the curse

It was hard to feel like he hadn't been partly to blame for his sister's disappearance, or even his brother's, despite the fact that he had returned to them. What if he'd reached out to her more? Stopped to check in, to make sure she was okay? As deeply as he'd loved Rhea he'd always been closer to Aiden, and the guilt over her leaving without an explanation had eaten away at him for a long time. As the seasons went on, as he grew older, it became much easier to push those feelings deep down inside, to feel simply sad rather than guilty over what he might have done wrong - or even what he hadn't done. What was done was done, and mulling over the past couldn't change things. It was much more realistic to focus on the present and on improving things in the here and now so that he could be better, for his family, for Abaven, for the ones he loved.

They had both suffered greatly, though he hoped they were becoming stronger because of it. Sometimes it was just hard to think of that in the midst of an emotional moment, like the one Twig was having. He didn't reply to her word of thanks, only leaned further into her, equally as comforted by her presence. "And you mean a lot to me," he replied, for once without hesitation, without stopping to consider the gravity of her words. She was a breath of fresh air in a world that often felt stiflingly bleak, and he appreciated her company more than he knew how to verbally express. Hopefully his physical touch gave her some indication of how much she mattered to him. The kiss on his cheek brought a surprising heat to his face, though his instinct wasn't exactly to pull away, despite being uncertain about what he was doing. "Thank you for everything," Corvus finally added, leaning to nuzzle his face into her shoulder and inhale her scent, comforting and familiar.