[h3]The Sky Belongs to [i]Us[/i][/h3]

- with the dazzling [@Hank]

[i]14th Sun’s Height, Morning[/i]

[hr]

The chaos and squall had been chasing at her heels like hounds of hell. Adjusting and playing out so ominously to her every move and reaction of fear in a destructive dance of consternation. But now, the storm was buried within for she had taken that chaos into her bare hands and choked the essence from it. It was now silenced and quelled entirely. In the place of rolling thunder, a precious heartbeat.

The eye of the hurricane was quiet for miles around. Quiet and as still as deep and untouched waters hidden somewhere far in the heart of a forest at the edge of the world. That was the silence that occupied the mind of Raelynn now. Where so recently, there had been a field of tangled thorns, each kissed with red hot blood, now there just empty plains awaiting life. Plains that lead to the edge of the world, to the silent and serene space of her mind. To that well of deep water where she nourished life, alone, and in secret.

Daro’Vasora still slept, and as the Breton looked over her shoulder, the corners of her mouth quirked up. At last their fearless leader had slept through the night, and all it had taken was to cuddle beside a friend. She almost felt smug about her abilities to bring the Khajiit to a deep sleep just by being around her, but respect and admiration soon swept that to one side. [i]She’d needed it.[/i]

Raelynn’s hand flourished over the parchment, the gentle scratching of the tip of the quill cutting through the delicate and soft breathing of Sora. She had finished her list, and carefully she tore the page free from her journal and gave a gentle blow against the still drying ink, before folding it perfectly in half. Across the fold, there was the slightest tinge of oil from her thumb that scented the parchment with the faint and mellow aroma of daisies.

Outside of the tent it smelled of rain, and the light that poured in when she parted the fabric of the doorway was not the amber orange that she had grown accustomed to in the desert, but once again the bright and striking grey of the wilds. The sky was mottled today, with an array of blackened clouds, smoky wisps, and swirls of white. If it weren’t for the cracks between them showing the azure hue behind, it would have looked far more aggressive. It would take but an hour and the clouds would surrender to the wish of the morning and move on.   

Raelynn placed her hand against her forehead to shield her fresh eyes from it, as she stared heavensward in awe. This was [i]her[/i] sky. The one she had lived under for so many years, despite any unknown dangers of the Reach, she was on the fringes of her home once again. It brought her a sense of calm that she had needed.

As she brought her eyes back down from the sky, they fell onto a recogniseable figure sat beneath a tree, his cloak peppered with the falling pine needles of the conifers that had grown strong in the conditions of the Reach, from sapling to the magnificent watchful guardians of the mountains. [i]How long have you been there?[/i] It brought a smile to her eyes to see him, even as melancholic as he was. She drank in the image as if she were painting it to her memory, noting every colour - with Gregor in the centre, as silent and still as the trees too. 


Knowing that she couldn’t just observe for too long, steadily she made her way to him, hands at her front, ashen hair tousled and more voluminous than ever. She had about closed the distance when she tilted her head the side, her eyes brightened. “Good morning…” She said in a voice as soft as a whisper in his direction. 

Roused by the warm fragility of Raelynn’s voice, Gregor looked up to see her. Merely the sight of her, of her eyes and her hair and her impeccable outfit ruffled somewhat by sleep, appeared to breathe life back into him like a statue touched by magic. “My love,” he responded, his voice rough with disuse and muffled within the confines of his helm, and he extended a hand to her. “Sit with me.” 
 
She gracefully took hold of his hand as she lowered herself to sit beside him, being sure to brush a hand down the back of her cloak, carefully clutching the excess of fabric to the side so it would not crease. As she came to her sitting position, she let go of his hand and began to brush away at the fallen needles that had managed to land on his own clothing. The image of them raining on him was both amusing to her, and in many ways sad. It was how he was now, deep in pensive thought, near silent, undeterred by his surroundings. She noticed his sword and whetstone. He hadn’t given up his ritualistic behaviour in it all, that was for sure. “Have you been here all night?” Raelynn asked as she leaned against him and let her hand rest on his forearm.

It wasn’t until Raelynn took it upon herself to relieve his cloak of the needles that had drifted down from the surrounding trees that Gregor even noticed them, and an audible chuckle resonated from behind his visor. “Yes,” he answered truthfully. “Is it dawning already?” He looked up at the sky to see that it was, indeed, sunrise. “I was keeping watch,” he added and moved to tuck the whetstone away in the bag by his feet. 

He stopped and paused, motionless for a few seconds, before he straightened back up and looked Raelynn in the eye. “That’s not true. I was thinking.” Gregor took one of Raelynn’s hands in his own and his gaze darted around the camp, as if he was searching for something to give him strength. 

“Fjolte and I made progress with my memories,” he blurted out suddenly, uncharacteristically fast for him in his new condition. He slowed down and squeezed Raelynn’s hand. “What I said to you in our tent, before I left… I meant none of it. That wasn’t me.” He hesitated before he lifted his hands to remove his helmet, revealing the paleness of his visage, dark hair spilling out and falling around his shoulders. There was more than just the lights that danced in his eyes -- there was sincerity and regret, and his face was carved in a mask of pain. “I’m so sorry, Raelynn,” he said softly and placed his helmet on the tree beside him before he grabbed hold of her hand again. “Do you believe me?”

Her brows knitted and she turned away. He’d seen it, then. That moment which she had considered to be one of her greatest humiliations, and a fraction of that same feeling returned to her now as she squeezed her eyes shut and pinched at the bridge of her nose. 

Raelynn had known that the day would come where they would have to speak about this, and still, she wasn’t ready - nor had she prepared in any way for it. That sickening feeling soon turned to a painful regret as she too, retraced the steps of that memory in her mind. Her frantic pacing, mumbled words. That she had slapped him. The hand slipped from her nose, to cover her mouth as if to hide the shuddered breath she released. Again, it moved down to her neck, her fingers pinching and hovering over the place where his hand had been. Then to her chest, where she had been told to [i]feel it[/i]. Every step was painful, but so perfectly shaped for her to step back in at any time, fresh and raw. 

The Breton was speechless while he spoke, and speechless for longer too until her eyes reopened - pointed at the dirt and grass. Grey and green in a blurred wash until focus returned. “I think that people normally discuss plans for the day first thing of a morning…” Raelynn replied sorrowfully, with a meek and mirthless laugh to follow. He was trying, at least.

She sniffed and breathed in sharply, straightening back up again. “I know that it wasn’t you. I know that you didn’t mean it,” she admitted, turning to look at him - grateful that he had removed the helm. She could see his eyes properly now that they weren’t basked in the darkness of visor. She blinked quickly, a guiltiness present. “I didn’t know who was going to come back, Gregor.”

Guilt-stricken as he was, Gregor was relieved to see that Raelynn believed him. He knew that she had forgiven him either way, or she wouldn’t have been so kind and loving to him ever since, but it still meant the world to him that she knew. The memories of her begging him not to go had been almost unbearable otherwise. 

Her words that followed confirmed another realization that had come to him during their recent travels. “Is that why you brought your sword?” Gregor asked, his eyes searching her face for her response, but his voice was not accusatory. 

There was no hesitation. “Yes,” her tone was quiet and hollow. Raelynn’s shoulders tensed. “I was convinced that I had to stop you.” She did not avoid his eyes, in fact she met them with her own but her gaze and shrunken posture was like that of a frightened rabbit. 

“Heavens above,” Gregor breathed and rubbed his forehead without thinking, an old instinct that made him look a little more human and alive. He didn’t fail to notice how Raelynn looked at him. “You don’t have to be afraid of me,” he whispered and the expression on his face was one of quiet desperation. “He didn’t come back. I did. Just me.” Despite himself, the ghost of a smile tugged at Gregor’s lips. “Just Gregor.”

That made her relax, and she nodded in response. She had known almost immediately that it had been Gregor who had returned. The shame hadn’t left her though, at least not until now as she exhaled it in one, long breath and her shoulders relaxed with it too. “You’re more than just Gregor to me,” Raelynn mumbled, smiling shyly in his direction. “My everything came back, and that’s… That’s all I need.”

A genuine laugh escaped Gregor and he suddenly took Raelynn in his arms before planting a kiss on her forehead. The moment his lips touched her skin he felt something like an electric shock run through his body and he almost flinched. “Woah,” he muttered and leaned back to inspect Raelynn, an inquisitive look on his face. Without offering an explanation, Gregor tugged at the fingers of the gauntlet of his left hand to remove it and brushed the bare skin of his exposed fingertips against her cheek. It was almost… warm. 

“I felt something,” Gregor said and cupped her cheek with his hand proper. He laughed again, timidly, like a man unsure of whether he can accept what he’s seeing. Her eyes were so light, so bright, and she almost seemed to glow in the shadow of the pine forest. “Did you become even more beautiful when I wasn’t paying attention?” he asked, his voice barely more than a murmur. 

Whatever it was that Gregor had felt, she had not - and for a brief moment a girlish fear and instinct had kicked in and she’d wondered if a bee or a spider had stumbled upon their meeting to elicit such a reaction from him. Raelynn cleared her throat and quashed that foolish notion. She brought her fingers to brush away at the front layers of her hair that framed her face, tucking them behind her ears. The bouncy waves pushed back and the strands fell again. She had to think of something quickly, his compliment was lovely… It was also strange to hear, actually - her heart fluttered in her chest and a faint blush crept to the apples of her cheeks.

“Well… I think it’s just the air of Skyrim… Different clothing... Grey compliments my skin tone,” she muttered back, looking to the side as her fingers now began to wind around the tips of her hair. She was trying her best not to smile fully.

“Look at you, being all bashful,” Gregor said with a half-cocked smile. He moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her neck and his thumb gently caressed the skin just below her hairline there. “I’m glad the air is doing you well. I had hoped it would be good for everyone to get out of that heat,” he continued and looked out over the camp. There was almost nobody out and about and those that were up and present weren’t looking in their direction. If only for a moment, it was just the two of them again. 

Glancing sidelong at Raelynn, he extended his arm so that his hand was on her shoulders and he pulled her a little closer to him. “So, what are your plans for the day?”

Her brows fell to a playful furrow when he teased her with his words. Even if it was just that, that small gesture was some of the real Gregor breaking through the melancholy, albeit fleetingly. Her eyes closed slowly at the sensation of his skin on the back of her neck. These things… She had almost forgotten them, small acts of intimacy that only he was allowed. “I am sending Fjolte and some others out to scout the area. After that, I will make use of the last of my supplies, I shall meet with Daro’Vasora to discuss some things…” She was speaking slowly, and she huddled against Gregor, placing a hand on his lap. “I shall pray that nobody scrapes a knee or catches a cough, there is studying to be done…” A thoughtful expression befell her features before she looked up at him, “Just a few things. I suppose you’ll be watching over the camp, won’t you?”

The conversation and the little moment of closeness that they shared had finally weakened the paralysis that had ensnared Gregor since the trial enough for him to shake his head at her question. “Not just that. There are some people I should speak to. I have gratitudes to express, apologies to offer. It’s been weeks,” he said. “It’s time.”

Gregor rested his head on top of Raelynn’s and pulled the cloak around her shoulders too, enshrouding her within the fabric that had been his retreat for so long. Only she could be so close to the man inside the darkness. “And I think I need to learn how to fight again,” he added, his voice betraying that he himself was still wondering exactly how he was going to do that. “My body isn’t what it used to be, for better or for worse.”

“Take it slowly, don’t rush for their forgiveness. Accept that many may still need their space. I haven’t been able to even look at Judena,” she expressed with a sigh, instinctively wrapping her arm around his waist now that she was beneath his cloak. Searching for comfort there. “First thing of a morning she smiles at me, wishes me a good day -- and then she remembers.” Raelynn nibbled at her lip nervously, holding tighter to Gregor still. 

There was a silence for a while after that, as she swallowed back the lump in her throat and finally brought herself around to Gregor’s second task. “I may have something to help you,” a smile crept across her lips and her face softened, “I bought a book back in the Alik’r. It’s only a story but… Well, reading helps too. Helps us up here,” her finger found his temple and she touched him so gently there. 

Gregor hummed softly in acknowledgement of Raelynn's words of warning, his chest reverberating against her. "I will."

As for her suggestion, Gregor smiled at the thought. He'd never learned swordplay by reading a book before, but it couldn't hurt to try. "Thank you. I'll make sure to read it. I've no shortage of time, after all," he quipped. The lich suddenly realised he didn't know what Raelynn had been up to all night. "Where were you before, anyway? I hadn't seen you since you were talking to Fjolte." 

“I actually spoke to Sora…” she replied, “I believe that she and I are going to start putting everyone to good use, she needs help to stay on track but the time for action is now.” Raelynn’s words came out in a blunt fashion, as if she were a commander looking down over a war table in a castle fortress. She realised it too. “I mean,” she began again, softer this time with a breathy chuckle to shake it off, “I have offered to study the Dwemer Lexicon. Fresh eyes might offer new answers afterall, and we talked for a while about… Just things, and it got late and we slept in her tent. She hasn’t had a lot of rest as of late…” 

"I can imagine," Gregor said sympathetically. "She's been through a lot and carries so much responsibility." He lifted his head back up and looked down at Raelynn with one raised eyebrow. "You and her are going to put people to use, eh? Am I going to have to call you Commander Hawkford soon? Has a great ring to it, I have to admit," the Imperial said. He surprised even himself with his good humour. There was something about Raelynn today that made it easy to forget everything. Gregor had no idea what, but he wasn't about to complain.

“Don't be silly,” she laughed, pulling herself from the embrace to shake her head playfully at him. “I'm just Raelynn,” she continued in a honeyed voice, reaching out to him to brush back his hair from his face. Then, then she just looked at him. He seemed almost happy, there was a glimmer of life behind his eyes and it was difficult to look away from them. Her hand moved to her thigh, where she squeezed just enough to stop her from leaning in to kiss him. Instead, Raelynn returned to his side and placed her head on his shoulder. “I love you,” she commented quietly, as if it was a secret she was whispering in his ear, it was just for him. 

"I love you too," Gregor whispered, "with all my heart, my little sparrowhawk," he added and kissed Raelynn's forehead again. This time he relished the sensation it sent through him. "The sky belongs to no one but you." He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes. 

“No,” she said back, feeling so close to Gregor again. It was as if the distance between them closing at last, like snow touched by sunlight it was melting away. “It belongs to [i]us[/i].” While he was holding her, she placed her hand on her stomach, smiling into his neck. “It's ours.” Her happiness was bewildering, but as comforting as the arms he'd wrapped around her. Once again, she’d found with him another moment to cherish.