For her apology the girl gets only a pause in the gold’s step and one turned hark. His anger still pricks at her naivety, and folly, yet as always he found it a struggle to sustain anger against innocent dolls. He should call back something, some tease or maybe in a weird turn, some comfort. Yet he, as before, wanted quiet isolation after the thoughts she had brought forth, and the images the deer had dragged up of snowy cliffs and black and white mares had made him even more worn. So he only snorts longs, and moves on, a little less annoyed, but not yielding.

The young stag watches, caught as always in the cross hairs. He looks though to the doll as she speaks, his false mask broken all the more by her attempts to apologize and her returned meek smile. She thanks him, but it is sour in his ears. A gruff comes from deep in his vocals. He wants to tell her. Oh how he wishes to speak to her. He wants to tell her it’s not her fault. That this had nothing really to do with her. That the gold was only lost. That she had nothing to fear. That she was alright. That he was here for her, not him.

Yet in the tragedy that is a companion’s fate, it comes out in only a meaningless gruff. Not for the first time he curses that which binds him to the gold.

She reaches down to him, and though careful of his tines, he leans in to her. Her warmth wraps around him, and he holds tight in it. So few and far between were even little nudges of comfort, and this embrace from something so sweet and pure was overwhelmingly wonderful. Like some child leaving home to head back to a distant land of toil and loneliness, he hangs on for as long as she will, and is brought low when she pulls back. The effort to seem normal now fully lost as she asks him about the gold.

Moon eyes turn to the disappearing form of his bonded. Not for the first time he cursed all that this bond brought upon him. Dark days come forward of a snowy cliff, and the cold touch of a bird he wrapped around came back bitter and hot. Of a dim lit cave and a gentle heart growing bold, and threatening. He resented then as he does now all the pain and dark deeds being tied with the gold seemed to involve him in. He was angered that he had to watch him lash out to those undeserving, the innocents which had nothing to do with it. He was ever saddened by the burden the gold’s own agonies put on him. Haldir should be happy, and free to go with her instead of he. Bad things should not happen to good people. He had never done anything wrong, yet was placed in this life with the gold, where even a pleasant day on the beach was ruined.

Yet fate is rarely labeled as karma, and innocents rarely escape this world unhurt. For all his curses of their bond there was still that inner core, which like steel locked them together, inseparable in body and spirit. Yes, he should go with the gold, because he had too. For while he spar bitterly at him, he also cradled his bonded’s broken views and soul. It wasn’t fair where the stag was, but neither was it fair on the gold what happened all those years ago. He couldn’t be blamed for picking up his life in the only way he could make sense of it. And he couldn’t help that its continuous reminders lately were leading him to madness. Someone had to be there to be the padded walls, the silencing doors, and safety locks. Not to keep the gold from the world, but to the keep the gold from destroying himself. And Haldir would always be there for that. He was needed, whether in light as he was today, or in the shadows, the gold needed him, so the deer needed the gold. It was not should he go, it was he needed to go. As bitter as that notion was.

So the moon eyes turn back to her and he nods slightly solemn. Yet he leans in one last time, in some effort to say all the things he wanted too. Too wish her luck and safety. Too bless her to continue this bold, light heart and high step. Then he turned and without a look back jogged after the gold.






OOC:: Thran and Haldir out. =] Wonderful threading with you love <33

"Talk?"

we live like thieves
     kings among men