fly through new skies

Alys

And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined

Everywhere she looked, it was blue.

Alys wasn't used to sailing over water; most of their exploits took them across land rather than sea. But today, they were somewhere off the coast of Caido, between Hak Etme and the Greatwood, and they were flying just for the fun of it rather than as a means to an end. Alys stood at the prow, her face turned into the breeze, enjoying the play of the wind in her curls as Tal ferried them through the endless blue.

Sascha sat patiently at Tal's feet, unbothered by the way the sky seemed to meet the sea in a loop that went on forever. If she were to fall from the Peregrine, Alys wondered, would she just keep falling and falling until the end of time?

After a while, Alys turned her back to the view to gaze adoringly at her partner, who steered the Peregrine across the Spillwave with the ease of long practice. Lately she felt even more that she could never get enough of just looking at him, marveling at the fact that he was hers. Blissfully happy, the seer threw her head back, smiling into the sun. Even with the Family and the Void and all the uncertainty around Caido, she wasn't sure that life got better than this.

I once believed love would be black and white
But it's golden

There was something different about Talyson Seawright today.

The man who was sometimes known as the Messenger, courier extraordinaire, or the grouchiest little raincloud on Caido was actually... humming. While sober. It was a quiet sound, one he didn't seem to realize he was even making, but there was a smile on his lips and a light in his eyes as he stood at the wheel of his skyboat, a little bear keeping him company and his partner standing at the bow with the wind in her hair. His dragon was soaring above them, the late Leafchange sunlight scattering off her glacier-pale scales in a prism of subtle colors that were usually hidden, and for this one perfect day, everything was right with the world.

There was no Void taint visible here, no political maneuverings or family dramas playing out in the background. It was just him, the love of his life, their companions, and his ship carrying them over the gentle swells of the Spillwave on a day that was theirs and theirs alone.

It was as perfect as the woman who turned to look at him, his partner and match in every way. Brave and resourceful and gentle and wise, in Tal's eyes she was the most beautiful woman on Caido, from the way the light reflected off her hair and caught hints of chocolate and auburn, to the dark pools of her eyes and the deft elegance of her fine-boned hands. His smile widened as he turned his gaze from the horizon to admire her in turn, feeling the usual stirring of wonder in his chest that out of all the people on Caido, she had chosen him. "It's a stunnin' view," he said impulsively.

And he wasn't talking about the horizon.

Alys

And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined

Tal was humming, and Alys was content to simply listen. She daren't say anything about it to the courier, for fear he would stop. While she often saw him happy, it was rare to see him so carefree, and she was determined to soak up every moment of their voyage, to sear it into her memory so that she could always look back on this day when times were harder.

It's a stunnin' view, he said, but he was looking at her, and Alys's heart fluttered in her chest in response. Gods, but she loved him. Sometimes it still startled her, the strength of that love; she'd been so sure in her earlier years that she could do without, and yet now that she had Tal by her side, she couldn't imagine a world without him in it. It was often enough to terrify her - she knew he tended to get himself in trouble, and after Flora's recent death and return, the seer thought she had a right to worry - but on this perfect day, she felt nothing but glee. She was so lucky to call him hers.

"It is," she said boldly, meeting his pale gaze with her own. And no, she wasn't talking about the horizon, either.

Making her way across the deck, she gently nudged Sascha out of the way to take up a position near her partner. The little ursur grumbled at being displaced, settling only when Alys rested a hand atop her head. The seer stood briefly on tiptoe to kiss Tal's cheek, then leaned against his side in a silent request for cuddles. "I love you," she told him, hoping that he knew just how much.

I once believed love would be black and white
But it's golden

Hail.

He really was lost, and he knew that if he lived three hundred years he'd never figure out how someone as amazing as Alys had chosen him. She met his eyes directly, a smile that outshone the sun on her lips, and she gave back just as good as she got. With the tables so adroitly turned on him the familiar heat rose to his neck and ears, but he was far too pleased to mind, or even to care if Alys saw the blush that she could still coax to his brown skin after all these seasons.

He tilted his head down without thinking as Alys came close, turning it just enough so his lady's lips brushed the corner of his mouth. His happy grin spread even wider as he wrapped an arm around her, tucking her into his side so she could rest her head on his shoulder if she wanted to. The Spillwave was a gentle sea with a gentle sky to match it, and he really only needed one hand on the tiller.

He didn't have her magical affinity for reading emotions, but luckily he didn't need it. Every look she gave him, every smile and laugh, every time she held his hand or leaned into his shoulder or kissed him spoke as loudly and clearly as her words - which she was just as open with. He knew he was loved, bone-deep and without reservation. No matter they didn't always agree, he had learned that she loved him regardless. He was the luckier of the two of them, in a way. Even though he wasn't very good at putting his feelings into words, he no longer had to wonder and hope that she knew how much he loved her. He knew that she could feel it, and he was incredibly grateful that she had developed that power.

Even if he was sometimes a little worried that he was the reason she'd needed to, and never mind that magic didn't work like that.

"I love you, too," he said, savoring the words which tasted just as good now as they had the last few hundred times he'd given voice to them. "So, y'been thinkin' about anythin' y'want t'do in Deepfrost?" It was just around the corner, and theoretically his work might slow down for the first half of the season, at least.

Alys

And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined

At Tal’s blush, Alys’s smile widened into a grin. It brought her no small amount of joy that she could still coax some color into his cheeks even after all this time. Besides that, she could feel his pleasure from here, and that in and of itself was enough to pull her into a high that had to be better than any drug.

The seer stepped to Tal’s side, flushing as her kiss came dangerously close to his mouth, and folded herself against him to lean her head on his shoulder. Sasha remained at their feet, for once keeping her grumbling to herself. After all, with her bonded blissfully happy, she had no desire to pull the attention that Tal lavished on Alys away.

This close to Tal, she felt the depth of his emotions with a clarity that humbled her. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to be deserving of such utter devotion, but she knew that she returned the feelings in spades. He was the sun to her moon, the love of her life, and she desperately hoped that he knew that, even without access to the same magic she had developed.

Leaned against him like this, with one arm wrapped around his waist and the other coming up to rest on his chest, Alys was, perhaps, the happiest she’d ever been. It never got old to hear that he loved her, no matter how many times he said it, and she closed her eyes as though to soak it in. At his question, she hummed thoughtfully. ”I hadn’t given it much thought,” she said honestly. ”I assumed I’d keep traveling with you - unless you had other plans.” She looked up at him with a playful smirk. ”Who knows? You might get tired of me eventually.”

I once believed love would be black and white
But it's golden

Unfortunately for Sascha, Tal's attention had been completely stolen by her companion. His heart sped up a little as Alys's heat pressed into his side, her body fitting against him with the comfort of long seasons of practice until it was as instinctive as breathing. He had spent so many years pining after men and women who had no interest in him, no time for him, or outright disdain, that Alys's unwavering love and support was still as heady now as it had been almost two years ago. Their feelings had been newer then, and they'd had seasons to figure out the shape of their relationship and how their hearts fit together in the time since, but as they'd gotten to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, quirks and foibles, they had only grown closer.

"I'll get tired o' livin' long before that happens," he promised, turning his head so he could gaze down at her face, tilted up to tease him with a curve of dark brows and the perfect quirk of her lips. He squeezed her waist lightly, his grin almost giddy with her nearness. "I wasn't plannin' t'take any time off til LongNight, but if things're quiet we could maybe spend a few extra days in Torchline on th'next run down there? I should see how Flora's doin', anyways, an' maybe we can pick a day an' make another date o' it?"

Alys

And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined

Unlike Tal, Alys had never pined after anyone. She'd been thoroughly convinced for years that she was destined to be alone - and she'd learned to be very good at relying on no one but herself. But then a certain gruff courier had entered her life, and nothing had been the same since. Theirs was a relationship that had grown and blossomed naturally from friendship; they'd grown closer and closer until it was simply unimaginable not to have each other to hold and to cherish and to love. And even though Alys had never thought she'd love anyone in a romantic sense, she was undeniably in love with Tal, and everything about it was romantic.

Even the physical side of their relationship had surprised her. Tal had accepted her as she was at the time - uninterested in a particularly physical relationship - and she'd loved him all the more for it. But she'd quickly grown into their easy chemistry. Now, touching him and being touched by him were as natural as breathing - and as vital to her existence. It was enough to make her wonder, for the first time, what it would be like to take their intimacy to the next level.

As she leaned into Tal's hold, she was suddenly hyperaware of everywhere their bodies touched, and even though the topic of conversation was entirely innocent, her cheeks flushed with a heat that she couldn't quite name.

Snapped out of her daze by the question, she smiled up at her partner. "That sounds lovely," she agreed. "What about LongNight? Did you want to go home, or spend it on the Peregrine?"

I once believed love would be black and white
But it's golden

These easy days of escaping from the cares of the world were too few and far between, but because of that it was all the more important that they did take time to schedule them. Here above the gentle sea that washed the shores of their home no danger or care could touch them, and nothing could interrupt their time together. One perfect day. That was what they had, and Tal was determined to make the most of it as he savored the feel of his partner beside him and their companions near at hand.

Alys was warm against him, her body a comfortable pressure along his side, and the happy sigh of his breath stirred her hair before she tilted her face to smile up at him. "Home," he said, decisive and with a rueful quirk to his lips. "Just t'be on th'safe side. Twixt th'Obsidian compass an' th'normal one I can keep us on a pretty steady course, but without th'sky t'complete it, it's too easy t'miss our target." His grin turned lopsided and a little soft as he cleared his throat. "'Sides, I'm lookin' forward to curlin' up t'gether for a few days an' not leavin' our nest o' blankets 'cept for snacks an' drinks!" He was blushing too, though he'd never admit it as he ducked his head. "Unless y'had somethin' else we should be workin' on that week?" There always seemed to be more house projects than they had time to do them, after all!

Alys

And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined

One perfect day, where nothing (particularly not the future) mattered other than their time together. It was simply Alys, and Tal, and their companions, and the wind careening through their hair and the sun caressing their cheeks, and for one short day, that was more than enough.

Alys felt her heart was full to bursting, particularly when Tal grinned at her like that. Even after all this time, he could still bring a flutter to her chest that she now recognized as the stirrings of love. ”Mm,” she hummed, dropping her gaze to lean her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes as she soaked up the sun. ”A nest of blankets sounds much better than any projects I could think up,” she informed him, her voice amused. ”I’d happily keep you there forever, if we didn’t have to work.”

I once believed love would be black and white
But it's golden

He couldn't think of any place he'd rather be than in this moment. Alys fit against him like a perfect puzzle piece that made him feel like so much more than he had been alone, and her love and trust made him wake up every morning wanting to be a better person, just so that she'd be proud to be his partner. He tilted his head to rest his cheek against the softness of her hair, breathing in the clean, warm scent of her, and felt the light inside him glowing bright enough to rival the sun that shone down on the Peregrine and the gentle Spillwave sea below them.

"Mmmm. Y'know, we could change jobs," he mused, a teasing lilt to his gruff voice. "Give up th'courier run an' bein' a seer an' become professional hermits instead. Hail, part o' why I took on th'Halo run back when I was a kid was t'avoid people most o'th'time." More than a decade ago now, and half that since he'd fallen ass over teakettle into politics and the world beyond the Tundra and Sea of Glass when he'd brought Morgan's body back to the Citadel. Of course, since then he'd met Sah and Ru and Soh and Koa and Zavien and...

And Alys.

And somewhere along the line the idea of being alone had lost its luster. He was still an introvert, to be sure, but... well, it just didn't seem as bad anymore, being around people. And the woman at his side was a big reason why. "So what supplies should we pick up for LongNight? I was thinkin' some cheese an' sausage an' crackers, maybe some wine? An' we'll need plenty o' syrup for brunch waffles..."

Alys

And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined

”Professional hermits?” Alys said, perking up with a teasing smile, for all the world looking as though she was really considering it. ”Now, that sounds like the life.” Locked away in their own little bubble, away from other people and the troubles of the world? That sounded like paradise.

And although she knew it was a pipe dream, for a moment, she allowed herself to dream of a life free of the hustle and bustle that they lived in now, away from the burden of the Family and the Void and all the other dangers of Caido, besides. And what she imagined was simple, blissful perfection - unattainable, in the end, but a sweet daydream nonetheless.

Caught up in her reverie, she listened with half an ear as Tal rattled off a list of supplies. Then she grinned. ”Brunch waffles?” she asked, peering up at her partner. ”Say no more.” But she supposed they would need more than brunch to live off of, so she considered for a moment. ”Some chocolate,” she decided. What was LongNight, after all, without hot cocoa? ”And some dinner things that’ll be easy to fix. I’d much rather be in bed than in the kitchen.” Realizing how that sounded, she flushed, but said nothing about the accidental innuendo.

I once believed love would be black and white
But it's golden

Tal basked in his partner's smile, just happy that he'd been able to bring it to her face. He was so distracted by it that he forgot the quip he'd had waiting on the tip of his tongue. Sometimes the words came out just right, and other times, well... silence could also be golden, right?

Well, yeah, but they also had some planning to do! The courier's brain went to the snacks first and foremost. Things they wouldn't need to spend much time cooking, so they could spend more time cuddling. King's End wasn't as lethally cold as Halo could be in Deepfrost, and they'd built their house to be sturdy and well-insulated, but LongNight was a frigid beast all its own and Tal knew they'd either by huddled under blankets by the fire or else snuggled up in bed for most of it.

That there would probably be something that would come up in the long dark to make them venture out of their blissful cocoon was a probability that he refused to consider right now. Today was for celebrating each other and their relationship, and to hail with the problems of tomorrow.

"Me too!" Tal added fervently to Alys's declaration of where she wanted to spend LongNight. Long used to her preference for platonic physical affection, he didn't dip too deeply into the innuendo. The last thing that he wanted was to make her uncomfortable, so instead he just hugged her closer. "Maybe we'll finally catch up on our sleep this year!"

Though after today he knew he'd be sleeping very well for awhile, feeling recharged and revitalized from the day spent with each other.

~Fin