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The stars tonight were beautiful, Ophilia thought as she laid her hand on H'aanit's hair. H'aanit had fallen asleep with her head in Ophilia's lap, and the peaceful expression upon her face warmed Ophilia's heart. On her way to Saintsbridge, she had stopped in the Woodlands to see H'aanit, and joy had filled her when H'aanit offered to accompany her.
Linde curled around the two of them, her tail resting across H'aanit's legs. Though they often exchanged letters, actually traveling with H'aanit like this again, even if only briefly, was a dream come true. Lianna sometimes teased her about her newfound wanderlust, and Lianna's smile had grown more sincere in the months since Mattias' defeat.
Ophilia inhaled a deep breath, tasting the crisp night air. She and H'aanit had reached the Riverlands, and here the stars seemed clearer. At first she had given the stars themselves little thought, but in the early days of their journeys together, H'aanit had taught her how to navigate by the stars. She smiled; she was always grateful that H'aanit had been the first companion she met on her quest for the Kindling. How little she had known in those days.
Without H'aanit and her other companions, would she have been able to complete the Kindling? To save Lianna? To defeat Galdera and end the Obsidians' reign of terror once and for all? Thus she whispered a prayer to the Sacred Flame as thanks for guiding her first to H'aanit.
H'aanit stirred and opened her eyes. "Ophilia," she said in that careful, husky voice of hers, "canst thou not sleepen?"
"Hm, I suppose I do feel a little restless," Ophilia replied with a faint chuckle. "But the stars are calming."
"Hast thou grown fond of the stars?"
"Oh, certainly! On our journeys together, the stars were the one constant. Even now I keep noticing all the things you taught me about them. Back home in Flamesgrace, I've begun telling Lianna about some of the constellations that guided us, and I never realized how beautifully the stars twinkled against the snow—" Ophilia paused a moment, a deep blush rising to her cheeks. "Oh, please forgive me. I do not mean to ramble."
"Thou hast no need to apologize." H'aanit let out a laugh, a low, sweet sound. "'Tis a joy to sharen the stars with thee."
"A joy, you say." Carefully Ophilia stoked H'aanit's hair, and even through her gloves she could tell that hair was soft. "The stars are always there for us, whatever we may face. One could even think of them as a blessing."
H'aanit leaned more into Ophilia's touch, and lying in Ophilia's lap as she was, Ophilia couldn't help but notice how warm she was. "Thou hast quite the romantic heart," she said softly.
A smile tugged at Ophilia's lips; H'aanit truly was the most beautiful woman she knew. From her lap H'aanit stared up at her, carefully, warmly, and she curled strands of H'aanit's hair around her fingers. Beside them Linde yawned, and she too was a welcomed source of warmth. With her free hand Ophilia took H'aanit's, letting their fingers intertwine. "The stars are especially beautiful reflected in your eyes," she said, her voice equally quiet.
Again H'aanit chuckled. "Thou hast grown bolder as well."
With a giggle Ophilia pressed the back of H'aanit's hand to her lips. "Wherever the stars are, I want to be with you."
"'Tis a pleasant thing, traveling with thee again." H'aanit closed her eyes, and the faint smile upon her lips almost took Ophilia's breath away.
What the future held for the two of them, only the Sacred Flame knew. Under these stars, their paths had crossed, and even when this brief journey came to an end, they would find someday find each other again beneath these same stars. Of that much Ophilia was certain.