Sionnach (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"He's a good lad, an' I'm pretty sure Jani's smitten with 'im too. So he's got a Norwegian-trained blacksmith and an Icelandic viking on his side. He'll end up with th'best tools we can find 'r make. An' chasin' after Riley means he'll need all the help he can get."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Poor Andre having to keep up with that kit." Fiona said with a shake of her head. "Almost as bad of a time as you had keeping up with me. He's just a little more loose and carefree than you ever were at that age."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Than I was at any age." Sam smiled lightly. "But I wouldn't really call him carefree... He just knows he can't control anything, so he goes with the flow instead of resisting. He's Riley's opposite in tha' way, an' it makes keeping up a lot less stressful."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I wouldn't say any age. You've certainly made some improvements." Fiona said with a sly little smile as she teased her husband. "You tell me you love me more freely now. You didn't kill those that tried to kill me immediately. You cried when at least one of our kits was born. I'd call that an improvement."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm not sure I'd call tha' second one an improvement." Sam looked across at her and couldn't help a little smile in return. "What're you smirkin' at?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm smirking at you." She murmured as she took a bite of her snack and gave him another grin. "You came in off a full day of flight, fired up your forge and worked until sundown, and now you're playing homemaker for me."

 

[KieranSoares]

"An' why's that strange?" Sam raised an eyebrow. "Used t'do this all the time before all this nonsense started up again."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Because you nag at me all the time for doing too much and you never realize that you're the one that always has too much on his plate." Fiona said as he tried to play it all off like it was nothing.

 

[KieranSoares]

"This is what I do to feel like I'm useful," Sam told her simply. "I take care of my wife."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're always useful. You keep Riley in line. You educated Soma. You are so incredibly patient with Tati. It's more than just taking care of me, love." Fiona said, sipping her tea as he tried to downplay everything that he did for them.

"You put back together a wounded kit. You took me back even when I did the unspeakable." She continued on. "Never think for a moment that you aren't useful, love. If it weren't for you, I would probably be long dead and buried, forgotten by everyone."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You're too stubborn for that fate, but I appreciate the sentiment." Sam smiled lightly. "I don't do any of this for people t'think well of me. I do it because it's what I need to do for myself. It's like makin' your armor. If I do it myself, I know every joint, every strap is right. An' if it fails, I know what I need to do better."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You know, I told Will when I was pregnant with Soma that one day something would happen and you would blame yourself. A piece of armor would break or a tie on a saddle would give way during flight." She said softly. "You were so incredibly focused on keeping me safe with each of our children that I was convinced if I died, you would see it as something that you did. I still feel that way. You put too much pressure on yourself.

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's just our jobs in life to worry each other to death, hm?" Sam rested his head on one hand. "Well, I've accepted tha' I don't have control over much... But I'll keep on perfecting the things I can control. Otherwise I'd sleep even less."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona looked at him for a moment before she let out a little sigh. "Go get a lantern. I'll get my cloak. Let's go for a walk."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Yes, ma'am." Sam stood, moving their dishes to the wash basin before heading to the store room near the front door to get a lantern, getting his own cloak along the way. He met Fiona just outside, lighting the lantern with a flint and steel before lowering the glass cover and picking it up by the handle.

 

[heartofcourage]

"It's been a while since we just took a stroll around the bay." Fiona said as she fixed the clasp of her cloak under her chin. "Maybe it'll settle me enough to actually sleep tonight."

She looked up at her husband and gave him a smile, taking his free hand in her own as they started their walk out of the manor gates.

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam gladly took her hand and let her lead the way toward the bay, away from the harbor docks and to the little coves they knew so well amongst the fjords. Away from the city and in the quiet together, they were in their own element. So many saw them as leaders and commanders, but they worked best together with few other distractions.

 

[heartofcourage]

They quietly walked along the path that they had known so well. Fiona felt as if she had been away for too long, interested to see any changes that had taken place. They spoke on everything and nothing at the same time, mostly about family matters or things that needed to be done on the estate. It was all incredibly normal, something that was sorely needed by a couple that was often bogged down by other matters.

"I often wonder if someone has kept up the tradition of carving the story in Queen's Glen at Inverness." Fiona murmured as they looked out over the bay, the water quiet that evening.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Casso took up the mantle for a while, but I don't know if anyone who stayed behind would've kept it up," Sam murmured. "But you can bet someone'll catch it up when we get back. There'll be a whole scene t'carve with you flyin' into Inverness."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I hope that the hatred that our name carries didn't extend to our families that are still buried there. We left so much behind." Fiona murmured as she leaned against his side and wrapped her arms around his waist.

 

[KieranSoares]

Pausing to set his lantern down on a boulder along the cove, Sam wrapped both arms around Fiona with a sigh. "I've been worried about that fer twenty years..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We had only just given my Ma a proper send off before we had to leave. I just hope that no one has disturbed her." Fiona said softly as she sank against her husband's warm chest. "Same with your gran and Vincenzo."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well... At the very least, the dead won't be too bothered if we have to replace headstones. They're beyond those worries." Sam hugged her closer and laid his head against hers. "We'll make sure they're taken care of."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona sighed softly as she was enveloped in Sam's strong form, warmth surrounding her in an instant. She closed her eyes and soaked in the moment, taking from his strength that he willingly offered.

"You have no idea what all you've done for me, love." She muttered softly against his tunic.

 

[KieranSoares]

"We'll call it even," he murmured, smoothing her hair back gently. He sat them down on one of the large shore boulders, content to simply take in the darkness and the sound of the ocean.