Zavien
I'm going to change the world,
Feeling like they were stuck in a blame tug of war, Zavien settled on a soft smile as he dipped a little deeper into the water. "Well, either way, I'm glad we're here now." Talking and hearing each other like real friends were meant to.
Happy to hear about Alys, he let the guilt and worry fall away, replaced by something bright and holy. He nodded, smiling reverently as he recalled the Vi's presence, the desire to do and be better so he might make him proud. It was nothing like he'd ever felt before, oppressive in its intensity yet heartening in all the ways a father's love lifted. And despite the struggles he'd endured for the quest, Zavien would do it all again.
Still, pain laced the smile that lingered like a beacon at the end of a dark tunnel. "It was originally only supposed to be a week, but then it kept stretching... Every day felt like torture so everything kind of passed in a blur, but before I knew it, almost a month had passed without signs of his return." His gaze turned to where Sol was nearby, playing in a pool of water away from them, splashing and carefree. Zavien's smile strengthened, the happy ending on his tongue. "Then at the start of Longheat, he finally returned. It felt like I could breathe again, like color had returned, like life had meaning." There was a breathless laugh that escaped like the reality was too lofty to have weight.
His eyes met Tal again, the green darker as he said, "I don't know how Alys felt without Sascha, but I get the sense that I've gotten as close to understanding as I can ever tolerate." He couldn't even begin to imagine what she might have gone through, but nothing he'd ever felt before had come close, and he couldn't imagine anything being worse. He'd felt crushed and suffocated and drowned and disembodied and lost in so many ways.
But Sol was back. And he had no intention of letting him leave again anytime soon.
So Zavien let the conversation shift to Tal with the ease of someone who preferred it that way, wanting to be someone people could rely on rather than letting his own problems and struggles dampen the light of life. He softened his tone, aware of every wince and fleeting gaze from his friend. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but if it would help..." His body turned - not closer, not forward, but present. "I'm here for you."
Happy to hear about Alys, he let the guilt and worry fall away, replaced by something bright and holy. He nodded, smiling reverently as he recalled the Vi's presence, the desire to do and be better so he might make him proud. It was nothing like he'd ever felt before, oppressive in its intensity yet heartening in all the ways a father's love lifted. And despite the struggles he'd endured for the quest, Zavien would do it all again.
Still, pain laced the smile that lingered like a beacon at the end of a dark tunnel. "It was originally only supposed to be a week, but then it kept stretching... Every day felt like torture so everything kind of passed in a blur, but before I knew it, almost a month had passed without signs of his return." His gaze turned to where Sol was nearby, playing in a pool of water away from them, splashing and carefree. Zavien's smile strengthened, the happy ending on his tongue. "Then at the start of Longheat, he finally returned. It felt like I could breathe again, like color had returned, like life had meaning." There was a breathless laugh that escaped like the reality was too lofty to have weight.
His eyes met Tal again, the green darker as he said, "I don't know how Alys felt without Sascha, but I get the sense that I've gotten as close to understanding as I can ever tolerate." He couldn't even begin to imagine what she might have gone through, but nothing he'd ever felt before had come close, and he couldn't imagine anything being worse. He'd felt crushed and suffocated and drowned and disembodied and lost in so many ways.
But Sol was back. And he had no intention of letting him leave again anytime soon.
So Zavien let the conversation shift to Tal with the ease of someone who preferred it that way, wanting to be someone people could rely on rather than letting his own problems and struggles dampen the light of life. He softened his tone, aware of every wince and fleeting gaze from his friend. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but if it would help..." His body turned - not closer, not forward, but present. "I'm here for you."
but today I'll just be a mermaid.
