Sahin has a crush, Lanthriel is dense, and Kala decides to be Switzerland

“I should go,” Sahin said softly.  He stood, extricating himself from the couch.  Lanthriel looked as if he was about to stand as well, but before he could move, Sahin stooped and pressed his lips to Lanthriel’s in a lingering kiss.

Kala glanced up from the potion she was mixing, realized what she was seeing, and stared.  For his part, Lanthriel looked rather surprised himself.  He said nothing as Sahin pulled away.  Kala’s eyes darted between the two of them, then froze when Sahin cast his gaze on her.

“Kalarune,” he said curtly, as if in farewell.  Kala’s lips parted, ever so slightly, but she had no idea what to say in return.  She felt as if she had just witnessed something quite private. And there was something strange about the way Sahin had looked at her.  It was somehow…threatening.

Sahin lightly trailed his fingertips down Lanthriel’s jaw, murmured a goodbye, and vanished into a plume of scented smoke, leaving warrior and apprentice in uncomfortable silence as both tried to make sense of what had just happened.  Lanthriel touched his mouth, looking lost in thought. Then, as if suddenly recalling Kala’s presence, he shifted his gaze to her.  His pale eyes looked troubled.

“Um.”

Kala realized she was still staring wide-eyed at him, her flask suspended mid-pour.   She cleared her throat awkwardly and looked away, pretending pathetically that she had not seen and was fully engrossed in her potion.  Vaguely she realized she’d poured far too much and ruined it, but her mind was elsewhere.

Were Sahin and Lanthriel…? So it seemed…although, from the way he’d reacted, Lanthriel either hadn’t wanted her to know or hadn’t been aware himself that he was the object of Sahin’s affection.  Kala realized that she’d suspected something like this of Sahin for some time.  But did Lanthriel reciprocate? He hadn’t really done anything when Sahin kissed him but, then again, he hadn’t pushed him away either.  What would become of this development?  She knew of a certainty that such relationships were forbidden in Lanthriel’s faith, and yet…the way they’d held each other’s gazes in that last moment…

These thoughts flitted through Kala’s mind at an almost nauseating speed, landing at last on the look of warning Sahin had pierced her with.  Her stomach clenched coldly.  This all felt very wrong.

Yet…

“It’s…it’s none of my business,” she decided, tucking her hair behind her ear.

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