Zephyr didn't fear death. It'd been a long while since he'd found himself worried about dying, but now that Caelum was gone and all his children were well past them point of needing him to care for them, he no longer feared it. If it wasn't for his youngest child though he would've likely left this world by now, but he kept constantly hesitating. It was because of that that he'd decided to see her once last time, to hopefully give her some closure as well as himself.
He didn't have to wait long before his daughter came rushing toward him, much older than he remembered despite the fact that he hadn't been gone terribly long. It wasn't hard to miss the pained look on her face, but it didn't surprise nor alarm him, not really. Even in his fragile state of mind he was aware of how he must look and how it might break Caelestis's heart. Was it better than disappearing without a trace? He really hoped so, but his choice had been made and he couldn't undo it now.
He breathed a shuddering breath, his own eyes closing to keep the tears from falling. If he showed too much weakness, she might try to stop him from doing what he knew was necessary. His own tightly reigned in tears, the ones threatening to fall, were not proof of his wavering decision.. but in knowing how badly Caelestis was hurting. She'd lost her mother, and now was losing him. She was strong enough to bounce back from both things, he knew, but he remembered losing his own parents and the pain had been quite visceral. "Cae," he murmured softly, letting his own head drape over her shoulder to pull her into a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry I just... left..." His voice quivered as she pulled away from him, not wanting to let go now that she had reunited with him. His daughter was like a brief, overwhelming beacon of light in the darkness, but quickly he found himself sinking back into that same hellish void as he remembered why he was here. "Your mother... she's..." He choked on his words, unable to say them, and he felt his chest tighten painfully. The tears he had been trying to hold back suddenly seemed to fall, and he tilted his head away from her and toward the ground. "She went.. peacefully. Someone... found her... before I could," he breathed, speaking slowly and trying to keep his emotions reigned in. "She loved you, you know, Caelestis," Zephyr said, finally bringing his gaze back up to her and speaking seriously, with all the conviction he could muster. "I just didn't want to go.. without telling you.. how happy you made her. And me." There was a seriousness in his voice, and in his stare, that he hoped would help convey what he was saying, as well as how much he meant those words.
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