we do not bear children until we have so chosen

[dark_light]

Amariah appears in the Belltower, throws herself into a chair, and tries to read postcards, but her eyes won't focus on them. She tries the Bellbook, and scarcely has better luck, although her eyes do catch on a certain word.

"Jane."

"Yep?"

"I want to talk to Aether."

"I'll let her know!"

Comments

[dark_light]

What a surprise.

Amariah goes and sits next to him.

[truthwright]

Petaal is wrapped up in his arms as a viscacha.

He curls up a tiny bit closer to Amariah, and sniffles, and doesn't say anything.

[dark_light]

She leans her head on his shoulder.



Path leans over and nudges his beak a little against Kas's chin.

[truthwright]

Kas shudders, and pets Path's feathers, and Petaal squirms out of his lap and turns into a human and hugs Amariah.

[dark_light]

Hugs.

[truthwright]

Hugs.

"I love you," he mumbles.

[dark_light]

"I love you too, sweetie."

[truthwright]

"Are... are we okay?"

[dark_light]

"We will be."

[truthwright]

"Okay."

Snuggle. Weepy snuggle.

[dark_light]

Quiet snuggle.

[truthwright]

Snuggly snuggle.

[dark_light]

This will probably take a while.

[truthwright]

A while of snuggles?

That would be okay.

[dark_light]

Yep.

[truthwright]

The crying mostly trails off after a while, and then there are only snuggles.

[dark_light]

Snuggles snuggles snuggles.

"Did Ranata or Charlie know when I was prophesied to come back?"

[truthwright]

"Don't think so," he says. "Inkeri just told me 'n Helen. And the queen."

[dark_light]

Amariah nods slowly.

In that case she is not in any hurry.

Snuggle.

[truthwright]

Snuggle.

"And nobody knew exactly when, 'cause I didn't remember down to the day," he says.

[dark_light]

"I would've checked. It didn't look like you were doing well even with as much information as you had, I guess."

[truthwright]

Kas shudders.

"I couldn't—if I'd known from the start I would've been fine," he says. "And if you'd just shown up one day I at least wouldn't have spent six years getting good and wrecked about it first. The finding out too late to do me any good, but in plenty of time to worry about it for years - that was bad."

[dark_light]

She nods slowly.

"So - so I read some postcards. And Juliet recommended talking to a Tony so I did that, after trying to talk to Aether and that not working all that well. And then I talked to Helen's alts. And then Helen. And then I finished the postcards. And - now I am back."

[truthwright]

"I don't know... what happens now," says Kas. "I don't know what - you know, when I first met Stella, I told her something like this was going to happen? Because... I don't know you perfectly, and I'm not perfect, and forever is too long a time not to make any mistakes in. But I didn't think it was going to be so soon." He sighs. "I guess you never do. If I'd known it was going to turn out like this, I wouldn't have done it."

[dark_light]

"You didn't think I'd mind," says Isabella slowly. It's inflected like a question, except at the end of the sentence.