Chapter: 525 – Cafe and…?

Tala wasn’t really sure how long she’d slept, and she didn’t really care.

Rane had drifted off to sleep at some point while she was curled against him, and she found herself simply regarding him with her threefold sight as he slumbered beside her.

Even in sleep, his neutral expression had a slight curl to the lips, as if he were contemplating something pleasant within his own mind.

His muscles were relaxed, but still showed their strength, and the care he took to be strong enough for what they faced together.

He was her husband.

The thought made a warmth bloom in her chest, and she purposely dampened the aura coming from herself, allowing his to wash over her, finding deeper comfort and contentment within it.

It was odd, in that moment she was under his authority, but she could easily have thrown it off. Even if he’d been awake to contest her, he’d have been hard pressed to keep her from reasserting her own aura.

Though, even the idea made her chuckle slightly. He would never do such a thing. He had no desire to assert his authority over her, nor to hold her down.

Maybe that was why the feeling of being surrounded by his aura, power, and authority was so comforting? She was there completely of her own will, and she trusted him completely.

As she lay there, focusing on the feeling of his authority and aura cradling her, suffusing her, she felt the resonance within her soul, seeming to originate from where they were soulbound.

Her soul was practically drinking in the sensation of being more connected to that with which she was bound.

Her soul was sending power, sending strength through the bond, and some of that was coming back as a deepening—or strengthening—of aura and authority over and around her.

She was influencing his aura.

She frowned at that.

It was his aura, but it was hers in part, too.

She didn’t understand it, but she thought that she might be seeing a hint of what Mistress Cae and Master Kalfeir had been getting at. She had been able to flicker into his aura back in the Lunar Hunt, after all.

With a sigh, she willed herself to be standing beside the bed, and she was, having slipped away from Rane without disturbing him in the least.

He’s as bad as I am. He needs the sleep when he can get it.

-Don’t you think he should be the one to decide that?-

Tala shrugged. It’s not like I can wake him up to ask him.

-…True, I suppose.-

Without delay, Tala cleaned herself up a bit, straightened her hair from the disarray that sleep had wrought, and willed herself to be out of the Sanctum.

She came to the superficial on top of Astraya, though not where she’d been when she moved into the sanctum the day before.

Overhead, the last of the stars were fading—even from her highly enhanced vision—and morning’s light was cresting to the east, even as they headed south.

The gentle sway of the town was somehow reassuring, and she realized with a start that she’d unconsciously accounted for it, and even utilized it in the fight of the day before.

In the stillness—with very few people out and about—she took the time to really look and listen.

The town’s movement caused an almost constant tremor to be moving through the trees, their leaves rustling both in the breeze and because of that shaking.

It was a soothing sound, coating and suppressing any other noises like a warm blanket.

The trees themselves seemed long adapted to the motion, as minimal as it was, and if anything, they seemed healthier than many other trees that she’d seen, stronger in a way that was hard to quantify.

I suppose deadwood simply falls away naturally, and with greater ease? Plus, the constant low level stress likely makes them tougher…

It was an interesting result that she might not have expected if she’d been asked beforehand.

Regardless, she took the time to just be in the nature that surrounded her.

Into the silence, she realized that she wanted Terry with her.

She opened a small portal, to right beside where Terry was currently… what was he doing?

-He is practicing flickering into unnatural positions, such as into a perch upside down on a branch.-

I… see…

“Terry? Want to come out for a bit?”

There was a momentary pause, then Terry flickered into being on the ground before her, laying on his side in an almost human posture.

It was clearly uncomfortable for him, as made even more evident when he flickered into a more standard, perched position on Tala’s shoulder. “What was that?”

Terry gave a long series of chirps and squawks ending in a trill of finality.

“Well, then, I guess that makes sense.”

She sighed, closing her eyes and taking extra enjoyment from Terry’s weight on her shoulder, his own authority radiating in tandem with her own.

As my own… the aura and authority coming off of him is mine.

Even so, the feeling of it coming from him was soothing in an entirely different way from being within Rane’s area of influence.

“How are you, Terry? We talk sometimes, but I feel like I might be neglecting you?”

Terry let out a dismissive trill, followed by what was clearly a series of happy chirps.

“Really? You’re doing great?”

He gave an affirmative trill.

“I’m glad to hear that. Is there anything you need?”

He immediately headbutted her cheek.

“Just some time with me?” She grinned without opening her eyes.

He headbutted her again, lighter this time.

“Fair enough. How’s here?”

He gave a light chirp, then shifted back and forth, settling in.

“Alright, then.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, both with their eyes closed, but both also constantly seeing all the world around them through the bloodstar clouds that were maintained around each of them.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Tala had chosen a secluded part of Astraya’s uppermost arboretum. They weren’t near any of the regularly walked paths, nor any of the access hatches.

The trees around them blocked the view of them from anyone who wasn’t right on top of them too. Thus, they were left in near total privacy as they simply sat together in the early morning air.

After what felt far too short a time, Terry shifted again, ruffling his feathers. He headbutted her cheek and trilled, looking down toward her belt.

“Ready to go back already?”

He bobbed a nod, then headbutted her again.

“Yeah, we can do this again soon.”

He let out a happy screech, as she opened a portal for him to flicker through.

As that closed, she settled back in, this time taking a moment to enjoy her surroundings with her mundane eyes.