She knew him all too well. If he'd seen the boxes first, he might have jumped to conclusions. Might have let the hurt overwhelm his heart and heard her words in a different light. But in the end it all came down to what if, what might have been, and what now would never, thankfully, be. They would never know for sure, and Tal would never wonder. There was only this: his found-family in his arms, and the growing, fragile hope of a new beginning rising above the twisting fear of change in the pit of his stomach.
"Well... s'not really a rush, is there? I mean, there's at least time t'get dried off, right?" he teased her gently, giving her shoulders a fond squeeze. "I'll tell my sisters t'night." He didn't expect any problems there, from the rueful smile on his face that found its way into his voice. "If I'm not careful, Dierdre'll have me promisin' t'set up a li'l 'Seawright's Sundries' outpost in King's End beside my courier station. Your Sunjata's gonna have t'get a skyport there sooner rather'n later. An' I guess tomorrow I'll have t'tell Sah an' Alys..." Noah, too, the next time he saw the demigod in the Hollowed Grounds.
As the list of things ahead of them kept growing Tal let out a theatrical groan and buried his face back in Hotaru's hair. "We're not gonna get any sleep for awhile, are we?"
"Well... s'not really a rush, is there? I mean, there's at least time t'get dried off, right?" he teased her gently, giving her shoulders a fond squeeze. "I'll tell my sisters t'night." He didn't expect any problems there, from the rueful smile on his face that found its way into his voice. "If I'm not careful, Dierdre'll have me promisin' t'set up a li'l 'Seawright's Sundries' outpost in King's End beside my courier station. Your Sunjata's gonna have t'get a skyport there sooner rather'n later. An' I guess tomorrow I'll have t'tell Sah an' Alys..." Noah, too, the next time he saw the demigod in the Hollowed Grounds.
As the list of things ahead of them kept growing Tal let out a theatrical groan and buried his face back in Hotaru's hair. "We're not gonna get any sleep for awhile, are we?"
