Closure ? ( Ebony + Tian + Maera )

It wasn't that she had any trouble sleeping anymore. No, snuggled up next to Tian listening to his deep, even breathing was enough to lull Maera to sleep on most nights. However, she did find herself rising early; a result of the insomnia that had plagued her since her mother died. The sun was barely up over the horizon when she decided to go for a short morning walk before cooking breakfast for them. She had donned a cloak, for the morning was crisp as winter steadily approached.

Making her way down the streets, she fiddled with a runestone bracelet in her pocket, It was something she had made and was rather proud of, since she had made one for Uncle Blayne before he left again, Tian just because and even a small charm for Iollan since she hadn't seen him in a while. The one she carried in her pocket was an extra - or so she told herself. Really, she had a specific person in mind while making it and had berated herself every step of the way for even trying this. How was she going to find him again? How did she know he wasn't already gone? Well she supposed she could leave it at the enormous mansion where she had spent her recovery from the severe flare she had in the desert.

Her footsteps turned to head that way thinking that maybe she could drop it off quickly before Tian woke up so she could head back and cook, but a huddled figure in an alleyway caught her eye. He was cloaked, and she couldn't see his face but his feet were bare, and scarred. She recognized them, she was the one who had put those scars there.

Ebony had been surprisingly pleasant to talk to when she had woken up in the mansion belonging to his father, who had taken it upon himself to get her the best healers he could for bringing his son back despite the circumstances. Of course, she hadn't actually interacted with him until the third day of her stay, when she was in a special healing sauna for purifying and straightening out magic. She hadn't realized he was there until he said something that surprised her into falling backwards into the hot tub. His shift in personality was drastic and he went from a homicidal psychopath to timid child in the span that she had known him. Truthfully, she hadn't seen him since she left the mansion fully recovered, but since she had slipped up and called them friends - despite wanting to be a teensy bit harder on him for the trouble he'd caused - she figured deep down to go all out with it and make the bracelet for him to let him know he wasn't alone.

She approached and slid down the opposite wall facing Ebony. Sitting crosslegged, she shifted to make herself comfortable and ignored the way the ground seemed to suck the warmth out of her. "Hey Imp--- Ebony, Ebony. Damn it." She cursed. Great way to start off the conversation. "Fancy seeing you here; I was just wondering where you went."

Maera observed him silently as he spoke. He had bags under his eyes, and his smile simply looked like it was stretched across his face like a mask rather than something with any actual meaning. His exhaustion crept into his voice and she blinked, gaze growing sharp with displeasure as she realized through his words that he was trying to distract her. As if she could miss those signs, like he wasn't even trying to hide them.

"Never see me again? What kind of friends would we be then?" She said, pouting slightly. Her voice was gentle; she could be nice when the situation called for it. "And to answer your question, I don't sleep much so I usually rise before the sun does. At least I do actually sleep now though." She leaned her chin on her hand, watching him attentively as he took in her words.

"And what about you? You look like shit; sleep does wonders for that you know. I speak from experience."

She tipped her head to the side, chewing on her lip. "You worry too much," she quipped, squeezing his hand back. "And you're also a terrible liar. That's another thing friends shouldn't do is lie to each other; trust me, I KNOW what simply 'haven't slept well' looks like and this isn't it. This looks more like.... Haven't slept well with constant nightmares. I know what that looks like too..."

She shuffled herself towards him so she was sitting next to him instead of across the tiny alleyway. She felt the bracelet she had made digging into her leg as she shifted herself on the cobblestone. "Oh... Before I forget," she muttered, slightly embarrassed. "I actually... may or may not have... made something for you..." She pulled out the carved runebead bracelet from her pocket and went ahead and tied it around his wrist. She took his other hand and drew it to the three carved beads.

"I carved these myself, since I just learned how to enchant objects. I can't do metal yet, so you just gotta make do with wood beads." She was babbling quickly and she knew it, flustered with the prospect of gift giving even though she found herself doing it often. "This one is fireproofing because no one wants you burned again. This one is to ward away frost bite because Atros knows you'll need it." She lingered on the third bead. It wasn't necessarily enchanted, more like a relic for peace and luck - like a lucky rabbit's foot. She dropped his hand and turned her face away, muttering, "That one is... a wish I guess. Do what you will with this, it's not that important but you gotta have SOMETHING that's looking out for you right...?"

"Wh-what are you doing?! Stop that," She stammered, trying frantically to pull him up from his low bow. "It's not a big deal, it's just a bracelet and I only stabbed myself a FEW times with the tools--- Th-that's not important either!" Her whole face was red all the way to the tips of her ears. "H-haven't you ever received a gift before---?"

She couldn't understand why he was crying, did he really like it that much? She thought the runes were carved in rather shoddily, but as long as they worked right? She'd tested their functionality with some simple elemental spells before she accepted it as final. Atros knew how many of those she went through before she'd done it correctly; carving wasn't a talent of hers, at least not yet. She tugged on the end of his cloak and used it to wipe his cheeks, flustered beyond words. She pinched his cheeks lightly, showing her annoyance for being so flustered; his reaction made her feel like she was made of sugar. "Don't cry you fool, it's a gift. Be happy."

He laughed when she pulled his cheeks and nodded with a bit of joy. " Aaah, yes I enjoy the gift ! I enjoy it a lot ! " he said chuckling at her discomfort. 
After a few friendly chats with Mae he realized how hungry he had become but had said nothing to show his own discomfort but eventually he succumbed to it and laid his head on her shoulder while keeping his gentle smile. 
"I'll...rest here for a bit...before leaving- You are ...so nice to me...thank you from the bottom of my heart Maera...it means so much to me.. " he mumbled with an added blush. 

Passing by several more streets before noticing a glow, Tian knew Mae had to be that way. Like a pup, his light steps slightly picked up speed as he excitedly made his way to her. He slid next to her, giving her a bright smile. "Good morning!" He sang as he took her hand and intertwined his fingers.

"I missed you so I came." He added on, nudging her slightly. Just as he finished his sentence he finally noticed another figure leaning on Mae's low shoulder. Oh? Could it be? Any smile Tian had on lost a bit of perk after realizing who the stranger was. Dark hair and pale skin. Tian looked down and saw the boy's scarred feet. There was no denying it. The summoner. Sweating slightly he looked over at Mae curiously, "M-Mae...did I miss something?"

A calm feeling of warmth spread in Maera's chest when Tian made his way towards her like an excited puppy. A single smile from him was all it took to brighten her day. She beamed at him as he slid in next to her, leaning towards him to nuzzle her nose against his. "Good morning, sunshine. I wanted to be out and back before you woke up but I kind of failed at that, didn't I?" She said, giggling sheepishly. "Ah, well. I'm just not stealthy enough I guess. Though it's mostly because I got distracted..."

Ebony rose, realizing someone else had shown up and immediately Maera's arm shot out and grabbed his pant leg to keep him from escaping. "And where do you think you're going? You were going to accept my offer weren't you? Don't make me wait until you come back from wherever it is you're off to." Seeing the apprehension on Tian's face, Maera blushed in slight embarrassment. She was probably the only person he knew who would be crazy enough to make friends with someone who had previously kidnapped her - not to mention tried to kill her - in any circumstance. But honestly she felt bad for the guy, it's not like he had any control over what happened to him and she came out of it just fine in the end...

Obviously the same couldn't quite be said for him.

"Ah, Tian... This is Ebony. He's a new friend of mine..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "It's really complicated, just know he didn't mean any of it and he paid dearly for it and I may or may not have invited him to breakfast-- But only if you're okay with it! Please, please be okay with it; he really needs a friend right now..." Maera gave Tian the biggest, shiniest, cutest puppy eyes she could manage in hopes that he would comply with her request, no matter how outlandish it seemed to him. She would explain everything to him later.