Tal had little practice in hiding strong emotions, wearing them on his sleeve most of the time. His sisters already knew him too well, and his team deserved his honesty. He was rarely among those he delivered his packages and mail to long enough for it to ever be an issue, so his practice at deception was minimal and used more for pranks than serious conversations.
It was just as well Ru didn't reach out to him. He didn't know if he would have suddenly, fiercely hugged her or knocked her hand away and he didn't want to find out. Her words were quiet, measured, providing a calming influence over the emotional tempest and Tal sucked in a breath as he gave a jerky nod to her offer to speak to the Lullaby. There was, as far as he knew, no bad blood there; only professional respect on both sides. (Or at least, Remi had used his services in the past.) "He likes Boreal," he mumbled, a slight non-sequitur as the dragon preened shamelessly.
Everyone liked her, as far as she was concerned. And if they didn't, they weren't worth knowing.
Tal nodded cautiously to the compromise of the Village. A place he'd never been, but figured he could probably find--
But the rest would have to wait as time streams converged and the bones shifted on the far side of the deadly tree. Tal carefully moved his offering into reach and chewed his lip, glancing once, briefly at Hotaru's reassurance with a flicker of - was that gratitude? - before turning his pale eyes wholly on the skull that skittered towards them in sudden jerks and unpredictable halts, eerily silent once it was away from the pile of ribs that it had hidden within.
The skull was big and round and though smaller than the ursur, it had once belonged to a snapping turtle of daunting size. The shell had long since been scavenged away, but a human head would have fit easily inside the mouth of this beast in its heyday. Now, the legs that extended from beneath it spread out in an eerie array and the large crab within seemed to press at the sutures, more than ready for a new home.
It paused a few feet from the skull, considering the two humans beyond... but their heads were woefully inadequate and in a moment's decision it pounced on the ursur skull and swiftly peeled its way out of its former home and slid into its new one. Waving its pincers in either excitement or threat it snipped warningly at Boreal when the dragon started to stalk near and scuttled back to its bone pile, leaving the turtle skull behind.
Tal sat back on his haunches with a sigh, eyes closed in relief as the dragon snagged a ridge of the skull and dragged it back over to her Bonded as proudly as if she'd caught it herself. "Thank fuckin' Frey that didn't go sideways," he murmured to woman and dragon alike, scrubbing his companion's horns fondly.
It was just as well Ru didn't reach out to him. He didn't know if he would have suddenly, fiercely hugged her or knocked her hand away and he didn't want to find out. Her words were quiet, measured, providing a calming influence over the emotional tempest and Tal sucked in a breath as he gave a jerky nod to her offer to speak to the Lullaby. There was, as far as he knew, no bad blood there; only professional respect on both sides. (Or at least, Remi had used his services in the past.) "He likes Boreal," he mumbled, a slight non-sequitur as the dragon preened shamelessly.
Everyone liked her, as far as she was concerned. And if they didn't, they weren't worth knowing.
Tal nodded cautiously to the compromise of the Village. A place he'd never been, but figured he could probably find--
But the rest would have to wait as time streams converged and the bones shifted on the far side of the deadly tree. Tal carefully moved his offering into reach and chewed his lip, glancing once, briefly at Hotaru's reassurance with a flicker of - was that gratitude? - before turning his pale eyes wholly on the skull that skittered towards them in sudden jerks and unpredictable halts, eerily silent once it was away from the pile of ribs that it had hidden within.
The skull was big and round and though smaller than the ursur, it had once belonged to a snapping turtle of daunting size. The shell had long since been scavenged away, but a human head would have fit easily inside the mouth of this beast in its heyday. Now, the legs that extended from beneath it spread out in an eerie array and the large crab within seemed to press at the sutures, more than ready for a new home.
It paused a few feet from the skull, considering the two humans beyond... but their heads were woefully inadequate and in a moment's decision it pounced on the ursur skull and swiftly peeled its way out of its former home and slid into its new one. Waving its pincers in either excitement or threat it snipped warningly at Boreal when the dragon started to stalk near and scuttled back to its bone pile, leaving the turtle skull behind.
Tal sat back on his haunches with a sigh, eyes closed in relief as the dragon snagged a ridge of the skull and dragged it back over to her Bonded as proudly as if she'd caught it herself. "Thank fuckin' Frey that didn't go sideways," he murmured to woman and dragon alike, scrubbing his companion's horns fondly.
