His eyes glowed. Kaiba's eyes glowed! It was as if someone ignited a torch behind Kaiba Seto's eyes that shone brilliantly for two seconds before dimming back to smoldering cinders the shade of a clear, autumn sky. It wasn't natural and it most definitely wasn't human.
"What by Ra's holy fire are you?!"
The words flew from his mouth but they weren't his own. Yugi could feel the spirit of the Puzzle pressing close to his mind to the point he could barely tell where he ended and Yami began. It was comforting and terrifying at the same time. Yami's ability to manipulate Yugi's body had always been a point of curiosity and concern for both of them. But it did have its uses, like now.
Yugi couldn't speak but Yami certainly could. "Speak Kaiba!" Yami demanded. "What are you?"
Kaiba merely leaned back against the wall and regarded them with a mild expression. "You see?" he said in a calm voice. "If you could remember, you would know what I am and you would not be reacting as you are now."
Something ghosted across Kaiba's calm features so fast Yugi barely caught it. But he would recognize that emotion anywhere. He'd seen it often enough in his own face over the past year and a half. Ever since his blackouts began and people he knew began going insane or getting hurt or outright dying... Ever since he solved the Millennium Puzzle, he'd begun to look at himself in the mirror with that emotion. When he first confessed his fears of there being someone else inside of him, someone scary, to his friends Jounouchi, Honda, and Anzu, he'd worn that emotion like a heavy cape he couldn't shed.
Only his friend's reassurances and steady presence kept him from succumbing to it wholly and completely. His friends, the one thing he'd wished for when he finished the Millennium Puzzle, saved him from his heartache. Did Kaiba have anyone to save him from his?
Yugi felt Yami flinch at Kaiba's jab and start to retaliate, but the next person to speak startled everyone.
"Both of you, relax!"
Eyes wide, Yami and Yugi both turned to where Jounouchi stood, hands in his pockets and slouched in a casual stance. Jounouchi nodded to Honda behind Yugi and said calmly, "You're scaring him."
Oh! He and Yami turned to Honda and Yugi felt the spirit's genuine worry for their friend roll over him like a soothing blanket. It warmed Yugi's heart to see how far the spirit had come.
But Honda was clearly not doing as well as Yami. Honda's dark brown eyes were wide in his too pale face and he'd pressed himself up against the wall, as far away from Kaiba as he could get in the little room. He wasn't saying anything but his eyes were screaming in silent fear and recognition?
"You've seen this before," Yami murmured, echoing Yugi's thoughts.
:Judging from his reaction, I'd say back in the cult,: Yugi whispered. :And if that's the case, then-:
"So have I," Jounouchi spoke up.
:Called it.:
"Restrain yourself, Yugi," Kaiba said sternly, his oddly warped voice drawing their gazes. "I made your lapdog promise not to tell you. I'm very good at making people obey me."
:That's not intimidating at all,: Yami thought, earning himself a brush of gentle patience from Yugi. "Why?" he asked aloud. :More importantly-: "Will Honda be alright?" he asked.
Kaiba tilted his head and regarded Honda thoughtfully. "It's likely he remembers some of his time under the influence Setesh's nish'ta," he said. His forehead creased in contemplation. "It is unusual for someone like him to remember something so specific, however. Usually, victims remember things in their dreams where glowing eyes and an unnatural voice are normal."
Something danced in Kaiba's eyes and Yami blinked.
:Was that... a joke?: Yugi murmured. :Did Kaiba just make a joke?:
:It would appear we know less about him than I thought,: Yami agreed.
"You have a twisted sense of humor, man," Jounouchi griped, shaking his head. "Honda," he called to his still petrified friend. "I'm serious. It's okay. He's not gonna hurt you. You can relax. Trust me."
Slowly, Honda inched away from the wall and approached the flimsy metal and plastic table, keeping his eyes on Kaiba. Everyone waited while Honda attempted to put words to his fears. Both Yami and Yugi noticed how outwardly calm and patient Kaiba seemed as they waited. It was almost like a parent waiting for a child to ask the question they really wanted to know the answer to but were afraid to ask because they knew they probably wouldn't like the answer.
Finally, Honda swallowed thickly, squared his shoulders, and asked, "Who are you?"
"Kaiba Seto," Kaiba replied. Then, after a moment of silence, "but I used to go by the name Set. Though I think you'll probably remember calling me Neph-"
"Nephthys," Honda said, nodding. "I do remember that."
Kabia rolled his shoulders in what looked suspiciously like discomfort. Hmm. Maybe this was just as uncomfortable for him as it was for Honda, Kaiba was just better at hiding it.
"You always called Seth, Setesh," Honda said, his confidence slowly beginning to show in his words. "I vaguely remember thinking you didn't like him."
Now that was a very Kaiba-esque sneer. "I don't," Kaiba sniffed. "I despise his existence."
:That is a lot of hatred,: Yami murmured. :Jounouchi was right. Kaiba and Seth do have a history. I'd wager it's a rather colorful history too.:
:I never doubted Jounouchi,: Yugi said.
:Neither did I,: Yami replied. :But it's always good to have solid proof if available.:
Yugi nudged the spirit with what could pass as a playful poke before slipping back in control of him body. However, the moment he did, Kaiba's attention locked onto him with a startling intensity that caught Yugi off guard.
Dark eyebrows furrowed over sharp, blue eyes as Kaiba stepped away from the wall and rested both hands on the table. His gaze never left Yugi's for an instant.
"To whom am I speaking?" he asked.
Yugi flinched, feeling Yami's own shock close to the forefront of his mind.
"It's Yug'," Jounouchi answered before they could. "You can tell by the eyes."
:Why is he-:
Yugi quickly soothed the spirit's ruffled feathers and calmed his mind. "It's true," he said.
"You're lying," Kaiba hissed.
"I'm not," Yugi said firmly, holding Kaiba's gaze.
Kaiba glared, then straightened, scooped up the Millennium Rod, and swept towards the door. "I don't have the time to deal with liars," he snapped, the inhuman warping in his voice vanishing as he spoke.
"He's not lying, Kaiba," Jounouchi said, deliberately stepping between the CEO and the door. "Yugi's here. But Yami is also here. Yugi's like his host."
Kaiba stilled, glancing over his shoulder at Yugi suspiciously.
"Yami is the spirit of the Puzzle," Yugi said, feeling the cool gold of the reverse pyramid shape against his palm. "He's been here since I solved it. We can switch back and forth if we want to. It was the only way we could defeat Pegasus when he used the Millennium Eye to read our minds and changed our duel to a Shadow Game."
Yugi hesitated before he continued. He didn't like remembering this. Every time he did, he could feel Yami remember as well and the ensuing rush of guilt and crippling fear was almost physical in its intensity.
"I almost didn't make it," Yugi admitted softly, dropping his gaze to the Millennium Puzzle, feeling Yami squirm self-consciously. "Every time I took over to play a card, it cost me. I lost consciousness at one point. I don't remember much after that until the game was over."
:I never would have won without your help, Yugi,: Yami whispered, pride and relief in surging over Yugi's mind. :That last move was masterful, and it was of your making. Not mine.:
"We were able to block Pegasus power when Yugi and Yami couldn't switch minds anymore," Honda said suddenly, drawing their attention. "Me, Jounouchi, and Anzu, I mean. I don't really know how to explain it, but we felt it when Yugi lost consciousness and we were able to keep Pegasus out of Yugi's mind."
Kaiba turned to face them, crossing his arms, the Rod's bladed head resting against his bicep. "All of you?" he asked, glancing at Jounouchi. "How?"
"How is your voice back to normal?" Honda countered.
:Good question,: Yami added.
"How about this," Yugi said peaceably. "You explain what you meant about the Egyptian Gods, and we'll tell you everything that happened at Duelist Kingdom."
"Not good enough," Kaiba said curtly. "I want to know about the time before that as well." His eyes narrowed. "You cast not one, but two Penalty Games on me. Someone who loses consciousness during a simple Shadow Game couldn't possibly manage a feat like that."
Yugi grimaced but sighed. "That wasn't me," he reluctantly admitted. "It was Yami. Both times." He frowned. "And what do you mean by 'simple'? There was nothing simple about that Shadow Game."
"On the contrary," Kaiba said. "It was simple. Pegasus initiated the Shadow Game while you were in the middle of a duel, correct?" Yugi nodded. "Did he change any of the rules of the duel? State any additional rules or stipulations?"
Yugi shook his head. "Nothing except that summoning took energy and if I ran out of energy, I lost the Game and if I lost the Game," he clutched the Millennium Puzzle, "I lost my soul just like I lost Grandpa's, yours, and Mokuba's."
"Then it was a simple Shadow Game," Kaiba stated firmly. "Pegasus could use the Eye, true, but I doubt he fully understood it or had access to all of its powers. The rules of a duel are clear to any true duelist. There was no need for him to restate them, especially when the Shadow Game was enacted in the middle of one. In that case, Pegasus' Shadow Game would simply use the rules of the duel already in progress at that point as a reference."
"But the drain on my energy-"
"Is typical," Kaiba said, cutting Yugi off. "A Shadow Game draws from the players' souls. Every move you make, every Spell you cast, Trap you set, or Monster you summon drains some of your Ba from you. If a new, untrained player is allowed to participate without any buffers to protect them from the soul drain of a Shadow Game and are unable to continue playing to completion, or they lose the Game, more often than not they die." Blue eyes glanced at Jounouchi before returning to Yugi. "You were lucky," he added.
"Lucky?" Yugi murmured. :I certainly didn't feel lucky.:
"You weren't alone," Kaiba said. "Your puppy," Yugi winced at Jounouchi's annoyed snarl, "seems to have the favor of Lady Luck. Honda has a sharp mind that can remember details even after being subjected to nish'ta. Details most people would never be able to recover except under intense hypnotism. That girl, Anzu, seems to have a form of clairvoyance with the unique ability to know when the people she cares about are in danger. You all have that to an extent," he said, looking at all three of them, "but Honda and Jounouchi's focus is locked on you, Yugi, while hers in more general."
Kaiba sighed. "The fact you managed to gather such a unique group of people into your inner ring of confidence is more than just coincidence," he said. "The Millennium Items choose their bearers and, believe me, they are picky. Once they find the person they want as their own, they hold on tighter than a star's gravity. They don't just let go."
Kaiba hesitated, then tossed the Millennium Rod to a stunned Yugi who just barely managed to catch it. The moment he did, however, he had the distinct feeling he wasn't wanted. He felt dirty and itchy like he was covered in thick, smelly, drying mud that would take forever to get off. Or like he was drowning in an oil slick. It was disgusting and did not belong.
Wait. Those weren't Yugi's emotions. Those things were coming from the Rod itself. But how?
"You feel that?" Kaiba said lowly. "It's aware of you, Yugi. It doesn't like you, but it tolerates your presence. The only reason it tolerates you is because it knows who you are and knows you have no desire to keep it." He held out his hand. "Now, give it back to me."
Yugi did just that as quickly as he could and the feeling of disgust vanished abruptly. Bewildered, he flexed his hands, half expecting to find a thin, slippery film where the imaginary oil or mud used to be.
"The Millennium Items are sentient, but not like you and me," Kaiba said. "They want what they want, they are what they are, and they choose who they choose. They cannot be changed. They simply are. Each Item has a purpose. Separate, they are powerful and deadly. Together, wielded in tandem by their seven chosen bearers, they are invincible."
His eyes flashed gold again. "With these, a great man once drove those who had the audacity to set themselves up as gods and enslave the Human race off the face of the Earth. He won, but at a high cost. He didn't survive the feat."
Huh. There was the sadness again. It was there but buried so deep that it almost hurt to see its remnants in Kaiba's eyes. Yugi had only seen sadness like that in his mother's eyes when something reminded her of Yugi's father, or when Grandpa reminisced about his wife who died before Yugi was born. It was the sadness of someone who knew the pain of loss first hand. Which meant Kaiba...
"You knew him," Yugi whispered.
Surprise, resignation, then exhaustion. "I did," Kaiba said, somehow holding himself up despite the shadow that seemed to fall over his form. "He was a good man. Much better than I deserved."
Oh. "Did you love him?" Yugi asked.
And there was a more Kaiba-like glare. "Not like that," the CEO grumbled in annoyance. "He was my... We were close friends," he said.
Yugi didn't miss the change of words, but he didn't press Kaiba on it. The fact he'd gotten the CEO to talk this much about personal things was impressive enough.
"I'm sorry."
It was wholly insufficient, but it was all Yugi could offer. Judging from Kaiba's shallow nod and downcast eyes, it was enough.
"These 'false gods'," Yugi said, changing the subject to something less depressing, "where were they driven to?"
A smirk wormed its way onto Kaiba's lips and Yugi bit back a relieved smile. This seemed to be safer, more familiar territory.
"Space."
Um...
"Kaiba," Yugi said, smiling crookedly, "I was being serious."
"So was I."
Um???
"You mean like outer space?" Yugi said flatly. "As in aliens from outer space?"
Kaiba's smirk grew. "I'd show you, but I have a rather powerful survival instinct. Besides, I like this host. I'd hate to lose it. Especially after all the effort I put into it."
"Host?" Yugi felt himself and Yami ask at the same time.
Interestingly enough, Kaiba tilted his head. "Is Yami there now?" he asked.
Yugi blinked. "You can sense him?"
Absently, Kaiba nodded. "Now that I know what to look for, yes," he said.
"So," Honda said suddenly, raising his hand like a schoolboy, "is it just me, or are you deliberately avoiding the elephant in the room?"
"Two elephants, my friend," Jounouchi corrected. "Two elephants. Aliens," he held up one finger, "and the host thing," he held up a second finger, "which you mentioned to me before," he said, pointing at Kaiba "but never bothered to explain. Then or now."
Kaiba hesitated, eventually avoiding their gazes entirely. "Do you remember those people who helped us escape?" he asked. "The ones who killed Setesh?"
"Yeah," Honda said. "I mean, I didn't actually see them kill him, but I believe you. Why do you keep calling him that, by the way?"
"Because that's his real name. Seth was just a pseudonym," Kaiba said, dismissing the question.
"Like Nephthys." Kaiba glared viciously at him and Honda quickly raised both hands in surrender. "Okay! Okay! Not using that name again. Sorry!"
"He's an alien," Jounouchi said without preamble, sticking his thumb at Kaiba. "So's that Setesh dude and one of the guys who got us out of that cult. The blonde chick was the alien's kid which is a thought I am still trying to get out of my head."
"You're disgusting," Kaiba growled. "And you're wrong. She's not the alien's daughter. There's no way that's possible. It's more likely her father was taken as a host." He paused, thinking over what he'd just said. "Which does bring to mind another question I mean to ask them when we meet them again."
:Host?: Yami wondered silently.
"You think we will?" Yugi asked.
"It's likely," Kaiba said grimly.
"But they were only there for the cult and Seth," Honda said, his expression unsure. "Why would they go after us? You don't think that," he glanced around at the walls nervously, "they'll arrest me, er, us, just because we were there, do you?"
"You and Yugi? Doubtful. You were obviously victims. If anyone else remembers anything, including that military strike team, they would all vouch for your innocence," Kaiba said. "However, me, and maybe you," he added turning to Jounouchi, "they might. I'd be surprised if they didn't remember me. They freed themselves of Setesh's nish'ta sometime between when I spoke to the woman in the hallway and Setesh attacked me. They were aware of themselves when Setesh and I fought. They know my face. I don't think they saw yours, but they did hear me mention a First Prime."
"First Prime," Honda murmured with a frown as if trying to remember something from a long time ago. "I called you First Prime," he said, pointing to Jounouchi. "When you were dragging me all over the compound."
"Had to keep you busy, track Yugi down, and get the lay of the place," Jounouchi said with a shrug. "First Prime is just a title. Something like an alien Prime Minister, I guess." He turned back to Kaiba and demanded, "You fought that crazy bastard? Alone? I thought you were just going to talk with him. No wonder everything went to hell so fast."
Kaiba bristled, his blue eyes narrowing in fury. "Would you talk peacefully with someone who was threatening to strip you of everything that made you you?" he hissed viciously. "Your name, your freedom, your independence, your personality, everything, until you were nothing but a helpless tool in their hands doing whatever they commanded and wishing you could just slit your own throat and end it? And then have him almost succeed in doing just that when, by all rights, it should not have been fucking possible?" His glacial eyes glowed brilliant gold. "You bet your skinny ass I fought back."
Jounouchi had retreated so his back pressed against the wall under Kaiba's verbal onslaught. Visibly reining in his temper, his face smoothing over from hateful fury to cool, restrained disdain, Kaiba stepped back, clutching the Millennium Rod. Twirling it effortlessly, he slipped it through a loop strapped to his belt and began tapping the bladed orb absently in the heavy silence.
"I don't understand," Yugi said, hoping to ease the tension and draw Kaiba's attention away from his friend. "What you said just now. It's like... Could Seth steal your soul?"
"No," Kaiba said with a sigh. "Thank Ra. As far as I know, Setesh was never aware of that being a remote possibility. Most people don't know that's possible outside of purely religious contexts." He paused. "Some religious contexts anyway," he added.
"Like I said before," Jounouchi said, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Alien cult leader. Take me with you!" he said dramatically to the ceiling. Then frowned and glared at Kaiba. "You're distracting us again. Host. What is it?"
"It sounds like a parasite," Honda said, crossing his arms and eyeing Kaiba suspiciously. "Like a tapeworm has a host."
Kaiba crossed his arms and said, "I'd rather not talk about it." His expression dared Honda to press the issue.
Jounouchi scoffed. "Come on, dude," he complained. "You look normal. I mean, your skin's darker than most Japanese people, yeah, but that's not unusual. Besides, everyone knows you and Mokuba were adopted by that big shot Gozaburo. So you're obviously no Roswell gray." He shrugged. "So what are you? Shapeshifter like that Justice League guy from the comics? Some kind of real-life Yeerk brain-controlling parasite from Ani..morphs...?"
"I don't speak idiot," Kaiba said, adopting an aloof manner. "Try talking instead of barking, mutt."
"Kaiba," Yugi groaned, his shoulders drooping as he waited for inevitable explosion from his blonde friend. But it never came. Instead of lashing out in anger like Jounouchi usually did, Yugi was surprised to see his blonde friend's face go slack with surprised comprehension tinged with fear.
"Host," Jounouchi murmured. "Yeerks took hosts. They walked, talked, and acted like humans, but they were being controlled. They had no free will. The person they had been was suppressed while the Yeerk took over. Like a parasite taking over a host."
That sounded a bit fantastical. But Yugi had seen crazier things. It still sounded a bit farfetched, even for Jounouchi. Except Kaiba made no move to correct him. The CEO just stood silent, staring at nothing in particular.
"I'm right, aren't I," Jounouchi said softly. "That's what you are. Not a Yeerk, I mean, but something similar."
The roar of the crowd just beyond the temporary walls of the little KaibaCorp display structure seemed like an endless roll of thunder in the ensuing silence. Yugi didn't know what a Yeerk-thing was. He'd never even heard of the word before. Neither had Yami. Even Honda who stood next to Yugi looked somewhat confused. But he had a good idea from Jounouchi damning description.
"That's why you don't want to talk about it," Jounouchi said. His brown eyes were dark with grim understanding. He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "That's what Setesh was too, and that woman's dad." He frowned. "She could use that hand device too. Was she-"
"No," Kaiba said, cutting him off. "She was once, but she isn't anymore. I don't know how. Separation, through natural death or forced extraction, is always a death sentence for the host." His forehead creased in worried confusion. "I don't know how she survived."
"But she did." Jounouchi raked his fingers through his hair and held onto the back of his neck, obviously stressed. "Maybe you can ask her-"
"And allow myself to be forcefully extracted to be experimented on or tortured while my host dies without me to keep it alive and functioning?" Kaiba snapped, some of the anger he'd kept under control slipping out as he met Jounouchi's brown eyes. "There is no one else here except for me. There never was. I can leave my host for a short time as long as I do so freely and have easy access back. But I can never leave it for an extended period of time without risking it dying."
Brown eyes hardened. "Your host is a person," Jounouchi argued. "Can't you just..." he gestured vaguely, "let him out to talk for a bit? Some fresh air or something?"
"You don't get it!" Kaiba roared, taking full advantage of his height to loom over Jounouchi. "There is no one here but me. The person who was here died. He died 5,000 years ago before he was even old enough to have a complete sense of self let alone a fully developed consciousness. I wasn't given a choice of host. I was implanted when I was barely mature enough to handle controlling a host let alone make a choice like that. When I entered, I did what instinct told me to do: survive. The host died in every way that mattered leaving me alone in here. There is no one to suppress because it's just me! It has always been just me!"
Yugi could barely breathe. As a spirit, Yami had no need to breathe, but the mind-numbing shock Yugi could feel meshing with his own mind was just as real and intimate as his own. Especially when it so closely mirrored his own horrified comprehension. He'd followed every word Kaiba said, but it just didn't seem real. It was too fantastical.
His fingers brushed the cool gold of the Millennium Puzzle and doubt began to filter into his mind. It was fantastical, but it wasn't unbelievable. In just the short year and a half since Yugi solved the Puzzle, he'd seen things, done things that he'd only ever read about in manga and seen in movies. Soul stealing gold eyeballs seemed much more unrealistic than aliens. Parasitic aliens who controlled people and were, if Kaiba was to be believed, 5,000 years old was at least science based. Relatively speaking.
Kaiba seemed just as surprised by his own outburst as everyone else. His eyes were so wide Yugi could make out a ring of white surrounding the blue irises. His face was pale and haunted. He looked like the moment he realized he couldn't defeat Pegasus at Duelist Kingdom. Like he'd lost everything and knew there was no way to get it back, no way around the inevitable, no way to win, no way to survive.
Then he straightened so he stood ramrod straight and his face shuttered, purging any hint of emotion other than aloof disdain. How long had it taken for him to perfect that? Yugi was almost afraid to think about it.
Turning the handle, Kaiba pulled the door open. "Get out," he commanded.
Stunned, Yugi didn't move fast enough to suit Kaiba.
"Kel vak!" the CEO snapped in a voice long familiar with giving orders that were expected to be obeyed. "All of you."
Yugi didn't have to know what those words meant to understand what Kaiba wanted. Yami seemed to understand the words though and it hurt to be treated so coldly. It was as if they were starting over at the beginning, strangers with no history of dueling, rivalry, or growth and potential friendship. Dismissed. Kaiba had dismissed them. A part of Yugi wondered if the CEO was dismissing them from just the KaibaCorp display or from his life altogether.
Jounouchi and Honda stepped out first leaving Yugi to take up the rear. But he couldn't leave it like this. Something deep in his heart warned him that if he did, their relationship would never be repaired. He was afraid and confused, yes. But he didn't want to lose Kaiba. Not now.
"Kaiba," he said, stopping in the doorway to look up at the CEO's unreadable eyes. "Set," he said, noting the faintest hint of surprise and an even fainter flicker of hope in Kaiba's eyes. "I trust you," he said gently. "I don't understand everything, but I do trust you."
The eerie blankness in Kaiba's eyes was still present, but the tiny flicker of hope was visible in the way Kaiba's brow smoothed ever so slightly.
"You haven't tried to hurt us," Yugi said, "you haven't lied to us, and you helped us knowing you wouldn't get anything out of it. Just because I asked." Yugi's smile was small but genuine. "Even if you are a- a Yeerk-thing."
It was barely noticeable, but Yugi could see the hints of tension drift away from Kaiba's form. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Just when Yugi was about to step out of the doorway, Kaiba spoke. It was hard to hear over the roar of the people in the Dealer's Room but Yugi heard it clearly nonetheless.
"It's Goa'uld. We're called Goa'uld."
The door shut silently leaving them standing out in the KaibaCorp display alone. But Yugi still smiled because he hadn't lost Kaiba. There was still hope.
~~XxX~~
Behind the clouds, the sun was setting across the Puget Sound. Kaiba couldn't bring himself to appreciate it. At least it wasn't drizzling anymore. It would start again soon, though. He had a small window to work with and he had no way of knowing if any of them were here or not. They may not be.
He'd left the display in Mokuba's capable hands so he could retreat to his hotel room and recover. To think his walls, thousands of years in the making, could be so thoroughly shattered by an obnoxious dog and the face of the man he served without reservation, but who didn't know him. Every time he looked at Yugi and saw the lack of recognition and companionship, it hurt. It hurt more than he realized.
"Keest'ra," he whispered into the cool breeze.
His fingers brushing the smooth gold of the Millennium Rod. His Shadows thrummed as if a tuning fork had been struck and thrust into their midst. It was a call he rarely made, choosing to let his children come to him should they wish. But he needed them now. He needed them.
"Neith," he murmured, pouring his turmoil into his Shadows to fuel them and aid him in his summons. "Neith, re."
It took a while, but the relief he felt when familiar brown feathers speckled with white fluttered into view. When razor sharp talons latched onto his sleeved arm, he pulled the falcon close and buried his nose in her feathers and sought relief in the sense of naquadah in the bird's veins. She was one of his and she would never judge him. She wasn't Kisara or his mother, both long lost and beyond his reach, but she was his and that's all that mattered right now.