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+---- Thread: blind hope (/showthread.php?tid=10819)
blind hope - Alys - 03-06-2025
Alys hurried back to the Peregrine, for once not fleeing Sascha’s ghost but carrying it with her like a precious gift. Her eyes were alight with excitement. After everything they’d been through, all that they’d lost, there finally seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel, at least where Sascha’s loss was concerned. There was a long road ahead of her, it was true, but just the knowledge that it was possible had her almost giddy.
She climbed the rope ladder with the ease of long practice. Though she wasn’t quite as adept as Tal, she liked to think that she had gotten better over the years of travel together. As she climbed, she worked to temper her joy. Things had been difficult for Tal during and after the events of LongNight, and she didn’t want to forget his trauma. He deserved every bit of patience and grace she could give him, after he’d been so wonderful with her. Maybe, she hoped, this news would cheer him up a bit, even if it couldn’t erase what had happened to him.
[say]”Tal, love?”[/say] she called as she boarded the Peregrine. [say]”Are you here?”[/say] Because for all she knew, he might be out on a delivery right now, leaving her to wait impatiently for his return.
RE: blind hope - Talyson - 03-11-2025
"Alys?" His voice came from the small hold. It wasn't really a question - even if he hadn't known her voice better than his own by now, he had Boreal's excited croon in the back of his thoughts as she recognized the Seer and dropped from the spars to thump onto the deck. He climbed out of the tightly-packed hull where they stored their ship's supplies and his packages for delivery, pale eyes lightening further with relief to see his partner again.
He wasn't afraid to let her out of his sight, but there was no denying that he felt better when they were together again. After losing Sascha... after LongNight...
He shook himself, shoving those dark thoughts away, and pushed his Goggles up onto his forehead. Boreal was pressing against Alys's leg, a glacial cockleburr of a dragon rumbling her affection for the witchy seer for both of them. "What is it, love?"
RE: blind hope - Alys - 03-11-2025
Alys couldn’t help but smile at Boreal, reaching out to scratch the dragon’s horns affectionately. When Sascha had first died, Alys had expected to feel distance from the dragon, a result of the faint hint of jealousy that had taken root in her chest that Boreal was still here when Sascha wasn’t. Not that she would ever wish her experience on anyone, let alone her partner, but she couldn’t help the initial reaction all the same. But Boreal had, if anything, burrowed her way further into the seer’s heart.
Tal appeared, and Alys went to him. She wrapped her arms around his middle in greeting, almost as if to reassure herself that he was here and he was fine - physically, anyway. [say]”You know how I went to pray to Mort to take care of Sascha?”[/say] she said without preamble. [say]”Well, this time… he answered.”[/say]
RE: blind hope - Talyson - 03-11-2025
Alys was all that Boreal had left of her cub, and the dragon had attached herself to the seer as if by doing so she could prevent the woman from disappearing from her life the way Sascha had. Seeing them together had eased Tal's heart as well whenever they were close enough for him to feel the bond with his companion and sense Alys's presence through it, even when they were in separate rooms or out of each other's sight. Some of that had eased with time, but he had welcomed the new bond between woman and dragon, just glad that they had each found some measure of solace in each other just as he found with both of them.
He opened his arms to his partner, folding her into his embrace and pressing a kiss to the top of her head even before she spoke. Mention of Mort sent a pang through him, reminded of the jerky treats he had asked the god to convey to the little bear in the afterlife, but it was quickly overwhelmed with surprise as the full import of her words sank in. "Wait, so... Mort... Mort himself... answered your prayer?" His gob was well and truly smacked, jaw falling open in surprise that was swiftly replaced with sorrow-tinged joy. "Alys, that's amazin'! What... what'd he say about her?" Tentatively hopeful but with an undercurrent of grief, all he dared want was that the small companion was content and lacked for nothing in Mort's halls while she waited for them to join her.
RE: blind hope - Alys - 03-12-2025
Alys couldn’t hide her smile, glowing with the remnants of Mort’s effect on her. As an Abandoned, she had never dreamed that she would be blessed with a visit from one of the Big Gods, and yet here she was, with not only a visit from Sascha to buoy her spirits but the promise of a quest to return the little ursur to her side.
[say]”He actually… let me talk to her,”[/say] Alys said, her voice hushed with awe. [say]”It was incredible, Tal. I wish you’d been there, too.”[/say] She glanced up at her partner with something like guilt; she’d set out for the shrine alone today, never thinking that she’d have been able to see the beloved companion who they both missed so much. If she’d have known, she would have brought him, too, if only so that he could see that Sascha was well and looked after in Mort’s Halls. [say]”She looked… perfect,”[/say] Alys added wistfully, though her voice wasn’t laced with the pain that usually accompanied discussion of Sascha.
[say]”And there’s more. He said that there was a way to bring Sascha back. Mort gave me a quest, Tal!”[/say] By now, the seer was bubbling with excitement. [say]”It won’t be easy, but - she could come back to us.”[/say]
RE: blind hope - Talyson - 03-12-2025
He could feel her joy as an echo of his own awe. Even though he'd met Mort several times now, it never ceased to be an overwhelming experience, and he'd always wished that Alys could meet the god with him. That she had done so all on her own, without the aid of an Accepted, felt way more momentous - and, hopefully, meant that her fortunes with the other gods might improve as well.
He hugged her tighter, reveling in the bittersweet triumph of the moment and feeling something loosen in his chest at the news that she had been allowed to see Sascha. His throat closed as tears welled up in his eyes at Mort's kindness, speechless with the gift that his partner had received. To be able to see her companion again, at least for a little while...
But the surprises weren't finished yet.
He heard her voice, but the words didn't make sense at first. It was too much to dream of. Too much to hope for. And yet...
He loosened his hold so that he could pull back far enough to see her face. He needed to see the truth of it in her eyes and expression, but when he did he let out a wild "Whoop!" of joy, picking his lovely partner up and spinning her around on the deck while Boreal bounced around them, catching their excitement. "I can't believe it! She's really... we gonna get t'see her again? An' she can stay??" He set her down, his momentum still spinning them around as he clung to her, laughter bubbling up to belie the tears that sparkled at the corners of his eyes. "Alys, that's amazin'! What d'you need? I'll do anythin' t'bring her home!"
RE: blind hope - Alys - 03-12-2025
Tal hugged her tighter, but his hold suddenly slackened as Alys's words seemed to sink in. Then he grabbed her, twirling her around with a whoop of joy; Alys shrieked and giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck giddily as they spun. Boreal bounced around them, and even without Sascha, the promise of bringing their family back together had Alys feeling like the world had righted itself at last.
When Tal set her down, she reached up to cup his face in her hands, her own eyes sparkling with tears. [say]"She can stay,"[/say] she confirmed. [say]"As long as she wants to come back. I won't force her, if she doesn't want to. But if she wants it and I complete Mort's tasks, then yes - we'll all be together again."[/say]
Standing on tiptoe to lean her forehead against her partner's, Alys closed her eyes, then recited her tasks from memory. [say]"I'm supposed to talk to three people who have died and returned, so that I can understand what Sascha will go through. I thought I'd talk to Zavien, but I'm not sure who else. I also have to collect and bring back water from Frey's Breath and the Eyes of Vi, and then -"[/say] She hesitated. Even with the challenge of the first task, she rather thought the last would be harder. [say]"I have to collect as much snow as I can from the place where she died and bring it - and her body - back to Mort."[/say] Alys swallowed hard. She hadn't braved Halo since the yeti battle, and she wasn't keen to go back. Somehow, over the course of Deepfrost, both Halo and King's End had stopped feeling safe.
But for Sascha, she would do anything, go anywhere. For Sascha, it would be worth it.
RE: blind hope - Talyson - 03-14-2025
Tal didn't bother to say it out loud, but he couldn't imagine Sascha staying away from Alys's side one second longer than she had to. He knew that was how he'd feel, at any rate, and he could sense through their bond that Boreal felt the same. He pulled Alys close again, leaning down to meet her so they could touch with that quiet intimacy that meant so much to them both and closing his eyes so he could better focus on what she said. He wanted to remember every word, burning them into his memory so he could help.
Dead people, the waters of life, and...
He swallowed as well, but gave a tiny nod, feeling the smoothness of her skin against his and drawing in the warm, comforting scent of his partner. Boreal had stopped jumping but was still pacing happy circles around them, bumping her horned head gently against their legs at random moments when her emotions got the better of her. "Th'Peregrine'll take you wherever y'need t'go," he promised without hesitation. "An' I can... can dig 'er body up. That's not somethin' y'should have t'see." Dig it up in its linen shroud and put it in a box to take to Mort, so that no piece could go missing in the travel. "Dead-people-wise, uh... well, Ronin's pretty famously died before, I think? He's a really nice guy in spite of all the legends an' stuff. I'm sure he'd talk t'you," he assured his partner eagerly. "Maea, too, I think."
He gave her waist a gentle squeeze, tilting his head to press a kiss to her cheek. Whatever it took, they'd bring their missing family member home again and make them all whole.
Or as whole as he could be, in the wake of LongNight's sin.
RE: blind hope - Alys - 03-14-2025
It was admittedly a lot to take in, but Tal listened and absorbed the tasks just as she'd known he would. At his quiet insistence that he be the one to dig up Sascha's body, Alys swallowed hard. [say]"We'll do it together,"[/say] she insisted softly, lowering a hand to stroke Boreal's horns as the dragon bumped into her. [say]"You shouldn't have to do that alone, either."[/say] In this, her stubbornness would win out; it was, after all, her quest, and though she appreciated Tal's help (and a small part of her wanted to take him up on the offer), that wasn't something that she would subject him to.
Fortunately for Alys, Tal had met more people than she ever would, on his delivery routes, no doubt, and he was quick to offer up additional names for her to speak with. Ronin was a name that was familiar, though she'd never met the man. As for Maea, Alys hadn't realized that she'd died before, and the knowledge was met with a sharp intake of breath. Still, at least it gave her a place to start, and if either of them wouldn't talk to her, she'd keep looking until she found someone that would.
Tal's kiss on her cheek was met with a gentle smile. She could feel his joy, his hope, just as she could feel the darkness that festered beneath it all, the guilt for something that he should never have had to do. [say]"We'll get her back,"[/say] Alys promised, somehow managing to press herself even closer to her partner, as though her mere presence could chase the shadows away. It was the best she could offer - at least for now.
RE: blind hope - Talyson - 03-16-2025
"Together," he promised on a sigh, slipping his fingers into the warm fall of her hair. As much as he didn't want to put her through that trauma, it was her quest and her decision to make. He might disagree with it, but he would support her and follow her lead. Whatever she needed from him - whatever it took to reunite her and all of them with Sascha - he would make sure she had.
And he had a few suggestions, at least, to speed her quest along. He offered them eagerly, having nothing but respect and friendship for Ronin and Maea and blithely content to recommend her meeting them. Hail, he should see about meeting up with Maea again soon, too.
Anything to avoid being left with his own thoughts for too long. His own memories. The face of that poor woman, flecked with blood--
"We will," he agreed fiercely, holding his partner tightly and letting her warmth chase away the darkness for a little longer. "She'll be back safe with us come hail or high water." A vow he would keep if it meant flying to the ends of Caido, though it sounded like the tasks Mort had given would keep them a little closer to home.
~Fin