He is overwhelmed, and Rivin does not blame him. For all that she tries to be strong, her heart is heavy with sadness and guilt for what he must have felt. The fear that he had lost her, and the reality that she had almost been lost, swallowed by the sea. Rivin closes her eyes, her ears pinned to her head. It was real, all of it too real. She could have died, and he would have never known. Rivin wrapped her head around him in a gentle embrace, trying to bring the words “You could never lose me,” to her maw, but they did not come out. They stick like a lump in her throat, and all she can do is hold him. Scary as it all was, she was here now.
Calico Jack draws back and Rivin meets his gaze. Like her own, there are unshed tears within it. She whines softly for him, both of their hearts paining and worrying over the same thing. At his request, Rivin gives a little nod. “I don’t want to leave.” Her words are quiet, a whine at the end of them. She isn’t sure if it is a promise she can keep, much as she would like to. As a blessing Caedes had been silent since her awakening, but Rivin felt certain that she was still there, lurking beneath the surface.
Their lips meet, and Rivin’s tears fall. She missed him, fear and self doubt clouding her judgement on returning, but she knows she can’t just expect him to go home without her. Maybe she wasn’t ready to face Gilgamesh and Modesty, far more worried about disappointing the man she looked up to once more than any repercussions that might come of it. She curls back around him as he answers, needing to hold him. She drinks in his scent, taking it as comfort.
“I’ve missed you so much.” Her voice is shaky, filled with emotion. She clings to him, her support, her love. Rivin closed her eyes, taking in a breath before she continued. “I… I know I should go back, but… I need a little more time. I’ve been recovering in our old lands… I noticed the pack moved.” She set her head on his back.
“...and, well… The water fucked up my lungs this time, Patchwork.” She confessed. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to fight the same way I did before, or if I’ll be healer den bound forever…” She had enjoyed fighting, to support her beloved on the battlefield. That was her biggest fear about returning to the Raiders…. What good was a Raider who couldn’t hold their own on the battlefield?
"Speech," 'Thought.'
