Greetings from Neverland

2008. Settling in as having a HOME. Did I have time for the movies? Let's see.

Hmm. 7 films, none of which were seen in theater, and I am pretty sure none of them were seen in the year they came out.

~ Iron Man - bored and found it on TV, absolutely stunned that it was SO GOOD and I didn't want to punch RDJ.
~ The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - bought on DVD as soon as it came out, didn't watch right away. Very good.
~ Wanted - discount bin of DVDs purchase, wound up enjoying it.
~ Mamma Mia! - Logan introudced me to it after he moved here in 2017? I do love it though.
~ Babylon A.D. - Another cheap DVD purchase. It could have been more.
~ Appaloosa - I am not certain how I came to watch it, but I know I love it. It's Ed and Viggo!
~ Jumper - and another cheap DVD buy, but OMG, I loved it. Let's watch Anakin and Mace flip which side they are and have an adventure!

Letting Him Find His Way (15577 words) or read at SquidgeWorld Archive by Merfilly
Chapters: 4/4
Fandom: Forgotten Realms (Roleplaying Game), The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Drizzt Do'Urden/Alustriel Silverhand
Characters: Alustriel Silverhand, Drizzt Do'Urden, Ensemble, Original Characters
Additional Tags: Original Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Soul Bond, Developing Relationship, Age Difference, Eventual Relationships
Summary:

Alustriel first saw through his eyes when she was not yet ready for that. When she is, she knows she needs to let him find his way first.

Chapter One

Alustriel had only given herself over to sleep for Korvallen's sake. He was just returned to her, to the family, after decades of grief madness. Helping him had torn open her wounds, left her struggling to accept, all over again, that her life partner had left them both.

She did not want, or need, to be seeing another life, a connection that could exist! How could she open to that level of existence again, when her heart ached for the last? She turned her will against the sight of the stars over the needle pines of the Moonwood, holding tighter to the elf that trusted in her enough to truly sleep out his exhaustion. Korvallen was reminder enough of what was lost, and she clung to that as a shield from the intrusion in her dreams.

Korvallen shifted, reacting to her distress, and even though she was pulling up from sleep, she made herself be still, to hold him, and try not to think about the man that should be between them — or the intruder out there who could try and ensnare her heart once more.

---

Alustriel had been driven nearly to distraction by recent unrest in her region, spurred by yet another orc wave that had not been content to stay within their boundaries. She'd sent word to Sundabar -- only to have her messenger take up a ranger quest -- to warn them, but she had finally gotten the situation under control.

It had been Andy that handled negotiations to finally convince the remnants of the army to go home, up into the Spine of the World.

Now, certain she had advised, succored, and commanded the last thing needing her input, she was indulging in a long, hot soak. The weight lifting off of her led to a rare doze, secure where she was, for even if sleep was not a requirement, it was certainly a luxury to indulge when she could.

She almost -- almost! -- snapped fully awake on seeing the mottled, scarlet-skinned planar being in a dimly lit ... cavern? The creature was across from her perception, and her mind raced to place what it was, vaguely goblinoid and somewhat beastly in the maw.

A barghest of Gehenna? Then she was rushing it in her dream, and sliding under it, through its very legs! The point of view shifted to a close sight of the planar being --

-- and she snapped awake, silverfire already in her eyes and hair at the sheer level of determination that had been in the one she was seeing from. A moment, over a decade before, spilled back into her mind, and the first idle thought was surely she had indulged in sleep at least once in all those years. The second, more serious one, was that this potential connection might not survive this very night.

She had boxed her grief once more, had healed alongside Korvallen to keep it at a tolerable ache that only rarely intruded. Now, her innate curiosity and her need to do right by all the Realms demanded she find a way to embrace this new possibility, if he survived.

She hurried out of the bath, flicking the water off with a quick cantrip, and clothed herself in battle robes. Quick check of components, wands, and potions, then she cast a spell she had not needed in almost forty years, homing in on the one that was tied to her, to be something of note in her life... if the person was amenable.

The lingering darkness to one side was almost as much a surprise as seeing there were only two beings inside the cavern, the barghest and his foe, a drow. What strange occurrences her life led her to!

"Drop!" she called out, one word she had learned in Undercommon, as it was useful to be able to work with her sister and not tip their enemies off.

She didn't want to think on how quickly the drow moved to comply, or the fact she could hear further combat outside. If needed, she could always teleport back to her staff, if this proved to be a battle between evil beings. Her wand flicked out, and the planar was nothing more than a vague reek in the air a moment later.

The drow only spared her a brief glance, then threw himself -- painfully it seemed to her -- after his sword and raced out to the other combat sounds. She followed, a bit more cautiously, to see a second one of the barghests and a gigantic panther battling on the edge of the cliff.

"Guenhwyvar, go home!"

She did not understand what came after the name, an old elven word for 'shadow', but the panther disappearing in black mist and the barghest toppling over showed it was the correct tack to take. He did not stop, hurrying to see if the battle was done... and then he turned, watching her with naked blade and ... fear? weariness? ... in his gleaming purple eyes.

With no other threats visible she took him more fully in. A little tall for some drow males, built like the fighter he evidently was, ragged clothes and boots all but destroyed, bleeding but entirely too wary of her -- everything but the sword and boots looked as if it had been salvaged from surface dwellers -- made the picture of a drow not yet found by their goodly kin.

"Truce," she said, one more word her sister had drilled into her head. The word for 'peace' was all but unknown outside of her sister's people, but this would work to buy his attention.

"Your accent is terrible, and I am willing to believe you for the moment." His words were softly spoken, like one accustomed to how sound carried in the black stillness of the Underdark. She also couldn't understand him, and doubted that casting a spell his way would go well. He was not in an aggressive posture now, more one of curiosity, though he made no move to approach, or see to his injuries.

Right. She had to get him to trust enough to see to that, so she found the component she needed for the spell and cast on herself.

"Now I believe you should understand me better?" she asked.

"Magic. Useful." His tone managed to imply that magic wasn't always so.

"You are injured, the bodies stink, and I have a way to take us both to safety. You would be a free man, able to leave… but I really want you to let me aid you."

He tipped his head, unblinking as he regarded her, then he slowly nodded.

What was this, that she had not had to persuade him? What had he seen of her in his dreams? Was that why? Did he already know and understand the connection? Drow of evil cities usually did not speak of it from all she knew.

Well, he was bleeding. And alone. So she moved toward him before he could change his mind and flee, holding her hands out to him. He hesitated then, but secured the sword to his belt — wisely not sheathing it when it was filthy — and took both of them.

"Close your eyes, as the magic is disorienting. I will wait, when we get there, for you to steady."

He held tight at those words, and she thought he was beginning to turn gray with his injuries, so she swiftly reached for her staff, allowing it to bring her back to the palace, in her very own chambers even. She had not warned the staff, after all — how could she have?! — and he was a very filthy, hurt, drow.

She was glad he had such a tight grip and that she had more strength in her arms than she appeared to have. He nearly swooned, and she held him up, waiting, until he did finally seem stable and opened his eyes to look at her.

Not at her, she noted, not for more than a moment, but around him, something like knowledge in those fascinating eyes of his.

"You have seen this place in your dreams."

"Yes."

"Well. I am Alustriel."

"Drizzt."

She gave him a gentle smile before letting go of one hand and reaching into a pocket to fish out a potion. "This is a healing potion. You are terribly injured, even if you don't wish to admit it."

He let go with his other hand, taking the vial and, after inspecting the lid that spiraled down in grooves on the vial, twisted it open. His face indicated an appreciation of the method of closure, and she was mildly amused at how swiftly he'd figured it out. She'd had other friends that had passed it back for help.

He drank it all, watching her now, and shuddered all over as it set things to rights inside his body.

"That… didn't hurt."

Oh. OH! He had to mean being healed by evil clerics compared to her potion, and she nodded patiently.

"It should not. But. I think you were at odds in your nature with what you have known." She accepted the vial and lid back, putting them in the pocket until she could put it with her other empty ones for her next batch-making. "Next, I think, is to let you go soak and scrub in the bath. I will find clothing, and boots for you."

"Sword first," Drizzt said, and she knew for a fact he was a warrior first.

"I know a thing or two about cleaning weapons, so that can occupy my time. You need to get the blood off of you, out of your hair, so that you can be comfortable enough to eat and rest."

His jaw set for a moment, before his shoulders relaxed down and he moved back to get the sword off, looking for a safe place to lay it down. She swiftly found a spatter cloth she used on those rare occasions she had time to paint, and put that on a table for him. He inclined his head to her, setting the blade on it, adding a cloth and small vial with it.

"This way," she said, after, showing him to the extra-dimensional bath room. This made him gasp a bit, at the humidity and warmth of the room, as well as its spaciousness. "The water will clean itself." She gathered cloths, towels, a comb, soap, and a hair-washing solution for him. "This is for your skin, that is for your hair," she explained. "Take as much time as you wish; I need to arrange things to be free of duty for the day, as well as get you clothing."

He studied the items, then her, and he looked so torn by his wariness and his relief that she reached out, resting her hand on his upper arm.

"Drizzt. The dreams are only a suggestion of connection. Once you are rested, fed, and outfitted, you can leave, or you can stay. I make no claim on you, and the realms owe you for killing those planar invaders."

His eyes were shadowed at that last, and she wondered… but he gave her a nod and moved to begin undressing, which was her cue to leave.

The sword was her first concern, to show him a measure of her understanding his wishes. As she did that, she reached out to Taern by sending.

~My dear friend, I have had an interesting situation arise, and would appreciate you coordinating my schedule with my secretary. Handle, or reschedule today.~

~You rarely ask, and never lightly. I will handle everything I can, or delegate to the correct counselor.~

Really, she was so fortunate to have him as her right hand in all things! A cleaning cantrip got the filth removed, and then she applied the oil and cloth assiduously, fascinated by the construction of it. She measured, estimated the weight, and determined its balance point, before writing all of that down in a message. She would barter with a messenger later to take it to her son in the southern realms, where the style was more common.

That done, she slipped out of her room with a certain key in her pocket, smiling at the page.

"Be a dear while I run a quick errand, and go fetch up food for two, please? Simple foods, though, nothing rich."

"Yes, Lady," the girl said, knowing better than to question a second presence when she knew only her lady had gone inside.

"After, if you would, let my ladies in waiting know I am taking the day off, so they should enjoy themselves."

That got a nod, before the girl dashed off. Alustriel followed more sedately to the family hall, letting herself into the room that had been kept as it had been so long ago. Sharrevaliir had been much of a size with Drizzt, it seemed, so a set of his sturdier clothing, belts, and even boots would suit. Sharr, she knew, would approve of the items being used, not left to gather dust.

She arrived before the page returned, and set the clothing just inside the bathing room's door, before setting to getting the messenger for Ghael, mindful to request two, as the pair of sheathes were etched in her mind as a curious detail about Drizzt.

Now, all she had to do was convince her new friend to remain long enough for the delivery.

---

Alustriel watched Drizzt emerge and immediately look to his sword, making her busy herself with setting the food out for them to share. When he moved toward her, he was not wearing his weapon belt, marking another notch in the strangeness of this drow. He had even foregone the boots, though that might be a matter of the way they closed. Or, given he'd left the socks off, he truly enjoyed a chance to not be encumbered.

"The spell will not last much longer," she said by way of apology. "What languages do you speak?" If he only had Drow and Undercommon, she was going to have to be ready to cast that spell multiple times a day.

"Drow, Undercommon, some Svirfneblin, some Duergar, a few words of Abyssal," he said, wrinkling his nose at the last. "And, Goblin." That got a full look of distaste. The Abyssal was at least useful for banishing lesser creatures from there.

"Goblin will work for us both, then, once the spell ends." She gave him a rueful smile for that choice. "I only know a few words and phrases of Undercommon because of connections with the goodly drow community."

His eyes shot to her face, wide and making his hunger-pinched face look entirely too youthful for her comfort.

"Others… like me? Good like svirfneblin, not like other drow?"

She reached across the table, and he accepted her laying her hand on his. "Yes. Like you."

He closed his eyes, and breathed in a cadence not dissimilar to Korvallen, when that elder elf was processing heavy emotions.

"You already helped me more than any but Belwar, my best friend below. If I ask for directions to them, is that too much?"

Alustriel made quick calculations on what she knew of drow, of those who escaped, and how difficult it could be for them to accept that there would be no strings.

"I can make you a deal. Stay with me long enough to learn some Common, trading your Undercommon and tales of the svirfneblin you mentioned, and I will make certain you reach their community. That way, I gain, you gain, and they gain, but no one loses anything."

He weighed it a long moment, then nodded, turning his hand under hers to squeeze it in agreement. "Yes."

That should handily give Ghael time to deliver the swords, allow her to satisfy her curiosity on this drow that held a connection for her, as well as making certain that hunger was eradicated.

"For tonight, you will stay in my rooms, so I do not disturb my seneschal. After, you will have your own, and we'll work out further details as we go, hmm?"

"A fair bargain, yes."

---

Drizzt was asleep on the chaise, burrowed into the softest blanket she could find for him. He'd admitted, before the spell wore off, that he had seen this place, seen so many smiles aimed at her, and the magic all round was a comfort.

She had to file away that being out of magical environments could be almost as disconcerting to some drow as being weaponless.

Now, she was studying over her own notes from things Qilué had shared in passing, all memories as such was not to be written down where others could learn of that connection, when the enchanted anklet warmed and Dove started a conversation with them.

~Oh my sisters, and I suspect you most of all, Qi, which one of you was in the hills near Maldobar within the last day or two?~

~I am uncertain I could find such a place on a map, dear sister, let alone have been there,~ Qilué told them all.

~Your Ranger Quest involved a drow then?~ Alustriel responded once Qi was done.

~Aha! It seems our settled down sister will stir from her den for adventure still!~ the Simbul teased. ~Do tell us more,~ she added, to start another round.

~I was summoned to investigate a drow, yes, but before I arrived, a ghastly murder was wrongly laid at his hand,~ Dove explained.

~I had not yet gotten that part, but it explains why he was shadowed by emotion when I thanked him for dealing with the barghests.~ She considered, then continued in a more cautious tone. ~I believe him to be young, no more than a season on the surface, and there is a connection.~

~I am glad you found him, and apparently are aiding him,~ Qilué said to that, ~though I worry about that last. Drow males and powerful women, after all.~

~Alustriel well knows that, and has experience in these matters,~ Syluné said. ~Would you like for myself and Aumry to come, little sister, to help in his teaching?~

~As my best choices for a man would all be a problem almost as grave as my having power, yes please,~ Alustriel answered once the anklets had recharged for her to do so.

~Do please share all the details, while I figure out how to handle the locals,~ were Dove's final words on the matter.

---

Alustriel had walked with Natali, filling in for the seneschal as he was under the weather, and Drizzt to the rooms that would be his, the floor down from the family wing. Alustriel was more than certain now, given how adeptly Natali had handled the drow and lack of language that she would be the right choice when Trevor stepped down to retirement.

Now, watching Drizzt inspect the suite, his smiles at how the plumbing worked, and just his full curiosity on display, Alustriel wanted their language lessons to move swiftly. She had so many questions, but, knowing drow trust issues, she also knew most of them were not yet appropriate to ask. It was when he stopped at the table that had a few books set on it, the kind meant to help pass time for guests, that she saw a completely different kind of hunger in him.

He looked her way, probably for permission to touch the books, and when she nodded, he picked up the top one, opening it slowly and staring at it with a deep longing to understand.

"You read in your native language?" she asked, as they currently did have the spell to help him understand better.

"Both scripts," he answered her, turning pages slowly. "Will I… no, may I learn the written language to go with Common?"

"Yes, though the one you have is in Sylvan, I believe," she said, feeling another link in their connection forge solid.

"Common first," he said, almost under his breath, "then others."

"An admirable pursuit, Drizzt. Do you think the rooms will suit you? As I said earlier, my sister and her husband are coming, to help with language and custom, as we thought you might like having a masculine perspective too."

He flashed her that beautiful smile, and nodded. "I think it is more comfort than I have known in a very long time. I look forward to meeting them, and will do all I can to learn swiftly."

"You are more than welcome to take as long as you wish," Alustriel promised him. "As… I would like, in time, to know you better, so we can understand what connection this is between us."

"I wish that, Lady." He closed the book and set it down, then came to stand in front of her, looking up. "I… you aided me. Without reward. And while I long thought the dreams were another facet of the madness, I felt comforted by them, for how kindly the people always seemed to be with the person I could not see."

Madness. What… no, that was for later. He was certainly quite sane, very good-natured, and gentle, as she had witnessed when he encountered one of the palace terriers on the way here.

"Well, as we've already had quite a morning of lessons, and you would probably prefer sleeping at the height of the day, I will leave you to settle. I'll ensure an evening meal is brought, and see you tonight."

"Thank you."

He managed that in Common, and she smiled.

"You're welcome."

---

Alustriel watched the courtyard below, still amazed by the skill Drizzt put on display now that Aumry had won his trust for sparring. Even with blades that were nothing like he had known — Ghael had not yet procured a twin set — he consistently made Aumry stretch to merely defend himself.

And yet. Drizzt always seemed to know just when to break it off, to make the man rest and drink.

"Still fascinated?" Syluné asked, her voice merry even as she kept twining the cord she needed for a spell.

"How could I not be?" Alustriel focused on her needlework, for a few stitches. "What do you and Aumry think? It's been only a week and yet, he has more words than I would have expected."

"His ability to learn is that of a man in the desert who has found the oasis he needed," Syluné agreed. "Aumry says that he knows of few who could match Drizzt in a true contest of blade work."

"But what do you think of him, beyond that?" Alustriel wheedled, and knew it for doing so. "I am trying so very hard to keep a veneer of distance, so as not to put pressure on him, and he keeps responding with almost courtly manners to that."

Her sister laughed a little, and then answered, still smiling. "He's earnest. He truly wants to do well, and he knows his people's reputation is very horrid, understands that when he travels he will not find people reacting to him kindly. So he is pressing for as many lessons in language, plants, animals, and geography as he can. His desire to learn the world, to try and do something good with his freedom is very strong."

Alustriel barely kept the frown off her features, but she did not like the idea of him traveling. However, she was becoming certain her new connection was young and needed to experience the wider world, not be cosseted here in safety.

"I mean to take him to a band of Qi's people, once his language skills are good, and his new swords arrive," she said. "Hopefully that will aid him in discovering the ways to live on the surface without being haunted by those who will not let his deeds speak for him."

"A good plan, now that we've removed the interference on him."

"How did he handle his first sleep after that?" Alustriel questioned. "I did not want to pry, but one of you would have been with him right after."

Syluné sighed softly. "He was fragile. Very, very fragile and trying not to show it. Aumry noticed, and managed to get him to open up once we had the spell in place for full communication.

"The first dream you had of him, my sister, was likely when he first came above as part of a raiding party."

Alustriel's eyes shot to her elder sister in horror. "Oh…"

"That young man saved an elven child, and it cost him everything. I did not get details, but the Song was much like the elven song he'd heard that night, and it broke some of his shields around the trauma. Aumry told me that the goddess Herself appeared in Drizzt's dreams, and promised to find the child.

"I don't think Drizzt fully believes it will happen, but time will tell."

"I knew he was good, but for him to be able to resist the unholy blood thirst the drow fall under during those raids says something about him, I believe."

"Hmm. Between the interfering spell, that, and the fact he is pushed from within to be a protector? There are difficult roads ahead for this strange drow of yours."

"You may well be right."

---

Korvallen had been aware of the drow, Alustriel knew. Once some of the younger Knights had caught him and Aumry sparring, there had been a procession of partners for Drizzt. She had not known if Syluné had intercepted the elf and re-directed his temper, or if the man had just decided to ignore the drow, and avoid Alustriel herself.

So it was with great surprise that she found Kor in the courtyard that Drizzt used, the elder elf walking through a maneuver side-by-side with Drizzt, obviously teaching him. She slipped back from being seen, made sure of what she had seen, and then went to find Aumry or her sister.

They both were in the room that had been converted into a classroom for Drizzt, Aumry with a tunic to mend, and Syluné copying out a spell it looked like.

"I was going to invite Drizzt to see the city," she began, once they had both taken note of her.

Aumry chuckled. "Not today. Korvallen took the whole afternoon to give Drizzt pointers."

"How did this come about?" Alustriel asked.

"Kor showed up yesterday," Syluné began, smiling, "intent on seeing the threat for himself, because that nibling of his had waxed poetic about Drizzt. And apparently, watching Drizzt spar with Aumry while practicing new words with me was enough to put a dent in his righteous wrath."

"When Drizzt stepped back from me before I tired," Aumry picked up, "Korvallen stepped right in, and they hit a pace I could not even see completely, matching skill and speed. The boy is faster, but can't bring it fully to bear because your friend has so much more experience to use his skills with."

"I see." Alustriel wasn't certain how to feel about that. Pleased, yes, but there was a small point in her mind that stuck on Kor taking a century to warm up to her!

"He, my dear sister, is convinced Drizzt can't even be fifty, and I am beginning to concur with him," Syluné added. "You know how Kor is about children."

"Ahh, yes. Well, I'll just have to see that I clear a different afternoon to show him the city… as I don't want to get between Korvallen and such a welcome new relationship for him."

---

The way Drizzt and his astral panther were playing almost made Alustriel loathe to intrude. Her sister and Aumry had left the day before, and Korvallen was on patrol, but Ghael had come with the swords. She looked at her son, watching his face as he took in the game of tag in the courtyard, amused at the visible 'big damn cat' on his features.

Something must have given them away, because as one, in eerie syncopation, the pair turned their way, with Guenhwyvar interposing herself between the unknown and her drow. That got her pushed, lovingly, as Drizzt sized up Ghael after a brief nod to Alustriel.

"Drizzt, my fourth son, Ghaelryss, though he goes by Ghael." She then indicated the panther. "The larger one is Guen, my son," she said playfully.

"Still strange, so many sons," Drizzt said with a quick smile, before he stepped around Guen, who then did the cat-weaving around him all the way to the courtyard entrance, continuing their game on her terms. She managed to push her head into Alustriel's hand, and Alustriel obliged with petting.

"Nice to meet you," Ghael said to Drizzt, before looking at the huge black cat twisting to get the best pets. "And you, Guen."

Guen huffed a little but she had what she wanted, Alustriel realized, adding in yet another remarkable thing about meeting Drizzt and his companion. The panther had taken to her completely, adding another layer of ease with Drizzt.

"Ghael roams in the region where your Underdark sword type is common, so I took it upon myself to ask him to find a pair like the one you came here with," Alustriel explained.

"But… that… Not allowed to protest?" Drizzt stammered then asked at her look.

"You are intent on traveling, and a fighter should have their preferred weapons," she said firmly. "We discussed that you have nothing to repay, because we know you mean to aid and protect others, much as we do."

"Yes, Alustriel," Drizzt said, accepting her decree, again, before he looked shyly at Ghael.

"Let's leave mother to tending Guen, and step over to the bench there?" Ghael suggested, and suited actions to words. Drizzt followed, intrigued when Ghael took his haversack off, set it down on the bench, and then hauled out two scimitars, sheathed on separate belts. Drizzt accepted them, and Alustriel memorized the wonder on his face, watching as he pulled one, tested the weight, replaced it, and repeated with the second.

After that, he removed the sword belt with the two swords from the armory, laying them on the bench, then fastened the new belts on, adjusting them to get the hilts where he wanted them. From there, he moved into the fullness of the courtyard, away from benches and potted plants. Ghael wound up hissing in a breath audibly at how swiftly the swords appeared in Drizzt's hands then, and Alustriel smiled.

Let her gifted fighter of a son report to his brothers just how skilled her new friend was. She guided Guen to the bench as well so she could sit, continuing the petting there, but watching as Drizzt flowed through a seamless dance of skill, testing reach and balance alike within his personal style of sword-work.

~He's … beautiful, in his skill, his joy,~ Ghael sent rather than disturb the quiet reverie of that dance.

~So he is, and your uncle says he will be without peer once he has the experience to match the skill.~

When Drizzt was satisfied and had put the blades away as smoothly as he had drawn them, he hastened back to them and held both hands out to Ghael. The half-human did not hesitate, accepting and returning the clasp with both of his.

"They are perfect. Thank you! I can use any blade; father insisted, but these are so like my own that even without the magic they feel just right!"

"You're very welcome, Drizzt." Ghael grinned at him. "I wouldn't say no to a spar?"

Drizzt laughed, bright and merry, while Alustriel was still processing that off-handed mention of a father, before he beckoned Ghael to follow.

"He is very happy, yes?" Alustriel asked Guen softly, and got the wise cat blink before they both settled to watch.

---

All of summer had flown by with Drizzt learning, with him exploring her city, and she wanted to encourage him to stay through the autumn and winter. Unfortunately, she knew that doing so would make it all the harder to ignore the wish to get to know him, personally, to learn things he was not yet at a point to share. He put on that bright smile for her, and had off-handed remarks about his past that pulled at her curiosity. Never anything of substance, not even enough to say why he had come above, but she took each morsel gladly.

No, better to take him to the traveling drow that Qilué had readied for a new member, let him be among them to hopefully address his past with others that could understand better. He was certainly ready, growing restless in the confines of her city's security.

Drizzt was ready to explore, to learn his new world more fully, and Alustriel knew it was for the best, before the connection subsumed them both, and he felt trapped by it.

She would be patient, and know, in time, he would return to her with more experience, and then —

— then they could see what the shape of their connection was meant to be.

Chapter Two

That Alustriel stayed busy was the only excuse she had for letting several years go by without attempting to check on how Drizzt was doing. Being a Chosen meant she had no need for sleep, and it was a luxury she did not indulge in very often. Too many things that she could do during the time when most slept was a constant pull on her time and energy.

It was an off-handed comment from Korvallen, delivered in his gruff manner, that she needed to take a break from living for the city and the region that made Drizzt come fully to mind. When Andy and Dol both arrived — who had Kor wheedled into sending for them? — she decided that it was likely a good idea to check in on him, maybe even see how well he had adapted to life among the goodly drow with their wandering ways.

~Qilué, I am being told to take a resting break from life. With it being winter, I presume your people are back to their home?~

There was a brief moment, and then her youngest sister answered her. ~You would be welcome to come visit, and we would love to have you, but Drizzt is not among us,~ was the gentle answer to the unspoken question.

What? Why? Both questions flitted through her head, but Alustriel wiped away the immediate consternation. When the anklet had recharged, she sent to her sister again. ~I would love to see you and Ysolde and Elkantar. I will come tomorrow night.~

After getting an affirmation of that, Alustriel pondered deeply on her worries. She very nearly scried for the swords she had helped enchant, but chose to be patient. She would learn more on the morrow.

---

Alustriel did not bring up Drizzt's absence on her first, or even second day, too caught up in appreciating all that her sister's people were making in Undermountain for themselves. Ysolde was pushing herself to learn to be a cleric already, and that got more of Alustriel's attention.

It was in discussing how they had managed to find a secure trade to acquire more Underdark foods on the third day that it finally came up.

"We managed to make a secure passage to Skullport," Elkantar said, "that allowed us to negotiate trade with some of the drow there."

"Couldn't have made that push without the ranger," Sriva said from where he was sitting at the communal table. "And then he handled 'negotiation', by which I mean he utterly wrecked the temple guards that tried to pick a fight!"

"Oh?" Alustriel asked.

Elkantar chuckled. "There was a misunderstanding at first, but we had gone in sincere wish to open lines of communication with the drow temple. It's one of His, but they are having as much trouble with the more violent drow over there as we ever have. Drizzt disarmed the guards that rushed us, and then asked if they were really Lolthite drow to be so nervous about outside ways.

"The high priest himself came out then, and we were able to discuss it peacefully."

"It sounds as he made himself quite useful. But, ranger?"

Ysolde spoke up. "While Drizzt likes our Lady, and swore his swords to aid Her followers and goals, he's got more of an affinity for nature. And since he kept wandering off from the groups he'd go out with, apparently he met a ranger of Mielikki who agreed to teach him.

"Only, the ranger is still somewhat in the 'deal with stupid people in the wilds' phase, so Drizzt went to that one's teacher two years ago?"

Alustriel looked at her sister for a moment, but kept it behind her teeth that she should have been told. After all, both she and Drizzt had agreed he needed to find his footing in the Surface world without such powerful people lurking over his shoulder to pull him out of hot water.

"I am glad he seems to have found a calling. And find it intriguing that you say Mielikki, not the half-elf facet." Something had drawn the drow she hoped would be a true companion — in whatever form of that he espoused — to the patron goddess of her own city? That was fascinating in other ways.

"He's actually wild-called," Qilué said, having chosen to ignore the accusatory glance. "Bo knows the ranger in question, Horim? Apparently he usually wanders the Neverwinter Wood, but had trailed a dangerous planar all the way down here. Drizzt, and Guen, helped finish it off."

"Oh, well, I do know of Horim. He sometimes shelters in Silverymoon for the winters, and I know who his teacher is." Alustriel smiled for having that information, and filed away a thought to make certain one of her sons checked in on the elderly ranger soon. Evgin Morningmist was a legend, and had trained many rangers in her long years of service to Mielikki.

"I have not checked in on Drizzt since late summer," Ravenna offered. "But at that time, he said he was 'exploring'."

"Thank you all for filling me in," Alustriel said. "I have wondered how he adapted."

"He has a touch of rock madness," Elkantar admitted. "Needs the outside and sun or moon light to feel free, I think," he added. "Ten long years alone in the Underdark left that mark on him."

Alustriel knew her eyes were wide. There had been mentions of a time in the wilds, but not how long… oh she wished she had coaxed more tales out of him!

"I can see how that would," she said, before asking about Ysolde's day of studies.

---

Much refreshed from her visit to the goodly drow, Alustriel tackled her duties with renewed vigor, though she did wonder what Drizzt was doing, and if he was wintering with the aged ranger outside of the Evermoors.

She decided to take herself to the Sacred Glade for a meal with the Ladyservant. Tathshandra was always good company, and perhaps there would be something to learn there.

"You have the look of someone being on a fishing expedition," Tathshandra said, once they'd eaten and were relaxing in the Ladyservant's apartment, cups of cider warming their bellies further.

"Hmm, I'd be miffed you see it, except yes I am, and just wished to find the best way to ask after people. Evgin Morningmist came to mind on a recent trip I made, as well as Horim Half-Orc."

Tathshandra sighed softly. "She has gone to her rest, Alustriel; Tarhan, her tiefling, passed the word to us in early autumn. He'd gone to check on her, found the cottage set to rights, and a small cairn."

"Oh. The Realms are poorer for her loss, but at least we have her students," Alustriel said, wondering at it being the tiefling who had brought the word. Where was Drizzt? Surely he would have come, knowing he was welcome in Silverymoon.

"Rumor had it she had taken another student, an odd one, but I failed to ask Tarhan, as he was only stopping in as a courtesy, having been summoned to that mess near the Keep."

Alustriel winced; she'd known that there had been a small breach there, but that it had been met by a solid force of druids and rangers. "The student, my friend, is the drow that was here some years ago, I learned. It was why she had come up."

Tathshandra's eyes widened, then she chuckled. "Ahh, Evgin, you were always the best of us for looking to actions." She raised her cup toward the sky, and Alustriel joined in that toast.

"If he should pass this way, do ask him to remember to visit us at the Palace? I am certain those that he befriended in his stay would like to hear his adventures," Alustriel said with the most careful neutrality she could muster.

"Of course. Oh! Did you hear about the incident at Nag's Head?" and then Tathshandra was telling her, letting Alustriel put thoughts of Drizzt aside for the moment.

---

The intense cold permeated this dream, but that was secondary to the view before her. Vast expanses of white-covered landscape below her was the back drop of trails of colorful light streaked through the sky so full of stars and empty of clouds. The streaks of green light painting the sky were rarely visibly below the Spine of the World, and the cold but dry air seemed to confirm just where Drizzt was, based on Alustriel's knowledge of the Realms.

She made herself be more aware of him, his impressions, even though that risked pulling her away from the dream itself. A cap of some kind around the ears, hood over that, hands in fur-lined gloves — she did get thrown fully to consciousness but with the impression that her young friend was truly garbed for the lands he was wintering in.

"Why in all the names of the gods are you in the tundra?" she mused aloud, checking the time. She still had a few hours before anyone would expect her, and it was a peaceful time on her city. She would make a painting of that view, a gift for him when he wandered back into her life.

---

~Sister, I hate to intrude but you're able to actually go directly to Drizzt, and not cause the people around him to run in fear,~ Qilué began, late the next summer.

~I can and I will,~ Alustriel answered that, her heart in her throat, because why would her sister even be making that request?

~Do you know what he needs?~ she picked up on her own sending.

~Almost certainly a potion; he's been unconscious for at least two days,~ Qilué reported back immediately, ~as Ysolde was trying to send the last two.~

Oh that could not have gone well for her niece, Alustriel thought, sad that she should be celebrating the mastery of a divine spell but being so worried. She acquired multiple potions from her personal stock, an elixir for good measure, then checked which wands she had on tap. Her page was sent to have Taern give her regrets to the morning court as 'affairs of the realms' and then she pulled a full length fur-trimmed robe over her day's attire.

However, she did not use the soul-connection spell right away. Instead, she teleported to her marker on Kelvin's Cairn, cast a phantom steed, and then used the lesser version of the spell to home in on Drizzt.

She saw far too many signs of battle along the way, including damage to the towns themselves, and boats upon the lakes. When the spell solidified as one of the towns, she brought her steed to ground, and approached the rough-shod repaired gate.

Two guards were eyeing her and the not-quite-a-horse with wary eyes.

"Drizzt Do'Urden is within your walls, and I seek him." She did not play coy or use feminine charm, deciding that the kind of people who resided in these harsh lands needed to be dealt with firmly.

She was right as the elder of the pair dipped his head. "At the manor; best house in town, can't miss it."

She remained on her steed, following further directions from the younger one until she found the house in question. An injured, elder man at arms looked startled but braced to be more of a deterrent.

"What's a stranger — wizard belikes — doing in our town so soon after trouble?" he demanded.

"Seeking Drizzt Do'Urden, who seems to have shared in your troubles of late." She did dismount now, the spell firmly locked on the house, but held the reins.

"My spokesman said no harm to the ranger, and he's not awake last I knew to answer if you mean such," the man said, and she actually smiled, because he was doing as told on behalf of Drizzt.

"His welfare means much to me, and I am told he has been unconscious for at least two days."

That she knew that much spooked the man, and she pressed her advantage.

"I serve the city of his goddess, good sir, and She would wish him recovered sooner rather than later."

That… made the man step aside, and she did release the reins, causing the steed to vanish and startle him further. She walked on up to the house's door, then inside once a maid had opened the door for her.

"Drizzt Do'Urden?" she asked the girl.

Overawed by sheer presence, the girl pointed to a room that would have no windows, and Alustriel walked over, finding it unlocked… and the smell of injury too strong within the room itself.

"Oh my young friend," she said once she'd pulled out and opened a mage light to set on the table. She inspected the drow, hating his color, finding his injuries cleaned and sutured and covered… but he'd lost a lot of blood it looked like.

Very carefully, she got his head up, not liking that he muttered and mumbled but didn't actually wake. Holding him up with the one hand, she opened a potion with the other, and started the slow process of dripping it into his mouth so that it slid down his throat.

His eyes opened, unseeing at first, but he actively drank the potion then, and awareness replaced the fog.

Which meant he was staring at her in complete wonderment.

"Ysolde tried to reach you. Two days in a row. I was asked to help," Alustriel answered that silent question.

"Forever in your debt, my Lady."

Oh when had he picked up formality again?! She wanted to stamp her foot, but he was so weak still.

"We, my friend, are going back to Silverymoon, so that you can heal and regain your strength in peace." She stood from his bed side, seeing that his weapons and gear were neatly contained in a cloak. All of it had been cleaned to a point, and attempts made at repair, so the people were doing well by her friend.

"I need to leave word with Millie then," he said, already showing more color, though he sat up very slowly.

"The girl?" At Drizzt's nod, she ducked back out of the door. "Millie, I am told you are called? Drizzt needs to speak to you."

"Yes, Lady." Millie hurried in, and gasped at the change in the ranger, who smiled wanly.

"Magic, young one. And more will take me away from here, so I am no longer a burden. Tell Agorwal that a wizard came, and that I am grateful, please? And for that to be pushed on to any dwarf that comes to trade?"

"Yes, Ranger! Of course!" Millie slipped back out, and Alustriel had to smile a bit.

"I look forward to your tales of the region, but first, we go home."

She noted Drizzt's quizzical look at the choice of word, but he said nothing, only took his bundle so that she could take firm hold of him, so they both went back to her rooms in the Palace.

---

Korvallen dropped on the divan, looking about like he did whenever her sons had ridden his last nerve into a graveyard and made it out alive on the other side.

"I take it you took on the ranger-minding today?" Alustriel asked, having tucked Drizzt into his room with an admonishment to sleep himself out, bathe, eat, and nothing else once they had returned the day prior.

"Elué, that boy is as light as he was when you brought him here the first time, hasn't found the sense the Named Ones give to squirrels, and is possibly the most terrifying drow to ever live on the side of good," Kor said. "And I count your sister in that number!"

Alustriel set her quill in its well, and came to join him. "I had noticed the weight. And Qi doesn't have to be terrifying; her people will do it for her.

"Squirrels, really?"

"He did recon the night before battle. All the way to the enemy and back again, pursued for part of it. And then stood battle from the first sign of enemies on the horizon until the last man he fought, their king apparently, was dragged from him and the ground rose up to meet him instead of him pursuing."

"How many injuries?" Alustriel asked, knowing good and well Korvallen would have asked more details.

"He wasn't certain," Kor said in a very strained, upset tone. "But he's fairly certain he left blood over at least half a mile of battlefield."

"Where was Guen?"

"She used up all her time during the recon." Kor met her eyes. "There was no sleep between recon and battle as best I can tell. And he was pretty certain it was past the nooning when the battle finally ended. Terrifying, I tell you."

"It does explain how he was unconscious for so long," she said with a sigh. "Do you think you'll be able to convince him to stay here now?"

Korvallen snorted. "Not a chance in any hell. He's got a child up there he's been looking after, and he's befriended dwarves as well as a halfling."

Alustriel pursed her lips. "I am still at a loss about dwarves in that region," she admitted. "He left message for word to be given to them that he was going to be gone."

"Didn't go into much detail, except about the girl who has apparently become his truest friend save for Guen," Korvallen said. "So you'll have to get more out of him. I walked him over to the Sacred Glade, since he's apparently become one of Her rangers, and one of the Leafs said they would keep him overnight, before walking him back tomorrow."

"How much fuss did he give over the handling?" Alustriel asked.

"None; I gave him a look."

"Oh ho ho, pulling out your time-honored uncle looks on him, are you?"

"Someone needs to bring him in check," Kor grumbled. "We might manage to hold onto him a week before he decides to try and cross country to get back up there."

"I will do my best to convince him to remain until I can take him on my rest day then," she promised her friend.

"Good."

---

Alustriel did not have time to actually seek Drizzt to talk with him at length until the third night after bringing him home. Only, he was not in the Palace, nor was he with the Ladyservant's people. Intrigued now, she focused for the sense of Guenhwyvar's anchor… and it was in the city, even close to the Palace, but in one place.

She decided, instead of browsing the night events of the city or wasting the time she'd carved for herself to have with Drizzt, she'd go find him, and took herself back out.

She didn't even fuss when her night escorts fell in step, though they both looked concerned at her being in far more casual dress than her usual night activities prompted. She followed that light trace of astral magic to —

— one of the taverns on this side of the city, currently filled with travelers passing through on their way to more southern cities before the summer gave way to autumn's fickle ways. She slipped in quietly, and found Drizzt swiftly by sight. He was occupying the far end of the actual counter, in the dimmer light there, a bowl and tankard in front of him. He was smiling, listening to the current tall-tales being passed around.

He looked far more at ease in that setting than she would have expected, even as she noted the fact no one present was giving him extra attention, despite how many out-of-towners were present. She didn't exactly want to crash in on his partaking of society, but he was pushing the dishes toward the interior edge of the counter, setting coins with it.

The barkeep shook his head, and some discussion took place before the barkeep took one coin, and Drizzt put the rest back away. When he stood to head for the door, Alustriel swiftly stepped back out, but heard as others saw him leaving.

"Mielikki keep you, ranger!" was called out by several, and she wondered just what he had done to win such ease with strangers.

She had not, actually, done more than step away from the threshold and when he came out, he smiled at her.

"How do you not draw all eyes your way when you step into a place like this?" he asked her, showing he had taken note of her entry despite her having been unsure he'd looked over at all.

"Hmm, small charms I wear, and my own city folk knowing not to stand on ceremony," she said. "How did you befriend them all?" she countered.

"One of carters' ponies had panicked earlier because of an accident with things crashing too near him," Drizzt said. "I managed to calm the poor thing before he could cause a worse accident with his trace-partner. There was a bit of a crowd by the time I finished, and the next thing I knew, I was invited to come share a meal and stories."

"You… you have gained much as a ranger, it seems." She let him set their path, once he'd nodded to her escort. It was a winding path ever closer to the Palace, but one that let her take in those gardens with night-blooming plants still lush with their last growth.

"Hmm. I just listen and focus and act within the ability of the animals to understand," he demurred.

She found herself doubting that, and marking in thoughts of a breakfast with the Ladyservant soon, to see what was known about Drizzt's standing in their church. She didn't care if that was nosy of her; she needed to be certain he was being treated fairly.

"Would you like to tell me of your adventures since we parted ways? I was very surprised that you chose not to stay in the bands of your own people, and shocked at where you wound up." She rested a hand on his arm lightly. "Only, of course, if you wish to speak of it."

"Hmm, what tales should I share with you?" he asked, an impish light in his eyes. "I mean, what could possibly compare with having a duel in your court break out?"

Alustriel sighed loudly, then laughed. "Of course that would have been one of the incidents you saw of my life. It wasn't as serious as it looked, a small matter of honor, and both parties paid their fines."

He laughed quietly. "I am glad. As to why I went north? I was pulled, after my teacher died. And I could not stay with the others; even with good drow, I am strange and felt a need to wander farther, to involve myself more."

She wondered at the 'pulled', but listened as he began sketching in those years apart from her, feeding her hunger to know more of him.

---

Alustriel watched as Drizzt was petting one of the cats of the Palace, his new pack filled out with items Korvallen had procured for him — over his protests apparently — to make his coming winter a little easier. The cloak was much mended, but the mithral shirt was still in need of repairs, something he'd blithely said his dwarven friends would handle. New scabbards graced the swords, as his blades had been shoved into the old ones unclean.

She also knew he had several new knives, replacing those he'd lost in battle over the years, a gift from the people of the Sacred Glade for his dedication to their Forest Queen.

"Are you ready, my friend? We will teleport to my marker, and then use a phantom steed to go where you wish from there."

He had declined to add anything of his history from before the surface, but shared with her many adventures he'd seen since she took him to the drow more like himself. She'd hoped for more sharing, but time had been limited, and he'd prised out bits of her history instead. Her long centuries of experience had not caused him any pause, but she'd learned one small thing of him; she was apparently older than his mother by a bit.

That had certainly been a reminder of how young he truly was, but the more they had talked, the more certain she was that he was matured by his life worse than her younger sons.

"I promised Korvallen not to keep you up there more than three days, so I suppose we'll go to the dwarves first, as you seem so curious about them."

"Dwarves that work mithral are rare, Drizzt, and Icewind Dale is not a place I expected such to live."

"And I said it was their tale to share, if they chose," he said with a smile, before walking to take her hands. "I am ready."

She pondered, again, just how often he did smile, how light he kept his mood when dealing with others. He'd nearly died so recently, and yet he barely made note of the incident, it seemed. What horrors lurked in his past that he took such things as everyday matters?

"Then let us begin sating my curiosity," she said, before wrapping the magic around them both.

Chapter Three

The day, as Alustriel had aimed for early in the northern daylight hours, was clear, though the wind was ever-present. Drizzt's eyes swept over the towns, and she could feel his tension at the damage visible, before actually getting his bearing on the mountain. She summoned her phantom steed, a horse-like creature with a gray color that almost looked pale blue, its silver mane and tail shining like metal, and pulled him up behind her once she was mounted.

He gave her directions, and actually had them stop outside a cave, slipping down to go put his pack inside it. When he remounted, she turned to speak over her shoulder.

"Your place?"

"Yes. Looks like Catti-brie has been escaping to it in my absence; the couple of books I own have moved."

His amusement at that made Alustriel even more curious about this child of a dwarf that he was so taken with.

It did not take them long before the path came to a sheer facing of rock, and he slid off again, going to tap it with his knife hilt in a certain pattern.

Alustriel dismounted as well, but held the reins, just in case the phantom steed was still needed.

A small viewport opened, and then there was some muffled yelling before the door itself moved out of the way, proving these dwarves were as adept as most of their kind in hiding rock cuts.

"ELF! Ye came back! An ye look a damn sight better than when me king chased them vultures off!"

The boisterous greeting came to a stop without Drizzt being hugged or back-pounded, as the dwarf — a woman, Alustriel thought, something about the braids twigging a past memory — looked up at Alustriel, eyes big.

"Ye speak fer the stranger, elf?"

Alustriel would have to remember to tell Korvallen they called Drizzt that.

"I do. Lespur, this is Alustriel, the wizard that came for me, twice now."

"Ahh! Heard a small bit about ye, Saer," Lespur said, which must not include titles or status, Alustriel decided, or else these dwarves truly did not give over to being overawed. That suited her entirely.

"I promised to introduce her to the chieftain, but we need go no further than the trade caverns," Drizzt said affably.

"I am pleased to meet friends of Drizzt; he's much more prone to speak of others, but never quite enough to get a full picture," Alustriel said.

"Och, Ranger, ye take yer friend on down tae the hearth and get ye both some stew and cider, ye hear me? I'll send Dulan here down tae fetch the chief tae ye, and nae doubt Catti-brie will find ye both a'fore he makes it up."

Drizzt must have looked surprised, Alustriel realized, because Lespur leaned on her pike. "He took in one of them," Lespur said in a low tone. "Boy'd been knocked out, and ye know his soft heart. So he's been minding the boy, trying tae make something of sense stick in his head."

"This is a tale I look forward to hearing," Drizzt said.

"Figure if'n he can bring one o' the brutes in, ye would be more than welcome tae bring in a friend as helped ye so much."

"Thank you, Lespur." Drizzt gestured for Alustriel to come with him, and she let the reins go, causing the phantom steed to vanish.

"oooers, magic," Lespur said before setting Dulan to his task and getting the door closed behind them all.

Drizzt led Alustriel down, murmuring on when the passages would drop in clearance, but though she could touch the top of them, they remained high enough she never had to stoop, all the way to the spacious dining cavern. A few dwarves were present, and called greetings to Drizzt while sizing up the stranger that Alustriel was to them.

It felt strange to be among a people that had no idea about her at least being one of the Seven Sisters.

No sooner had Drizzt acquired the stew and cider for them from the hearth than a girl — human! — came scampering in through the door that led lower.

"Drizzt!"

Alustriel watched her friend stand and turn, saw the true relief in both of them as the girl collided with him at speed to hug him tight.

"I was scared stiff fer ye, me ranger, when Da said ye had been as gray as the rock!"

"It will take a bit more to do me in, my friend," Drizzt said into her hair, holding her as tight. When they did part, he drew the girl down on his bench, opposite Alustriel. "Catti-brie, this is Alustriel."

"Yer the mage as saved him from the barghests and taught him tae talk proper!" Catti-brie said, intently sizing her up.

"There were a number of people involved in helping him learn the surface language and ways, but I was present at the end of the barghest fight," Alustriel said, smiling a little.

"Did the lands a fair bit o' good tae give him what he needed then," Catti-brie said with a firm nod, making Drizzt duck his head to hide a smile.

"I believe so, from what little I have managed to learn of his adventures since that day," Alustriel said with an indulgent smile, before looking up at the door again.

"ME ELF! Donnae be givin' me bairn such a scare! What — Oh, pardon lady," the dwarf entering the room said, catching his tone and bringing it down. Alustriel saw a man that favored an old ally, hair starting to gray on top and in beard alike. Everything clicked in place as she could all but hear Garumn Battlehammer in that bullroar voice as well.

"Clan Battlehammer has an heir," she breathed. "Oh this is a very good day.

"Alustriel Silverhand, Chieftain. I knew your grandfather, and you have his look."

"Silverhand?" the older dwarf to one side said. "Name means somewhat, but cannae remember it," the man said. "Begging pardon, Lady, but ye knew me grandda?"

Alustriel nodded, and looked at Drizzt. "I could have been far more prepared if you'd mentioned the clan name."

"Their tale, not mine," he told her, his eyes lit with mischief. "Come sit, Bruenor, and let my friend hear your story, so that she can — as she is so wont to do — give aid."

She playfully smacked at his hand, and he caught it, showing solidarity and support of her in that simple gesture.

Bruenor did come and sit beside the human girl, studying Alustriel as frankly as she had studied him.

"Ye look human," he began with a skeptical noise.

"Magic likes me," she countered, "quite a bit, so long as I heed my mission to help the Realms grow peacefully."

"She looks the same now as she did fifteen years ago," Drizzt offered. "She is something of a fixture, I suppose, for the Realms." His lightly teasing tone was actually helping Alustriel stay light-hearted, even as she wondered why that was needed in his eyes.

"Bah. Fifteen years might seem a bit to ye, young whelp, but 'tis nothing but a blink of an eye," Bruenor said, arm stealing around the girl at his side… who appeared to be just about that old to Alustriel. Catti-brie leaned into the hug, while Alustriel was relieved to know the dwarf was aware of Drizzt's youth.

"Not all of us can aspire to centuries, my friend," Drizzt said in turn, and cold water poured through Alustriel's veins to hear any elf-blooded person say such. And yet… mortality among drow males was very high, from things she had learned. Did he live so hard and fast because he thought his days still numbered by the Spider's whims?

"Pfah, stop pickin' fights with things bigger than yerself, an' ye'll outlive us all, me elf," Bruenor fussed at him. "Now be quiet a bit and let me talk with this Lady friend of yours. Ye be talking and leavin' things out always."

Drizzt shrugged but said nothing.

"Ye knew me grandda, and now ye came tae hear me tale," Bruenor mused. "Och, it's been nigh on two centuries since Clan Battlehammer lost their Hall," and he began to spin out a history she had heard from her sons, gathered from other survivors, though none of them had a claim strong enough to make finding the Hall a quest.

This man did, Alustriel knew, and they would, at long last, have answers to what happened up in the Frost Hills once she gave him the aid he needed to take it back.

---

They made it back up to Drizzt's cavern before full dark, though only just, and the wind had a cold bite to it. Bruenor had offered lodging, but Drizzt had keenly picked up Alustriel's signals she needed privacy above that of the dwarven lodgings. He moved to light the brazier, and she pulled out a light pebble for them, considering the tale and all that it had added to her incomplete picture of the fall of Mithral Hall.

"There is nothing that can be done from this side of things until spring, I feel," Alustriel finally said, having settled on the fur-covered couch. "But now, my friend, I need to know why of why you were pulled to this region. I spoke with Qilué at length, and know that you have some sense of wrongness that guides your path.

"And no ranger can turn away from a quest, even if personal matters arise."

Drizzt joined her, after being certain the door was secure, and letting the brazier warm the air for them. From his face, she could tell he was considering how to answer.

"Something unnatural is in the passes, but I have never determined which one. It comes and it goes, and due to the weather and those personal matters you mentioned, I have yet to chase it fully down. It has not been pressing, and I feel no guilt for taking my time.

"But you are correct that I am not going to be pleased to tackle Bruenor's quest before I find the cause of unnatural taint."

"With a powerful enough wizard, shelter is a spell away," Alustriel reasoned. "It is not yet to winter here, as short as I know the autumn will be. I will clear my schedule — do not protest! — and we will spend time searching the passes by air, so that you can see this to an end.

"After, I will go home and set in motion the pieces I can to ease the clan's exodus south, while you will return to helping them do as they need through the winter."

"It is too much," he rebutted, despite her demand for no protest. That pleased her on one level, that he would, and yet.

"Drizzt." She turned and took his hand. "For all that I am not pressing into our connection, I do want to know more of you, to have you back in lands where you might, from time to time, come visit me. I have put in motion the loss of your allies here no later than the spring. The idea of you aiding them to only come back and search in hostile conditions?

"It hurts me, my friend."

His face had been an absolute study of emotions, ones that included hope and yearning, which fanned the embers of Alustriel's banked desires to know him better. Then she said that last, and it was clear that he was changing his mind to resolve.

"As long as the city can spare you," he said, accepting her wishes.

He did not want her to hurt? Oh, that was certain to have ramifications in time, she decided, but accepted his acquiescence.

---

It had begun simply enough. They had been on a phantom steed, with Drizzt holding the reins, seeking the wisps of unnatural taint that his unique ability gave him. A landing near a depression in the ground, with only a light coating of snow had been safe enough she thought, holding the reins while he went to investigate.

Now she was in an entirely too small space, still a bit dazed and uncertain just what had assaulted her with enough magical intensity to daze her… while simultaneously leeching the magic from every item she carried, and the steed itself.

Worse, the ground tremor and rock slide had caught Drizzt. She knew he was injured, perhaps grievously, but was refusing to admit it. The pocket of air was at least freshening itself, but the rocks all around them were nothing to get comfortable in.

She'd seen a trickle of blood at his temple, before his faerie fire had failed.

How had he moved fast enough to get her behind the outcropping that had shielded them from the worst of it? She could not even replay it in memory yet, so badly was her mind shaken by that attack on who and what she was. It had been like… something had tried to drain everything she could ever be away from her.

"Drizzt?"

"Alustriel."

Well at least he wasn't using 'Lady', despite their dire circumstances.

"Do you have any idea what that was?"

"A sentient artifact of some kind, that disregarded me and saw you as the threat."

Oh he sounded a bit piqued at that idea! Was he rating her low in threat, or himself impossibly high? No, it was the fact that this had been his quest she decided, and he was distressed she had been caught up in it.

"You took a head blow. I saw it. And I know you are hurt in other ways."

"I am… focusing on the pain, to remain awake. And moving my head as little as possible."

Then he knew he was at risk. At least between them, the air was staying warm enough for now. How long before the sending anklet would recharge enough to call for help? That had been her first idea but it was as drained as her wands, and there were no spells in her mind at all.

She could not focus clearly enough — or muster enough manna, maybe — to reach to her staff of the magi to pull them both to Silverymoon's safety.

"Perhaps conversation would keep us both alert, as there is enough air movement to make that a non-issue."

He shifted, and she heard his sharp intake of breath, before his hand found hers. She wrapped her fingers around his, glad for the contact.

"What tales have I not told you?" he mused.

"Anything of your time below," she pointed out, and felt a tension in the hand she held. "Drizzt, I know Elkantar. I have heard his entire story. I know that the world below is cruel and painful, but I also know it shaped you.

"Please share, unless it is harsh for you to relive. And I will tell you the tale of how seven daughters came to maturity in different places, orphaned by their own father."

"A tale of tragedy for one of cruelty, I suppose," he murmured. "It is not harsh for me; it is merely memory. But I wished to spare you the horror, when our connection seems to have only been active above the faerzress."

"I am no stranger to horror, my friend. Help me know who you are."

---

~Alustriel? Where are you? What has happened?~ came the insistent voice of her elder sister, after the harrowing tale of Drizzt's life and the tragedy of Elué Shundar that had led to the Seven Sisters being raised apart were done.

~Ahh, the anklet is back now. I am in the Spine, near Icewind Dale, and something sapped all of my magic.~ She paused and yes, she could feel her staff again. ~Meet us in my chambers if you can? I am taking us there.~ There was a vague sense of assent to that on the other end, the kind that said Syluné was changing for a more active role ahead.

"Drizzt," she said aloud, squeezing his hand. "Give me your other hand if you can? I should be able to take us home now, and we can regroup."

He managed, just, to reach across himself to take her other hand, and she willed the staff to bring them back, finding the effort more than the usual amount. That left her frowning, but they were safe, and she could find a potion for him, as well as an elixir for herself.

He truly was banged up far worse than she had suspected, indicating that he had bodily protected her in getting her behind that outcropping.

"My sister — the eldest — is likely to be here any moment now," she warned.

"Oh, I can tell her about the newer herb-lore I picked up," Drizzt said, but he closed his eyes and she hastened to find the vials. When she had them, she came and knelt beside him, putting a hand behind his head, guiding the potion to his lips. She was so relieved when his color improved and his eyes fluttered open.

"Much better," she murmured, and pressed a kiss to his forehead before dropping back to drink her own elixir. She did see him reach up and touch that spot, a soft look on his face, but then her sister was sparkling into existence, distracting her from savoring the moment.

"What happened?!" Syluné demanded, taking in both of their disheveled looks and the blood dried in place on Drizzt.

"Drizzt, can you better tell what happened now?" Alustriel asked moving to the divan, and coaxing him to follow her up to it. He did, then closed his eyes to fully recall the events.

"The unnatural thing was in the depression. I could just barely see something with a green glint, catching the sunlight. I went to remove it, and felt the energy flare as it decided Alustriel was a threat — I am certain that was the impression of its thoughts. The thing was vibrating or humming at a pitch just inside my range, and then the rocks began sliding.

"You looked very dazed, and I gave up on figuring it out in favor of getting you to shelter before the rocks could harm you."

Alustriel drew in a deep breath, knowing he'd been between her and where the motion began. Something in his words were niggling at a tale, something she'd learned of magical threats.

"Green? Thinking? You said glint. Crystalline, jeweled, what?" Syluné coaxed, having taken the chair opposite them.

"Crystal." Drizzt met Alustriel's eyes. "What did it do to you?" he asked, even as both sisters pressed their memory to match this to their lessons.

"It… well, it ate the steed, and it pulled the magic from all I carried, made me lose my spells — oh Mother's tears!" Alustriel exclaimed as that made the last bit click for her.

"Crenshinibon is on this plane once more," Syluné said for them both.

"It drinks light and magic to fuel itself," Alustriel told Drizzt at his curious look. "It's supposed to have a wielder to do anything, but I suppose it would have some protections of its own."

"And being approached by a Chosen of Mystra triggered them." Syluné swore a bit under her breath.

"Then I go back, and we see if it can manage to avoid darkness, as that is a spell-like ability," Drizzt said firmly. "You will drop me near but not on top of it, and I will get it locked far from the sun, I swear."

Alustriel reached over, stroking his hair gently, wanting to say 'no', but knowing it had to be attempted, and soon.

"After we all rest," Syluné declared. "And you two bathe. And eat."

"Night will be soon enough, so long as you both can stay warm enough," Drizzt agreed.

---

"I do not like this plan."

Syluné looked at her sister, then out to where Drizzt was but a speck on his summoned mount.

"A man that has only been on the surface fifteen years, who has managed to progress that far in a trade his kind don't usually take on, who moved faster than you can recall to physically manhandle you into safety… and you don't like the plan he put forth?"

Alustriel sighed. "Yes, it is night. Yes, the idea that darkness, either because it is antithetical to the thing, or as a spell-like ability, may help. Yes, he is exceptionally capable, despite almost dying within this past month, and then overextending himself again just yesterday! But that thing is manipulative and uncanny, by all accounts we have of it."

Syluné reached and patted her hand with her free one, both of them holding on to phantom steeds for their return trip elsewhere. "We will be able to tell if his mind is affected, but from all I have seen of him, all that is said of him?

"He can't not make this attempt."

Alustriel nodded, but kept trying to see in the overcast night, to will him to be strong enough, or willing to retreat if that thing had managed to find someone in the hours since it stole her magical energy.

---

Drizzt was making certain to come back, on foot apparently, with enough noise and visibility to not startle the two women. It was still mostly dark, and Drizzt was talking to the box he was carrying. By use of her clairaudience, Alustriel made out the colorful insults, in multiple languages, being delivered to the box.

"He just called it the fever dream illegitimate spawn of an elder brain," she shared with her sister, laughter bubbling up behind the words. "As he's actually dealt with one, I have to commend him for choosing that."

"He what — no, never mind. You think he is well?"

Alustriel focused, risking the magical detection spells, and her shoulders eased fully back. "He is very much in control of his own mind."

At that, Syluné mounted, and Alustriel followed suit, walking the steeds that direction with an eye to how they were affected. Apparently the thing could not lash out at them from its prison, and they were soon near enough for Drizzt to accept a hand up.

"We have a small bit of time with these spells still, so let us go… on the ground," Syluné said once he was steady behind Alustriel. "Just in case it's playing dead to try and hurl us to our demises."

"Oh it's not dead. But despite having managed to attract a pair of orcs by dint of its evil aura, it couldn't do anything with them," Drizzt said cheerfully. "It's complaining at me about being confined, and oh can I not imagine the things I could do with it. It would even teach me how to have my father back!" He made a very rude noise. "It is, thankfully, getting quieter the longer it is in the box."

"Is that why you slipped the peace-bonds on your hilts, because it is still active?" Alustriel asked, having noticed the rarely used bands had been put in place. She noted the mention of a father, and now actually had reference for why that man lingered in Drizzt's mind beyond his sword skill.

"Careful, my Lady, or you might be observant enough to be a ranger," Drizzt teased her. "Yes. Not taking chances, even though I know I am me now."

"I'd never cause little sister to think she wasn't the special one by learning her trade," Alustriel promised him.

"All of you are special in your own ways," Syluné decreed, as they set out for the more civilized lands… and a more permanent prison for the thing until it could be destroyed.

---

After reluctantly returning to her duties, with Drizzt ensconced in the far north once more, Alustriel set about readying for the changes that would be coming. A discreet invitation to send to every Battlehammer-blooded dwarf could be handled by the Rockcrusher clan. Alustriel purchased the lease on a warehouse and hired a crew to convert it to billets for the following year. A suggestion was made to the entire troupe of her sons to wrap up business and come home by high summer the following year. Laeral was entrusted with a supply of knucklebone that Bruenor had given for raising funds to purchase food for the journey.

~And you, my dear littlest sister,~ Alustriel sent very late one night, ~need to have your wizards and clerics prepare glamour rings.~

~We have quite an assortment of those, but why?~ Qilué then picked up the sending on her end. ~What has the ranger foreseen ahead that he wishes drow presence to aid?~

~He does not foresee, but the list of potential threats fall firmly in your people's knowledge range. It was… impressive.~

There was a delay for the recharge, which suited Alustriel as she was crafting the first of her new wands.

~He is very well-educated,~ Qilué sent then, ~and I will ask for volunteers to go under glamour to be his back up, when time comes.~

~Thank you. I am very much looking forward to the changes coming next year.~ Alustriel smiled lightly. ~Not least because I think he is moving toward exploring our connection more.~

~I am glad of that, and will be pleased to see how that turns out, Alustriel,~ Qilué promised her.

"Not half as much as I will," Alustriel murmured to herself, still pleased that Drizzt had kissed her cheek before they parted ways this time. She thought that the friendship might truly be simmering in the direction it had with her elf lord.

And that was a treasure to savor.

Chapter Four

Her sons had returned safely to Silverymoon, each one dutifully passing through so that Alustriel could see for herself that they had come to no harm. Each had a tale to share about the battle for the Hall, and Drizzt seemed to have been everywhere in the fighting.

Qilué also mentioned her people that had gone had seen much of the ranger, and his legend was growing among the good drow.

Of him, however, there was no sight, even once the official delegation came to sign trade agreements with Silverymoon, and other places of the Silver Marches. For some reason, the dwarves trusted Alustriel to give them a neutral arbiter, if one should be needed. Catti-brie was there as an observer, expected to learn the ways, but not quite old enough to be entrusted as the representative. That fell to a halfling by name of Regis, acting as Steward and entrusted with Bruenor's authority. The king himself had been unable to attend due to a massive influx of non-Battlehammer dwarves, who he was personally vetting.

Alustriel took it upon herself to find Catti-brie between meetings, smiling at the youth as Catti-brie opened her door.

"I was pleased to see your father chose to have you join the negotiations, even if only to observe."

"Oh, aye, best I know, in case I have tae stand for him a'fore he finds a proper heir," Catti-brie said easily, stepping back. "Most generous of ye to give us such rooms as these while we manage our talking."

Alustriel waved her hand at that. "No less than I give any ally that comes for business, or even just to visit." She took the chair so that she wasn't towering over Catti-brie. "But I didn't come to speak of business."

"Nae, Lady," Catti-brie said with a grin. "Ye came tae ask after me ranger."

"He is a dear friend," Alustriel said, before smiling. "Everyone agreed he came through the fighting just fine, and even had some healing to offer after."

"Oh, aye. And then he crawled in and out of every tunnel we found, gathered up the goblins as did not get killed or ran with the stinkin' gray ones, stayed with them until some gob named Grimward could get to them, and was headin' in tae the Underdark as we set out for your city."

Alustriel suddenly understood why those few settled goblins of her city had paid out their contracts and left suddenly. She wondered where Drizzt had settled them, even as she felt her heart beating strongly for his compassion.

But the idea that he had gone below terrified her more than she liked. He'd explained about being meant for sacrifice several times over, and she worried about him encountering other drow in his journey.

"I will have to trust in his ability to see him safely back up," she answered that recital in slow, measured tones.

Catti-brie reached across the short space between them and took her hand to squeeze. "He'll be careful as he can, Lady, knowing as people care about him living now."

Alustriel nodded. "I am pleased he found such a welcome with your people."

"Took a bit, but he won them all over," Catti-brie agreed. "I was on his side from the first!"

"Given how much he spoke of you with me, I am not surprised," Alustriel said. "Now, aside from business, what else would you like to see or do here?" she invited, to turn away from her worries over the man she was falling further in love with just by him being so giving to others.

---

Alustriel had felt the ancient frost-brand sword cross her wards; it was still new enough to her that it registered more swiftly than the figure of wondrous power. She betrayed nothing to her current audience, having long since told her pages to let Drizzt into her room as he wished. She only had two more appointments until her meal break; she could wait, even as she wondered what had made him risk coming during the winter storms.

Mithral Hall had a rookery now, and he could have charmed one of their heartier birds to bring a message! Never mind that she'd gotten steadily more anxious for him as the year dragged on and he had not appeared before the weather turned. Her one attempt to sleep in hopes of glimpsing his life had taken place when he was still below the faerzress apparently, as no dream had come to her.

She continued with her business as usual, and had never been so glad to see the appointments leave as when the second one did so. She came out and headed for her tower, smiling when she actually wound up meeting the page bringing her meal up.

"The ranger made it in, and Natali told him he'd better come warm in your bath," Ellorie said with a grin. "So I brought up a double portion."

"You take good care of us, my dear," Alustriel said, walking with her and getting the door so Ellorie could put the basket of food on the table inside. Drizzt was evidently still in the bath, so Alustriel went to stick her head in once her page had slipped back out.

Her words died away, unspoken, to see him with his head tipped back over the edge, mouth slightly open, eyes closed and sleep obviously holding him close. She filed away the image, noted he had not stirred to her entry, and slipped back out. If he was that exhausted, to trust in her protections that much, she was not about to wake him. His food would stay warm in the basket; it was enchanted to that purpose. She could wait to see him for when he was truly rested, whenever that might be.

---

Drizzt was not in her tower by the next time she had to change for her evening. She did see the basket of food had vanished so that reassured her. The evening seemed to pass too slowly as she saw to her routine, made certain to keep her social appearances, and then finally was able to go back to the palace, heading for his suite. Natali had moved him to the family wing itself after his last stay in Silverymoon, something that added to Alustriel's hopes for all that they might become for one another.

She tapped lightly, in case he had found more rest, but the door opened almost immediately to show him wearing a quilted dressing gown, thick socks on his feet, and his hair actually pulled back from his face in a loose ponytail. He smiled, almost sheepishly, but stepped back to let her in.

"I seem to have slept through your lunch," he said with quiet chagrin.

"I decided if you could sleep through me checking on you, and with you in the bath at that, I should let you rest." She followed him to the divan, each settling on an end. "So exhausted, too cold, or otherwise?"

"A little bit of all of it. I'd pushed to beat the storm building, but got caught in the first bit of it, all wind and pellets of ice," he said. "I had been pushing for some time before that, trying to make certain everything that needed to be done for Bruenor or Grimward was complete before I made it here.

"I have no wish to go anywhere until spring, unless my skills are needed by your knights," he finished.

Alustriel tipped her head, inviting him to expand on his reasoning if he chose.

He met her eyes, but his face was as neutral as he could make it. "I have seen many things, experienced what life is like on the surface. You did not flinch from what I said of my past. And… I would like to learn more of who you are outside of Silverymoon's Arch-Mage, more than just the mother of some amazing wizards, most of who are capable swordsmen. I want to know you and build a friendship that is more than you saving me from disaster, or me teasing you over the glimpses I've had of your life.

"I would love to know the person that befriended a doppelganger, the one that is considered an expert with knives, and stubbornly came up with a food she could create as a wizard."

Alustriel had begun smiling partway through the list, while wondering who had been sharing tales with him. "I could ask for nothing better to see us through the winter. But now I have to ask; did you meet my daughter or her father?"

Drizzt laughed brightly. "Mena. She had a bit of a misadventure before I went north, and recognized my tunic as it was the one you first gave me. It was a good meeting."

"That's been years now!"

"Yes, but just like the stories I won from Laeral and Qilué, it helped me settle more into the idea of trying to be worthy of your friendship."

She took his hand, squeezing. "That has never been in doubt, Drizzt."

"For you, maybe. I had to know it for myself."

She pulled, gently, and he followed, shifting to tuck in against her side.

"And now you do. So we will spend as much time together this winter, and see where it takes us," she said softly.

"I look forward to it."

1. List three shipping tropes you love

Friends to lovers, unlikely allies leads to more, and (trite as it is) love at first sight

2. List three shipping tropes you don't love

Hate sex, enemies to lovers with no stops between, harem fic (most of the time)

3. One emotional aspect of a ship that always gets you

when two or more people see an aspect of themselves in the other (good or bad) and that solidifies the connection
( the rest )

Have my rambling live watch of The Dark Crystal (1982) below the cut.

( this movie is so dear to me )

I quite enjoyed this rewatch. I'd chosen it for background noise, to have a controlled, constant, known audial stimulation while I contended with pain. I honestly didn't mean to get drawn into ACTIVELY watching it, and yet.

Thank you, kingstoken!

K-7 Surprise or Here on AdAstra (853 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Trek: The Original Series
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: James T. Kirk, Spock (Star Trek), Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Joanna McCoy
Additional Tags: Slice of Life, Charity Auctions, Fluff
Summary:

A much needed R&R rotation garners a visitor eager to meet the other parts of her daddy's life.

K-7 Surprise

The U.S.S. Enterprise limped into Deep Space Station K-7's orbit, glad that no Klingon ships were in sight. They had a lot of scientific data to upload, needed time in friendly space to effect repairs, and would spend some time revising the data from their battle with the unknown vessels to forward to Starfleet Command.

Right now, though, Captain James T. Kirk intended to see that all of his crew took at least a full day of leisure aboard the station. He had gone over the roster with Bones, scheduling the away parties with an eye to who needed the down time fastest, and who needed specific crewmen to go with them. Spock had added a few tweaks to the rosters on his own, showing deep insight to the needs of the science personnel.

Bones had even nodded, with a wave for Jim to listen, because that bunch was almost as insular and workaholic as Scotty's engineers.

Scotty showed up on the bridge just as the good doctor was counter-signing the rosters, and his face was set in purposeful glares at the CMO, Captain, and First Officer.

"The three of ye, off the ship on the first rotation, aye?" he demanded.

Spock opened his mouth, closed it, arched an eye brow, then nodded. "Logical. If we go first, we will be back in time to allow you your time away, and then true repairs can begin without anything interrupting you as all of us will be back on duty."

"Annotated and amended in the report," Jim said, smiling as his chief engineer proved as wedded to the ship as he was. "Well, gentlemen, shall we?"

"We shall," Bones agreed, grinning at Scotty a moment before the trio made their way to quarters to gather their away bags.

---

Bones was discussing with Spock about the effectiveness of various types of scheduling for different crew needs. Jim supposed to outsiders it looked like arguing, but he could tell his friends were practicing their own version of relaxation from stress. That meant it was Jim who spotted the woman turning their way, her face lighting up, and he placed that dimpling smile against pictures in Bones' quarters.

"Gentlemen, we have company coming," he said, breaking the give-and-take of conversation so that both looked, and then it was Bones with matching dimples to the young woman.

"Joanna!" Bones cried out with joy, and then the pair were hugging with the intensity of people who only rarely got to see one another.

"When the leader of my project found out your ship was incoming, she insisted I take some time off and come up!"

"Up? You didn't tell me Sherman's Planet was your residency project!" Bones said, while placing a hand at the small of her back to guide her to a table.

"You two come sit with us," Joanna said firmly. "I want to actually talk to the two men Daddy has filled his comms with."

Spock's look was a study in Vulcan-not-being-smug-and-curious, while Jim bet his own let a little surprise show.

"Does he now?" Jim twitted, as Bones reached up to rub the back of his neck.

"Well, I see more of you and our resident pointy-eared hobgoblin than just about anyone other than Christine!"

"Statistically speaking, I find that highly improbable," Spock said, "but I am interested in making your acquaintance, Miss McCoy."

"If you would, call me Joanne; I get Miss McCoy'd all day by the colony children taking my first aid course."

"A worthwhile subject to teach." Spock glanced, briefly, at Bones, and the doctor rolled his eyes heavenward with a knowledge of where this would go. "Likely without causing any injuries to be demonstrated on."

"One time, Joanne. One time, because someone failed to secure a storage bin, not even my doing!" Bones protested, leading to his daughter laughing and smiling. She then looked at Jim, sizing him up.

"How do you manage to put up with Daddy's ways and sayings, sir?"

Jim gave a smile. "Once I realized the gruff and pretense of good-ole country doc hid more expertise than the medical academy, I rolled with it. And it does provide unique counterpoints to my executive officer's logical ways."

"Counter-intuitive arguments, you likely meant to say, Captain," Spock said in his mildest tone.

Joanna propped her chin on her hands, watching the interplay, soaking it up as part of the happy chance of seeing her father again.

---

Jim glanced over the efficiency reports starting to come in from various departments, now that they were back underway. He was unsurprised to find them top-notch, given how thorough everyone had been once they had had their needed rests.

Even Spock was more… nuanced in his reports without being a stickler for the science of them. And Bones?

Jim smiled to himself. Bones was going to be walking on air for weeks, just for the sheer happiness of seeing for himself that Joanna was thriving.

It promised to make off-shift mingling with both men that mattered to him almost as much as the ship all the better for that rest.