⟪ at a glance, they could not be more different, could not be from places more different, could not have lead more vastly different lives if they had made such a thing their very purpose. she's lived the life of a healer, before she'd turned to darker things in desperate attempts to ring with death. he's killed. death's a ritual in her world. death's a thing creeping through his lungs day by day.
and yet, it's the ways they are so similar that run deep. his wife died, a million times unlike the way ahvenrel did, but the result's the same. he's got a son. she's got a daughter. it's a blessing harder to keep track of than she'd ever thought when she'd first known she was with child.
so now here they are. yaeris' people rest in basket-like nests in the tree tops, but she's made hers more accessible to match with friends from stranger planets. she's crawled up the tree-trunk, though, to the place she keeps her plants for food and drink, and came back to the pod where she usually rests her head with a clay-made tea pot.
she pours him a cup, hands it to him, then sits, bare feet dangling down as she watches the rain fall. ⟫
[In the past it had been difficult for Thane to do anything other than set his eyes on a goal and work towards it. Even after he decided to cast aside the role he's played in the universe since he was the age of six — a role that follows him even now, regardless of his denouncement of it, has he found it difficult to completely do away with old habits. His isolation, for one. There were precious few aside from his son and the Normandy crew (next to impossible to reach these days) who Thane socializes with.
Well, them and Yaeris. He has made exceptions in his life before, and she was one of them. For a man who has taken as many lives as he...focused on ridding the world of the bad things, she has made the universe brighter with her healing. Despite being a former assassin it's something he appreciates.
He takes the cup with a nod of gratitude and a slight smile.]
My thanks. [Being in the final stages of Kepral's syndrome meant that his coughing fits grew more frequent. His body was weaker no matter how much he worked to retain his muscular strength. Added to that, the humid air from the rain didn't help any. He could see the concern in Kolyat's eyes whenever he informed him he would be coming to visit Yaeris, but knew better than to try and change his mind. He knew that the unfriendly climate didn't stop the drell from living on Kahje, and it would not stop Thane from going to see friends, what little he had. Drell were like that. And Thane was at peace with his situation.
As he takes a long sip of the tea he takes the time to appreciate just how soothing it feels. How he can possibly be granted a little more time before his chest tightens and forces another fit out of him.] It is lovely.
[What he's talking about is vague, but only because he means everything, not just the tea. Everything; the little homey pod, the trees, even the rain...the moment. Every little thing could be lovely when you were a man on borrowed time.]
⟪ they'd gained their freedom from the desparsi, but the cost was high. not as high as it would have been had they not fought at all – the kor were doing well for themselves, but the eldin... children are preciously few even at the best of times, magic making changes to the body right to its core, but after the war, the look of it is dire. the connection between kor and eldin people saved lives on both sides, but the resulting romantic relationships lead to even fewer children. venraela was a gift from the gods, or so she'd told ahven when she'd discovered she was pregnant.
knowing the gods would take ahven for themselves, she wonders if it may have been an apology.
but that was years ago now. she's regained her sanity. it's no longer all in xenech's – her twin brother's – hands. her daughter recognises her now, knows her for her mother. the treeline settlements of the eldin are thriving. if it weren't for the rain and the river below, thane and her would be able to hear the ocean, the forest spills out against its shore.
it's a shared love of the drell and the eldin. ⟫
If you stay a while... ⟪ she takes a sip of her tea – just mint leaves and hot water here, none of the honeys and such she used for thane. ⟫ There are ways of healing we have not yet tried. Older things.
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t h a n e – the books, sad songs and cinemas, they all lied, lied, lied
and yet, it's the ways they are so similar that run deep. his wife died, a million times unlike the way ahvenrel did, but the result's the same. he's got a son. she's got a daughter. it's a blessing harder to keep track of than she'd ever thought when she'd first known she was with child.
so now here they are. yaeris' people rest in basket-like nests in the tree tops, but she's made hers more accessible to match with friends from stranger planets. she's crawled up the tree-trunk, though, to the place she keeps her plants for food and drink, and came back to the pod where she usually rests her head with a clay-made tea pot.
she pours him a cup, hands it to him, then sits, bare feet dangling down as she watches the rain fall. ⟫
Drink up. It eases the cough.
no subject
Well, them and Yaeris. He has made exceptions in his life before, and she was one of them. For a man who has taken as many lives as he...focused on ridding the world of the bad things, she has made the universe brighter with her healing. Despite being a former assassin it's something he appreciates.
He takes the cup with a nod of gratitude and a slight smile.]
My thanks. [Being in the final stages of Kepral's syndrome meant that his coughing fits grew more frequent. His body was weaker no matter how much he worked to retain his muscular strength. Added to that, the humid air from the rain didn't help any. He could see the concern in Kolyat's eyes whenever he informed him he would be coming to visit Yaeris, but knew better than to try and change his mind. He knew that the unfriendly climate didn't stop the drell from living on Kahje, and it would not stop Thane from going to see friends, what little he had. Drell were like that. And Thane was at peace with his situation.
As he takes a long sip of the tea he takes the time to appreciate just how soothing it feels. How he can possibly be granted a little more time before his chest tightens and forces another fit out of him.] It is lovely.
[What he's talking about is vague, but only because he means everything, not just the tea. Everything; the little homey pod, the trees, even the rain...the moment. Every little thing could be lovely when you were a man on borrowed time.]
no subject
⟪ they'd gained their freedom from the desparsi, but the cost was high. not as high as it would have been had they not fought at all – the kor were doing well for themselves, but the eldin... children are preciously few even at the best of times, magic making changes to the body right to its core, but after the war, the look of it is dire. the connection between kor and eldin people saved lives on both sides, but the resulting romantic relationships lead to even fewer children. venraela was a gift from the gods, or so she'd told ahven when she'd discovered she was pregnant.
knowing the gods would take ahven for themselves, she wonders if it may have been an apology.
but that was years ago now. she's regained her sanity. it's no longer all in xenech's – her twin brother's – hands. her daughter recognises her now, knows her for her mother. the treeline settlements of the eldin are thriving. if it weren't for the rain and the river below, thane and her would be able to hear the ocean, the forest spills out against its shore.
it's a shared love of the drell and the eldin. ⟫
If you stay a while... ⟪ she takes a sip of her tea – just mint leaves and hot water here, none of the honeys and such she used for thane. ⟫ There are ways of healing we have not yet tried. Older things.