Noah listened as she spoke, and though he tried to hold his usual quiet composure, it slipped from him piece by piece the longer Lyra continued. By the time she lifted her hand and the ring caught the hearthlight in a glint of pale metal, his brows had already risen, curiosity sharpening into something brighter. ”My son Marcus was on that expedition. He’s still sleeping, actually. It took a lot out of him.” He gestured down the hallway towards where Marcus’ room was. Turning back to her, he gave a proud smile. He had been relieved to hear that they had been found, and that the backu team Deimos had formed and placed in his charge didn’t need to follow them onto the tundra.
The rest of what she had to say made him pause, glacier eyes firm on her celestial blues. For a moment he simply stared at her, surprise widening his eyes before something warmer and far more animated broke through the calm lines of his face. The reaction was immediate and unguarded, like sunlight breaking suddenly through storm clouds. "You’ve Attuned?" he asked, the question carrying a note of disbelief that melted quickly into delight.
A laugh slipped from him, and he shook his head once as though marveling at the world’s strange turns. "Lyra! That’s incredible." His gaze flicked again to the ring she had indicated, recognition dawning in the same breath she spoke Safrin’s name. That, more than anything, seemed to settle into him with a kind of reverent certainty. "And Safrin did it?" he asked, in th same tone and no less thrilled, the words carrying the quiet weight of respect. "Gods, Lyra, I’m glad. Truly."
He leaned back against the edge of the table, folding his arms loosely across his chest as the warmth of the hearth flickered across his features. There was pride there, again, not for his own accomplishment or his son’s, but the kind one felt watching a friend step into something larger. "She’s always been kind to me," Noah said after a moment, voice carrying a fondness. "Gracious. Generous, too, in ways I didn’t always deserve." His eyes returned to Lyra, bright with curiosity now. "If she chose to attune you, then she saw something worth blessing."
The smiel he had on his features broadened and started to wrinkle the corners of his eyes. So, what’s the shift? He asked, voice blooming in her mind across their newly shared attuned bond rather than said outloud.
The rest of what she had to say made him pause, glacier eyes firm on her celestial blues. For a moment he simply stared at her, surprise widening his eyes before something warmer and far more animated broke through the calm lines of his face. The reaction was immediate and unguarded, like sunlight breaking suddenly through storm clouds. "You’ve Attuned?" he asked, the question carrying a note of disbelief that melted quickly into delight.
A laugh slipped from him, and he shook his head once as though marveling at the world’s strange turns. "Lyra! That’s incredible." His gaze flicked again to the ring she had indicated, recognition dawning in the same breath she spoke Safrin’s name. That, more than anything, seemed to settle into him with a kind of reverent certainty. "And Safrin did it?" he asked, in th same tone and no less thrilled, the words carrying the quiet weight of respect. "Gods, Lyra, I’m glad. Truly."
He leaned back against the edge of the table, folding his arms loosely across his chest as the warmth of the hearth flickered across his features. There was pride there, again, not for his own accomplishment or his son’s, but the kind one felt watching a friend step into something larger. "She’s always been kind to me," Noah said after a moment, voice carrying a fondness. "Gracious. Generous, too, in ways I didn’t always deserve." His eyes returned to Lyra, bright with curiosity now. "If she chose to attune you, then she saw something worth blessing."
The smiel he had on his features broadened and started to wrinkle the corners of his eyes. So, what’s the shift? He asked, voice blooming in her mind across their newly shared attuned bond rather than said outloud.
the sentinel of the north
