curiosity always did kill the cat -- and satisfaction always brought it back
Always a sincere one when it counted, Chulane hoped he was giving enough respect in his actions as he mimicked her motions, as he tried to feel the world around them the way she did, as he tried to hold onto the story that this place represented, the meaning it held. And when she spoke, when she reassured him that he wasn't alone, he let a sniffle-huff of breath catch in his throat, let himself nod, let himself accept her words, even if he had trouble really living them completely just yet.
Time would heal all wounds, and while he would indeed always remember and honour Kiada, he knew that living in grief was not a way to live - not a way she would have him live, either. What he didn't expect was how much Hester would mean to him on this journey out of his grief, what she would become - a beacon, a guiding light, a true friend in his time of need.
He hoped one day, he could do the same for her. In the same breath, he hoped nothing bad ever happened to her that he would need to be what she was being for him, here and now.
He let the moments trickle by, let himself be tugged along. "More?!" he playfully exclaimed as he held her hand and shed some of the weight of emotion from before. He followed happily enough though, looking about, wondering at where in Halo they even were - he doubted he could pick it even though he'd mapped the realm out mentally from his avian form.
And then there was steam, and his mind and his step hesitated, as he broke the contact between them.
It was like an aberration, a moment where nothing seemed to compute for him. The steam, the hot spring, it hit him hard. Memories danced before his eyes, and he suddenly wasn't standing beside Hester anymore - no, he was in their cottage in the depths of Deepfrost, with her, laughing and loving, speaking of her homeworld and reminiscing of how nice it would be to tap into Halo's hot springs somewhere convenient in the Citadel.
He didn't know how long the memories took him away from this moment, how long he stood lost in his thoughts and reverie, but eventually he swallowed, blinked, and came back to the here and now, apology written all over his face. "It's beautiful," he said, trying to say anything to get past the moment, the aberration, the glitch in his mind that this scene sprung upon him.
Time would heal all wounds, and while he would indeed always remember and honour Kiada, he knew that living in grief was not a way to live - not a way she would have him live, either. What he didn't expect was how much Hester would mean to him on this journey out of his grief, what she would become - a beacon, a guiding light, a true friend in his time of need.
He hoped one day, he could do the same for her. In the same breath, he hoped nothing bad ever happened to her that he would need to be what she was being for him, here and now.
He let the moments trickle by, let himself be tugged along. "More?!" he playfully exclaimed as he held her hand and shed some of the weight of emotion from before. He followed happily enough though, looking about, wondering at where in Halo they even were - he doubted he could pick it even though he'd mapped the realm out mentally from his avian form.
And then there was steam, and his mind and his step hesitated, as he broke the contact between them.
It was like an aberration, a moment where nothing seemed to compute for him. The steam, the hot spring, it hit him hard. Memories danced before his eyes, and he suddenly wasn't standing beside Hester anymore - no, he was in their cottage in the depths of Deepfrost, with her, laughing and loving, speaking of her homeworld and reminiscing of how nice it would be to tap into Halo's hot springs somewhere convenient in the Citadel.
He didn't know how long the memories took him away from this moment, how long he stood lost in his thoughts and reverie, but eventually he swallowed, blinked, and came back to the here and now, apology written all over his face. "It's beautiful," he said, trying to say anything to get past the moment, the aberration, the glitch in his mind that this scene sprung upon him.
CHULANE
