They both needed the help sleeping, though Tal's nightmares had calmed considerably with Alys nearby at night. Whether it was hearing her steady breathing while he slept or opening his eyes just enough to see her sleeping face in the moonlight so he could drop back off again without fully waking, he was slowly recovering from the trauma of the void lilies. Even when the darkness of his dreams threatened Ru or Sah or his sisters, having Alys so close at hand helped to reassure him that they were only dreams, and had no power over him.
Not that anyone was getting anything like enough sleep these days. There was too much damage to try and repair, and the voidlings had everyone on edge, always popping up where they were least expected - or wanted.
The bag of small treasures buoyed his spirits, like a talisman against the tragedies in Halo and Torchline, and he pretended to heave a big sigh of relief when Alys revealed it (again). "Thank Frey! I was afraid we were gonna have t'toss Boreal in," he teased, earning a warning huff from the dragon, who flipped her head - and the rope - in a definite opinion of that particular plan.
He stretched his hand out in a gruffly shy invitation as they strolled through the little grove, following the path between the trees that had been smoothed by plenty of other feet before them. "Yeah, well... we both need it," he said, looking up awkwardly into the boughs above them since he didn't have a free hand to rub his neck with. "An' more importantly, we deserve it. Can't be doom an' gloom all day, every day without wearin' ourselves down t'tatters. An' then who'll take care o' us?" He shrugged one shoulder and cleared his throat. "'Sides, all that void stuff, it seems t'fuck around with all sorts o' negative emotions, right? So I figure, by doin' somethin' positive, we're givin' it a big, fat middle finger." He slanted another glance at her, grin tugging at the corners of his mouth again.
Not that anyone was getting anything like enough sleep these days. There was too much damage to try and repair, and the voidlings had everyone on edge, always popping up where they were least expected - or wanted.
The bag of small treasures buoyed his spirits, like a talisman against the tragedies in Halo and Torchline, and he pretended to heave a big sigh of relief when Alys revealed it (again). "Thank Frey! I was afraid we were gonna have t'toss Boreal in," he teased, earning a warning huff from the dragon, who flipped her head - and the rope - in a definite opinion of that particular plan.
He stretched his hand out in a gruffly shy invitation as they strolled through the little grove, following the path between the trees that had been smoothed by plenty of other feet before them. "Yeah, well... we both need it," he said, looking up awkwardly into the boughs above them since he didn't have a free hand to rub his neck with. "An' more importantly, we deserve it. Can't be doom an' gloom all day, every day without wearin' ourselves down t'tatters. An' then who'll take care o' us?" He shrugged one shoulder and cleared his throat. "'Sides, all that void stuff, it seems t'fuck around with all sorts o' negative emotions, right? So I figure, by doin' somethin' positive, we're givin' it a big, fat middle finger." He slanted another glance at her, grin tugging at the corners of his mouth again.
