[ she pets his hair protectively, very slightly tilting his chin so she can inspect his face for injury the same way a different sort of mother might look for a smudge of dirt. ]
[ Hm. (Out of curiosity, does the sprig in her braided hair also shiver?) ...In a way, it's a relief. The tiniest clue that it matters to him too, even if he won't acknowledge it. ]
A cause is a worthy thing. But it matters, too, that— [ she hesitates, grasping for the right words ] It matters too that your heart can follow that cause.
[ taking his hands to hold in hers ]
I want to meet your ghosts, but if your conviction is hollow at its heart, you can't sustain it.
It would be harder [ so much harder ] for me to reject this place if I saw that you were truly happy here. But this is not happiness, and... how can I forgive myself if I let you choose it?
There is more to the world, and I want you to see it.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Re: katabasis: the clearing
What do you mean by "so soon"?
Re: katabasis: the clearing
Re: katabasis: the clearing
...That sounds extraordinarily lonely, you know.
Re: katabasis: the clearing
Re: katabasis: the clearing
Something you can tolerate and something that truly brings you happiness are two very different things.
And it's a difference that matters to me.
Re: katabasis: the clearing
shiver.]
Re: katabasis: the clearing
...In a way, it's a relief. The tiniest clue that it matters to him too, even if he won't acknowledge it. ]
A cause is a worthy thing.
But it matters, too, that— [ she hesitates, grasping for the right words ]
It matters too that your heart can follow that cause.
[ taking his hands to hold in hers ]
I want to meet your ghosts, but if your conviction is hollow at its heart, you can't sustain it.
Re: katabasis: the clearing
My heart will not falter. [still as vague as he was, as if he isn't all here.]
Re: katabasis: the clearing
It already has.
[ ...oh, oh that hurt to say. ]
Or else you would not be here in this... [ an old image, something from a dream ] ...this beautiful cage.
Re: katabasis: the clearing
Re: katabasis: the clearing
It would be harder [ so much harder ] for me to reject this place if I saw that you were truly happy here. But this is not happiness, and... how can I forgive myself if I let you choose it?
There is more to the world, and I want you to see it.
Re: katabasis: the clearing
I can't.
[he doesn't cry, but what happens instead is that above, the sky shatters.]
Re: katabasis: the clearing
[ Oh.
She moves on instinct, protectively scooping his delicate frame into her arms, as the sky falls around them. ]
I love you with all my heart.
Re: katabasis: the clearing