Lost at sea, time and space

Reappearing out of the shed with Ned's bridle and a brush, Julian handed the brush to her. "Brush him. Follow the grain of the hair. You wanna make sure there's no mud or clumps of hair, otherwise he'll be uncomfortable." Studying her, he tilted his head a little. "He's not going to hurt you, and you're not gonna hurt him. Any questions?"

Following her glance, Julian spotted her brother apparently asleep, then got back to focusing on the gelding and the woman. "Looks good, well done. I'll bridle him for you, but this is how you do it." He showed her slowly, and slipped the reins around the horse's neck once he was done. "Right, follow me, then we'll get you on him. Bring him with you." He led them both to the round yard, closing the gate behind them. "I assume you're strong enough to get on without help."

It had taken them a long time, but finally the orb was almost fixed. Slipping the device into his pocket with the other for safekeeping, Killian went in search of Claire, hoping for some advice in convincing his sister to stay with the horse man. There was a strange connection between the two of them, and Killian just wanted his sister happy. Finding Claire working with her horse again, the assassin leaned on the fence, content to wait until she was finished before he pestered her with questions. Reminded about her offer of a ride all those months ago, he made a mental note to ask her that first. It would be nice to have some alone time with her again before he left for good.

He followed her easily, his hands tucked into his pockets. "Not your horse this time?" he asked, patting the animal's soft nose regardless. He'd learned a lot here, but it hadn't really changed much of his attitude towards the animals. Remembering that she'd mentioned going on a ride together a while ago, he brought it up now. "You said something about a ride earlier." Now would be a good time, it would let them have some alone time before he hurt her.

He watched her as she worked, glad that he'd been able to make her happy. Rubbing the dark horse's nose too, he swung on with the ease of lots of practice, guiding the mare after Claire. He waited until they were a fair way from the house before he spoke. "The orb's almost fixed." He went quiet again for a while, thinking through what he wanted to stay. "Mel should stay here, with your Julian. He's good for her."

He met her gaze, reaching out to touch her cheek. "I'm sorry I'm hurting you," he said softly, wishing he didn't have to. "She won't want to stay. She doesn't want me on my own. But she needs him." He gave a sigh, knowing that she had to stay here. "You won't notice I'm gone, seasprite. I'll come back the day after I leave, it'll be easy to manage it so I'll be back soon after. You won't be waiting for me for long." Studying her a moment longer, he tugged gently on her braid. "I promise."

He sighed, growing quiet as he thoughts things over in his mind. Eventually he spoke again, breaking the companionable silence between then. "I won't leave until you're ready," he said softly. it was the least he could do for her. And he'd let her know. "I'll talk to Melly then. But maybe you'll need to talk to Julian." He didn't know the man that well, had done that on purpose. And he'd need to talk to Cynder about what she knew of him so that all the things that needed to happen in their childhood could happen. Content with the answers he had now, he changed the subject. "Where are we going, anywhere in particular?"

"Thank you." He watched as Alkira bounded ahead of them, clearly off to do some hunting of her own. Thinking through how he was going to survive the next few hundred years, he tried to shake those thoughts away. He wanted to spend time with Claire and be happy and relaxed with her, and those thoughts weren't helping. "So how is your horse going then?" He'd made an effort to be interested in what she did - mostly for the smile that came to her face when she spoke about her horses.

He grinned at her look, knowing full well that she wasn't fooled, and still continued on as if he hadn't. "You'll do well in that," he said confidently. Pulling the mare to a stop at the water, he let her drink her fill before urging her onwards into the water. Finally catching up with Claire, he let go of the reins and pushed Claire sideways, grinning at her. "Looks like you're getting a bit wet, sweetheart."

He directed a splash towards her, the shadows joining in on the fun. Shaking water out of his eyes, Killian lunged for her, grabbing her wrist and wrapping his arms around her to tug her close to him. Dunking her briefly, he grinned down at her, enjoying himself. "No, you're wetter than me now." Finding the bottom of the waterhole to stand on, he tugged on her braid again. All worries were gone out his mind for the moment, and he just wanted to play with his Claire.

He tightened his arms, holding on to her as long as he could before he needed to breathe and let go, resurfacing. "yes, really," he teased. "I win." He splashed at her, aiming to catch her in the face with the refreshing water. He couldn't remember he last time he'd played like this with another person. Usually the most he got was with Alkira, and even then that was rare. The jackal preferred to sleep if she wasn't hunting.

Spluttering, he squirmed around, trying to escape her tickling. "Now that's just playing dirty, seasprite," he scolded lightly, amusement so clear in his gaze. He had no idea he was echoing the words of her childhood playmate, not yet. Catching her wrists, he tugged her close to him, wrapping his arms around her again before he kissed her cheek gently. "So, who's winning now, honey?"

He pulled away a little, worried about her being so pale. Listening quietly, he framed her face for a moment. "I don't know, sweetheart. I haven't met you yet." He gave her a sad smile, refusing to let go of her. "Don't faint on me honey. I'll come back to you, I promise. It will all be okay. Trust me, Claire. Please." Tucking pieces of her wet hair behind her ears, he watched her intently, hating that he couldn't comfort her.

He held her close to him, resting his head on hers as he tried to comfort her. "It'll be alright," he murmured, hating that she'd put all the pieces together, though he wasn't surprised. She was smart, it was bound to have happened eventually. Growing cold, he picked her up and waded out of the water, sending the shadows to catch the horses for them and bring them back to the shore. "I promise I'll come back to you, Claire. You won't be waiting."