Touching grass

He glanced over as she joined him on the ground, then leaned over to bump her with his shoulder. "What've you got t'be fed up about?" he asked, nose scrunching up as the conversation went serious and he found himself floundering in waters deeper than he'd expected. His dismay at not knowing how to help reached into the sky to the pale dragon circling above, and Boreal folded her wings and dropped like a stone. Or a big, scaly boulder. "I mean, you've got book-smarts an' y'fight good an' you're an ambassador an' you're friends with just about everyone on Caido, seems like. Oh, an' now you can fly," he added, helpfully trying to cheer her up.

But perhaps the dragon would be more effective as she landed nearby and padded over to flop her haunches down on Maea's other side so that the Ancient would find herself sandwiched between the courier and the opportunistic reptile as the dragon leaned heavily against the woman's shoulder. Personally, Boreal had always found scratching a dragon's horns and chin to be very therapeutic for most bipeds.

Tal couldn't help but wince, however, when Maea looked at him and her insight cut a little too close to the bone, striking a personal nerve. "Well... yeah. I guess... I dunno if anyone else can heal somethin' like that, really. Or if it's somethin' you-- he-- we? gotta figure out how t'heal ourselves..." He looked away uncomfortably, shoulders lifting in a helpless shrug. "All y'can really do is be there for 'im, I think. Let 'im know he's not alone, even if he's hurtin'." At least, that's what Ru had done for him when he'd been at his lowest and worst, and what he'd done for her after she'd lost her son. Another one.

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

She scrunched her face up in a playfully menacing way as he nudged her. When Boreal came down to land and pressed up against her other side, Maea wrapped an arm about the dragon's sturdy body, leaning lightly into her warmth. "Yeah, it sounds great when you sum it up like that. It's a very recent development, though. Before... I barely had any friends. And I fucked up most things I tried to do, and the few people I got close to wound up dying or disappearing. It was like trying to hold on to sand - everything I wanted just slipping away." And she had done a lot of running. From the Grounds, from the gods, from poor choices in lovers and from her own wounded pride. Heartbreak, in general. "Somewhere along the way I picked up a habit of cowering. Apologizing for breathing. And I really want to stop doing that."

Despite the weighty subject matter, the smile she offered Talyson was surprisingly bright. Reaching out and pressing a closed fist gently into his shoulder, she nodded. "I can do that," she said simply. For him too, if he wished it; already his sometimes gruff and straight-to-the-point nature had done much to help her come out of her shell. Others were as well. Danta, with his tolerance and sweet spot for fellow Ancients, Hotaru, not to mention the slightly more task-related but no less confidence boosting connections building with Remi and Noah. Able to see and accept what they all had to offer in a whole new way, Maea knew she was growing by leaps and bounds. Her abilities, her shifts, were a reflection of that.

And then there was Harper. Who came with a whole new set of challenges to the introverted, repressed lone wolf of a woman.

Heaving a deep sigh, expelling what felt like a great pile of dusty build up - it was just her breath fogging in the chill air -  she stretched her arms up over the head and let herself fall back onto the ground. It might be cold, and the sky above remained gray, but for all the seriousness of the conversation she didn't feel all that bad.

"Maybe things are getting better," she acknowledged out loud. "The silver linings... they're growing a bit every day."

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

Boreal was happy to be leaned back into, a quiet rumble of contentment vibrating her barrel chest and creating an undercurrent of sound beneath Maea's words. It was one that Tal had learned to tune out a long time ago so he could hear what other people were saying, though, and as Maea spoke he winced and shifted so he could rub at the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Well... I know somethin' 'bout that," he agreed quietly, almost under his breath as she made her litany of past losses and mistakes. But he drew a deeper breath and offered her a quirked grin; it was a little forced under the weight of the topic, but he made a game attempt at it anyways. "An' hey, y'never apologize t'me, so you're definitely gettin' better about it!"

Her return 'punch' was as gentle as a dandelion puff and he nodded in satisfaction as he leaned into the 'hit' without flinching. It was a silent acceptance of the silent offer; maybe not today, but someday when he needed a shoulder she might find a mess of a courier on her doorstep when she least expected it.

Maea fell back and Boreal huffed out a misty breath of her own in surprise. She pushed to her feet and turned around to stick her blunt muzzle in the Ancient's face, helpfully snorfling her to make sure she was alright while Tal tried to ineffectually push her big head away, his grin turning easier and more natural. "Yeah, an' some silver - oof, move y'big lug, she's fine! - linin's are bigger'n others!"

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

White invaded her vision until it was all she could see. Giggling as the dragon's inspection tickled her face Maea tried to fend her off with gentle pushing, but unsurprisingly it took a bit more than that to pry the companion away. An impressive view though it might be to have the magnificent reptile hovering over her, the risk of getting stomped in the gut in the excitement was an experience she could live without.

"Do you mean to say there's something I should be apologizing for?" she teased, once she was able to see Tal properly again. She pushed herself up on her elbows, a raised brow challenging him to find fault in her conduct. "Come on, spit it out. List your grievances. Let's see - I'm making you sail me across half the continent, right? And I'm interrupting your quests. And I'm stealing your companion - " Making a sudden grab for Boreal she wrapped her arms around the stocky neck - not that she could lift her even if she tried, but it was the sentiment that counted.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

It took the efforts of both of them, because of course once they started pushing on her it became a game and Boreal happily pushed back until Tal was able to get his shoulder into it. She sat back with a sneeze that just barely missed Maea, looking eminently pleased with herself as the Ancient pushed herself back up, clearly 'revived' thanks to the dragon's timely interferencevention.

It was probably a good thing that Maea didn't wait before she came up with her own list, because Tal's poor brain was racing to come up with something clever and hadn't quite decided on what to say yet as she started ticking 'sins' off. He might have protested the first two on general principles, but the third one surprised him into laughter as Boreal suddenly found herself hugged. She blinked in surprise, and then her thick serpentine tail began to snake back and forth, flattening the grass behind her as she chortled in pleasure. "Hey! Y'can't just steal her," Tal protested, grinning. "I'm usin' that dragon as ballast for th'Peregrine!"

Maea

And I hope that you don't suffer
But take the pain

"Nope!" the ancient insisted gleefully, squeezing the dragon tighter. "I'm keeping her! She's mine now. Aren't you, girl? We'll be white wings together."

It was all in jest, of course. Nothing and no one would be able to get between two bonded companions, and Maea knew that. But it felt good to simply laugh and pretend, where she could say what she wanted and know it wouldn't be picked apart and read into. No need for apologies - and if there ever arose a need, she trusted that Tal would make her aware, plain and simple.

"Are you done with what you came here to do," she asked, looking up from the intense rubbing she was giving Boreal. "Want to go flying together? I think I'm warmed up enough to get back up there." She could even be target practice if the dragon wanted to practice her aim. Maea's feathers wouldn't burn no matter how much fire she was doused in.

Hope if everybody runs
You choose to stay

"Well... if y'can keep her fed, then she's yours," Tal decided teasingly. Boreal might not have understood the words, but she picked up the gist of the sentiment from his thoughts and the big dragon snorted and gave him a look of such indignant, wounded offense that it was the courier's turn to topple over, laughing.

Luckily Maea's attentions were too enjoyable for the dragon to tackle her human to show what she thought of being given away, and her grumbling subsided as she leaned heavily into the scratching fingers, eyes half-closing in bliss.

"Yeah... yeah I'm done," Tal wheezed, slowly regaining his breath as he pushed himself upright again. "Ahaha... her face--!" Maea's suggestion was met with a final bubble of laughter before the courier got himself under control and nodded, wiping a few tears from his eyes. "Sure! An' she can always warm y'up if y'get chilly," he agreed, his thoughts following hers without realizing it. "Let's go!"

~Fin~