@tinibellbeanie requested Ultracrepidarian and Anagapesi and here is Anagapesi! :D Thank you for the request!
Anagapesis - The feeling when one no longer loves someone they once did.
It had been something of a lifetime since Sula had last seen Ashaad Two… That was foolish, he was the only Ashaad here. To think that he had left the world of the Valo-Kas behind as well, and sought out her Tal Vasoth and Vasoth sanctuary here in Kirkwall… She had to smile.
He stood a little ways away from her family as they greeted her—she’d been by a couple times now, the first time with her whole new family, but every time she came by it was all big family hugs, every pair of arms wanting a turn. Today was the first time she saw Ashaad there as well, though he did his best to hide. It was impressive, given that he was a good few inches taller than her 6 feet and three inches, and just as long limbed and gangly, but he managed well enough—all those years of training as a rogue served him well. As her family gave her space, and returned to their tasks at hand, she made her way over to Ashaad, who seemed to be trying to look busy, taking books out and immediately putting them back on the shelf. She laughed. She’d never known him to be anything less than cool, aloof, and collected—to see him so tense and nervous was like meeting a whole new person.
“Ashaad?” she said, and he turned, but still kept to his task. He seemed half way to trying to smile, but in their little time together, she’d never seen him smile, and she wasn’t expecting to now. She must’ve been on the verge of laughing because finally he rolled his eyes and put his arms to his side, returning to the stern figure she remembered from her younger days.
“Ada—Sula. Your father is insisting that I learn how to smile more, so I don’t frighten the residents…” he sound completely the same, and so different—once his low, aggressive tones would have sent her reeling, yearning, and wanting only to make him smile, just at her. Now, she smiled, nostalgia and affection filling her.
“And I’m sure you said smiling is a waste of time, right?” she teased, and he frowned.
“I would not say that…” then realization dawned on him, and his face fell as he groaned. “…I have said that, haven’t I?”
She laughed, a memory of a campfire, dancing, and Ashaad stomping away, refusing to indulge with her, seeming now more like a punchline rather than the hurt it had once been. But she understood Ashaad now. She’d never know what life had been like in the Qun, and she’d never understand his response to his escape—but she knew that he was tired, he was afraid, and he was learning, just as so many here were trying to do as well. And she knew that she had put too much into him, too many dreams, and things that he could not be, and she had been unfair. Now, she could just see Ashaad as someone she’d really like to get to know. She’d gotten very good at becoming reacquainted with the new identities of those she loved over the years.
“Maybe once or twice. But tell me, how have you been?” she reached for him, and he seemed shy of the touch, if mostly because he just noticed her missing arm. But he led her to a couple of chairs, looked her in the eyes, and finally, after having fought for it for so long, he smiled.
It was not the same victory she would have wanted long ago, but it was much better.
