the best thing that's ever been mine

Alys

And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined

Time passed. Alys wasn't sure how much, but it hardly mattered with Sascha back in her arms.

The little ursur had crawled into her lap and steadfastly refused to move, burrowed into her hold like a much smaller creature, and the seer had been so overjoyed that she hadn't the heart to tell her to move. Instead, she'd sat with Sascha beside Mort's shrine, whispering praise and adoration to her companion as the sun moved through the sky above.

Eventually, she sat up a little straighter and looked around. There were long shadows cast by the trees, and by her estimation, it had to be late afternoon. Tal would be wondering how things had gone, and even if he wasn't, Alys was eager to reunite their little family.

Without dislodging Sascha from her lap, she reached into a pocket to find the Compass that Tal had loaned her. She closed her fingers around it; there was a twist of time and space, and then they simply appeared on the deck of the Peregrine, as though they'd been there all along.

I once believed love would be black and white
But it's golden

Tal had packages to deliver. Work to do. Supplies to stock up on. Minor repairs to make to the Peregrine.

He had done none of them today.

Instead the courier had paced the deck of his skyboat, restless and wrestling with a rising tide of optimism that he didn't dare quite give in to. Because what if something went wrong? What if Sascha chose to stay with Mort - who was, after all, warm and loving and the best and most perfect god of them all? Or what if one of the tasks hadn't been done quite right? Or what if something interfered with Alys on her way to the shrine--

And then he would pick up some lengths of frayed rope with a scowl and begin splicing them back together for about five minutes to distract himself before his energy became too much and he flung himself back to his feet to pace again.

He had picked up and abandoned half a dozen small projects that way while Boreal nosed around Sascha's bed, plumping it up and positioning it just so in a scaly shadow of her human's fussiness quite unlike the burly dragon. They were quite the pair, until in the middle of Tal going to check the position of the sun for the 34th time a woman and a small bear appeared out of nowhere in the middle of his deck.

The courier froze. So did the dragon.

And then he took three tentative steps towards the pair and sank down onto his knees beside Alys to wrap his arm around her shoulders and extend a hand to Sascha that only trembled a little. His eyes were glassy with shock but Boreal was more accepting of the truth. She bounded over and then dropped onto her belly a few feet away, wriggling forward with joyful huffs. Her scaly tail whipped over the deck behind her as she approached the little cub with a welcoming croon and stretched out her blunt muzzle to gently boop noses with her missing little sister.

"Alys, I... you... she..." Words failed as Tal choked on unshed tears of happiness, squeezing his partner's shoulder tightly and pulling her into his chest, even as he couldn't take his eyes off of the companion who had returned to them.

Alys

And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined

They appeared on the deck of the Peregrine, and for the first time in months, all was right with Alys's world.

There were Tal and Boreal, frozen and staring; and here, in her lap, was Sascha, though as soon as she saw courier and dragon, she was wriggling, trying to get free of her bonded's arms so that she could properly greet the seer's mate and his companion. Before she could do so, however, Tal had taken a few short steps and fallen to his knees beside them. When he reached out a trembling hand, Sascha rumbled a joyful greeting and lunged into his arms (not even the least bit concerned about knocking him over in the process).

Laughing, Alys held out a hand to Boreal, inviting her to join the fray. "She's back, Tal," she whispered as the little ursur wiggled around until she was sprawled across them both, rubbing her head against her humans in greeting while trying to simultaneously reach out to her dragon-sibling to accepting the offered nose-boop. "She's really back. She chose us."

I once believed love would be black and white
But it's golden

He wasn't knocked back, though it was a near thing as he teetered off-balance on his knees for a hot second, arms full of baby bear and laughter bubbling up through the happy tears that snuck down his face in spite of his best efforts to not cry. He buried his face in her fur and pressed a kiss to her head before she wriggled out of his hug. It gave him a chance to rebalance himself and lean into Alys, wrapping one arm around her and leaving the other free to stroke Sascha's white fur as the tears slipped faster and faster down his cheeks.

"She is. She did. Ah, hail, I'm not--" He sniffed and turned his head away to try and dab some of the tears away on his shoulder, but the smile on his face felt permanently attached, especially as he watched Boreal wriggle forward to greet Sascha and then bump her head into Alys's outstretched hand with a happy Aroo-roo-roo that she had absolutely picked up from Tal's sled dogs. The courier laughed and scritched Sasha's shoulders, leaning his head the other direction to rest it against his partner's in utter bliss. "What happened with her an' Mort? What'd he say?" Because he knew what Sascha had said. The proof of it was in their laps, home at last and healing their little family with every moment she remained there.

Alys

And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined

With their family reunited at last, Alys joined Tal in laughter as Sascha did her best to knock him backward, rumbling happy bear noises before wriggling free to greet Boreal properly. They were a mess of tangled limbs and fur, but Alys wouldn't have had it any other way. The seer reached up to help wipe away Tal's happy tears with her thumb, her own eyes damp. Then she settled into their little pile with a happy sigh.

"Well, I told Mort that I'd done as he'd asked, and told him about what I'd learned. And he's - he's so wonderful, but you know that. He said I understood more than most ever do, and told me to call her. And so I did, and I think... I think I sort of saw a glimpse into Mort's halls? And she came out of this... doorway of light, and Mort said that she chose freely to come back." Alys was rambling, but she didn't care. She wished that she could share every moment of her memory with Tal, so that he could see what she'd seen and feel what she'd felt. "And then when I looked up again, he was just gone, and Sascha was here, and it's just - oh, I can't believe she's really back!" As though to agree, Sascha rolled, rubbing her head against Alys's lap in an attempt to get even closer to her bonded.

I once believed love would be black and white
But it's golden

He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, letting her wipe away the tears he hadn't wanted to shed but couldn't deny. At least these were tears of joy and there was no shame in them, and he snuggled back in with her and their companions to listen to her speak.

He let his eyes drift half-closed, imagining the scene as she painted it in words. He kept them open just enough to see Sascha, real and warm and alive on their laps as he stroked her fur, as much to reassure himself that she was alive as to welcome her home. And maybe Alys was rambling a little, but he certainly didn't mind! Mort had the same effect on him, after all, and he nodded against her hair in confirmation of how wonderful the god was. She might have even felt his chest puff up with pride at Mort's compliment to her. He already knew that about his partner, but it was always nice when the gods themselves backed him up on it!

"I'm startin' t'believe it," he murmured, low and rough with emotion as Boreal wriggled closer so she could nuzzle Sascha's shoulder with warm dragon breath. "Even if it's gonna feel like a dream for awhile. Is she... does she need anythin'? Food or water or treats or...?" He squeezed Alys's shoulder, wanting to help but relying on her to tell him what the little bear needed - or wanted - in that moment aside from all the love and affection that they could heap on her in the center of their family pile.

Boreal, on the other hand, heard the word 'treats' and promptly informed her Bonded that some of those would go down quite nicely all around. Though admittedly not in so many words!

Alys

And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined

It was still difficult to believe, that she had secured such a sacred quest from Mort and managed to complete it. Harder still was it to comprehend the decision that Sascha had made to come back to them. Even sharing the bond that she did with her companion, she knew there was depth and nuance to the decision that she could never fully understand, and that made it all the more impressive to her that Sascha had returned. Alys was dedicated to making the most of this chance to be reunited with her little ursur, and determined to love and protect her as best she could.

She snuggled closer to Tal, tucking herself against his side as she stroked Sascha’s head gently. With a free hand, she rubbed Boreal’s horns, not wanting the dragon to feel left out. ”She had all she needed in Mort’s halls,” Alys said after a moment’s silence conference with her companion. Then the seer grinned. ”But she’ll never turn down a treat.” The little bear rumbled something, and Alys put together a few more things that Sascha requested. ”She doesn’t want to go back to Halo for a while,” she translated. ”And she wants us to stay together as much as we can. But other than that, I think she just wants to go back to living.”

I once believed love would be black and white
But it's golden

Boreal was perfectly happy to let Sascha receive all of the attention after how long she'd been gone, but the dragon wasn't going to say 'no' to a little extra affection, either. She rumbled happily as Alys gave her horns a good rub and nestled her head against Sascha's side so she could feel the steady rise and fall of the little bear's ribs with each breath, a tangible reassurance that the companion was alive and well once more.

"An' neither'll this one," Tal gave Boreal a rueful pat of his own as the dragon rolled an eye to gaze at him with gleeful 'innocence' at the mention of treats. He just snorted and reached into his pocket to fish out a couple of pieces of luxere jerky to feed to bear and dragon alike. Boreal took hers daintily between her teeth--

And then, after only a moment's contemplation, she held it there, uneaten. Once Sascha had her treat, Boreal placed hers on Alys's leg and nosed it towards her cub with an encouraging croon. It earned a proud pat from Tal before he went back to petting the ursur again, nodding at Alys's translation of her companion's needs and wants. "We can do that. I'll still need t'make deliveries t'Halo, but y'don't have t'come with. An' I won't be gone long, when I do. But livin'... yeah. Yeah, I get that." The arm around Alys tightened briefly in a hug as he smiled at his partner. "It's somethin' we all should do more of, yeah?"

Alys

And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined

Sascha was more than happy with all of the attention she was receiving, though it was a challenge for the little ursur to return it to two people and a dragon all at once. She rumbled an affectionate noise towards Alys, who had already been on the receiving end of Sascha's excitement, and turned her attention to Tal and Boreal - although at the appearance of treats, she was quickly distracted. She took hers politely, scarfing it down as though to say that she'd missed jerky while she walked Mort's halls; then Boreal kindly provided another, and Sascha took that one just as daintily as the first. After she'd eaten it, she butted her head affectionately against Boreal, making happy little bear noises and just generally making her joy known.

Alys was content to lean against Tal and watch all this unfold, her heart fuller than it had been in months. She pressed against her partner as his arm tightened in a brief hug, smiling up at him. "Definitely." The seer nestled in closer, one hand on Sascha. "And we all will."

fin

I once believed love would be black and white
But it's golden