Love You Like I've Never Been Broken

The howl nearly struck her as that of a stranger's. And as she was no longer a person of position within Valhalla, she had absolutely no reason at all to respond to it. And yet the woman would stop regardless, frozen to the core - she could not walk away from the lupine that stood at the borders. But why? Why did that call send a chill down her spine? Why was it issued for her? Chrysanthe would ignore the emotion that welled up within her, the hope, the fear, the disappointment - and approach the stranger - 'no, he will never be a stranger - that is simply not him' with neutrality.

The mist would wrap around her as she went, swirling before her and behind her - stopping her from seeing just who was waiting for her until they could see her as well. Her husband, Gideon, was gone. He was gone - he had vanished, that was simply what she had accepted, it had been a year since she had last seen him. And yet Syrinx had returned - if her brother could return to these lands, couldn't Gideon? But Syrinx was expected to fade in and out of the lives of his family, he was hers but he did not belong to her as Gideon had. Yet still, he had disappeared and left her to pick up the pieces on her own. He wouldn't do that unless he had died.

But the scent that gently wafted beneath her senses was very much alive.

Her slow pace became a dash as she closed in on the other. Alive - Gideon Matthias was alive, his heart was pounding at Valhalla's borders and he had come here, called for her. It didn't feel real! Even as she stood before him, taking in his charred figure, missing fur and features from his face - particularly an eye. Yet she would not question whether this marred lupine was her husband, she knew exactly who he was, and she could have cared less what he looked like, only that he was there.

A moment of awe would pass, and if he didn't slip the first word in, she would exclaim without warning. "Gideon!" Her lips would spread into a toothy grin, her tail wagging a mile a minute behind her. "You're alive - you came back!" She would give him a proper scolding for leaving her side, most definitely - but for now, she couldn't help but just be happy that he had somehow made it back from what she assumed were the throws of death. She would nuzzle his unmarred side, and place a kiss to his cheek - she had missed him, and despite how upset it made her that he had vanished, she still loved him.

If he decided to stay, she would not let him out of her sight - but at the same time, she wouldn't expect him to stay - not like before. If Chrysanthe had learned anything it was that men walked in and out of her life whenever they had the chance. Demonio, Themisto, even Gideon - had all proved that she alone could not keep them happy and beside her without some sort of hitch, complication or vanishing. Thrice scorned, her expectations were severely cut, and yet she had not given up enough to stop giving out chances. "What happened? Where did you go? Are you alright?"