"Anything I wrap myself around can't be seen, and I have a lot of arms. Well, sort of arms. Tentacles. Is that weird to say, I'm really bad at judging this." She didn't bring up the comparison of putting things in her mouth though so that's an improvement.

Tylendel doesn't think he can comment on what's weird anymore, he just died for almost a year, but whatever method of transportation will get them to a private familiar comfortable room where he can hold Vanyel for the next, oh, several weeks straight, will do fine. 

"Anybody who's attracted to girls, close your eyes," Lucy says, heading for the door, then once she's outside she pulls off her dress and is naked outdoors for barely a moment before her form blurs and shifts and disappears. 

Vanyel, still gripping Tylendel's hand firmly, heads for where he's pretty sure her big form is.

A white shape bursts toward them. Yfandes very briefly nuzzles Vanyel before prancing around. :Gala! It's so incredibly good to see you!: The two of them are both almost dancing in place with excitement. 

"...What, Van got Chosen?" Tylendel staggers a half-step back. "Why didn't you say anything - when - how - oh, gods, ashke, I am so proud of you, you've got no idea." He wraps his arms tightly around Vanyel again. 

"Oh! Yeah, that happened, her name is Yfandes and she's a sweetheart." 

"I can, um, tell you more things about it later..." :And I'm a Mindspeaker now!: he adds. Having Gifts feels a thousand times less like a burden and more like an exciting new, well, gift, now that he can unpack it for 'Lendel. "Let's get a ride back, though, first. It's actually really comfortable." 

Lucy gently--and slowly enough that Tylendel, who is not familiar with the process, can object at any time, lifts them onto her back and then cocoons them in snuggly soft boneless limbs. 

All right this is really strange, but Vanyel actually seems to like it, and...strange doesn't have to mean bad. Tylendel is pretty relaxed in the cozy grip of said soft boneless limbs by the time Lancir guides them off the path to a little secluded garden behind one of the buildings. 

And the glazed garden door. It's agonizingly familiar as soon as Vanyel glimpses it, and for a second it's too much and he wants to flee in the opposite direction, but – no, the terrifying thing isn't real, it was but it isn't anymore. The thing he couldn't look at or think about was that Tylendel was dead. The rest, vague formless days and nights of agony and panic and magic happening to him at random – well, Vanyel's most recent memories of this room aren't good, but he can bear it. And remember the other things that happened in this place, too, the ones that were wonderful. 

Lucy sets them down gently, then immediately shifts back into human form and pulls on her dress. 

Vanyel takes a tentative step. He glances back at Lucy. "...You can come in and see, if you want. This used to be my - our - bedroom. Before." He says it almost without faltering. 

"Sure." She gives him a quick hug. He looks like he could use it. 

It's a nice room! Lancir must have thought ahead enough to make sure that someone made it habitable again – it's been aired out, the bed made with fresh linens that still smell of some herb they were stored with. There's a fireplace, a bookshelf, lots of natural light from both the glass door and the big window above the bed. Tylendel seems to relax a little as his eyes recognize it–

But Vanyel doesn't. He freezes, goes rigid. 

"Ashke...?" Tylendel stops, uncertain. "Are you all right– gods! Were you...here...after I... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But - hey - Van, ashke, I'm here now. I'm here. I'm not going anyway, I promise, I–" He gives up on words doing any good whatsoever, and just hugs Vanyel as hard as he can. 

Lucy hugs him from the other side. 

Lancir waits for a while until Vanyel has stopped trembling. 

"All right," he says finally. "I have some things that I'd like to say to both of you – want to have a seat?" He gestures at the bed. "Van, would you like it if Lucy stayed for this?" He glances at her expression, to check if this seems all right with her, he's assuming it will though. 

Mute nod. 

She flashes Lancir a discreet thumbs-up. 

Lancir waits until the two of them are sitting, then drags over a chair from near the fireplace and sits as well. 

"I'm going to use my Mindhealing Gift," he says. "Just a tiny bit – I'm about to say some things I think are very important, and I want to help you both remember them." He waits for nods. "All right. You're together again. That's a wonderful thing for both of you, and - I want to remind you that it probably won't fix everything, not right away. You've both been through a lot. Tylendel – you died, that's a big thing, you came back months later and everything's different. Van's changed significantly when you weren't looking. It's still very fresh, you understandably feel awful about what happened, it's...going to be raw for you in a way that's less true for the rest of us. You went through a lot right when it all happened – even if it was only for seconds, from your perspective, you lost your Companion. You have her back but you still lost her. And all the rest that came before, still happened – to you, your lifebonded was kidnapped just candlemarks ago. That's a lot to process." 

He turns to Vanyel. "And you still went through almost a year without your lifebonded. You spent most of that time expecting it to be permanent. You went through one of the worst times of your life – pain, uncontrolled Gifts – without him. You've been trying so hard to scrape yourself back together, and you did really, really well, and now everything's different again, and change is hard even if it's for the better." 

Lancir folds his hands in his lap, licks his lips as he finds the next words. 

"What I'm saying," he adds finally, "is that you still have hard times ahead. Memories that aren't going to stop hurting just because they're in the past. Things you need to learn about each other, feelings to be resolved. Not every day will be a happy one, probably not for a while, and - and that doesn't mean that you don't love each other, you know? It certainly doesn't mean you're ungrateful for what Lucy did – right, Lucy?" 

"Well, of course!" 

Lancir smiles at her before looking back to the two boys. "Anyway. You're both almost certainly going to experience more pain, and that's all right. You'll come through it. I may be able to help a little, and you've got Savil and Lucy and your Companions and plenty of other good friends to lean on, but most importantly you have each other." 

(Vanyel is crying again; Tylendel hugs him, looking discomfited.)

Lancir's eyes turn to Lucy. "Lucy, you've had some wise things to say before. Anything helpful to add here?" 

"Putting people in a position where it's awkward to object to mind magic seems kinda sketchy."