~~~continued from the previous post~~~


The celebration that night could have rivaled any rowdy Nord festival. Bonfires lit up the Solstice countryside, and the provisioners were kept busy doling out their supply of libations and comestibles. The exhaustion and stress of the day seemed forgotten in the midst of raucous recounting of war stories and impromptu song and dance.

Even I managed to stay awake for most of it, although I did find myself a mostly out-of-the-way spot to settle at the earliest opportunity. I could content myself watching the festivities without being the center of attention myself. Or really, drawing any attention at all.

Darien had kept an eye on me, though, even as I did the same with him. I might have liked to spend the evening in his company, if we'd been able to talk just between us, but as he inevitably played the social butterfly and was regaled by Skordo with everything he'd missed out on, it was enough seeing him smile and laugh, knowing he was there and safe and that everything had turned out okay today. And as long as it lasted, as long as I could watch him and feel that warm reassurance in my chest, sleep didn't seem that important anymore.

He waited until Bastian had gone off to refresh our drinks before wandering over. "So is there a reason you're hiding over here? Not trying to miss out on the party, I hope."

"Just keeping a low profile," I replied. "Seems like Skordo and Raz have been handling the jubilant victory tales, so I hope you're not too disappointed."

"Well, it's not just me who might be disappointed," he said, ducking under the scaffolding that was providing my shelter. "You seem to have quite a few fans among the Fellowship."

"Oh?"

"You haven't heard people talking?" He settled down next to me. "Since you all got back, I can't go anywhere without hearing about how 'the Vestige repaired my ballista' or 'the Vestige pulled me out of a fire' or 'she never gave up, even when she was dead on her feet, so I knew I couldn't either.' I felt inspired just hearing about it, and there isn't even anything left for me to do!"

I rubbed my eyes and groaned. "...Did they actually say 'dead on her feet'?"

He gave me an appraising once-over and grinned. "Well... were they wrong?"

I guess I hadn't been too concerned about keeping up appearances when it was all I could do to aim a stupid grappling hook more than twenty feet away. But if even that somehow managed to inspire people, I could have done a lot worse.

"You know I have you to thank for the ballista thing," I pointed out. "I still remembered what you showed me back in the Crystal Tower."

"The Crystal Tower, hmm?" He looked thoughtful. "That's why it sounded familiar. I guess this is where I get to be suitably jealous, then."

"Believe me, I wished you could have been there to enjoy it with me."

"Maybe there'll be another chance," he said. "The Worm Cult can't have kept all their ballistae in one spot, right?"

"Heh, maybe. If I see any, I'll be sure to call you over."

Right on cue, a roar of laughter drew our attention to Skordo apparently demonstrating the trajectory of a ballista bolt (knife) into the harvester guardian (a large hunk of meat roasting over a fire).

We enjoyed the revelry for a few moments before Darien nodded off to one side. "Looks like your other half is getting his share of attention too."

There was Bastian, having been accosted by a group of unfamiliar adventurers, awkwardly holding up his drinks in a defensive posture. He gestured apologetically toward me, and the sight of me and Darien waiting for him was apparently enough for them to grudgingly let him go.

"Well someone's popular," I teased, once he'd made it to the safety of our little nook.

He gave me a beleaguered smile along with my drink. "I think it was more about you than about me. Apparently I'm 'the guy who's always with the Vestige' now."

Darien chuckled. "Again, are they wrong?"

Bastian sighed. "It seemed easier to smile and nod and look for a chance to escape than to try to explain things to them. So I guess they'll think whatever they think."

I gave Darien a pointed look. "And what about you, mister Golden Knight? You seem to have plenty of admirers."

"Well, sure." He made a show of slicking back his hair. "With this much natural charisma, how could I not?"

I rolled my eyes, as Bastian more tactfully hid a laugh behind a sip of his drink, but neither of us could really argue.

Time drifted by after that, stretches of silent spectating sprinkled with small talk. At one point I think Skordo saw Darien and was about to call to him, but then he noticed me and abruptly decided he could find someone else to talk to instead. I tried to stay attentive, to keep the conversation going and take in all of Darien's jokes, but it was getting harder and harder to keep my eyes open.

Finally Darien couldn't put off noticing. "You should really get some sleep. It's been a big day, and you look like you could use it."

"I'm fine," I murmured, sleepily.

Darien crossed his arms. "Do we need to get the taskmaster here to drag you away?"

Bastian gave me an indulgent smile. "If you're worried about missing out on socializing, I'm pretty sure you'll be a better conversationalist once you've recharged."

Hrmph. "Okay, fiiiine..."

As we extracted ourselves from our hidey-hole and Darien offered to take charge of our empty cups, he took the opportunity to linger with me for just a moment.

"I hope it's not too strange to say, this, but... for what it's worth, I'm proud of you," he said sincerely. "Not that I had any doubt that you could do it, but... I'm glad you did it. And I'm even gladder that you came back safe."

The earnest look in his eyes, the hushed tone of his voice, brought that warmth rushing right back. "Me too."

He returned my small smile, and then glanced at Bastian before getting back to business. "Now off to bed with you. Sweet dreams, hero."

"Okaaaaay," I drawled, letting Bastian steer me in the direction of what I guess was still the barracks tent area thing. With all the ruckus going on, I didn't see how anybody was supposed to get any sleep there, but the closer I got to my bedroll the less it seemed like that would matter.

Before sleep could entirely claim me, though, Bastian spoke up from his side of the tent. "Hey, before we call it a night, it's going to bother me if I don't say something."

"Mmm?"

He took a few moments before he continued. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep up with you in there. My one job was to stay by your side, and I failed."

In there? Oh, when we got separated in the Fortress...

"It worked out okay," I said. "Maybe it wasn't you healing me, but somebody sure was."

"And I'm incredibly relieved that's the case. If anything had happened to you..."

"It didn't," I said, as firmly as I could manage. "I had lots of people watching out for me. And you more than made up for it afterward. So... everything's okay, okay?"

He let out a breath. "Okay."

I reached out to give him a reassuring pat, which would have worked better if I could see. Instead my hand just kind of feebly flailed around until it landed on something that I assumed was him.

"Okay that was my ear..."

"Oh. Um... goodnight."

I flopped over, barely stifling a snicker, and I heard a sigh give way to a soft chuckle.

I wasn't too worried, as I finally gave in to the urge to be unconscious. We did good today, that was the important thing. Maybe there would be more to think about and take stock of later, but for now, everything... was... okay...