#thank uu for sending dewa i always enjoy seeing him in da inbox

[aubins]

“Yuri!”

The day the monastery was attacked, Lambert left the Abyss as soon as he was able to for the sake of joining the battle. A forced retreat meant there was no time to go back there and check on its inhabitants, much less on whether the rest of the Ashen Wolves were even aware of what was happening or were okay in the first place. Lambert knew going back there wasn’t an option, at least not for the time being.

But he thought about them every day, wondering if they had managed to escape and protect themselves somewhere.

Seeing Yuri still there, well and standing, brought a sigh of relief Lambert didn’t know he had been holding all this time. Even if the Abyss too wasn’t left completely intact, it didn’t seem like their enemies had managed to actually find a way in. And whatever Ashen Wolves that stayed had held down the fort, for all this time. 

Approaching the House Leader, Lambert placed a hand on their shoulder- most likely the first time he had ever done so without a glove or gauntlets, as instead his skin sported bandages and still healing injuries. His face was much the same- pale skin covered by gauze, bruises, burns and cuts, but the smile was warm, fond, and ignored any and whatever signs of pain. “You have been here all this time, have you not? Ensuring their safety.”

“Forgive me for leaving you behind. I would not dare risk returning here and possibly be followed by one of our enemies. They were absolutely everywhere…to the point I spent much of my time wondering of the Abyss and its condition.”

A pat on the shoulder, over the Wolves’ ivory cape. “To know that you are okay after all this chaos brings me much peace. Allow me to once more join you in protecting this place.”

“And-” He lifted one finger. “I am doing absolutely fine, these injuries are nothing.” Huff- though followed by a light laugh. "I will figure out a way to restore my armor sooner or later."

“you look like shit.”

sharp and to the point, but more than anything, simply relieved. still, the mockingbird meets the professor halfway first, circling him with a tilted head and an appraising gaze before their steps draw to a slow stop before him once more. looks like professor lambert, sounds like professor lambert, acts like professor lambert—they'll take their chances with it.

“ever the professor, even after you've been through hell and back. how dutiful of you.” but there's a hint of relief in the creases of a wry smile, in the slump at the slope of their shoulders. a request for forgiveness is waved off with a laugh and a shake of their head. “if you brought back a tail, then we'd have problems.”

lilacs follow the hand that goes to pat at their shoulder, amused, but says nothing of it. “and,” yuri mimics instead, raising a finger just as lambert had, “you still look like shit. seeing me might've brought you peace but seeing you doesn't bring me any.”

arms fold over one another, an unconvinced brow raising as they pointedly look him up and down. “i'll get hapi to take a look at you later. so don't run, or i'll ask her to sic a monster on you.” do they mean it? do they not? it's hard to say—their steady gaze betrays no hint of whether it is levity or gravity that colors their tone. “for my own peace,” they add, and here their lips twist into a smirk, “or maybe i won't forgive you for disappearing after all. how could my own professor abandon me? unthinkable!”

their gaze sobers, a hand lightly tapping lambert's arm in farewell as they brush past. “i'll only say it once, professor: i'm glad you're alive, so don't go hurrying to run yourself so ragged that doesn't matter.” a glance over their shoulder as they pause briefly. “and don't get stabbed before you get your armor back, yeah?”

and with a final nod of their head in parting, yuri slips back into chaos of the underground city.