#silquefaye

It was spring in Valentia, and with balance restored to the land, that meant lush grass and flowers everywhere. The bell tower behind her was covered in crawling vines, and the fences were adorned with pearly white roses, still shining wet with dew. Wildflowers along the path danced happily in the breeze, pastel shades of pink and blue. Faye couldn’t ask for a prettier day for flying.

Still, she couldn’t help but tug at one of her braids nervously. It would be her first time seeing Silque in ages. She’d been in Rigel acting as a traveling healer for almost a year now, and you couldn’t exactly exchange letters with someone who never knew where they were going next.

When Silque did arrive, Faye almost forgot how to breathe. She looked the same as she always did, graceful posture and well-groomed hair and the faintest hint of dark circles under her eyes, but there was something indefinably different that made her radiant. Maybe the air in Rigel was just that refreshing, or maybe it had just been that long.

“Silque!” Faye surprised even herself by going in for a crushing hug. Physical affection wasn’t usually her strong suit, since most of her experience with physical contact growing up had been from rough-housing with Alm and the others, not with hugging them. Silque didn’t question it, though, returning the gesture without hesitation.

“It’s good to see you, too. It’s good to be missed, you know.” They shared a smile at the familiar phrase, the old inside joke about their first real conversation, when Faye had finally gotten some sense. “Thank you again for coming to pick me up.”

Faye pulled back, face oddly warm. “Well, it’s not like there’s much work for us knights to do right now, anyways.” And there she went, being dismissive and rude. Too much nostalgia. She made another effort. “Besides, I never got the chance to fly you around during the war, you know.”

Silque raised her eyebrows, amused. “Yes, you were too busy falling off your pegasus to ferry passengers. I’m not sure I would have been brave enough to take you up on that offer back then.”

Faye huffed. “I was learning! I only fell off and hurt myself once.” That Silque knew of. She’d started going to Tatiana to patch her up after the first embarrassing time Silque had found her in a pile of bruised limbs on the ground, pegasus neighing smugly as it flew circles above her.

“Of course, of course.” The light in her eyes told her that she hadn’t been fooling anyone. Silque had always seemed to know everything that went on in the Deliverance, though she was never one to gossip about it.

“This horse is much nicer than that one. Clair helped me pick him out.”

Silque approached him slowly, holding out a hand for him to smell. He nuzzled into her palm, sniffing for treats.

“Ah, I’m afraid I didn’t bring anything for you. How thoughtless of me.”

“He can earn his treats by giving us a smooth, easy ride.” Faye looked at him sternly, locking eyes with the beast. He tossed his head back and neighed in response. She held up a hand to the side of her mouth and whispered carefully to Silque. “I have plenty in my bag, but if he figures that out, he won’t ever leave me alone.”

Silque chuckled, stepping back from the pegasus. “He seems clever enough for that.” He shook his mane primly at the praise, neighing as if in agreement. Faye rolled her eyes.

“He acts like I never feed him. Ungrateful!” She swore he stuck his tongue out, an unmistakably human gesture, but it was too fast to prove.

Silque’s gaze drifted to his saddle. “Will there be room enough for the both of us?”

“It’s bigger than it looks. And he’s plenty strong to handle two riders. I tested it before I left. If you broke a bone, I couldn’t exactly patch you up.” Silque had once tried to teach her the basics of healing magic, just in case, but it had been a disaster. She clearly remembered, hiding a giggle behind her hand in a poor attempt to spare Faye’s ego.

“All you’ll need to do is hold on tight and not panic.” She looked over Silque’s clothing, considering. “You know, it can get pretty chilly up there… Here.” She reached up to unfasten her cape.

“Ah, you don’t have to do that! What about you?” Silque protested, gesturing at her robes. “I have plenty of layers already.”

Faye moved closer, brandishing the cape. “I’m used to it, though. You just came from Rigel, you don’t need to go right back to being cold. Rider’s orders.”

Silque tried to argue further, but Faye barreled onward, channeling all her childish experience at wrestling with Tobin, bundling Silque up before she could get any words out. Her hands caught in the fabric and Faye had to untangle them as she smoothed out the wrinkles. Her hands were calloused and so very warm, and Faye’s fingers buzzed where they touched.

“There, now you’re all ready to go.”

“I suppose I am,” Silque agreed, cheeks flushed.

Faye offered a hand, feeling herself go red, too. Silque accepted it, hiding her face in the cape, and Faye tugged her over to Soren, helping her into the stirrups and onto the saddle. It was a bit awkward to seat herself in front of Silque, but she managed, freeing the reins from where they were tucked under the front of the saddle pad.

Silque placed her arms tentatively around Faye’s waist, glancing around curiously. Faye counted down for her, and then she pinched in her heels, and it was go-time. Soren whinnied happily, taking off at a trot, then a canter, and then moved into a gallop as he spread his wings and flapped once, twice. They rose steadily, the bell towers and ruins beneath them shrinking smaller and smaller. Silque gasped, her arms going tight, her chin digging into Faye’s shoulder.

Faye grinned. It was magical, flying for the first time, but also stomach-dropping scary. The adrenaline of it all would kick in soon and clear her head. The first time she’d managed to get into the air proper, she’d stayed so long that Clair had flown up and forced her to come back before her pegasus passed out.

The countryside below was beautiful, full of the same wildflowers that had dotted the path, but in far more abundance. There was more color, too, splotches of purple and orange blended in to the fields like an abstract painting. The wind rushed past them, but Faye didn’t even shiver, kept warm by Silque’s body pressed against hers.

“It’s lovely,” Silque breathed into her ear, barely audible. “Breath-taking.”

Faye nodded in agreement, not wanting to break the atmosphere of Silque’s first time in the sky. There would be plenty of time for talk later. Silque had said she was here to stay for at least a few weeks, getting her bearings in the new Zofia and soaking in the sunlight. Her heart beat faster at the thought, of getting to show Silque around town, of seeing her every day again like back with the Deliverance, but without the stress of a war. It was something warm blooming inside her, spreading and blocking out the chill.