Tally had meant to go after their confrontation, she was feeling vulnerable and raw from her feelings being known to Sarah and yet Sarah hadn't said a thing about them. But Sarah was hurt and for some reason not completely healing and Tally's love for her wouldn't let her leave her there all alone.
So here they were, Tally sitting against the headboard of her bed, and Sarah wrapped around her like she was her life preserver. Tally saw the pain and need in her eyes, she hadn't needed to say anything she just knew. The redhead would give her anything she wanted.
Tally ran her hand through her hair to give her some sort of comfort and she herself soon fell asleep after that. That day's classes were completely forgotten. When next she woke it was actually the next day and this time it was Sarah sitting up against the headboard running her fingers through Tally's hair.
"You're awake. I'm sorry you missed all your classes yesterday."
Tally's eyes went wide, "Wait, I slept like the whole day?"
Alder smiled and removed her hand from Tally's hair, "It appears being close to you has aided in the healing of my wounds for some reason. So one would assume that perhaps you needed extra sleep because of that. I'm not sure why or how it happened but I'm feeling better already. And these…" Alder ran a finger along the fading scratch marks across her cheek, "...are almost all healed up."
Tally sat up and cautiously ran a finger over the marks on her cheek, "You protected me, even after what I did to you. Why?"
Sarah took the hand from her cheek and held it in her own, "I have spent too long a life for me to not forgive your actions. You merely did what I told you to do. To never stop searching for the truth. You helped lift a burden off my shoulders. I may not be the general but I will always fight for witchkind. That hasn't changed. And you Tally, I would never let harm come to you. Even after we fought each other. I regret not standing up to the president. I've been a chained dog to the government my whole life, simply to keep witches safe. It's been my weight to carry and all the sins that come with it. You reminded me of my humanity. So you are forgiven. If only you can forgive me as well."
The Knower simply nodded, wiping away her tears, "I'll always forgive you. I'm sorry for adding to your suffering," Tally flung herself into the older woman's arms and wept for her.
Sarah smiled and silently wept too as she held Tally close and remembered what it was like to feel the warmth of another. Like real warmth. The warmth that came from love. She'd forgotten what that felt like too.
"Tally, about earlier. I've never...well, do you think you could be a bit patient with me. I'm not an easy person to love and I don't know if I can show how I feel properly. I think I might feel the same way you do too. I haven't allowed myself…." Sarah was cut off by Tally's lips brushing against hers. A patient and chaste kiss.
Tally pulled back to hold her face in her hands, "You have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. I've seen it, that deep down you love with every fiber of your being. But if you didn't allow some control over what you feel then it'd swallow you whole. I get that now. Your heart isn't black. It's broken, Sarah. And I'll help you anyway I can to mend it."
Sarah kissed her this time, like a promise, like a need. But soon they were interrupted by a knock on the door and they hesitantly pulled apart and rested their foreheads against each other.
Sarah pulled away and stood, wincing slightly and the almost healed bruises on her body, at least it didn't feel like her ribs were broken anymore. She flung her jacket on and opened the door. Devon stood there and silently said something to her which Tally couldn't hear. Tally could sense something from her, their connection was coming back it seemed. Somehow, there were so many questions Tally had.
She was sure Sarah had them too.
Suddenly Sarah was out the door, she didn't have to go far because there were all her biddies in the hallway. Tally found herself throwing her jacket on and joining the commotion in the hall. There was one of Sarah's biddies or at least she had been one of them, she now looked the age she'd normally be now if she hadn't become a biddy.
Sarah came up to her shocked with trembling hands. She grabbed the girl's face and searched her eyes as if she might find an answer there, "But how? I don't even feel your absence, this isn't possible. Yet you're not there anymore."
The girl cried from a mixture of emotions, happiness, sadness, uncertainty. It had been an honor for her to have served as Sarah Alder's biddy, and would have proudly followed her till the end of her days. But here she was no longer connected and yet neither of them were experiencing any ill effects of the loss of this connection.
Not like Tally had. She realized that now. What they had would always be special. And Tally smiled warmly at them and Sarah turned to her.
"I feel you. It's light but it's there. How am I suddenly feeling you?"
Tally blushed, "I don't know? There were moments I thought I felt you too. But it wasn't till this morning that I realized I was starting to feel things a bit stronger from you. Maybe that's why my feet took me here despite me not knowing you were actually here. I took the potion Izadora gave me, I swear."
"It's okay, Tally, I believe you. I'll have Izadora look into this," Sarah walked up to her and took her face in her hands and pressed their foreheads together, "I think I quite like feeling you."
Tally blushed again at the way she spoke the words and how all the eyes in the room were on them. When they finally pulled apart Sarah took a breath like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Grasping Tally's hands in her own she smiled at her brightly, "You should go to your classes. I'm sure your unit is worried about you. I will go speak with Izadora and see what she comes up with. Come find me later if you want to. I have more to tell you."
Tally nodded and leaned up to press a kiss to the healing scratches on her cheek, "I'll find you, I always do."
When Tally made it back to her dorm she was bombarded by Raelle and Abigail who for starters had been worried sick but then were angry because they had to cover for Tally through all of their classes the day before.
"Why didn't you say anything, Tally?" Raelle sat next to her on her bed.
"Well, after I found her and we talked I kind of fell asleep. We both did. I didn't wake up until this morning." Tally wrung her hands out in front of her, nervous about this whole conversation.
"You seriously slept for almost 24 hours!? How is that even possible?" Abigail glared at her from her own bed.
"I don't know where to begin but I guess I'll give you the rundown of everything."
Tally explained to them about Alder being a werewolf and the sudden loss of a biddy and their new found connection and feelings. That somehow being close to each other healed the majority of Alder's injuries that weren't healing before and that's why she slept so long because it took so much out of her.
"Whoa, whoa, hold up, werewolves are a thing? I thought that was just a myth?" Abigail raised an eyebrow at her and crossed her arms across her chest.
Tally let out an exasperated laugh, "Oh, she's definitely one. I'm not exactly sure how long she's been one but she saved me the other night from another wolf."
Raelle placed her hand on Tally's shoulder to reassure her that they were there for her despite everything, "Well, things should be even more interesting from now on. I'm just glad you guys worked your shit out. But let's go get something to eat and get to class."
Tally did as she was supposed, ate her food and attended her classes and training. After dinner she explained to the girls how she was going to go find Alder and see what Izadora came up with. She promised she'd be okay and if she didn't come back then it was probably because she fell asleep again. Raelle joking about her sleeping with Alder and how they probably wouldn't even see her anymore.
Tally didn't say anything, she just blushed and left the two of them to laugh their asses off. Tally closed her eyes and took a deep breath and tried to sense where Sarah was. Surprisingly her feet took her back to that meadow, it wasn't even a full moon out.
There was Sarah standing at the edge of the pond, the moonlight and stars blanketing her like she came from the moon itself, like she was the goddess Artemis.
"Is it safe to be out here tonight?"
Sarah turned and smiled, "For now it is. I just wanted to explain everything to you. You see we thought werewolves had become just a myth. They roamed these lands at one point but soon became extinct or so we thought. The Camarilla we discovered had been experimenting with the DNA of descendants of werewolves. They recently changed one of their own into one. We managed to find the lab they were doing this in and we took a sample and destroyed the rest. I offered to be a test subject for it to lure the other wolf out. We are unable to change anyone else into wolves for some reason. So for now it should be just the two of us. He's been hunting out there trying to get into Fort Salem. And I've been trying to fend him off."
"Wait, why haven't any other witches been out there fighting? Why'd you have to let yourself get changed into a wolf?"
"We thought that if he sensed me, another werewolf, it'd lure him out. We've been playing a game of cat and mouse lately."
Tally looked down at her hands and then back at her, "Does it hurt you to transform?"
"It depends, I can change at will if I want and it doesn't hurt. But when I don't want to, when I resist, like during the full moon where I am forced to transform. Then yes it does hurt, very much. And if I stayed transformed for too long outside of a full moon there's a possibility I might not be able to change back, the wolf could take over. Many back in the day lost themselves to their wolves and lived out the rest of their days as wolves, no memory of who they once were."
Tally had tears in her eyes, "Could you transform right now?"
"Do you want me to?"
Tally nodded, "But you don't have to if you don't want to."
Sarah took her coat off and handed it to Tally before she closed her eyes and concentrated before there was a flash of light and a pile of clothes on the ground and a black wolf standing on them.
Tally grasped her jacket to her chest and just looked at her, tilting her head as Sarah sat and tilted her head too. Tally was overcome by that anger and sadness again, she couldn't contain it this time, "Sarah, you're such a noble idiot. I can't believe you're doing all this. Getting yourself hurt. Letting yourself be turned into a werewolf. Why do you have to sacrifice so much for everyone?"
Sarah's ears flattened against her head and she whined and looked at Tally with such sad eyes that Tally found herself kneeling before her and wrapping her in a hug. Soon after Sarah transformed back into herself, albeit naked but she didn't stop hugging Tally.
"I'm sorry, Tally, I don't know any other way to be. If I can do something to save witchkind I'll do it. I won't always have to be like this. Only until we take this wolf out."
Tally blushed at her sudden nakedness and kept her eyes upward as she wrapped Sarah's jacket around her, "You mean there's a way to cure lycanthrope?"
"Yes, it isn't easy but it can be done," Sarah stood and Tally quickly stood in the other direction to allow Sarah privacy as she changed back into her clothes, "I promise, I won't always have to suffer." A hand came down on Tally's shoulder and she turned to look up at the older woman fully dressed, "If my suffering makes you suffer then I will do everything I can to make you happy. I may be fighting for witchkind but I have you to fight for now too."
Tally reached up and pulled her into a kiss that took their breaths away, "Don't do it just for me, Sarah, fight for yourself too. It's okay to be selfish and greedy. It's okay to want something for yourself and just yourself."
"Would you like to stay with me one more night? You don't have to of course. I'm sure your unit knows everything by now and are less than thrilled about you spending time with me."
Ducking her head at being found out Tally nodded, "I'd love to stay another night. And don't worry about them, they're just worried for me. Especially since we don't exactly have the greatest track record."
Sarah nodded and reached her hand out for Tally to grasp as they made their way back hand in hand, "Izadora should have some information for us tomorrow. But for tonight let's just sleep."
Tally nodded and hugged her arm close to her as they walked back to the comfort of her little room with the promise of sleep.