When Apart I: Letters

It was rare to find anyone writing letters by hand when they could communicate instantly via hydroterminal. Letters could take days or even weeks to arrive, it was simply an outdated, inefficient method of communication. But the recipient of these wouldn't be seeing them for a while yet, why shouldn't she take the time to write them by hand? Rishj found it therapeutic, writing the rippling letters with deft strokes of her pen. She didn't even use one of those modern ones that refilled itself, instead preferring the experience of dipping it in and out of ink as needed.
There was a personal touch— a soul to writing in this way. Something Azluun always appreciated. Everything Rishj wanted to say, every soft gesture, every warm touch— all of it was written in these letters. One for every day her partner was away, so that whenever she returned from her latest excursion, she could read them and feel as if she hadn't missed a thing.
Rishj sighed as she wrote, this was the seventh letter she had written since her light had left on her latest expedition. She had gone to the Ashlands, hoping to be the first to travel across its entire distance. She took a deep breath, smiling as she thought of how it would be when Azluun finally came home, safe and sound— maybe with a new scar or two— as she always did.
Whenever her lover returned, Rishj would hand her the stack of letters— and the two of them would then lie on the couch as the adventurer began to read. Neither of them would speak, Rishj would watch contentedly as Azluun traced each and every letter with her fingers. Then Azluun would regale her with a verbal recount of her adventure— surely with a few embellishments, but Rishj enjoyed these all the more. Then, they'd embrace, and make up for lost time. In this way, the two of them could feel as if they were never apart, even when they were.