Kiran nodded her agreement, shuffling until she was in arms’ reach. She’d take up this new watch until either he settled or she couldn’t keep her eyes open.
-
Ryland’s eyes relaxed and he let out a long breath as he sank back to sleep....
-
Vael watched him for a moment, then turned his worried gaze back to Kiran. “Keep him safe,” he whispered to her with a small smile, then eased up and out of the shelter to keep watch the rest of the night…
-
Kiran nodded once more as Vael left. That was precisely why they were here after all.
At least tonight the nightmare had let him sleep, so far.
-
And Ryland did sleep....for a good while.
FIRST OFF, THIS IS WHAT I NEEDED TO DELETE OF CHAPTER 6 AND REUSE IN CHAPTER 8 POSSIBLY)
As Ryland turned to get himself sat up, he saw Kiran lying next to him in her own sleep sack. She couldn’t be hating him too hard if she was willing to be practical about their limited space instead of do something unnecessary like curl up against a wall. Not that he could judge her too hard if she did want to be unnecessary. Ryland wasn’t known for taking the high road when he got angry enough, even after years of finding ways to quell the extremes of his rage. He could see himself choosing to refuse sleep if he felt spiteful enough. Would it help? No. He knew that, and Kiran would know that, and then they’d both yell at each other for being idiots until they were too tired to not be friends again. Their tempers suited each other as much as they set them aflame.
And then there was Vael. Steadfast Vael, his back to the wall near the entrance, watching for any disturbance in the snow. He turned his head when he heard Ryland move and smiled. “Hey,” he whispered.
Ryland nodded to his cousin as Vael moved to sit on his other side. Really not necessary first thing. They weren’t kids anymore. Ryland didn’t need to run off to Kiran’s house to escape his father. Vael didn’t need to sneak out and meet up with the two of them, leftovers in hand because Aunt Lila knew it was hit or miss as to whether her brother was actually feeding her nephew on nights like that. Ryland knew how to take care of himself by himself now, but he also knew there was no chance of explaining that to Vael.
-
He looked over at Kiran again. “We can let her sleep a while, though. Everything alright?”
“Nice and quiet, just like we like it. Sun’s been up a little while. No sound other than the wind.”
“Good. You should try to get some more sleep, too, if you need it.” Ryland reached for the small stash of fire supplies to build up the flame. He could cook them a couple tubers each and some extra to eat easily later. “Soon as we’re moving we gotta make good time. Gonna be a long day.”
“I can’t sleep once the sun is up,” he replied, shaking his head slightly. “But I’ll be fine. Every day is a long day at a forge.” He winked. “It’ll just be frigid instead of sweltering.”
“Yeah, well, parts of you will be freezing. But we keep moving and don’t get wet, you’ll hopefully be warm enough.” Ryland sighed. “You’ll be ready for sleep when we stop, that’s certain.”
“Can’t imagine we won’t.” Vael nodded quietly then watched Ryland work for a moment. “When you’re done there, I’d like to look at your hand again. Just to make sure.”
Ryland stopped himself from shooting Vael a warning glance. It wasn’t about the scales. It was the redness. The healer wanted to have his final word. “It just itches fierce. I’m fine.”
“Then let me see what ‘fine’ looks like so I don’t have to worry in future, Ry.” He had learned the art of giving ironclad orders with a gentle tone from his mother, that was sure. “Don’t tell me your captors saw fit to give you actual proper attention, if this has been happening the whole time.”
His captors were hardly willing to touch Ryland after the one attempt to rip off a single scale. It wouldn’t even occur to Vael to do something like that, though. Vael would stay safe from the madness. “When I’m done,” he agreed. Then Ryland reached over for the bag that held their cobbled together rations, which was resting near Kiran’s feet. He paused and let his eyes travel up the length of her to her face. “…She’s not actually angry at me,” he whispered, “right?”
Vael smiled, and waited until Ryland was sat up again with food in his hands so their eyes could meet before he spoke. “No. You know she’s not.” He snorted soflty. “She might not know it, but we do.”
“Fair point.” Ryland set the potatoes he found on the edges of the fire.
“She was scared. She…” Vael paused and sighed, “she probably still is. For you. We’ve been imagining the worst possible scenarios for the last eight months. It wasn’t like you to just take off. We didn’t know what to think. And with the way her parents left—”
“I know.” This wasn’t the first or even tenth time that had occurred to Ryland. Not by a long shot.
Vael let a bit of silence go by before he whispered, “Yeah, I’m sure you do. I’m not saying she thinks you abandoned her. It was just hard. Didn’t stop being hard. And now she’s got you back and something to be even more angry about and…” He sighed. “She just needs to settle. But if she were actually angry at you she wouldn’t be talking.”
There was a distinct lack of flying fists, thankfully. Ryland nodded heavily. “Yeah. It’s Kiran.” She and Vael hadn’t changed. Had no reason to change.
It was just Ryland.
Vael reached over and gave his cousin’s shoulders a squeeze. “She loves you,” he assured. “As do I. We’ve got your back, scales and all.” He let the sun shine through his smile.
Much as they could do, anyway. But Ryland gave his cousin a brief half-smile in return. “Yeah. I know.” He took his glove off as he shook his head. “Just keep up and don’t make me drag your asses and we’ll survive this.”
“Who’d be dragging who?” said the man with the forge-hewn arms with a grin.
Ryland snorted softly. “Over two days of trudging through snow? Don’t count me out too hard.” Though truly, Vael could handle himself. Nobody who mistook his soft heart as a sign of having an equally soft constitution or will left with less than a black eye. Long distances of trudging would be hard to adjust to, sure, but Vael would indeed adjust.
And Kiran? Maybe she wasn’t as strong, but she was far from weak herself. And she knew cold more intimately than Vael, in and out of the fort. She’d adapt. Either that, or she’d pretend she was adapting and scream at them to shut up and not worry until she collapsed. Which Ryland would be more than happy to give her grief about—nothing different would happen if he did the same.
No, it was absolutely not the snow or the distance Ryland was worried for them over. He knew the land well, and he knew what they could take. At this point, he knew all that better than the back of his own itching hand. “Just stay dry,” he went on as Vael chuckled. “As long as we can get past the winds, we can be out of the thick of the snow in two days. We’ll figure out the rest from there.”
“Yes, sir.” Vael tapped his chest with his fist in salute. With incorrect form, but while Ryland was of the Guard, he wasn’t his father. He didn’t have to have something to say about everything. And Petir couldn’t say anything about anything anymore. The bastard was under the ice, and that was where he could stay.
What would his father have said about all this, though? Would Petir have thrown his son out himself? Ryland certainly would not have been able to go to him for help. Probably would have gotten beaten.
Well. Petir sure would have tried. But considering what happened to the Te’il who tried to whip Ryland and found himself with streaks of ripped flesh on his back instead… The scales were no boon. But they were far from just Ryland’s bane.
As long as they could get somewhere safe before they became Vael and Kiran’s problem as well, it would be fine.
THE BEGINNING OF ACTUALLY WALKING OUT OF THE SNOW, BITCHES
-
Last night had felt awful, but in the dark it was hard to tell how slow they were going. In the daylight, even through the heavy wind there were just enough landmarks to mock their pace. Kiran was the shortest among them, which was no more apparent than in how quickly she had to move to keep up. And every step was a slog. Each one just stoking the flames of her frustrations, her anger. Fuuuuck she was ready for this to be over. Maybe when they got to Veriki she could find a fighting ring. Or start a tavern brawl. Anything to get this out of her system...
-
-
Because falling behind was an option?! This prick...
Kiran stomped harder, faster. Rage-fueled daydreams of punching Ryland in his stupid face distracted her mind from the slog, letting her body find a rhythm that worked. At least the daydreams encouraged her to keep her eyes on his back. Which meant she was also not noticing the passing of the landscape mocking their pace.
Damn him for being right...
-
-
Kiran’s ire sputtered out to see Ryland exhausted once again. Fine. Fine. Fine. It was fine. They’d be out of the snow in a couple of days. She could keep her shit together that long. Vael had the fire under control. She wasn’t sure if she should get warm while they ate, or if that would only make it harder to step back into the cold for watch... probably harder.
“...I’ll keep an eye. Holler when food’s ready.”
-
“Watch doesn’t need to start yet,” Ryland said. “Get warm.”
Ryland had the audacity to go and be calm and logical and competent after that whole day before of being half crazy?
-
Seemed on par for him. And that was somehow a comfort. Even if Vael suspected it was mostly a front.
“I’ve just about got it going, Kir,” he said as he nursed the baby flame to the wood. Theeeeeere we go, little Flame…
-
How dare he exhibit those traits she admired him for while issuing orders! And now Vael all but coaxing her like a wild animal? Which...she could admit she was behaving like. “...fine,” she said, hunkering down nearest the exit. She’d sit and warm her toes. Just for a bit. It was fine.
-
Ryland pulled his hood back and ruffled his short hair into something akin to kempt. “...Don’t suppose anyone grabbed cards before we started running from death incarnate?”
-
“I did not think about entertainment, sadly,” Vael replied with a chuckle. “I could sing for you, or tell one of Grandma’s stories. But no cards.”
-
“Damn.” Ryland yawned. “Nothing to smoke either.”
-
“...we were supposed to be getting drinks,” Kiran grumbled, pulling a well worn deck from her pocket and tossing it into Ryland’s chest like she hadn’t been avoiding it for months.
Before his disappearance, the trio had often played cards late into the night, whether in the tavern or at her place. She’d stopped bringing them out once the worry set in. How could they just have fun when Ry was missing? Just go on like they weren’t sick with worry? Some nights as she cleaned up to meet Vael she’d grab them from the drawer, resentment insisting she shouldn’t care so much when Ryland so obviously hadn’t, the ass. The moment always passed quickly though, replaced with guilt as she tucked the cards back away before she left.
Last night, she’d been angry enough that she’d carried them all the way to the tavern, intent on reclaiming a hint of normalcy. To convince Vael they stop putting their lives on hold for Ryland. To...accept that he wasn’t coming back, even if they weren’t ready to embrace it.
And then his defiant ass had turned back up as suddenly as he’d left. ...Maybe Vael was right; maybe the spirits did listen to them. Spitefully, it seemed.
-
Vael lit up! “You bright your cards!” he exclaimed, because it obviously needed to be stated out loud! “Man… it’s been months.” And his smile became a bit wistful and nostalgic. It hadn’t seemed right to play without Ry…
-
Ryland blinked as the cards made impact and fell into his lap. ...Cards? Just like that? Ryland wanted a creature comfort, and it just....appeared? The normal way, without causing more scales? He was somewhere relatively safe, with food he had control over, people he trusted more than his own damn self, and they didn’t have to be bored or spend the evening rehashing survival plans they were already perfectly aware of or even just locked in his own damn head. Yeah, there was a crazy person who wanted his head, but when in his life had he ever been perfectly safe? This was as normal as it got.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Things were almost normal.
Ryland had survived.
...He’d made it home, even. And maybe he wasn’t within the walls, but...the walls had never been what made home safe.
Ryland stared at the cards. Then he snorted and half-smiled. Perfectly normal reaction - it was ironic that Kiran would just so happen to have them, after all.
But it wasn’t just the cards he was responding to. The cards hit his chest, and they cracked him in the impact. Something so insignificant, so ancillary, so...so stupid, and yet he could just have it. Because Kiran was there to give it and Vael was there to intrinsically remind him of why he’d asked for them in the first place. So that smirk and snort turned into a chuckle, one he tried to cut off with a lick of his lips as he covered his mouth with one hand. Then his hand moved over his eyes as his other arm went across his chest, and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. And that laughter flew out of his control quickly. Maybe not wildly - he never paired ‘sober’ and ‘wild’, he was Ryland-fucking-T’Vair. But normal as his laugh might have been on any other night, in any other circumstance, from any other man, it looked odd on him.
... But he was alive, and he could play cards. If he wasn’t going to laugh, then the whole world was going to break open and he would scream. And considering his eyes were getting misty from behind his gloved fingers, it still might.
-
“Oh no, Kiran, you broke him,” Vael teased with a small smirk. That had to be a good sign, right? Little odd, considering the situation, but stress, nerves, exhaustion all caused funny reactions…
-
(Kiran) “If I’d known that was all it took...” the unfinished jest of implied menace fell flat, she just didn’t have it in her to give. Fuck, it was good to hear him laugh, even if it was brushing real close to the edge of sanity as it went on; the sound of it cracking the protective shell of anger she’d built around herself. ...shit she was not going to ruin this by crying like a fucking child. Ryland was home dammit, and she had nothing left to be sad or angry about.
“...you gonna deal, or just have a one-man giggle fit all night? My magic pockets don’t have the booze for us to join you...” There. Playful sass. That was better. They could pick back up where they’d left off and everything would be fine.
-
“Shut up.” Ryland kept laughing as he picked up the cards and tossed them back at her. “You deal, I...gotta feed your stupid faces....” He tried to make it look like he was rubbing his eyes more than wiping away tears, then reached over to appraise their food situation. Not a lot left, but they could get away with two each again.
-
Vael chuckled softly, leaning back a bit. Tonight… might be a little better than last night.
The fire now started and catching on its own, Vael shifted away from them just a touch to work off his binding. Might give it a rest tomorrow, just to be safe. He breathed slow and see as the compression released, and he rolled up the cloth carefully once he was loose. He’d set it near the fire to dry out and pack it before sleeping tonight. Maybe he could find fresh cloth when they reached Veriki…
-
Kiran managed a smile as she caught the cards. That was...better. It was getting better. They were getting better.
And so she shuffled, flourishing a little more clumsily than she used to, but muscle memory was a miraculous thing. “Alright, these babes are a little dusty, so let’s show ‘em a good time, hm? That means no cheating.” She eyed each of her companions squinting pointedly. Never mind that she been accused of doing so far more often than either of them over the years.
-
“Like you have anything worth cheating off you.” Ryland was trying not to sound so amused. The laughter hurt in his catharsis, and he didn’t need to be any weaker. ....So he focused on something he could be strong about. “Fuck, Vael, how long have you had that thing on? Don’t wear it tomorrow, you need your damn lungs!” He did understand how important it was to Vael, but if something broke or bruised while out here? “Probably stinks now anyway.”
-
“I wasn’t planning to, Dad,” he retorted. “I didn’t mean to, but I slept in it last night. Not something I normally do, I know it’s not safe to, but I kind of forgot o had it on. …And yes, it smells awful because I didn’t change after working yesterday either. So just avoid it.” He snorted softly. “Hopefully I can salvage it after a good wash… or find a replacement in Veriki.”
-
“We’ll figure it out when we get there.” Ryland couldn’t help but remember the dislocated jaw he fully earned as a child when he tried insisting Vael was not, in fact, a boy. Being wrong got him being shoved in the mud - it was the rude ass laughter and jeering that got him injured. Though not being spoken to for a week hurt much more. And that led to remembering all the bruised faces Ryland inflicted on others when they decided to make the same mistake he did. When he was young, he figured Vael forgave him because he’d turned guard dog and did his term of penance. Older and wiser, he understood later it was likely the apology that included one of the few times he ever cried in his life that was enough for Vael. Because it was Vael. And that Ryland stayed forgiven because he took everything Vael needed seriously. “Could use it for kindling when it dries out. In a week.” ....And also not too seriously.
-
“Fuck off,” he said with a laugh. “But if it can’t be salvaged, then yeah, it’ll work for kindling.” Maybe he could find some pretty fabric to replace it…
-
“Veriki’s supposed to have everything. ...Don’t know how we’re gonna get money for the ‘everything,’ but half the problem is solved.” Ryland shrugged.
-
“Eh, we’ve got marketable skills,” Kiran said, indicating herself and Vael as she dealt. “Can probably find a forge or tannery to help in for a few hours and make some coin. Dunno ‘bout you though. Do they pay people to stand around and look important?” She smirked, entirely aware that Ryland had more skills than she was even aware of.
-
Vael snorted, not hiding his grin. Ry had an amazing set of skills, but…
-
“Apparently you will if you’re suggesting you’ll work in order to earn my keep.” He smirked at her hard with a sidelong glance. A proper smirk from better times.
-
“Hah!” Oh he lost it at that!
-
Kiran bit her lips together, her cheeks pinking oh-so-faintly. Yep, she had walked directly into that. Thank the flames, the light was low in here. “Ah, see, that’s where family comes in! Vael is very dedicated to family. He’ll see to it you’re fed.” She reached over and patted the man’s knee, grinning wickedly.
-
(Vael) “Like that was ever in question,” he retorted with another laugh. After all, he had been since they were young, in some form or fashion!
… funny enough, though, he couldn’t cook worth a damn.
-
“You can tan a hide.” Ryland reached into the bag and pulled out some of the jerky. “But anyone who considers this to be edible? They can’t even feed themselves. So from me in the future to you, you are welcome.”
-
“Oi! I didn’t make it!” Kiran laughed, stubbornly snatching the jerky in question. “...but seriously who dries fox? There is nothing on it. They’re practically skeletons once I’ve taken the pelt...”
-
“Someone desperate,” he replied with a chuckle. And now he was dreaming of that lamb stew they didn’t get. Sigh. “Gah, I will be looking forward to a proper meal… whenever we get one next.”
-
“Yes,” Kiran agreed emphatically. “I know it’s only a few more days but, Ry owes us months of good food. We had to resort to tavern fare!” Look how put upon they were!
-
“At least Grieves can cook okay,” he chuckled. “But it’s definitely not the same.” He smiled.
-
“Salt, sugar, fat. Get me those things, and I’ll do my duty.” That painful laughter was threatening to return...
-
“All right. So we have mission parameters for once we’re in Veriki,” Vael chuckled.
-
“You’ll make someone a mighty fine wife someday,” Kiran chuckled. She couldn’t even argue, the man was a force in a kitchen. He could absolutely work miracles with just a handful of staples. ...maybe he’d been working magic all along? No. No he’d worked hard for that skill, having to fend for himself as he did growing up.
-
That he would! And that he had. They had always been impressed with his aptitude at a stove or oven. It was fun to pool resources for something a little fancy now and then! Or cookies. Cookies were always good.
-
“Yeah, too bad nobody will say the same about you.” How was it so easy to slip back into this deadpan affection? Ryland just needed to remember to breathe.
-
“That is by design, my friend,” Kiran rolled her eyes. “Last thing I need is some over-bearing prick thinking he knows best about how I spend my day. I’ve already got one of those.” Her eyes flicked to Ryland, then back to the cards. It was an old joke, and comforting in its return. Yeah. Yeah, they’d be ok. It might get weird for a while, but together, the three of them would be just fine.
-
“You two,” he sighed with a chuckle as he picked up his cards.
-
“You two.” Ryland poked at his cooking. “I escape captivity and all I get is two wards I can out-man and out-woman.” He didnt mean to smirk quite so jovially....
-
“You want to test that theory, sir?” he asked as his brows raised and a smirk on his lips. “I assure you, hammers have only been good for my physique.”
-
“Damn right they have,” Kiran winked at Vael, before returning a challenging smirk toward Ryland. What? She had eyes. And she was absolutely betting on Vael in this tussle.
-
“...Gotcha,” he nodded at Kiran. “So Vael will be your wife, and you...” He grinned.
-
“...will deeply enjoy what those hammers have wrought while he drags your ass into the kitchen?” Kiran quirked an eyebrow. Not that it would go any further. They’d spent more than enough time mutually appreciating the assets of the local men-folk when they’d had enough drinks.
-
Vael chuckled. “And much as I love Kiran, you are well aware you are more my type, and we have already had a discussion about that,” he piped up, brow quirking at his cousin. “Besides, I’d make a better husband than wife. I can’t cook for shit.”
-
“More’s the pity for me,” Kiran sighed dramatically. “I might actually be able to stand a husband like you. Not that I’m any more wife material than you are.”
-
“Oh, you’d make a fine wife if you found the right husband,” Vael assured with a laugh. “Anyone who says otherwise isn’t the right husband.” He winked.
-
“You’re entirely too sweet,” Kiran swooned. “You hear that, Ry? I’ll make a fine wife for the right husband!” She made a rude gesture in his direction with only the usual amount of fire behind it.
-
“Why did I go back...” Ryland picked up his hand and smirked as he fanned the cards.
-
“Because you missed the bullshit,” he retorted with a grin.
-
“I sure did get some bullshit.” He started arranging his cards. “....I’m taking middle shift tonight.”
-
“...Tomorrow night,” Kiran said, arranging her own hand far more casually than her usual mercurial fare.
-
“I’m gonna wake up anyway,” Ryland said casually. He always did....
-
“Then you can go back to sleep tonight,” he replied as he shifted some cards around.
-
“I’m not sick or injured.” Ryland frowned.
-
“But you have been on the run without a break for several days, and imprisoned before that,” Vael replied, looking up to meet and hold his gaze. “You’re pulling your weight plenty by leading and cooking, and you’ll be able to pull more if you take care of yourself now.”
-
“We’re asking you to swallow your pride and rest for one more night, Ry. Humor us.”
-
“Feel like I’ve been humorous enough,” he mumbled. But he knew ‘no’ was the likely answer. ....So he’d play it by ear and at least make sure they were in a state to actually replace him.
-
The cool part about first watch was that Kiran would ultimately get to decide who she woke and when. If she decided he didn’t get a watch because she woke Vael at his allotted time, Ryland Stubborn T’Vair would not get a damn watch. But she’d also seen him leading today, knew he felt better when he was being useful.
“...Tell you what, if I get tired early or I don’t think I can handle it, I’ll tap you in for a short shift before we wake the big guy, alright? I don’t think I’ll have a problem sitting on my ass in the snow for half the night...but I also haven’t spent the day fighting the wind face first before. Just...let us at least try to do our jobs and watch out for you, yeah? It’s our duty too.”
-
Oh. Oh, she had to pull the duty card. Fuckin’ turnabout... “...Fine. ...Especially if he doesn’t get to sleep at a decent hour.” Ryland nodded toward Vael.
-
“Oh, I am going to pass out as soon as watch starts,” he assured. “I’m used to working myself hard, but snow and wind are not the same as a forge.” He chuckled. “That said, I will still wake at my watch time. Too used to being up before the sun.”
-
“Great! Sounds like a plan,” Kiran nodded, then broke into a grin. “Look at us, negotiating like adults. And Ms Eleanor said we hooligans would never grow up.”
-
“Yeah, that old bird was always a judgmental bitch,” Vael murmured. There were a few of those who just couldn’t be helped. He mostly tried to avoid them. They only softened when they realized he was in charge of their soldiers’ arms.
-
“....Is she still alive?” Ryland curled his nostril.
-
“I heard she’d caught a fever last winter and finally kicked it,” Kiran shrugged. “Her nephew is teaching the rugrats now.”
-
“Oh great, what’s he gonna teach ‘em? How to ‘use their words?’“
-
“How to run their damn mouths, unless he’s changed much since we were kids.”
-
“Nah, he’s still full of hot air,” he retorted with a snort. “He’s cute now though. Seems unfair.”
-
“He is wife material.” Ryland smirked at Vael.
-
“Because he’s cute and full of hot air?!”
-
“Hah!” He threw his head back and laughed. “I don’t think could stand him long enough to marry him.” He smirked.
-
“Don’t always gotta marry ‘em...” Ryland moved his smirk toward his cards.
-
“I don’t think he’s cute enough to fuck. He’s too annoying.”‘ He snorted.
-
“Yeah... You take ‘em to bed, you still gotta listen to ‘em.” Ryland snorted.
-
“Damn right.” He rolled his eyes. “And it’s not worth risking getting saddled with his offspring. Then I’d never be rid of him.”
-
“You bring him in the the family, you’re getting kicked out of the family.”
-
Kiran squeeze-blinked at her cards, shaking her head. Sweet spirits, attitude like that, she was glad she’d never caught Ryland’s interest...
-
“I’d run off to Veriki first,” he assured. “Raise the kid solo.” Really, there wasn’t anyone back home that had truly caught his interest…
-
“Alright, I’d write you then.” Ryland nodded.
-
“You had better come visit, ass,” he retorted with a smirk.
-
“Don’t worry, Aunt Kiran will drag his dumb ass down by the ear if she has to,” Kiran grinned.
-
“Ah, my heart. I know who my real family is.” He smirked at his cousin.
-
“Just gotta make sure I’m not captured by Te’ils again.” He glanced at the tubers he was cooking and shifted them. “Food’ll be done soon.”
-
“Don’t leave without us, and we’ll help make sure it doesn’t happen,” he affirmed with a nod.
-
“And not a minute too soon,” Kiran said, stretching, not being remotely cautious about showing her hand in the process. Maybe she’d end up waking Ryland after all. She was beat.
-
The three of them got dinner, melted more water down, and remembered themselves over cards until weariness set in....
(STILL APART OF ABOVE SCENE, BUT RYLAND TALKING MORE ABOUT THE DREAMS AND MENTIONING THAT SHIT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE AROUND HIM)
Eventually, though, they fully startled him awake, jerking him forward with a yelp.
-
“Woah! Hey,” Kiran crooned softly, sitting up. “You’re alright Ry, you’re safe. We got you...” She reached over to run soothing circles across his back. Did he have sensation in the scales, she wondered.
-
He shuddered, but he didn’t protest. He instead ran his gloves hands down his face. “I’m fine,” he whispered...though likely not to Kiran.
-
“Yeah? Tell me about it, the being fine,” she coaxed gently, keeping up the contact. It’d been a goodly while since she’d seen him with nightmares this potent. Not long enough, in her opinion.
-
“...It’s...” His hands slid down his face, and he stared forward with dubious awareness at what he was seeing. “....I’m fine.... S’dreams....” ...dreams that...were a little less abstract....
-
“What kind of dreams?” She moved from soothing circles to rubbing his shoulders. He’d never get back to sleep if he was this tense...
-
“I don’t....know....” Ryland swallowed deep. “...Te’il stories... Just...not real...”
-
“Can’t say I know many Kiel stories, but...real is looking a little bigger than we thought of late...”
-
“No.” Ryland steepled his hands in front of his mouth and closed his eyes. “This isn’t....it.... Dreams aren’t real....”
-
“OK,” she accepted. “Dreams aren’t real. Which means they can’t hurt you, Ry. So...why don’t you tell me about it and we can both tell it to fuck off.”
-
.....Fuck. Damn her logic... “It... Te’ils tell a lot of...stories. And...” He took a shaky breath. “Their gods are....huge and....I don’t know....”
-
“Gods huh? Like tall monsters or...” Someone had tried to explain that woo-woo crap the Kiels believed once before but it hadn’t ever made sense to her.
-
“... They’re....supposed to be men and women, but more. They make miracles, they are the wind and the sun and the spirits...” Fuck, this felt ridiculous explaining it. “And they.... I...had a dream about one...”
-
“Alright, big magic people,” she tried to get it. That wasn’t as important right now though. “Which one did you dream about? If it’s the snow one or the wind one, please feel free to pass along my complaints...”
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“That’s not... The gods sort of....speak to and through the snow and the wind. ....This one was...like the sun. And a soldier....”
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So not wholly unlike the apirits Vael worshipped, just controlled by people.. “Alright, I can see that making enough sense, fighting off the snow and the dark,” Kiran nodded. He was a little more present now, which seemed like a good sign. “Did they talk to you? This sun-soldier?”
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“....He....might have....” Ryland sighed heavily. “....They’re fucking dreams....”