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[aladyofqualityswords]

"You have reached in the inbox of-- oh, um, Katherine-- please leave your message at the tone."

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[chrisisofaith]

[He's got a small set up by the tidepool, a stick stuck in the sand that's casting light illuminates a thin piece of wood near the deepest pool he could find and a candle sitting on it already.

She bumps into him and he smiles and puts an arm around her waist. She looks good in the jacket. Good.]

Yeah...something about burning away the negatives of the year before and leaving a clean slate for the next. That's why it's black, I guess. For the impurities or...something.

Thanks for coming.

[aladyofqualityswords]

[She reaches up to drape her arm across his shoulders, completing the hug.]

A see. We do a bonfire for Last Night and I think it's the same kind of idea... except bigger.

[Maybe they just have more 'impurities.' Who knows.

Katherine gives his shoulder a little squeeze.] Of course. Why wouldn't I?

[chrisisofaith]

A bonfire would likely be easier than little candle-boats.

[They could put it on top of the clocktower.

Of course, there were jokes to be made about the city being it's own bonfire right now, but those would be in very poor taste. He squeezed her side again and pulled away to kneel and light his candle with a pass of his hand over it.]

Cause you could be elsewhere with other people, doing more exiting things than setting a candle to burn. I appreciate you're not, that you're here, but you had options.

[aladyofqualityswords]

They can be surprisingly hard to get started, depending on the size.

[She bends down next to hers; she has to produce a matchbox and it takes her a few tries, but hers lights up as well.]

I suppose. But... I would rather be here.

[Chris is pretty easily her dearest friend in this place, and probably the best person she could think of to welcome the new year with.]

[chrisisofaith]

[He thinks, for a moment, about just lighting it for her, but decides against it...only partially because he gets mild amusement out of her attempts to use the match.]

Well, I thank you for it.

[He's quiet a moment, watching the flames dance in the candles before pushing the little raft of wood out into the water.]

You read the note, so...you know... [Another pause, a struggle as the words are there in his mind, but his mouth still has trouble forming the sounds needed and that little habit of his was only worse for the subject matter.]

She's dead. My sister. Rhyt. You're not...replacing her, nothing and no one can, but I won't pretend being around you doesn't feel a bit like being home or having her near.

I-I hope that's not too strange.

[aladyofqualityswords]

Oh-- I'm sorry.

[It's certainly a more potentially fraught sentiment than she would have thought, knowing that, but... it doesn't really change anything.]

No, I don't think it's strange. [If anything, this is not exactly the first time someone may have seen her in such a way. Though even if he saw something of his sister, of her mother, in her, Alec certainly reacted entirely differently about it.] I can't exactly relate, I've never been very close with my brothers and you're not much like either of them, but...

[She reaches out to take his hand, squeeze it gently in hers.] ...you are my dearest friend in this place. And no one can replace you or that, either.

[chrisisofaith]

[The gesture is a pleasant surprise and he squeezes her hand back with a smile.]

I'm glad for it.

[He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead, then nodded over to the spread of food he'd set up.]

You wanna get sick on too much wine and tiny cakes?

[aladyofqualityswords]

[Katherine grins widely up at him.]

Absolutely.