He doesn't know how many times he's done this by now.

"Should we bring flowers?"

Gale casts a glance sideways and there's a slight smile on Jinhai's face, almost as though he knows the answer before it's even spoken - and he probably does. Even when he's in a golem, Jinhai can still read Gale better than anyone, even Bix and Stormy, and sometimes their communication is wordless, simple glances. It shouldn't make sense, because Jinhai is inside of Gale's head most of the time, not seeing his face; but it does, and Gale is endlessly appreciative of it. There is no weapon that suits him more than Jinhai.

He's already picked up the flowers, which were tucked on the desk. Gale steps from the room, and his dragon follows, his arms at his sides, long tail slithering across the ground behind him.

"Do you remember?" Gale asks, and Jinhai's head inclines towards him, but he doesn't speak.

"When we first met," Gale continues, and this time a real smile breaks across the borrowed face, Jinhai letting out a soft peal of laughter.

"I do," he says lightly. "You were...well, more childlike back then, I think. Not completely, you've never been really childish - always so serious - but sometimes you had a bit more sarcasm to you, a bit more...bite, I should say, perhaps."

An eyebrow raises, and Gale says, sounding amused, "Are you telling me I'm not sarcastic now?"

"You're plenty sarcastic now, just in a more mature way."

Gale snorts, and Jinhai laughs, and it feels good. It feels relaxed, and although they have never been the touchy feely sort, Gale lets his shoulder bump companionably against his weapon's, and the dragon smiles down at him, lifting his hands and tucking them into his draping sleeves.

"Did you ever wonder how long we would last?" Gale asks, as they step out onto the Deus grounds. The day is gauzy and bright, the light spilling out across the lawns, and beneath his feet, the grass is a bit damp from early morning dew. Gale switches the flowers from one hand to the other, reaching to brush a stray strand of hair out of his bad eye.

Jinhai is silent for a moment as he considers the question.

"I wondered if you would be all right, in the end," he says finally, lifting his face so that rays of sunlight spread shadows across behind him. "You are a good person, Gale. I wondered if you were truly meant for this life. Or really, even if I was, though I don't remember much about anything."

Gale watches him and then says, "But you and I were meant to be partners, if nothing else."

A laugh cracks out of Jinhai, and the dragon stops and turns to look at him fully. His dark hair is braided carefully, horns protruding out from the top of his head and curling backwards. In this form, he is several inches taller than Gale, the golem's face dotted with scales, and under any other circumstances, he probably could have been very imposing.

But not to Gale. Not after all these years together.

"Yes," says Jinhai, and his tone is affectionate. "Yes, Gale, you and I, if nothing else, were meant to be partners, and I am very glad that it was you that I was able to choose and not someone else. I don't think I could have stood anyone else."

Gale smiles. "I could. Maybe someone a little less snippy in the morning."

Jinhai tsks and rolls his eyes, but he is clearly fighting a smile as they continue on.

They reach their destination within a few minutes. The rows of plain, blank gravemarkers are small and uniform, with only names etched across them and not much else. Some are years old, some too recent, still fresh. Most do not even have bodies within them, and the one that Gale now treads the familiar path to does not either. He stops periodically and lays a single flower beside the names that are recognizable: Clarice Sinclair, Clerise Wilson, and Benjamin Summers, as well as a few others, before continuing on, until finally he reaches his original destination.

"Hey," he says softly as he kneels down, and Jinhai stands a respectable distance away, though Gale has told him before that it's all right to come closer. He reaches out and brushes a stray leaf from the top of the marker and then lets his fingers drift over the name written.

"Good morning, little sister."

Leslie is not dead, but she is gone from this life, and Gale lays the flowers gently at the foot of his twin's marker. Some part of him still aches longingly for this fact to change; for there to be some reversal of the situation he's in, but he's made peace with the fact that Leslie will never wake up. He's accepted it, however hard and however painful it might be, and his expression is gentle as he smooths dirt from the petal of one flower.

"I just thought I'd drop by and say hello," he says. "Jinhai, too."

He stays for another few minutes, speaking quietly, telling Leslie about his day. Then he straightens, brushing a bit of earth from the knees of his pants, and takes a step back, Jinhai's head rising as he glances over, clothing rustling as he moves.

"Ready?" he asks gently, and Gale nods. With one last look at his sister's marker, he follows after Jinhai, and they make their way back to the main building, wind in their hair.