The siv inspected his bowlful of fruit, stirring around in the ish'infal, watching little beads of juice gather on his fingers. "We don't want to miss Rali's bonding," He murmured, glancing over at Xander and Pairdra. His mates and their two children were busy with Rali and Iriya, doing whatever it was they did to make themselves laugh like that. Normally, he'd be in the middle of it all, making sure that Pairdra didn't get ignored when soft jabs got thrown out.

Baura frowned. There was more. He wondered if it was ok for him to push the issue. "And?"

Saelen sighed. "It was a convenient excuse to get out of Tragith, really."

"What?" Baura squawked. "Did something happen?"

The siv laughed softly. "You mean, did one of us somehow manage to subvert the happy lives of Razh's native residents? No. We just..."

"Hmm?" Baura murmured.

"We're not comfortable there. Not like we were in Na'alha," Saelen admitted. "I suppose we got used to living in the cold, in stone houses, with dalhari all around."

"Then why did you leave?" The dalhari inquired.

"We thought we needed to," Saelen admitted. "It didn't seem right to keep living on Laio's charity." All during their stay in Na'alha, Saelen's family had felt a niggling feeling of dependence, as though they were amusing oddities the dalhari kept around for variety.

"Oh," Baura said. "But you weren't, you know. Do you think you might stay? In Na'alha, that is?" He tried to hide his hope; Baura himself wanted to return to Na'alha and would overjoyed to have some of his favorite friends there with him.

"We really haven't talked about it," Saelen admitted. "I think Pairdra and Xander want to, but I'm not so sure about Mai'zi and Hainien. They're much younger and might like to live amongst siv, you know?"

Baura nodded understandingly; the younger siv might want to find mates of their own species and start families of their own. That would be difficult in Na'alha. "But you do know you're always welcome?"

Saelen nodded. "How are your studies?" He asked, changing the subject.

The young dalhari grinned. "Very well. My teachers are very good. You'll have to meet them sometime."

"Yes, we will," Rali stated, joining Baura and Saelen. "I want to meet the people who have managed to live with you for this long without inflicting physical damage."

Baura grinned. "It's been a close thing." He glanced briefly at Xander. "They're probably in the library now, glued to their favorite ancient books. We can stop by on our way to the kitchens." He didn't mention that the kitchens were nowhere near the library. What was the point? Besides, the library was a perfect place for Wesley to first see this person from his own world. "And no yimkia, I promise, Iriya."

Dawn rolled her eyes and leaned against Rali. "I'd love to see the library," She said, not commenting on the yimkia jab.

•••

Wesley leaned against the library table, wishing that he wasn't so determined to translate a certain celebration from a northern dialect to a southern one. How could one language have mutually exclusive dialects? He felt someone pause behind him. "Rraiec? Why am I doing this to myself?"

"For the same reason you torture me with that kind of assignment," Baura commented. "What is that word you used for it?"

"Masochism," Wesley replied, turning around. He found himself face to face with his student--and a large group of unfamiliar people. He was more than a little surprised to see five siv joining the two dalhari who were next to Baura. "Hello," He said tentatively.

Xander peered at the green dalhari who had just stood up. There was something... familiar about him, but he couldn't place it at all. "Sorry to interrupt your studies," Xander murmured. "Baura was just showing us around."

"Keisri, this is my niece Rali, Iriya who she will be bonding with soon, and Mai'zi, Hainien, Saelen, Pairdra and Xander," Baura introduced.

"Xander?" Wesley whispered. "Baura said that you were here, but..."

Xander stepped forward. "I know you, don't I?"

"Wesley," Wesley said, voice shaking. "I was a--"

"Watcher," Dawn said suddenly. "You're here!" She stared at Wesley as though he'd grown a second head. "When..."

Wesley stared at the dalhari who could only be Dawn. He'd last seen her as an awkward, angry teenager. Now, though, she was an adult, fully mature, and dalhari. His eyes slid over to Xander. The young man was nearly unrecognizable underneath dark brown fur and the unfamiliar features of the siv. Still, if Wesley poured over his memories and really looked, he could see the once-awkward young man in this person in front of him. "How..."

Baura frowned. How did Keisri know Iriya? "I don’t understand..."

Mai'zi and Hainien watched the proceedings with great interest. They hadn't seen such a fascinating display of confusion since their last practical joke... the one that had gotten them yet another lecture by Xander. This Keisri, or Wesley, looked more than a little worried and anxious. Hainien wondered if he was going to collapse.

"Iriya is from their world as well," Rali explained. She wished that she'd had a chance to tell Baura about her lover, but things hadn't worked out that way.

"Dawn," Wesley murmured. "You came over as a child."

Dawn smirked. "Something like that, yeah. How'd you get here? Accident, or did you mean to come here?" She asked the man.

Wesley's head was still spinning. He'd never thought he'd actually meet Xander--when Baura told him about Spike and Xander, Wesley had privately decided that he'd never go to them. It seemed that fate had decided his plans were unsatisfactory; now he was faced with two of three people he knew to be here from his old world. "Ah, I did so on purpose," He admitted.

"Probably didn't land in the middle of a t'kth-vaali raid, though," Xander muttered.

"No, I ended up under a mountain of books," Wesley replied. He glanced around the library, looking for Rraiec. The cold tingle of tension and anxiety began to creep up his spine and he forced it back down with a fierce mental shove. "How was your travel?"

Xander smiled at the abrupt change of subject. How like the Wesley he remembered to avoid difficult discussions on personal topics. "It was fine. Other than the whole riding-on-ifnan for days on end, a nice trip," He replied.

Wesley smiled nervously, trying to think up something to say. "Keisri, Baura," Rraiec said as he walked up to the group. "I did not know you had lessons today." The blue dalhari glanced from person to person. Keisri looked nervous, shaky and tense. Rraiec was reminded of the last time his lover had suffered a breakdown. He wondered what these people had said to so disturb the man.

Baura recognized the look on Rraiec's face. His calmer teacher was always watchful of Keisri, who for all his strengths also had a rare fragility about him. It didn't help that Mai'zi and Hainien were studying Keisri as though he was the newest neat thing to crawl out of the treetops. This situation could easily spiral into something very ugly. "We were just going to the kitchens," He said quickly. "I shall see you tomorrow for lessons, however."

Rraiec nodded to the newcomers as they left with Baura. He could wait to be introduced to them; besides, from the way that Keisri looked, he knew some of them. "Would you like to retire for the day?" Rraiec inquired. "You have been here for hours."

Wesley lifted worried, frightened eyes to his lover's face. "Yes, I believe some rest is in order," He murmured. "Definitely."

Rraiec led a dazed and unsteady Wesley back to the younger dalhari's quarters. He settled his lover down in a sea of cushions and blankets. Then he sank down beside the man and waited. In time, they would talk.

"Dawn is the Slayer's sister," Wesley began. "She was distraught when Xander disappeared. Somehow she ended up here." He really didn't want to think about why she was here, or what would happen.

"Ah," Rraiec murmured. "Does she hate you? Hold any enmity towards you?"

Wesley frowned. "I wouldn't think so, no."

"Would Xander? Does he have a reason to dislike you?" Rraiec continued.

"I was an ass towards him when he was younger," Wesley admitted. "But not that bad."

Rraiec slid closer to Wesley. "So why are you so upset? Is it just that this is a surprise?" Wesley was not always quick to adjust to new situations. Rraiec had seen the truth of that firsthand. It would be in everyone's best interests for Wesley to adjust to this new situation as quickly as possible.

"Perhaps," Wesley admitted. "Xander, and the others, they just... I don't know what to do."

"Why do you have to do anything?" Rraiec asked Wesley. "Keisri, they do not expect anything out of you. Remember, you have not seen them for more than a century. Also, they are here to see Baura."

"I know," Wesley admitted. "I was just... caught off-guard. I"ll be fine, though."

"I know," Rraiec murmured, holding the tired and shaky man close to him. Although he wasn't really tired, Rraiec stayed with Wesley for the rest of the day, watching him sleep.

•••

"Wesley seems a little... odd," Rali commented to Dawn and Xander as they ate their meal. "Was he always that way?"

Dawn nodded her head absently. She was still in shock over seeing the man here. For all of its size, this world seemed to be a very small place indeed.

Xander shrugged. "I remember him being a bit nervous and stuffy," He admitted. "Kind of like the elders in Shaen, actually." He too wasn't sure what to make of Wesley's presence.

Baura frowned. "I think we just surprised him," He countered. "Keisri is not fond of most types of surprises."

"Perhaps if you'd told him that we were coming, he would've been prepared," Rali said dryly. "If he's not the easygoing sort, I'm sure we overwhelmed him."

Baura nodded. As usual, he hadn't thought about that. He probably owed Keisri an apology, for being so inconsiderate.

"Anyway," Saelen said, hoping to shift the topic of conversation, "Are you considering returning to Na'alha, Baura?"

"Probably," Baura replied. "At least for a visit. I would like to see my family again." And now that he'd injured one of his teachers, he felt the need to flee even more acutely. Would he ever learn?

"Until then, however, I think we should talk," Rali stated. "I haven't seen Baura in years, and neither has Xander."

"And I wish to learn about the person who is going to be bonded with my niece," Baura shot back.

Rali growled, knowing that Baura, like everyone else, was only doing it to get a rise out of him. "Indeed. Should we retire, then, to more comfortable quarters?"

By mutual agreement the group adjourned to the spacious rooms provided by the hold to Xander's family. The huge fireplace roared with an inviting fire as Rali introduced Dawn to Baura, trying unsuccessfully to ward off embarrassing questions. As usual, Baura made everyone blush, digging into their personal lives with youthful enthusiasm.

Baura enjoyed the lively interplay, but part of his mind still worried about Keisri. He wasn't sure how to broach the topic of an apology, or if his teacher would even accept one. Maybe he'd pushed too many times, made more mistakes than he was allowed. And if Keisri refused to teach him, Rraiec would soon follow. Baura loved his instructors dearly and did not want to lose either their place as his teachers or their friendship. It was quite the dilemma for the young student.

Pairdra watched Baura fret, knowing that it was because of the dalhari they'd scared in the library. He thought that it was good for the boy to have to worry and dwell on such issues; at least Baura was concerned with the man's well-being. It had taken more time and effort to convince Mai'zi and Hainien to do the same, and they still played around more than their parents would've liked. Pairdra was confident that the student would do the right thing. Eventually.