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[backdated to Saturday April 26, 2025]

The spot along the hiking trails deep into the woods from last time seemed as good as any place to meet. This time, Kyrie remained at her van, the back doors wide open to take full advantage of the warmth late April had to offer. Various plants were set out on the parking lot beside the van, all soaking up the sunshine as she spritzed water amongst the leaves as needed.

Each step of hers had a bit of a spring to it, a smile never leaving her face. It was hard not to be elated--she had her power back. Mostly. The tiny Mauvian altering her own back to its old form, that intense energy fluctuating through her stabilizing into the uniform and strength she'd once possessed centuries ago? She hoped it was a catalyst of good things for her world. She needed to make it so.

Plus? The Earth wasn't destroyed. So hey, that was a massive win worth celebrating.

Gave them time to figure out what to do next. Kind of.

Kyrie set the water bottle down inside its holder in her van, turning so her back faced the cover of her van before she stretched up onto her tip-toes to reach high as she could to work some of the stiffness out of her muscles. Her wings flexed and flapped, exposed skin on her arms and legs shimmering in the sunlight. She'd told Devyn she wasn't 'hiding' at the moment in her most recent text to him that she was at the spot. It felt better to not wear the glamor, and he already knew what she was.

Feeling the warmth on her wings was precious to her. She wasn't going to waste the chance.

As it was, she had parked in such a way that the back of her van opened up away from the entry to that parking lot, giving her cover behind the wide open doors or in the van itself to yank the magic over herself if she caught any unknown entering the area. Sitting just inside the van with her legs swing over the edge, she kept an eye on a mirror placed where she could see through a window towards the front, and any approaching vehicle. No music played, no videos on her phone. She made sure nothing would block any sound of footsteps, either, in case someone came down from one of the paths.

She was being cautious about being unglamored. She understood the dangers. But she felt… good. She felt like indulging. Besides, most of her time back on Solaris was spent inside the damn hangar…

Kyrie closed her eyes and tipped her head up to the sun, basking much like her plants. Good a mood as she was in… she knew the upcoming conversation might not be so light-hearted. Maybe. Devyn would probably be delighted talking about more incoming fights with other Heralds, whenever that all hit.

As Devyn was wont to do, he was dressed in clothes quite a bit flashier than he had any right to wear while taking a stroll in the forest: tall boots with too much gold and heel to be efficient on a hike, and high waisted double breasted black pants that left little to the imagination. The white silk shirt tucked in hugged his torso but the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. The very deep V cut would have exposed most of his chest had he not had the decency to spare his husband’s attention and also put on a deep teal, high-collared undershirt.

And gold. So much gold. Enough jewelry that he could have opened a shop if he’d wanted to. But he liked the noise it made, the little clings of chain and metal as it brushed against itself.

But then, Devyn was always a little flashier when he had more to hide.

So a few extra bracelets and double the rings and earrings with a reflection that rivaled the sun, and necklaces layered enough to steal your gaze.

And if he had bandages under his clothes, you’d never know.

And if his step was uneven, it was the boots.

His hair was in a high ponytail to keep it out of his face but he wore dark sunglasses, because even if he could see just fine, it didn’t mean his eyes were happy about it. He was playing it safe, in his own way.

With his free hand, he waved to Kyrie and flashed a grin as disarming as his attire.

“More plants? Where are you getting them all?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at the hiking path behind them as if he might find some freshly dug holes. “Looks like you’ve got twice as many as the last time we were here. Can you eat any of them?”