She pushed open the door to the suite; Tylendel had left a night-candle burning, but it, too, was guttering. No matter, there was the pearly gray light of an overcast dawn creeping in through the windows of her room, the lifebonded's, and Tylendel's -
She froze. Tylendel's bed was unoccupied; she could see it through the door.
Don't panic, old woman - she cautioned herself. Just do a bit of a trace, first - you've shared magic; you 've got the line to his mind. See where it leads.
She found the little energy-link that said Tylendel and followed it back to where Tylendel himself was. It wasn't very far. Still in the suite, in fact. In Vanyel's room.
Vanyel's room?
Her first reaction was to fling the door open and demand to know what was going on. Her second was to chuckle; with aura overtones like that she bloody well knew what was going on!
But - Vanyel? Gods have mercy. No sign he was shay 'a 'chern -
Then again, given Withen's prejudices, he might have feared for a long time that the boy was fey. And Withen's answer to that fear would have been -
Exactly what he'd been doing. Keeping the boy sheltered at home rather than fostering him out and trying to shove him in the direction Withen wanted. Trying to force the boy into a mold he was totally unsuited for. And he also might well have protected the boy from even the idea that same-sex pairings were possible. So the boy himself wouldn't have known what he was - until he first found out about 'Lendel.
Which answered a great many questions indeed. The question now was - what had led to this, and what was it going to mean for the future?
She took a deep breath of the chilly, damp air, and groped her way back to her own room. No use rushing things; questioning could be done just as easy with herself lying in her own warm bed. Easier, actually, given
how she felt.
She stripped herself down to the skin, promised her weary bones a bath later, and dragged on a bedgown before crawling into the blankets. The warm blankets, and she blessed Tylendel's thoughtfulness for putting the warming spell on her bed before he'd taken to his own. Or - whatever.
She settled herself comfortably, and reached out a thin tendril of Mindspeech in Private-mode. If the imp was awake-
He was.
:Savil?: came the sleep-blurred thought, dense with a feeling of contentment. –
.Thought I heard you come in. Found me, hmm?:
:Aye. And I have a pile of questions.: She shifted herself until her left shoulder stopped aching quite so much. :The only important one is, how did you talk him into it?:
:I didn’t. It was all Van's idea.:
She almost lost the Mindspeech thread with her start of surprise, and had to grope after it. :Sounds like I really missed something! What in the name of the Havens happened last night?:
:Too much to talk about now.: There were overtones of mental and physical weariness to his Mind-voice. :But he's going to be all right, Savil. We did more than - just the physical. I think we must have talked for hours, before and after. He handed me the key to himself, and he wanted me to have it.:
She raised a sardonic mental eyebrow. :'Lendel - I don't want to drench you with cold water, but may I remind you of what happened the last time morning arrived with you in someone else's bed?:
:It 's all right, Savil, it really is this time.: A feeling of faint surprise. :You know, you 're always teasing me about falling in love - but - I don't know, this feels different :
Savil snorted. :Right; it always does. No, don't let an old cynic disturb you.:
:Teacher - I think this is going to be something more than just a one-time; I think he needs me.:
:Oh, Havens. All right, if that's the way you think it's going - just let me know in the morning if you plan to move in with him. Or him with you, though his is the better chamber. We could use a spare for guests.:
Flavor of laughter like crisp apples. :You just want my room back :
:If you aren’t using it - seriously, 'Lendel, this is important. I want to have a long talk with him when I get up, and I want you there. He really should know what he's letting himself in for as shay'a'chern. I don't think we should let that get out, and I'll Mindspeak with you on that before we talk with him. Hmm - cancel your classes this morning; I'm too tired, and I have the feeling you weren’t exactly early to sleep:
Another apple-feeling of laughter, and the mind-link faded. And she let exhaustion pull her down into a slumber that she really didn't want, not anymore.
One last thought before sleep came.
Great good gods, what am I going to tell Withen ?
