so much to cover

Noah stayed in step in Deimos all the way from the Peepholes back to Torchline. Noah let the relief he felt for seeing Deimos alive and well, before and after their relic endeavor, cover the bond without any chains holding it in. He even let his hand reach over to Zuriel as they walked, touching her withers with appreciation for seeing her again and for keeping Deimos safe. There was so much to discuss, and Noah and Deimos had both agreed with waiting for Cordelia to be with them before bringing everything out. What mattered in the mean time was that Deimos knew Noah was safe, and Noah knew Deimos was safe. Eira met them where Noah had left her, tucked safely in the woods at the end of the Oerwood. She glided above them now, keen eyes able to scan even in the inky darkness. Finally, when they had made it to the inn, and they were tucked privately away in a room with just the three of them, Noah let go of his breath. "I'm sorry I disappeared." Noah Olson cold in the violence after the war hope is a fire to keep us warm

DEIMOS

The Sword had long since grown used to aftermaths being painful, contemplative, and regretful moments. A span of time to glance back at actions, what had gone wrong, what hadn’t come to fruition, how they could be better – and this one had been strange. Swift and gone and done within a matter of minutes, when his expectations would’ve gleaned towards the opposite. Death, destruction, mistakes and multitudes of failures; and none of it had gone in such courses. Save for the Ascended who’d held the relic, the amulet, who’d gone and survived for however long, only to be accosted by their power.

And then Noah, to top it all off.

Not tired, not exhausted, not depleted by any means, Deimos walked in the bridges of silence. Success was measured amidst impassivity, uncertain what to do save for furrowing of his brows and meandering into the folds of darkness. Zuriel had given him more than a few haughty, mercurial looks, which meant he had some mending to do there – but the notions of whatever lay before them kept coiling in the back of his mind.

When they arrived at the inn, he snorted and offered a smile to Cordelia, simply because all their worries had been for naught – and opening his arms for Belial to fly into them as the peryton immediately made an ear-splitting screech. “Thank you for taking care of them,” he nodded to her in turn, before addressing the sentiments of why they were all here now. “We presumed it was for good reason.”

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

Cordelia

The relief that Cordelia felt when the two of them pressed into her room was beyond words. It's palpable along the bond. Almost overwhelming as it rushed towards them. She managed to stay in place for only a moment. The Attuned hugged Deimos first, nodding at his words, "Of course. I was grateful for the company." She admitted truthfully, giving him a little squeeze before she drew away, drifting towards Noah. This is where she hesitated, cheeks flushing pink as she looked up at him, finally pulling him into a hug as well.

She lingered here, drawing in a deep breath as she let herself bask in his warmth, "I'm just glad you're alright. What happened?" The Attuned asked, untangling herself from Noah, taking a small step back so she could look at both of them.

All the king's horses, all the king's men
Couldn't put me together again

Noah's smile spread wide over his face when he saw Cordelia. He before the closed door as she greeted Deimos. Eira chirped at his side, happy to be reunited with what she felt was her little family. She rubbed against the legs of both Deimos and Cordelia, chirping and purring away at Belial within the warlord's arms. she finally took a perch upon one of the beds in the room, looking at everyone with warm yellow eyes full of joy. When Cordelia finally closed the distance between them, Noah held her tight and took in her warmth and her scent. He let out a breath of relief, his cheek pressed against her auburn hair. "I'm glad you both made it here without incident. I'm sorry that I called Deimos away from you." He pulled back from her and squeezed her shoulders, before he gestured for them to settle in for what he was about to tell them. He sat himself in an armchair near the small hearth that Cordelia kept raging. "It was for a reason none of us could have ever predicted." He paused for a moment, resting his elbows on his knees and giving each of them the most serious of looks. "Vi called upon me. Made me his demigod." Noah leaned up, the last of his words falling with his glacier eyes on Deimos, knowing the weight of what he just said. It meant something happened with Amalia, and Noah was empty without the answer for the Sword. Their history was rich and deep and Noah imagined this information would cause a swell of different emotions within his friend. Noah Olson cold in the violence after the war hope is a fire to keep us warm

DEIMOS

He tended to the respite first; a small grin for Cordelia as she made her rounds, as the reassurance pervaded through the surroundings. A breath withheld and then extinguished in long, slow channels of his lungs, brief smirks and gratitude drifting in and amongst the fold. Pausing to pay attention to Eira for half a moment, giving her a light scratch while Belial left his arms and fluttered about the room.

He hadn’t even found another chair to sit in before Noah shared the news. But Deimos couldn’t cease the sudden welling of feelings bursting through him: a blind, unguarded panic, heart threatening to plunge, a slow, sinking apprehension far worse than any recent experiences. Enough to choke down into his throat, into his veins, incapable of hiding it as much as he would’ve once strived to endure and settle down, down, down into the fibers of his soul. He couldn’t smother the question biting against the back of his jaw either. “What about-,” because there were multitudes of feelings wrapped in the maelstrom of Noah’s announcement, but the first would be for people who’d long since left him behind. “What about Amalia?”

What did that mean? What did that signify? Was she gone? Perished? Disappeared? His fists clenched tightly until his knuckles were white, and his widened eyes went to the floor – Belial surging around before landing at his feet. A few more breaths were taken before he slowly unfurled them into something more than trepidation – the thousand other inquiries bustling around his brain as they so often did, regardless of occasions. “My apologies. Congratulations.” It was an achievement, to be recognized, and though he hadn’t taken Safrin’s offer, it didn’t mean others wouldn’t grasp the opportunity. Nor was it Noah’s fault that these chances came with so many other grating things for a Sword who’d loved a Shield. Statuesque and still, gone completely rigid, he recognized there were segments to rectify and understand. “What does that mean for our efforts?”

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

Cordelia

Cordelia wanted to remain in his embrace forever. She could live right here and be content, but there were things to discuss and this wasn't a moment for her to linger. Not when there was news to discuss and plans to make. She shifted away from Noah, taking a seat next to Eira, fingers finding the top of her head, nails scratching gently at her crown as she listened closely.

Her surprise was drowned out by the overwhelming emotions that suddenly came from Deimos, making her throat tighten and her heart stutter, forcing herself to take a shaky breath. Cordelia licked her lips, "Will you be leaving again..?"

All the king's horses, all the king's men
Couldn't put me together again

With the three of them sitting in a room together in the wake of all that was happening and had happened, the bond was alive with what they felt. Noah leaned back in his chair, the corners of his mouth turned down into a frown. "From what I know, which is at the word of other people, is that Amalia seems to have just disappeared. There was no event, and she didn't come to any harm...as far as I know. When Longnight is over, I intend to call upon Vi and speak with him in more detail if I can. He didn't give me much...I was only with him a few moments before he sent me to Stormbreak." Noah ran his hands down his thighs, keeping his eyes on Deimos for the majority, and just glancing over at Cordelia briefly. This news, at the moment, had more to do with the Sword than anyone else -- because, even though the two had not been together for some time -- it meant that part of him was missing. Noah understood how distressing that could be. "I will travel back to Stormbreak soon, before longnight is over. I need to speak with Cian. He is the leader of the Order. I need to understand where they all stand with this, and if they expect anything from me." His eyes rested now longer on Cordelia, with Eira pressing into her side and offering her the comfort she could. "I'm not sure what will happen after that, but travel from Stormbreak to Torchline is very easy." What Noah meant, then, was that he thought Deimos and Cordelia should stay here, as close to him as they could get, but he would not -- could not -- make them. Noah Olson cold in the violence after the war hope is a fire to keep us warm

DEIMOS

Eventually he found himself a chair, situated at another table, and tried to withdraw. Tried to cease drowning in all those wakes that kept returning, tried to rise above the surface, tried to temper the overwhelming trepidation that must’ve been flickering into everyone else. His apologies wouldn’t be enough, and so maybe grounding himself against the wood grains of the surface, of Belial settling into his lap, of the multitudes of other things surrounding his mind would make it all cease. For a few seconds he merely glanced out the window – expecting to see a distraction, a normal figment of waves rolling in or passing gulls, but only the endless night gazed back. A void he tried to hide within and from all in a singular instant, swallowing down and retreating, listening and hollowing out.

Disappeared.

The woman he’d loved and cherished hadn’t been an individual to simply vanish. Get into trials and tribulations? Often. Bulldoze her way into danger? Frequently. But he had no standing to reach out anymore, and she hadn’t wanted him there. Entangled in the rancor and immersed in emotions he didn’t bother to name, his stare went back to the floor, muttering something quiet and soft. “I just saw her last season.” But it’d been months since then, and enough time to wander, meander, where she didn’t yearn to be found. Perhaps she’d been overwhelmed. Maybe it’d been something else entirely. And the Sword couldn’t do anything about it.

So he strived to listen to the other notions of what Noah had to say. The Order made him grind his teeth against one another again – mostly because of what they represented, and how he’d already become involved and embroiled in the schemes regardless. Of other figments and armaments that needed to be figured out – involving more junctures they might not have any longer. “What do you want us to do in the meantime?” He paused, the schemes pooling, given enough ammunition. "When LongNight is over, I would like to reach out to Sah and see what has occurred in Halo while we were gone. Maybe pull our information together."

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

Cordelia

Cordelia worked her bottom lip between her teeth, worrying a small bit of chapped skin, jaw feathering as she listened to what they both had to say. Her fingers faltered slightly as she scratched the top of Eira's head, eyes flicking up to Noah's, holding his gaze for as long as he allowed her to. Her own emotions were drowned out by Deimos's, but she tried to send reassurance towards both men. They were for entirely different reasons. She couldn't possibly understand what Deimos was going through or Noah. Both of them having things happening in their life that she couldn't possibly comprehend.

They were going to be scattered to the wind again. Deimos following different leads, Noah back to Stormbreak, and she thought the pattern fitting. Why would any of them stay in place? "Just tell me where to go. What you need me to do."

All the king's horses, all the king's men
Couldn't put me together again

Noah empathized with all of the feelings that bubbled and stirred within Deimos. He had felt something similar when Delphine had disappeared. She had been attacked and taken by a dragon, and when she found her way out alive she took a traveling vacation rather than come back to him. It had destroyed him. He had never felt greater pain at the hands of another--but even before her betrayal, when she was missing and presumed dead, Noah ached. It was a pain he never wanted to experience again. "When I know more, I will give it all to you." Noah gave Deimos a soft nod, but he knew his words would not be the reassurance the man wanted. He wanted Amalia safe. Noah couldn't guarantee that. "I wrote to Sah during Deepfrost, urging him to meet me in Torchline when the weather broke. I have not heard any word from him, but I am hoping to." Noah turned to Cordelia then, a frown pulling at his face. "Cordelia...we need you to send that letter. I think...I also think that you should make an appearance in Halo. Deimos and I cannot, but to have your eyes on it at a time when you can come and go freely I think would be important. What do you think?" He asked, looking for answers from both of them. Noah Olson cold in the violence after the war hope is a fire to keep us warm

DEIMOS

In the stillness of his silence, brooding over wounds he’d thought long since healed, the regrets and rue began to cluster and collect. Immersing himself in the breadth of quiet, striving to repair the opened lacerations, he simply nodded his head, aching, striving, to return some semblance of normalcy where one could forgo and forget for a moment. “Thank you.” The promise was enough; even if there was nothing to be done.

Instead, he could peel away into easier threads of machinations and dispersions; tactical diversions. Letters meant to pierce and slay and root out poor impending dilemmas, written words meant to convey and express the lack of consequences and accountability. The Sword nodded again, fingers idle and digging into the wood grains of the table. “We can help if you need it.” And as for her returning to Halo? It might depend on circumstances surrounding safety, security, and any other information they could snag. “You do not need to decide now. Maybe after we meet with Sah?” His eyes flickered back to Noah, and then to Cordelia once more. She’d likely want to see her family again, and trust they were all right.

And then put her ears to the ground.

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything

Cordelia

Cordelia was quiet for a long moment, fingers working through the fur beneath it, swallowing thickly as she considered what each of them are telling her. The things she needs to do now. What she needs to follow through on. The letter, Halo, and everything in between. A soft breath pushed past her lips, "Okay... I'll send the letter." She started with, eyes drifting back to Noah, letting the words hang there for a moment. She'd send it because it was what was necessary. It was what they needed her to do.

Then came the urging to return to Halo. Her heartbeat picked up, pounding against her ribs, fingers curling loosely into the blankets. "I'll think about it. If... If that's where I'm needed then that's where I'll go."

All the king's horses, all the king's men
Couldn't put me together again

After they had all given their initial thoughts about what was happening with their world, Noah had to sit in silence for a moment. Eira pressed into Cordelia's side, resting her beak on the woman's thigh. "I have to go back to Stormbreak before the end of Longnight. To meet with more members of the Order." He leaned back in his chair, unsure of where to go or what to say next. "We can decide on what to do next after that and after we meet Sah. That is wise, Deimos." All Noah wanted was their world to stabilize and for them to all be in Halo once more, together and helping the people they love thrived. Protecting them from the reach of the Voice. "I want to also meet with the Queen of Torchline, eventually. I want to know where she stands in the wake of this war." It was something that Noah had not verbalized before now, but the political workings of his mind had not stopped. This land belonged to Safrin, Noah knew that much, just as their land should belong to Frey. Noah Olson cold in the violence after the war hope is a fire to keep us warm

DEIMOS

Deimos fell back into his residual silence, listening, concocting, conducting any number of thoughts. He said nothing about the Order, even though he didn’t trust them; he trusted Noah at the heart of it all. His jaw clenched more than once, fingers restlessly toying along the wood grain.

He only raised his head at the insinuation of Maeve – and though time had passed since Sah and Cordelia had attempted to ease anything out of the insinuations of their debacle, or when Noah and Hotaru had strived to balance alliances, he wasn’t certain Torchline’s standpoint had altered. Would she profess to stay out of things again, leaving her head in the sand? “Do you believe she will have changed her mind?” He paused, contemplating, eyes narrowing a fraction. “We are all aware of Safrin’s ties to the sea. It is inevitable. But some do not seem to think that matters.” Or at least, were pretending. The discussion he’d had with Gideon, for what it was worth, reverberated through his head. “I can also talk to her, if you are stretched too thin.”

think about this
you have the ability to survive anything