Return to Blood [M][DragonSong]

[Lowen Thorn]

He took her pack and strapped it over his shoulder with the others, also taking a step back as he awaited her transformation.

'This should be quite the sight. I've been gone for four years and now I'm about to ride in on a giant fox.'

[DragonSong]

A small shiver ran through her frame and Hana shimmered into her fox form. She rumbled low in her chest and bent down into a sort of half bow, tails waving slowly back and forth as she waited for him to mount.

[Lowen Thorn]

Art smiled at her transformation; it never ceased to amaze him. Quickly, he mounted Hana in her fox form and whispered in her ear, "If I die by falling off and hitting my head on the rock, tell everyone I was doing something heroic."

[DragonSong]

Hana snorted and rolled her eyes. "I'll tell them you were pulling an infant from a burning building," she assured dryly as she started off in a steady lope.

[Lowen Thorn]

"Perfect," he replied with a laugh.

Art managed to stay atop Hana as they traveled through the mountains, having one or two close calls as he wasn't the most athletic man around, but ultimately stayed put. "I think I can see Northwatch," he said after some time.

[DragonSong]

"East or north?" Hana replied. She could see the treacherous mountain path branching before them, but she wasn't sure which road led to their destination.

[Lowen Thorn]

"Just up there to the North," he replied quietly.

The little bit of cheer he had that morning was slowly draining, and was replaced with the returning sensation of dread.

[DragonSong]

Sensing the change in his mood, Hana paused. "You don't have to do this right now," she said softly. "You can take it slower, if you need to."

[Lowen Thorn]

He was grateful for her offer, and almost accepted it, but then he sighed and shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "We came all this way. It's time I face the past. I've been running for too long now."

[DragonSong]

Hana huffed and nodded, picking up her pace again as they approached the town.

[Lowen Thorn]

It had been a long time, but Art didn't know where to start. Even when he did live here, he didn't have many friends, and hardly any family. Alys was the family and friends he had, and the rest were just acquaintances met through her. Perhaps a little sad, but he never minded it.

And then there was always that house, though he didn't know if he could stomach returning to it just yet.

[DragonSong]

Hana paused as they neared the outskirts of the town. "Where to?" she asked quietly, a gentle prompting.

[Lowen Thorn]

The house was just outside of the city limits, resting between a couple of other older homes surrounded by mountains just before the city gates. Not his own, but the one he wouldn't dare go back to anytime soon. He could almost see it as they approached, but his eyes quickly darted away and he tried to focus on the city itself.

"Just to the city gates," he replied solemnly. "From there I can walk. I'll show you around if you'd like, but I'd like to visit my old home if I could. It's about fifteen minutes walking distance once we're inside city limits."

[DragonSong]

She nodded and brought them as close to the gates as she could manage before slipping off the side of the road. "Here, if you get down I can change to a two-legged form."

[Lowen Thorn]

Art nodded and tossed their bags off before dismounting from Hana himself. He didn't wait to see her transformation before he picked the bags back up, and peered toward the the city gates.

"Northwatch," he said softly. "Ever been? Serendipity is actually quite the beautiful place. Despite our status, I really did love it there."

[DragonSong]

"I've mostly stuck to the coast when I visit," Hana replied, taking fully human form. "Cerenis and the like. What do you mean "status?" Her question blended right into her answer.

[Lowen Thorn]

"Oh, well we were quite poor," he informed. "There's always been a fair deal of social disparity in Serendipity, unless that has somehow changed in the past four years. My family struggled, and me and Alys struggled after that."

He looked to her with a little puzzlement. "Any particular reason you are taking your complete human form?"

[DragonSong]

"Oh." She looked down at herself and shrugged. "I dunno. I'm just used to being human when I first meet people. Usually."

[Lowen Thorn]

"I s'pose that makes sense."

Art didn't know why he asked the question. Maybe he was just stalling.

"Now or never I suppose," he said as he walked forward.

[DragonSong]

Hana kept quiet, just following after him. He seemed to need some space to deal with this, and she really couldn't blame him.