paint the town blue

ALYS

And I know that this life isn’t safe

Magic spilled from Deimos, taking Alys by surprise; she'd come to him to ask for advice, not expecting him to actually... create what they managed to design. But she watched in interested silence as the band and stone took shape, admiring the ministrations that led, only a few moments later, to a completed ring.

With the design made real, Alys reached out to retrieve the ring, holding it up and inspecting it. She twisted it this way and that, admiring the details that had come to life. The ursur paws held the stone aloft, and the tarot-inspired inscriptions flanked it just so. It was exactly as she had drawn - she couldn't have found better had she commissioned it from the best jeweler in Caido. "It's perfect," she said after a moment, slipping it onto her right ring finger. It was a perfect fit. "You've missed your calling," she teased. "I think you should quit this whole warrior thing and make jewelry instead."

With the ring firmly in place, Alys lowered her hand to the table and looked at Deimos. "I wasn't expecting you to make it," she admitted. "What can I offer in return?"

But it’s wild and it’s free

Perhaps he’d been presumptuous. Anytime someone had asked his particulars and advice upon items, it’d been with the notions of him also creating it. Sometimes they came to him for the sole purpose of just that. And though he’d gotten exceedingly better at putting up multitudes of boundaries, contorting his items simply for those he qualified within his inner circle, Alys was a friend. He’d thought naught of it.

So he turned his attention back to Erebos for a moment, watching as the infant finally passed out, before arching a brow at her tease. “Gods no.” A wrinkle to his nose added to the distaste of the notion. “I think I would be very bored.”

Then there was an offering in return; which was also rare. He’d come to expect no transactions; save for ones upfront. The Sword couldn’t think of anything in particular though; giving a slight tilt to his head, inclined in rapt consideration. Ultimately, Deimos landed upon notions of alternating circumstances; ones they couldn’t quite comprehend or see yet. “How about a favor in the future?”

deimos

Never let them drain the river of your soul

ALYS

And I know that this life isn’t safe

Alys chuckled at the distaste plain on Deimos's face. "Well, a backup plan, then. In case you ever want a break." After all, she knew he had always worked himself to the bone in service of his people, his friends, and his family. He had helped her more than once, whether it was during their first meeting, when she had been in need of a friend, however gruff and grumpy she might have been; or whether it was all the times he had offered her training, even if he'd beaten her into the dirt every time; or now, when he offered up a bauble that could one day be used for her protection - without even seeming to think twice.

Her offer of something in return seemed to give him pause, and the seer waited patiently as he thought it over. She fiddled with the ring, heavy on her right hand. What it would one day become weighed on her mind. She'd once hated the gods, resented them for their treatment of the Abandoned. But now she was on a quest, working for a god in order to get something that she needed in return. It was a strange juxtaposition: that they looked down upon her kind, but were willing to grant them boons for a job well done. She didn't understand it, but perhaps that didn't matter. Especially not these days, when mortals could use all the help they could get.

After a moment, Deimos came to a decision, and Alys's brows raised at the request for a future favor. "Done," she said without hesitation, though she wasn't sure what she would have to offer the Sword, now or later. "Thank you."

But it’s wild and it’s free

Breaks weren’t his customary thing either, so he drew a long breath and snorted. When he could catch a free moment at all, it was usually in the company of friends or family, and he was trying to make the most of those instances – and ignoring paperwork. But since the Void and Starfall, there hadn’t been many of those intervals. Rather than bring those up, he tilted his head, giving a slight smile back towards Alys. “You are welcome.”

With Erebos fully ensconced in his nap, Deimos began to move around the kitchen again, snagging at plates and food arranged that morning. “You hungry?” He could eat all the time if the occasion allowed for it; given how much energy he burned throughout the day. Then, through sheer curiosity alone, and previous conversations, he shrugged his shoulders, already picking through some fruit acquired from the greenhouse. “What brought on this quest with Frey?”

deimos

Never let them drain the river of your soul

ALYS

And I know that this life isn’t safe

Erebos was asleep, and with the babe thus occupied, Deimos moved around the kitchen, piling food onto a plate. "I could eat," Alys said. "If it's not too much trouble." Perhaps he would relish a little time to himself while his son slumbered nearby. If so, she wouldn't blame him a bit.

But then he questioned her further, and she shrugged her own shoulders in response. "Starfall," she said simply, selecting a banana from the pile of fruit. Then, because he'd been so helpful and generous, she added, "I just - I'm not a fighter, but I worried that, after Starfall, I might have to be, someday. And I thought, I'm not particularly powerful, but if an opponent couldn't hit me, then maybe that didn't matter. So - evasion." She shrugged again. "As for why Frey... they just seemed the least... intimidating."

But it’s wild and it’s free

Deimos wouldn’t have offered if it was going to be trouble – so he snorted in response, shaking his head and maneuvering around the kitchen. By the time he was done it was something light and snack-worthy, including some cut up portions of fruit like apples, more bananas, and berries salvaged from the greenhouse, with slices of cheese.

Snagging at a few hunks of cheese and apple, he listened to her reasoning – not surprised, really. Starfall had been an acting motivation for many to suddenly gain defenses or clamor for weaponry; given the little they knew about the Family, and their stretch of infestation across Caido. Being able to forge along and implement abilities of destruction or striving to alleviate where they’d pressed their weight in had already been a significant journey, and others were still on the precipice. “Practical,” he muttered and rumbled; but Alys had always been much of the pragmatic sense. “And it never hurts to have defenses ready. Shields are always a good thought too,” and he arched his brow. “If you need more after your ring.” Some could even be created to launch outwards and cover, rather than being a handheld device. "You know you are always welcome to train here as well."

As far as Frey being the least intimidating, he smiled, leaning along the counter and chewing thoughtfully. “Probably a wise choice. They have done much for Halo. I have always heard good things.” He had nothing negative to offer in terms of Nature Frey – he steered clear of the other aspect entirely.

deimos

Never let them drain the river of your soul

ALYS

And I know that this life isn’t safe

It was, perhaps, a bit strange that someone who believed so wholeheartedly in reading the tarot and the power of crystals and all sorts of other occult phenomena could also be so practical. But Alys had been raised by merchants, and even if she was a seer, she had a pragmatic mind all the same. She nodded her agreement as Deimos suggested a shield, pondering the possibility as she peeled the banana. Her favored weaponry was a bow - she wasn't sure how a shield would fit in with that. But if she were ever without a bow... well, she could certainly see the appeal.

"Thank you," she said in response to the offer of training. "I have always appreciated training here. It would be nice to do it again." And it was the truth. She'd spent some time being nervous that perhaps she wouldn't be welcomed back to Halo, after leaving so suddenly, but it seemed that her fears had been unfounded.

As she ate her banana and selected a piece of apple and some cheese to chase it down, there was a brief period of silence. She had nothing more to add on the subject of Frey, seeing as she'd only had the one encounter with them - but she certainly had more to say to Deimos. "I'm sorry that I left without saying anything," she said suddenly. "And I didn't mean to go so long without sending a letter or visiting." She studied the table at which she sat. "I should have been a better friend."

But it’s wild and it’s free

Even after all was said and done, the last thing Deimos expected was an apology. Perhaps he was used to many leaving – in a previous life, it had almost become an expectation for those he knew and cherished and strived to keep close by, eventually disappeared. Some to another land. Some to death and demise. It hadn’t helped in the blackened proportions of his soul in the slightest, and only reaffirmed what he’d often thought about himself.

Caido had gone somewhat differently – people had still vanished, receded, cast their lot elsewhere, but perhaps he’d grown in all those mannerisms. Part of it had been realizing he had no control over the situation; others had things they needed to do, that Halo either couldn’t provide, or another sojourn angled elsewhere. Even distinctions with Ru had left him knotted and gnarled, and while still not even remotely content with the choices she’d made, being supportive was better than disregarding their relationship entirely. So when Alys had disappeared around the same time as Starfall brandished down upon them, without much of an explanation or a word, the Sword, and the Evergreen, had been forced to come to notions that maybe their friendships hadn’t mattered much to the seer.

To hear it now, on a different angle, made his brows furrow. Not in anger or defiance, but trying to mire around the root of everything. “We wondered what had come of you,” he started at first, parsing through the semblances, seeking comprehension and answers through the muddled proportions. Years before, he wouldn’t have regarded them at all. “But in the chaos of everything with Starfall…,” he shrugged. They hadn’t gone out looking for her – they’d been too busy concerned about their entire region, the extension of disastrous consequences, Evie’s pregnancy, and maybe that was when Alys had made her move. Taking a breath, he steadied himself, pondering further. “Was there something else we should have done?”

deimos

Never let them drain the river of your soul

ALYS

And I know that this life isn’t safe

She hadn't planned for this conversation when she'd arrived today, but it seemed like as good a time as any to explain, to apologize, to mend whatever bridges she might have burned. Deimos had been kind and accommodating, but... well, they were friends. And Alys didn't have so many friends that she could afford to offend one. Besides, after everything Deimos had done for her over the years, she owed him more than sweeping her disappearance under the rug. Even if it made her horribly uncomfortable to address.

"No!" she said fervently. "No, of course not." Halo had been her home, the first that she had really claimed as her own. "There's nothing that you or anyone did or didn't do. And Halo is - it's wonderful, truly." She fidgeted with the slice of apple she'd procured. "But... Tal left, and home... well, for me, it's wherever he is." A simple explanation, spoken from the heart. She knew that the courier didn't exactly get along with Halo's Wardens - one reason for his relocation, perhaps - but she hoped that Deimos wouldn't hold her partner against her. "But it was difficult. Leaving."

And she had no excuse - or, at least, not one worth offering. Saying that time had gotten away from her as she worked to set up a home and a shop in King's End just seemed... weak, somehow. "I'm sorry," she said again, peering at Deimos with something like guilt. It wasn't that she would change anything, exactly. She still would have gone with Tal, if she could go back and do it over. But she might have explained sooner than later.

But it’s wild and it’s free

The familiar distaste crept behind his teeth. He’d made the same errors with Ru; disparaging the Flood (for multitudes of reasons – and rightly so, he’d still argue to this day), and pulling at the rifts between them. To imagine someone leaving Halo because of Talyson struck him as bizarre. Deimos wouldn’t follow the Courier to a pub, much less across lands. Why anyone would find the man remarkable and worth leaving their home for was even more confounding and bewildering. And though he wondered if Alys would hold the same opinion on the fool if she ever found out what he said about Evie, the Sword kept it to himself. It wasn’t worth the fraught and tenuous parallels again.

Refraining from saying something like ‘ew’ or ‘gross’, he simply sighed, toying with another portion of cheese, before turning towards the stove top and readying a kettle full of water. “Understandable,” he uttered. Even if he’d never done the same – because the way his loyalty warded away was through roots and mettle, working things through – he recalled the similar conversations with the Valkyrie. And maybe it was hard to hear that it wouldn’t have mattered at all.

Setting the device down to boil, he leaned against the counter, arms crossed over his chest, mulling over exactly what to say. His features remained purposefully inscrutable, the long breath withheld and extended perhaps the only thing to display he was biding and choosing his words carefully. “You are forgiven,” because it wouldn’t much do for a grudge here and now, and he had no quarrel with Alys – just, perhaps, the way they’d been treated. Striving to surmise other notions, he tilted his head, studying the plate of food, then Erebos, before flicking his eyes back to her. “What stopped you from telling us?”

deimos

Never let them drain the river of your soul

ALYS

And I know that this life isn’t safe

Alys knew there was a history between her partner and the Wardens, but she'd always considered that something that didn't concern her. She loved Tal; he'd been among the first to truly see her, and he'd become her dearest friend before they'd officially gotten together. And though Deimos couldn't see it, that wouldn't have mattered to the seer, just as Tal's opinion of Evie and Deimos didn't matter to her. Deimos had always welcomed her, even when she was gruff and surly and difficult to be around, back when she'd first arrived in Halo; and Evie was a dear friend, somehow, even though they hadn't spent a great deal of time together.

Did she wish things were different? Sure. Was she going to waste her breath in trying to change anyone's mind? No. But she was her own person, and she would care for whomever she liked.

Thankfully, Deimos forgave her, and it didn't seem he was inclined to hold her choice of partner against her. "I know that there's a... history, between you and Tal. I suppose at first, I wasn't sure how to bring it up, and then later, it had been so long, and I was afraid you'd be angry. That maybe I wouldn't be welcome back." It seemed silly now, in retrospect. But at the time, it had been a very real concern.

But it’s wild and it’s free

His eyes narrowed speculatively – trying to mire that irritation away, lodge it deep into his chest. A history was something to call it; when Deimos had been nothing but supportive to the courier, and Talyson eventually returned the favor by expressing the most abhorrent of lies about Evie – and then making it worse by being an asinine dolt at every turn. The Sword and the Evergreen had remained solid, stoic, and staunch about the entire matter; rising above the rampant stupidity, and Talyson left of his own accord. No doubt the Messenger had somehow twisted the tale, but the Wardens had done nothing wrong, and therefore, he persisted in neither apologizing, nor lamenting the loss. Alys was another matter.

When the answer circumvented through his mind, his features fell, eyes back on the table, deeper rumble instilled. “You are your own person. We would not begrudge you for your choice in partner.” Like his vicious learning curve with Ru – still striving to support, realizing his rancor only mattered to him, even when the outlook was bleak – and achieving the opposite of Talyson. That she’d even think they’d do such a thing made something sink in his ribs; after how hard they’d strived and tried to extend everything out to their vast world.

deimos

Never let them drain the river of your soul

ALYS

And I know that this life isn’t safe

A history, because Alys was determined not to get in the middle of it, even if she had chosen to leave Halo for Tal, and even if she had accidentally done so like a thief in the night (sorry Alys, it's your writer's fault). The long-held grudges were there, and there was nothing she could do to fix it - but that didn't mean she had to pick a side. She could be friends with everyone, and she fervently hopes that she would continue to be. Even if she hadn't been a particularly good friend lately.

It wasn't exactly that Alys thought they would shun her, but rather that she thought she might deserve it if they did. But that was neither here nor there. "Thank you," she said simply. "And I truly am sorry." Indeed, she wished she could go back and redo her exit, but there was no path backwards - only forward. Thankfully, it seemed that Deimos was content to move forward with her. "I can only say that I will be a better friend in future."

But it’s wild and it’s free

The apologies were enough, for the present, because while they always meant a lamenting of regrets and mistakes, the most telling of beliefs and justifications were the altered stances. “We would both appreciate that,” which he gave with the lightest wrinkle of his nose. He presumed Evie would be very grateful to have one of her friends returned, even if it was short-lived instances, over naught at all.

Striving to be better about the circumstances too, he snagged at another portion of food, relieved enough to persist in snacking again. “How are things in King’s End?” She could leave portions of Talyson’s ventures out, for the Sword wouldn’t care; he’d much prefer to hear of growths and advances under her tenure and disposition.

deimos

Never let them drain the river of your soul