A continent sunders beneath him into fire and ash. The air fills with smoke and heat he just barely manages to evade.
The vast expanse of ocean is Cerrit’s only view for weeks. The skies darken, the waves crash, and the world descends into a cataclysm. Little rest, little food, little water.
None of it matters. Only the three faces in his memory matter now. Only the three faces that await him. Only that promise that keeps him aloft through exhaustion and burning muscles. Only the three voices that call to him through the Sending Stone clutched in his hand. They keep him going. They keep him fighting.
----------
A brother and sister sit watching the sky. A mother stands guard, ensuring that her children are cared for during their vigil. Ensuring they eat and rest despite their stubbornness. Ensuring they remain in the city, hidden from outside dangers.
She has relayed their location. He will find them. This city cloaked by the Rifenmist will not hide itself from him.
It’s weeks since the sky became choked with ash, weeks since Maya and Kir last looked into their father’s eyes. He did well to mask the truth, his fear, with determination and a tight grasp on a sliver of hope. But his kids had his eyes too.
---------
A shape appears above the horizon.
Small, alone, wavering on the little strength he had left.
He sees them. He’s made it.
He’s made it.
Three sets of wings fly up to catch him. The former Senior Sightwarden of Avaliir collapses into the arms of his wife and kids. Safe at last.
“Wingspan reporting in,” are his first words before blissful sleep takes him.
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54. At the next inconvenience I will start biting people. - feels like any of the girls... or Alex. Do with that what you will.
Oh gosh you're so right... and this seems like a great way to channel all of my almost finals week frustration...
Willie fumbles for the handle to Julie and Flynn's apartment with his hands full of pastries and drinks he snagged before he finished his shift. Hey, nothing says late-night study session like day-old muffins, right? He finally manages to get the door open and stumbles through the entrance into the kitchen/living area.
Flynn, Reggie, and Alex all look up at his entrance. Julie is still glued to her laptop, Carrie has her eyes shut as she focuses on whatever is playing in her headphones, and Luke... might be asleep.
"I come bearing sustenance," Willie says, their voice coming out a worn-out edition of their usual customer service tone. He sets the drink carriers down on the counter, then drops the bag of pastries beside them. "I make no promises about how edible and/or hot stuff still is, but better than nothing."
"Gimme," Flynn groans, making grabby hands at him from where she's sprawled on the couch, one leg in Julie's lap and the other tucked up to her chest. "But heat it up first, at the next minor inconvenience I'm going to start biting people."
"Kinky," Reggie jokes weakly from where he's sprawled out on the floor, surrounded by papers.
"Not the way I do it," Flynn growls back. "I'm about a millimeter away from egging this professor's house for all the BS she's pulled this quarter."
"Warming up the coffee, got it," Willie cuts in, grabbing Flynn's cup and heading for the microwave. "Love me some minor vandalism, but we should probably save it for after finals."
"Or like after we graduate?" Alex suggests, his pencil thumping out a soft but steady beat against the edge of his textbook. "So they can't screw you over academically?"
"She'd have to catch me first," Flynn points out.
Willie just shrugs and starts handing out drinks as the two of them banter back and forth about the best timeline in which to get revenge on their professors. Luke's goes in the fridge. Reggie downs probably half of his mocha in ten seconds. Flynn takes a long sip of her massive latte and sighs. Willie can almost feel the humanity returning to her system as the caffeine settles. Julie barely even looks up when he sets her tea down on the table. Alex takes his lemonade with a smile and a hand on Willie's wrist to pull them down for a quick kiss.
"How was work?" he asks when they separate.
"Nasty," Willie admits. "Coffee shop near campus the week before finals kind of nasty. Got yelled at by like three people."
Alex winces. "I'm sorry," he offers.
Willie shrugs. "Can't say I blame them. I'm not far off blowing my lid either with Covington's exam coming up."
"If he fails you, I'll get more eggs," Flynn states. "We can get him and mine together."
"You're amazing," Willie tells her gratefully.
"You brought me coffee," she points out.
"Point taken," they laugh.
He returns to the kitchen to grab the bag of pastries and his backpack, then settles in beside Alex, leaning back against the couch near Flynn's hip. They pop open their laptop, gratefully accepting Carrie's offer to plug in the charging cord. Alex shifts a little closer so their shoulders are brushing and Willie leans into it, letting the warmth burn off some of the stress of the day.
Finals suck, but at least they can all do the suckiness together.
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