This didn’t surprise Sora. “It’s incredibly fulfilling, magic. Like no other experience. And there’s something amazing about learning what you’re truly meant to do in life. What your calling is. There are so many people who never achieve that. For the mother, I imagine she’d never thought she would have this kind of insight into herself. Of course she’d feel compelled to stay and see it through.”
Ravi relaxed on the bench, chocolate brown eyes captivating as he looked at Sora. “Is that what healing magic is for you?”
The seriousness of the question surprised him. Ravi had never regarded him so frankly before. And it meant he truly wanted an answer.
He didn’t have a ready one to give. Sora had to pause and really think about it for a moment. And he had to think about how to phrase it, how to say it without giving too much away. These half-truths and evasive answers were starting to wear thin. Sora’s nature wasn’t to lie, and he wanted, achingly, to be completely truthful with Ravi. When Ravi himself was so transparent and open, it made him want to respond in kind. It was difficult to be in this position where he was constrained from doing so.
“My family has always been made up of healers. We are known for it. I think, when I was still too young to really question matters, I learned how to heal because everyone in the family did it. Of course I would do it, too, and I wanted to be just like everyone else. It wasn’t until my late teens that I questioned it, why I was learning and investing so much time in it all. Eventually, what I found was I like the challenge of it. And it’s immensely satisfying to look at someone who was once in terrible pain, knowing it was my knowledge and actions that helped them. That restored them back to the health they once enjoyed.”
“Oh, having a challenge is something I completely understand. You’d think my job would be pretty routine and boring on a day-to-day basis, and yet things still somehow stay just crazy enough to keep me on my toes.”
Sora snorted. “I think that has less to do with the job and more to do with you.”
Lifting his glass, Ravi toasted him. “You are not wrong. Here, eat, I didn’t mean to keep you talking. You probably didn’t get lunch today.”
“A sandwich, but that was eaten on the run. There was so much to teach.” Sora took a bite of the roast first and moaned in appreciation.
“Good, right?” Ravi asked in a knowing way.
“It’s so tangy, like a bite of sourness chased by sweetness. The flavor is amazing, and the beef is so tender.”
“We marinate the beef for days before cooking it. It’s a favorite here, but we don’t always go to the effort of making it.”
“A pity. I would definitely like to have this more often.” Sora took another bite with a sigh of bliss. So yummy. Maybe he could beg the recipe off someone. This was definitely something he wanted to take home with him. “Are you on a rotation here, in the kitchens?”
“Oh, yes. We all take turns. Gunter, when it’s his turn, he buys everyone dinner. He seriously burns everything. But most of us choose to cook. Do you? Like to cook?”
“I cook more for survival. That said, I’m a decent cook. Whatever I make generally turns out alright. I’m forever frustrated because I’ll come across some cuisine on my travels that I want to duplicate, and I can rarely find all the ingredients for it, so nothing ever comes out quite right.”
Ravi perked up a little. “You travel?”
“All the time. I’m abroad more than I am at home. The world is full of amazing things, and I really want to see more of it. I started traveling at eighteen, and it’s become something of an ingrained habit now.” Like a secret, Sora leaned a little forward and admitted, “Not all of my trips were for leisure. I’d sometimes sneak elements out of storage and head for a disaster area, somewhere in a developing country where I knew help wouldn’t really be coming.”
Ravi’s expression was shrewd. “For the challenge. Because nothing is challenging for you at home.”
“Nothing at all,” Sora confirmed with a sigh. “It’s very boring at home. But it doesn’t sit well with me, either. I have all of this training and knowledge, and the world is in desperate need of what I know. Why not share it? But, of course, my family is very focused on staying hidden, so it’s not like I can do anything openly.”
“I understand that, trust me.”
Sora’s head came up. Yes. Yes, this man would truly understand.
“Did it grate on you? Having to remain hidden?”
“Sometimes. Often when I flew.” Ravi turned his head to look at the sky, now touched with purples and golds and oranges as the sun sank steadily below the horizon. “Because I had to fly in places where no one was around, or wait for foggy days that would cover me. Or only fly at night. It was so incredibly restrictive. I just wanted to fly when the mood struck. But I knew why I had the restrictions, that Alric was barely managing to keep it all together as it was, which is why I never bucked the system. Well, not on purpose.”
“But that’s obviously changed? If your king is willing to step out into the world again.”
“Having Cameron is what changed him. Hoheit no longer feels like he’s shouldering all the responsibility, and Cameron is very much the outgoing sort. He takes Hoheit’s fears and concerns, and challenges them, turns them on their head. Before Hoheit really knows what hit him, he’d turned his own opinion inside out.” Ravi shook his head, an amused smile on his face. “Mates are amazing. I’ve seen my clanmates, people I’ve known for hundreds of years, become different people because of their mates.”
“In good ways, I hope.”
“Oh yeah. I mean, totally in the best of ways. It’s fascinating to watch.”
Sora sensed what he really meant by that. “You mean, fun to tease them about.”
Grin in place, Ravi didn’t deny this, just innocently bit into his food.
Sora didn’t challenge this but let his expression say volumes on the subject. Such a mischievous little dragon.
He finished off his plate with a sigh of true satisfaction. But, as he put the fork back down, he couldn’t help but comment, “What is that setup over there, anyway? Is that for us?”
“Oh, the bean bags and the projector? Yeah. The courtyard is mainly used for outdoor movie nights. It’s why I set up out here.” Ravi’s grin stretched from ear to ear even as he waggled a playful finger. “We’re not just doing drinks, no, no. That would be boring.”
“And we can’t possibly be boring,” Sora deadpanned, dry as a martini.
“Of course not. Perish the thought.”
“We’re doing a drinking game, aren’t we?” It wasn’t much of a guess.
“Ding, ding, ding! Someone get the man a cookie.”
Sora should have anticipated this. With a wind dragon in charge of dinner, of course things wouldn’t go normally. This dinner was a lure, a false advertisement. But he didn’t mind it. Time spent with Ravi was never boring.
“And what movie are we watching? What’s the game?”
“We are watching, good sir, Lord of the Rings.”
Sora’s interest perked. He’d only seen the movie once, but he’d also read the books and enjoyed both. He was very much a fan of fantasy, so Ravi’s choice was a good one.