and my ears will listen

[truthwright]

Time goes by. Shura's mother lets her cut a cloudpine branch, and she and Helen go flying together.

Helen celebrates her eighth birthday by baking all her favourite people a cake again. And then she goes away with Kas, to Iceland and Russia and back by way of Alaska.

When they fly in, Kas on Petaal's cloudpine and Helen on her own, Helen is wearing blue jeans and a pink T-shirt.

Comments

[subastra]

Shura's second try, the following week, succeeds.

Shura gets home first. Nicoa is apparently flying back on his own.

[carillons]

...Is it time for Helen to hug her some more? Helen thinks it is probably that time.

[subastra]

It is definitely that time.

[carillons]

Hug hug hug hug hug.

[subastra]

Shura is quiet, but very huggable.

[carillons]

Helen is also quiet. And very huggy.

[subastra]

Nicoa doesn't fly as fast as a cloudpine, but he is seen on clan grounds a bit later. He lands in a tree within eyeshot of Shura, but doesn't come closer.

[carillons]

"What happened?" murmurs Kalavar. She's sitting with Helen and Shura, curled up next to Helen as a black dragon with silver-edged scales, but her voice reaches Nicoa and only Nicoa.

[subastra]

Nicoa picks up one foot, then the other. "We went to the edge. And she put me down. And she walked away. And I tried to follow her but I couldn't go, and I screamed at her to come back when it hurt too much and she didn't. And then it didn't hurt anymore and she left. And I left too after a while."

[carillons]

"That's sad," says Kalavar. "I want to snuggle you."

[subastra]

"She didn't come. I called her and I know she heard me and she didn't come back. They would have let us try again and she didn't come back."

[carillons]

"That's really sad," says Kalavar. "Will you come where I can reach so I can snuggle you?"

She goes to the very edge of her comfort zone with Helen, and turns into a viscacha. They are one of the snuggliest things.

[subastra]

Nicoa hesitates, but flutters down for snuggles.

[carillons]

Kalavar snuggles him.

[subastra]

Nicoa is quiet.

So is Shura.

[carillons]

Helen hugs Shura, and Kalavar snuggles Nicoa.

And Helen says, "Do you want to talk to each other?"

[subastra]

"Not yet," says Nicoa.

Shura doesn't say anything.

[carillons]

Helen and Kalavar snuggle their respective snuggles some more.

[subastra]

Eventually, Shura says she wants to be alone.

And she goes off alone.

Nicoa stays.

[carillons]

Kalavar snuggles him some more.

There's not really much else she can do.

[subastra]

Yep.

Shura and Nicoa are next seen together - with him sitting in his place on her shoulder - a few days later. They don't seem to be talking to each other much, and they're still subdued, but not miserable or standoffish anymore.

[carillons]

Helen smiles tentatively at them.

"Are you okay?"

[subastra]

"We'll be fine," says Shura.

[carillons]

"Okay," says Helen.

"Want to go flying?"

[subastra]

"Sure."