from dust she returned [magnus, sloene, any]

[magnus]

The sound of her voice was a joyful thing indeed, and he brightened at the babble—the noise a happy one as it ran over and through him. He listened attentively as they made their way down the Mountain and back to Tephra, making noises of confirmation or interjections as necessary to keep the conversation alive but mostly letting her carry it. He had heard plenty of his own voice over the years; it was nice to know that after years upon years of silence that she was finally able to have control over her own.

When they finally reached home, he grinned at her, reaching over to nudge her neck gently. “There is no need for you to thank me. I did what any friend would have been honored to do.” A small, kind smile as he looked her in the eye. “I am so happy for you, Aranea. You deserve to have your voice back. You deserve everything good that is coming for you. I am so grateful for your support over the years.”

At her request, he simply nodded, knowing that the grullo mare had come to mean a great deal to Aranea ever since she had followed her home to Tephra. So, despite the exhaustion that burrowed into the center of his bones, despite the fatigue that weighed his eyelids, he remained rooted to the spot.

He would stay, of course he would.

It was the least that he could do for her.

And then, when Sloene answered the call, when she arrived, he just gave her a smile. “It’s good to see you,” he said, stepping back and letting Aranea explain the situation—she had the voice to do it now.  

out of the blue out into the loneliest place that you'll ever know
I carried the world just as far as I could but the damage had taken its toll