The sound of his footsteps echoed off of the cold tunnel as he walked out of Magnus’ lair. He smiled a little, looking down at the stone in his arms, admiring the carvings and their faint glow. He wasn’t sure what the stone was for, beyond some sort of Pandorian magics, but Fripp had asked him to retrieve it and bring it to Valedale, so he had. Having reached the end of the long tunnel, Avalon set the stone aside and threw his weight against the massive stone door, pulling a little on his sun magic to give him strength. With a mighty groan, the door opened to a blinding white landscape. Blinking furiously while his eyes adjusted, he grabbed the stone, lifted his hood and stepped into the deep snow of the Hidden Valley. Almost as soon as the stone door shut behind him (Why it shut on it’s own, but needed to be shoved open, Avalon would never know), he could feel something off. For one, Skydancer was gone, and he never left without telling Avalon. For another, it had gone strangely quiet in a place where there were almost always frost foxes playing and little finches flitting about. Spotting hoof prints, Avalon groaned and began following them, reaching out with his mind to search for the Pandorian that had conveniently disguised himself as a horse. “Why did you decide to wander off in this blasted cold hellscape of all places?” he grumbled, still on guard. It was the snap of a frozen tree branch behind him that alerted Avalon to the fact the he most certainly wasn’t alone, and it most likely wasn’t Sky who was behind him, based on the tracks he still followed. A glance behind him didn’t reveal anything but the bleak forest, which only served to concern Avalon even more. Picking up his pace, he adjusted his grip on the stone and cast his mind out further to try and find where on earth Sky had gone off to.
It was the sound of galloping hooves on snow that warned him first.
He dodged a tree just in time to avoid the bolt of energy that had been hurtling towards him. “ShitfiregoddamnFUCK” he yelped, recognizing the rider and her horse. It was Khaan and Sabine. Because of course it was. Whipping around, he took off as fast as he could, trying to avoid Sabine’s magic. Finally, he felt Sky’s presence, along with another that he couldn’t name immediately. Whatever, it didn’t matter. More pressing issues, like the madwoman on his tail. “Sky, get your ass over here yesterday!” he yelled “Now isn’t the time to go find fireflies, we have company.” He felt Skydancer’s acknowledgement through their connection and felt his pace increase. Avalon breathed heavily, choosing the paths that took him through the thickest of the frozen brush, hoping to slow down Khaan long enough to get a little more distance on them. To give Sky enough time to get to him. Clutching the stone, he continued his race through the forest and had just reached the edge of the wood when a frozen root snagged his foot. *thunk* he had tripped and let go of the stone, his hood falling away from his face. Thankfully it hadn’t gone far, but as soon as he tried to stand, his ankle gave out under him. This wasn’t good. He couldn’t possibly fight her or deflect her magic, his own simply wasn’t strong enough. The only thing he was able to do was turn to see Khaan bearing down on him, Sabine’s hand raised and primed to release another bolt of energy, one that would kill him. She released it but it never hit him. Instead, it crashed against a massive silver shield, a moon sigil shining in the center. Avalon shook his head, trying to make sense of it. He only knew one person strong enough to produce a full shield, and she was- “Sabine. I can’t say I’ve missed you, I’m afraid.” …. Here? The crunch of hooves in the snow approaching to his left revealed a heavily breathing Skydancer, and a blonde woman sat in his saddle. A woman he’d almost given up on ever seeing again. Her eyes never shifted from Sabine and Khaan, her right hand still raised, maintaining the shield a moment longer. “Do you want to try that again, or are you going to go back to your precious master? Because I have news for him. I am back, alive and kicking. And he will pay dearly for the hell he put me through. Leave now, Sabine, and you and Khaan both will leave with your lives. Stay, and I will make no such promises.” She snarled. Khaan snorted and pawed the ground, clearly unnerved. Sabine gathered her reins and tilted her head, her expression unreadable through the shadow her own hood cast. “Well well. The Pandorian bitch is still barking. I’d love to stay and play your games, but it seems like my time is up.” With that, Sabine turned back to Avalon. “You got lucky this time, Druid. Mark my words, it won’t happen again.” Without any prompting, Khaan reared, and galloped past the three, and soon vanished into the fog of the Valley. A few heartbeats passed, and Avalon made to stand, grunting slightly at the feeling of his ankle trying to give from under him, his back turned to Sky and his rider. He couldn’t bear to look back, terrified that it had only been an elaborate illusion. The soft thud of a rider dismounting broke the silence. “Avalon? Are you ok?” it was definitely her voice. It was soft. A stark contrast to the harsh tone he’d heard when she’d spoken to Sabine, and Avalon lowered his head, shaking it a little. Slow footsteps came closer. “It’s me, I swear it.” Ha, she could still read his mind, as good as she ever could. He took a deep breath, the cold air stinging his lungs, steeled himself, and turned. His breathe caught in his throat when he saw her, as beautiful as ever, but something caught his eye. A new scar crossed over her dark eye, coming down to just below her cheekbone. He was moving before he realized it, one hand reaching for her cheek. His thumb brushed against the scar, feeling the rough texture of it. He searched her eyes, praying that this was real. A gentle hand came to cover his, moving it to her chest, over her heart. A beating heart. “It’s me Avalon.” Releasing a shaky breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, he pulled her towards him, his arms wrapped around her.
“Rose.”
