Tal blinked at the matter-of-fact tone in Alys's voice as she cuddled the early stages of a ruthless, man-eating predator to her bosom. He stared right back at the cub, scowling beneath his scarf as he tried to figure out why in actual hail the seer would do something so daft--
Oh.
Her attempt to explain made quite a lot of sense, actually, and things clicked into place pretty quick the moment he heard that the bear was communicating with feelings and images. Tal heaved a heavy sigh and gave a glum nod. "Yeah... sounds about right," he reassured Alys as she trailed off in uncertainty. "Y'get used to it."
Boreal huffed softly from her perch, reminding her human to get a hustle on when he paused to look longingly back at the carcass. It was good meat, and nothing to walk away from in Deepfrost. There were hungry people in the Citadel who could use it... And he and Boreal could probably tackle an ursur by themselves if the male came back...
But one look at Alys revealed the shiver as she got a better hold on her new companion and the courier sighed to himself and shook his head. "Y'get too cold, y'tell me," he said gruffly. "Don't go bein' a martyr. It won't help her if y'end up sick or frostbit gettin' her home." With that, he let her set the pace. She moved quickly in spite of her burden, and Tal trailed a little bit behind her, watching their backs while Boreal flew from tree to tree overhead, occasionally dislodging a load of snow from a skeletal metal branch.
When Alys turned back to him he snorted, glancing fondly up at his own companion. "Yeah. S'like a missin' piece y'didn't even know was missin' just slipped back into place, right? I figure I could learn t'live without just about anythin' or anyone else... but not her." His voice softened, taking on a rare vulnerability at the admission while high above the dragon crooned gently to the man below.
Oh.
Her attempt to explain made quite a lot of sense, actually, and things clicked into place pretty quick the moment he heard that the bear was communicating with feelings and images. Tal heaved a heavy sigh and gave a glum nod. "Yeah... sounds about right," he reassured Alys as she trailed off in uncertainty. "Y'get used to it."
Boreal huffed softly from her perch, reminding her human to get a hustle on when he paused to look longingly back at the carcass. It was good meat, and nothing to walk away from in Deepfrost. There were hungry people in the Citadel who could use it... And he and Boreal could probably tackle an ursur by themselves if the male came back...
But one look at Alys revealed the shiver as she got a better hold on her new companion and the courier sighed to himself and shook his head. "Y'get too cold, y'tell me," he said gruffly. "Don't go bein' a martyr. It won't help her if y'end up sick or frostbit gettin' her home." With that, he let her set the pace. She moved quickly in spite of her burden, and Tal trailed a little bit behind her, watching their backs while Boreal flew from tree to tree overhead, occasionally dislodging a load of snow from a skeletal metal branch.
When Alys turned back to him he snorted, glancing fondly up at his own companion. "Yeah. S'like a missin' piece y'didn't even know was missin' just slipped back into place, right? I figure I could learn t'live without just about anythin' or anyone else... but not her." His voice softened, taking on a rare vulnerability at the admission while high above the dragon crooned gently to the man below.
