Am I Already Dead

Life had settled into this new kind of normal after Balthier's disappearance. She had made new routines, made new friends, settled into a new bungalow. One after another she was beginning to defy her own expectations for herself and become more comfortable on her own. The only part that still felt strange and unwelcome was sleeping on her own, but occasionally she could even relieve that with Erys. The days that had immediately followed Balthier leaving had felt like her world had ended and she was never going to get her feet under her again, but with a bit of help she had managed and she had found ways to be content and even happy like this. Slowly she was learning how to be on her own.

She still continued to keep up with her routine of exercise and training even though she rarely felt the chronic weakness she used to feel. Part of it felt preventative and the other part felt habitual. She didn't want to risk falling back to the state that she had been and her runs had become a bit of an escape. She liked the burn in he muscles and the ache in her lungs. She was doing her usual run around the island on the beach when she spotted a familiar wooden structure moored at the shore, catching her off guard and causing her to steadily slow to a stop a few feet from it. She stared at the raft in disbelief and confusion for several moments. As the meaning behind the reappearance of the raft slowly began to sink in, her head turned toward the bungalow that she had once shared with her brother and her gaze landed on him.

Azzurra was frozen in place as she looked at him, unsure what to do or how to react. The sisterly side of her that could never stop caring about him was glad to see that he was okay, but that was joined by the anger and confusion she had felt over his abandonment and the sadness over the loss of what they once had. The only thing that finally got her to move or react was remembering all the times through this process where she had thought to herself how she would want to be able to show him how far she had come. Now was her chance so she was either going to have to own up to her own words or let go of this need to prove herself. Turning toward him, she crossed the stretch of beach between them, feeling very conscious of how she held herself and being careful to hold her head up with confidence. "I thought you had left," she said simply as she stopped a few feet from him, trying to gauge his expression.

"Azzurra"