Don't go breaking my heart

It wasn't that hard to tell that the smile he gave her was forced and she wondered if she should have bothered him at all. But if she didn't then how much longer was she going to let herself keep avoiding him? She took Asla's warning to be careful around him to heart, but she had gone even above and beyond that to just not see him at all. There had to be somewhere in-between that she could be where she'd still get to see and be around her father that she loved so much while still keeping herself safe, right? Bracing her nerves, she stepped forward a bit more, bringing her nose up to boop it gently against his just like she had the night he attacked her before she went to find Asla. That felt like a safe amount of contact, even though it still didn't compare to the hug she craved so badly.

"I went and saw Artorias," she told him, feeling as if she needed to fill the empty, quiet air between them. "He told me about everything that happened while you were there so... So I wanted to come check on you." Her worry and love for him far outweighed her own fear, that fact showing through in her wide turquoise gaze as she looked up at him, slowly growing more uncertain the longer she met his sapphire eyes. "Are you... finding your center?" She questioned, thinking back to what he had told her that night. His warning to be prepared and it still puzzled her, but she had stopped trying to figure it out. She didn't like feeling like she needed to tip toe around him. She missed being able to run up to him and bump him with her head or get scooped up in his embrace. She wished she could just make everything right again.

"Briar" | "Marigold"