Am I Already Dead

Azzurra's pale, ivory dipped ear flicked and she gave a soft sound of acknowledgement when he said that he was leaving. She wanted to ask him why he came back, why even show his face here again after abandoning her the way he did, but she didn't want to be combative with him. She had said her piece and told him how he had made her feel well enough already and it was already very clear to her that he either didn't care, didn't understand, or was unwilling to do anything to change things between them. If this was just how it was going to be from now on then this was how it would be. She couldn't keep trying to fix things on her own and she couldn't keep compromising on her own happiness for him. She likely would have just walked away at that point if he didn't come down onto the beach and move closer to her. There was some trepidation in her expression, but she held where she was and simply watched him for now.

His expression and suddenly grown soft and more sincere than she had seen it in quite some time as he moved closer and she felt wary and uncertain about him in that moment. She knew that deep down there was still a weakness for him as her brother and her first love that she simply couldn't allow herself to give into. She kept emotions distant to protect herself from slipping even as he apologized. She didn't back down when he drew close, her head tipping up to continue meeting his gaze as she stood her ground in front of him. His sad gaze almost made her believe his words, but if he was genuinely sorry then it would never have gotten to this point. She knew he didn't see what he had done as anything wrong and at least for now they were just words or at best apologies for things she didn't want apologies for.

Still, considering this might be the last time she saw him for quite some time at least, she didn't want to pick a fight. Instead, she just nodded quietly, silently accepting his apology. There was a lot she wanted to say and even more she wanted to ask, but instead she just said softly, "Stay safe out there. I hope you can find whatever it is you need to be happy." No matter what happened, she would still always wish well for him and care for him as her brother. He was all she really had left in this life as far as her family went since they had lost all touch with their other siblings so she did secretly hope that one day he might sort himself out and find his way back to her again.

"Azzurra"