Re: Boat dreams: Athelstan/Ragnar
"But you are not lost," Athelstan pointed out. "You know where you are. You are with me." They we're close enough to the coast to make out separate trees along the ridges, close enough to hear the gulls. If there was a town close enough, he was sure they could hear the bells from whatever church existed there.
"I know," he whispered, turning to face the north man. Once he had been terrified of this man, this violent man with rough words and seeking eyes, but he had not been afraid for many years. His body slanted closer, hip against the railing. "I've missed you too, Ragnar. So much. I thought you were lost to me --" forever. That his silence would mean never saying his name, never being able to find him because his name could not be uttered, but he could now.
"Ragnar," he murmured, quiet and affectionate as he watched those eyes fill. "I am here now. Tell me what you've been doing. What you're doing now. Tell me some of what I've missed."