A/N We have moved back in time, and are once again with Lark as she studies her magic, the night before she is to take vows as a Dedicate.
Every new town she went to, with her troupe, every new performer she worked with, every new audience... all of these were fresh beginnings. Especially in Lark's eyes, since she had never been the kind to hold onto the trials and tribulations of the past. This, though... this was something else entirely and Lark – even Lark of the new starts and wayward ways – didn't quite know what to think of it.
Because it could be so good, she thinks. Because she doesn't want to move on when this gets tarnished and boring and old. She doesn't want it to ever get that way. There is too much joy in her magic, too much peace in the temple, too many new friends she's coming to love. If something that feels this right can just go away, she isn't sure what she'll do next.
Taking a deep breath of the fresh night air, Lark looks out over the darkness of the ocean. She was making a life-changing choice in the morning, choosing to take her final vows or to walk away from the temple forever, and she needed time to think it all through. Winding Circle's walls were the perfect place to think, quiet and secluded and –
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, and Lark closes her eyes and smiles, thinking that she should have known. When your best friend was a seer of world renown, expecting not to be found in the midst of a crisis – even a mild one, of spirit – was beyond ridiculous.
"No," she answered, smiling up at him. "Too many thoughts tumbling around in here – " she tapped her head twice with a fingertip, "– to be able to relax. Niko," she turns as she addresses him, impulsively, "why did you never settle?"
Her first friend of her new life sighed and stepped forward to lean bony elbows against the crenellation.
"The easy answer, I suppose, was that I never did find a place that was worth more to me than all the mysteries the rest of the world held."
Lark thinks about the joy of travel, and understands. There was nothing more thrilling than the first day in a new city, surrounded by things you know nothing about, faced with the challenge of learning how to fit in, with the sureness that there would be weeks where you learned something new every single day. That was just with tumbling and everyday things... what would the knowledge be like with magic? Lark was sure she could stay in Winding Circle twenty years and not learn everything there was to know about magic. Out in the world...
But she thinks about that kind of life. Constantly on the move, years passing before old friends are seen again, missing out on home and hearth and... family? A pair of sharp brown eyes and a snarky smile flash in her mind's eye and she thinks she's not ready to leave. The mysteries of the world were enticing, but there were some things worth more to her. Adventures could be had at home.
To have a home, too, was something Lark hadn't enjoyed since she was a child. She was ready to be a house-bird... at least for a while.
At least, mostly.
Niko chuckled, and she looked up to find that he had been watching as she thought it all through, and no doubt knew the conclusion she had reached. "I think you will be the most excellent dedicate."
Lark smiled, shaking her head. "Maybe not the most excellent," she replied, injecting too much humility into her tone to be completely honest.
"Ah," Niko said. "Of course. Isas is also taking vows, isn't he? You will have to settle for second best."
They looked out over the ocean for a long, solemn moment before Lark cracked and had them both laughing.
As they giggled their way back into silence, Lark leaned on Niko, forcing him to straighten up and allow her room against his sharp angles. "I'll miss you, when you go away again," she said, knowing that to ask him to stay would be almost a betrayal. He would, for their friendship, but he wouldn't want to, and it made all the difference.
"And I'll miss you, too," he said, warmly. And he didn't offer, but she understood. She had precious things to build in her new life, and would eventually leave him behind, even if he stayed.
"One day, though... one day you'll find someone worth staying for," she said. Because it wasn't the place that was important, and they both knew it.
Niko sighed, but should have known better. If he always knew where to find a friend when they were having a crisis, she always knew what one meant when they gave a 'simple answer'.
"One day, perhaps I will," he agreed, softly.
Lark thought about starting fresh and smiled.
A/N I'm not sure what was going on here, but it was not intended to be romantic. They are friends, not partners, but they were awfully touchy-feely, weren't they? :P Review with your thoughts!