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[The pause in the conversation is so long that Sorey almost startles when Dezel starts talking again, half-lost in thought and wonder in the world around them. Aroundight Forest has sideways been beautiful, but it feels even crisper and cleaner than usual. Is it because of Maotelus? Sorey doesn't recognize the pathways Dezel leads him down, his own familiar routes long since overgrown, but still somehow everything looks the same.

But then Dezel speaks and Sorey is pulled back to the present. He can't help himself; Dezel always had this way of saying the kindest things as if they were simple truths. For someone who Sorey remembers tending toward the negative side of realism, Dezel has been unendingly gentle with him.

He slings an arm around Dezel's shoulders, hugging him roughly as they walk before letting him go.] Well...maybe one day it'll happen. [Sorey's not arrogant enough to think he deserves to be a seraph, but he'd be happy if that was the case. It feels so far off into the future, but he knows that Dezel must already be looking past those few short decades Sorey has left and thinking about what will happen after.

Sorey has every confidence that his friends will be fine without him; they're beings of immortality, the earth and wind and rain itself, but he understands enough to know that he could never understand what it feels like to watch a friend be born and then die at your side, long before your own end is in sight.]

[Dezel doesn't pull away from the hug. He's practically been hugging Sorey this whole time, so it's no big deal, but don't you dare call him out. He's not overprotective or doting. Not at all. ... Gods, who is he kidding. He hasn't seen the young man who saved him in a thousand years. Of course he's acting like every breath counts, because it does. Once Sorey is gone, that's it. That's everyone who was a part of his old life, for better or worse.

He won't take this time for granted.

Their first stop, however brief, is the village in Aroundight Forest. Dezel explains the history. At some point, humans realized the forest was fairly rich in resources due to the fresh water trickling from Mt. Mabinogio. It was also very, very close to the village that the great Shepherd Sorey was born in. The pilgrims seeking to follow in Sorey's footsteps began as a trickle, and then a steady stream, so settling here made sense.

And then their children's children began to see seraphim.

As it so happens, the pair are absolutely swarmed by little kids chanting 'Shepherd! Shepherd!' and tugging on Sorey's cloak. Dezel gently waves them off, but not before conjuring some candy from his coat pockets. Apparently he does this a lot. The reason for the visit is to ask the item merchant to pass on a letter, and then it's off to Ladylake.

The beautiful granite Sorey remembers is still there. Civilization spilled over the lake until the surrounding land was dotted with houses and streets, creating a sort of suburb. Elegant white towers rise from the center of the floating city, distinguishing both the palace and the sanctuary. Where the land curves around it, there is another group of very tall buildings-- the port-- and a second bridge.

As they cross the main bridge, the guards don't even bat an eye. Dezel leans in slightly.]

It's a little busy this time of day. Don't wander off.

[There are still plenty of stairs and platforms, but it seems like the city has gained a few layers it didn't have before. Narrow gondolas slip through the canals below. Judging by the amount of people in the boats, it's a good way to get around the usual carriage and foot traffic. The streets are wider, too. But the best thing?

It feels pure. There's not a trace of that suffocating malevolence anywhere. Uno's done his job well.

After snagging some fried food from a cart, he leads Sorey to the center square of the city. There used to be a water wheel here, but it was destroyed a long time ago. In its place is a huge fountain made with Hyland's signature embellishments... as well as seraphic artes. The fountain is unique in that it is made for people to walk through it. Arches of sparkling water and artisan marble throw rainbows around. In the center is a curtain made of water, beautiful and curved and totally breaking the laws of physics; surrounding it are several stepping stones making a circle.

Dezel doesn't tell him to step on them. He just casually shoves Sorey forward. The centerpiece comes alive, then, painting light onto the surface of the water. This particular hologram depicts the Shepherd pulling the sword from the stone, but the others feature various locations from the Celestial Record, or illustrations of Ladylake's long history.]

Thought you might be interested in this. [He can't see it, but he doesn't mind the water parts.] Mikleo had his hand in it.

Edited 2016-12-03 10:52 (UTC)

[Sorey has to hide his smile when he spots Dezel handing out candy to kids, human children. It's so unexpectedly soft-hearted; not that Dezel was a cruel person, but he never offered much kindness that wasn't hidden behind a thin veneer of realism. It's...really nice. Very nice. If nothing else, getting to see Dezel like this with his heart open to the world makes waking up a thousand years later worth it.

It's less weird to have children swarming and elders nodding to him in respect than it is to see them bowing to Dezel. Dezel had told him but only now is he really seeing it; humans can really see seraphim. And they must think of him as a new Shepherd, with Dezel as his Prime Lord; there isn't the same kind of desperate hope in people's eyes here either as they take him in. Shepherds are still around but they aren't a sign of dire times or a single flickering light in the darkness. They're simply people working to keep the world clean, because a world with humans is one with malevolence, but that doesn't mean it has to be a cruel world.

Sorey stays to talk with the villagers as Dezel wanders off to complete a task. He gets made fun of for the way he says a few things, and his choice of words here and there; elders chuckle and call him old-fashioned, and Sorey laughs with them as they tell him new words, new sayings. "Yer from across the ocean, aren't you kiddo?" ask a few curiously and Sorey hates to lie, so he just shrugs and holds up his hands to the little girl using him to play cat's cradle.

It's not until they get to Ladylake that Sorey truly begins to understand the scope of how the world has changed. The city, already impressively gigantic has tripled in size, the great bridge that once led to the outskirts of town now a historic feature and a tourist spot. Sorey doesn't have any traveling papers but Dezel produces his own, and his cloak is enough to mark him as a Shepherd so he's given a pass.

Trying to take in everything is making his head spin, so Sorey allows Dezel to lead him around (and buy him food that is delicious, a fried snack that is reminiscent of the salted fish of a thousand years ago) and just tries to keep from being overwhelmed. It's like walking into a new city, except it isn't; the streets are familiar, the architecture arches and flourishes like it did forever ago. Sorey could spend months just studying the layout of the city and buildings, but that's not anything new. Are the aqueducts still around?

Dezel leads him over to a fountain and Sorey starts inspecting the nearest placard when Dezel nudges him forward so hard he stumbles. Once his feet touch the stones the water flashes to brilliant colors, images filtering across of-]

Is that-

[Sorey goes bright red at seeing himself rendered so beautifully on the water before it moves on to historical moments, ruins and mountains, gigantic lakes and sparkling shores.]

...Mikleo's a bigshot now, isn't he? [It makes him swell with pride, to know that Mikleo who'd wanted strength so badly is now able to make something like this, something beyond Sorey's ability to even understand. It also worries him, because the Mikleo he keeps hearing about feels so distant from him that he's not sure who he's going to find when he finally meets up with him again.]

Most of the research into seraphic artes is done by other people, but he lent his talents to the places that mattered to him. [Ladylake, the altar...] ... He probably wanted to impress you.

[He doesn't elaborate, thinking perhaps that's enough.] Come on, there's more to see.

[They pass beneath the shadow of the sanctuary, which is impossibly grand. Stained glass windows adorn the outside, and it seems like the stonework has been reformed by masterful hands. Water features prominently in the outside, as well as a statue of an unknown person holding Lailah's sword to the sky. Fire runes are inscribed all along it, so that it glows with a pure and golden light.

Dezel leads him inside. There are a few priests who look up when Sorey enters, dressed as he is, but they assume Dezel is his Prime Lord like the rest. He's not sure how he feels about that, but he doesn't dwell on it. The center of the room where the sword rests is, of course, vacant. In its place is a stone shrine housing not only Uno's pure water and bowl, but a sweet-smelling red candle and a glass ball with some opals in it.

Uno is surprised to see Dezel but downright shocked to see Sorey again-- and quite relieved. He mentions that the others will be excited to see him, too. Sorey must have so many questions.

Dezel shifts uncomfortably. He might be more well-adjusted than the last time Sorey saw him, but he's still feeling a bit like a third wheel. He leaves Sorey to it, then, and attaches himself to the wall to wait.]

[Sorey doesn't know how long he spends with Uno.

When he sees his friend again he throws himself into his arms, surprising them both, he thinks. While it feels as if he'd seen everyone just recently, at the same time he can almost feel the distance of time between them until the moment they touch.

They sit together on the steps leading up to his shrine and talk enthusiastically; well, Sorey remains enthusiastic, Uno is as serene and unflappable as ever. Sorey asks about Father Breunor, about Alisha, about what came of the Council that gave her so much grief. He asks about the growth of Ladylake and its fortune under his care. Uno speaks of the people and generations of Ladylake with such tender kindness that Sorey can't help but throw his arms around him again.

When they finally leave, Sorey is on cloud nine. He can't stop touching Dezel, grabbing at his wrist or arm or shoulder only to pull away, not wanting to overwhelm him with too much. He points at just about everything they pass by and subjects Dezel to a barrage of questions until he comes to an abrupt stop in front of a clothing shop.]

...should I change?

[He'd picked up on your discomfort, Dezel. Don't think he didn't.]

[Dezel puts up with it, surprisingly. At this point he's used to Zaveid draping on him, which Sorey doesn't really do. He knows Sorey likes his little physical reminders and, after a thousand years of slumber, Dezel isn't going to deny him. Sometimes he returns it but only when other people aren't looking, like a hand on Sorey's back to help direct him through a crowd, or on his shoulder in an alleyway. He's still the dark, silent sentinel that Sorey remembers.

The sudden stop has him puzzled, though. And then it hits. The way Sorey looks at him, the near-threadbare cloak that has seen more than its share of calamity...]

... You don't-- you don't have to change. [He isn't sure how much the cloak means to him, exactly, but he'd learned at some point it was gifted to Sorey from Alisha.] It's not like you smell terrible.

[... Yeah. That's what Sorey is worried about, sure.]

But I have money if you want something different. People might start recognizing you and asking questions.

[Maybe the way he was holding onto his cloak was obvious. ...yeah, that was probably obvious. Dezel is being kind to him, but if it was sincerely a problem that they couldn't handle he'd have suggested it anyway.]

No...that's fine. If it's all the same to you, I...

I'd like to wear this a little while longer. [He might not be able to travel with Rose and Alisha anymore, but wearing this, it makes him feel a little closer to them both.

He sends a smile up at Dezel and bumps his chest with his shoulder.] I'm starting to feel seriously pampered. Next you're going to tell me that we're getting an inn tonight instead of camping out.

[It's true. Dezel could care less how people look at them. He's had a few hundred years to get used to being seen on a regular basis. He's never given a damn what people think, and he's not about to start now.]

Then wear it. It's yours. [He can't see the smile but he can hear it in Sorey's voice, and it's confirmed by the friendly bump. Of course, his words-- they're enough to make Dezel scoff, and he has to tuck his head down over his eyes because he knows he's blushing.]

I just won't tell you. [That would be a yes. He clears his throat.]

There's something in this city that I still need to do. I'll leave you at the library while I take care of it-- shouldn't be long.

Mysterious, [Sorey muses. Scattered Bones things? Maybe he's just organizing a surprise meetup. Either way,] C'mon, I'm not your toddler, you don't have to worry so much about me. I'll meet you back at the inn, okay? Is it the one by the gates?

Edited 2017-01-18 00:18 (UTC)

You're turning down a library?

[Dezel lifts his hat and gives Sorey a disbelieving look.]

Well, if you're that tired already, then yeah. The inn's by the gate. You sure you won't get robbed or something if I leave you alone for five minutes, Shepherd?

If I do, you'll be the first to know! [what has he got on him worth robbing anyway

Sorey waves as Dezel heads off, then goes on the prowl. He'll poke his head in the library eventually, but there's something he wants to see if he can find, first.

When they meet back up at the inn that evening he's leaning against the wall next to the entrance, a parcel tucked under his arm as he peruses a book.]

[Dezel reappears with a very lovely-smelling bag of food and a smaller package besides. He finds Sorey whole and not bereft of his clothing, which is about as much as he can ask for.]

Hey, hope you're hungry. [He hasn't noticed Sorey's parcel yet.] Let me pay for a room and then you can open this.

[Dezel goes on ahead to the innkeeper and hands over the gald, and he receives a key in return. He finds his way to the back of the inn. It's a secluded room with... only one bed, but since Dezel doesn't need to sleep, he sees no problem with this.

He spreads the contents of the bag on the table. Breaded chicken pieces, a side of mashed potatoes, garden salad, and some kind of cool vanilla and dough confection in a cup.

The last thing to hit is a box. Inside is a neatly-folded letter from Rose... and, as it so happens, one of her hair decorations. It's been made into a talisman with elysalark feathers much like the ones Sorey wears.]

Edited 2017-01-18 06:09 (UTC)

[Sorey is already digging into the food when he sees the box. He glances up at Dezel, sets aside his utensils and pries open the lid. The paper is old but preserved, maybe even by way of seraphic artes, because that's absolutely Rose's original handwriting on this thousand-year-old letter.

Sorey unfolds it as if caring for a sacred altar cloth, laying it atop the table and smoothing it open. He reads the letter in its entirety, then again, and a third time with his lips pressed in a thin line as he fights back against tears for what feels like the millionth time.]

...do you know what it says?

[The wind brushes gently, so gently along the trinket that Rose wore for many years. Feeling it is like having Rose with him again, and he needs a moment to collect himself. For a second he's so lost, so deep in it that he doesn't realize Sorey has spoken.]

... No. The Scattered Bones held onto it for all this time. Rose asked them to.

It's amazing that they held onto it for so long. [Sorey rereads the letter again, especially that footnote, before folding it back up and gently tucking it away.

He lifts the talisman out of the box, the color and fastenings still pristine, before ducking his head to slide the cord over his hair.] I'll have to go thank them before we leave.

Edited 2017-01-19 23:12 (UTC)

I'll take you to meet them tomorrow morning.

[Sorey's wearing the charm now, and before Dezel can really think about it, he's reaching forward to touch Sorey's collar with his fingers. Abruptly he realizes what he's doing and pulls his hand back, resting it against the table near him instead.]

I got us a spot on an airship. You wanted to see the ocean, right?

[Sorey stills when Dezel reaches for the charm, taking it between his fingers when Dezel backs down.]

...-ah, yeah! Yeah, and we gotta catch up to Mikleo, of course. [Sorey shifts his weight and drops the talisman back against his chest before reaching for the parcel he'd been carrying.] I brought you something.

[Inside the parcel is one of Dezel's old pendulum sets; the last ones he'd used before he'd 'died,' actually.]

Rose...kept these. She was going to make them into hair ornaments, or something she could wear or use I think, but we never really had the time. Things happened so fast, after Pendrago.

[Sorey ducks his head and scratches his nose.] Anyway, she asked me before we left to fight Heldalf if she could leave them at my house for safekeeping. ...in case she didn't make it back. I think she must've thought it would be in poor taste to get them with you alive, so.

But I thought you might like them back. Or that you'd at least like the story.

You didn't have to -

[He falls silent as he feels it, hears it, a song on the wind long forgotten. He hasn't seen these since he lost them. Rose never told him... but Rose had Dezel, so of course she wouldn't need the pendulums. Of course. Dezel is so touched and so stricken at the same time that words completely and utterly fail him, leaving him stranded with his pale eyes wide.]

Sorey. How did you...

[Oh jeez. Oh hell, he hasn't felt like this in an eternity. He wraps a pendulum around his fingers tentatively, as if it might break. Thankfully it does not. He sets it back into the box.

Dezel, on the other hand-- he's having a little bit of a hard time keeping himself together. After a minute he shoves it into Sorey's hand, making sure to curl his fingers around it. Rarely is Dezel so openly touchy but he's giving it to Sorey for a reason.]

Thank you. But I think... I want you to have 'em.

[Dezel finds a smile, finally.]

I'll teach you how to use them.

Really? [Sorey can't help the boyish grin crossing his face, and he covers Dezel's hand with his own. It's a far cry from 'just don't hurt yourself,' Dezel wanting to pass on techniques he likely picked up from Zaveid and Lafarga.] It'll be a lot of work to teach me. I can be pretty clumsy.

[Dezel's a little surprised at the hand covering his but he's more surprised at the flutter in his chest. Sorey seems so happy, at least for the moment. The wind seraph doesn't mince words and he doesn't make empty promises; he fully intends to train the former Shepherd.]

I'm sure you can handle it.

[He lingers in the warmth Sorey's hand provides for just a moment too long, and then he carefully pulls away.]

Your food's getting cold.

[Okay that wasn't just him, right?

Well, Dezel's funny when he's all embarrassed but if he goes too far then he'll stomp off so Sorey just grins again and starts dishing some food out for himself.]

So, do you know what Lailah and Edna have been up to? Are they traveling around like Mikleo?

[No, no it was not. Dezel leans against the wall beside the table. He could take a seat, but the room's pretty small, and he likes doing the wall sulking thing.]

Yeah. They're watching over a Shepherd, last I heard. I don't know her name but she's pretty young.

[A pause.]

One of the Sparrowfeathers told me she fenced off a massive hellion with an umbrella. Not sure where she got that from.

Nope, that doesn't sound familiar at all. [Sorey leaves the box with the pendulums on the table, reluctant to just tuck it away before he gets a good look at them. Actually, he should probably look into getting weapons while they're here; at the very least, a bow and quiver and a hunting knife.] I'm glad to hear Edna stuck with it. She's warmed up to humans a little, huh?

A little. She hasn't changed much, though.

[They're not terribly close-- Zaveid and Edna are far closer-- but Edna's brand of grumpiness has some familiarity to it.]

You should probably get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.

Yeah, you're probably right... [Sorey is still reluctant to sleep -there's so much to see and do!- but he can't deny that he's lagging.] Are you gonna sleep also?