Reunited and it Feels So Good

She knew. Bowen knew that he was upset with her by the look in his eye, by the way he stayed just out of reach. For this, she couldn't blame him. She'd broken promises that she'd made to him before leaving. It hadn't been her intent to do so, but every step closer to the Armada felt like she was walking into a different type of prison. Freedom had been what she needed. It was that freedom that had reminded her of everything that she'd been through. Everything that she'd overcome. Every battle that she'd won, every life taken. All of it just to get back to the black and blue man before her.

Bowen owed him an explanation, she knew. His words towards her were harsh and she knew that she had hurt him. Copper ears pulled back against the fae's shapely skull for a moment and her viridian gaze fell. She thought about the words that she might say to him, trying to think of how to explain the place that she'd been in then and the place that she was in now. Before she could answer him, he questioned her again, this time asking more directly.

The small woman inhaled deeply and let her breath out long and slow, steeling herself for the explanation that she was to give. "I never intended to break my promise," she assured him softly, her gaze still downcast. "The closer that Tej and I came to the Armada, the more trapped I felt. Living amongst strangers raised such anxiety in me that I felt as though I would snap." More than once she'd considered turning back, running home to The Hallows, but she hadn't. Nothing would have changed. She still would have been a miserable, sad sack.

"Tej saw me struggling and suggested that we try something different. Out in the wilds alone, I could remember who I was. How strong I was." Bowen had struggled, but having Tej beside her had been exactly what the small wolf needed. "I learned to live for myself again. At the end of it all, Tej wanted to live for himself again as well, so we parted ways. He went back to his homeland and I came back to you." Throughout it all, Bowen's voice stayed a soft whisper, but she knew that he would hear her.

"I came back to you because this is where I belong and I could only come back when I knew with complete certainty that I would never be that weak, wretched thing ever again." Now she raised her gaze to meet his once more. "I am not weak, Artorias. I am no longer broken." Lifting one paw, she made the first move towards him, placing her silken pads upon his cheek. "I am sorry to have betrayed your trust, but I am home and I am whole. Please try to understand."

"Bowen" | "Carpathian"