Boreal rumbled contentedly as the scritches that she had been too long without were finally applied. Her rough pink tongue darted out to lick up the fishy treat the moment it appeared in range, however, and her scaly tail swept the floor in approval, nearly taking down a waiter passing by. The man managed to avoid the hazard, hurrying past with a grumble that Boreal ignored in favor of making sure that Soh knew how much she had been missed.
At least until her human arrived, which was far too soon for the dragon's preference. It meant the lap she'd been resting her head on disappeared as Soh rose to hug the courier, but Boreal sat back quietly, content to let the friends make their greetings without interruption.
And Tal might not know the full story, but he'd gotten enough of a fragment of it from Koa that he wrapped his arms around his friend and held on tight as soon as she made her permission unmistakably obvious. "Hey, hey, s'okay," he tried to reassure her without letting go. The other customers might as well have not been there for all the attention he gave them, instead awkwardly rubbing Soh's back while trying not to loosen his grip. His own voice was a little wobbly and he found himself sniffling a little as the relief of it all crashed through him.
She was here and alive and real, and all the months and seasons of searching were finally over.
"Y'got nothin' to... y'know." Which, hail, probably didn't stop her from feeling bad about things so he trailed off and shook his head, trying to find better words. "Gods, Soh, I'm just glad you're okay. You an' Tarak. ...You are okay, right?" He was torn between letting go to get a better look at her and keeping up the hug for as long as humanly possible so the Family couldn't kidnap her again. Koa had said she seemed fine but... well, some things he just needed to hear for himself.
At least until her human arrived, which was far too soon for the dragon's preference. It meant the lap she'd been resting her head on disappeared as Soh rose to hug the courier, but Boreal sat back quietly, content to let the friends make their greetings without interruption.
And Tal might not know the full story, but he'd gotten enough of a fragment of it from Koa that he wrapped his arms around his friend and held on tight as soon as she made her permission unmistakably obvious. "Hey, hey, s'okay," he tried to reassure her without letting go. The other customers might as well have not been there for all the attention he gave them, instead awkwardly rubbing Soh's back while trying not to loosen his grip. His own voice was a little wobbly and he found himself sniffling a little as the relief of it all crashed through him.
She was here and alive and real, and all the months and seasons of searching were finally over.
"Y'got nothin' to... y'know." Which, hail, probably didn't stop her from feeling bad about things so he trailed off and shook his head, trying to find better words. "Gods, Soh, I'm just glad you're okay. You an' Tarak. ...You are okay, right?" He was torn between letting go to get a better look at her and keeping up the hug for as long as humanly possible so the Family couldn't kidnap her again. Koa had said she seemed fine but... well, some things he just needed to hear for himself.
