Like a ray of sunlight piercing the clouds, Solvi dashed through the underbrush without care or yielding. For a fraction of a moment he also thought they might collide, but where this Mother thought she was doing him a favor in stopping the little wood-sprite, he only lamented their distance.

She stood in front of him, out of breath and slightly disheveled, but no less radiant.

If I stayed perfectly safe, how else could I get an appointment? he teased with an ever-broadening grin, tail wagging gently in spite of his best efforts. How effortlessly she lit up the world around her, he thought as a dull ache bloomed in his chest - and how stark the contrast felt when she was gone.

She stepped forward as Alder's heart leapt into his throat.

... The tree? he asked dumbly. OH! Oh. Yeah, the tree. It's nothing, though, healing just fine on its own.

Wait.

Fuck.

But I mean, if you - wanted to look. To make sure.

He half-knelt to allow her a better field for inspection, kicking himself internally for almost missing another chance to breathe in Solvi's scent at such close proximity. Who knew when he'd be able to visit her again? It had to count. He had to drink in as much of her as he could hold, carry it back with him to Northfall and sleep with the warm light of her gaze always before his mind's eye -

Alder noticed the small glowing orbs rotating slowly around her form.

That was new, he thought.