[ One arm curves around her shoulders, holding her close; the other settles over the arm she has snaked tight across his body. She's still so small, only sixteen years old (and now will she only ever be sixteen years old?), barely more than a child and feeling delicate and fragile in his arms even though he knows her strength, her capability. Sixteen might be as good as an adult in Lumiรจre, but that's by necessity, not because it's enough time being a child.
...And he still can't promise to never leave her again. He'd been taken from her once, and it's possible it could happen again, no matter how hard he fights to stay by her side. He shakes his head, holding her close. ]
I do still need you. I always need you.
[ He huffs out a breath that's not quite a laugh, rueful and fond. ]
I saw you everywhere I looked when I first got here. I missed you so much.
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...And he still can't promise to never leave her again. He'd been taken from her once, and it's possible it could happen again, no matter how hard he fights to stay by her side. He shakes his head, holding her close. ]
I do still need you. I always need you.
[ He huffs out a breath that's not quite a laugh, rueful and fond. ]
I saw you everywhere I looked when I first got here. I missed you so much.