[OPEN] (Re)Unions

YOU SAID THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THE MOON IT ROSE TOO SOON AND WE'RE DOING WHAT WE SHOULD "You're here." There is very little else to say, and also so, so, so much more. Standing in the street before them Amalia is still, breathless from running, bright-eyed with amazement, utterly overwhelmed and lost for words. A wraith encased in colored glass the girl looks between them, unwilling to close the space of the block lest she draw too near and they disappear, like so much smoke and dreams. Samuel, the least expected person to make such a journey; Jigano, her friend, her family, a welcome surprise; and Deimos, her lighthouse, her anchor, her heart. Why are they here, why did they come - and how, and when, and could it truly be for her? There are others, too, her mind reminds her, insidious and strangling, refusing to let her dream too big. Other people, other reasons. You are not so special as all of that. Still, she cannot help the smile, the way her face lights up and colors, the shy and wondrous glances she flickers their way. It should not surprise her to see them here, and yet it does, fills her with warmth and gratitude and love, makes her dizzy with wonder that they should care. Amalia yearns to surge toward the men, wrap her arms around them all and bury her head in the safety of their chests. To touch the cheek of Samuel, to hold Jigano's hand. To feel Deimos' grand embrace, his mouth upon her burning skin, his fingers in her hair (and would he even want that still, now, here, with the world to watch?). It has been days, but it feels like eons, centuries since her capture and subsequent release. In so brief a time she has changed so deeply, her world destroyed and rebuilt. How to tell them all that has happened, to explain the magic she has seen in the countless moments lost between them, the fear and love, the triumph and despair? How to explain the tulmhainar, and Delah, and Jyoti most of all, the creature who now shares a piece of her heart, the soulmate she never knew she did not have? How to say how sorry she is for being captured, for putting them all at risk; how hard she has fought to protect the others, and why she did not return? There are no words to explain her feelings, and so Amalia does not speak. She lets her smile to the talking, her cheeks, her posture, her radiant gaze which does not drift from Deimos' blue. The tension is broken by another's arrival, blissfully shattering her enraptured thoughts and returning her to the present. Clearing her throat the girl drops her eyes, turning to look at the space behind her, wondering when her companions will come. Jyoti is with the other girl, though she doubts it will stay that way for long. "Kiada is nearby, but Adam is still in the pit. We'll have to get him out before we go home." Focus. Lead. Prioritize. Plan. They are not yet free, not yet out of the woods. Better to manage the things she can than let her emotions take control. There will be time for stories, to wax poetic, to find out where she stands and what the world wants. a m a l i a You said it's life that moves too much We're losing touch But I'm not losing you