Yeah. They would definitely never talk about this again someday. But for right now and right here, where he had almost died and where Sah had almost lost him, his pride and temper had been left beneath the waters of the Stonesong and Tal could let himself accept the worry and affection of his friend.
Boreal, of course, had never bothered to hide her own feelings on the matter and happily made room for Lilly to snuggle close against them. She huffed a warm breath across Sah's legs to ruffle Pad's fur, too, fondly welcoming the pup to the family hug.
The reminder that Tal was an Outlander brought a small wrinkle to Tal's nose, especially when he talked about limbs. It drew him out of his daze a little, though his voice was still subdued; more confusion than dubiousness in his tone. "How many more limbs did y'have?" It was a welcome distraction from his near-death experience, at least, and the courier realized belatedly how little he knew of Sah's past before the man had come to Caido.
Okay, the first part wasn't so far-fetched for the courier. The Fae had wings, didn't they? So that was alright. And there was some sort of genuine emotion in Sah's voice that made it sound pretty convincing. But then the hunter continued and Tal's nose wrinkled further against the other man's shirt at the mention of 'paws' and 'fur'.
"Tch. Now I know you're pullin' my leg an' makin' stuff up." He groped his hand over Boreal's head to reach for Lilly's ears to ruffle them reassuringly. "You're just jealous of Lilly!" As for Pad, since the young gruff didn't go in for pets and scritches and exuberant greetings the way his senior packmate did, Tal couldn't offer an opinion either way.
But he would have showered the young wolf with just as much praise if he'd known. Tal was a sucker for dogs - and friendly wolves - like that. Even Sah. A little. Sometimes.
Of course, once Tal switched attention to Lilly, Boreal was left at loose ends. This never ended well for the courier. The big dragon pulled her wings in tight and then rolled against the wolf, pawing at her with carefully blunted claws as she instigated a wrestling match with her friend.
Right into the laps of both young men, if she had her mischievous way.
"Hmm." Clearly still skeptical, Tal snorted but didn't discount the idea outright. He could ask around, he guessed. It wasn't like he knew much about Sah's life before they'd met. Deimos wasn't likely to tell him anything these days, but asking Noah was a possibility. And if Sah really had been a mess, it might be worth getting the details and potential ammunition that would come with them.
Actually... yeah. This wasn't a bad idea at all!
It was a welcome distraction, if nothing else, and a wicked grin had just begun to buoy his damp spirits when two rather large, playful companions made their presence known. "Hey!" Tal avoided being stepped on, but he jerked away from the paw that had nearly broken his nose and barely missed being buffeted by a stray wing. The cuddle puddle dissolved as Pad went one way and the courier scrambled the other, ducking away from the flailing limbs and happy growls, but he was laughing through his fond exasperation. Weak, true, but it was still laughter as the shock ebbed away and he recovered. "Guess we're not allowed t'sit around any longer," he grinned ruefully at his frenemy.
And indeed they were not. Nor was Pad safe from being teased and wrestled by his 'big sisters' until all five of them were worn out and almost dry again, and ready to begin the long flight home.
~Fin~
