Did all I could

Allegro smirked a little when Balthier pointed out that he should be asleep too. He supposed that was a fair point. He had just hoped that he might be able to slip away in the darkness without having to admit his weakness to his children, but life decided that was not in the cards for him. Just like anything else, it found a way to not go as he had planned. His son asked if he was going somewhere and he glanced at the bad that his boy had glanced at, the damning evidence that made it hard to lie. He couldn't say he was just out for a walk. Why would he pack a bag for that? He couldn't say he was going for a hunt, it was the middle of the night. He sighed, his forced smile falling away. He didn't have much of a choice at this point and he hated that he was going to have to witness whatever reaction his son had to the news.

"Yes... I am," he admitted after a moment. He was disgusted with himself for what he planned to do and guilt twisted in his gut as he stood in front of Balthier, but the thought of staying one more day hurt even more. Staying here where he had loved Aranea, where he had raised these children on his own, where he would have to continue looking them in the eye and trying to hide the pain he felt day in and day out... He couldn't do it any more. "I'm going to live with my mother's family. They're a long way from here. I'm... I'm not planning on coming back." He let that sink in, barely able to make himself look Balthier in the eye as he said it.

"I stocked the den with meats. I made several sets of the skinning tools I taught you to use so you'll have them. You're almost a year old now... You'll be okay." All the things he had told himself to convince himself that this was okay. That he was allowed to live his own life again. He looked at the ground, nearly sick to his stomach with guilt. "I'm sorry, Balthier. I am. And I love you, I just... I can't. I'm sorry." He forced himself to turn away then, walking off into the darkness. If Balthier said anything else he didn't hear it. Everything around him drowned out into a haze as he blinked away tears and put himself on a path out of Boreas to find his long lost family again, seeking the salvation from this life that had fallen apart around him.

Walk | "Talk" | think