the days that bind us

[exequy]

WHO: Lots of people
WHAT: Recovering lost phylacteries
WHEN: Guardian 23, 9:44
WHERE: The Storm Coast
NOTES: Violence! OOC post over here.

All signs point to the Storm Coast, and once scouts have narrowed down the location it's only a short journey across the Waking Sea to move a small force onto the rocky coast. They row ashore just after dawn in driving rain, and follow the beach for at least a mile before finding a path that actually reaches the top of the cliff. The rain fades to a drizzle but the day remains relentlessly overcast as they hike toward their goal, grey and dim even at noon, with a raw breeze off the water.

Comments

[aceso]

"We can find someplace secret to store it." Maybe under the floorboards, or they can put in a hidden drawer somewhere. That way no one but the two of them will ever know it's there.

Christine tucks in her head close to his neck, wrapping her arm around his waist. She never pictured herself in this life; going into battle with the man that means everything to her by her side. But she wouldn't trade this for anything.

"I know you would. And I will do the same in return." Or at least try, as he said. She couldn't shield him from the Rifter illness, after all. "It is your own actions in the time I have known you that makes me trust you. There is no need to thank me for that."

[motherfucking_ghost]

"I dunno that I'll ever get used to it. But, like, in a good way, I guess? It's good to be trusted and wanted. Never get tired of it."

Not in the same way the AI had wanted him, not in the same way the Blues trusted him. Not in the same way as Tex, he can admit that much. This is...less complicated. And more pure, in a sense.

He settles the vial in a pocket for now, to be tucked in a pack for a safe journey back. And then they'll find a place for it. Together, he thinks. Better that she have a say in it, knowing its power. Something for Just In Case. "You know I love you, right? That I'm never gonna stop, no matter what happens. Cuz I don't want you to doubt that for a second."

[aceso]

Things are only complicated until they're not, and it's been quite awhile since Christine deemed this relationship to be complicated. Things simply fell into place without effort; like they were always meant to be this way.

The words he says don't cause some panicked reaction in her like they might have once before, but she is surprised that he chooses to say it so openly. What she expects from him are actions and not so much the words themselves. Her head lifts and her eyes meet his, shining with tears.

"I know." The water throws another spray of water at them, and the cold jolt makes her laugh and take his face in her hands. "I do." There are so many things she could say; like about how she's always wanted this, but living in the Circle it was always a distant dream. She could say she'd wanted to wait until the war was over to have romance in her life, but that he came and stole her heart like a thief in the night. She could say that she prefers to over plan for everything in her life, including her future, yet now with him she just wants to live one day at a time and let life surprise her.

But she doesn't say any of this. Instead she says, "I love you too. I always will." Her hair is getting drenched, and a chill is starting to work its way through her armor. "Let's get on board and into dry clothes before we become ill, hmm?" Nothing, not even a declaration of love, can stop Christine Delacroix from being a healer.