Bells.
The sound of bells ends our dance.
Bells.
Oh what a familiar sound those bells seem to be.

"I had feared mine soul caught by the fae, but instead I find mineself bound by an angel's dance." Anka is sure that the words are meant for her and brushing past my frozen state she goes to the hooves of the stallion I had so often told her about. Almost never intentionally. His name was one that had left too strong in an ache in my chest to venture as far as to speak it, or even to directly think it, in casual conversation with Anka. The otter learned of my storyteller through my emotions that I could never hide from her. Our souls were one and whenever I mourned the past she saw the memories that told why. Now my bonded stands in front of him happily chattering about what I assume to be her take on the compliment she thinks to belong to her.

Twice I had found Kvothe and twice I had lost him. Each time found he had brought me more joy than the last and with each loss he had taken more of me with him. I knew not if he would ever bring those pieces of myself back. I did not even know what the stallion was to me. Why was he so different from the others? Kvothe was not the only friend I had lost.

My movements are slow but not from fatigue as one might assume it to be because of. No, I feel as though I am moving in a dream. How many times had I dreamt of this moment? I turn to face the one I know to be standing there. Before I can finish my movement Anka sends me mental images of Kvothe. They are not ones from this moment; they are the ones from my own memories that she remembers.

Our meeting whenever I nearly crashed into him.
The day that Elodin hatched from an egg.
He and I laying together as he spun words into a story.
Kvothe and I working as a pair to warn of the Earth God's flood.

Each memory passes before my eyes and before Anka can finish showing them all to me I am embracing the one so controlled by his wanderlust. It is not memories that are before me right now. It is him. Anka looks at us knowingly. She had known what she was doing. The otter had broken me from whatever terrible spell that had kept me from doing what I did now sooner.

"My storyteller.." I tighten my embrace and I breathe in his scent. I make this moment a memory. "It has been so long this time," his other wanderings had not taken him for so long. "I did not think I would lay eyes on you again." Why had he been so long. I pull away from him to take in the full sight of before me. Was he okay? Had his ventures treated him well? For how long will you stay this time? I know better than to ask the question. It is better to not consider his leaving whilst he is still within reach and it is unlikely that even he is aware of what the answer may be.

Instead of asking I reminiscently touch my nose to one of his bells. "I wanted to hear these so badly while you were away." I wanted to hear your voice. I am glad that Anka cannot speak because she ceases her attempts at poking Elodin's antlers long enough to look at me slyly. My bonded had caught on to my previous contemplation of having a bell crafted in order to hear one once more. I never had it done because I knew that it would not ring out as warmly as Kvothe's. Any bell would be a cheap imitation of his that would only taunt me about his absence. Could the otter speak I am sure from the look in her eye that she would tell all.


@Kvothe I did not proof read, so if there are any mess ups just chalk them up to the excitement of Rei and I.