the sound of cannons
breaking open the sky
breaking open the sky
"Hälla—it's a pleasure to meet you."
And he left it at that. Let it be as plain and simple as he did acquiescing to her request to forget about it. Sometimes, things could be that straightforward, and they often were for him.
Her face now had a name attached to it, and as with every other he had met, Avallac'h made ample room inside of his mind for the memory of it to rest and live. He wouldn't forget, just like he would never forget the names of those he met while the Sovereign of Sanus, just as he would never forget the nameless he came across during the murky nights of battle.
Each stranger was important.
Keeping pace easily, the sand beneath him still acting as if it knew a piece of him belonged to it, he was able to direct his focus wherever he pleased without worry. Where Hälla had stumbled, Avallac'h knew he would not. It was a reassuring thing, to know that he did not need to fear despite the anxiety he felt lingering just behind his heart.
He had known, since the first day he had crossed the land bridge connecting Dirtharest to the rest of Nordlys, that the arid heat of such places held a spirit he could find some fellowship in. Barren lands such as this had given him many things, and he is sure it would continue to do so until his last breath.
It was a comforting thought.
Carefully he listened to her slow words, an ear flickering to the side being the only thing to betray his interest. "In due time, I'm sure. As with many things." He remarked in response to her not remembering. Her show of vulnerability is not something he would take for granted. He had already caught on the evasiveness with which she had spoken—not wanting to reveal too much and wishing to not pursue the conversation if it concerned him asking questions about her. He wouldn't push.
No, he merely took that piece of information and tenderly set it beside everything else he had gleaned from her remarks, and their unexpected meeting.
Resting for too long, emerging from beneath the coarse grains, once of a Court but now no longer.
When, at least, her pace slowed he gave her a kind smile. Whether she saw it or not hardly mattered to him. If she did see it, though, he would be glad that she would be able to see his appreciation for her doing so. She would be able to see the silent comfort and assurance he placed before her.
While he might not push, however, it was clear that she had no qualms about doing so.
(He is reminded of another, one that he had followed after just as he did Hälla, one he had walked through meadowed fields with and who had pushed until he had been forced to reveal the wounds he kept wrapped up and hidden because she wouldn't stop asking and he was too compliant to tell her no.)
"I am no wanderer—unless my understanding of what one is called when part of the populace of a Court has changed." Avallac'h knew it hadn't. "But running—no I don't believe so. Though, I have been wrong before, but I like to believe my days of running are well behind me." Were they? Was he done? Had he left the burnt world of Edana under the guise of no longer being able to wait because he was still running?
"As I said, I merely wished to see what I can. My plan is to stay here for quite some time, after all. I find spending my time lingering, doing nothing, hardly worthwhile. Perhaps you believe differently?" He wonders, keeping up the flow of the conversation with ease.
Her question gives him some courage. "I know I have no right to ask, and I need no answer but... are you? Running from something, that is." His voice is soft, not demanding anything from her and betraying his caution. He had no right to know, after all. Learning about another, knowing such things, is a privilege that Avallac'h does not believe himself worth having from someone who he has just learned the name of.
Speech
@Hälla
And he left it at that. Let it be as plain and simple as he did acquiescing to her request to forget about it. Sometimes, things could be that straightforward, and they often were for him.
Her face now had a name attached to it, and as with every other he had met, Avallac'h made ample room inside of his mind for the memory of it to rest and live. He wouldn't forget, just like he would never forget the names of those he met while the Sovereign of Sanus, just as he would never forget the nameless he came across during the murky nights of battle.
Each stranger was important.
Keeping pace easily, the sand beneath him still acting as if it knew a piece of him belonged to it, he was able to direct his focus wherever he pleased without worry. Where Hälla had stumbled, Avallac'h knew he would not. It was a reassuring thing, to know that he did not need to fear despite the anxiety he felt lingering just behind his heart.
He had known, since the first day he had crossed the land bridge connecting Dirtharest to the rest of Nordlys, that the arid heat of such places held a spirit he could find some fellowship in. Barren lands such as this had given him many things, and he is sure it would continue to do so until his last breath.
It was a comforting thought.
Carefully he listened to her slow words, an ear flickering to the side being the only thing to betray his interest. "In due time, I'm sure. As with many things." He remarked in response to her not remembering. Her show of vulnerability is not something he would take for granted. He had already caught on the evasiveness with which she had spoken—not wanting to reveal too much and wishing to not pursue the conversation if it concerned him asking questions about her. He wouldn't push.
No, he merely took that piece of information and tenderly set it beside everything else he had gleaned from her remarks, and their unexpected meeting.
Resting for too long, emerging from beneath the coarse grains, once of a Court but now no longer.
When, at least, her pace slowed he gave her a kind smile. Whether she saw it or not hardly mattered to him. If she did see it, though, he would be glad that she would be able to see his appreciation for her doing so. She would be able to see the silent comfort and assurance he placed before her.
While he might not push, however, it was clear that she had no qualms about doing so.
(He is reminded of another, one that he had followed after just as he did Hälla, one he had walked through meadowed fields with and who had pushed until he had been forced to reveal the wounds he kept wrapped up and hidden because she wouldn't stop asking and he was too compliant to tell her no.)
"I am no wanderer—unless my understanding of what one is called when part of the populace of a Court has changed." Avallac'h knew it hadn't. "But running—no I don't believe so. Though, I have been wrong before, but I like to believe my days of running are well behind me." Were they? Was he done? Had he left the burnt world of Edana under the guise of no longer being able to wait because he was still running?
"As I said, I merely wished to see what I can. My plan is to stay here for quite some time, after all. I find spending my time lingering, doing nothing, hardly worthwhile. Perhaps you believe differently?" He wonders, keeping up the flow of the conversation with ease.
Her question gives him some courage. "I know I have no right to ask, and I need no answer but... are you? Running from something, that is." His voice is soft, not demanding anything from her and betraying his caution. He had no right to know, after all. Learning about another, knowing such things, is a privilege that Avallac'h does not believe himself worth having from someone who he has just learned the name of.
@Hälla
