Page 92 of All That Has Flown Beyond
“Leave your stuff in the car; we’ll take it to mine later. We’ve got food waiting inside,” Kaiyo offered. The three Kanbaras nodded, following the pack inside.
Luckily, a good meal was an age-old unifier. Lars was drawn out of his shell slightly by Tomoko’s soft demeanour. She shared stories of when she had taken a trip through Europe, describing her favourite parts of Denmark. Lars smiled timidly. It was obvious the memories attached to the land he was from were complicated, but a part of his heart would always belong there.
Amaya and Mori hit it off straight away, their teasing, sarcastic humour bouncing off each other. Isla and Junpei seemed disgruntled with each other, the ten- and eleven-year-olds glaring at each other, but Isla remained fascinated by Mori throughout the meal. Kaiyo realized Mori was probably the first gender-nonconforming person she had seen in person.
“You can ask him any questions you want,” Kaiyo whispered to her when they were alone for a moment in the kitchen. Isla shrugged nonchalantly, but Kaiyo could see the interest she was trying to hide.
Ahmik remained stiff throughout the meal, but he was polite, which was all Kaiyo could ask for from such a complicated situation. Mori and Kaiyo’s easy, familiar interactions couldn’t be missed, and it seemed to be putting the whole Garrow pack a little on edge. It couldn’t be any other way, however. Kaiyo knew it was normal for them to be territorial of Kaiyo, but it was just a side effect of Kaiyo’s bond with the land. It would dissipate as soon as he was gone.
After the meal, the two packs spilt outside to take advantage of the sunny day. Kaiyo sat with the Kanbaras. He had grown used to spending time with his old pack, but the weight of all the memories the land kept was still emotionally exhausting at times. With the Kanbaras, everything was simpler.
“Stop scenting him!” Isla’s irritated bark cut through the easy conversation that had built up. Kaiyo turned to see her glaring at Junpei, who had sat on the grass, pressed against Kaiyo.
“Isla,” Thea admonished, but Isla didn’t take her eyes off the boy.
“What? It’s rude! You can’t just…dothat! Kaiyo belongs to our pack!” Isla protested.
Junpei scrunched up his face. “No, he doesn’t!” he growled back.
“Yes he does!”
“No, he doesn’t! He’s going to joinourpack!”
Isla leapt to her feet, incensed. “No, he isn’t!” she shouted, upset.
“Whoa, whoa. Hey, calm down you guys. Here.” Kaiyo took off his charmed necklace, letting his own scent overpower any scenting that might have been going on. “There. I smell like me, yeah?”
Junpei started at him, twitching his nose. “And like him,” he said, pointing at Ahmik.
Kaiyo turned to look and saw both packs were staring at him. Mori’s eyes were intent and serious, and Kaiyo cursed himself internally for his thoughtless move. He hadn’t planned on keeping what he was doing with Ahmik a secret from him, but this had been a careless way to announce it, even if Mori and Kaiyo weren’t in a romantic relationship.
“Well, Ihavebeen living here for a while,” Kaiyo said. Junpei didn’t look impressed, but Kaiyo went on before the situation could get any worse. “Hey, I’ve got a kite inside. How about you two help me fly it?” Kaiyo got up, waving at the two children to follow him, who did so reluctantly.
Kaiyo wouldn’t call it a bonding exercise, but both of them seemed to calm down as they became distracted by the kite. Kaiyo sighed in relief as he helped them take turns. He hadn’t fully thought through how caught in the middle he would be during the visit. He wasn’t looking forward to trying to find the balance between the two pulling forces.
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The moon had long since risen by the time Kaiyo guided the Kanbaras to his piece of land. He let them settle in at their own cottage, but it wasn’t long before there was a knock on Kaiyo’s door.
“Oh, hey,” Kaiyo said, letting Mori in. He didn’t miss Mori’s deep breath as he stepped inside and blushed, remembering Ahmik’s face the first time he’d crossed the threshold. “Tea?” Kaiyo offered.
“Sure, thank you,” Mori said.
He settled at the kitchen table, looking around as Kaiyo prepared the drink.
“This is a nice place. I was expecting something a little more temporary,” Mori asked as Kaiyo finally sat down next to him.
“Well, it was a full year, so…” Kaiyo shrugged.
“The little girl seems to think it will be for longer,” Mori said.
“She probably…it’s easy to forget I’m here because I’m tied to the land, I guess. I’ve been training her, so…” Kaiyo trailed off. It was probably a big misstep to not have made Kaiyo’s temporary status clearer, but Kaiyo didn’t know how he could have kept reminding Isla without pushing her away.
“Yes. A year can be a long time, especially when you were already tied to this land once,” Mori agreed.
“But itistemporary,” Kaiyo said firmly.
Mori smiled, asking gently, “Is it me you’re trying to convince?”
