Welcome to Gaia! ::

The tone in her voice seemed to drive home for him just how lonely it felt to be talking to the person he cared for most like she was just a good friend. He pulled his hand from hers to wrap his arms around her, drawing her close to him.

It was like some inner snarling beast had suddenly been soothed, just to have her near to him again, and he took a long moment simply to relish it before even trying to speak.

"The whole time I was gone," he murmured "I tried to think of anything -but- how much I wanted to come back....I missed you so much."

"Well, to answer the second question first..." he began, nestling his head on top of hers, letting his eyes close. "...I guess I'm going to get things sorted with my mom and dad, look for a job, and go from there. Just as long as it brings me closer to you in the end, I'll be happy."

It sounded sappy, but he didn't care. After a month of not seeing her, he felt they were entitled to a little mush.

Fingers traced through her golden locks as he searched for a good starting point to his tale. When he felt ready, he began to speak. He told her of all the fevered connections he'd made after leaving her home which had led him to his first destination.

He told her of the people in Mayfeld who lived in fear of unseen demons in the mountainsides, who had misunderstood his appearance and had attempted to exorcise him when they'd found him unconscious from a snakebite.

He told her of meeting Farrkhod, and the things they'd discussed. He told her of the council of ten, the soultoucher relics that had spawned his parents, and of his acceptance of the guardian circle.

He explained the runes that were now seared into his brow and the backs of his hands, of how they bound him to the ancient aspect of himself. And how said aspect would awaken only in times when it was needed most.

He told her everything, though left out one very crucial part of his story, letting her digest the rest of it first.

The one part he wanted to discuss with her most.

He watched her go, his mind in a jumble for the moment at having relived it all. He remained on the couch as he listened to her move about the kitchen before he rose from where he was sitting.

Did he really want to get into this right now when things were just starting to settle....?

For that matter, was there going to be a better time?

He moved quietly through the house to where she was, pausing in the kitchen's doorway to watch her pour her glass.

"There was something else, too...." he spoke when she'd set the kettle down so she wouldn't jolt and spill it on herself.

He cracked a lopsided smile at the question. Whether it had been her intention or not, she'd hit the nail on the head more squarely than she thought. "Something like that." he told her, moving out of the threshold to stand closer to her.

"Remember our first meeting?" he asked, the question seeming a bit out of the blue. "When you took me from that coffee shop to the mermaid lake?"

"It was. You were the first person to show me anything like that place." he began, fumbling into his pants pocket for the small weight carried there. The thick golden ring adorned with scales slipped easily onto his finger as he withdrew his hand again, reaching out to clasp her own.

"And now I have somewhere I'd like to show you." he said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. His face was gentle, but there was an undertone of something -- apprehension, maybe. Whatever it was, he was serious about it. "....if you'll let me."

He gave his head a shake in the negative. "Not afraid you'll run away. Just...." he faltered, trying to think of the right way to word it. "....maybe a little afraid you won't see it in the same light I did."

The idea, just trying to fathom it, really, was devastating. Because being wrong in this case would mark a whole new set of problems. But he would not allow those thoughts to gain substance. His head and heart both told him that this was right. That the two of them fit too perfectly to be anything BUT right.

He drew in another breath to speak, and then stopped himself. Words, really, were doing nothing to explain this. And it came down to the simple fact that she would either feel the same pull he had the moment she arrived, or she would not.

And so, he would do better than tell her. He would show her.

His arms encircled her waist, hands folding at the small of her back as his gaze held hers. A gentle blue glow absorbed the two of them, fading them out of the kitchen as if they had never been there in the first place.

The enchantment Mor'tivyr used to transport was, in many ways, like the magic Nani used....and then in some ways was different. There was no sensation of flight, only a tranquil phasing out in one place, and phasing in in another, as if the entire process had been a leisurely blinking of the universe's eyes.

The small mossy grove that encircled the bank was dark, and the air smelled of a sweet and unrelenting summer. It was quiet here, the only sound being the gentle lap of the water, and the soft sigh of the wind...

He had stood back to watch her for a moment, saying nothing as she'd moved to the water's edge. When she spoke, however, he moved to join her, sitting at her side.

"I felt the same." Zhane said. "I didn't even know what I'd find coming this far out and away from the mountains, but I felt drawn here. And it felt so familiar it was driving me crazy..."

His eyes scanned the bank, looking for something in particular. Something from the last time he'd been here. Crawling a short distance from her, he located, and then plucked the tiny rime-crusted circlet from where he'd left it hanging on a broken-off branch.

"Here..." he said, offering it to her. "I found it last time...what do you think of this?"

Though it was about the right size to be a ring, it was far too fragile and intricate. It looked, moreso, like a tiara. A very, very tiny one. The item, while curious, held no significance to him but....maybe to her.