Knox stopped every so often along the way, bidding his companion to press on and scout ahead. Aylin needed to rest, he needed to think, and the last thing he had needed was to be discovered, by a brother or anyone else. Recognition was not what he was looking for.

And now, at last, they are here. He has led her into the heart of helovia, the heart of his home and history. There is nothing for him outside these fiery caves; all he needs, all he has left, is standing here beside him. Aylin. Manhattan. The emptiness of an old ghost's absence.  

He has let Aylin lean on him as they have walked, guided her with a quiet hum as he once guided his companion in a moment of blindness. Now, standing before a fall of lava and remembering his dream, he nudges her sleek neck, beckons her to the warm stone. This will keep away the cold, until Birdsong comes. Here, under the shadow of the earth, lit only by fire, they would still live in spring. They would still feel as spring.  

Here, he would confess his sins and loves.

Knox lets his round knees land gently on the stone, lets his heavy body fall. "Aylin..." he hesitates. It is difficult to explain all he has done wrong, since seeing her last. He feels as if he has killed hordes, as if he has left mountains of corpses in his wake.

But hasn't it only been two? Or no, maybe more. Maybe five.

Manhattan lies beside him then, her soft fur a comfort, the steadiness of her bond so constant that he is reassured. "...I thought I'd lost you, forever."

And it is true. He had thought she was gone. He hadn't remembered why, but he had found himself without her. He had considered it his punishment. He had thought it was a sign for him to lose all hope of recovering, to give into the evils he was raised to possess. But now she is back. She is light, she is hope, and she is here again, to save him. He will never go back.

He turns to her suddenly, curled tresses flying, blue eyes desperate and bleeding with emotion he has so long resisted feeling. Can she see him? How much can she see? And can she feel what is lost to her in the shadow of blindness?

Can she feel how much he cares?

His heart is beating in his ears, his massive dishes of hooves are sliding closer to the edge of the stone and the central fiery column as he turns to face her, looks deep to find her. "Aylin, I'm... starting to remember, that night. I'd forgotten, but... it's all coming back."

He exhales. Manhattan's steady heartbeat is a warm and welcome comfort. He has to say this, he has to tell her. He has to talk to her.

"You said I needed to think about the future—that I would have a family. No, that I could have a family."

Knox turns, looks out at the fire. He isn't a hunter, anymore. He's just scared, and he need to hear it from her.

"Do you really believe that?"