Fight the break of dawn

Blissfully oblivious to the fall of goddesses and impending doom - or at least, willfully ignoring them for one selfish night - Tal had suggested that they could check out the Spyglass while they were in Stormbreak. It was one of the wonders of the world, supposedly, and he'd heard from Soh how it had been rebuilt, so he'd been eager to check it out.

And every once in a while the gods smiled down upon an Accepted, and tonight the clouds had thinned enough in the northeastern corner of the region to see the stars through their wispy tatters as a nearly-full moon shone down gently above them, the promise of Longheat's warmth in the softening of the evening breezes.

It was, all in all, quite the loveliest night Stormbreak had seen all season.

"Sooo... it's pretty tall, huh?" he asked his companion - no, not the scaly one - as he slanted a grin towards Alys. He leaned on the railing that protected enterprising fools from falling off the narrow balcony that encircled the dome, inured to heights after his time on the Peregrine. Boreal was nearby as well, but the dragon was keeping an indulgent weather-eye on Sascha to make sure the little bear didn't get too close to the edge herself. "Nothin' like it in Halo, that's for sure."

The Spyglass, as it turned out, was one of the wonders of the world. As Alys stood outside the building and looked up - and up, and up - she could believe it. And as they made the trek to the top and slipped out onto the narrow balcony to look up at the starry sky above, the seer had to wonder that it had been kept from her kind for all these years simply because magic ran through their veins. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes as she gazed up at those stars, sadness and anger stirring in equal measure. But the Heart of Stormbeak - Sohalia - had righted that age-old wrong. Alys hadn't formally met her, but she liked the young woman all the same, if only for what she'd done for Abandoned. She cleared her throat, blinking away tears that had no place in her contentment as she leaned against the railing beside Tal. Somewhere behind her, Sascha was occupied with Boreal, though the ursur never wandered particularly close to the edge. She had a strong survival instinct that steered her away. It was strong enough through the bond that Alys wasn't particularly worried. "We haven't seen anything like it anywhere," she agreed. "It's beautiful." alys glasse

It was because Ru and Alys and Sah could come see the sights here now that Tal was able to really relax and enjoy the city as much as he was. Or... maybe it was because of who he was seeing the city with. It was a thought that he'd had more than once in recent days, and had him rubbing at the back of his neck as he tilted his head up to the thick carpet of stars overhead, picking out familiar constellations that he usually only saw so brightly from the Peregrine's deck.

"Y'know... I guess... there's still lots o' places we haven't seen," he began, his grin fading as he swallowed against the words he'd come to say. They filled his throat, nervous and fluttering like caged birds, and he knew that once he let them out they could never be hidden away again. "But... this last season... it's been pretty fun. Havin' someone t'share travelin' with. Havin' company on th'Peregrine has been... it's been a lot nicer'n I thought it'd be."

He winced, hearing the awkwardness in his own words and drawing a sharp inward breath past the lump in his throat. "An' I dunno if it'd be as nice with anyone else. So... I'm really glad y'came with me. This far, I mean. T'share all this..." He waved up at the starry sky above and the glittering lights of Stormbreak below. "An' everythin' else we've been through t'gether. You're pretty amazin', Alys. More'n I got words t'say."

There was so much out in the world, Alys mused as she watched the stars flickering overhead, hidden every now and then by a passing piece of cloud, only to reappear moments later as a gentle breeze blew the tendrils away. So much that she'd never seen, that she'd never even known existed, that she might not ever have had the chance to see without the man standing beside her. Maybe that was why the beauty of the night sky had her feeling rather more emotional than she felt was strictly necessary. She was here with her best friend, the culmination of a season-long tour of Caido, and she'd never been happier. Why those feelings would bring tears to her eyes, she would never understand - but they were happy tears. She was so happy that she felt full to bursting. Alys leaned contentedly against Tal, resting her head on his shoulder as she tried to calm the emotion that threatened to swallow her whole. Who could have known that a chance encounter all those moons ago with a surly courier in a random tavern in Halo could have led to this? "Well, there's always next season," she murmured at the thought that there was more out there to see, not realizing, really, that she was inviting herself along for more travels aboard the Peregrine, not thinking that perhaps Tal would rather have some solitude, or another companion, or anything other than their lives exactly as they were in that moment. But it seemed that Tal had something to say, and Alys lifted her head from his shoulder to peer up at him in the darkness. A teasing smile appeared on her face. "I'm glad to hear that I've exceeded your expectations," she said, eyes dancing with mirth. Then, as Tal continued, she sobered. She reached out to rest a hand on his arm. "I'm really glad I came with you, too, Tal," she said, all teasing gone. Even if she didn't feel amazing, even if a faint blush mantled her cheeks at the notion that she might be anything special, she treasured the thought all the same. alys glasse

The stars had always steered him true for as long as he'd been old enough to name them. First as a teenager, running a dog sled with trade goods and supplies around the Tundra and Sea of Glass, and later as a young captain of his very own skyboat. As long as he had the stars he could chart his course across land, sea, and sky.

But though they shone above him tonight, only partially obscured by gauzy veils of flirtatious clouds, he struggled to find the direction for his heart.

And then Alys leaned against him, her head on his shoulder, and the courier let out the shuddering breath that he'd forgotten he was holding. He slid his arm around her without thinking, tilting his head to rest his check against her soft hair, and for a moment his anxiousness slipped away.

"An' th'one after that," he agreed without hesitation, warmed all the way down to his toes that she wanted to keep sailing with him. To keep exploring the wonders of Caido together, even if it sometimes meant stumbling across the world's shadows. Once the thought of sharing the Peregrine with an apprentice had made him a nervous wreck. Now, somewhere in the past season when he hadn't been looking, sharing his floating home with the seer had become as comfortable as breathing.

He felt her start to shift and he straightened a little so he could look down at her, admiring the play of starlight in her eyes. Maybe she was no Safrin, but she was here, and warm, and brave, and kind, and nowhere near as scary as a goddess could be in all Her celestial perfection.

He didn't smile at her teasing, but only because he could feel the heat in his ears and the back of his neck as he struggled to get the words out, at least as best he could. They still weren't the right words, but at least they were a start. He felt the hand settle on his arm, small and strong and reassuring, and he huffed a soft sigh that was almost a smile as her sincerity shone through in her own words. They left a warmth that bloomed in his chest and spread out towards his fingers and toes and the very tips of his hair until he felt like he might be glowing.

The embarrassment of that thought had him ducking his head again and clearing his throat against a very different lump of emotion that had suddenly lodged there.

"Ah... well... thanks. I... thanks." Biting his lip, he forced himself to look up again to meet her eyes, though it was one of the harder things he'd done in his life. "Would you... I mean. Would you be interested in maybe comin' along for... for more'n just a season? You an' me an' Sascha an' Boreal... we make a pretty good team, yeah? An' I know y'said you're not really interested in... in anythin' other'n bein' friends. An' that's okay! But havin' you part o' my life, well... y'make it better, just th'way we are now. An' I don't want t'lose you," he added, voice dropping to an embarrassed mumble by the end, though even then he didn't look away.

She might have snuggled closer, comfortable in his warmth and closeness, but she pulled away enough to meet his gaze as he began to talk. It had never bothered her that it might take him a minute to get to his point, that sometimes he didn't know how to convey what he wanted to say. She'd wait all night if she had to, just to give him the opportunity to think through whatever it was that he wanted to share. Longer. He continued to meet her gaze even as he kept talking, and for a moment after he'd finished, all she could do was stare at him. That anyone could ever think of her as something more than just a friend - that Tal could think of her as something more than just a friend - had her heart doing strange things in her chest. She was not a romantic; she knew the limits of her feelings. But there was love, as it was told in stories, as it paraded around in other peoples' lives - and there was love, as she felt it, just as deeply as anyone else. Even if it was different. And that was okay. Tal knew her. Tal saw her. And he wasn't asking her for anything more than she'd be willing to give. It might have been platonic rather than romantic. She might be able to give hugs and cuddles and nothing more. But it was real all the same. He was her best friend, and more, and how she'd managed to miss it, even with all her Sight - She didn't even have to think about it. Warmth bloomed in her chest as she smiled radiantly. "Of course I would," she whispered. "I - I would love nothing more. I - you - this - I've never been as happy as I have been this season," she said, for once at a loss for words. Because mere words couldn't fully capture her thoughts, her emotions. Maybe this was why other people liked physical intimacy. Maybe it gave them a way to express what words could never convey. She paused, nerves suddenly fluttering, her hand tightening on his arm a betrayal of her sudden rush of anxiety. She trembled slightly as she continued: "I don't want to lose you, either. Are you - I mean, is it really okay, for things to just... be like they are?" Was it enough? Am I enough? alys glasse

Alys just looked at him, and Tal's heart hammered in his chest, it's rhythm tapping out a growing anxiety that he'd said the wrong thing, insulted or offended her the way he'd ruined things before with others. He'd promised himself that he'd tuck his heart deep inside, safe and secure and away from the world, but with Alys...

It wasn't the same, right? He knew that things would never fall into the tired old fairy tale cliches with her. That things would never be as wild and stormy and overwhelming as his crushes had been, both past and recent. But then... maybe he was outgrowing those fierce and giddy passions. Or at least, he was ready for something a little more stable. Something built more on trust and less on competition. More on knowing someone and less on putting them on a pillar.

And maybe it was more than maybe. But if Alys didn't feel the same--

He didn't even complete the thought before the smile lit up her handsome features, capturing the glow of the moon and reflecting it back into his eyes in an expression that was dazzling. Her words brought an answering grin to the courier's own mouth, relieved and bright as he let out a soft sigh that was half prayer of gratitude to any deity listening that he hadn't fucked things up for once by opening his mouth.

He hesitated, then squeezed her hip lightly, unsure of whether he should hug her now or give her space, but the bubble of light in his chest needed some outlet and he had just taken a deep breath to ask permission--

Her nervousness hit like a dragon wing to the back of the head and he blinked in surprise. He opened his mouth, the first words of a fierce avowal on the tip of his tongue before he swallowed them back, making himself slow down. Breathe. Think about what he was saying. And turn his arm beneath her hand so that he could catch her fingers and wrap his own around them firmly.

Then he spoke. "I'm not... I'm not good at puttin' feelin's into words," he said slowly. "But yeah. What we've got right now is somethin' that feels right. An'... I dunno. Maybe nothin' stays th'same forever. But this is somethin' worth holdin' on to, long as we can." Alys was worth holding on to, in whatever way and however she'd let him. Friend and partner and someone he could trust with his bruised and foolish heart, if she was willing to take up that burden.

There were so many emotions playing out on Tal's face, and Alys couldn't help her lips twitching into a grin. She'd never been one for crushes, never been one for physical attraction, but she couldn't help but think that the relief in his smile was adorable. She watched him affectionately in the starlight, something like wonder kindling in her chest. He cared about her - her - in a way that no one else had. Her dark eyes fell to where their fingers lay intertwined, some feeling she couldn't name stirring as she considered that the gesture was so simple, so easy, so welcomed. The past season flashed in her memory as she realized just how reliant she had become on Tal, just how comfortable she had grown with his closeness. She swallowed hard. She didn't know when they had grown into something beyond friends, but somehow, somewhere along the way... Whatever they had, it was more than just friendship. More than just love. Love was common, simple - this was deeper, a closeness that she felt in her very bones. Alys peered up at him as he thought, watching patiently as he put his thoughts into words. She squeezed his hand, smiling. He might not think himself very eloquent, but in this, he was doing better than she was. She didn't know how to begin to explain what he meant to her. Words just didn't exist for that kind of emotion. "Maybe things don't stay the same," she agreed. "But I think... we can face anything together. You and me, and Sascha and Boreal -" She glanced over at their companions. Sascha was sitting on her haunches, watching them intently. "For all that I'm a Seer, I don't know what the future holds," she said with a laugh, dark eyes dancing in the moonlight. "But I do know that I'll be happy as long as you're in mine." alys glasse

She was grinning at him, and Tal's lips quirked upwards in response without his quite realizing it. There were only a handful of people he could relax so completely around, and pretty much everyone else fell in the category of 'sister' in one way or another.

Or whatever the fuck he and Sah were to each other.

But he didn't have any room in his thoughts for his favorite frenemy tonight. Not when his heart was finally starting to get the message that Alys liked him. Enough to put up with his flaws and his clumsy tongue and his insecurities. Enough to wait patiently for him to try and fit his emotions into words that were too unwieldy for what he needed, and which could convey only a part of what he was feeling.

Enough to let him keep trying, even if it took days or weeks or seasons.

Or... however long he needed.

"T'gether," he repeated, the word sweet and fizzing with hope on his tongue. "All four o' us." His grin reached all the way up to his eyes as Boreal snorted her amused approval from where she reclined behind Sascha, just inside the door back into the dome. Pale eyes watched the humans with indulgent fondness, content that her companion was finally growing up.

"We'll figure th'future out as we go along," Tal stated boldly, smiling down at his friend and partner. "Same as we've been doin'. An'..." He hesitated, then cleared his throat as his boldness drained away, ducking his head against the nervous shyness that still hobbled his tongue. "An' there's one more thing I need t'tell you. An' ask you, too. I just... I needed t'let y'know that no matter what y'say, it won't change how I feel about you."

Alys couldn't stop smiling. In the background, Sascha leaned against Boreal contentedly, not entirely sure what was happening but understanding that they would all be together as a result, and liking that outcome very, very much. "Sascha approves," Alys said with a laugh, glancing fondly towards the companions. Tal was as bold as Alys was feeling: the future would come, and they would face whatever it held. Somehow the threats looming on the horizon felt less daunting when she was standing here with him, hand in hand with her best friend and partner. She couldn't even find it in herself to be worried - not tonight, when the moon and the stars shone down so perfectly and he'd been so brave, to take a leap of faith and believe that there might be something more between them. But the revelations, it seemed, weren't over yet, and Alys cocked her head to one side as he hesitated. What could it be that worried him, after everything he'd already shared? And she might have brushed off his nerves, jumped to reassurances that nothing would change the way she felt about him, either, but such platitudes felt hollow without knowing what the question was. If he could give his words thought, put such care and effort into what he shared with her, then she was certainly going to offer him the same courtesy. So she merely tightened her grip on his hand and waited. alys glasse

"Boreal's always approved," Tal laughed back, following Alys's gaze to their soulbound friends with just as much love in his eyes for both four-legged gremlins. "Somethin' about those treats y'always had in your pockets for her!" The way to the dragon's heart was through her stomach, it was true, though Tal staunchly believed that she would have accepted Alys regardless of the many bribes she had received over the past year.

Had it only been a year? It felt like they'd known each so much longer, after all that they'd been through together.

And though he'd already managed to tell her the hardest thing and it had gone better than he'd dared to dream, he wasn't quite out of the crosswinds yet.

But she waited, trusting, and Tal swallowed hard and found his courage in her patience, steadying himself with the hand in his as he opened his mouth and let the words tumble out in a rush.

"I'm... it's complicated an' there's more'n one reason for it but... I've decided t'leave Halo." The words still hurt. They might never stop hurting, and he swallowed against the lump in his throat and kept going, stubborn and a little desperate. "An'... an' I wanted t'ask if... if you'd come with me. T'King's End." Had Ru spoken with her yet? Did she even get along with Sunjata? Hail, Tal had never really gotten to know the man, but he would soon, one way or another. And still the words kept falling as his thoughts spiralled. "I wasn't jokin', y'know, about sharin' a shop with you. This way we can build it t'gether, the courier station an' seer's shop, just th'way we want 'em. From the ground up. Not anyone else's leftovers or make-do's. If... if y'still want somethin' like that with me?"

His grip had begun to tighten in his nervousness and he had to consciously relax his fingers as he bit down onto his lip instead, watching her expression anxiously from beneath the mop of dark, shaggy hair that was more often windblown than not.

Whatever Alys had been expecting, it wasn't to hear that Tal was leaving Halo. She stilled, blinking up at him, at a momentary loss for words. Perhaps it shouldn't come as such a surprise to her, but here she was. A part of her wanted to protest - that Halo was his home, their home - except if it wasn't home to him anymore... well, that was something that only he could decide. After all, she'd left the Hollowed Grounds when it no longer felt like home. How was this any different? She loosened her grip on his hand so that she could trace random designs on his palm. "Halo was the first place that ever really felt like home to me," she mused aloud, processing this new information and feeling very, very torn. She bit her lip as she thought. She'd stayed in Halo for more than a year now, had decided to make it a place she could always return to. She'd accepted Evie's apothecary in the hopes of making it her own shop and home. But she'd also felt increasingly lonely as her friends moved on with their lives. Was it possible that Halo had become somewhere she was stuck rather than somewhere she chose to be? But if she left... what about Deimos? Evie? Even if she knew, deep down, that the depth of those bonds could never compare to what she had with Tal, or even Ru, she still quailed at the thought of telling them she was leaving. She'd thought about leaving Halo before, when Tal was gone on deliveries and Ru was spending time in King's End. But she'd never made plans, never fully allowed herself to consider the possibility. Alys thought of her shop, so newly renovated - it had brought her such pride to build something that was just hers, that was solely for herself, that she could mold into whatever she wanted. But if knowing Tal had taught her anything, it was that one didn't have to live in a region to have a foothold there. Hadn't she traveled all over, helping him establish locations throughout Caido for his delivery service? Just because she moved to King's End didn't mean she had to give anything up. Tal would never ask her to give anything up. And she had to admit that it sounded... nice, his proposition, almost too good to be true. That he wanted to build something with her, something that they could claim together, that fit both of their needs - it brought a lump to her throat. She swallowed it down. "I think - I think the only reason Halo felt like home because it was the first time I ever had anyone who accepted me, just the way I am," she said softly. "But if those people leave - if you leave -" She frowned. She could stay in Halo. It would always hold a special place in her heart. And she knew that Tal would come see her, and she him, and life could be perfectly fine. Maybe it was selfish of her, but she wanted more from life than fine. And maybe she was a little bit stupid, to uproot her entire life for a man - but it wasn't just for him, she realized. He was a big part of it, and maybe she wouldn't leave Halo if not for him asking, but it was so much more than that. She took a deep, steadying breath. "I want - I want to build a future together," she said. "And creating something that's ours sounds -" Her lips curled in a faint smile. "It sounds like a dream. So... yes," she said. "If you'll have me, I'll come with you. To King's End, or wherever else." Always. alys glasse

Her grip might have loosened, but before Tal could become anxious about Alys's response her fingers began to move across his hand, a silent reassurance while she thought. He swallowed back his worries and nerves, trying to give her the same patience she'd shown to him while he'd been getting up his courage to ask her to uproot her life and start a new one with him in a new region. He nodded, the motion jerky from nervousness but understanding what she meant about Halo being home.

He would never have been able to take the leap alone, either. It had taken Ru to show him that it was even an option, but once she had...

Well. Maybe in King's End he could find a fresh start. Could build a home where he felt welcomed instead of merely tolerated. One where he wasn't alone... It all depended on whether or not he put his foot in his mouth with Sunjata, he guessed. And if Alys chose not to come--

He stopped the thought with a sink of teeth into his own lip, biting down to distract himself from jumping to conclusions. His innate pessimism warred with his trust in his partner, everything still so new and dreamlike that he was afraid he would wake up at any moment and find the whole evening to be just a dream.

But Alys's voice wrapped around him, quiet as she worked through her feelings. Tal squeezed her hand carefully and then released it so she could continue her patterns, afraid to speak lest he break the spell. If she stayed and he left, they would find a way to carry on as they always had. He had prepared himself for that, or so he thought. But it was hard not to hold on to the slender thread of hope. Gods, he hoped. And then she took a breath and smiled at him and--

"Hail," he breathed, voice shaky as his eyes began to light up first, followed by a smile that felt like it just kept spreading across his face until his cheeks hurt with the elation of it. "I want that, too. Havin' a 't'gether' with you. Long as y'want me in your life." He couldn't hold back anymore, a quiet whoop! of happiness escaping as he pulled her into a hug, heart threatening to float right out of his chest with relief and pure, giddy joy. "Thank you, Alys!" Boreal added her own croon of jubilation to the mix as well, scaly tail sweeping across the floor in echo of her companion's emotions.

Tal gave her time to think, but no matter which way she considered things, she kept coming to the same conclusion. Halo might be home, in a way, and it would always hold a special place in her heart. She knew she would visit often, all the better to maintain the friendships she'd forged there. But how often had she gently encouraged her clients to listen to their heart, to follow their instincts, to quiet their minds and trust in the intuition that flowed in their veins? Yes, Halo might be a kind of home, but Tal? Tal was something else entirely. And if any part of her had doubted her decision, it was quickly chased away by the brilliant smile that lit up her partner's face - a grin that was so giddy and joyful and bright that it took her breath away. She laughed at his quiet whoop! of elation, a giggle that she hardly recognized for how light and open and real it was, glee overtaking her as he tugged her closer. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, feeling so full of joy that she thought her heart might explode with the intensity of it all. For a moment - a brief, surreal, unbelievable moment - it was as though the worries of the world had melted away. There was only she and Tal, Sascha and Boreal, the stars and the moon overhead, and a sense of wonder that this could be happening, that any of this was real. She didn't want it to stop. alys glasse