♤—“Sｏｍｅｔｉｍｅｓ ｔｈｅ ｂｌｏｏｄ ｒｕｓｈｅｓ ｔｏ ｍｙ ｈｅａｄ, ａｎｄ…
❝Don’t ya dare look back.”
The pirate stepped up beside the shamaness - and in the same motion, he extended a heavy arm around her slender shoulders, drawing them nearer. He was close enough now that her flame-calling gifts sang to the open fires beneath his skin, warming the surface and enticing his flame-wick, sable waves to flicker with eager heat. His grip wasn’t oppressive, but rather, meant as reassuring
❝Right now, just as you are - did you know that you’re the salvation to someone lookin’ up to ya? With all your weariness, with all your bruises and busted hopes, you standin’ right here like this, it’s a testament to all of the things ya’ve said that you treasure. You’re proof of what it means to hope.
Don’t look over your shoulder. Don’t avert your eyes from the paths ahead.
The life ya have is too precious, too important to neglect for even a moment.”
He had overheard her soft musings, perceived the sadness in her otherwise willful frame. And he was by no means ignorant of the sensation of loss. The feeling of being left behind. The feeling of leaving someone behind. The turmoil that followed ‘what ifs’ and ‘could have been’s’ - he’d wrestled alongside his devil right into the grave, and still it rested, cradled in a heartbeat guided only by memory. He, too, had witnessed the transformation of an era, the anointing of the new age. He, borne of cursed conflicts, had witnessed sacred history concede to the rise of new tides; deferring at times with fury, and at others, with grace. He was informal with his encouragement, but not out of insensitivity - there were few who would perceive what he could, as deeply as he would, from the little he knew about the shamaness’ heartfelt struggles and tragic losses.
❝Sometimes, it takes everything that a person has, to ensure that their living proof continues on. It‘s a sad fate, maybe it even feels bitter at first. And, no one can deny that it hurts on both sides. But I’m sure you, too, do everything ya can for those you wanna look after, too, right?
In the end, a life honestly, passionately spent on loved ones, though, there’s nothin’ sad about that. And to live as a result of someone havin’ loved ya more than anything... There’s no reason to wish anything at all had happened otherwise. Today was always meant to come exactly as it arrives to ya. Keep movin’ forward. And when it gets heavy, Be as sad as ya need to be.
But don’t doubt the miracle that is you right at this moment, by questioning about the past.”
The pirate grinned, a raw, insistent expression. He lifted his ochre hat, with the arm not embracing the Draenei’s shoulders, and placed it soundly atop her head. Brusque, but genuine, it was a wordless assurance that he was willing to stay with her through her grief. If her hurts brought her to tears, he would keep them a secret from those she wished not to worry. If the uncertainties of the future brought a crease to her sweet brow, he would dust it off with encouragement and resolve. If she just needed a friend to hear her out while she navigated her heart, he would be a compassionate, if clumsy, passenger.
❝Whatever comes, Euanthe-san, ya’ve got this. And I’ve got your back. So continue on, just as ya are, just as the person who has taken your steps up to now. It’s the best 'thank you’ that you can give the ones who placed their bets on ya. You’ve got their strength at your back, too.”
I ｆｅｅｌ ｌｉｋｅ ｉｆ Ｉ ｒｕｎ, Ｉ'ｌｌ ｌｏｓｅ ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ ｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔ.”
annaxmalina
titsay
