63rd Winter, 512
Location: Jakobi's Yard
It was roughly midday, and Alea was engaged in the tedious task of pruning the slugsuckle vines which made up the fence surrounding Jakobi's yard. At least, the task was normally tedious. With her Gilding constantly trying to nibble at the exact spot she was trying to cut, it was downright annoying. It was hard enough trying to guide the vines into a fence-like position without Beast tugging at them. It didn't help that Alea was already in a bad mood.
She felt the constant tugging of an absence in her heart. She was used to Yuros leaving to visit his mother for a day or two at a time, but this time he had been gone since that huge ice storm earlier in the season. He'd been really worried when he left, and so of course Alea understood. But the longer he was gone, the more Alea felt the same loss she'd felt the first time she'd been without him, and the harder it was to understand why he had to go.
That was the hardest part of their bond. It was painful and lonely to be without each other, and yet it kept happening. And it became harder each time to pick up where they had left off. Alea was beginning to not bother to tell Yuros some things. It was too much of a jolt to lose a confidant she'd come to depend on. If they weren't going to be together constantly, well, it was better not to get used to something that might get taken away.
And yet, the idea of Alea and Yuros drifting apart was too painful, on top of which it just felt wrong. But it was also too lonely for things to stay as they were. Alea didn't know what to do. She couldn't just ask Yuros to choose between her and his mother, because then what kind of horrible person would that make Alea? It was a problem, and Alea couldn't see any way out of being miserable one way or another.
Alea was pulled from her dark musings by Beast butting her face gently with his head. The thought briefly crossed her mind that he was trying to comfort her, but she had known him too long to seriously believe that. She soon realized that he was just trying to get at some vines that her head was blocking. She couldn't imagine why he couldn't go around, or wait until she had moved on, but that was Beast for you. Finally getting fed up, she sighed loudly and pulled him away from the vines. She would probably have to restrain him if she was ever going to get any work done.