crescentview | 🍁🎑🦋 Bug Eater Farm: Autumn Catch-all 🦋🎑🍁

Are you sure?

[ Just to make doubly sure. He knows Syrlya won't starve, and Trahearne himself doesn't mind skipping food. He just doesn't want to send him home hungry. ]

So long as you don't mind walking on an empty stomach.

[ Said with a hint of a tease. ]

It's fine, Trahearne. [Although now he's kind of hoping that this walking wasn't supposed to be some ticketed event too. Better keep his expectations low. He adjusts the bag on his arm.] You lead the way. You know where we're going.

All right.

[ And with a little smile, he begins walking off through the town at a leisurely pace. The walk definitely isn't a ticketed event... Or at least he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to get anywhere.

After a little moment of silence, he looks over. ]

How have you been?

[ It's been a while. In his book. ]

[Syrlya follows beside him, occasionally glancing around to see if he can guess where it is they're walking to.]

I've been fine. [At least, nothing that's stressed him out has actually been his personal problems.] I've noticed it's a new season...

[ They are headed east, and Trahearne seems to be taking them on a path that will lead them out of town. ]

It is.

[ He breathes in, taking in the faint humidity behind the crisp in the air. It's getting cold. ]

To think it was spring when we first arrived, and now autumn is upon us.

[ Two seasons... There's a little twinge of guilt at that. Just a faint one. ]

It's very strange that they're so short. [This is obviously the thing to focus on. What the fuck. They're only four weeks.

This dress leaves him more exposed to the cold, so it's only the natural coolness of his body that spares him from feeling worse in it.]

It is.

[ He tilts his head a bit, recounting all that's happened. And with one week of autumn down, there are only three left. ]

It makes one wonder how long we are meant to stay here--if there is a purpose to us experiencing the seasons at such an accelerated rate.

[ Hmm. ]

I wonder what happens at the end of winter.

Presumably Spring. The goddess hasn't mentioned anything about her terms changing. [That is, the only way they can actually release themselves from this island is to get married. He has no reason to think that will change after a year, accelerated or not.] And she continues to bring in a steady flow of people, so I assume this will persist.

[ He hums. ]

A reasonable guess. [ There have been no warnings or signs about limited time, but that anxiety is always there. ] A world with shorter seasons is something we will have to get used to, I suppose.

[ Assuming they stay for much longer.

As they walk, there comes the distant sound of the waves and the faint smell of salt on the air. Trahearne is taking them to the beach. ]

Edited 2023-02-10 08:09 (UTC)

[If they stay for much longer...

Ah. Syrlya looks down, watching his step as they reach the sand so he doesn't press too hard and get it in his shoes. That would suck. These are so much lower than boots.]

[ Trahearne pauses in his walking (he is not wearing shoes, like normal), to turn back, watching Syrlya pick his way over the sand. His head is tilted curiously for a moment before he takes a few steps back to stand beside him. ]

Do you need help?

[ Looks at his feet. Ah, that's why. ]

It might be more comfortable if you remove your shoes.

I suppose I should... [His foot sinks too far, and it seems like he's going to be getting sand on them anyway.

He leans over, pulling them off one after the other and depositing them in the same bag with his clothes.]

[ Trahearne only watches patiently, a small smile on his face.

It's dark. The moon and its wreath of stars peek through the clouds as they drift overhead, casting a faint glow over the water and the sands in those brief moments. Besides the sound of the waves, a few resting gulls, and the teal and fuchsia glows from the sylvari, the beach is empty, and all theirs.

And as Trahearne watches, he's overwhelmed with how much affection he feels for Syrlya. When the other is finished putting his shoes away, Trahearne catches Syrlya's free hand with his own, gently entwining their fingers together. Not too forceful, only to give him a chance to pull away if he doesn't like it.

Even if he does, that doesn't change the sentiment he's about to voice. ]

Though short it has been thus far, I am glad I've gotten to spend it with you. [ He smiles. ] The time we've been given has been a blessing.

Edited (asdfkasdlkfk) 2023-02-10 09:08 (UTC)

[Syrlya's hand is caught as he straightens back up, and he puts his attention on Trahearne.]

I... [He averts his gaze down, his grip tightening.] I'm glad I was able to see you again.

[ Even if Syrlya looks away, Trahearne doesn't. He gives a light chuckle before beginning to walk again, pace slow. For the time being, it's nice not to be in a hurry.

"Again," however, carries more weight than Syrlya perhaps realizes. He lifts his gaze to the sky. ]

I wish I could have been there with you the whole time. To share your joy, your pain, and your burden.

[ He knows Syrlya has found more people to support him--rightfully so. Perhaps it's selfish of him to wish that, then. ]

I am sorry.

Sorry? [Syrlya Looks up, blinking rapidly.] It's not your fault what happened.

[He could lay blame at the feet of a lot of people. Himself included. But Trahearne was never one of those.]

Perhaps not. [ Unconsciously, he holds tighter. ] But I will always wonder if I could have done something different.

[ They are his final memories, after all. He can't help the nightmares, the anxious churning in his head in his quieter moments. ]

I am glad, [ He turns to smile at Syrlya once more. ] that I've at least gotten to learn what you've accomplished, and seen what you've become.

[ A beat. ]

I'm so proud of you, Valiant.

[ There's a little tease when he calls him that--it's been a long time. Even for him. ]

[Syrlya's expression twists at that.] Well, I'm not a Valiant anymore.

[His efforts to match the mood fall a little flat, because he... doesn't know how he feels about that, still. The lack of a Wyld Hunt pulling at his mind. It gave him purpose and direction so his life... what does he do now that his reason to exist has completed?

This place is distracting, keeps him from dwelling for too long. But he feels hollow inside thinking about it.]

I know.

[ Trahearne was lucky that in the immediate aftermath, he had the Pact to focus on. He thought about redefining himself, he really did. There was a time in his life he thought about what life might be like once he was done with his Hunt, without the Pact, but he finds it hard to picture it now.

Unfortunately, he comes up empty in terms of advice.

Regardless, the completion of a Wyld Hunt--especially one as monumental as killing all of the Elder Dragons--deserves to be celebrated. He'd be more than happy to brainstorm with him after...this.

Trahearne feels another flutter of nerves in his gut, and the breath he takes to calm himself is louder than he intends. Either way, his pace slows to a stop, hand tugging on Syrlya's to do the same. ]

I don't think I've given you my congratulations on completing your Wyld Hunt yet.

[Syrlya stops, his attention up on Trahearne once they do.]

Thank you. [This is a compliment easier to accept, and he's not sure what about the topic should be nerve-wracking.] I couldn't have done it alone. But I think Tyria will be better off with this dragon cycle behind it.

[ It's such a professional answer. Trahearne's smile widens a touch as the thought crosses his mind.

He leans forward slightly, clasping his hands behind his back. ]

Yes. As your Marshal of—no, as former Marshal of the Pact, I give you my wholehearted congratulations on a job well done. You have gone far above and beyond everyone's expectations, and I can think of no one better to have heralded Tyria's new era of peace.

[ He relaxes, standing up straight again, and his expression softens. ]

But as your Trahearne, I...wanted to give you this.

[ When he brings his hands forward again, in it is a little velvet box. He slowly pries it open, revealing inside an elegant necklace, the amethyst glinting faintly in the moonlight.

His mouth opens, as though he wants to say something, but falters, unable to recall exactly what he wanted to say in this moment behind all these nerves.

He doesn't even realize he said "your Trahearne." ]

[It's a bit of a strange choice of words. Marshal was a role over Commander, so it doesn't work as shorthand for subordination. And Trahearne is his name.

Syrlya is mostly standing there with his brow furrowed trying to parse what the hell that even means when Trahearne presents a very fancy necklace.] Oh...! That's very pretty.

[He takes it so he can put it on, over the cowl. Hopefully the chain is long enough.] Thank you. I don't really wear jewelry but Mishka did advise I start since I don't always have to be ready for a fight here.

[ Hearing Mishka's name is like an unpleasant jolt back into reality. He hasn't thought of...anyone else since he picked him up this evening. Trahearne's mouth twists slightly in his smile. ]

It looks lovely on you. He's right. [ He places his hands on Syrlya's shoulders and admires how the necklace looks on the dress, on him. ] Perhaps now is the time to discover who it is you may be outside of your Wyld Hunt.

[ His eyes slowly lift to look at Syrlya's, suddenly overwhelmed with both adoration and the painful tug of a heartache. His expression drops a bit, melancholy seeping into his eyes. ]

You have accomplished so much, but you have also shouldered so many burdens. Perhaps too many for one person to bear. [ A hand drops to gingerly brush a fingertip on the pendant. ] Consider it my promise to you that I am here for you, that I am here so that I may help shoulder your weight should you need it, in whatever time we have together.

[ Because...who knows how this will go. ]

And...I'm sorry.

[Maybe it is. It's just... so much easier to get involved with distractions than sit there and try to think about himself.

His gaze lifts up from the pendant when that melancholy drips out. His burdens... well, it was only necessary, wasn't it? That was his duty, to shoulder the world--he's never regretted being given that. Only regretted failing to live up to it.

He reaches to put his hands on Trahearne's shoulders, squeezing them once.] I will not hear you apologize again for your own death, Trahearne. You couldn't have known the truth.

[It will always be him, having been too slow for the egg, too slow for the Pact, too slow for Trahearne.] You were a casualty, not a cause. And you did what you could. No one with any sense holds that against you.

[ A little smile tugs at the corner of Trahearne's mouth, but it doesn't win out over the swirl of emotion inside of him.

He's so nervous.

He takes another step forward, into Syrlya's personal space. ]

I know. But there are so many things for which I have wronged you, and my conscience will not ease until I've apologised.

[ His hands slowly glide up Syrlya's neck and come to rest on the curve of his jaw, cupping his face.

Please don't freeze like last time. ]

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