He had made a silent promise to protect her, a vow to not fail this unknown child in the ways he had failed his own, and yet he had lost her to the darkness.. to the years.. to the restless, selfish crusade of his own soul.
His own redemption.
And then he'd found her, or maybe she had found him, and she'd shone a light on him in the darkness, and he'd seen this before. A tremble passed his body, a flinch, preparation; he was a deer in the headlights, frozen just before the leap, and his gaze locked on Ophelia again.
His own words—"Suck it up and love what you have left and try to protect what you still can protect."—became a curse drumming in his blood.
Love what you have left, protect what you still can protect.
He didn't know what had made her run—anger? Sorrow? Just plain old fucking darkness eating up her heart, mind, and soul? It didn't matter. She had been there for him, unasked, but welcome. She had found him standing in the north, crying, and just been there.
He couldn't abandon her now.
The moment passed, shattered like glass. His gaze tore itself from Ophelia, body thundering into motion; each stride trying to bridge the yawning void in his heart.
[ Mau out. <3 ]