The Eve Before Death

Night has fallen over Alexandria and for once everything appears to be quiet and calm. The skies are clear, leaving an expansive skyscape for those who send their eyes upward. Quiet sounds filter in from the city with the murmurings of people enjoying their night.

Rune, however, stands in contrast to this. She leans against the railing of their rented appartment, arms folded in front of her, wearing the same sleeveless top and loose leggings she usually wears to sleep. There's no hint that she's coming to bed any time soon, though. Rest doesn't come easy, knowing what she and her friends will face in the coming day.

One hand fidgets with her necklace absently, eyes looking skyward as if she were seeking some sort of answer. It isn't the first time she has asked the gods that simple question: 'why?' And, as always, they remain silent. The reasons are for mortals to figure out...

Warmth soon joins her in the form of Harkashan, placing his arms onto the railings next to her and looks out over the city itself. Burning eyes slowly scanning the world before him. His tail coiling instinctively behind Rune's heels. He's wearing the new clothing that Aelwyn had offered up to him as a gift.

"They rarely answer directly." Harkashan rumbles, having heard the 'why' earlier when he was still inside. It's not like Harkashan is an expert on the matter. "Which 'why' are you pondering this day?"

After months away, the sound of Harkashan's talons clicking on the wood floor is a comfort that she has dearly missed. That, and the warmth of having someone to come home to. Once he has stepped up beside her, Rune leans her head over onto his shoulder, quiet for a time as she sorts through her own muddled thoughts.

"The gods never do." Rune finally whispers. Her foot shifts, catching his tail and pulling it forward in a quiet wish for that extra contact.

"I'd say... 'why me', but... I know that answer." Her voice is quiet, the fingers of one hand toying with her necklace. "I wonder if the day I was born, my mother was thinking of this. How much of it was love, and how much was necessity. How much am I a daughter, and how much am I a tool..."

His arm instinctively slides over her back to her side and keeps her close to him, much as his tail does. Things are fairly similar for him. Though her being gone has been a short time compared to his lifetime, he's been 'aware' of her being missing from his life far more than someone like an Elf might think.

"I think you do not need to worry about the matter of a daughter or tool though. That necklace was picked up by you. You decided to go after this. You could have stopped at any point in time. I think this isn't a matter of being a tool. I think this is all about a mother's love for her daughter. And reaching out across the seas of time and fate." Harkashan rumbles and leans in, pressing a snoot-touch to the top of her head. "And I'm a really good judge of character. And I think your mom adores you."

The night air is still quite cold, despite the shift towards spring, so as soon as that arm is wrapped around her, Rune leans herself close to the heat source that so many goblins throw themselves after. Too bad for them, this one belonged to her.

"Yes and no." Rune replies, those fingers still thumbing over the necklace. It was different now, in this unlocked form, but she still found comfort in rubbing her fingers on the cool metal. "She was the one who put it around my neck. She wanted me to have it. Knew I needed to have it, I guess..." Her lips press together slightly.

"But you're right, I was the one that chose to follow where her path lead. Because I lost her when I was so young and I just... wanted to know who she was. To understand the parts of me that never fit into my father's quiet little world." She takes a deep breath, as if trying not to give in to the emotions that threaten to drown her.

"And how would you know?" She murmurs, though the words have no malice to them, "You never met her..."

"We saw a form of her. In that cavern. We saw her history. The many attempts..." He answers her, rubbing his head slowly. The inescapable history. The cycle that refuses to give in because of the curse set by a malicious Fae.

He then sqeezes her at hearing that deep breath. That held sigh. "I think that, if she had not given you this neckpiece and not given you a way... I think you would have been more unhappy. Am I wrong?"

"You saw a phantom. An echo." Rune's words remain soft. She has had a long time to consider what she saw and heard in that cavern, and just what it might mean. "The woman who gave birth to me, who held me as a baby, who sung me lullabies and told me stories, who encouraged me to seek more in life than my father's plans... That wasn't her." Rune's eyes press shut at that, barely holding back tears. "Maybe... they're possibilities of people who /could/ have been her, but... none of them /are/ her."

At least, this is how Rune has come to see it. Perhaps she is right, perhaps not, but there is a certain defense she has over her heart. Losing her mother once had almost destroyed her, so there is armor she has built up against letting this same pain in a second time. However, by the sight of her, those defenses are starting to falter.

At his question, at that alternate path that she could have taken, Rune just shakes her head. When her eyes open again, they are glassy and wet, but there is that look of determination there, too. To see this through, regardless of the end that awaits her. "It's impossible to know if I'd be happier or not. Maybe I would have stayed in that thieving crew, built a life in the shadows."

Her eyes look towards him. "I never would have gone to Am'shere. Never would have known you." Then, in a quieter tone, "And you would have been the one to take that spell and die, not me."

"Hrrrmmm." Harkashan lets out a deep rumbles, and leans in. Kissing the top of Rune's head as she closes her eyes. Turning his body to properly wrap his arms around her to comfort her. Things are strange and unusual, when it comes to the Fae. Difficult to discern truth from illussion. So he can understand Rune's view on this. In fact, she is her mother's daughter - he will trust her senses and views on this.

"Or I would never have been on that road, as I might not have been escorting anyone. There are many factors that come into one's route in life. But I am glad that you are here with me. You have opened my eyes to many things, and been an invaluable companion and partner - cihuaa." He kisses the top of her head once more. Warmth against the cold air.

The shift of that warmth across her back, enveloping Rune in a comfort she had once thought beyond her reach... it slows her breathing and it eases some of the ache in her heart. It reminds her that, despite the rift between her and the rest of her family, she is not alone. She has friends, people she loves dearly, and that bolsters her strength.

"Maybe." She admits, "There's no way of knowing what paths our road would have lead down if we'd made different choices. And... I don't regret the ones that I made. How could I... when they lead me here?" She looks up, mostly at the underside of his muzzle, "To dear friends, a love I never thought I'd find..."

As he leans down to kiss the top of her head, she beats him to it and kisses his chin before setting her eyes out onto the night sky once more. "Thank you, for being with me through all of this. Even if it means re-living one of the worst days of both of our lives."

Harkashan tilts his head down as she looks up at him. Meaning she's staring at the tip of his snout, and seeing those big eyes looking at her. It's like staring at a dog from super up-close. It looks... a bit strange, from a more human perspective.

"You will have my support for as long as I live." He answers her and croons at the kiss to his chin. Tail curling a bit closer around her legs, before her draws her into a hug and smothers her head against his chest. "Such, I promise."

"Well, so long as it isn't for as long as /I/ live." Rune replies, leaning into humor given the stress of the situation. "Otherwise it wouldn't be long at all, would it?" She smirks a bit, "And yes... I know this isn't permanent. I know that whatever happens, we'll be coming back." At least, so long as the Fey they have been trusting for so long has not lead them wrong.

The hug is comfort. The same arms that held her on that night that seems so recent and so long ago. The same arms that had carried her body off of that battlefield. For a person who prefers life as a wanderer, those arms are home.

"We should... try to get some sleep." She suggests. Trying to avoid thinking further on what awaits them. "It might be a difficult ask. Then again..." She smirks up at him and pokes a finger at his snout. "You could always try exhausting me... that's /one/ way to make sure I sleep..." Her brows raise.

"Hmmm, we'll see." Harkashan answers Rune. The lives of Adventurers are always hard to guess at - their lifespan is often far shorter than those of a regular person. On the other hand, the inverse tends to be true about their personal wealth. "And indeed, we'll be coming back." He rumbles and squeezes her a bit, before releasing her slightly and taking one of her hands for a moment.

"Hmm, sleep would be good." He answers her, and the moment she pokes at his snoot and talks about exhausting her, he grabs her and throws her over his shoulder and marches towards the bedroom. "Understood. One exhausting night with a fiery dragon, coming right up." He playfully answers her.