After a minute or two more, Anara, Tresit, and Artem came back inside. Tresit stood against the wall, his eyes distant and distracted seeming as Anara and Artem equipped themselves with weapons, satchels, and canteens. ”Tresit?” Kes asked. She’d experienced Anara talking with him and Artem outside as if she’d been speaking too, having been sharing harmony with her wife at the time to varying degrees. The harmony had seemed to settle into that between them, still advancing and receding according to the results of whatever balance existed between them. They could chose it, or chose against it, but when they did neither, it seemed to simply intensify and fade as it would.

”Yes, mother?” Tresit asked, bringing his attention back into focus.

He’d said mother in such an off-handed way that Kes couldn’t help but smile, warmed by it. ”You seemed very far away. Where did you go, if I can ask?”

He smiled a peaceful, resigned sort of smile. ”Just imagining what the future might hold, that’s all.” He said.

”What did you see? Ahead for us, I mean?” She asked, curious.

His smile turned wistful. ”Nothing that really amounts to much. The future… will be written as it will.”

”But… you wish you had more of a say, don’t you?” She saw the core of the issue.

He shook his head, looking at Lanam. ”My place is with my sister.” He told her softly.

Kes knelt and they hugged. ”I’m so proud of you.” She told him as the hug ended, ruffling his hair a little in play. ”And I’m proud of her too. I love you both, so much… Will you tell her that? When she wakes up?”

He smiled again, seeming more care free, though Kes wasn’t sure how much of that was an act and she didn’t want to pry to find out. ”I will.” He agreed.

He didn’t ask her to come home safe, or protect Anara, because she knew he trusted that Kes would do those things with everything she had, and that was enough. That lack of words meant a lot to her. She kissed his forehead and stood. She, Anara, and Artem finished their farewells and left soon after.

It was an hour and a half to midday and time was already pressing on them. They could all feel it.