and onward down the road

Eligos had been about to leave for the start of his patrol, taking up where the morning patrols had left off, but he was early - and moody, and pensive, so he'd come out to the lake, sitting beside it to stare at his reflection. He remembered a time not long before Aureus had died, sitting here with him and talking about their fears and their hopes. Sometimes it seemed that hope had died with Aureus, but when he wasn't in a black mood he knew that to be ridiculous and dramatic. Right now he was neither, just quiet and thoughtful as he took an all too rare moment to simply exist.

Eligos?

Iroh's voice drew him up out of the depths of his thoughts and he surfaced, blinking, to turn his head to see Iroh approaching. He must have been here longer than he'd thought already, if the morning patrols were heading back in. "Iroh, good morning," he greeted his cousin quietly. "I was just..." What was he 'just'? "Reflecting," he decided on. "Will you join me?" He didn't mind the company, though he wouldn't have been offended if Iroh turned him down. After all, he had a willing woman waiting for his return, and even an alpha couldn't compete with that for a young man.