Lips brushed his forehead, and Basren bent his head to receive that little kiss, feeling wide open. Did he want to know? He fell silent, suspended in that moment with only his breath and the short thrum of his rising pulse, until Sovele pressed a bruise into his hip.<br/><br/><i>A whore and a healthy child would replace you.</i><br/><br/>The warm feeling dissolved into cool acid, splashing into the hollow of his scooped out gut. He was convenient, that was all. There was no warmth, no attachment. He served a purpose, as a substitute, and even past that, he served. If Sovele wanted him, he would have him. Of course it wouldn't matter if Basren had his own family by then. As Sovele had reminded him, he would always serve.<br/><br/>His grip had gone loose at Sovele's shoulders, his eyes staring at his knees, the rise and fall of Sovele's chest just beyond them, still leaned close.<i>If someone managed to impregnate you...</i>Basren flinched at the contact of his finger, and his stomach clenched painfully, as though it had really been some blade.<br/><br/>He didn't dare lift his gaze to Sovele just yet, cracked open to the hurt he'd caused. He'd<i>asked.</i>And besides, he'd always known he was temporary, hadn't he? Not just low content and his father's bastard, but Sovele lived so long. Of course Basren would one day not be there. No one needed his low blood anyway. It wasn't as though he had enough magic to even make a bastard himself, which was, he thought miserably, all for the best.<br/><br/>He didn't bother pushing any more of Alaras' traits. Sovele wasn't going to hear it, and he didn't want to rile him further. He'd done enough damage with his mouth already.<br/><br/><i>What did he think of you? The Langlais boy.</i><br/><br/>Basren took a breath and turned his face up level with Sovele's. A blink and he was composed, though his speech faltered just a fraction before he went on.<br/><br/>"We--" What did Sovele want him to say? Sovele's question was just musing, but Basren was wary now. "We seemed to get on. He was shy of me at first. He thought I was... different, he said. But he let me show him around the garden on my arm, at the end." He hesitated. "Should I... avoid him from now on?"