She was warm and solid and real in his arms and he squeezed her again before stepping back to hold her at arm's length, looking at features he'd more than half-thought he'd never see again. They had their differences in the past, and perhaps would again in the future, but for the present he was just glad that she was alive when the deaths of so many yet hung heavy in the air and in hearts grown far too used to sorrow.
"I'm just glad your back," he reassured her, brushing aside the apology as irrelevant. Her return more than made up for the worry he had felt for the past four seasons and he smiled down at her, chest tight with disbelief and joy. A nightbird cried again in the distance and he shook his head, joy glimmering in eyes that caught the fading rays of day. "But what happened to you, Maea? Where did you go and... and why?"
"I'm just glad your back," he reassured her, brushing aside the apology as irrelevant. Her return more than made up for the worry he had felt for the past four seasons and he smiled down at her, chest tight with disbelief and joy. A nightbird cried again in the distance and he shook his head, joy glimmering in eyes that caught the fading rays of day. "But what happened to you, Maea? Where did you go and... and why?"
