safe in my arms

Jude

She is warm and steady in his arms, and though he is the one holding her to his chest it’s undeniable that here and now, she is the rock keeping him on his feet. Her familiar scent slows the anxious flutterbeat of his heart to something a few shades further from frantic, and as her gentle hands begin to smooth over his hair, Jude’s shoulders begin to relax. His eyes are still leaking tears sporadically, but they are infrequent and unpredictable after days of travel and anxiety. He’s amazed he still has anything left to cry with.

“She’s so sick Soh,” he warbles against her skin, trying to gather both his wits and the bravery to release her enough to talk in more than muffled segments. There is little desire to try given how comforting and safe he finds her embrace. There is not even any room left for embarrassment or second-guessing. “D-Dad is with her at the clinic. They couldn’t heal it without magic.” Traveling had been touch and go to say the least, and Jude had been so very alone the entire time. Trying to be brave, to keep Maeve stable while they flew so her condition wouldn’t worsen. “She was in the Feverlands. I just stopped out of habit, what if I hadn’t?” What if he hadn’t checked that lead? If he’d given up the search? How much longer could the locals have kept her alive?

stop trying to keep this alive
you're pointing at stars in the sky that already died