Boreal heard it before Tal did. The hand on a knob, the twisting of metal on metal, however well-oiled. Her head dipped, sliding from beneath her companion's fingers and she stepped back. It drew him from his reverie so that he was straightening as the door opened and a slip of a woman ghosted through it, as if materializing from the shadows within.
The darkness wasn't impenetrable to his magic-enhanced vision and yet--
It was more important to see her with his own eyes than to see her clearly. He reached up, tugged the goggles down, and his brow furrowed as he drew an unsteady breath.
And then stepped forward, wordless, and wrapped his arms around his friend and found family and buried his face in long, blonde hair. His arms were strong; stronger than they had ever been, but even still he wasn't sure they were strong enough to bridge the chasm between them that gaped wide and threatened to swallow all their tears before they could shed them.
"Ru," he mumbled into the top of her head. "Ru. They said you... an' dragons..." The details were unimportant. She was alive and not bleeding and for the moment it was enough to chase the nightmares back to the edge of the porch, at least, where Boreal stood guard.
The darkness wasn't impenetrable to his magic-enhanced vision and yet--
It was more important to see her with his own eyes than to see her clearly. He reached up, tugged the goggles down, and his brow furrowed as he drew an unsteady breath.
And then stepped forward, wordless, and wrapped his arms around his friend and found family and buried his face in long, blonde hair. His arms were strong; stronger than they had ever been, but even still he wasn't sure they were strong enough to bridge the chasm between them that gaped wide and threatened to swallow all their tears before they could shed them.
"Ru," he mumbled into the top of her head. "Ru. They said you... an' dragons..." The details were unimportant. She was alive and not bleeding and for the moment it was enough to chase the nightmares back to the edge of the porch, at least, where Boreal stood guard.
