but somewhere here in between the city walls of dyin' dreams

Maybe the reason he kept returning here so often was that he was waiting—not for the end of the world, or wonders or apologies, but for someone familiar to return. Maybe the real reason his eyes scanned the shadows, and his ears pricked with every sound, was because he was straining to catch a glimpse of all the lost pieces of his heart.

It was, after all, the Threshold—where life began anew, where the foundations of empires were laid, and dreams realized.

But some things would never happen. Some miracles would never be anything but stories, hopes and vain dreams, lost in the hearts of mortal men. And still, mortal men hoped, and dreamed, and something in his heart ached as the shadows were nothing but shadows; lifeless and empty.

Psyche would never again step out of them, as sudden and wondrous as she had always been—Psyche had burned on the island of the gods. And Kahlua.. His heart stumbled in his chest. Was this how she had felt, when he had been gone for such long stretches of times?

Had she even missed him at all? Did he read too much into it?

Was his memory skewered by his hopes?

And yet he can't forget the feeling of their sides pressed together—

It had been but a second that he had stared into the shadows, nothing but a moment's thoughtfulness, and then he simply blinked, once, and let his eyes return to his present company. There was no need to get lost in the winding pathways of his own mind, not here and not now—there was a time and a place for everything, so he nudged the door into his heart shut.

Calista had stepped forward slightly, to let the early morning light wash down over her like a cloak of gilt water. She seemed to bloom in it, as if she stretched towards the heavens to show off all of her to him. He swallowed the unease. It didn't have to mean anything. It didn't have to mean anything at all, maybe she simply had wanted a better view of who was approaching, to stand at the ready in case he was some nutcase madman who liked to spear strangers through the heart or eat their livers or—

He drew in a deep breath, eyes and face level, betraying nothing of the way his heart had thundered into uneven motion. Please, he thought mutely.

He caught the nod Eden sent his way, and he returned it gracefully.

“Mauja. It is a pleasure to meet you.” "Pleasure's mine," he replied easily, smoothly, nodding to her as well; swallowing his fear, his anxiety, crushing the mad rush of thoughts mercilessly. “I did not cross these borders seeking a home, but the idea is growing on me. What does your World's Edge have to offer?” It was the eternal question, and he never really knew what to say. What did it have to offer, indeed? A King who preferred to be called Queen, a long walk off a short pier, deep fog, a crazy, murderous bitch of a Goddess, and good grazing, he supposed.

But he wouldn't say any of that as bluntly—if she came with him, she would find the truth out sooner or later. So instead, he simply smiled, dark lips curving in a slightly lopsided fashion. "Aside from easy access to a chorus of sea gulls to serenade you? Well... A home—a family. The ability to reach for your dreams, whether that is to walk the path of a warrior, a healer, a craftsman or a priestess. Support in your endeavors. Friends." His shoulders rose in a slight shrug; Diego merely blinked as his perch shifted beneath him. What did a home normally have to offer, aside from that? The Aurora Basin was more ..scenic, and even though Mauja was very fond of his home, it went against his nature to try to sell himself and it. He would rather just say 'see for yourself' and see how things fell out.

"You could always come visit, meet a few of them, before you make up your mind," he added as an afterthought.

[ @Eden @Calista ]

man, I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same