The night had been long and... complicated. There had been joy, but questions, too. Not since Fiat Lux had he danced and sang and talked the night away until the sun rose again, but there was catharsis in the comfortable exhaustion that came from such a celebration, and perhaps a little comfort in knowing that amidst the world's woes, among all the trials and tribulations and difficulties they faced, that there were still nights and times when peace could settle over the land and all the peoples in it.
Morning found him with a gryphlet on his shoulder, though the place beside him on the blanket was empty where the warmth of a body should have been. There was melancholy in that realization - and a quiet wonder once again at how much his life had changed. How much he had changed, when being alone felt strange instead of normal. It hadn't been all that long ago - less than a year, really - since he had shied away from being touched, wary of intentions, afraid of losing any more pieces of himself to those who would only let him fall, knowing he deserved no kindness or comfort after what he had become.
He was no longer that man. But who he was still becoming (everything changes a beloved voice whispered in his heart) he still hadn't figured out. He knew what he owed his past, his ghosts... but he was beginning to learn what he might owe himself as well. As the sun began to send gentle fingers of light filtering through the leaves to brush gentle warmth over his skin he sighed, tilting his face towards it with a lopsided smile. A new day was dawning, indeed. And, just maybe, it was dawning on a better man than the one who had first arrived on Caido, all those many months ago.
Morning found him with a gryphlet on his shoulder, though the place beside him on the blanket was empty where the warmth of a body should have been. There was melancholy in that realization - and a quiet wonder once again at how much his life had changed. How much he had changed, when being alone felt strange instead of normal. It hadn't been all that long ago - less than a year, really - since he had shied away from being touched, wary of intentions, afraid of losing any more pieces of himself to those who would only let him fall, knowing he deserved no kindness or comfort after what he had become.
He was no longer that man. But who he was still becoming (everything changes a beloved voice whispered in his heart) he still hadn't figured out. He knew what he owed his past, his ghosts... but he was beginning to learn what he might owe himself as well. As the sun began to send gentle fingers of light filtering through the leaves to brush gentle warmth over his skin he sighed, tilting his face towards it with a lopsided smile. A new day was dawning, indeed. And, just maybe, it was dawning on a better man than the one who had first arrived on Caido, all those many months ago.
