I miss him. Revilion. Our home and comfortable life, his arms. Have I made a huge mistake? Should I have been more selfish?
No, I did what I did for him. I did what I always told him would--broke my own heart rather than sacrifice who we are. He deserves this chance to grow into who he is, just as I deserved the chance to grow my own way. It's so hard to walk away knowing he loves me. Knowing if I just went back, a few words could fix the break and he'd hold me through the night like nothing ever happened.
I can't. I just can't. I can't do that to him.
But what has it done to me? I don't rest anymore. The frightening dreams are less frequent; I see enough horror in my waking hours. I know I should take a break. A few days to stop and relax, I have the support now on the scene to do it, others who will step in and instigate recovery after the Commander returns with another failed party. We're still waiting for the go-ahead on that one. I don't know how much longer I can wait---perhaps I ought to simply do as the order suggested. Go in, finish the job. Eliminate him from the field. What is one more guilt? I know in my heart he does this deliberately, but my mind fixates on that ever-slim chance that he is truly just unfortunate. That I would murder an innocent man for his poor luck. Until I have a chance to see for myself how he operates, that will either hold me back or burden my soul after his passing.
It's no longer the task that keeps me out here. Nor is it my hunt. My hunt does drive me, but it sits like a satisfied beast in the back of my mind. The lives I save here are more than enough to keep it sated. The more we fight, the more the other races seem to turn on us. They're tired, battle-worn. We are too, we are just as damaged, but it's clear some believe we are at fault. Even though we fight side by side, there's a growing sense that Tyria might thrive better without the sylvan population. I find myself having to resort to other faces more and more often, and the hunt is never entirely happy when I sport identities not of my own race. To be human is to be uncomfortable, but at least not persecuted. I am glad I have this alias. I must remember to thank Rosa for Eamon's good judgement.
But if not the task or the hunt to make me stay, why am I here? For all bar the six hours of attempted sleep, I am here. Fighting. Healing. Planning. I take short breaks to visit the Source, to check in with Mnostovo as required each day and to catch up on coalition happenings, but I rarely stay long. Wherever my body is, my mind is in the Silverwastes. When I fall from my bed in the night, my hands feel as though they hit sand, and I wake in the certainty that there are wounded I must see to immediately. I'm irritable when away. Or worse, I feel like nothing at all. I fail to break my mind out of the emotionless mindset required for clear judgement on the field.
If I had been selfish, things would be different. Revilion's greatest value was his ability to handle me. He calmed me, softened me. Took a battle-weary soldier and reminded her she was a woman. Brought me back to the reality of our home and made me feel safe and secure until I next returned. I could switch off. I could simply be me. I had respite from the sand and the blood and the sap. He held me through the night, so I could sleep deeply and without falling to the floor as I am so prone to do. And I would wake refreshed. Ready once again. Energised.
He played a role not unlike Keiranon did for me during Lion's Arch. Another focus, something to return to at the end of the day. This is more like Orr. Only this time, I know that I am missing that respite. This time, I know that I could, and should, seek support from those closest to me. I do, to a point. I have conversations. I try to relax at the Source. So far I have failed each time, been far too disagreeable to socialise much with the others. So I return. I don't know how Revilion ever managed what he did, he simply did it. With so little effort, too. That's what I miss most of all. Not the sex, though I'm shamed to admit that I crave that personal touch as well.
I sampled one of the staff sergeants outside the gate while we were both on downtime. It was awful. He had nothing much to speak of, and apologised as though he believed he were hurting me. He was kind and gentle, yet I couldn't help thinking as he satisfied himself, that I wouldn't half mind if a mordrem were to remove his head from his shoulders that I would feel nothing. A death that his insipid weakness deserved, I suppose. I didn't enjoy it. I felt disgusted afterward and spent an hour scrubbing myself clean of the encounter.
The others are a comfort to me, I don't mean to negate their presence in any way. Some in particular. I know they care a lot, and I care as much for them. They worry for me and my seeming obsession with the Wastes. Worry I'm working myself to death, when the truth is I have no idea what else to do. I go there to fill in the time before I can try once again to get a restful sleep and fail, there is no one person who demands I be home at the time they sleep. And if my mind refuses to dislodge itself from the war, what point is there in being anywhere else? So I go back, and back. I make sure I return, for the sake of the others. They've lost enough--Vilathara in particular, I think of--and I won't allow them to suffer for a stupid mistake I make. I don't endanger myself or others, I do what I can. I come back, I go out.
I can move, so I can fight. And I can win.
So it was said, and thusly I live my life.