{SE} Like a dream we're living in

I count your heartbeats before you sleep
I bite my fingernails to bone

Evie walks into his hug readily, arms open and tired smile brightening. She squeezes him firmly, heedless of any dampness. Nothing that can't be fixed with a bit of magic. If she lingers a little longer than normal, it's because it has been so long, and she is ever so grateful that he had made it through the devastation physically unharmed.

"I've missed you too," she admits readily as she rocks back more solidly on her heels after their hug. It feels too somber to discuss the damages to their given lands; her smile goes a bit thin, agreeing silently without deigning to share. It equally feels inappropriate to air their struggles when they are so similar yet so different.

Kneeling in the shallows so they can both comfortably luxuriate for a moment, Evie curiously looks over the fibers in his hands as he explains their utility. "If you want me to reinforce them, I'm happy to lend my magic." She would be able to knit and weave the fibers more tightly than any hands possibly could, though she would happily wait until the nets were finished so that he could busy himself with his hands. Retrieving her own project, nearly finished now, Evie spins the comb lightly in her fingertips. "The infirmary manager broke her hair comb during the span of high patient intake after the impact. I decided to make her something sturdier as an expression of gratitude." As she speaks she returns to sanding it, wanting every tine and carved detail to be perfectly smooth.

And now I crawl back under the stairwell
To a place I call my home

Evie