Lift Me Up, Let Me Go

Indigo didn’t miss Duch’s absence even with all of his attention being given to Aslatiel as she took her time away from the Armada to relax and unwind. To recover. He was to her as much as was possible, all of his time not working was at her side, but something woke him up that night. Everything was quiet, everyone but likely Emersyn was asleep, and as he blinked open his eyes he watched Duchess slip away. He knew she was having a hard time, she had never accepted the truth about him. He saw many things he should have done differently, but hindsight was 20/20 and he had been intentionally blind.

This was all his fault, he had been selfish and now was dealing with the consequences. Duchess was suffering and it was his fault. He made sure Aslatiel was nestled in the bed and he lifted himself carefully and followed the mottled girl out of camp. Not only had she been off socially and physically he’d noted a change in her scent the last few days. It was subtle and he didn’t entirely recognize its familiarity.

He walked carefully behind Duchess and didn’t approach until she made herself comfortable on the band of the river. He approached from behind, coming to sit close by but he didn’t sit close enough to touch. "Are you alright?” He asked softly, not just meaning tonight, but with everything she had facing her.

"Speech"