Scars without and within

Rudyard pulled a light laugh from her as he promised that he'd be able to find more trouble. The joy didn't feel fully genuine, but it was a start. It was a smile, a laugh. Perhaps a step in the right direction. It was going to be a hard climb, she knew that all too well. She wanted to believe that she could make that climb again, but even just the thought of it made her tired. It had taken so much out of her to get to where she was and now she had to do it all over again. The only advantage she had going for her this time was her children. They were the only thing keeping her in one piece and forcing her to be better. Without them... She didn't want to think about where she might fall without them as motivation.

She returned her gaze to Rudyard's when he called her name, or at least her name to them, and he broke her heart with his admitting that it hurt. Her ears flicked as worry pulled at her expression. "I know," she replied softly. It was pain that she knew all too well and had hoped that her children would never have to feel. That had been an unrealistic hope, but she had done her very best to keep them safe, give them love, show them that they meant everything to her and Resin. It hadn't been enough. She rested her paw on his cheek and gently pulled him to her, tucking his head under her own and wrapping her forelegs around him to hold him in a tight embrace.

"You're not alone, okay? If you ever feel like you're alone or lost or everything hurts too much, just... Just come find me, okay?" She knew they would be able to get past this eventually, but it would hurt until they did. She thought about how much she had hurt for so much of her life, how alone she had felt up on that cliff before Zee found her and took her back to the Armada. She wouldn't allow her children to feel like that. She couldn't.




"Tamsyn" | "Blue"