The stars had always steered him true for as long as he'd been old enough to name them. First as a teenager, running a dog sled with trade goods and supplies around the Tundra and Sea of Glass, and later as a young captain of his very own skyboat. As long as he had the stars he could chart his course across land, sea, and sky.
But though they shone above him tonight, only partially obscured by gauzy veils of flirtatious clouds, he struggled to find the direction for his heart.
And then Alys leaned against him, her head on his shoulder, and the courier let out the shuddering breath that he'd forgotten he was holding. He slid his arm around her without thinking, tilting his head to rest his check against her soft hair, and for a moment his anxiousness slipped away.
"An' th'one after that," he agreed without hesitation, warmed all the way down to his toes that she wanted to keep sailing with him. To keep exploring the wonders of Caido together, even if it sometimes meant stumbling across the world's shadows. Once the thought of sharing the Peregrine with an apprentice had made him a nervous wreck. Now, somewhere in the past season when he hadn't been looking, sharing his floating home with the seer had become as comfortable as breathing.
He felt her start to shift and he straightened a little so he could look down at her, admiring the play of starlight in her eyes. Maybe she was no Safrin, but she was here, and warm, and brave, and kind, and nowhere near as scary as a goddess could be in all Her celestial perfection.
He didn't smile at her teasing, but only because he could feel the heat in his ears and the back of his neck as he struggled to get the words out, at least as best he could. They still weren't the right words, but at least they were a start. He felt the hand settle on his arm, small and strong and reassuring, and he huffed a soft sigh that was almost a smile as her sincerity shone through in her own words. They left a warmth that bloomed in his chest and spread out towards his fingers and toes and the very tips of his hair until he felt like he might be glowing.
The embarrassment of that thought had him ducking his head again and clearing his throat against a very different lump of emotion that had suddenly lodged there.
"Ah... well... thanks. I... thanks." Biting his lip, he forced himself to look up again to meet her eyes, though it was one of the harder things he'd done in his life. "Would you... I mean. Would you be interested in maybe comin' along for... for more'n just a season? You an' me an' Sascha an' Boreal... we make a pretty good team, yeah? An' I know y'said you're not really interested in... in anythin' other'n bein' friends. An' that's okay! But havin' you part o' my life, well... y'make it better, just th'way we are now. An' I don't want t'lose you," he added, voice dropping to an embarrassed mumble by the end, though even then he didn't look away.
But though they shone above him tonight, only partially obscured by gauzy veils of flirtatious clouds, he struggled to find the direction for his heart.
And then Alys leaned against him, her head on his shoulder, and the courier let out the shuddering breath that he'd forgotten he was holding. He slid his arm around her without thinking, tilting his head to rest his check against her soft hair, and for a moment his anxiousness slipped away.
"An' th'one after that," he agreed without hesitation, warmed all the way down to his toes that she wanted to keep sailing with him. To keep exploring the wonders of Caido together, even if it sometimes meant stumbling across the world's shadows. Once the thought of sharing the Peregrine with an apprentice had made him a nervous wreck. Now, somewhere in the past season when he hadn't been looking, sharing his floating home with the seer had become as comfortable as breathing.
He felt her start to shift and he straightened a little so he could look down at her, admiring the play of starlight in her eyes. Maybe she was no Safrin, but she was here, and warm, and brave, and kind, and nowhere near as scary as a goddess could be in all Her celestial perfection.
He didn't smile at her teasing, but only because he could feel the heat in his ears and the back of his neck as he struggled to get the words out, at least as best he could. They still weren't the right words, but at least they were a start. He felt the hand settle on his arm, small and strong and reassuring, and he huffed a soft sigh that was almost a smile as her sincerity shone through in her own words. They left a warmth that bloomed in his chest and spread out towards his fingers and toes and the very tips of his hair until he felt like he might be glowing.
The embarrassment of that thought had him ducking his head again and clearing his throat against a very different lump of emotion that had suddenly lodged there.
"Ah... well... thanks. I... thanks." Biting his lip, he forced himself to look up again to meet her eyes, though it was one of the harder things he'd done in his life. "Would you... I mean. Would you be interested in maybe comin' along for... for more'n just a season? You an' me an' Sascha an' Boreal... we make a pretty good team, yeah? An' I know y'said you're not really interested in... in anythin' other'n bein' friends. An' that's okay! But havin' you part o' my life, well... y'make it better, just th'way we are now. An' I don't want t'lose you," he added, voice dropping to an embarrassed mumble by the end, though even then he didn't look away.
