Leana

#FTRP | #FTOC

[Leana @causticcoil]

@MageOfSteel — I’ve spent years searching for answers. I don’t think I’d forgive myself if I turned down the chance to hear them.”

With that, she fell into step beside him, matching his pace.

“I suppose we’ll have plenty to talk about.”

[Leana @causticcoil]

The pursuit had lasted longer than Leana had intended.

Not because Tristan was difficult to follow. Quite the opposite. More than once, she’d caught the subtle pauses in his stride, the brief glances over his shoulder that lingered just a heartbeat too long. Whether he had—

[Leana @causticcoil]

@MageOfSteel — actually known him carried far more weight than any rumor she’d chased. For the first time, the stories she’d grown up with no longer felt like stories at all.

Her gaze lifted back to Tristan, the curiosity in her eyes now accompanied by something else.

Hope

“I’d like that.—

[Leana @causticcoil]

@MageOfSteel — can't say."

She folded her arms loosely across her chest.

"I'm not here because I expect you to have every answer. I'm here because I think you may have pieces of the puzzle that I've spent my entire life missing, and maybe I have a few pieces you're missing, too."

[Leana @causticcoil]

@MageOfSteel — expression.

"But then I found you."

Her voice remained even, though the weight behind her words was unmistakable.

"Seeing you alive means there are parts of that story that don't add up. Whether my mother was mistaken or whether there's something she never knew herself, I —

[Leana @causticcoil]

@MageOfSteel — She shifted her weight slightly, the quiet clink of the chain at her hip breaking the silence. “But I have a feeling we’re chasing the same truth.”

“I think we could help each other.”

[Leana @causticcoil]

@MageOfSteel — the final piece of a puzzle.

“I know you’ve been looking into my father. . . and what happened to his guild.” Her expression remained unreadable. “I’ve been searching for the same answers.”

She folded her arms loosely across her chest.

“I don’t need your help, necessarily.”—

[Leana @causticcoil]

— you and actually introduced myself.”

Her head tilted ever so slightly.

“Leana.”

She offered nothing more. She simply watched him with quiet curiosity, waiting to see how the man she’d spent weeks tracking would respond.

[ @MageOfSteel ]

[Leana @causticcoil]

— walking the entire continent.”

The faintest hint of a smile crossed her face before disappearing just as quickly. Silence lingered between them, giving him every opportunity to acknowledge her presence before she spoke again.

“I figured it was about time I stopped following—

[Leana @causticcoil]

Drags @PrimalDisdain out of his hiding spot.

“I need to talk to you.”

[Leana @causticcoil]

“Hm. . .”