He held her as tightly as he could without hurting her, pressing her to his chest even as Boreal leaned against her back. Her keening had fallen away to a low, sobvocal whimper but Tal could feel it in his heart as the three of them reverberated with the unimaginable loss of their youngest family member.
But losing Alys would have been even more devastating. A thought that would haunt Tal in the weeks to come, filling him with guilt over the wicked twist of cruel relief buried deep in his heart that he hadn't lost both of them. For if Alys had been the one to fall, Sascha would not have survived long without her bonded no matter how desperately Tal and Boreal tried to sustain her. And then they would have had nothing at all to hold on to.
It was too soon to dwell on that, however. The grief was far too raw and overwhelming, even as anger shaded its edges and Tal placed the blame for the ursur's death squarely on the Void and the Family that sowed its unwanted seeds around Caido. He shifted to wrap his arms around Alys so that he could hold on to her shoulders as well as her waist, tucking her close against them while they mourned.
~Fin
But losing Alys would have been even more devastating. A thought that would haunt Tal in the weeks to come, filling him with guilt over the wicked twist of cruel relief buried deep in his heart that he hadn't lost both of them. For if Alys had been the one to fall, Sascha would not have survived long without her bonded no matter how desperately Tal and Boreal tried to sustain her. And then they would have had nothing at all to hold on to.
It was too soon to dwell on that, however. The grief was far too raw and overwhelming, even as anger shaded its edges and Tal placed the blame for the ursur's death squarely on the Void and the Family that sowed its unwanted seeds around Caido. He shifted to wrap his arms around Alys so that he could hold on to her shoulders as well as her waist, tucking her close against them while they mourned.
~Fin
