Cordelia and Trychon walked down the various slightly worn paths in the forest, no longer walking towards his old camp, or towards anything in particular.
"Just like old times..." He said, as he pointed out yet another plant that not surprisingly reminded him of his childhood.
She pulled on his arm with a laugh and made him stop. "Do you mean that it reminds you of when we were kids, or that it reminds you of the last four times you've tried to break the silence by pointing out something that reminds you of old times?"
Trychon smiled and made very brief eye contact. He walked over to a log on the side of the path and sat down, again making looking at her for a just a second. "I don't want to say it's awkward."
"What do you have against telling the truth suddenly?" She sat down directly in front of him and forced him to look at her. "Never mind that, actually. We always did get a kick out of making up stories together... just remember that I was the one person you could never fool."
"Maybe that's the reason it's so quiet." He tried to force a smile. "Ok. Bad joke."
"Only because it wasn't a joke. What'd I just say?" She got up and sat next to him. "So what's up, Trychon?" She poked him in the ribs, the only person on their planet that knew he hadn't just made up the name, but that it had been given to him in a dream. Only she and a few of his many temporary parents had agreed to call him by it.
"My friends call me Trych now."
"You used to yell at me when I called you that!"
She waited for a response but got nothing more than his normal shrug of admittance. "So... tell me about your adventures in the wild wide galaxy out there."
"You start." He replied.
"Fine." She moved to sit closer. "This will be quicker anyway." She gave him a look that ensured he knew that he wasn't off the hook. "I'll start with the big stuff. No kids..."
Trychon wasn't sure what to think of her starting with kids. "Married?"
"Nope. Nor divorced."
"Relationships?"
She couldn't help but laugh. "Don't be stupid. I missed you when you left, and I even mourned for quite a while, despite somehow knowing you were alive... somewhere. I'm not dead though. I had relationships."
"Thad?" Trychon asked, trying to hide his disapproval.
"Great trees, no!" She laughed. "I have been unofficially appointed to keep him out of trouble. He tends to behave better when I'm around."
Cordelia went on for a while, explaining all the various changes in the town and her life. At first she was hesitant to give him more details about her relationship for his own protection, but he held her to their honesty policy.
She told him about how the various families that he had been passed to as he was raised communally. There had been a few deaths in the town, and two were 'parents' to him at one point or another. One bothered him and the other made him glad.
Her own life had been rather uninteresting, at least to hear her tell it. Just living her life, hanging out with friends, doing some of the communal work for the town, and trying to keep Thad out of trouble. She admitted to sometimes walking into the forest with him and then losing him so she could wander alone, reminiscing. She laughed about how long it took him to get back to town sometimes.
When she finished, she waited for a few moments, while Trychon pondered everything she'd said quietly. He'd asked questions, and added in comments and jokes, but he knew what was coming next. He wasn't entirely ready for it.
She gave him a shove anyway. "Your turn, Trych. Spill it. What's really gone on for you since you left? Don't leave anything out that you know I'd want to know."
He took a deep breath, and after an encouraging look straight in the eyes from his very first lover... he did as she asked.
Through hours of her silence, he told her everything.
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