"You alright, soldier?"
"I just thought I'd feel different, standing here." Taran shook their head, looking down. "It's been a long time."
"I know about that." Karlach looked up at the gates now. "How old were you?"
"Thirteen."
"Shit. How long ago?"
"...fifteen years."
"Shit." Karlach shook her head. "Got me beat."
"I think you had the worse time of it," Taran countered. "I just...ran away."
"How come? I mean, if you want to say, you don't have to."
Taran shrugged, moving out of the way of a cart trying to make it through the crowd. Karlach followed her, the two of them sitting on a ragged-looking bench. "No, it's fine. It's..." She blew her breath out in a long sigh. "There was this sorcerer from up the coast, liked to take in newly 'awakened' sorcerers as apprentices. Whether they liked it or not." They shrugged again. "Without getting into all of it...I ran. Middle of the night, nothing but a bag of food and my brother's old staff." She stared back up at the gate. "Haven't seen them since."
"...do you want to?" Karlach asked gently. "They're probably still around, yeah? Or if you've got siblings, they almost definitely are."
"I do." It came out as a murmur. "One older brother and two little sisters."
"Y'know, I had you figured for a middle child." Karlach flashed a grin that Taran couldn't help but return.
"No, I don't want to see them," they said after a moment. "At least not until all this is over. In case, you know."
"In case it goes wrong." Karlach nodded. "I get that. But if it doesn't, and we all make it out with most of our parts, I want to meet them."
Taran looked over, smiling. "Yeah?"
"Yeah! The bunch that churned out someone like you?! I have to see that."
Her excitement was infectious, and Taran just tossed their head back in laughter.
"It's a deal," she said. "Once we get through this with most of our bits intact, we'll go visit my family."
"Fuck yeah." Karlach hopped off the bench, grinning widely. "Come on, then, let's figure out a way past the gate. That's the first step."
"Slow down," Taran protested as Karlach practically sprinted away. They squirmed through the crowd after her, laughing the whole time.
