Vanyel finds himself sniffling as well, but manages to lift his head and look over at Cam. "Could you, er, make Savil a blanket or something?" 

Savil is still standing awkwardly a few paces back from Vanyel, and shivering hard in her soaked Whites. 

"Oh - yeah, of course -" Cam tosses Savil a blanket.

She catches it without looking at him, wraps herself up. 

Andy casts one last miserable look at the body on the ground. (There was plenty of oxygen in the bloodstream when he stopped making Vanyel's corpse breathe, and the heart is still sort of beating, it's incredibly distressing to watch and he probably shouldn't but he can't stop himself.) 

"Should we, er, go insi–" 

This is the point at which Yfandes gallops in from the path, hooves flinging mud everywhere, and skids to a stop right before she would have collided with Cam. 

There's Vanyel, as she remembers him - well, mostly, except for the part where he's soaking wet, lying on the riverbank, and...dead. There's nothing there.

And - it's not him. Because a few yards away, standing with his - what - with his wings wrapped around Shavri - is also Vanyel. Except this Vanyel looks younger? Not quite as young as he was when she Chose him, he's clearly an adult, but his hair is still jet-black, his face unlined. For some reason he's also shirtless. He doesn't look cold or bedraggled, though, despite the rain. His wings are black and glossy and...fine, very stylish. 

She's missed Vanyel's vanity, she finds herself thinking. She teased him for it, but it upset her, when the war ground all of that down into dust... 

She doesn't know what to say. She's forgotten how to move. 

Vanyel hasn't forgotten. 

He gently disentangles himself from Shavri, and takes a step forward. "You - came back. I'm so sorry -" 

:Seriously? You're sorry? Love, I don't– I left, I ran away from you - I made a promise and I broke it - I, just, I gave up my right to be angry with you for how you reacted to that: 

"I mean, yes, you - hurt me a lot. But stealing all of Andy's drugs and throwing myself in the river about it was still...pretty disproportionate." 

Shavri is not going to laugh she's not she's not she's not, it would be so rude to Vanyel–

Yfandes lets her head hang down, muzzle almost touching the mud. 

:How are you doing now?: she asks eventually, hesitant. 

"Really confused! Sick and tired of gods! I'm not sure which of the Star-Eyed or the Shadow-Lover's god I want to kick across an ocean, but at least one of them and maybe both!" Vanyel shakes his head, shrugs helplessly. "I'm...all right. I think. I guess I'll see. Are you -?" 

:...I don't know. Nothing makes sense right now. But I - I want you back and I want to never ever leave you again. Just...: She hangs her head even lower. :Do you want me back? Because - as far as I can tell, you're not bonded to me right now. And...I would understand. If you couldn't forgive me for breaking the most important promise I ever made - if you're not willing to trust me again...: 

She sounds intensely miserable about it. But her mindvoice doesn't falter. 

For almost fifteen seconds, all Vanyel can manage is blinking stupidly at her. 

:- Are you crazy?: he squeezes out finally, in Mindspeech because his throat is not currently allowing him to talk. 

:I mean, probably. Clearly: 

They look at each other in silence for a long time, oblivious to everyone else around them.

:Yfandes: Vanyel sends finally. :Of course I want you back. I love you. I know it - wasn't really your fault, that you ran away - it's just the damned gods. Everything is really confusing and hard and I need you. I can't do this on my own: 

:- Really? Are you sure?: 

:Damn it, yes! I'm bloody well sure!: 

And then Vanyel starts laughing, not because it's funny - actually it is a little funny, just the sheer absurdity of the image they must be making, standing in the rain staring at each other right next to his former mortal shell. And suddenly he's stepping forward and his arms are around Yfandes' neck, he's laughing and crying at the same time and she's nosing at his face and blowing into his hair, and - 

:I missed you, love, I missed you so so so much - my Chosen - never leaving again -: 

Awwww. 

Shavri collects herself, and looks over at Cam. "Should we, er, go inside? We're all getting really wet. And - I don't know where Randi went but he must have a LOT of questions." 

"- Randi should do a summoning. Actually, everybody important should do a summoning and then we should follow up with the less important people."

"Right. Of course. I should've thought of that right away." Shavri turns. "Taver. Where's Randi. And the rest of the senior circle too - Cam, we should do Tran, he's - well, if anyone other than Van is at risk of throwing themselves in the river over this whole mess, it'd be him." 

A second later she feels terrible about saying that out loud, but she can't bring herself to care much. She's so tired. 

:Randi and Keiran are at the House of Healing. They went there to wait when it seemed we might be bringing Vanyel there: 

"Then let's go." Shavri starts walking. Looks back. "You guys coming?" 

"I think Yfandes and I could use a minute."