[ Then Joshua does recall Aphaia. Tension drains from Dion for that simple confirmation, slacking the tense line of his shoulders. He had purposefully avoided specifying anything but the passage of time, unable to know what Joshua would or would not remember. How he responded to those words would have told him what he needed to know.
It would have told him what he might then need to inform Joshua of, for it would have been a grave disservice to him not to ensure he was on the same page. ]
It may not be so riveting a tale as yours was, of course.
[ He begins with this, a faint slant to his lips suggesting humor. ]
From Aphaia, a portal brought me to Etraya. Our host's world, where all were to return. However, I could neither sense nor find you. None I spoke with had met anyone who matched your description, and I was never notified of this having changed.
[ Because it simply had not, it seems. ]
I feared that perhaps, without intention, I'd left you behind. [ The weight of his tone suggests what he could not put to words: he'd debated whether he'd unwittingly left Joshua to meet his demise on Aphaia.] There were those who suggested you were returned to our world, to...whatever awaited you there.
[ He trails off there, looking down at his hands. It's necessary, telling him this. Lacking any gift for guile, there's no use in omission. Joshua would doubtless gauge that there was something unsaid, observant as he is. ]
The same people maintained that you might return, but perhaps from some other point in time. It couldn't be predicted, regardless... [ He drags his focus back to Joshua's face. ] It was...more uncertainty than I should like.
[ An understatement, to be certain. Dion takes pause there, unaccustomed as he is to having cause to say quite so much. That isn't even the half of it, what with that strange mission with its cursed little shorts. ]
no subject
It would have told him what he might then need to inform Joshua of, for it would have been a grave disservice to him not to ensure he was on the same page. ]
It may not be so riveting a tale as yours was, of course.
[ He begins with this, a faint slant to his lips suggesting humor. ]
From Aphaia, a portal brought me to Etraya. Our host's world, where all were to return. However, I could neither sense nor find you. None I spoke with had met anyone who matched your description, and I was never notified of this having changed.
[ Because it simply had not, it seems. ]
I feared that perhaps, without intention, I'd left you behind. [ The weight of his tone suggests what he could not put to words: he'd debated whether he'd unwittingly left Joshua to meet his demise on Aphaia.] There were those who suggested you were returned to our world, to...whatever awaited you there.
[ He trails off there, looking down at his hands. It's necessary, telling him this. Lacking any gift for guile, there's no use in omission. Joshua would doubtless gauge that there was something unsaid, observant as he is. ]
The same people maintained that you might return, but perhaps from some other point in time. It couldn't be predicted, regardless... [ He drags his focus back to Joshua's face. ] It was...more uncertainty than I should like.
[ An understatement, to be certain. Dion takes pause there, unaccustomed as he is to having cause to say quite so much. That isn't even the half of it, what with that strange mission with its cursed little shorts. ]