The sun has a way, when it sets, of making things that are bearable into monsters. When it rises, monsters fade under the glisten of dew drops and warm rays. Thus woke Emalia on the dew covered cliff, overlooking the Elven Valley. The beauty of the sunrise caught her for a moment, and she watched the slender fingers of light curl ever so slowly over the tops of the eastern mountain forests. Time stood still for a moment and allowed her the ability to breathe easily as if nothing in the realms mattered. In that moment, she realized just how badly things had gone in the day prior. She pulled from the moment to wipe the collected dew from her face with her moist sleeve, and stood up to gaze upon the majesty of the morning.
It was a precarious walk back down the mountainside. Far to the south was Westbridge - this sight she had seen before. She was not ready to return there yet. After the passage of a couple of hours, she reached the base of the mountains and set off through the plains, toward a path lined with trees that looked ancient. She reached them, strolling slowly until she came to a wooden bridge. Here, the water gurgled and trickled close enough to dip a pair of feet in, and so Emalia did.The water chilled her for a moment, but as she grew accustomed to the freezing water about her feet, her eyes settled on the glimmering surface and her mind began to wander. There was no telling just how long she had stared, but when she heard a pair of footsteps, she immediately looked up. The reflected sunlight had blinded her for a moment, but the large frame belonging to Colin was unmistakable. There was no time, though she tried to get up and put her boots back on in order to leave, she heard his voice call to her, "Emalia. What are you doing here?"
In the moment atop the mountain, when time obligingly stood still for her, Emalia had realized more than a few things. One of these things was her decision to reach out to Jayden when she returned to Westbridge. The other, was that she actually - somewhere in herself - missed Colin. It was more than simply missing however. When she mulled over the minutes of their argument, she realized that as she chastised him and berated him, she was hurting inside. When he wasn't there, for the first time not there, she noticed an emptiness that went beyond simply missing a friend. After all her arguments to the contrary, it took the short absence to make her heart... "Nothing at all."
"Don't worry. I can leave."
Emalia sat calmly, her eyes locked again with the stream as she spoke. "I'm sorry. I know I was cruel to you the other day... and I'm sorry." The tension broke within the air, and Colin knelt beside her.
"I don't understand what I did."
"I guess it is to do with how we ended up together, partially... and that Brin is on her way... and when put with everything else... I just don't know."
"I'm sorry this happened," Colin said, gesturing to her stomach.
"You were no more at fault than I. I could have told you no. I know that much."
Longer they sat and Emalia poured her thoughts out to Colin. Gradually working herself around to telling him the discovery she had made in the still moment of the morning. As though through magic, Colin had forgiven her... and more importantly, she had begun to forgive herself. They sat over a brunch of apples, blackberries, and partially stale bread discussing Nephesh, then Brin, then themselves. Having made up in more than a few ways, they watched the clouds from beneath the trembling tree leaves.
Emalia took in a breath, and again, time seemed to slow down for her. She would seek Jayden for the other side of the story. She would find out what he thought, and weigh them together. If the stars lined up, then perhaps - just perhaps - she would be on her way north. For now, however, just the knowledge that Colin was beside her again, after how much she believed she didn't want it, put her in a calming rest. Her only residual thought as she lay there making out shapes in the sky was to wonder what had happened to him to give him the odd twitch in his neck.
