(no subject)

[monolike]

[The first thing Sorey thinks as he falls is what Lailah said as they left Camlann; that without his domain, all of them would instantly be hellions. The ground collapses beneath his feet, the wind drake behind him snaps up his cloak in its jaws and he sees the terror on Mikleo's face just before Symonne's laughter shrieks out and he and the drake fall together.

If they're too far away from me-

He can still feel their connection. He can still feel them, even if they can't go to him, and Sorey prays that's enough.

Wind rushes past them and Sorey tries to wrench out of the drake's grip (It's gotta be a wind seraph, Zaveid had shouted as they were thrown into the thick of battle in the tight corridors of the fortress), twisting and turning, sword in his hand. They'd weakened the drake considerably as a team but he's not sure he's powerful enough on his own to purify it, not even with all the strength he's gathered. Not without the others.

Hopefully, because Rose is there, they'll be okay. Please, please, I can't lose anyone else-

They fall far but hit a collapsed spire at an angle; in the mess the drake releases Sorey (or maybe his cloak tears, he can't tell) and he tumbles, bumps against it and hits the ground hard enough to rattle his teeth in his head and jar his bones. He pushes himself up, ignoring the bruises and aches, the constant, thumping worry of his heart and puts his sword between he and the drake as it sways up to its feet.]

Don't worry, [he promises the poor thing, because thank god, thank god it's not a dragon yet. There's still hope.] I'm going to save you. Don't worry, it'll be over soon.

Comments

[sylphystia]

[The bird peeps and tilts its head this way and that, trying to get a better look at the big creatures around it. Dezel lifts a finger so he can gently stroke the bird's head.]

You'll be able to fly soon enough. No need to push it.

[The bird actually seems pretty happy with this arrangement, and looks expectantly at Sorey when Dezel stops petting it. Your turn, champ.]

[monolike]

[Hey, don't wanna disappoint the little thing. Sorey pets the baby a few times, grinning over at Dezel. He knows it's a songbird of some kind, but,] Dezel, what kinda bird is this?

[sylphystia]

It's a Hyland finch. They're known for their whistling song-- it's synonymous with spring.

[He loev birb. When the fledgling's had enough, he reaches up and gently places the bird back in its nest. He makes it look easy, but since he's a wind seraph... well, maybe it is.]

... There.

[monolike]

[Maybe it's silly to get so sentimental over something so small, but watching Dezel place the bird back in its nest, gentle as a morning breeze, makes Sorey's heart swell like little else.

Seraphim are still living in this world. Peacefully, some even happily; and he can feel it, beneath his feet, that there is a beautiful purity to the world that wasn't there before. Even without the Shepherd's pact, he can feel it.

Tears spring to Sorey's eyes and he covers his face, embarrassed. Just the sight of Dezel's back, the faint smile on his face as he brought the bird home, finally, finally hammered it into Sorey's still-dreamy head.

It worked.

Sorey hiccups. It worked. Going to sleep for a thousand years worked, and though there is still corruption, still human society to think about, the world itself is no longer diseased.

Seraphim are safe.

It was all worth it.]

[sylphystia]

[Dezel makes sure the bird is secure in his nest, and then he hears a hiccup. Sounds like it finally sunk in for Sorey. He hesitates-- he's never been good at this sort of thing-- but he would be an awful friend if he didn't try, so he dumps his hat on Sorey's head.]

Come on, let's go back. There's a batch of madeleines with your name on it.

[He'll start guiding the former Shepherd back toward the campsite, if allowed.]

... I'll even let you eat a little of the dough.

[monolike]

[pulls that hat down over his eyes tbh

This feeling is too big to handle right now, so Sorey doesn't let himself cry for long. By the time Dezel's got a hand awkwardly steering him back to the fire, he's already trying to dry up.]

Ah haha, [sniff] now I know today is special. [He bumps into Dezel with a shoulder.]

[sylphystia]

[He snorts at the shoulder bump.]

Of course today is special. You came back.

[When they reach camp, he wastes no time building the sticks into a suitable campfire formation. It's easy enough to call a bit of fire and wind to whip it right up. He lets it warm and stabilize as he molds the madeleines onto a cookie sheet, and then he covers them for baking.

It's a process that Sorey's seen a hundred times. Dezel uses the wind not only to see but to keep the heat even.]

[monolike]

[Dezel's definitely changed. Not that it's a surprise, it's been a thousand years. And it's not like Sorey has a problem with it, though the knowledge that everyone else -Mikleo included- has grown and changed so much without him does make him feel a little lonely.

Well, there's an easy way to remedy that. And even if he was left behind, just a bit, it was absolutely worth it if this is the end result. Any sadness he feels can be dealt with later, on his own. It'll be easy since he doesn't regret it.]

I think I'll be good to make it to town after this, [Sorey says, taking off Dezel's hat to check it over for hairs or leaves before carefully handing it back.] I want to see what civilization is like! Has a lot changed?

[sylphystia]

[He wordlessly reaches out to take it, though if Sorey tries to give him his jacket back too, he'll decline. The hat goes back on and so does the attitude.]

We're going to Elysia first. It's closer, and we'll have someone look at you.

[Plus they can dust whatever cobwebs have formed in Sorey's old house.]

You wouldn't recognize Ladylake. It sounds about the same but all the roads are different. Buildings are taller. There's more water, believe it or not.

[monolike]

Wow...how long has it been, actually? Hundreds of years, right? [It's so hard to comprehend, so Sorey's not going to try and wrap his brain around it just yet. He's not going to think about how maybe the books in his house are crumbling now, he's not going to think about how maybe Elysia will be missing some faces. He can deal with it as it comes.]

[sylphystia]

[Dezel offers Sorey a spoon with raw cookie dough on it.]

It's... been a while, [he says haltingly. He isn't sure how Sorey will take the news.] About a thousand years.

[monolike]

[Well he's gonna drop that spoon into the dirt, for one. Stare blankly at Dezel before reacting late to what he just did.] Ah- Shoot! [He plucks it back up but the dough is hopelessly filthy. There's no salvaging this.] Oh, I'm- I'm sorry, sorry, Dezel. I'll go clean- there was a stream back that way, right? I'll just-

[He needs a minute. He needs a few minutes.

Sorey kneels there beside the water, washing a spoon long since clean as he tries to absorb that. He knew in his heart that it must've been at least a few hundred years. It had to be long enough to erode that temple, to eat through thick stone and coat everything in dust. It had to be long enough for that tree near the altar to grow tall and strong, but-

A thousand years?

A thousand years?

What place could he possibly have in a world a thousand years older?]

[sylphystia]

[Dezel just stares after him for a minute. Well, he could've taken it worse...? God, he's bad at this. He lets Sorey have a few minutes to think about it, maybe ten at the most, but then he slinks up to the stream to check on him.]

Sorry, [he mutters.] I should've-- let someone else tell you. Lailah, maybe. [She's better at this sort of thing. But she's also busy, and seeing another Shepherd might make Sorey feel worse.]

I'm not... [... not the kind of friend Sorey needs right now, and he's vividly aware of it, but he can't just leave either. It's funny in a sad way that a thousand years hasn't made him any less awkward. He's a fairly adult seraph now, but he still feels so confused, so helpless, with the man who saved his life aching in front of him.]

[monolike]

[He's not crying again, at least. Though he hadn't realized he was staring down at the water for quite so long until Dezel comes up beside him. Sorey glances at Dezel, a little numb, but finishes washing off the spoon and holds it out for him to take.]

One time when I was little, I got in a fight with Mikleo over something dumb. And I was so frustrated, because I felt like I couldn't explain myself properly to him because I was a year younger and not good with words yet. Gramps- [Sorey's throat closes up and he has to work his tongue in his mouth before he can speak again. He hasn't even had time to mourn Gramps.] ...Gramps told me that whether or not someone was suited to something didn't depend on whether they were good at it. Just that they were willing to try.

[Sorey dries his hands on his pants as he lets that sink in, and he reaches over to squeeze Dezel's shoulder, briefly.] ...I'm glad the first face I saw was yours. After all, I did promise.

[sylphystia]

[Dezel takes the spoon in silence. He'd been there-- he'd heard Zenrus' adoptive grandchildren weep over him. He heard the tears in Lailah's voice.]

... That's good advice.

[He ducks his head for a moment. He can't handle how earnest Sorey is sometimes. I'm glad the first face I saw was yours-- god, he hopes he isn't blushing. He adjusts his hat just in case.]

Come on. The madeleines are done.

[monolike]

[the trek to elysia is slow and quiet. sorey hasn't ever been one for mindless chatter, but he almost always has something to say about something. the weight of that number sits heavy on his heart (one thousand years, one thousand years) and though he'd never thought of himself as a major part of his world, it still feels very much like being left behind. he wonders briefly if this is how seraphim always feel, constantly outliving human culture, then banishes the thought as borne from hubris. seraphim's lives don't revolve around humans' as much as the reverse is true, no matter how they might get along now.

there are a lot of tears when sorey climbs that hill and passes through the gates. they're more faded than he remembers, crumbling a bit more, but if there's anything that looks the same it's this mountain top. it makes it hard to believe that time has passed when melody and natalie are there the same as ever, looking like they haven't changed in the least and holding his cheeks while they weep.

sorey spends a few hours in his house, looking at all the new furniture, the fabrics. of course, all of it would have rotted away centuries ago. but there's hardly any dust or cobwebs, and most of the books have been replaced with copies or different ones. it almost seems as if the house's occupant has only been gone for a few months.

Mikleo will be thrilled. He's away overseas now, I think. You should chase after him!

his family kept his house alive for him.

after a few days of rest, sorey heads out to see if dezel ended up sticking around elysia. he both does and doesn't expect it; wind seraphim tend to be flighty by nature, but dezel hovers. and dezel wouldn't leave his side without telling him, not without good reason. it doesn't stop sorey from feeling relieved when he finds dezel at the same place he'd always been when they visited before, at that cliffside near the monolith, overlooking the mountain peaks piercing the cloud cover. he already has a travel bag slung over his shoulder, has already said his (temporary) goodbyes to his family.]

Hey.

So, what do you think about crossing the ocean?

[sylphystia]

[Of course Dezel is still here. He didn't expect Sorey to stay too long; there's still so much of the world left for him to explore, new places for him to see, messages from his old life to pick up. He's spent the past few days not resting, but gearing up for a trip with a human stomach. Been a while since he did that. And he's also sent off a message to the Sparrowfeathers. He thinks he'll probably hear back sooner rather than later.

It's... strange but exciting, traveling with Sorey again. He feels like he's stepping into someone else's shoes (for the second time). Sorey represents that one part of his old life, the one focused on revenge and nothing else. He's changed so much because of Sorey. Because of Rose. It's-- it's painful, but in a good way. He's never really learned how to heal, and Zaveid couldn't teach him that. Not really.

So he lingers. He lingers, and he thinks about what he'll do with the next seventy or so years. Sometimes he talks to the villagers but mostly he just keeps to himself, stalking the forest or helping out the human village at the base of the mountain.

But when a few days pass, he's there-- right where Sorey expects him to be. Dezel's always had a good sense of timing.]

You wanna cross the ocean, huh?

[The breeze picks up, a little cold yet full of promise. Dezel tucks his hat down but his soft smile is still visible.]

Ladylake's a port town now. What do you say?

[monolike]

To the ocean?! Wow, yeah! [Eagerly falls into step beside Dezel as they make their way back down the mountain. Probably shouldn't go cliff-jumping this time with his family standing right over there. Dezel would catch some SERIOUS hell.] Is Uno still there?

[sylphystia]

[Yeah, probably not. Dezel takes a bit of a chance here and wraps his arm around Sorey's shoulders-- ostensibly to steady him-- but they both know the truth.]

Yep. The people have taken to worshiping Lailah and Mikleo, too, since they're around a lot.

[He clears his throat.]

There's a-- a library. A big one. A top notch nerd like you will probably want to check it out before we leave the country.

[monolike]

Oooh, I definitely wanna see it! We should check it out for a bit. [Sorey would usually go for just camping out in the damn thing and never ever leaving, eating optional, but...he really wants to see Mikleo. He might've just seen him himself a few days ago, but for Mikleo it's been a thousand years. Scared as he is to see how his friend's changed, he knows if their roles were reversed he'd want to see him as soon as possible.

Still, this arm, the library? Dezel's definitely, totally, completely doting on him and Sorey would be lying if he said he didn't love it. Not just because Dezel is being obviously affectionate (well, for him) and that's something he's struggled with, but also because it makes it obvious how happy Dezel is that he's back.

Of course Dezel's happy. He'd been the only one to scream and throw a fit over Sorey deciding to go to sleep. Leave it to Dezel to voice what nobody else is willing to.]

I totally want to see everybody's shrines. Hey, do you get worshiped anywhere? Do the Sparrowfeathers do anything for you?

[sylphystia]

[Don't call it doting. He's just happy to have his friend back. It's... unfortunate that they had to wait so long, but Mikleo said he'd wait forever, and Dezel did, too. Their human friends are gone but they gave everything to make sure Sorey's world would become a reality. And it is. And he's here, living in it, finally... like he should have been all along.]

We'll visit the shrine, don't worry. [Dezel sounds both vaguely amused and resigned to his fate.] I told them not to, but they made one anyway. It's in Pendrago. [Of all places. Gods. The Scattered Bones like to leave offerings, too. Dezel isn't sure he'll ever be comfortable with it after the truth of his blessing was revealed-- but he hasn't had anything bad happen since Symonne and Heldalf, for which he's grateful.] Zaveid and I travel with them all the time, so it's not really needed.

[His grip tightens a little, not enough to be painful or anything, just to remind Dezel that Sorey's there.]

... You have your own shrine, you know.

[monolike]

Pendrago? Oof. [Talk about awkward. It's not like anybody outside of their group could know how crass that is so Sorey can't blame them, but geez. Dezel's clearly not inhabiting whatever vessel they have set up there, but if Sorey knows him he must be worried about his blessing affecting the city. With that many people around...well, maybe they can look into getting it moved somehow.

The news following that though-] Me? [He laughs a little incredulously.] But I'm human. Why's there one for me?

[sylphystia]

[He's safe and happy just traveling with the Sparrowfeathers like now. Everyone thought he might fall to malevolence after Rose went, but she had a long fulfilling life. Dezel could honestly say he didn't regret a moment with her. You need to wait for Sorey, she said. And then give him a good kick in the ass for me. Which had made Dezel laugh.

It was so long ago.]

Well, you got quite a few followers for reviving the Shepherd legend like you did.

[He tugs a little at Sorey's sleeve.]

... Besides, we had a theory that Maotelus would make you a seraph, since normally humans can't live that long. So us seraphim ended up making pilgrimages, too.

[It was a sad possibility they'd all prepared themselves for, because like the infant Mikleo, Sorey would wake up without any memories.]

[monolike]

Ohhhh... [It feels so weird to say he'd 'revived' the Shepherd legend, knowing what he does about Michael, the man who'd erased himself from history.

Of course, he'd never considered himself to be really that big or important, even when people started to recognize him and do weird things like ask him to kiss their newborns and stuff. It just seemed like odd things that happened now and then, but they spent so much time in dusty ruins and in nature and so little time in cities that Sorey never really picked up on the weight he had on human civilization, despite Lailah's constant warnings about it. Hrm.

Then again, he didn't stop to consider the fact that he'd die, being asleep so long, also. That his body would just age into a withered husk, and then bones, and then dust while he slept. Maotelus clearly had something to do with it; maybe because as a seraph, he couldn't continue to act as a vessel? ...Sorey should go back and ask him. Maybe Maotelus can still be reached at those old ruins where he woke.] I guess that...makes sense.

I'm glad it didn't. I wouldn't want to forget everybody if I did.

[sylphystia]

[Dezel is quiet for a long moment as they hike down the mountain. Birdsong fills the silence, a breeze rustling through leaves, the faint tapping of a woodpecker. This is the pure world that Sorey helped guarantee, not just for his friends but for everyone who came after him. Sorey's legacy is tangible and Dezel is so very grateful that the former Shepherd gets to finally live in it.]

You probably wouldn't forget everything.

[Dezel has had some experience with this.]

You'd look at your friends and know them, even if you don't remember their names. You'd still like the same things you did before. And I bet you'd love to explore the ruins here all over again.

Your heart would be the same. You'd be accepted no matter what.