The way you said I love you, before we jump.
They didn't have time.
The Sratha Din and every inch of this unfolding disaster awaited them, Quinlan's heart beat a bruise against his ribs, and even though he and Dakkan had long found shelter, he still felt as though as they were running. They might as well have been. No one would escape this unscathed, Quinlan thought.
He felt a nauseous ache in his chest when the delegation stopped discussing their options. The oncoming storm rested below the horizon in all its dark glory, and no matter how many elegant words everyone strung together, the sentences were only fragile strings holding back reality a little longer: we are going to war.
Dakkan removed his hands from where he leaned on the table and stood. Quinlan had kept watch on his best friend from the corner of his eye while he could. The debate had escalated quickly, and as a captain, he'd been swept into it. Now, with the most grueling decision made and the meeting over, no one pressed attention on him any longer. Quinlan followed Dakkan out the door and into the hall.
They stopped for fresh air beside one of the windows.
"Well, this is a mess."
Dakkan scrutinized the sunset outside. Looking at the world cautiously became easier when they didn't know if each sunset was their last, Quinlan said. He hesitated. Dakkan's face looked older in the fading light. He resembled the same father that the Sunsgrove council had told him to give up on.
"Dakkan?"
"Hmm?" Dakkan looked up.
We'll find him. The words didn't emerge. "What do you think will happen from here?"
"I don't know, Quin. I wish I did."
Quinlan laid a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever happens, I have your back, for what that's worth." He tried to inject humor into his voice. It sounded wilted and forced, but it was something.
Dakkan seemed to hear something else. His face changed, and a spark returned his eyes, even if it departed in seconds. He clapped Quin on his shoulder, and left his hand there.
"It means a lot," he said. "Thanks, Quin. And I have yours."
The future was dazzling in its darkness, and the horrible unknown in it–and the potential for sacrifices, and regret and responsibility that crushed Dakkan and Quinlan beneath them–but at least there was this.
Dakkan squeezed his shoulder. Love you. He inhaled before dropping his fingers from Quinlan's arm.
"Let's do this."