Fight the break of dawn

It was because Ru and Alys and Sah could come see the sights here now that Tal was able to really relax and enjoy the city as much as he was. Or... maybe it was because of who he was seeing the city with. It was a thought that he'd had more than once in recent days, and had him rubbing at the back of his neck as he tilted his head up to the thick carpet of stars overhead, picking out familiar constellations that he usually only saw so brightly from the Peregrine's deck.

"Y'know... I guess... there's still lots o' places we haven't seen," he began, his grin fading as he swallowed against the words he'd come to say. They filled his throat, nervous and fluttering like caged birds, and he knew that once he let them out they could never be hidden away again. "But... this last season... it's been pretty fun. Havin' someone t'share travelin' with. Havin' company on th'Peregrine has been... it's been a lot nicer'n I thought it'd be."

He winced, hearing the awkwardness in his own words and drawing a sharp inward breath past the lump in his throat. "An' I dunno if it'd be as nice with anyone else. So... I'm really glad y'came with me. This far, I mean. T'share all this..." He waved up at the starry sky above and the glittering lights of Stormbreak below. "An' everythin' else we've been through t'gether. You're pretty amazin', Alys. More'n I got words t'say."