Gift - Enderal Secret Santa
Happy festivities everyone, doesn’t matter what you are celebrating (or not) right now, I just hope you all have a great and happy time with yourself and the ones you care about!
And happy festivities specially for @v2endy!! I’m your Secret Santa, dear, and I trully hope you like this drawing and the short fanfic I ended writing for it! (my brain is so… “both. both is good” xD)
Also: Despite the name, it’s really soft, it just happens that “Lullaby for the Undead” by Snow White Blood really put me into the mood for drawing and writing these pieces. And I LOVED drawing and writing Iris, she is a dear!!!!
(also, by the drawing it may or may not be obvious that I’m a sucker for the “the look you give someone when they aren’t seeing” trope)
No more delays, to the gift!!!!
Whistling an animated tune, fingers tapping against her thigh, Iris climbed the hill of the nobles’ quarter at a relaxed and sedated pace. No use tiring herself out after her nightly walk through Ark.
The whistling came to a slow stop as she noticed a silhouette leaning against the low wall in front of her house, not enough light present to allow identification. But it was too late to the typical noble be out and about.
Squinting her eye, she carefully measured her steps, weight carefully put against grass and earth and stone, not a sound betraying her presence.
Then a guard carrying a torch approached from the other side, the person turned their head to follow the movement, just for a flicker, and she recognized Tharaêl.
The sneakness abandoned her, and Iris finished the path normally, stopping at his side and tried to lean in the same way. Her short height meant that her arms were almost totally flush against the top of the wall, instead of only her elbows and forearms. Not the most comfortable for her shoulders.
“‘Night. Back already?” He started, pushing softly against her arm with his elbow. She shrugged as best as she could.
“Quiet night. And you? At this time you’re usually brooding on the balcony overlooking my dinner room…”
“I don’t ‘brood’.” Tharaêl scoffed, throwing her his famous look, a raised eyebrow making his point.
“You do.” Iris turned to him, face briefly blank of expressions before raising both eyebrows, daring him to contradict her. Once it was clear he wasn’t to, she softened her face, nudging him in the side with her shoulder. “But seriously, is everything all right?”
Tharaêl turned to the river in front of them, sighting, shoulders sagging. Iris started to fidget with her hands; she didn’t like when Tharaêl went all quiet like that. Despite her statement, the brooding had become rarer and rarer as the months passed and he healed from what had happened, but still sometimes he went back to it and it just… Didn’t sit right with her.
“Just… Remembering Letho.” He scratched his neck, hand flopping against the shoulder. “Today made six months since… Everything.”
Ouch. She hadn’t kept that tight of a control of the time. Maybe she should.
“I’m sorry.” The whisper tasted hollow and ashen. Damn it, what could she do to help maybe cheer him up a little at least?
“It’s all right. It’s not… The bad I’m remembering.” Iris looked at him from the corner of her eye, in time to see the moment he raised his head to look at the sky. “More like… The bittersweet. Sometimes we would talk about how the night sky was, dream of looking at it with our eyes, imagining how the stars are just by the descriptions we heard.”
A pause, and Iris turned her face all the eyes to see him fully; her eye was acquainted enough with the darkness by now to distinguish the soft smile playing on his lips.
“I doubt he got to admire all of it as Brother Sorrow.”
“Yeah, but now you are admiring it, seeing it in all of its glory.” She started, following his example and looking at the night sky, let her head fall against his arm. The stars shone like diamonds and opals against the dark mixture of blue, purple and black. Iris could swear that, if she extended her hand, it would feel velvety against her skin. “And what a beautiful thing it is. Kinda of makes me wish I could frame it and hang on my room.” That got the intended result of a chuckle. “I’m sure Letho would be truly happy that you are here now, able to realize a dream you both had.”
Silence blanketed them for long minutes, broken when a guard passed behind them, the fire of the torch cracking and the armor clinking against the stone. The sound woke her stomach. She nudged Tharaêl with her shoulder, hard enough that she felt him jump. Or maybe he was just too lost in thoughts.
“I’m starving. Care to come with me to The Fat Leoran?” She tried.
And this time she wouldn’t accept a negative. Six months, as he had said. He needed to get out and relax a little, and the Inn was as good an option as any other. Or maybe better, since it was busy but not as much as The Dancing Nomad. A good middle ground for him.
Iris saw the no start to forming on his mouth, and she nudged Tharaêl again, attracting his attention.
“Please? I really think you could use some relaxing time. Besides, the food is really good…” She smiled, an idea brightening her mind. “Let’s turn it into… A moment to remember Letho. I’m sure we can find some foods there that he would’ve liked. And you can tell me more about the happy and bittersweet.”
Tharaêl seemed to chew on the suggestion, time stretching as she waited for an answer, and then finally he sighted.
“All right. I… Like your idea.” He smiled, and she felt her insides twist with pleasure at the soft expression she wasn’t sure she would ever get used to seeing in Tharaêl. Damn it, not this. Please.
Turning fast and doing her best to not show the effect the smile had on her, Iris raised a hand, pointing in the direction of the inn, and let the back of her head press against his arm once more.
“To the Fat Leoran and to good food!”
With fast movements, Iris caught his forearm with her other hand and started dragging him, and her slightly childish antics drew short laughs from Tharaêl.
Good. He needed to laugh more. Of happiness, preferentially.
