002 After Battle Talks
Alethea, Gestra
- Alethea and Gestra converse after the aboleth attack: 25 April 1690
April 25, 1690 - After the aboleth attack in Session #002 The Phantom Sea, pt 2
After cleaning the ship from the battle in session 2.
Gestra was a bit hesitant heading back up to the deck of the ship. Especially after what he saw the last day or night? If there could even could a distinction made here anymore. But seeing his sister like that was messed up. He was gone for a while now and things would change back home, it was stupid not to think that. But Anne being dead that couldn’t be not her. She always went through lofe easy, always had a plan. Corlis tried to reassure him but Torches words about it being an Omen also rang true with him. Verdammt nochmal, he was supposed that have moved away from this whole fate and destiny Scheiß.
Maybe it he never should have left home in the first place. Nein, don’t doubt yourself not again, not when all you have to do is finish this one mission and you have all the gold to return home as a hero and make a better life for all of them Anne included.
To Gestra’s surprise what awaited for them wasn’t psychological terror but weird fish monsters that attacked the ship and in a size that killing them seemed doable. Verdammt nochmal finally, something he was good at and could distract him.
Despite being slightly injured during the fight Gestra smiled after it as the adrenaline in his body did it’s work. They all fought well, even Jester which was a bit of a surprise but can’t fault the kid for putting in the work. Even the cleaning up afterwards didn’t feel to bad as the excitement of the fight slowly faded. As they headed down into the ship again heading towards the single light on the ship Gestra noticed the acidic tar of the creatures also did a number on his cloak and armour. He turned around to Alethea: “I suppose you don’t have the ability to magically fix clothes?”
While Gestra had seen the attack from the strange yellow-eyed fish creatures as a thrilling distraction, Alethea had been of a different mind entirely. Being called to the top deck would never be something that she enjoyed, due to the darkness that pervaded the Phantom Sea but so far, it had been strange encounters and -minor- head fuckeries. Even the first encounter with the creature that attempted to capsize the ship hadn’t actually attacked them, just the ship.
It had happened again, as it always did. That moment when the fight began… She blinked away the feeling it left her with, focusing quietly on the duties of cleaning up the slime and mucus left behind by the creepy fish creatures. Even in the darkness, she didn’t have the energy to be frightened, she just moved mechanically. Being on a ship for most of her life, she was used to some of the more mundane expectations, not that she had done much of them. She had another use aboard the Graveyard Rose.
Once the mopping had, for the most part, been completed and the next sacrificial lamb was left to take the next patrol, Alethea headed back down to the light. She needed to find Santiago’s gift, it was the quickest way for her to calm herself and regain her composure. Perhaps she would call out to Hermes and speak to him about the woman that she had seen. She couldn’t get that vision out of her mind. She had been there, she knew it but why? What did she mean?
Alethea had stepped towards a low lamplight in the galley, jumping slightly when she heard Gestra’s voice. She had been so caught in her own thoughts that she hadn’t even heard him approach but she did offer a little smile. She was glad he was alright, he had been rather dinged up during the fight and while she had used her magic to try and protect him, she could only do so much.** “I wish I could assist but magical tailoring is not quite my strong suit.”** She knew of others with those sorts of spells but it hadn’t been anything she had been taught before. **“Are you well, Gestra? You took a few rather nasty hits during that fight.” **
Gestra seemed to have startled her, he sometimes forgot how quietly he can move, especially with the low light her. “Ah, figures, well I guess I have to do it myself then. Not ready to go back to sleep already anyway.”
Gestra quickly looked himself over, “Ja, I am fine. Nothing I can’t handle. But have to say the training we did already came in handy.”
Gestra looked over Alethea as well and it seems that she managed to keep herself save. “How about you?”
The light, even as dim and flickering as it was, was a true godsend for the emotionally wrought ship witch. While some enjoyed a fight, Alethea detested it. It went against everything she believed in and yet, the moment it became clear that there was a threat, she did not hold back. All considerations of peace went out the window.
The only good thing that came from the fight was her connection to her magic. She never felt more like herself then when she was swept up in the gale and storm, it often felt as though it flowed through her very veins.
He spoke of the training they had done before they had joined Scarlette and she smiled. “I am glad. Healing in any situation is one of the best uses of magic.” She assumed he meant healing as she hadn’t seen him do any other magic but then again, she had been rather busy at the time.
She hadn’t been wounded once during the scuffle, having been flying over the ship. “I was unharmed, the creatures didn’t seem to have the best reach.” That had been her advantage. “I am just glad to be back in the light.”
A proud smile crept over Gestra as Thea complimented him on his magic use, he really has come quite a long way in a short time. And even if it was with her help, it still felt great getting recognition for his talents. “It’s a useful thing to have on your side and we will need it some more during this journey.”
“That’s good to hear. You have a good sense on where to be in a fight.” But still she looked a bit shaken. “Is the darkness still messing you up?”
Soft healing magic, it was what Alethea had first learned as a child in the temple and what she had thought she would focus on but fate had other plans. She missed how simple things had been in her youth but alas, there was no going back now. Only moving forward. It was nice to see that proud smile on his face as he considered what he had done during their unexpected fight. He had done well, handled himself and finished off one of the loathsome beasts. “Yes, I think you are right.”
Alethea shifted, a look of discomfort crossing her face before shrugging. “Old habits die hard, I guess.” It was inevitable that they would need to fight but she didn’t have to like it. “The dark will never not bother me but I have means of coping.” She would find her light and pray.
Speaking of being messed up. “So…before the fight… You seemed pretty panicked. What did you see?”
So it seemed it wasn’t the darkness this time. “The fight then? It’s still an issue even if you kill monsters?” There was a genuine level of surprise in his voice. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to understand her position in it, he just didn’t get it. Those were weird, ugly monsters thst tried to kill them. No harm in putting them down.
Gestra’s demeanor changed immediately as Alethea asked him. It was deeply unsettling and the implications even worse. Gestra wasn’t ready to deal with it again just now, so he tried is best to change the topic. “My sister, but it’s as Corlis said it’s just the Phantom Sea trying to scare us. It doesn’t mean anything.” Gestra’s voice still sounding shaky as he tried to mostly convince himself.
“I don’t suppose you saw En-your former captain?”
Killing monsters, killing humans, was there really such a difference? The act of violence, of taking life away was still involved. “In the midst of battle, all involved are monsters of their own kind.” Self defense, it might have been on their part, to save the ship and protect themselves but one did not necessarily know the motivations of the monsters they had slain either. Perhaps they were evil creatures bent on destruction or maybe they were protecting their home.
‘Or maybe they were simply doing as they were told…’ It was a thought that came to mind as she remembered that all-too familiar pull on her own mind and body when the fight had started.
The subject shifted to that what Gestra had seen and, for a moment, she felt bad that she had brought it up. He had seen his sister as one of the dead, as Ceiran had seen his grandmother and who knew what else. “I agree with Corlissandro, we seek to rob a Greek witch’s isle, it only makes sense that she would try to scare us with such things.”
Her eyes narrowed somewhat when Gestra almost said her former master’s name but thankfully he shifted course. She didn’t begrudge him his mistake but was thankful Scarlette or Corlis were not nearby. “Thankfully no, I did not see him.” Had she seen him, she likely would have been in such a state. “I saw a woman I did not know but she was not of the dead.”
She again had a point about how people behave during a battle. Once swords are drawn and pistols fired here isn’t much room for empathy anymore. Still taking a life has been something Gestra learned already as a child. “I guess we will always see this different, I have been taught as a child already how to take a life and that as long as you do it quick and without unnecessary pain, that there is nothing wrong with it, it’s part of nature.” His thoughts moved on from the lessions of his father to those at the navy. “With people it’s more complicated because we would be able to talk it out but if they don’t leave you a choice, that’s then still part of our nature.” With people Gestra struggled a bit aswell, atleast at first but now it was something he got used to.
If this was Circe’s doing was she already onto them? Afterall Scarlet tried this already before so the element of surprise was gone. “I don’t know if I was in her position I would do more than scare people trying to rob me.”
Gestra didn’t realise what the implications of asking about Enzo showing up would be for his sister until he asked the question. Not sure if it’s good or bad now but atleast it doesn’t confirm thst the people they saw were already dead. She spoke of a woman, Gestra’s mind immediately went to her Goddess but surely she would recognize Athena if she saw her. “That’s strange any idea who it could be?”
Alethea and Gestra had their similarities when it came to magic but in terms of violence and fighting, they would always differ. She didn’t begrudge his ways, she understood them, she had been around many who were taught similar things. In this, she seemed to be the odd one out. “I was taught many things as a child as well, Gestra, to kill was one but I was also taught healing.” She didn’t argue, they simply discussed. “You’re as capable of healing as you are at hurting, one is just far easier.”
He had a point. Killing out of necessity was in their nature. “Self preservation is innate, I agree with that.” Regarding the monsters they had faced, there was no way of knowing if they had any sentience or means of reasoning with them and they were dead already, so it seemed a moot point.
Gestra was quick to leave behind the mention of his sister and Alethea didn’t push either. He asked more about the woman that she had seen and Alethea frowned. “I don’t know. She was Grecian, I know that, but I didn’t recognise her. She wanted me to remember something but wouldn’t tell me what and then, she was gone.” It was all so confusing. “Probably just another trick of the boat…” But she wasn’t too sure.
Discussing things with Alethea was always refreshing in a way, it didn’t happen often that he talked with someone who was still so interested and understanding even if they didn’t share the same opinion. “Well before this is over we need to do plenty of both.” Gestra didn’t know if these talks helped Alethea but he was just curious about her and how she is doing with all that.
Remember something? While it seemed that they all saw something different, Alethea still manged to be the oddest one. “That is weird even considering the already weirdness of this all. Wait what do you mean a trick of the boat. Can the boat do something like that? I thought Scarlet is the reason for the boat working on it’s own. And wouldn’t the ship want to help us?”
Alethea was no fool, she was fully aware that she would not be able to protect herself from necessary violence, the aboleth attack had been a prime example, but that didn’t mean she had to go against her core values and lean into that violence. She would do whatever was necessary to protect others and herself, whatever means necessary. “Given our journey, I believe you are likely right.” Alethea would talk as she walked towards her hammock, she moved with the steps of one who was more than used to the swaying of a vessel on the sea. She was more at ease aboard a ship then she ever was on the land. She would grab her orb of light, holding the silver frame close and activating it with a sigh of relief.
She hadn’t even realised her misstep in her words until Gestra spoke, his confusion clear and she winced. “Calm down, Gestra. I misspoke. The ship has magic, of that it is clear but I meant to say a trick of the sea.” She touched a hand on his shoulder. “I am curious about the ship itself, it’s unlike anything I’ve been aboard before.”
Gestra let out a laugh as Thea clarified the confusion. “Hah, that makes more sense” as Gestra started to feel more at easy about his surroundings again. Being surrounded by the Phantom Sea the last thing they needed to be on a ship that also didn’t like them. “Wasn’t your previous ship also not full of magic and magical people?”
She needed to calm herself, she found that she spoke a bit faster when she was stressed and the fact up-top had been incredibly stressful. She apologised and Gestra took it in good stride, his laughter was good to hear again.
The light of her small magical orb played off her face as she took in the soft comfort it gave her. A comfort that was momentarily interrupted when, yet again, Gestra spoke without likely thinking. He did not name the Graveyard Rose but he mentioned it and she looked around, not that anyone was really paying them much attention. First he nearly speaks Enzo’s name and now this?
Perhaps Alethea was being far too overprotective of her former status as a slave on the Graveyard Rose, maybe Scarlette wouldn’t know his name or even care, given the scale of a heist she was planning but Alethea didn’t want to take that risk. She had known of Captain Castillo, a contact of Enzo’s that Alethea had used as a cover.
“It’s not the same.” Her tone took on a sharper angle and it was clear she didn’t like talking about it. “Sorry. That ship was a prison for those with magic, this ship itself is magic.”
Her former ship was probably always going to be a wound spot but Gestra was curious, for him it made sense that a ship for magical prisoners was also magical but apparently not. “Alright, I can take a hint”
I felt like it was time to change the topic yet again but Gestra didn’t know to what, so for the moment he just waited.
She wasn’t one to snap so easily and when she had, she immediately felt bad. It was not his fault that he couldn’t fully understand why she was so reticent to talk about her former ship or those upon it. Full of magical things and magical people, he was right of course, the Graveyard Rose had been famous for the magical cargo aboard but given it was slaves and stolen relics, it almost felt like a disrespectful way of saying it.
“I didn’t mean to snap, Gestra.” He was one of the few people she considered a friend and she didn’t want him to be angry with her. “Perhaps we should find another topic. What are your thoughts on the crew?” They were the only ones in the galley at the moment so there wasn’t too much risk.
One thing Gestra didn’t get used to yet is how quickly Alethea went from standing her ground to extremely apologetic. “Nah, no harm done. If you don’t want to talk about something it’s your right to say so.”
Their new crew was a colourful bunch, which to be fair so were the three of them as well. “Well I already liked Scarlet from the moment she bought us drinks, that scary skeleton form of her is also awesome. As long as we stay on her good side of course.”
“Sabine also seems cool and to know her stuff, kinda surprised she isn’t the first mate to be honest.”
“I am not sure about Corlis yet, he kinda has that captainy, I am better than you vibe from the way he acts but thus far has helped as much as everyone so he might be alright.”
“Jester might not be useless afterall, atleast he held his own and survived those things.”
“David just seems really uptight and unfun for no reason, hope he learns to let lose a bit.”
After a moment of thought he realised that he forgot one person. “Percy is just weird the only thing I saw him ever do is being good with woman.”
Leaving behind the topic of her former ship did well to lighten her mood and make her worry considerably less. For one who was used to being punished for very small infractions, it was better to apologise quickly and hope for forgiveness and though Gestra was nothing like Enzo, old habits died hard.
It was interesting hearing Gestra’s thoughts on the crew they had been hired alongside. He seemed like a perceptive sort and it also helped her with her own opinions. She agreed with him regarding Scarlette. “She is a formidable woman, it is interesting to see a female captain.” She had never seen one before. “Her otherworldly form is something dangerous but as you say, it is best to remain on her good side.”
Alethea hadn’t had much interaction with Sabine or Corliss yet. Both were too busy being actual proper sailors. “They both seem to have a relationship with the Captain as well.”
Jester? “Gestra, I am certain his name is Chester.” She laughed, unsure if he was getting the name wrong on purpose or not. “He seems capable enough and who am I to judge someone simply because of his age?” She was older than Chester but looked younger.
He spoke of David and she tried to rack her brain as to which was he was. “He spoke to the Captain after the fight? The man of the cloth?” She had no interaction with him but he seemed very serious.
Amongst all those they had met, Percy unnerved Alethea the most. “Good with women? What do you mean?”
“What do you mean? You just said his name twice.”
Regarding to Percy it seemed that only he noticed it, which the tavern was busy at that time. “Oh, nothing. Just when we all met in the tavern a single whisper of him was enough to make one of the barmaids wide-eyed and follow him upstairs.”
Alethea started to correct Gestra but stopped. Chester and Jester did sound alike, maybe it was an accent thing? Either way, she just smiled and shrugged. “Well, he is doing quite well so far.”
Percy was a genuine unknown that seemed to unnerve Corlissandro. Scarlette didn’t seem to think much of her first mate, which was strange given how much a Captain was meant to rely on their first mate. Gestra had been right, it seemed more like a position for Sabine than Percy but there seemed to be more behind all of that that went way above their pay grade. “I know Corlissandro doesn’t seem to care much for Percy.”
“I see what you mean. It’s a common urge amongst sailors, so I guess I’m not all that surprised.” A sailor’s urges were of little interest and not out of the ordinary.
“I need to properly talk to Corlis at some point. I am also curious on his and Scarlet’s past. But it seems that we might not be the only part of the crew that where on opposite ends of a fight at some point.”
“If it was just that I wouldn’t minded, it was just the speed that stood out. But maybe it’s not the first time he was in port.”
Gestra had a more outgoing personality then Alethea did, she did hope that he spoke more to the other crew members because then she could get information without having to speak to them herself. “Better you than me.” She was curious about them as well. “Nothing makes better friends than someone who once pointed a weapon at your head.” She nudged Gestra with her hand teasingly.
“Perhaps he was a regular at the Raven?” She wasn’t very knowledgeable about such things but she knew they happened. She had heard many a tale from Enzo’s men over the years in graphic detail. “I’ve little incentive to be around the first mate and he seems to keep to himself so I guess that works out well.”
“I don’t know I feel like you are way more likeable than me. But on the other hand that has stopped me before”.
Gestra let out a laugh again, he liked it when Thea let her guards down and started to joke around. “It worked out great, maybe we should have given the fish things also a second chance?”
What she said about the first mate was true, Gestra couldn’t explain it but there was something off about the whole thing. “Ja, that seems like a wise choice.”
While Alethea could be quite charming when she wanted to be, that was around people that she felt comfortable with and that was something that was built over time, and in some cases, circumstance. She was slow to approach others, primarily because in her youth, she had always been kept apart from other slaves or the crew, fraternization of any kind often meant severe punishment by her master. It was also incredibly difficult to trust people, especially those who were motivated only by glory and riches. “You are plenty likeable, when you aren’t saying the wrong thing.” She teased.
Given the fish things a second chance.. She laughed and shook her head. “This may be cruel but I’m uncertain I could befriend such a slimy sort.” And she meant that in the literal sense. “It took so long to clean their mess from the boat. I feel bad for the shipwrights that need to repair any of the damage to the boat in that dark.”
“Ja, that’s a bit of a habit but nice to hear that the rest of me makes up for it.”
Gestra smiled and exaggerated a surprised face. “Are you telling me you don’t automatically like all creatures? I am shocked.”
That was true the journey had been tough on them already but they were more used to being in danger. One could argue that join Scarlet one would know what they are signing on to but Gestra also didn’t realise he was signing on to steal from a Goddess. “Well let’s just hope they don’t run into anything crazy up there while they work and that they can return to below deck quickly.”
“You and Ceiran are what makes all of this bearable for me.” She wouldn’t have gotten very far without them both and she knew it, especially after they had been dropped off on Tortuga. “Not that it is your responsibility to do so but it is appreciated just the same.”
She laughed, rolling her eyes at his mock shock. “Just because I believe in pacifism does not mean I automatically love everything. I just wouldn’t go out of my way to harm it.” She had a little shudder as she remembered the aboleth. “But no, slimy creatures, both harmless and dangerous, are not really my forte.”
So far, those on patrol had often met with strange or grim experiences. Gestra and Ceiran had both experienced something. “I want to feel guilty that I am not included in the patrol rotation but I must confess, I am relieved. I would be all but useless if I was forced to remain alone in the dark.”
Gestra’s face swelled up with pride even with Gestra’s attempt to hide it. But that appreciation was something he wasn’t to used to. Still it felt great when he got it. “Nah, it’s nothing and besides you are helping as much as any of us. We three are in this together now.”
Gestra laughed at her response. “Fair enough, I much prefer things with fur instead.”
Gestra was also glad that she was kept out of the rotation, this was already a lot to endure and adding a fear of dark into it was something he couldn’t imagine. “You shouldn’t feel guilty, it’s not like you don’t pull your weight when it comes to it. Plus we are going to need you on that island.”
Alethea couldn’t help but smile as well. She enjoyed her conversations with Gestra, they were insightful and full of a different perception then her own. They hadn’t known each other for long and the circumstances that they had met had been…unique but they had developed quite a good friendship, one where they could have differing opinions and discuss without butting heads.
She wouldn’t have agreed to join Scarlette if either Gestra or Ceiran had decided to turn her own. As he said, the three of them where in this together. “I am sure I will be of more use once we are out of this darkness.”
He had a point. “I prefer creatures that I can summon and dispel on a whim.” She was, of course, speaking of Hermes, her Sphinx of Wonder. “Though I could do without the sass.”
Up until the aboleth attack on the ship, Alethea hadn’t really been pulling her weight all that much. She had used a bit of magic where she could to help with general ship maintenance, she was fairly knowledgeable about a ship in general but she lacked size it strength for a lot of the more laborious tasks. “Circe’s isle is legendary within my culture. I’ve heard stories of those who reached her island but I don’t know much about Calypso’s Heart as an artifact or treasure. I know of Calypso’s tale though.”
Her cat of wonder has been absent ever since they joined Scarlet’s crew which probably was out of caution again. Gestra laughed slightly about the sass comment. “So it’s not just me, good to know”.
Alethea not knowing much about a topic was rare but I guess even she couldn’t know everything. “That’s the sea goddess that had a thing with Davy Jones, right? I think I heard their story before but was to drunk to fully remember it.”
Hermes was someone that Alethea called out to when she was alone. She could remember when Gestra had first met Hermes, it had been quite amusing.
Sea goddess? “I suppose there are likely other beings in other cultures known as Calypso, don’t think I’ve heard of the one you speak of. The Calypso that I know of was a nymph who lived in the island of Ogygia. She was known for her beauty and she captured a great hero of Athena’s for seven years.”
“Well that or maybe the guy telling the story was full of Scheiße, my memory of that night is quite hazy.” Calypso seemed to also be connected to Greek, made sense considering the heart was on the island of an other Greek figure. “Well let’s hope for our sake that this doesn’t happen again this time.”
As the pair spoke, Alethea could feel that familiar exhaustion come over her, a need for a rest after using her magic. She hadn’t over-exerted herself too much and she had not been injured during the fight but she was growing tired. “Do you have many folktales or legends from your homeland? Perhaps some of the sea?” She had spoken much of Greek myths and legends, which was quite apt considering that it felt like they were entering one, but she wanted to hear others.
She didn’t bother getting into her hammock just yet, primarily because doing so almost felt like she was asking Gestra for a bedtime story and, as young as she looked, she was not a child!
He was thinking about the stories he has been told as a child and while there were a lot of then most of them didn’t revolve around the sea. While Gestra was close to the sea a lot of their culture was still land locked. “A lot of our tales about the sea are from other cultures because I have heard about Sirens before.”
“I do know one about the Ghostship of the Ostsee though. It is to be said that you can sometimes on a foggy morning spot a ship out in the distance. The ship having been claimed by the sea before, with torn sails, weathered wood and a broken main mast. The crew made out of those who were lost during a storm with their clothes and skin still being deformed from when they drowned. And whenever you are unlucky enough to spot it it will herald the same storm that took the current crew. For the ship is looking for a new member and it has it’s sight on your crew.”
There was a point not to recently ago that he dismissed stories like this as precautionary tales to either scare or teach children and sailors alike as had been many of the stories he has been told. But he was now in such a story travelling aboard a magical ship traversing a cursed sea.
Talking about storms and people drowning his mind inevitably went towards Jannik. Was it the same storm that claimed him and is he now part of that cursed crew being forced to rob others into their fate? Thinking back to the night when they all saw the dead, Gestra was now surprised that he hasn’t seen Jannik then and it again felt like there was more to this.
Großartig, how did he get back to this again after having been able to blend it out while talking to Thea.
There was something special about stories, regardless of the culture or even the quality of the story. Each story held a iota of truth, it had to come from somewhere. Many stories were used as cautionary tales but even in those tales, there was often more to it. Ale had heard her fair share of ghost ship stories in her life and she always found to be incredibly tragic. Omens of storm and sail.
How many ghost ships might her own lightning have created? She thought back to the woman and her words. “Do you remember this tragedy.” Which one? Alethea knew many…
“I’m not surprised, Sirens are quite a popular legend. Often mixed with that of mermaids and sea folk.” She considered his tale, a small shiver running down her spine. “All we can do is ensure we don’t become the next ghost ship.”
That was an interesting question with the ship traveling mostly on it’s own they really could become a proper ghost ship. Gestra kinda chuckled to himself at the thought. “Who knows maybe it’s funny haunting the sea for eternity. Plus Scarlet is already half way there already.”
A brow perked at his dark sense of humor. “I’ve spent most of my life aboard a ship, I don’t intend on spending my afterlife there as well, thank you very much.” She laughed lightly as she reached for her hammock, “And with that lovely thought planted in my head, I believe I am going to try and get some rest.”
They all needed some rest for whatever was next. They still had a few days left on their journey. “Hopefully we will get some rest before we are next called up top for the next trick of the sea.”
“That’s a shame, you would have made a great addition to a haunted crew” Gestra joked back, still slightly laughing.
“I should also get to fixing my armour before getting some rest myself.”
Alethea rolled her eyes at the notion. It was rather dark humour, given how such a thing could very well happen to them but they both had that sort of sense of humor and it worked wonders in alleviating tension. Just as she pulled herself in and steadied herself in the hammock, she heard Gestra and laughed. “That would be a good idea.” Having holes in his armour wouldn’t do him much good later on. “Though in future, maybe you should get hit less. Then you won’t have to get your armor mended as much.”
Gestra smiled as Alethea counter his jokes. “Not all of us can just float in the air but I will do my best to learn it. It looks really useful.” And as Thea got ready to fall asleep Gestra took out his leatherworker’s tools and got to work before he himself became to tired.
While he did this, his mind wandered back to the topics of their conversation, it was good to talk to Thea, as it has always been but processing and understanding what seeing his sister like this meant was still gonna take time. Even if she could be really annoying he still loved her and this was the first time in awhile where it dawned on him how long he has been gone now. It was stupid to think nothing would have changed in those years but he did. Atleast until now.
