#heodi

Her ears twitched as she laughed. “Touché. And I do know what Aedyr’s like. Aloth’s probably thanking the gods for thick stone walls right about now.”

“And fireplaces,” Heodan added.

“I think we’re all grateful for those.” Adela shifted, pulling her knees into her chest and resting her chin atop them. “No matter how adjusted we might be to the cold.” She smirked at a memory. “Even when you’ve had bad experiences with them a couple times....”

Heodan closed his book and leaned forward. “Do I want to know the story prompting that smile?”

“Oh, it’s nothing bad, and only slightly embarrassing.” She picked at the engraving lines on her necklace. “Ben, my oldest brother, is a baker, and he experiments with other cooking stuff in his free time. He’s really, really good, too. But, y’know, with him liking to cook and spending so much time around fire--ovens and fireplaces both--stuff’s bound to happen.” She bit back a smile at the Uh-oh in Heodan’s eyes. “The week before he got married, he singed off his eyebrows and half the fur on one arm b’cause he dropped a pot and leaned to pick it up without checking how close to the fire it was. He wasn’t hurt, but the kitchen smelled like burned hair for three days and me an’ Sirra teased him about it for months.”

He chuckled. “Poor Ben. What did he do to deserve such a scamp of a sister?”

“Oh, he gets me back,” Adela assured him wryly. “He calls me Cricket when he’s annoyed at me, b’cause I’m always getting cricks in my neck from reading for too long in one position.” She hugged her knees closer and bit her lip.  “How  ‘bout you? Any mildly embarrassing stories about your brothers?”

Heodan smiled as he pondered, fingers drumming the cover of his book. “A few... Before the family business picked up and started making decent money, Gyran and Lyam had to share a bedroom. One time when they were teenagers, Lyam walked in without knocking and caught Gyran and Lydia in the middle of what turned out to be their first kiss.”

She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, no.”

He shook his head. “I’m not finished. Lyam made some smart comment--none of them ever shared what, exactly, he said--and Gyran spent the next ten minutes chasing him around the house with the express intention of tossing him out a window.”

Adela giggled, looking into the fire. “I think I’m with Gyran; first kisses are awkward enough without an accidental sibling interruption.”

He moved from his chair to the couch and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “That sounds like the voice of experience.”

“With first kiss awkwardness, yes,” she admitted, face hot from more than just the fire. “Thankfully not with sibling interruption making it worse. I would also have thrown them in a pond or out a window. Fortunately, it was under circumstances where interruption was unlikely.”

“Oh?” No sooner had the word left his mouth than Heodan blushed and shook his head. “Sorry, I’m not.... not trying to pry.”

“It’s alright,” Adela laughed. She tucked loose hair back behind her ear. “It was a typical teenager thing” --she waved a hand vaguely in his direction-- “like your brother. Only mine was just a boy from school I’d been sweet on. I found out he was sweet on me, too, when we were working together researching Old Vailia for a history assignment. We needed a lot of old books and such that were in the back part of the library, very musty, a little creepy, where most people didn’t go unless they had to. Toward the end of our research, Xen said he thought I was very smart--and very pretty, and asked if he could kiss me.” She smiled and bit her lip. “After giggling like an absolute idiot for several seconds, I said yes and he did. I was so happy and flustered, I almost forgot my books when I went home.” She sighed, rubbed her elephant pendent. “Unlike Gyran and Lydia, nothing ever came of it, though.”

“Why not?” Heodan sounded almost indignant on her behalf, which made her heart flutter.

“Oh, it wasn’t by his choice,” she said with a rueful smile. “There was a rash of illness that worked its way through our town, and since his father was a priest and his mother was an herbalist, and orlans are responsible for all wrongs that befall folk, clearly it was their fault. They got run out of town. Despite protests from many, orlan and folk, that they were helpers and healers and would never hurt anyone. Prejudice is a powerful influence, and it won out. The illness continued sweeping around for another month and then died out on its own.”

“Well, that’s terrible,” he said, brow furrowed. “Did anyone apologize for the incorrect assumption...?”

“No, they all found ways to justify being suspicious, or pointed out there was no one to apologize to since Xen’s family had left....” Adela chuckled a little at his affronted expression. “Heodan, that’s the way it works for orlans pretty much everywhere. In fact, Necazoa was one of the better places in Ixamitl. Which is better than a lot of other places, like the Dyrwood.” She reached over and squeezed his knee. “Not everyone is as nice and accepting as you.”

That’s part of why I like you, she added to herself.

He made a noise of reluctant concession and gave her a wry smile. “According to you, my being so nice is why I’m here, all the way across the ocean, rather than one of my brothers.”

“I’m still allowed to be glad you’re here, even being pretty sure you got the short straw because you wouldn’t tell your family no,” Adela said with a laugh.

Heodan studied her face for a moment, gleam of firelight dancing in his eyes.  “Who says I see it as the short straw?” he asked. “I like it here, Adi. I’m glad I met- all of you, got to have a bit of adventure--”

“Even if more than originally planned?” she cut in wryly.

“Even so.” He flexed the hand of his injured arm and smiled. “My nephews think I’m just about the most interesting person in the world, according to Gyran’s last letter.”

“Oh?” Adela smiled, playing with the tail of her braid.

“You, of course, are the most interesting, since you’re the leader,” Heodan clarified with an answering smile, which made her laugh.

“Well, you can tell them I’m flattered,” she said. She let her legs relax down, feet dangling over the floor, and shivered a little even if the fire was plenty warm. “You write your family about me, huh?” she teased, even as the thought made her insides do a funny little flip.

Was it her imagination or did his face go slightly pink at the needling? The firelight made it hard to tell. “They like to hear what I’m doing. You’ve been there for... everything since Echo Bay,” Heodan teased back. “It would be difficult not to mention you.”

Adela giggled, then winced. “Did they worry about the, um, gap? After Cail?” After you almost died.

He shook his head. “I had written right before we went to Searing Falls. By the time I needed to write again, I’d recovered enough to do so.”

“Did you tell them about--”

“Fighting a drake? Yes. How badly that ended for me? No. I didn’t see a point making them worry from a thousand miles away. Especially since by that point I was on the mend, and-” he reached over to flick her bangs out of her eyes “-I’m fine now.”

She supposed she saw the sense of that. There were few better things than hearing (or reading) ‘by the way, I almost got killed fighting a drake, but I’m alright now’ to give parents an anxiety attack. And she was careful with phrasing in some of her letters home, even without any calls that close herself. “So if you ever go home to visit, or they come here, they get to just be surprised you have an arm that doesn’t fully work anymore and some dashing new scars?”

Heodan arched a brow at her for the last bit of the glib comment. “I’ll worry about that when I need to, Adi,” he said, glancing toward the window. “I think our current worry needs to be sleeping arrangements.” 

She hadn’t even realized how dark it was getting. The overcast sky and still-falling snow had thrown her off. “Did you have any thoughts?” she asked, standing on the couch to peer out the window and try to gauge how how late it was. 

“If you have a spare quilt or blanket--or both--” he gave a self-deprecating laugh-- “I can sleep right here--”

“No!” Adela cleared her throat. “I mean, yes, there’s plenty of blankets and quilts, in the others rooms if not here, but.” She turned and crossed her arms, eye level with him thanks to standing on the couch. “The bed is more than big enough for two kith, Heodan.” Especially when one’s my size. “We can each wrap in separate blankets if you’re worried about propriety” --Not that I think you’d do anything-- “and this is not a terribly comfortable couch for sleeping on. So unless you truly want to sleep this close to the fire...?” She arched a brow, waiting, and Heodan just shrugged. “We’re both sleeping on the bed.”

He chuckled. “Far be it from me to resist such a passionate argument. You win, Adela. Where are the blankets?”

“There’s some in the closet, but those are mostly the out-of-season ones; the lighter spring duvets or sheets. One of us might do better to raid one of the other bedrooms.”

Heodan pushed to his feet. “Let me go see...”

Adela hopped down from the couch as he walked from the room and banked the fire so it would burn down slowly and keep them warm as long as possible, while still being safe through the night. Then she went to the closet and dug out the satchel of preserved foodstuffs she’d kept for snacking purposes before they relocated to the warmer--sturdier--keep for the winter. When she left it here she figured it would be for days using the room for peace and quiet, not because she got snowed in. But it was still good and that was all that mattered.

Heodan returned with three blankets piled in his arms. “I figured it would be easier to partially remake beds than fold things right to go back in storage.”

“And I’d agree with you on that,” she said with a laugh. “Dinner is gonna be like camping, I’m afraid.” A gesture at the jerky, dried fruit, and nuts from her stash.

“Only much better protected from the elements.” He dropped the blankets on the bed and joined her to eat. “I guess we need to be careful, since we don’t know how long we’ll be in here?”

Adela wrinkled her nose and glanced out the window. “Probably. Though if it gets too dire we can try for the main keep...”

Heodan followed her gaze with a dubious look. “Adi, it’ll be drifted higher than your head by morning. I’d have to carry you.”

“That’s why I said if it gets too dire.” She chewed on a handful of nuts, her heart doing a little flip at the thought of him carrying her. “Long as we’re alright, better to stay put and hope it clears up.”

He nodded and they finished in silence.

Silence that gave Adela time to actually think about what she’d insisted on in a blaze of impassioned indignation. You are not sleeping on the couch. They would both be on the bed. She and Heodan would be sharing the bed. He’d be right there.

Oh, stop it, Adi, she scolded herself. It’s not the first time.

But Gilded Vale had been a lifetime ago; her crush a small and flickering thing rather than a blaze in her chest. Even with them bundled individually in blankets, she wasn’t sure how well she’d sleep with him so close.

She counted her bites, chewing slowly. Not delaying. Lost in thought. How to act normal.

Heodan picked up on something from her behavior. “Adi, if you’re not comfortable sharing, I really w-”

“No! No, it’s fine.” She was hot enough to wonder if her fur was singed. “Just lost in thought. It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “Because you just said it’s fine twice in as many sentences.” 

“B’cause it is, I promise.” She stood and brushed crumbs off her dress, giving him a teasing smile. “I’ll even let you have the side closer to the fire; I know how you Aedyrans are about cold. And I have fur.”

He sighed but looked convinced. “If you’re sure.”

They each selected blankets and bundled themselves up in addition to the warm green and white quilt on the bed. 

“I apologize in advance if I steal the blankets,” Heodan said with a sheepish chuckle. “Just know it’s unintentional.”

“Noted,” Adela laughed. “And I forgive you in advance. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

They settled in, back to back with a small gap between them, and silence fell as they tried to get to sleep.

“Heodan?” Adela mumbled after a few minutes, only half-awake.

“Mm?” He sounded even more asleep than she was.

“If you finished that s’pply order you were workin’ on, I can just take it to Defiance Bay when I go for the hearings. Y’don’t need to bother a courier.”

There was a long pause, probably him wondering what made her think of--and bring up--the matter now. “We’ll see. It’s not bothering them if it’s their job.” The mattress creaked, as if he turned to look at her, but she was still facing the wall. “B’sides, I don’t think anyone’s going anywhere for a bit.”

“True.”

This time, the silence remained as it settled over them, and it wasn’t long before she heard his breathing deepen in sleep. It didn’t take long for her to follow suit.

---

It was warm when she woke. Warm and dark.

Adela blinked and rubbed her eyes and quickly figured out the dark part was thanks to burrowing almost completely under the blankets. Warm took a moment longer to register--she was curled in a ball against Heodan’s back.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise; she was inclined to seek out heat sources in her sleep. But under the circumstances, it had her bolting upright, blinking herself awake with heart pounding furiously.

“Morning,” Heodan said, voice rife with amusement.

Oh, wonderful, as if this wasn’t embarrassing enough, he was already awake. “Mornin’,” Adela mumbled around a yawn.

“Did you know you talk in your sleep?” he asked as he rolled on his back. He seemed perfectly happy to stay ensconced in the blankets and looking up at her.

“...I have been told that, yes.” She raked her hair out of her face. She’d forgotten to take out her braid last night and it was in shambles right now. “I don’t suppose I said anything useful, like unsnarling that spell composition that’s been giving me and Aloth fits for a week straight, did I?”

Heodan chuckled. “Not that I heard. Mostly gibberish, with what I think were your siblings’ names occasionally thrown in?” He gave her a searching look. “But it was normal gibberish, so... no Watcher dreams?”

It hit her like a thunderclap as soon as he asked. “No.” They’d been getting worse (Edér shaking her awake, joking about buckets of water worse) for a couple months, and they’d left her alone last night. “You must be magic,” she teased, which made him snort a laugh as he sat up.

“Hardly.” Heodan stretched, shaking free of the blankets. “Does that mean you got a good night’s sleep?”

She nodded, undoing her braid to replait. “For once. Sorry that I, uh, got in your space.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” he said with a reassuring smile. “The extra warmth was nice, once the fire started dying.”

“Oh!” Adela tied off the half-done braid and scrambled over him, out of bed, to stoke the embers back to life.

Heodan had made it out of bed by the time she succeeded, his focus out the window. “Still snowing,” he commented, nodding that direction.

“Wael’s eyes, really?!” She followed his gaze to see yes, really. “We’ll be here a while, then, I suppose.”

“At least we have plenty to do,” he said with a smile. “And you’re good company.”

“See if you still think that when I go stir-crazy,” she deadpanned. Which might be by the end of the day, depending on if I find interesting enough books. “But you are, too. Good company, I mean.”

His smile widened as he retrieved food for breakfast and her heart skipped a beat in response. Good enough she had no idea how--or if--she was going to keep certain things from spilling into the open.

Heodan nodded "It's impressive that you not only know so many, but also what they're called in different places. I'm only... loosely familiar with the constellations," he admitted, curling his free arm around her waist. "And what I know is due to them being a special interest of Gyran's when he was a teenager and him needing someone who'd listen when he wanted to, ah--"

"Ramble?" Adela finished for him. She smiled when she felt him shrug. "You're very good at listening to people ramble about their passions." She'd benefited from that more times than she could count, and it was extremely endearing. She twisted her hand he was still holding and started playing with his fingers; slipping between them, tracing the base of his thumb. "It's very sweet."

His half-snorted chuckle ruffled her hair. "It's not as if I'm without ulterior motives in your case, Adi."

She bit her lip and kept her gaze on the night sky, idly connecting the lines of the Lovers rather than twist around to look at him. "Oh?"

Heodan chuckled, not fooled in the slightest. His fingers played along with hers, tracing soft lines across her knuckles and down her wrist. "I like listening to you talk." A beat. "Especially about the things you love."

Warmth bloomed in her chest and sent a ripple through her fur. "Well, then." Now she did slip her hand free and twist around, balancing carefully as she knelt on his lap. "Prepare to hear a lot about yourself." She ran her fingers through his hair and rested her forehead against his, finishing softly, "Because there are few things I love more."

"Adi..."Heodan breathed, sounding almost like a reproach.

"Heodan," she said playfully. "You can't say something that sweet and expect me to not return the favor, love."

"...Fair." He brushed his knuckles against her cheek. "But weren't we watching for a shooting star before we got distracted, twice over?"

"Oh, right." She'd very nearly forgotten, between constellations and him. Adela stole a quick kiss, just the lightest brush of her lips on his, and turned back to her original position. "We can resume this... distraction later," she said with a mischievous smile as she settled in against his chest once more.

Adela skidded to a halt in the infirmary doorway, heart hammering loud in her ears, gaze instinctively drawn to one place--

The bed was empty. Clumsily made and empty. Was that good or bad?

She glanced around the room until she spotted one of the healer’s assistants straightening shelves at the far end. She cleared her throat, mostly in a vain attempt to get her heart settled back where it belonged, and waited for the young elven man to turn her direction before gesturing toward the bed. “Where...?”

His eyes darted from her to the bed and back. “Oh, he’s, um-”

--Please don’t say he died while I wasn’t even here, I’ll never ever forgive myself. Her hands curled into nervous fists as he stuttered, nails digging into palms--

“-I believe he’s outside, behind, um, Brighthollow, my lady,” the elf(Vedric? She was pretty sure that was his name) finished, inclining his head.

Adela’s brows shot up and her heart lodged in her throat for an entirely different reason. “Wait, he woke up?!”

“Aye, my lady, just over a week ago. Did you not get Iana’s letter?” Vedric’s ears twitched as he frowned.

She shook her head, relieved grin already tugging the corners of her mouth. “So he’s alright?” she asked, voice shaking with the memory of blood and bone laid bare, shallow breathing and the grim caution there might be no recovery.

Vedric(gods, she hoped she was remembering that right) wrinkled his nose apologetically. “He will be, my lady. I’d hardly say he’s there yet.”

“No, right, right.” Adela bounced on the balls of her feet. “But he’s recovering?”

“Yes, my lady.” Vedric smiled. “Iana felt some fresh air would do him good today since it’s warmer than others have been recently.”

She nodded, bit her lip. “It does work wonders. Behind Brighthollow, you said?”

He inclined his head again. “Yes, my lady.”

Adela was gone before he’d finished the confirmation. 

Behind Brighthollow was a good place, she mused as she scrambled down halls and stairs on her way back out. It was quiet, secluded, the hedge maze offered some protection from the wind, and last she’d checked some of the flowers were still holding out against the inevitable advance of winter, so it was sort-of pretty even now. One of her favorite places, right after the library.

She barreled out via one of the smaller back doors rather than the main entrance, eagerly wheeled toward Brighthollow, and couldn’t stop her heart pounding or her grin going wider when she caught sight of him.

Heodan. His name stuck on the tangle of relief and joy and something else she couldn’t quite name all lumping in her throat. She swallowed hard as her feet pushed back into motion of their own accord, and tried again. “Heodan!”

It was enough warning for him to look up, a grin catching his lips when he saw her, before she reached him. Even with her enthusiasm seriously checked, her hug was still forceful enough to knock him from his seat.

She felt as much as heard him wince when they hit the ground and immediately felt guilty. “Sorry, I didn’t mean- I tried to-”

“Adi, it’s--” Heodan’s attempted dismissal cut off with a hiss of pain, his uninjured arm curling in against his ribs. “...Oww.”

“I’m so, so sorry!” Adela said fervently, face hot enough she half expected her fur to singe off. She rested a tentative hand on his good shoulder, waited until he looked up at her. “I was trying to rein it in,” she mumbled, fighting the urge to brush his hair back from his face, or apologize again for how watery his eyes had gone. “I was just... really worried about you, a-and I’m glad you’re... that you didn’t...”

He managed a half-smile and reached up with his good hand to pat hers. “I know.”

She bit her lip and nodded, the unspoken fear that had knotted in her chest for the last two and a half weeks finally dissipating. “Let... let me help you get settled again.” Her head whipped back and forth. “Didn’t they have anyone with you? Just in case?”

“Yes, he just needed to step inside for a minute.“ The strain in Heodan’s voice had lessened considerably by the end of the sentence, but his jaw was still tight.

“Oh, well, I guess I can forgive him,” Adela commented dryly. “‘Specially considering the only real danger to you proved to be me.”

This smile was more full and genuine, not curtailed by pain, and the two of them set about getting him seated once more on the bench.  Adela took a moment to really look at him as he gingerly shifted to get comfortable.

He was still pale, enough that the stubble along his jaw and the dark circles under his eyes stood out in stark relief, but not nearly as pale as he had been that first night coming back from Searing Falls. Bandages were still obvious under his shirt, of course, creeping up the side of his neck, and she did her best to shove away the memory of the ugly wounds they covered. (Aloth and Kana had tried to distract her, but she’d still seen.) The broken collarbone was braced and that arm immobilized, bound tight as the healers dared go with broken ribs in the picture. It was going to take months--at least--to heal, and his adventuring days were very likely done(she wondered if he’d miss them; it wasn’t like that had been his plan when he came out here). But he was alive and recovering, and that was what truly mattered.

She hadn’t lost him.

Her observations complete, Adela perched herself next to Heodan--who had clearly noticed what she was doing and was waiting patiently for her to finish, her legs swinging in the empty space under the bench. “You picked a good time to wake up,” she said lightly, teasing to hide the other emotions swirling in her chest.

Heodan looked over at her and arched a brow. “Did I?”

“They’re making good headway on the craft hall,” she said, smiling impishly, which faded a second later. “Assuming you’re still planning to run that? Once it’s set up and you’re... better?”

“Of course,” he smiled in return. “That’s what we agreed, and I’d hate to disappoint.”

Adela’s ears dipped back and a ripple ran through her fur. “First off, you’d have to do a lot worse than that to disappoint me. And I’d hate to hold you to an arrangement you don’t want anymore.”

Heodan’s smile widened and the fingers on his good hand picked at his thumb.  “Oh, I still want to do it.” he assured her.

“Good... Good to know,” she nodded, playing with her braid. They lapsed into silence for several long moments before she broke it again. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

“Adi, why the blazes would you be sorry for that?” Heodan asked, brow furrowing in confusion. “From what I understand, you didn’t have much choice, and were staving off a major catastrophe.”

“Well, I didn’t, and I was,” she conceded, huffing bangs out of her eyes. Almost drowned in the process, but you don’t need to know that part just yet. She looked up at him. “But I’d said I wasn’t going anywhere, and we’ve been through a lot together, and, I dunno, I wanted to be here for you for this, too.”

Heodan smiled and gave a one-shoulder shrug. “You’re here now.”

Adela met his gaze and grinned. “True. I am.” She left unspoken that she had no intention of leaving any time soon, either. She didn’t trust her voice to stay steady, and besides, saying it out loud would almost guarantee the universe found a way to make a liar of her.

But she thought it. She thought it as she watched him fidget with the sling and bandages holding his arm still, as she fought off the urge to slip her hand in his and hold it tight, as he pulled the deepest breath he could, let it out, and asked her, “So what were you doing, exactly?”

“Saving the world,” she replied innocently, toying with her necklace to help tamp down the urge to hold his hand, zipping the ivory elephant back and forth on its cord.

Heodan chuckled. “I figured that much. Details, Adi. What was involved?”

She spent the next hour answering that question, in a rarely slowing stream of chatter that was vintage Adela Tecali and still somehow skipped most of the more perilous bits. 

Xoti laughed. “Makes sense when ya put it like that.”

In short order that somehow still felt like an eternity, the Ilhana had pulled into port, moored firmly to the Aedyran dock. Adela barely waited for Elias and Tuliak to have things secure before she was barreling down the ramp, Xoti and Rekke not far behind, eagerly scanning the bustling dockside crowds.

“Where is he??” she whined, hands tapping an agitated beat against her thighs.  “I don’t see him…”

“There’s a lotta kith here, Adi,” Xoti pointed out.

“Ta, your ship was not the only one to come in,” Rekke added, raking hair back from his face and tying it up in a messy bun as the breeze picked up. “It is a busy place.”

They were right; in a crowd like this it would be hard to pick out a single (nondescript) folk man. Damn my height, Adela groused to herself, pushing up on her toes as if that would make a blazing lick of difference. (It didn’t.) She chewed her lip in thought, then dragged Rekke with her toward a nearby crate.  “Stand still.”

“Adi-” He caught on quick and obliged as she climbed up the crate and then onto his shoulders. “You are sure, he is meeting you here?”

“Hey, yeah,” Xoti agreed, scanning faces even though she didn’t know who she was looking for. “Was he s’ppose’ta meet ya dockside or somewhere el-”

“Heodan!!” Adela whooped as she spotted him, maybe fifty feet away at most and looking just as overwhelmed by the crowds as she was. He froze and cocked his head when she yelled his name, so she did it again, grateful for Rekke’s hands on her ankles as she waved her arms to get his attention. Thank goodness Rekke’s so tall.

She’d swear she caught a shift in Heodan’s stance, even from this far away, when he spotted her. (Not that it was hard to find a hollering orlan perched on the shoulders of a towering redhead.) Even as he changed direction and bee-lined toward them, Adela clambered down–apologizing to a laughing Rekke when her knee hit his cheekbone–and bolted for him as well.

Their paths converged in a less-crowed area of the docks, and she could see him grinning even wider than she was as he halted and knelt, arms open–

She barreled into him with enough enthusiasm to topple the unprepared. Heodan, however, was well-used to the force of her hugs when excited and kept his balance long enough for their arms to wrap around each other before he pushed to his feet.

“Gods, I’ve missed you,” he mumbled into her hair.

“Missed you, too,” Adela managed around the lump in her throat, face buried against the side of his neck. As her feet left the ground, she swung her legs up to wrap around Heodan’s waist, clinging to him with all the fervor of long months apart.

Heodan was holding her just as tightly, one arm around her shoulders, the other hand cupping the back of her head. For a long moment, neither of them spoke, just held each other tight.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” he finally murmured shakily, fingers digging into her hair. “I felt… the rings…”

Adela was suddenly very aware of the copper band around her finger as she loosened her grip just enough to pull back and meet his eyes. “They work that far apart?!”

Heodan nodded, a year’s worth of worry swirling in his eyes. “Apparently.” He brushed his fingers through the hair falling in her eyes, pushed it back. “I almost took it off at one point, but was too afraid something would… would happen, and I wouldn’t know, and that would have been even worse.” 

The lump in her throat grew as the implication set in, and she smiled tenderly, cupping his jaw in both hands. “I am so sorry I worried you, love. I’m fine, I promise.” He’d see what scars there were eventually, but for now… A brief glance over her shoulder confirmed Xoti and Rekke had caught up. “In no small part thanks to them. Xoti, Rekke, this is Heodan.”

“I figured,” Xoti said with a grin. “Considerin’ you’re stuck to him tighter’n a leech on a bare ankle.”

“Thanks for that comparison, Xo,” Adela said dryly, but neither of them let go. She rubbed her thumbs over the decent growth of stubble along his jaw.  “Growin’ a beard?”

“Not intentionally,” Heodan replied with a sheepish chuckle. “I forgot to bring a razor, and it seemed silly to purchase a new one when I wasn’t planning to be here long. But if you don’t like it-”

“No, no.” She grinned at the way his breath caught when she rubbed her palm along one side of his jaw again. “I’ll like it either way.” She liked the shorter hair, too, though that was starting to grow out again around his ears.

He smiled shyly and shifted his grip. “A factor I’ll be sure to keep in mind.”

“You can put me down if you want,” Adela winked. “My legs are gettin’ kinda tired, anyway, and we’re, um, blockin’ people.”

“You’ll prob’ly be more comfortable, uh, catchin’ up elsewhere, too,” Xoti said innocently. Rekke elbowed her in the ribs, but mirth danced in his eyes as he caught her meaning.

“I will throw things at you,” Adela warned, finally letting go and sliding from Heodan’s grasp. “But later.” She reached for his hand. “I have higher priorities right now.”

Heodan’s cheeks and neck went pink, but he was smiling as he took her hand. “There’s an inn nearby, it’s where I’ve been staying, should have enough rooms for all of us.”

She was pretty sure Xoti muttered something to Rekke about them not needing many, but ignored them to instead focus on the warmth of Heodan’s hand around here. Some would deny this was a ‘homecoming’ as Aedyr was not her native or even adopted land. But Adela had traveled enough, she knew ‘home’ wasn’t merely places; it could be people, too.