Running through my head

He didn't consciously shift as Ru settled against him; some things were instinctive, as natural as breathing to adjust his arms and his balance, half-turned on the couch as he already was. And when they were both as comfortable as the awkward positioning would allow he chased his reasons for leaving his homeland, picking up their tracks and following where they led while Ru waited patiently for the courier to discover for himself just where his heart was leading him.

He nodded at her murmured observation, true in a way he'd never considered before but the words felt right. Halo would always be his, and he would always be Halo's, no matter how far he roamed. He would always come home to it again someday, even if for now he needed to stretch his wings.

His frustrations had once almost caused a rift between them that would have cost him the deepest and most meaningful friendship of his young life, but though he rarely mentioned the Warden even in passing these days, the hurt had not healed. It had scabbed and scarred, but the Sword was not the only one who could hold a grudge, even if it was held silently over the seasons.

But it hadn't made Tal happy.

He took the hit on the chin, lips quirking wryly as Ru continued, but the crooked smile softened into something sincere and genuine as her unspoken meaning - and her very clearly spoken support -  wrapped around his heart, lumpy scars and all. "Yeah... I mean. Every time I come home, it's like puttin' on a porcupine-quill coat with the spines facin' the inside, y'know? I'm not... I'm shovin' it down, but I'm not healin'. So maybe some time away'll finally let things close up proper. An' maybe Noah'll come back t'be Warden some day," he added wistfully. "But til then... hail, could do a lot worse'n makin' a place for m'self in King's End. 'Specially if I'll already have some family there, like y'say." And if he didn't mention the way her eyes shone with something they would never call tears, or the softness in her smile, well, he knew she'd never comment on the emotions that sent a faint tremor through his hands, or how he blinked away something caught in his eye as he leaned forward to press his lips fondly to her brow.

from the mornings you ease to the evenings you quiet
I'm always thinking of you, I'm always dreaming of you

Hotaru has never considered the notion of Noah returning to become Warden, though perhaps that's because she has let the memory of her own brief stint as Warden alongside him fade into obscurity, never anticipating its repries. There is some bittersweetness to that - it seems almost everyone has done the same about her. Still, she is loathe to take that idea from Talyson, no matter how she doubts its odds.

"If I can attest to anything, it's the power of healing in another region," she agrees, recalling how she'd locked herself away in the Greatwood with the twins after the coup, and Halo after they'd reclaimed it. Though she hadn't fully healed from the hurt of Sunjata and Nate and the loss of Atlas, she'd learned to live again - and had formed a community she never could have anticipated having. It's why she smiles so fondly when Talyson calls her family - to Ru, there are those squirming beneath her boot, and family. No in-between. It's amazing to her that she has found so many people to fill that role, one that had previously only been inhabited by Deimos and Kiada for so many long years.

Tilting her brow into his brief kiss, Hotaru smiles, watery and fond. "I'm sure I don't need to say that you can take your time. But if you want to pair up to move our boxes together, I'm happy to throw in some packing labor in exchange for use of the Peregrine," she teases, though the offer to help him pack up his home life is undeniably genuine.

the valkyrie

say my name, say I'm yours
promise we'll never be oceans apart

totally sniped from odd ilu

In truth, Tal had paid little enough attention to the Wardens that came after Neron; and Neron he'd avoided like a plague, his anger and bitterness towards the outlander Launceleyn a constant simmer that had come to a boil when his father had died defending the gates from the consequences of Neron's actions. It wasn't until stumbling upon Morgen's death in Whitebrim that he'd been dragged back into the Citadel's politics, and after Sah's brief stint as regent Noah had been the ruler he'd known best until Deimos took over. Knowing that Hotaru had been co-Warden once before, when Tal had so rarely been in the Citadel, was more an academic memory than one that felt solid and real to him, but as far as the courier was concerned Ru was better than any Warden.

She was his friend, and the first family he'd found outside of his blood sisters.

And she understood, in a way he wondered if anyone else really would. Or could.

But that was a problem for another day. Now, in the moment, he hugged her close, tea stains and all, grateful for the teasing that was almost normal for them. "Can do that," he agreed, a rueful smile quirking his lips. "I'm more used t'livin' out o' th'Peregrine an' my courier stations these days than anywhere else. Shouldn't take two shakes of an ursur tail t'pack me up." For better or worse, and whatever that said about his current lifestyle that he didn't want to look too closely at. "What about you? Need any help boxin' things up here?"

from the mornings you ease to the evenings you quiet
I'm always thinking of you, I'm always dreaming of you

It's a bittersweet notion, that Tal can so quickly and easily pack up his life. What's worse is knowing that she can do the exact same. After the breakup, her spa had been her home, which was really just a bedroom attached to the business side. Then she moved out to her first real home, and it had been small and lightly furnished, meant only as a space for the twins to visit and stay over at. After Enzo, she couldn't bear to stay there, and had moved closer to Deimos at the same time. Her home has always been based around function and utility, and what little isn't - her nest-bed, her sewing materials - can easily go into a few spare boxes and bags.

"I don't have much either," she admits softly, though Tal - who has practically lived with her since the war with all his visits - will surely know that. "But I'd appreciate the help. I was going to start packing as soon as I told you." She hadn't been able to stomach the idea of him coming over to see all the boxes already packed, what that might have implied to him. Now, there's no more reason to wait.

the valkyrie

say my name, say I'm yours
promise we'll never be oceans apart

totally sniped from odd ilu

She knew him all too well. If he'd seen the boxes first, he might have jumped to conclusions. Might have let the hurt overwhelm his heart and heard her words in a different light. But in the end it all came down to what if, what might have been, and what now would never, thankfully, be. They would never know for sure, and Tal would never wonder. There was only this: his found-family in his arms, and the growing, fragile hope of a new beginning rising above the twisting fear of change in the pit of his stomach.

"Well... s'not really a rush, is there? I mean, there's at least time t'get dried off, right?" he teased her gently, giving her shoulders a fond squeeze. "I'll tell my sisters t'night." He didn't expect any problems there, from the rueful smile on his face that found its way into his voice. "If I'm not careful, Dierdre'll have me promisin' t'set up a li'l 'Seawright's Sundries' outpost in King's End beside my courier station. Your Sunjata's gonna have t'get a skyport there sooner rather'n later. An' I guess tomorrow I'll have t'tell Sah an' Alys..." Noah, too, the next time he saw the demigod in the Hollowed Grounds.

As the list of things ahead of them kept growing Tal let out a theatrical groan and buried his face back in Hotaru's hair. "We're not gonna get any sleep for awhile, are we?"

from the mornings you ease to the evenings you quiet
I'm always thinking of you, I'm always dreaming of you

The reminder of their soaked clothes has Hotaru laughing slightly, though it still doesn't encourage her to peel away from him to remedy the situation any faster. Their embrace is too comfortable even when balanced by the discomfort of damp and sticky garments. It's a dizzying thought, that he is sure enough in this decision to tell his sisters tonight, but there is also a steady comfort she feels in the fact she won't be doing this alone. Even if Tal doesn't stay in King's End, or travels just as often as he does now, she'll still have someone there both during and after the transition. It's immensely comforting.

Laughing, cheeks just slightly pink at him saying 'your Sunjata' (and oh gods, no, this is far too much ammunition for him when she has never lost the high ground of teasing) she concedes the point easily. "I'll let him know we should start considering skyport locations." She still has goodbyes of her own to say, so her expression is soft and understanding even if he can't see it with how he buries his face in her hair.

"No, I don't think so. Guess I should make us some more tea, hm?" She shakes against his chest with her laughter, spilling up and out in an unforeseen deluge. It's going to be a long night, with many more ahead of them, but she feels lighter and more hopeful than she has all season.

- Fin!

the valkyrie

say my name, say I'm yours
promise we'll never be oceans apart

totally sniped from odd ilu