WRITER’S NOTE:

Writing is in RP format between Tashi/Khian & Cillian.

❤️ - Ruva: Tashi/Khian

🩵 - Sitka: Cillian

🩵🩵 It was quite hot on this late morning right outside Mehwahhetsoan. The sun was already blaring down harshly on the dry landscape around Sitka as he poised ready his battle stance and drew his right arm back to prepare his shot. Ahead of him was a makeshift target 40 yalms away from him. With the brown grass crunching beneath his right foot as he stepped back to position himself better, the blue-haired hhetsarro let loose his arrow only to watch it graze by the tree the target was attached to.

Sitka let out a tired sigh, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. He was having a really hard time today hitting the bullseye for some reason.

Oh, but there was a reason, he chided himself.

Ruva.

Always on his mind, in his dreams, and around him often in camp. The redhead had filled his head every waking hour of the day, and while he enjoyed it at times, just daydreaming about him, it was really starting to bug him. Numerous arrows either lay hidden in the grass around the tree or got stuck on the perimeter of the target, but Sitka huffed to himself, tilted his head side to side to give it a good 'ol crack, and readied himself to nock another arrow. Sitka was currently wearing a high-necked crop top with leather gloves and sturdy leather pants with his usual strapped sandals. He hadn't seen Ruva yet today, but he decided not to find him so he could clear his head for once and try to stay on top of his archery.

❤️❤️

It had taken Ruva quite a while to get used to the higher temperatures of Shaaloani. Back in his home, high up there in the mountains, really hot days were rare. But here the sun could be relentless and the redhead quickly had seen to gather alternative clothing, although he still wore his sturdy top and leather cape on his hunts, no matter the weather. It was his connection to his home. The attire he was used wearing for hunting and traveling since he was a teen. The cape waving like the wings of their hhetso when he moved while still covering his back.

But today he had not planned to go for a hunt so he wore a dark red top that left his arms free and also conjured a nice cleavage while completely covering his back. The outlines of his back stripes were still visible on his neck and partly his flanks because the top was so wide under his arms. It was held in place with a nice belt around his waist and he wore long comfortable linen pants.

After his breakfast he went for a stroll along the outskirts of the village; another old habit. The low humming sound of a flying arrow arrived at his ears and he followed it until he found Sitka practicing with his bow. The tall viper leaned against a tree to Sitka's side and watched him for some seconds noticing that he seemed a bit distracted. Ruva knew that the other Hhetsarro was a more formidable archer than what he was currently displaying.

Ruva's gaze flew over Sitka's appearance, the way he drew the bow, how his arms worked, his tail froze for a heartbeat, how his dark stripes appeared a different shade in this direct sun. A smile appeared on Ruva's lips out of the simple fact that he found it pretty and aesthetic what he saw. This sudden flutter in his belly when he looked at Sitka had stopped surprising him. Now he just appreciated it. He couldn't do anything against it anyway even if that still meant he was unsure what to make of it. His striped tail swayed gently behind him as he stood there in the shade of the tree.

🩵🩵

Another miss. And another. Only three arrows on the target, and none of them had hit their mark like he wanted them to. Sitka was clearly getting pretty frustrated now, and it wasn't helping him any. After nocking one more arrow and narrowing his eyes to focus as best as he could, he let it loose just to watch it graze past the tree again. The smaller man stood there dejected, sagging his shoulders and then unceremoniously dropping his bow to the ground. It was rare that Sitka would get this angry with himself, but now he just felt defeated because he was more bothered with the why of it. Though, that alone told him he was living in nothing but pure denial.

He walked over to the tree and started to slowly collect his arrows one by one. Fatigue was settling in and the sun was beating on him a bit harder than he liked. There was a thin layer of sweat on his face, his arms, his belly and lower back. And right as he turned around to go back to his spot away from the tree to start shooting again, Sitka spotted him. And almost jumped since he was not expecting a spectator in the least.

"R-Ruva!" Sitka didn't walk up to him yet and stood a few yalms away from the redhead, nervously twisting the bow string at the top of his weapon, his quiver hanging loosely on his sweaty back. "Uh... how long have you been watching?" He asked while flitting his eyes over the other man, noticing he was wearing more casual clothing today, and then the butterflies swarmed his belly like mad while his tail erratically swished behind him like a whip.

Gods, this was embarrassing.