Together, Again

Uriel Tyrae

United Again

It was yet another blissful, beautiful day in Hargeon Town, one of the primary incoming and outgoing ports of Fiore; the amount of ships that sailed in and out of the harbour on a daily basis was mind-blowing. Everything from fishing vessels to luxury yachts and single-man sailing sloops came in and out at an alarming rate, even for someone who was used to the comings and goings of seabearing ships. Uriel Tyrae was one such creature, who took solace in staring out into the ocean and seeing a ship catch its sails into the wind and felt the breeze across his face as a marvel of human ingenuity and engineering took hold to cross the seas at amazing pace. A true Ca-Elian born man, his life was the ocean. Her salty spray, the uncertainty of footing on deck, the dangerous rush of a sudden squall or storm - this was what he had been born into, bred into, was ready to face at any time. Therefore, for him to be on the docks to watch the ocean? This was absolutely normal. This was his happy place, his joy, his moment of quiet reflection and happiness. To him, there was nothing better.

However, by some dint of fate, today’s trip was not solely for meditation’s sake. Today, Uriel came to Hargeon with glorious purpose. One of the most glorious purposes he could have possibly visited.

You see, Uriel’s lifelong friend, fellow birthday companion, and all around wonderful human being Morgana was due to arrive here any minute. As always, they had exchanged messages back and forth, debating the path they were going to take. Even before Uriel’s family had been informed of the Tyrae scion’s intent to leave Ca-Elum on his quest for adventure, Morgana had known. She had been his most ardent supporter in the decision, even after his parents had come to terms with it. Uriel, unflinchingly, had done it because she was happy with that decision.

For her to make the decision to leave the motherland and come with him had been nothing short of a shock to his system. One that, in hindsight, he had absolutely appreciated. One that he loved, one that he was so thankful for. To have her here in Fiore, which was still a strange land to him, was a decision that Uriel was so blessed to have received.

So, he stood on the docks, waiting for the same vessel that had bore him here. The Indefatigable, a merchant ship, made a routine monthly trip to Hargeon to deliver supplies. Sure enough, there it was in the distance, flanked by a pair of Ca-Elian naval warships that were due to drop anchor a few miles offshore in order to respect the sovereign waters of the foreign power. On that ship was the one woman who knew him better than he did. Its shape was unmistakable, given that he had spent so much time on it himself, and now all he needed to do was wait for it to arrive in port and offload its most precious cargo.

His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his ribcage. Gods be good, it was going to be incredible to see her again.

Uriel Tyrae

United Again

There it was. The Indefatigable was already starting to pull in and, as it approached, Uriel was given a moment to take stock of the situation and consider everything that was about to transpire here on the shore. There was no way in the nine hells that he was going to let whatever opportunity that was being offered to him pass him by, and the fact that a certain someone was now consuming all of his thoughts was almost not surprising. She had always been that way, as far as he was concerned. Uriel thought about her frequently and often? How could he not? Morgana had been a part of his life for so long that he just couldn’t even really remember a time before her.

The day they had met had been his eighteenth birthday, ten years prior. At the Queen’s behest in court, their birthdays had been announced - they locked eyes across the room as the assembled nobility clapped politely to celebrate their coming of age. She was turning sixteen. It was awkward as all hell for the two of them in that room, but there had been no mistaking as to the fact that they had both been called out for this purpose. An awkward conversation later, and they’d made the first move towards being friends. By the next year’s announcement, they had already been seen doing just about everything together, no matter what that entailed. They had bonded hard - over family, over friends, over the politics of court drama; between all of the things that they saw and experienced together every day, they had formed a friendship so powerful that the rumours that floated around their heads were as crashing waves upon the shore.

However, the ship was now taking that moment to pull in towards the dock. There he stood, his cape cast firmly over his shoulders - it was a brocade pattern velveteen of the finest tyrian purple, trimmed with gold, the outline of his family’s crest upon its back. It was likewise a gift from her, and entirely practical in its use. They were nothing if not intelligent for such things with keen eyes for gifts with practical purposes.

The ship slowed its movement to an absolute crawl and from the capstan room they began to drop anchor. The gangplank was going to extend from the ship any second now, and from it would be the blonde-haired woman that had taken his eye for a decade–

What would be the first thing he said? The thought was idle, a fleeting fancy. It was like they were meeting all over again, and he was a nervous child of eighteen with no idea how to talk to this woman. The smile on his face seemed plastered there as if by will, but the fact was, he wished nothing more but to see her walk down that ship’s ramp. It was a long time coming.

Uriel Tyrae

United Again

There she was. Bright, shining, resplendent, her golden hair shimmering under the light. Just like her, it was unbecoming for him to have come here unprepared - and as she dashed down towards him, courtly bearing be absolutely damned, he caught the sprinting woman and swept her up into an all-embracing hug so warm and tight that he unhesitatingly lifted her feet from the floor just to hold her close. He could tell she’d been cooped up on that ship for way too long, which was never a good sign - she’d probably gone a little stir-crazy without sufficient entertainment. Being stuck on a ship with nobody to really talk to, well, it wasn’t going to be great for her.

”Goddess, have I missed you,” was all he murmured against the crown of her head, eyes shut tightly as he did nothing but feel the warmth of her body against his. It was too good to finally have her here. Though while she had sailed the seas to reach Fiore, his thoughts were nothing but her. It was going to be good to restart life, away from it all, where they could escape the tedium and pressure of the court.

Finally, after what felt like an absolute eternity, he put her down, and looked down towards those beautiful sapphire eyes, where he held only a wide smile for her.

”Come. Let’s find somewhere a little quieter than in the middle of a crowded dock. I’ll explain it all for you on the way,” he bade, offering the water mage his hand - they would have to retreat elsewhere, find a place to sit and talk and eat and replenish their energy for what would inevitably be a long journey to… wherever they ended up going.

Then, they could walk the path that life put them on - wherever that took them.