[se] painted me golden

Longnight was over, but it was still a shame to have to take down the decorations that Tal had meticulously organized one day while Alys had been out of the house. She remembered how enamored she'd been when she'd gotten home, surprised and delighted by the holiday cheer that had permeated their home as a result of her partner's efforts. It was a far cry from what she'd been used to in the past, when she'd hardly celebrated at all. Still, it was time to clean up and put the house back in order - especially because they'd both be traveling a great deal more this season, and if they didn't take care of it now, she wasn't sure when they'd get around to it.

"It's still so pretty," she sighed, glancing towards Tal as she reluctantly removed a wreath from over the fireplace. "I know we won't be home as much to enjoy it, but it's a shame to take it all down." Even if the wreaths were starting to brown a little around the edges. Nearby, Sascha rose onto her hind legs, gingerly selecting a decoration that she could remove easily, then trotted to begin making a little pile of items to be discarded or packed away for next year.

Alys

Tal had been very proud of his and Koa's efforts, and there was no denying how much cozier the place had been during LongNight with a little festive greenery around to bring the reminder of life to the darkness that they'd kept at bay with fire and lantern and laughter. Seeing the happiness on Alys's face when she'd come home to it the first time had been reward enough for the hard work he'd put in, and he'd insisted on leaving it up for a few extra days into Flowerbirth while the snow was still melting on the ground outside.

But now the snow had melted, and Alys made a very good point that they weren't going to be around as much this season. "Well, evergreen stuff might look kinda silly in Longheat if we left it up that long," he admitted a tad sheepishly. He'd been the one to insist they wait this long, after all. "Not t'mention it'll be everbrown stuff by then," he added ruefully from his perch on a step stool, unhooking a long stretch of garland that he'd tacked up near the ceiling. He looped it around his arm as he shuffled along, stepping down to kick the stool another couple of feet before hopping up to unhook another branch. "Wonder if we could make some, like... wreaths outta dried flowers? For warmer months?" If they were already dead they couldn't get any deader, right?

Boreal, meanwhile, had managed to jump up with a flap of her wings - without knocking anything over, in a small miracle - in order to grab the far end of the garland. She pulled it down to the floor and took a tentative mouthful, chewing thoughtfully for a moment before her muzzle wrinkled up and she spat out the browning bristles with an offended snort.

Alys had to concede that her partner had a point, but she stuck her tongue out playfully all the same. "Spoilsport," she teased. She knew that fake greenery existed that could potentially take the place of what they were removing, but Tal was right - winter plants would look out of place here in summer, where they might have managed to get away with it back in Halo. Besides, she'd never been a fan of fake plants, always preferring live ones when she could manage it.

As for wreaths of dried flowers, she paused to consider, tilting her head to the side in thought. "I've never had much of a knack for decorating," she admitted sheepishly. In fact, that their home was as cozy and welcoming as it was was a small miracle, as far as Alys was concerned. "I can grow plants, and I can use them for herbal remedies and such, but I've never tried to make anything particularly pretty with them. We could certainly give it a try, though. Maybe once we've started our garden, we could use some blooms from that?"

Sascha had paused nearby in her ornament-gathering to watch as Boreal soared towards the end of the garland. Abandoning her task, she ambled over to where the dragon had taste-tested the end of the plant to give it a sniff of her own, ultimately deciding that it didn't smell appetizing enough to try for herself.

Alys

"I prefer t'think o'myself as a realist," Tal teased back, trying to draw himself up in his most self-important and offended pose with a sniff of haughteur as he mimicked a stuffy upper crust accent. It was somewhat ruined by the sprig of holly that was tucked jauntily behind one ear from an earlier decoration and his stocking feet in mismatched yellow and blue socks.

He got another few lengths of the garland down before Alys spoke again, and the arm he'd been looping it over was starting to get lost in the greenery. "Yeah, I helped out at th'Citadel's greenhouse a lot when I lived there," he admitted, the pain grown duller with time and distance and the support of Alys and Ru in his new home. "So I can grow stuff. An' I can carve wood once it's cut down, but I think I saw some dried-flower stuff in Stormbreak last year..." When he'd been looking for Sohalia, the day he'd run into Ellyra. "It can't be too hard, right? Y'probably dry 'em th'same way y'do herbs?"

At the reminder of their own planting plans Tal nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! It'd be great t'use our own flowers for it! I wonder if some are better t'use than others?" His nose wrinkled up in thought as he worked his way down the hall. "... Maybe we can find a book about it somewhere," he suggested reluctantly. "The Atheneum or Collegium, maybe?"

There was something about Tal that made lighthearted teasing - something that Alys had historically not been particularly skilled at - easy. Their banter was always a source of amusement for the seer, and this was no exception. She snorted a laugh as she glanced over to find a sprig of holly tucked behind one of Tal's ears. Between that and the mismatched socks, it was a challenge to take him too seriously.

Alys pulled down the last wreath and set them aside for disposal, then wandered over to where the companions had been investigating the other end of the garland. There, she set to winding that end about her own arm, aiming to meet Tal in the middle. "Drying them should be fairly straightforward, but they might be fragile when dried. We'll have to be careful when making decorations," she mused. "But it would be fun, to give it a try together. I'm sure there are books in the Atheneum that would have some information - I've never been to the Collegium, but surely they'd have some, too." Already, she ran down a list of flowers that might work. Lavender, for one, would be a lovely dried decoration - and it might give off some of its trademark scent, as well. Goldenrod, perhaps, with some dried herbs to tie it all together.

"It will be nice to travel again," Alys said, her mind jumping to their upcoming plans. "Aside from the fact that I've missed you, I've been so out of the loop in King's End. I don't get much news, aside from what you bring home."

Alys

Finally convinced that the fading greenery wasn't going to become edible, Boreal huffed a great, martyred sigh and nudged Sascha playfully, following the little bear back to the wreaths they could reach. Tal glanced over at the pair and snorted softly, trying not to laugh before he looked back to Alys. Pale eyes shone with gratitude as she started on her end and they quickly made twice the progress in half the time working as a team.

"Wonder if we could dry 'em already strung?" he mused, pulling down the last length of garland and meeting Alys with a grin and a shameless kiss for her nose. "An' we can definitely look for books. Th'Collegium is haunted, though," he added with a faint grimace. "Well... kind o' haunted. Least it was in Leafchange. But we can check it out t'gether if y'want." He stole the rest of the garland from her arms and carried it over to the box of things for the compost pile out back. "An' we can pick flowers from all th'different regions we're in," he added, brightening up again.

He returned as she told him that she missed him and the courier ducked his head and looped his arm around her shoulders in a light squeeze. "Been missin' you too," he murmured. "Things've... changed out there. I mean y'heard that stupid Vox whenever someplace falls t'th'Void. Lot o' places are pretty dangerous these days. I dunno if it'll even make sense until y'see it for yourself."

With Sascha and Boreal occupied by the wreaths, Alys and Tal made quick work of the remaining garland. Of course, the two companions were probably making quite the mess. Drying evergreens were messy at the best of times, and with the dragon and the ursur digging around in the needles, the likelihood of having piles of pine to sweep up when they were through was high. Still, their merry attitude was infectious, and Alys shook her head with a suppressed grin at their antics.

A faint blush mantled the seer's cheeks as Tal placed a shameless kiss upon her nose, which she wrinkled playfully at him. "I want to check out everything together," she insisted, eyes shining with affection. It had been far too long since they'd been able to travel like this, and with every step closer to their departure, Alys's body hummed with more and more excitement.

But it was impossible to consider their upcoming trip without also discussing the darker implications of the world at large, and Alys's face fell slightly as Tal brought up how things had changed. "At first, I thought the broadcasts were just a strange dream, but then they kept happening," she admitted, making a face. "But if it's anything like what we saw before in the Sea of Dreams... well, I can only hope that we avoid the worst of it." She paused. "Is it mostly the Wilds, so far? Not that we won't be careful everywhere, but..." But where is it the worst?

Alys

Sometimes cleaning up after the companions could be exasperating, but Tal figured they were due for a little Flowerbirth cleaning anyways, and it wasn't like the humans weren't dislodging needles as well. They were doomed to attacking the house with the brooms when they'd finished putting the decorations away (or out in the compost) anyways, so there wasn't any harm in letting Boreal and Sascha have a little harmless fun in the meantime, and Tal snorted in an attempt to hold in his laughter as Boreal managed to get an old wreath hooked over one of her horns and stuck there.

"Well, maybe not th'Feverlands," he teased his lovely lady at her insistence, utterly enchanted with her blush. "At least, not without nose plugs!"

They'd earned a few minutes to rest against each other and Tal was more than happy to take advantage of the break even if the topic wasn't nearly as fun. He wrinkled his nose and nodded glumly. "Yeah. Feverlands an' Oerwoud I've sailed over without stoppin'. I've dropped into th'Greatwood more times'n not, lookin' for Soh but I don't think it's safe t'do it anymore... an' Stormbreak's not great." He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "But th'Grounds an' Halo an' Torchline are holdin' their own. Hail, even th'desert didn't look too bad last time I went over it. An' Stormbreak could be a lot worse'n it is," he added reluctantly. "For all that Reaper lady's in charge now."

In typical Sascha fashion, the ursur quickly began to investigate the wreath that had become lodged over one of Boreal's horns. Although she was no longer a cub, she still had an almost childlike curiosity that tended to drive her actions, and she investigated the situation with an air of intense interest. Snuffling at the wreath, she hooked a paw into the wreath and tugged, as though hoping to dislodge it from her friend's horns.

Alys smiled ruefully as she watched them, enchanted as always by their innocence and love of life. There were certainly times when the companions exasperated her, but she couldn't imagine their lives without them. The dragon and the ursur always had she and Tal laughing, or rolling their eyes, or reacting in some such way that reminded Alys that life wasn't all seriousness and worry. In other words, they knew how to have fun.

As they talked, Alys leaned against her partner, resting her cheek on his chest and wrapping her arms around his middle. With her face hidden, her smile faltered; it sounded like things were growing more and more dangerous, and talk of the spreading Void always made her want to curl up with Tal in their home and not emerge until the threat had passed. But even without his business, which took him every which way all across Caido, she knew that he would never be content to hide from what she felt sure would be some kind of coming fight. Her arms tightened around him of their own accord. If she lost him...

Swallowing a sudden feeling of unease, she nodded in acknowledgement. "I have to say, 'the Reaper' is not a title that instills much confidence," she said wryly, trying for a joking tone. "But as long as we can stay... well, relatively safe..." She trailed off, then snuggled closer. "At least we'll be together." It had to be better than wringing her hands at home!

Alys

Boreal gave a mighty shake of her head which served to send old pine needles flying, but the wreath remained stubbornly hooked over her horn. She snorted and seemed to decide that if it was there to stay, it could be a new fashion statement. A tilt of her head brought the wreath into range of the young ursur so Sascha could admire her new millinery as the dragon looked entirely too pleased with her accidental accessory.

Tal just grinned and shook his head at the shenanigans. His arms were looped comfortably around Alys and he gave her a little squeeze as she returned the embrace, fitting against him as if they were two pieces of the same puzzle. The serious turn their conversation took might have dimmed his smile, but there was reassurance and strength in knowing that they were facing the world together.

No matter what Caido or the Void threw at them, they weren't alone.

"Th'Peregrine's pretty safe, an' maybe I can get an item or somethin' that'll bring us back t'her if we run into trouble on th'ground," he mused thoughtfully. The little skyboat was a flimsy protection against a dragon, but most ground-bound critters couldn't reach her, at least. "An' we'll definitely be t'gether!" His grin returned as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head before resting his cheek against her hair. "That's th'safest place t'be."

Eventually they swept out the pine needles and wrangled the last of the decorations into boxes to store for next Deepfrost, or else carried the corpses of brownery and dead wreaths out to the compost heap or bonfire pit. The house was freshened up and ready for a new year, and the couple (and their companions) were ready for a new adventure!

~Fin~