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Caleb is sitting on the hill again. It overlooks the shining sea, so bright and beautiful and full like a burning burning star. He doesn't really know how he got up here, felt himself climbing upwards but not the journey. The wind is blowing, sweeping through in gusts that turn the waves far off blinding white.
It's so good to be alone for a moment. Jester is down at the bottom, singing loudly, pulling Fjord along as she twirls and her skirts billow out behind her. Nott is standing off to the side holding a mug but she is smiling, she is smiling so loudly it makes Caleb want to weep himself. And Beau, she is looking a little lost among the festivities, but from all the way down there she catches Caleb's wayward glance and seems to come to herself a bit. Nott walks over and tugs at her hand, and they go out next to the whirling flurry of motion that Jester and Fjord have become, and Caleb watches with a hurt deep in him as Nott slowly drags Beauregard this way and that. The dance is familiar, he can remember it even though at the time he was drunk out of his mind - and so was Nott, but she usually is.
Caduceus is nowhere in sight. Caleb would be worried for the cleric if he wasn't aware of how he tends to stand up best on his own, to walk calmly even when he is alone. So alone. But he never seems to get lonely. Seems being the key word there. Caleb can't really tell much about the firbolg.
At the foot of the hill, where his friends partake in the joy of life, he watches on. Of course they have been broken and beat up and fractured and torn apart in all the different ways you might think of, but in the end they are together. This is not the end, no, but it is an ending of sorts. A peaceful one that crumbles slowly to dust and reveals a life that continues onward brightly. They might be one less, but they are one more. Yasha might have vanished, but they all know she is still out there somewhere among the shifting shadows and beams of light from the sky. They are not to tell her when she can be here and when she can not. Yasha rules herself.
Jester removes three necklaces from around her neck. She has so many- spotted a booth in Nicodranas and couldn't restrain herself- all made of probably fake flowers of improbably neon hue. Who cares, though. Fake flowers last longer.
She halts in her spinning, before leaving Fjord blinking as the world rights itself in front of his eyes, placing a green hued flower necklace around his neck, and wanders over to Beau and Nott. She eyes their dance with a single remorseful glance. They've started to get the hang of it now. Beau is taking extra care not to step on Nott's feet. Caleb nods at that - who knows how much damage she could accidentally do. Though perhaps it might be payback for that time when Nott (purposefully) shot Beau with her crossbow...
Jester hesitantly interrupts their dancing, swaying as she walks over to some kind of music on the wind. Beau and Nott stop as she brightens again and places a flower necklace around each of them - blue for Beau, orange for Nott. They make a nice contrasting pair.
Jester spots him at the top of the hill and waves enthusiastically, but surprisingly enough doesn't seem to make any demand for him to come down and join them. He lifts a hand from the green grass and waves back with a warm smile. He doesn't know how long it's been since he's smiled like this.
The blue tiefling suddenly starts jumping up and down and grinning. It isn't until a presence by Caleb's side sits down next to him that he realizes why, turning to look at the tall firbolg now seated inches away. A bit of the sun's low light catches on him, turning that part distractingly gold, so gold, gleaming. Jester turns back as soon as Caduceus nods to her, walking with a bounce in her step over to Fjord, who gives one glance at Caleb before Jester grabs his hands and pulls him to her. In that second before, Caleb returns the glance just as strongly, and as Fjord stumbles over at the abrupt movement, Jester rights him with a fierce grin dangerously close to his own face.
Caleb looks away, not particularly caring what happens next but feeling it shouldn't be viewed by others either. He also does not look at Caduceus. He is too blinding.
The cleric, after a moment of silence in which Caleb can see out of the corner of his eye tilts his head up and stares at the wide blue expanse above, speaks. His voice is as low and monotone and warm as it always is. Like honey. Slow enough, too. "That's nice. This is nice. All of this..." he sweeps his sharp nails through the air, making invisible trails through time and space. "It's so much better than I imagined."
Caleb has to look at him now. A wave of exhaustion washes over him, the day's events finally hitting full force. A long day it was, but they're here now, so what does it matter anyway? The tiredness in his bones holds onto him until he lets it take him sideways, leaning heavily against Caduceus's (soft) shoulder. Thankfully, the beetle armor is off. Though how wise that decision is is debatable. From all that they've done, the Mighty Nein surely have learned trouble comes at the most unexpected times.
"Ja. It really is," he says after a moment, though his voice is slightly muffled because his cheek is pressed against Caduceus's side. He lifts his head up and rests his chin on the firbolg's shoulder, in the crook of his neck.
Caduceus wraps an arm around him, keeping Caleb from falling backward onto the green green grass. Caleb stares forward at the sun and the ocean and everything so glittering gold out there, thoughts momentarily leaving the scenery around him, going to Astrid with her lovely soft hair and Eodwulf with his shattering eyes and Mollymauk with his dazzling smile. They're all gone now. His old friends are as well as gone, even if they're alive. Molly is dead and buried. They all know that.
But seems it doesn't really matter, because even though his old friends might have been lost to the passage of time, his new friends are right here. And as he's been told by someone he doesn't quite remember, wherever and whenever you are is always the most important place. There must be a million important places. That seems about right.
Caduceus glances at him with eyes that might be pink and might be purple, it's hard to tell. And Caleb doesn't spend too long looking at them, anyway. "What are you thinking about now?" Caduceus says. Caleb can feel his voice. "This whole place," he makes a halted motion like he wants to sweep a hand out across the horizon, but doing so would take away the only support holding him upright, "and you're still thinking about other things. Do you ever stop?"
Caleb finds the heart to laugh from somewhere deep. "I don't think so," he says honestly- maybe too honestly, he doesn't know this man like he knows the others, and yet, he's here- and reluctantly sits up of his own free will. Caduceus's arm stays slung over his shoulders like a blanket. He looks back down the hill to see Beauregard in the process of grasping Nott with both hands under her armpits and lifting her up to set her on her shoulders, Professor Thadeus alight on the pile of bags to the side. Nott grins wide, teeth gleaming but hardly frightening with the way her large yellow eyes crinkle in real happiness. She waves at Caleb with such force that Beau almost loses her balance for a moment.
"I should go make sure they don't break anything," Caleb says, but stays still for a few seconds, taking in the glorious view and feeling the solid presence at his side.
"I wouldn't want to keep you," Caduceus replies. He doesn't remove his arm and for a minute they sit like that, silent and still, before Caduceus leans over and kisses the top of Caleb's head before clambering to his feet. "Also, I want one of Jester's necklaces. Where did she even get those? They're very pretty."
Having Caduceus standing up while you're still sitting is actually kind of frightening, so Caleb follows suite, but not before running a hand through his greasy hair in slight confusion.
Beauregard sways dangerously in the distance, so Caleb picks up the pace and makes his way over to his friends. Caduceus follows at a more leisurely pace. He does everything like that, but of course being a firbolg means he does not have to be in any particular hurry to get things done.
"Nott! Get down from there!" Caleb yells as soon as he thinks he's in hearing range. Beau narrows her eyes at the words and raises an eyebrow defiantly.
"I can handle myself, Caleb," she shouts back. "Nott weighs, like, as much as a feather. It's actually kind of fucking concerning." She lifts her arms in emphasis, causing Nott to immediately tip backwards and flail for a moment before losing her grip entirely. Caleb lunges forward, even though he knows it's fruitless, but it turns out it isn't needed.
Caduceus catches Nott before she has the chance to hit the ground. Caleb looks behind him and in front of him back and forth a couple of times before deciding he'll just ask about it later, and rushes over to the three of them. He's still not daring to look in Fjord and Jester's direction.
"Nott! Are you okay?" he says as she starts squirming in Caduceus's arms. He gently sets her on the ground and she hops away, looking at him suspiciously as her large ears twitch.
She looks at Caleb. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Beay stands in the middle of them awkwardly, eventually scratching the shaved part of her head with a sheepish smile. Caleb sends a glare her way, just for good measure. She puts her hands up defensively. "Hey, hey! She's a rogue. She would've been fine. But..." she grimaces, like it hurts to speak. "Sorry, Nott."
Nott shakes her head. "Eh, it's fine. I sort of owe you anyw..." she trails off, looking skeptically at Beau's confused expression.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Nott pauses for a moment, then starts to smile. "Actually, I think I'm remembering that wrong. No, I definitely don't owe you anything."
Beau can tell something just went over her head, but evidently at the moment she doesn't have the effort in her to pursue it. They're all distracted by the shadow over them when Caduceus moves away in Jester's direction.
"Jester!" he shouts, as much as someone with a voice like his- warm, slow, honey- could shout. "Do you have any necklaces left?"
After a moment, Jester, who was swaying with Fjord's hands around her neck and hers around his waist, breaks away without any qualms and bounces towards Caduceus easily, all the while going through the remaining colors around her neck. She takes the one on the bottom and Caduceus crouches down so she can place it around his neck. These flowers are dashed with pink.
Jester goes over to Caleb next, Fjord meandering his way over to the rest of them. "What color do you want, Caleb?" she asks, bubbling. Her freckles are shifting silver on her blue skin. Caleb feels that this time, at least, her happiness is genuine.
"Whichever you choose," he says. Jester grins and selects a purple one, conveniently leaving the last one on herself. It's red - interesting choice considering her blue hair and skin, but not so surprising when he recalls Marion, the Ruby of the Sea, and her complexion.
Caleb smiles at the thought and Jester reaches up to pat his cheek before dragging Fjord the rest of the way here. He looks at her with a shine in his pretty eyes. Jester drops him a wink before letting go of his hand and walking over to where Caduceus is knelt next the blink dog (ugh), who is sleeping and peaceful for one. He doesn't have anything against Nugget, just that he is more of a cat person and Nugget is so energetic all the time and hard to take care of and Frumpkin is just so much better than him on every level.
That doesn't mean he can't find the scene of Caduceus and Jester petting the sleeping puppy adorable. Which he does. Much to his annoyance.
He snaps Frumpkin into existence and plunks down onto the grass, stroking the tabby as he purrs and curls up in his lap. Nott crouches next to him and eyes Frumpkin, but she's only eaten him when she was really desperate, and they have enough money to support themselves, so she stays away. For now.
Fjord sits down on Caleb's other side, face still dark bluish green, which Caleb interprets as a blush. Even though they look a little worn in places, his tusks are starting to come in, Caleb notices. He was right. Fjord still looks very handsome.
"You okay there, buddy?" Caleb asks, rapping his knuckle on Fjord's leather armor. (Which he has elected to keep on. By the way he seems to be sweating it was not a good decision, but, safety first.) He glances at Caleb as his pointed ear twitches in what is probably annoyance.
"Fine," he grunts, leaning back and gazing at the sea out there. His gaze goes wistful for a moment before leaving the blue and turning back to the people in front of him, raising an eyebrow at Caleb's stare.
Caleb looks away back to the dog and the now three people gathered around him. Beau has a soft expression as she strokes Professor Thadeus's wings and then scratches Nugget's head and- oh no. He's been woken up. Dear Archeart. Now they're going to have to deal with him all through the night. Well, when he says 'they' he means Beau and Jester, because there is no way he is spending the night taking care of a dog that is not his responsibility.
But, all in all, he supposes having a dog is a small price to pay to be with his friends.