Debt of Skin

Five: Heavy from the Heat, Heavy in the Heart

"Do not touch me!" Mahe warned for the millionth time. It was now day nine. They were both restless and anxious to finally leave, but they still had at least five more days of solitude. As skilled as Mahe was at appearing serene, even he was beginning to lose his mind in this cell. The hot sun shone through the small window, warming the cell until it was almost unbearable.

Kaliya had long since removed his overshirt, wearing only a light, white silk shirt that was half undone. He had the sleeves pulled up lazily to his elbows, and it was untucked from his waistband. There wasn't anyone to impress in their current situation, yet Mahe made it appoint to keep his appearance fairly formal. His sash, which usually kept his overshirt bound closed, was undone and discarded on his cot. Even he could not bear the heat in its entirety. Otherwise he managed to stay as dignified as always, his own undershirt unperturbed.

This didn't matter, though, because Kaliya was doing everything in his power to make Mahe lose his composure. In this current moment, Mahe was stood on top of his cot, back pressed against the wall. Kaliya was on the ground, gazing up at him with an evil grin. He had a sweaty handkerchief in his hand.

"And if I do?" Kaliya casually asked, waving the handkerchief around. He was threatening to rub it against Mahe, and the idea of that made Mahe fill with disgust. It was like he was trapped in a room with a spoiled toddler that had no understanding of when a game was actually being played by anyone other than himself.

"I'm going to knee you in the jaw." Mahe threatened, and he found that he really did mean it. If Kaliya got any closer, he was going to resort to violence.

His hair was frizzy because this began before he could even get out of bed properly. Without any need for punctuality, Mahe spent his mornings lying around and only rose when the sun was too bright. So when Kaliya waved his sweaty handkerchief in Mahe's face, pretending as if he was going to touch it to him, Mahe could only shoot out of bed and try to escape.

Now they were in a stand off, Mahe as flat against the wall as he could possibly be, and Kaliya perfectly content with ruining the otherwise peaceful morning. "I'd like to see you try."

At the same time, Kaliya leapt forward. Mahe did just as he said he would, raising his knee to bash Kaliya in the jaw. However, he was not as fast as he needed to be. Kaliya grabbed his knee in the same instance that Mahe began to make his move. He jumped off of the cot but was hindered by the hand on his leg. It caused him to fall haphazardly to the ground, rolling onto his back with so much hostility in his expression that Kaliya hesitated for a moment.

But it didn't actually deter him from continuing. As far as he was concerned, he was having the time of his life.

Mahe's back hurt a bit from the fall, but it wasn't too bad. He was too pissed off to even process the feeling of the harsh floor beneath him. All he could see was red as he looked at Kaliya's proud face. He pinned Mahe to the floor with such smugness it was sickening. "You're not quite fast enough. You need to practice your techniques more, this should be second nature to you."

"Get off of me." Mahe sneered through gritted teeth, squirming in Kaliya's grip like a fish out of water. "Have you had your fun?"

Kaliya paused as if to think. Then he returned right back to his enthused expression, no sign of stopping. "I have not. Try to break free from my hold."

Mahe never stopped wriggling beneath him, trying with all of his strength to be released. "I'm not strong enough, dammit! It's too hot for this, can't you just take the win?"

It seemed that they both forgot about the handkerchief, and were now only fighting with no exact goal in mind. Even Mahe was too busy trying to get away from Kaliya to remember exactly why he was originally putting distance between them. The stone floor was absorbing the sun's heat like a furnace, and it was almost unbearable to lay upon it. Not to mention the heat coming off of Kaliya in droves, it was too much. Mahe was beginning to sweat through his undershirt.