[se] can't dare to dream about you anymore

A machine where your heart once was
Slowly takes the place of you

It was a morning like any other, and Liam was out running.

His muffled footsteps reverberated through the woods as he took the familiar path from Sidhe Village into the Wildwood, his pace steady as he worked his way through the dense trees. IT wasn't uncommon for the paths to shift and change as he ran, but over time, he'd become accustomed to the strange sensation of being spat out of the woods at a different point than he'd planned.

On this particular morning, he found himself in Ludo's Woods and, familiar with the way his body felt after the first few miles, decided to take a break to walk. Bare chest heaving in the morning sun, he stretched his arms up to clasp his hands behind his head as he walked. The trees around him were red and textured, surrounded by misshapen saplings and carefully hung lanterns. Any time his morning run brought him here, he took a break to offer a prayer to Ludo and Mort, in the name of the family he'd lost.

This morning, though, a flash of ivory caught his eye, and he looked up to see a familiar dragon approaching. "Riya?" he said, a frown furrowing his brow. But if Riya was there, then that meant... "Where's Anju?"

------

Void River Stars (infected variant - Greatwood, King’s End, Oerwoud, Torchline): The carnivorous River Stars, tainted by void energy, have become even more sinister. Their once vibrant appearance has faded into shades of deep black and purple. Now, instead of waiting for prey to step onto their centers, they actively seek out creatures, using void-infused tendrils to ensnare and drain the life force from their victims.

Only hold the memories now
Of a love I thought I knew

Liam

Anju

Riya is looking for anyone. The Greatwood is kinder to her than Anju with wings to take her above the treetops, but it doesn't mean she finds help any faster that way. The forest is relatively empty, with few dedicated inhabitants, and she has been searching for two days now. The glint of sunlight on blond hair is what grabs her attention first, and as she dives, the mutter of her name has hope sparking in her chest as equally as it draws an urgent croon to her lips.

Banking sharply, she circles Liam in anxious, tight configurations, brushing against his clothes with her wingtips and making frantic noises. Darting away and coming back until it's clear that he will follow her, and then guiding him as quickly as his legs can match her flying without losing him to the Greatwood's changing pathways.

Anju is holed up against the base of a tree, laying half-propped against one of the emerging roots and looking half-dead. It's not an unrealistic prognosis given the strange entity she'd encountered that had sapped her life force from her and left her running for her life in the elements, but as she turns her head the scrapes on her skin and the dried blood are obvious signs that she'd been sprinting through the woods with little care for stray branches and brambles. Riya croons as she flies to her, and Anju can only tilt her head slightly to see who is approaching. Her voice is raspy as she calls out. "Liam?" It wouldn't be a far cry for her to assume she's hallucinating, but there's a thread of hope in her voice.

this sun inside of me could set kingdoms ablaze

A machine where your heart once was
Slowly takes the place of you

The urgency with which Riya circled him, paired with the absence of her bonded human, left Liam with a tight feeling in his chest. Something was wrong.

The ex-dragoon ran as quickly as he could through the trees, following the dragon as closely as possible. For the first time since he'd moved, he was relieved that he'd kept up with his training after leaving Stormbreak; for so long it had simply been habit, and this was the first time since moving that it was actually coming in handy. Riya led him through woods that blurred red as he sprinted through until, finally, he skidded to a stop at the base of a large tree. "Anju,"' he said, dropping to his knees beside his friend. "It's me."

The Captain of the Dragoons was pale and bloody, various scrapes making it obvious that she'd been sprinting through the woods without care for branches or brambles that caught on her skin. Fear turned his blood to ice as he realized that she looked half-dead. It was only his years of training that allowed him to keep calm; the part of him that cared about Anju broke away to panic in the back of his mind, while the soldier in him took charge.

He began to carefully triage her injuries, taking care not to move or jostle her until he knew that nothing major was broken. She needed a healer - and that was beyond his capabilities. "I'm going to pick you up, alright?" he asked, then bent closer, settling one arm around her shoulders and the other beneath her knees before hoisting her into his arms. "We'll go back to Sidge Village and find you a healer."

Only hold the memories now
Of a love I thought I knew

Liam

Anju

Anju is not normally the kind to reach for comfort, and the pain itself is negligible to the feeling of life itself having been drained from her body, but maybe it's that state of delusion and dehydration that has her reaching for Liam as he kneels beside her. Her fingers weakly hook wherever they can, grateful beyond words that Riya had not only found someone but that it had been him. Someone she can trust without question.

Her nod is more of a sag of her head, but it doesn't matter once she's in his arms. Anju has always been a tall and muscled woman, but she feels like a broken doll in his arms. Whatever magic had imbued that strange creature, it has left her feeling like she is moments from Mort's arms, with hardly any wounds to show for it. Riya flies anxiously around them, sometimes scouting ahead and sometimes circling behind them, keeping an eye for any threats and puffing smoke intermittently.

"There's...something out here..." she manages to get out around her tongue which feels thick and immobile in her mouth. "Magical. In the river." They're not far from the bank, she can still hear it. It mocks her, telling her how little distance she'd managed to get between herself and whatever had attacked her. "Dangerous." But it's all she can get out before her head lolls to the side, pressing into his arm as the fight for consciousness is lost.

this sun inside of me could set kingdoms ablaze

A machine where your heart once was
Slowly takes the place of you

Anju reached for him, and alarm bells went off in the back of his mind. She was the strongest person he knew, and for her to reach for him as though she needed help almost broke the careful control he'd constructed around his panicking thoughts. Gods, but she was weak, and fear laced down his spine at the thought of losing her. Not again. And he prayed to every deity he could think of that he'd found her in time.

He hurried through the forest and, for once, the trees seemed to be on his side, for he arrived in Sidhe Village much more quickly than he had anticipated. He hurried as quickly as he could without jostling her to the healer's hut, and she was whisked away, leaving Liam to pace worriedly, pausing occasionally to offer Riya a gentle pat.

Time stretched on and on, and day turned to dusk, and finally, finally, he was allowed back to see her. Despite the healer's assurances that she would recover, Liam sat by her bedside, watching her still face, his hands clasped at his chin in silent prayer until, eventually, her eyes fluttered open. Relief was evident in his hazel eyes as he sat straighter and smiled at his former captain. "Hey," he said softly. "How are you feeling?"

Only hold the memories now
Of a love I thought I knew

Liam

Anju

Riya stays by Liam's side during the long hours it takes for her sister to awaken, clearly disgruntled by being separated but mollified by being paired up with the ex-Dragoon. When the healer ushers them in, Anju is still unconscious, and Riya slinks up onto the bed to curl up next to her knee and lays her heavy head on her sister's lap.

That's how Anju awakens, dark brows knitting as her brain tries to figure out where she is and what has happened before her eyes even open. When they do, Liam is the first thing she sees, and though he's a little blurry she blinks a few times to rectify that and he comes into focus in tandem with the soft hush of his words.

Checking in with her body reveals that her cuts and scrapes are healed, and her unnatural exhaustion has been largely fixed. She assumes the rest will have to come with time. "Tired, but much better," she murmurs, voice still scratchy and making her wince to hear it. Struggling to sit up, she glances around for - "Water?" It feels strange to ask for help even in this small way, and it's clear by the look on her face, but she's far from Captain Rao here and now. She can trust him, she knows she can, but she has been independent her entire life. Depending on someone else, even a friend, makes her feel weak and burdensome.

this sun inside of me could set kingdoms ablaze

A machine where your heart once was
Slowly takes the place of you

Relief flooded his body as Anju spoke, and he rushed to pour water from a nearby pitcher before offering her the cup. "Slowly," he instructed, a gentle warning in his eyes. He didn't want her to be sick from drinking too much too quickly.

It had been quite some time since she had been his captain - and in recent months, she'd become his friend and confidante - but some habits died hard. He straightened as she sipped, falling into the role of a soldier reporting to his superior. "Reports have been posted to warn people away from the water," he said. "Fortunately, there are only a few of us left here. Hopefully it will be enough to keep others out of the infirmary."

Then he softened, reaching out a gentle hand to rest on hers. "If you wanted to visit, you just had to send word," he joked, but his eyes were serious. "I would have welcomed you at the skyport." How close had he come today to losing another person he cared about? Hadn't his wife and children been enough?

Only hold the memories now
Of a love I thought I knew

Liam

Anju

Anju is not the type to be instructed, but as vulnerable as she feels right now it has more sway over her than normal. For once, she's grateful that someone else is capable of making the decisions. He has to half-hold the cup despite her own fingers wrapping around it, overlapping against his own, because she doesn't have the coordination to keep a proper hold on it - but the water itself is cool and refreshing, sweeping away the roughness in her throat and bringing more clarity to her mind as Liam begins his report.

Still, her laugh is croaky and self-deprecating at his pale imitation of a joke, though it doesn't stop her from meeting his hand with her own. "Just trying to keep you on your toes," she teases roughly. Setting the cup down, she sinks into the pillows at her back, and regards him with eyes more unguarded than they've ever been. "Thank you. For helping me." Not that she ever thought he'd leave behind someone in need, but she wouldn't forego her gratitude on the basis of his morals. "I worry that you're out here alone though," she admits quietly, maroon eyes sliding away gracefully to Riya's head on her lap so she doesn't have to look at him as she admits it. "Selfishly, I don't like the idea of our situations being reversed." He has no companion to run for help, and no comrades to notice he was missing. It makes her feel sick to imagine how his letters could have stopped coming, and Anju wouldn't have had any clue why or what had happened.

this sun inside of me could set kingdoms ablaze

A machine where your heart once was
Slowly takes the place of you

It would normally never cross his mind to instruct her, but between her injuries and the fact that they were on equal footing now that he was no longer her subordinate, it came easily to his lips. Anju was not a weak woman, but the river stars had drained her like nothing he'd ever seen before. Despite her strength, she seemed so small in the infirmary bed, and seeing her there, waiting for the hours to pass and her to awaken, had scared him more than he could explain. She was independent and self-sufficient - and he appreciated that about her - but for once, he could, and would, take care of her.

Her laugh was welcome, and he chuckled in response, squeezing her hand as it met his own. Then he sobered. "I only wish I'd gotten there sooner." The memory of her laying beneath that tree brought a frown to his face, his brow creasing in worry. It was all he could do to keep himself from checking every inch of her himself, just to make sure she was on the road to recovery.

Liam shook his head, blonde curls flicking against his forehead. "You don't have to worry about me," he said softly, leveling an encouraging smile at his friend. Not that she was wrong. It wasn't the first time he'd considered how alone he really was, especially since Phoebe had disappeared. But he'd made a commitment when he'd moved here, and as much as he might want to consider returning home, something kept stopping him.

Only hold the memories now
Of a love I thought I knew

Liam

Anju

She scarcely has the strength to spare on such things, but Anju waves away his regret all the same, a small smile on her lips. "You came as quickly as you could once you knew. That's what matters." Regrets and what-ifs were dangerous things normally, and most Dragoons learned early on to let them go lest they eat away at all sense of confidence and victory. Worry, however, she was more than allowed to feel - and she raises a dark brow Liam's way when he gently rebuffs her.

"Yes, I do. You're my friend, Liam," she murmurs, an admission she does not make lightly no matter how sincerely she feels it. The hands they've laid against each other are her in, and she turns her own hand to curl her fingers slightly around his. "Stormbreak is at least making it along. You - the Greatwood - you can't keep at it like this forever." She frowns down at their hands, the two different shades of their skin intermixing. "I hate knowing you don't have a comrade at your back. It goes against everything I know." And what is she supposed to use to comfort herself? The vague promise of a future where someone might take charge? The idea that he would simply be okay, with no proof?

this sun inside of me could set kingdoms ablaze

A machine where your heart once was
Slowly takes the place of you

Hazel eyes met hers as she raised a dark brow, and he winced as she argued. Of course, she had every right to worry. If their roles were reversed, he'd feel exactly the same. He felt her fingers twine around his and squeezed gently. "You're right," he said softly. "It's... not what I'd expected." He'd thought he was coming to a place to settle down, to get away from the hustle and bustle of Stormbreak and all that it reminded him of. He hadn't realized that there was no one here, or how much he'd miss his work, or his friends, or his captain.

He ran a hand through his curls, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've thought about coming back," he admitted quietly. It would be so easy. He knew he'd be welcomed. "But it just feels wrong to leave the Greatwood defenseless. There may not be many people here, but they're good people, and they deserve better." What that meant, he wasn't sure. They needed leadership, but there was no one around to take up the title - no one except him, and he'd never had the desire to lead. But with things changing the way they were... he did need someone to watch his back, at least, no matter how much he hated to admit it.

Only hold the memories now
Of a love I thought I knew

Liam

Anju

It's a comfort that he relents, accepting of her worries and complaints where others might have grown defensive of their own talents and life choices. "There is no shame in admitting that it isn't what you thought it would be," she murmurs, only capable of imagining the disappointment, the lack of surety, from having left everything he'd known to try and deal with his grief and being thrust into the situation he was now in.

Conceding his points with a tired bob of her head, Anju sits quietly for a few long moments, considering. There was no easy answer to either predicament.

"Maybe you can visit Stormbreak more, and I can visit here? Perhaps have a few young Dragoons patrol down here for experience?" Not only would it allow him to be near others more frequently who could watch his back, but it would get boots on the ground in the Greatwood. A wry smile overtakes her face. "Koa Carpenter has been trying to turn the Dragoons into a cross-regional force, unsuccessfully. Maybe this would be the easiest start for him to prove it can be done." Or at all useful to the leaders he has been trying to pawn the idea off to. And if it means Liam returns to Stormbreak more? Well, he doesn't need to know how much that would mean to her.

this sun inside of me could set kingdoms ablaze

A machine where your heart once was
Slowly takes the place of you

Leaving behind everything he'd once known had been surprisingly easy, given the pain that he'd associated with his home region. Staying away? That was proving far more difficult.

Wrapped up in his thoughts, he stroked the back of her fingers idly with his thumb. Anju, too, seemed to be content to sit in companionably silence, and for a moment, that was all there was: the tick of a clock in the corner counting down the seconds until they inevitably had to part once more, each drawn to their respective responsibilities.

Anju's soft voice drew him from his silence, and his thumb stilled at her fingers. "I'd like that," he said. A small smile appeared, tucking up the corners of his lips. "I've been trying to train some of the locals. It's been going about as well as you'd expect. They try, but they are civilians. Dragoons would make me feel much better." Besides the safety aspect, overseeing them would give him something to do, someone to be responsible for. It would be better than sitting around and twiddling his thumbs, anyway.

"I saw Koa - was it last season?" he wondered aloud, then shook his head. It didn't matter when. "He mentioned wanting to expand the Dragoons. I think it's a brilliant idea, but the former leader here wasn't keen to have another region's forces taking over." It made sense, from a purely militaristic perspective. He wouldn't want a strange militia coming into his land, either. But this was the Dragoons. He'd been one of them. They could be trusted. "Now that she's gone, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea."

Only hold the memories now
Of a love I thought I knew

Liam

Anju

Physical closeness is not something Anju is accustomed to. Her parents had been quite loving but respectful of Anju's keen desire for personal space even before her teenage years, and the skinship that often came alongside Dragoons better fit descriptors like rowdy and circumstantial. Even the small motion of his thumb along the back of her hand is enough to make it hard to breathe. Not flustered, mind you, but keenly aware of all the ways it could be construed. Which she isn't, because she is - no, was - his superior, and she is not the type to receive (much less feel) anything like interest.

His commentary pulls her out of it, and she clears her throat softly beneath his words, discarding the inklings of curiosity entirely. "It's a brilliant idea for the Wilds perhaps. Or as an employable militia for other regions lacking in organized fighters, or with unrest to tame." Her voice, already so naturally blunt, comes across as definitive with how she disagrees. "If he was already approaching the previous leader here, then I really do have to get home. Gods know what he's been doing in my absence." Sitting up, driven by the conviction of this idea, her vision swims and she sways sideways with a faint groan when her body resists liberally. Beneath the nausea, chill sets into her chest, unable to stop envisioning the sand slipping through the hourglass marking how long she has been away. Too long for sure, and wasting further away with every moment.

this sun inside of me could set kingdoms ablaze