Ah, shit. The look on Sah's face was exactly what Tal had been afraid of and he swallowed hard against the lump of guilt in his throat. His sisters had taken it pretty well; it wasn't like he was around much anyways, with the courier business keeping him moving. But he knew how much Ru meant to Sah, and... well. Maybe him, too.
The hand on his was a surprise at first, but Sah's support and his assuring words took the tremble out of Tal's fingers and for a moment the courier started to relax, expression beginning to lighten.
But the Wild Thunder wasn't any better at hiding his expression than Tal was. Not from each other. Not anymore. And the courier released his shot glass to flip his hand over so he could squeeze Sah's hand instead. "Hey. Hey. Whatever you're thinkin' - stop it." His other hand slid down to rub Lilly's shoulders, fingers scratching under her thick coat. "I'll still be comin' back here every couple o'weeks on my delivery route. You'll barely know I'm gone." Meanwhile, Boreal eeled around behind Sah's chair and rose up on her hind legs, her foretalons resting on the back of the chair so she could curve her wings forward and partially around him, crooning her love and reassurance. "But I meant it. I do want you t'come with us--" and pride be damned, he didn't even pretend to joke this time. "Hail, we really need you, Sah. King's End is a lot wilder'n Halo is anymore. An'... it won't be th'same without you nearby." And if his ears and the back of his neck were turning a little red, well, there was nothing he could do about it while both his hands were busy holding on to two people he had, somewhere along the line, come to dearly love more than he dared to admit.
The hand on his was a surprise at first, but Sah's support and his assuring words took the tremble out of Tal's fingers and for a moment the courier started to relax, expression beginning to lighten.
But the Wild Thunder wasn't any better at hiding his expression than Tal was. Not from each other. Not anymore. And the courier released his shot glass to flip his hand over so he could squeeze Sah's hand instead. "Hey. Hey. Whatever you're thinkin' - stop it." His other hand slid down to rub Lilly's shoulders, fingers scratching under her thick coat. "I'll still be comin' back here every couple o'weeks on my delivery route. You'll barely know I'm gone." Meanwhile, Boreal eeled around behind Sah's chair and rose up on her hind legs, her foretalons resting on the back of the chair so she could curve her wings forward and partially around him, crooning her love and reassurance. "But I meant it. I do want you t'come with us--" and pride be damned, he didn't even pretend to joke this time. "Hail, we really need you, Sah. King's End is a lot wilder'n Halo is anymore. An'... it won't be th'same without you nearby." And if his ears and the back of his neck were turning a little red, well, there was nothing he could do about it while both his hands were busy holding on to two people he had, somewhere along the line, come to dearly love more than he dared to admit.
