A/N Jumping ahead once more.
Have I still got you to be my open door? Have I still got you to be my sandy shore? Have I got you to cross my bridge in this storm? Have I still got you to keep me warm? Grey Room, Damien Rice.
Crane shivered as he finished the long walk back to his rooms. It had been a long day, and his weary mind drifted more than he had allowed it to in these recent months.
I will have to tend to the rest of the herbs tomorrow, he thought wearily, because they will not wait much longer, even in the greenhouse. Then I will be able to look over the papers Osprey needed me to sign. After that perhaps I can stop by Discipline and ask Rosethorn to –
He didn't get to finish the thought before he remembered that Rosethorn had left Winding Circle months ago, that she wasn't expected to return for years, that he was alone again and yet more alone than he had been since they were first introduced nearly two decades earlier. He had finally won her back, only to lose her again too soon, and the night seemed the colder for the lack of her.
The night was full of memories, but she was hundreds of miles away and he wrapped himself in his blankets and tried to keep himself warm.