and pants, his tail wagging furiously. Liam grinned. "I'll be right back!" Returning to Cavallo's stall, he rapidly saddled and bridled his large black horse and led him into the lane, over in front of where Cayin was. "C'mon! Let's take a ride and catch up. I know a really nice place along the beach. We could grab some food from the kitchens on the way and have a picnic!"

[Zirin]

Cayin grinned down at the shorter candidate, a flush of happiness on his face as Liam complemented his work. He had hoped the man would like it, but this was even better than his expectations. Yes, today was certainly turning out to be a great day already.

"Ah, yes. Wrythen was a gift from my uncle. I was just getting her ready for a ride. It will be fun to ride together again." He knelt down as Liam ran off and the canine approached, offering his hand to Thunder and giving the fluffy dog a good (but respectfully wary pat) before stepping back to Wrythen and leading the mare out.

"A picnic? I'd love to... I'm afraid the Turns away from home have made me forget my way around though. Perhaps I'll have to bother you for a grand tour afterwards as well? Do you have your own place yet?" He glanced back as Cayin lead his runner over. "Now thats a good looking boy... what's his name?"

[Elessar]

Thunder snuffed eagerly at the offered hand, tail still wagging. Any friend of Liam's was a friend of his! His tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, he sat down, his tail still wagging energetically.

Liam grinned. "It will indeed be fun to tide together... and maybe one day soon we'll be riding dragons together! It'd be great!" He laughed, voice obviously happy. Being reunited with his friend was good. Finding out Cayin was staying at the Weyr, as a Candidate, was even better. He gave his friend another tight hug before retreating.

"No worries. I can give you a tour later, and run in real quick and grab the stuff for the picnic. But when we get back I'll definitely give you the grand tour. I don't have my own place, due to being a Candidate... hey, do you have a roommate yet? Maybe we could be roommates!"

Looking proudly at his runner, he grinned. "This is Cavallo. He's stubborn as a dragon sometimes, but he's a good boy over all." Walking out of the stables, he clambored onto Cavallo's back, having a bit of difficulty due to the runner being so large. "Now come on!" He called back to Cayin. "We've got a lot of catching up to do!" With that, he spurred Cavallo into a gallop and set him on the path toward the Weyr kitchens.

[Zirin]

"I don't really know if I'm dragon material," He chuckled sadly. His masters had always commented on his airheadedness when he was practicing his craft. Well, he could focus when he absolutely had to... but most of the time it was just too easy to get distracted! He was almost too distracted with that thought to notice Liam was hugging him again. Luckily though he was able to quickly wrap his arms around his close friend in a tight bear hug before the other pulled away.

"We haven't slept together since we were children," He chuckled, an innocent grin on his face. Their days in the creche seemed so long ago now. Cayin missed them sometimes.. but now he could be Liam's roommate? "Nothing would make me happier Liam." He chuckled, watching the shorter man make his way onto the large black runner.

"You're so graceful," He teased playfully before easily pulling himself onto his smaller mare and setting her off at a similar pace. He loved this, the wind in his hair and a runner beneath him.

[Elessar]

Liam snorted. "You were searched, weren't you? That means you're dragon material. Maybe you won't Impress at this Hatching, but I'm convinced you'll eventually get a dragon, and instead of runners, we'll be riding dragons together!" He grinned as Cayin bear hugged him quickly before he pulled away.

Liam blushed furiously at Cayin's next comment. "You're right, we haven't. Being roommates again will be just like old times, huh?" He was a bit unnerved to realize that he was rather attracted to his old friend, and was glad that he was soon galloping off on Cavallo.

He ignored Cayin's comment on his gracefulness. He had neverbeen very graceful, as his friend well knew, and Cavallo was huge! After all, Liam himself was only five feet and two inches.

Pulling Cavallo to a stop in front of the kitchens, Liam dismounted, and called back to Cayin. "Wait here, be back in a second!" Rushing into the kitchens, he quickly grabbed enough food for a picnic and shoved it all into a leather bag, along with a stolen skin of wine. Coming back out, he put the bag into his saddle bags.

"Alright, let's go!" He hauled himself onto Cavallo's broad back again, this time setting off at a brisk trot. "Ready for a picnic in one of the most beautiful spots at the whole Weyr?"

[Zirin]

Cayin was blissfully unaware of the blush, having turned back to Wrythen. "It makes me think of staying up all night playing and telling ghost stories. Think we'll have roommates? Or maybe we'll have the place to ourselves huh?" He slowed Wrythen to a gentle stop as Liam dismounted and ran into the kitchens. He waited patiently, letting his eyes wander to the clouds and enjoying the sights and smells of the Weyr he had grown up in.

"Wine? A good Benden I hope," He chuckled, watching Liam mount up again and pushing Wrythen into a trot to follow. "Most beautiful place? Is it somewhere I haven't seen?" He grinned as they raced along, the sun glinting off his earring. "It feels nice just to be back here, to see you. I wanted to visit earlier." He had missed this. He had missed having someone to ride with and talk to.

[Elessar]

Liam laughed gleefully. His days spent in the creche were rather miserable... except when Cayin was around. The other man made his life tolerable... made his life good. Liam could fondly recall the times Cayin spoke of, of telling ghost stories and playing games. It almost made him wish he was a child again.

...actually, he really wished he was a child again, with some of the more-than-friendly-thoughts about Cayin that were currently running through his head at that moment. The other male was following him at a trot, and Liam was so caught up in his imagination that he almost missed his friend's question.

"No, you've seen it. It's the cove on the beach where we use to play. Remember? There's the big tree that had the hollow base that we'd hide in. It was our fort. And then down from the tree it became sand and opened up into the cove, where we'd build sandcastles."

By this time, they were nearing the beach. As they hit the sand, Liam stopped Cavallo and looked at Cayin with a mischiveous look in his eye. "Race to to the cove!" He shouted suddenly, kicking his runner into the fastest gallop he could muster.

[Zirin]

Cayin had always loved making his friends happy, especially Liam; the man had always been quiet as a kid, but he seemed to be a lot more open now. He wondered if Liam was this happy in front of others, or if his visit was something special.

"I wonder if we'd still fit? Well.. you might," He teased playfully as he rode up beside the larger runner. "It feels weird going back after all this time. I was beginning to think I'd never see Trelis again." The thought had always made him sad and lonely. Trelis was and always would be his home. Truth be told, he had wanted to get his journeyman status and get assigned to Trelis just so he could come visit.

When the challenge of a race came up, it took Cayin a moment to respond, but after a brief moment he kicked Wrythen into racing. The mare loved to run and was soon hot on Cavallo's heels. Cayin could feel Lehr's claws digging into his skin as the white tried to hold on for dear life. "The tree is the finish line!" He called, urging Wrythen to move faster. He knew they wouldn't win, Wrythen was still tired from their long journey, but it was fun anyways.

They passed the tree and Cayin immediately slowed his runner, looping around to a place where he could tie her up and let her get some rest. Sliding off her he dropped into the sand gleefully. "Riding with someone is so much more fun than being alone." His stomach gave an audible grumble then and he sat up, blushing sheepishly.

[Elessar]

Liam ignored his friend's comment... but shot Cayin a glare. "You might fit, if we squished you...." he mused, contemplaying the idea. The Candidate was glad his friend was back, despite his teasing. "I'm glad you're back, too. It does feel kinda weird having you back, but it's a good kind of weird. And if you never came back, I would have dragged you back."

Even though Cavallo was a slower, heavier horse, he won the race due to Wrythen's exhaustion from the long journey. It wasn't a win Liam could gloat over as he crossed past the tree, their makeshift finish line, and slowed his Cavallo to a stop.

He walked the horse for a bit before tying him next to Cayin's mare. "Yeah, I definitely agree. Riding alone is nice when you're angry or frustrated, but having someone along is always nice." He laughed when his friend's stomach rumbled, and began to unpack the saddle bags.

Spreading out a blanket first, he laid out some meat-rolls, a couple of bubbly pies, tubers, and other assorted edibles he had gathered from the kitchen, along with the skin of wine. Sitting down gratefully, he laughed, simply for the pleasure of laughing. He was never this open around other people. Only Cayin. Only Cayin could make him this sharding happy.

[Zirin]

"You always did drag me everywhere," He replied lazily. He had never minded when Liam had come up with an adventure or goal for the day. It had always been fun either way. So far, today was no different. Their little trip was already making him feel like he had back when they were kids. He had missed moments like this. He had made plenty of friends at the hold, but none were quite as close to him as Liam. They had grown up together, learned together, gotten into trouble together. He didn't think anyone could ever replace this particular friendship.

"Shards Li, you brought enough food to feed a Hold!" He chuckled, moving up behind Liam, and throwing an arm haphazardly over the other man's shoulder before reaching down to pluck a meatroll. Humming happily, he tossed the morsel in his mouth; they had always been his favourite. "Mmmm still the same old Trelis taste. The ones at the Hold weren't as tasty."

[Elessar]

Liam laughed. "It's because if I didn't drag you anywhere you'd sit around and do nothing all day! Doing nothing is no fun!" He grinned. It was true that he had dragged Cayin everywhere, and gotten him in loads of touble, to boot. But he was always there to get him out of trouble.

Liam had worried himself sick over his friend when Cayin left. Liam was no longer around to protect him, and it worried him to no end.

"Yeah, well.. stealing food from the kitchens has always been a talent of mine, as you well know." As children, many hot bubbly pies had been stolen and consumed, resulting in burnt fingers and tongue, but happy, troublesome boys.

As Cayin threw an arm around him, Liam stiffened, then relaxed into his friend's body, his cheeks flushed a bright red. "I missed you, Cay," he whispered, letting himself sink into the other man's hold. "In more way than one...."

[Zirin]

"I didn't sit around," He replied with a light pout, "I watched the clouds or the stars and thought about things." Okay, so he had simply been day dreaming, but it was a good excuse nonetheless, wasn't it? Besides, sometimes it was good to stop and smell the roses and simply enjoy life for what it was.

Leaving behind everything he had known had been a big change, especially Liam. He no longer had someone to drag him around for adventures and troublemaking. It had made his first few months at the Hold troublesome; he often forgot to go to lessons or do his studies. Once he had begun glasscrafting he had simply forgotten to do anything outside his chosen craft.

"The headwoman hated us because of that," He grinned, "Remember that time we ended up having to scrub the kitchen walls as punishment?" He shuddered at the memory. His arms had been sore for a week after that. He glanced at Liam as the man whispered, something unusual for Liam to do around him.

"Silly, there's only one way to miss someone, isn't there?" He grinned. He had missed Liam more than the man probably knew. His grin grew and poked his friend's cheek. "You sure sunburn easily, you're redder than a Holdgirl."