Private Chasing Speedercars

[Sibylla Abrantes]

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T R A Y C N * I S L A N D
R I S H I
Acier Moonbound

Sibylla let the faint smile linger for only a moment before it faded, her gaze drifting back toward the water. Ace made it sound simple, almost casual, as if titles and expectations were nuisances one could shrug off like an ill fitting jacket.

They were not.

Especially not when he called her responsible.

She knew Ace hadn't meant it cruelly, but the word struck deeper than she expected, scraping against old doubts she had spent months trying to set right. Responsible had once meant hesitating too long, weighing every outcome until the moment to act slipped past her entirely. Lysander had taught her that lesson at a cost she still felt.

It was why she was here now, why she had stopped running from hard conversations.

She turned back toward Ace with a slow breath.

"I do not believe he would ever deliberately cause me harm," Sibylla said quietly, the certainty in her voice earned rather than naive. "He has flaws and he is far too willing to shoulder the galaxy alone." A pause, then softer, "But he means well and there is good in him."

Her hazel eyes lifted to Ace again in a sincere expression.

"Just like you."

She let that truth sit between them before continuing.

"And you are right about one thing," she added. "I am responsible. Not because I fear choice, but because my choices do not belong to me alone. I have learned the cost of waiting too long, Ace. I do not intend to repeat it."

She took a few steps closer to where he sat, choosing to sit beside him. The breeze tugged at her braids, gently carrying the scent of waterlillies and salt air.

"But responsibility does not mean I love any less," she said. "It means I love with my eyes open."

At his last remark, the one delivered with a lazy wave of his hand, her lips curved again, only this time there was a quiet warm gratitude in it.

"I am well aware of what you would do," she replied lightly. Then, more seriously, "And I am grateful to know you care."

A distant flock of seabirds flew over the ocean waves.

"But for now," she added, gentler, "trust me to protect myself. And trust that I will not let fear, or duty, or hesitation keep me from what truly matters."

She glanced back out at the horizon, voice softer but no less certain.

"I have already wasted enough time learning that lesson."

Turning her head towards him anew, that was when SIbylla asked.

"So how long are you here for or do you need to go back before anyone finds out?"

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Rishi - Tracyn Island

Equipment:
Acolyte Robes| Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

"Just like you."

Ace didn't respond, but something in him paused. His expression didn't change much at all, but his eyes did. He turned to look at her, eyes lingering on her a second longer than normal, dark and steady, reading more than the words themselves.

There was a quiet understanding there. Not agreement. Not refusal. Just the acknowledgment of being seen without the need to argue for or against it. His gaze softened, just slightly. Enough to say he understood what she meant. Enough to say he carried that weight too.

Then, he looked back toward the horizon, the moment left intact, unspoken, but shared.

As she went on, he didn't interrupt her. Just listened. Like he always did. The certainty in her voice, the clarity she'd fought to earn. When she said she loved with her eyes open, something in his expression softened, not in sadness, but recognition.

"Yeah." He said quietly. "I can see that."

When she sat beside him, Ace shifted just enough to give her space without pulling away, gaze staying on the water for a moment before he answered her question.

"I've got some flexibility. The Covenant trusts me just enough to stop watching every step, but not enough that I can vanish without questions." His mouth curved faintly. "So I can stay a while Unless... you wanna get rid of me and back to lover boy?" He teased.

"And Bylla?" He added, quieter. "I do trust you, y'know. To protect yourself. To make your calls. That's never been in question. Wouldn't be here asking for your help if it were."

Then, he playfully nudged her with his elbow. Not too rough, but with some force.

"What's new?" He asked. "It's been a long month and some change."

Sibylla Abrantes ​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

T R A Y C N * I S L A N D
R I S H I
Acier Moonbound

Sibylla's lips curved despite herself when Ace gave her a nickname.

"Bylla?" she echoed, testing it once before nodding. "I like that." only her family members and Aurelian called her Nez, but getting a nickname from a friend was truly wonderful.

Then she caught how he addressed Aurelian as lover boy again.

Color bloomed instantly over her cheeks again,

"Ace," she said quickly, almost tripping over the words, "... it is not like that."

Which was, strictly speaking, true... When one considered the strictest definition of what a lover entailed...

That blush grew even brighter as her fingers slid to her braids, twisting one absently as her thoughts betrayed her with the most inconvenient clarity. The piano room. Aurelian's hands warm at her waist. The kiss that had left her breathless and decidedly less composed than she preferred to be. Warm? Yes. Entirely too warm.

She cleared her throat and very deliberately changed course.

"I am not trying to get rid of you," she said in earnest. "I wanted to see you. To actually catch up and know how you are doing." Her gaze dipped, then lifted again, quieter. "I made too many mistakes once by not asking that. By assuming. And it still shapes how I move now."

Lysander's name remained unspoken, but the weight of it lingered all the same. She hoped he was safe. She hoped he did not hate her. Some hopes never quite learned how to leave.

When he said he could stay a while, relief softened her shoulders and the nudge drew a small laugh from her. She leaned into the moment, into the normalcy of it.

Well as much as one could.

"The Grandmaster of the Jedi Order is trying to determine how to remove or use whatever fragment of the Goddess Vere that still is within me. It may involve a use of the Force called dreamwalking but... trying to find what all my options are first." Aurelian did not feel comfortable at all with anyone searching through her mind or dreams, and she had promised she would find out if there was another way.

"Lady von Ascania is assisting, and I trust her judgement as a healer." she added, thinking back to Corazona.

"... beyond that there is always the threat of what is going on with the Sith Order, the Empire, and how things will develop between the Mandalorian Empire as the galaxy continues to shift." she added honestly, thinking of all the chess pieces moving into place.

"That does not take into consideration the potential elections for a more permanent Chancellor. Once Aurelian is no longer Interim, he will resume his position as King Veruna the Second of Naboo and I will return to her Voice."

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Rishi - Tracyn Island

Equipment:
Acolyte Robes| Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

Ace's mouth curved at the way she tested the nickname, like she was rolling it around to see if it fit.

"Yeah." He said lightly. "It slipped out."

When the color rushed to her cheeks at lover boy and she stumbled over the denial, Ace didn't push. He caught it, of course he did, but there was no judgment in the way his brow lifted. Just mild, knowing amusement.

"Relax." He said, easy. "I'm just messing with you."

But he let her redirect without comment, listening as she spoke. The mention of the Goddess Vere, of dreamwalking, of someone else potentially stepping into her mind made something in his posture still. Not alarmed. Focused.

Then his memories stirred. Back to Taris, when he'd told her about Clan Vethrisa. She'd mentioned actually encountering Set and Vere - the subjects of some Naboo folklore. If his memory served correctly.

"You said you'd met them, on Taris." He hooked his fingers beneath his chin. "But... you never said anything about a fragment of Vere living in you."

Ace then reached behind him, rubbing the back of his neck. His usual composed demeanor shifted into something in between confusion and surprise.

"That's… a lot." Ace said quietly.

But the mention of Lady von Ascania. Corazona. Golden Boy's older sister. The Jedi. His expression softened at that.

"I've met her once. Corazona, right?" He added. "It was brief, but she seemed competent. Glad she's watching your back."

He leaned back slightly on his hands, gaze drifting toward the horizon again as she spoke of shifting powers, elections, crowns changing hands. The galaxy doing what it always did, moving pieces whether people were ready or not. She seemed to have her hands full.

"Hmm." He muttered. "No rest for the wicked, huh?"

Then he glanced sideways at her.

"Guess we're both juggling gods, Sith, and impossible expectations. Think we'll ever get any peace and quiet?" He paused, snickering at that last part. "Actually, can't imagine I'd know what to do with quiet."

It was the truth, and yet, simultaneously something he desperately longed for.

Sibylla Abrantes​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

T R A Y C N * I S L A N D
R I S H I
Acier Moonbound

Ace's surprise did not offend her. If anything, it reassured her. This was not something easily absorbed. Goodness, it took a bit for Cora and Aurelian to digest it.

"It is a great deal," she agreed softly. "And not something I share freely. Not out of secrecy, but caution. I would rather understand it before allowing it to shape how it affects me and others."

At the mention of Corazona, her shoulders eased just slightly.

"Yes. Lady von Ascania," Sibylla confirmed. "I trust her judgment, which is no small thing for me to offer." A pause, then a wry addition, "And she has a remarkable talent for observing and saying the right things that make one feel seen. I can see why Lysander held her to such high regard," she added, although her tone dipped into bittersweet then.

She followed his gaze to the horizon, the water catching the light in restless flashes.

"No rest at all," she murmured. "Crowns shift, powers stir, ancient things decide to make themselves known again. It seems the galaxy has little regard for timing."

She took a deep breath, then let it out.

"But it would be nice to have some peace and quiet. It seems so distant but ever so needed when everything seems chaotic. But perhaps there is some value in moments like this. Not peace, exactly. Just… stillness enough to breathe before the next impossible thing presents itself."

Those hazel eyes warmed as they settled on him again.

"And if nothing else," she said lightly, "it is reassuring to know I am with you in it and not alone."

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Rishi - Tracyn Island

Equipment:
Acolyte Robes| Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

Ace didn't rush to answer. He let her words settle the way the air did when the wind dipped. The mention of Lysander made something flicker behind his eyes. She knew Lysander? Ace didn't bring attention to it. Not yet. For now, he continued to let her speak.

"I understand caution." He said quietly instead.

He followed her thought when she spoke of crowns and ancient things stirring, gaze still fixed on the horizon as if the galaxy itself were laid out there, restless and indifferent.

"Yeah..." Ace murmured. "Timing's never been its strong suit."

When she spoke of stillness, not peace... just room to breathe, his shoulders eased without him realizing it. He understood that kind of quiet. The kind you didn't hold onto, only borrowed.

Then she looked at him with those hazel eyes, the ones that would make him melt once upon a time. She was grateful, for not being alone in the ever changing galactic tides.

Ace's expression softened into a smile, and he reached an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close to his side.

"Always." He said. Not as a promise, but fact.

He looked back out toward the water after, giving the moment space to exist without trying to define it. Then, he looped the conversation back.

"You know Lysander?"

Sibylla Abrantes​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

T R A Y C N * I S L A N D
R I S H I
Acier Moonbound

Sibylla let out a soft laugh as Ace drew her in, leaning her head against his shoulder as he tugged her close. It was nice. Nice to just be and simply be able to take some time with Ace without the chaos and misunderstandings. The worry she had for him still lingered, and likely would continue as long as he decided to go through this path, but ultimately it was his decision.

Just as it had been Lysander's.

However, it was Ace's curious query regarding the boy from her past that drew a quiet, inquisitive look from Sibylla, causing her to glance up at Ace with a slight furrow of confusion and subtle awareness.

It was an enormous galaxy, and there would certainly be plenty of other 'Lysanders', but something in the way Ace asked made Sibylla's stomach give a subtle twist.

"Well that depends. The one I know is Lady von Ascania's younger brother, Lysander von Ascania."

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Rishi - Tracyn Island

Equipment:
Acolyte Robes| Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

Sibylla confirmed it. Lysander von Ascania. The Sith Covenant's Golden Boy. Fatine's brother. Ace's friendly rival.

He didn't move when she said the name, not right away. The pieces slid into place with a quiet finality he didn't like. The way Lysander had been spoken of like someone lost but not gone. It all aligned a little too cleanly. His arm stayed around her shoulders, but the muscles there tightened just enough to register.

"…Yeah." Ace said finally, voice low. "That's the one."

He stared out over the water for a moment. He didn't pull her closer, but didn't loosen his hold either. Just stayed where he was, present, stead, letting the confirmation sit between them.

But he had to be sure.

"How do you know him?" He asked.

Sibylla Abrantes​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

T R A Y C N * I S L A N D
R I S H I
Acier Moonbound

Yeah... that's the one. How do you know him?

Ace's words seemed to echo in her mind for a few seconds before Sibylla's expression quietly turned somber, straightening as she tugged her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"I see…" she began, only for her voice to wane. Her mouth opened as if to say something more, but the words slipped away, her tongue seemingly tied as a soft crash of remembrance washed over her -- memories, dozens of letters, the holocall, and how their last meeting had gone.

But after another second, Sibylla swallowed hard then gave a soft, bittersweet smile, the gleam in her hazel eyes dulling a shade as she drew in a deep breath.

"So I can only presume that if you know him, then it must mean you met him through this Sith Covenant?" she asked quietly. She did not answer yet how she knew Lysander; first, she needed to understand the circumstances under which Ace had come to know him.

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Rishi - Tracyn Island

Equipment:
Acolyte Robes| Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

Ace's arm retreated back, and he watched the way she folded in on herself. The shift was subtle, but unmistakable. He didn't interrupt it or try to comfort her physically. Nor did he rush to fill the space. He just let the moment breathe, let her breathe.​

​

When she finally spoke, he exhaled through his nose.​

​

"Yeah." He said quietly. "Through the Covenant. He's… prominent." Ace went on. "The kind of Apprentice everyone's supposed to look to. Which means he's good at what he does."​

​

He glanced at her then, searching her face without prying. She didn't confirm the details of their connection, but her reaction? That was an answer in of itself.​

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"I didn't know who he was to you." He added. "Not until just now."​

​

He didn't push for anymore details, he left the rest with her, when, and if, she was ready to tell it.​

​

Sibylla Abrantes​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

T R A Y C N * I S L A N D
R I S H I
Acier Moonbound

He prominent. The kind of Apprentice everyone's supposed to look to. Which means he's good at what he does.

Hearing that only solidified her worst fears. Lysander had continued down his path with the Darkside of the Force, with forging his path within that. Now that SIbylla knew more about how the Darkside affected others, corrupted them from within, and how it affected how they acted and reacted to the world around them, her fear and concern began to churn within her chest for Ace in a way that truly, absolutely, made her feel as if shards of ice ran down her spine.

"....Lysander..." Sibylla began, then took another breath. " I met Lysander about three years ago... when the Mandalorian Crusaders first attacked the palace in a raid for our plasma. At the time, he was a Padawan within the Jedi Order there. I was in the palace during the attack when I found him fighting another Mandalorian, and I assisted him so that we could both get away," she explained, thinking back to how it all started.

A faint smile rose.

"... we became good friends, and the Order assigned him to be my guard for a time. We grew closer, trading comm messages and keeping in touch that way... especially after he had to leave Naboo to pursue a different path. One he hoped would give him enlightenment and not be anyone's pawn. I didn't realize it at the time what it meant when he said he was on Korriban...it was only after that he revealed that he was now a Sith Acolyte there."

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Rishi - Tracyn Island

Equipment:
Acolyte Robes| Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

Ace stayed still while she spoke. Listening and absorbing all the information revealed. Padawan. Naboo. Guard duty. Korriban. Sith Acolyte. Each piece landed with a quiet weight.

Three years ago. For a brief moment, Ace flashed back to where he was three years ago. Still on Bonadan, still running jobs for Tessk, still questioning his identity and the Force that stirred within him. That kid had no idea what the future had in store for him. A small, quiet smile tugged.

By the time she finished, his jaw set in understanding.

"Guess I have some leverage now." He said, attempting to soften the tension.

He glanced out toward the horizon again, eyes narrowing slightly as if he were seeing a different battlefield entirely. Not Mandalorians. Not Sith. Just a younger version of someone trying to find solid ground and choosing the wrong cliff edge.

"He didn't start out wanting to be... this." He said, tone serious now. "I guess that makes sense."

Then his memories stirred, to all the conversations they had about Lysander - unaware of who they were talking about at the time. But in his short time with the Covenant, in the short time he'd come to know Lysander. The pieces were easier now.

"What you had with him wasn't a lie..." He added. "I've seen enough of him to know that. And... you didn't fail him." His voice stayed even. "He chose his road. Same as we all do."

He let that settle before adding, quieter:

"But I won't make his mistake."

It wasn't a promise made lightly. It was a line he believed he'd already drawn. But he didn't leave it there, Ace went on, tone softer still:

"Now I understand why this scares you."

Sibylla Abrantes ​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

T R A Y C N * I S L A N D
R I S H I
Acier Moonbound

Sibylla let Ace's words flow over her, and even though they made sense, part of her still couldn't help how she felt. That she failed him. And truth be told, Ace didn't know the whole story.

Would he see her differently if she told him?

Sibylla gently began to gnaw at the fullness of her lower lip, biting it so as her mind raced. It was a strange sight, the normally composed Ambassador and Interim Queen so unsettled. So full of doubt.

Regrets.

"It ... that is not the entire story, Ace." she added quietly, taking another deep breath as she felt her stomach churn as if filled with Giju fish and acid.

"Part of me always feels as if I failed him... no, I do know I failed him." she shook her head, feeling her eyes start to sting.

"... He was more than just a friend Ace. I grew to care for him as more than just a friend... but he was the one to point it out to me first. To tell me that anytime he tried to connect with me, to make this more than what it was, I always pulled back. I always changed the topic... I refused to respond. And it is the truth. I left his messages unanswered for weeks, knowing what he meant. Agonizing over what I should respond, how should I respond... or if I should even do so. Trying to figure out just where my own emotions and feelings for him stood." now she was rambling, everything coming out in a rush of words.

"I waited too long. So long that he sent a message telling me goodbye. And it was only then, only when I was losing him that I realized exactly how I felt. But that time I left him without a word, without a response... I know that hurt him. The same with how I avoided discussing just what did it mean with him being a Sith, being an Acolyte... and Ace when I saw him last during the Kaggath... he was completely utterly wrecked. So much had happened to him. The death of his father on Ukatis, how he felt abandoned by so many, how he told me I was the one thing that seemed to tether him but then everything just seemed to crumble away..." that knot in her throat grew, and then it felt harder to continue.

"I lost him Ace. And it was my fault. My indecisions. My lack of taking action when it mattered most. And now.... now that friendship is just.... gone. How could I ever face him again? All this time, with everything that he must have gone through... and now... if you are saying he is the what is being determined as the goal for others in the Sith Covenant to aspire to... I fear all the more for you. For if that is the case, whatever deeds he is chosing to do, to conduct for himself, to willingly cause harm to others... means he isn't the Lysander I knew at all."

Sibylla swiveled her head to look at Ace, real fear and worry in her eyes.

"It means he is willingly choosing that path. Intention in every decision. In every conduct. And once it is easy to do so, to numb oneself to that sort of path, it only gets easier; one makes it seem as if it is not any worse than what one has done before. That is not the sort of path I want for you Ace. I know now that the Darkside corrupts, and continues to. I know more now than I did then. And I refuse to lose you to that."

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Rishi - Tracyn Island

Equipment:
Acolyte Robes| Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

Ace watched. Listened. To how her words tangled, how her voice wavered. The truth finally landed between them like a wound she'd kept wrapped too long. And when she finished, he didn't speak right away. He simply stared ahead, thinking, contemplating, how to find the right words.

Then he shifted, just enough to face her fully, forearms resting against his knees, gaze locked on hers.

"Bylla." He said quietly. "You didn't push him into the dark. You hesitated. You were scared. You tried to understand something before naming it." His jaw tightened, just a fraction. "That's not cruelty. That's being human."

He exhaled slowly, steadying himself as much as her.

"What he chose after that… what he did with his pain?" Ace shook his head once. "That part belongs to him. Not you. You've got to stop taking the heat for other people's decisions."

But then her fear hit him, about him potentially following the same path as Lysander. He didn't dismiss or downplay it.

"But you're right about one thing." He admitted. "Intent matters. Choice matters. And yeah… once you start numbing yourself, it gets easier to keep doing it."

His eyes drifted for a moment. He had done the same thing on Nar Shaddaa. Numbing himself. Promising to deal with it later. But it kept being just... later.

"That's why I'm not pretending this is harmless. And I'm not pretending I'm immune."

He paused, eyes settling on hers again.

"Like I said... I've already felt what it's like to cross a line and hate myself for it. I don't ever want to live there again." Ace went on. "If I start slipping… you'll see it. And I'll listen."

It wasn't a boast, it was a line drawn with full awareness of how hard it would be to hold. But he truly believed he could. After letting what he said settle, Ace said one last thing.

"You aren't going to lose me."

Sibylla Abrantes​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

T R A Y C N * I S L A N D
R I S H I
Acier Moonbound

Sibylla did not look away when he said her name.

She stayed where she was, knees drawn close, arms wrapped around them as if holding herself together while his words found the places she had kept carefully sealed. When he spoke of hesitation, of fear, of being human, something in her finally gave way, but not into tears, but into a quiet, aching relief that loosened her chest.

She swallowed once then did her best to try and collect herself.

"I have told myself that," she said softly. "That hesitation is not cruelty. That trying to understand is not the same as abandoning someone." Her voice held, even as her eyes shone. "But when the ending is what it was, it becomes very easy to forget....and the heart clashes with the mind when there is already so many doubts and confusions racing through it to begin with."

Sibylla gave another sigh, the warm puff of breath blowing from her lips as she set her chin on top of her knees, thinking back and going over all the past conversations.

"What he chose after that does belong to him..." she continued, more certain now. "... it just takes time to reconcile with it. And the fact that I am no longer in his life...knowing that perhaps he may not want to hear from me."

Which only revealed just why her concerns were filling her regarding this path Ace was taking. So when Ace also confirmed the danger of numbing oneself and that yes, he was also not immune to it, she believed him.

That is why she wanted to place so much emphasis on it.

"Which is why I am grateful that you can see it for what it is," Sibylla said quietly. "That you are not pretending this is harmless and you are looking it in the eye. No one is immune to it. Not you, not me, not anyone. It is why we need to remain vigilant..."

She shifted then, uncurling from her position as she turned toward him so they faced one another fully. The wind gently stirred her braids as the sea beyond them breathed in slow, endless rhythm.

"And if you start to slip," she said, firm and gentle all at once, "I will tell you. I will call you out on it. Even if you become upset at me, or get angry, or tell me to leave. Only this time I will not leave, Ace. I will not let you slip beyond when I can see it is affecting you."

And while he told her that she would not lose him, Sibylla needed to hear it one more time. To make it absolutely clear.

"You have to promise me... promise me that you will stop, you will get out, regardless of where you are at with this investigation, if I see that it has taken hold of you, even if you are unable to see it."

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Rishi - Tracyn Island

Equipment:
Acolyte Robes| Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

The way Sibylla spoke. It wasn't fear talking, it was someone who had already learned what it cost to walk away too late, and who had decided she would never do that again. He understood that.

Ace felt it in the quiet places, the ones he didn't usually linger in. The part of him that remembered Dathomir. The moment on Nar Shaddaa where he'd told himself later and meant never. The thin line between vigilance and justification, and how easy it was to convince yourself you were still standing on the right side.

It dawned on him, she wasn't asking to save him. She was asking him not to make her watch him disappear into darkness. When she made him promise, he didn't answer, because he understood the weight of it.

He held her gaze and let the weight of what she'd said settle where it needed to.

"…Okay." He said quietly.

He leaned forward slightly, forearms braced against his knees, grounding himself before looking back at her.

"I won't make you fight me for it." He added. "And I won't tell myself I know better if you're showing me that I'm changing. Changed. I'll... I'll walk."

That wasn't easy to say. It showed in the way his fingers flexed once, then stilled.

"But until it gets to that point… I need you to trust that I know where the line is. And that I remember exactly what it felt like to cross it."

He straightened slightly, resolve settling back into place.

"You won't have to chase me down." Ace said. "I promise."

He believed it, the way he always did before finding out what it would cost.

Sibylla Abrantes​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

T R A Y C N * I S L A N D
R I S H I
Acier Moonbound

Sibylla took a breath, held it, then quietly but firmly replied.

"Good."

The word carried more weight than its simplicity suggested. Trust was never given lightly by her, but she placed it with care now, faith settling where fear had once lingered. And while only Shiraya knew how things would work out, Sibylla placed her faith in Ace that he would keep his word. She reached for his hand, taking it into her own as her thumb brushed over his knuckles and in the next instant uttered a prayer to Shiraya.

"May Shiraya's light guide you, Acier Moonbound, wherever you walk and wherever your path may lead. May her moon be your compass through every obstacle and shadow you must face. And when the night grows darkest, may you remember that even unseen, her light endures -- watching, steady, and ever present."

Her grip tightened, the prayer still lingering in the air as she pulled him into her without hesitation, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight.

She did not know what awaited him, nor the trials he would face. But she knew this with unwavering clarity -- he would not walk it alone.

And neither would she leave him behind.