[SE] for the sunlight to break

I carried my own ashes to the mountains

It was a trio across the Tundra in the morning; the Sword desperate to find his routines again after most of the season spent elsewhere. Plotlines and plans were a necessary framework, but so was tending to his own region, and by the time he’d settled back into the Siberian bliss, the restlessness urged him onward, across the plains of ice, rime, and snow, head upwards to the wind; embracing the hardened angles of his favored world. Beautiful, treacherous, and illustrious, a fitting backdrop to every single damned thing over the last several cycles and revolutions.

Zuriel and Belial lingered alongside; the unicorn snorting when they eventually found themselves directly outside the Citadel walls, conversing with trackers and what they’d seen over the horizons for the past few days. The latter opted to linger upwards, chasing the breeze as his wings unfurled and he screeched overhead – a welcome lookout, and clearly spotting someone in the distance.

DEIMOS

Coming back to Halo was both easier and harder than Alys had anticipated. It helped to know that she was here at Mort's behest, on a quest to return Sascha to her side. But it was still difficult to stand upon the snows of the tundra, where she had been terrified and a hair's breadth from death, replaying Sascha's death in the back of her mind even as she tried to breath through the panic. A part of her still expected some new Void monster to leap from the drifts to drag her to Mort's halls alongside her companion.

She carried a bow and a quiver of arrows, and several daggers were tucked away on her person, just in case. Her magic was held at the ready as she searched for the spot where the yeti had appeared. Where Sascha had died. Where she had run for her life, barely escaping. Alys was so wrapped up in her thoughts that the appearance of a shadow from above made her jump; whipping around, her bow was pointed at the flying figure before her mind caught up to what she was seeing.

As soon as she recognized the creature flying above, she relaxed her bow, tucking the arrow away in the quiver. "Sorry!" she called in a general upwards direction before looking around for the familiar figure making his way across the snow.

The looking glass, so shiny and new
How quickly the glamour fades

Alys

I carried my own ashes to the mountains

Belial saw the arrow targeted and pinpointed on him initially; and coursing through their bond meant Deimos’s mind squared upon it too. Cold, calculated, and swift, within a moment he had excused himself from the trackers and snagged within his Air magic to pull the peryton straight from the sky – a maneuver he knew well, had practiced time after time, until the little beast was tucked underneath his elbow, and his stare was upon the culprit. Apologies had been lost amidst the wind and his own machinations – spine straight, taut, pondering over scruples and antics and necessities.

Alys.

His brows furrowed, visibly confused. Why she was here – especially after everything that had occurred? “I know he is obnoxious,” the Sword offered, trying to find a placating mode over what he figured must’ve been some role of misunderstanding, “but I do not think he deserves your ire.”

DEIMOS

Heart thundering in her ears, Alys shoved the arrow back into the quiver. Turning to Deimos, she gave her head a shake to clear it. ”I’m so sorry,” she told him. ”I was just out here to gather some snow and - I overreacted.” Despite the time that had passed, she still wasn’t over the battle with the yeti, and who could blame her? She’d lost her companion, lost a friend, and nearly lost her life. It was a traumatizing event that she’d largely buried in the dark recesses of her mind. Was it any wonder that she was jumpy?

With Deimos there, though, she felt comfortable enough to relax her death grip on her bow, if only just. ”How are you?” she asked, trying to shake off any remnants of adrenaline. It was only Deimos. Only Belial. She was fine. There was no need to panic.

Right. If only it was that easy.

The looking glass, so shiny and new
How quickly the glamour fades

Alys

I carried my own ashes to the mountains

Trying to pin down on the other trepidations screeching their way around his bones, he nodded, accepting the apologies, even if the peryton looked despondent and wilted under his elbow. Still, the expectations of her being out here, after everything had passed, made his head tilt, bending down slightly to release the carnivorous deer back upon the ground, as he obediently sauntered behind Zuriel’s bulk.

“Constantly busy,” he snorted. “It has been a very incidental season.” Figuring the Seer had heard about the springs one way or another, he didn’t describe it again, glancing towards the Fangs in the distance, before his focus drifted back to her. “I did not expect to see you in Halo so soon.” Or ever, if he was being fair – the traumatic volleys could run deep, and he’d been known to engage in avoidance with whole regions too, for a variety of haunting maladies and reasons.

DEIMOS

Feeling horribly guilty, Alys eyed the peryton and reached into a pocket for a strip of jerky. She had always kept treats on her person for Sascha, and now continued to do so for Boreal - but this seemed like the kind of situation that only food could remedy. "May I?" she asked Deimos, holding up the meat and gesturing towards Belial.

She could sense his confusion even before he voiced it, and she grimaced at his unspoken question. "Nor did I," she said. "But I went to see Mort. He gave me a quest... to get Sascha back. I'm supposed to gather as much snow as I can from the place where she..." Died. The seer cleared her throat. "I just... didn't expect to be so jumpy." Shaking her head to clear it, she looked up at her friend. "I was sorry to hear about the springs. If there's anything I can do..."

The looking glass, so shiny and new
How quickly the glamour fades

Alys

I carried my own ashes to the mountains

At the treat, Belial perked up, ears twisting and turning, but then his glance was towards Zuriel and Deimos alike, wary and uncertain. Truth be told, the peryton wasn’t often threatened – and tended to glorify in his own obnoxious nature. A hard-earned lesson, especially from friends. “Perhaps just toss it towards him for now,” Deimos considered, striving to meet the notions somewhere in the middle. If the deer wanted it, he’d saunter out and snag.

The other semblances slowly unraveled then, and his features turned all the more stoic. Such a quest must’ve been considerably difficult to bear, even if the end result was going to be renewed bonds and fixtures. He could recall Ru striving for a similar vein with Atlas, but it never transpiring – too many fateful things on that one evening. “I hope it turns out well for you,” he added, uncertain about the levels of revitalized pledges and compacts.

The springs made his spine rigid and unyielding again, and he glanced in the direction of the Fangs – mountains slowly eroded, open, and snagged. His jaw clenched, and kept everything to himself, the pressures of the ongoing strife never quite wearing away. “Thank you – after we finish with our current quest, I intend to do something about it.” But it would take time – an immense amount.

Zuriel’s head turned just then, and his own focus shifted with hers – for there was a void luxere herd, small but not insignificant, lingering on the horizon.

DEIMOS

At Deimos's instruction, the seer tossed the jerky towards the peryton, still feeling terribly guilty for her overreaction that seemed to have caused him such devastation. As talk turned to her quest, though, she let the companion be. If he wanted the treat, he was welcome to it; if not, Alys would have to strive to make it up to him some other way, some other time.

The news of the springs - and the subsequent emotions that her comment brought - weighed heavily on the seer. If she could get Sascha back, would her fear of the tundra dissipate? Or would she only prove less likely to visit, the better to protect her newly reborn companion? Only time would tell - but she did intend to offer any assistance that she could.

She might have said more, but just then movement on the horizon seemed to catch Zuriel's eye, and Alys's head swiveled to take in the herd of void luxere that lingered there. She shrank back, even though they were far enough away not to be a bother, and kept a close eye on them, her hands tightening on her bow.

The looking glass, so shiny and new
How quickly the glamour fades

Alys

I carried my own ashes to the mountains

Belial wasn’t known to be a cautious individual; but things changed when arrows had been pinpointed upon one’s frame. He lingered around Zuriel’s long legs for several moments, before cautiously darting outward and snagging at the treat, and running back – munching on it quietly to test its potency. Deimos shrugged; figuring it’d be something he’d either have to get it over or learn how to deal with.

With the silence from Alys, the Warden wasn’t certain what else to say – but then again, his attention needed to be focused on the darker shades of antlers further ahead. Alarmingly different from their regular counterparts, these cretins were something to fear, and provided no hope whatsoever. “They tend to be aggressive in these forms,” he rumbled, eyes on the horizon as they maneuvered. Should they opt to come for them, the Sword would simply take them out – a ferocious destruction of life – but they were no good to him, his citizens, or his friends. “But if we do not alarm them, perhaps they will move on.” Which was why he kept a silent warning mainly to the peryton – Zuriel knew better than to act rashly.

DEIMOS

Belial accepted Alys’s offering - albeit begrudgingly - and raced back to Zuriel. Alys reluctantly turned her attention away. There was nothing she could do for the companion now aside from let him come to terms with her reaction. Perhaps one day, he would forgive her.

But for now, her attention was snared by the luxere on the horizon, close enough to be identified as Void creatures, but far enough away not to be bothered with the two humans and two companions that lingered upon the tundra. ”Right,” Alys said, trying to relax - and only finding marginal success because of her friend by her side. With one eye on the herd, she turned back to her task. ”So, I’m supposed to gather as much snow as I can from the spot Sascha fell,” Alys said. ”I brought some jars. Would you… do you have time to help?” She didn’t want to be out here with the void luxere alone, and with two people, the task would move more quickly.

The looking glass, so shiny and new
How quickly the glamour fades

Alys

I carried my own ashes to the mountains

His willingness to lay waste into the creatures helped keep the rationale through his mind – if they were ordinary luxere, no such thing would be the case. But he remained attentive just the same, focus and attention never straying far from the creatures despite their distance. Perhaps in the end it would simply be a peaceful disregard of one another.

While Belial and Zuriel both watched as well, he listened to Alys’s request. Had she not been a friend, he might have snorted – due to the threatening of his companion in his own home – but advanced forward nonetheless, hand reaching out for one of the jars. “I have a little time.” Which was truthful; it wouldn’t be long before he had to be back out in the midst of plots and circumstances. “Show me where?”

DEIMOS

Listen, Alys hadn’t meant to threaten Deimos’s companion. She’d been startled by the appearance of a sudden shadow that could absolutely have been a Void creature out to finish what the yeti had been unable to.

But fortunately, the Sword didn’t seem inclined to hold it against her, and agreed to help readily enough. ”Thank you,” Alys said, handing over a jar. She had an armful, all set behind her in the snow, waiting to be filled. ”It was just around here,” she said, gesturing to their surroundings with a shaking hand. Then, unstoppering her own jar, she began to collect her own bottle of snow.

”How are Evie and Erebos and Amhran?” she asked as they worked, glancing sideways at her friend. It seemed like a safer topic than that of the springs or the Void, and one that was innocent if overheard.

The looking glass, so shiny and new
How quickly the glamour fades

Alys

I carried my own ashes to the mountains

With Zuriel and Belial keeping careful watch on the moving void luxere herd, the Sword could at least alternate his attention from one to the other. Snagging at the offered jar, he glanced at where she’d pinpointed, going along the outer edges and beginning the scooping process. It might’ve been faster with incantations, but the vessel also wasn’t terribly large, and his large, gloved hands could sweep the snow relatively swiftly anyway. It felt more like honoring Sascha in that way regardless.

He would’ve been content to work in silence, given Alys’s unfortunate experiences here lately, but she didn’t seem keen on the same. Tilting his head a fraction, and filling one more quickly, he placed it with the others and took another to repeat the process and pattern. “They are well. Busy too, in their own ways.” Evie with ensuring he didn’t get too behind on all the paperwork, missives, reports, and the like, as well as taking care of the Infirmary and mending side of everything, especially after the loss of the springs. Erebos was walking and talking. Amhran tended to his plants, and hopefully would soon make a trip to see Rae. “Without them, I think I would easily spread myself too thin.”

DEIMOS

It was easier to talk as they worked, all the better to keep her mind occupied. In solitude and silence, it strayed back to the events that had led her here, leading her to paralysis and panic - neither of which she could afford on the tundra under normal circumstances, much less while Void creatures roamed nearby.

Instead, she focused on Deimos. "Good. I'm glad they're doing well." She shot him a look that might have been considered suspicious. "And how are you doing? Since you're not spreading yourself too thin?" A statement that, frankly, she did not believe. During her time in Halo, she'd only seen Deimos work too hard - and that was in a time of relative peace. She had no reason to believe that his workload had lightened in the seasons since.

The looking glass, so shiny and new
How quickly the glamour fades

Alys