Moonspear So tell me how to do it; tell me how to love like that.

Glaukos had meant to return to Mereo; that was his intention, after the gathering and after his run-in with Avicus. He had proclaimed to her that he was not loyal to the moonwoman — and he had every intention of following his duty all the way back to the barracks, to give his report, to give over the flowers, and let things play out the way they were meant to. He knew it was not his place to make this choice; he had taken vows, he had no right to anything. Perhaps it was @Avicus’ influence that drew him back towards the mountain — maybe it was the promise of something different from @Sialuk, but even of that Glaukos could not be certain.

He had kept the flowers carefully hidden and well tended. They were beginning to dry out regardless; they weren’t as pristine as when Sialuk had first offered them. If he had departed when he’d intended, and gone the right direction, he would have brought them to @Germanicus and nothing would have been amiss. He had missed that window, though. He had been waylaid by something wordless, and drawn to the shadow of the mountain.

The scent of Sialuk was stronger the higher he climbed. The flowers clutched carefully in his teeth, tired though they appeared; he did not look anywhere but forward, even as more scents began to gather.