[ His eyes are unavoidably drawn towards her body when he finds her much closer than he'd thought when he turned around. Yes — her face and hair and eyes might be different, but those tattoos are impossible to forget. The sparkle of the piercing makes him think about pulling on it, about the way it felt and tasted against his tongue, and he forces himself to look her in the eyes again. ]

...I'm here, in Highstorm. With you. Aligned with the Zenith now...

[ he holds up his empty sake cup. ]

...drinking alcohol. I'm... nowhere. It doesn't matter. I don't know what else to say.