you were all i ever longed for

Before he even recognized her, something about this woman seemed familiar. The quick, effortless way she spoke back to him was impressive - shouldn't she, instead, be timid of being trapped alone in a cavern with a strange man? That was the impression he got from most lone women he met. At the very least, they were cautious. But nothing about this woman seemed the least bit wary of him. He couldn't decide whether this trait made her bold, or foolish. Perhaps a bit of both would be accurate. He was a bit wary of her himself, though her next statement brought a cold laugh from his lips. He knew he was not alluring in the least -- and truthfully, he didn't try to be, but it made him laugh nonetheless. Perhaps many years ago he had been more charming, but now.. that sort of companionship was far from his mind.  "You sound a bit crazy even if that's not what you're doing," he'd quip back, before the entire mood of their conversation changed.

It took him a long moment to process who he was talking to, even after he said her name. Asha. She'd been his best friend - and a horribly sore spot in his relationship, much of the time. She'd gotten kicked out of the pack. Caelum seemed to think she was, somehow, at least partially at fault for what had happened. Not that he even knew what had happened. Caelum had been weak.. too weak to protect the pack. But he had been gone, too. Seeing Asha. You could've saved them. You know you would've fought til your very last breath to save them. He had always been a loyal man, to those he loved and those who looked up to him. What had gone wrong? The memories were strong, too strong, but he stood strong and stared.

His name on her lips nearly made him crumple to the ground where he stood. His body sagged, limbs bending at their joints and begging to collapse; but it'd been too many years for him to give in now. Hadn't he come to terms with all these emotions? He blamed Caelum, had blamed her for a long time, but this.. it was difficult to relive, as he finally got a better look at Asha's familiar face. It was aged and different now, but strikingly familiar all the same. A long-lost friend, one he'd assumed dead for many years, had come back to haunt him. "You.. you're dead," he uttered, though she stood here in the flesh, as real as anyone he'd ever seen before. But he felt his head spinning, felt faint and suddenly nauseous, though his face was as stony as ever. It contorted only slightly, in apparently frustration as he took a few steps closer. "You died that night," he said again, more a rhetorical statement than anything else, nose wrinkling as he got a better whiff of her scent. It smelled like home, in a way, and he felt his heart clench painfully in his chest at the realization of her continued existence.