Told you not to worry, but maybe that's a lie
'I won't be back.'
The words hit in her chest, final and crushing despite how delicately he says them. "No." It's barely audible in the lull of the waves, a refusal, a command, a plea. She's too stunned to say more as he speaks, chewing at her cheek while her mind reels. Thal shakes her head, stubborn and determined. "No. No. You can still come back. Once Dahlia's strong again, you can come back." To Caido - to her. Her voice cracks in its insistence, trying to find purchase and reason and solutions - but then there's Pierce.
His head tilts forward to rest against her, silencing the thoughts to a single one that splinters her heart: He's leaving.
Her eyes squeeze tight, blocking out everything but Pierce, like she might keep out the truth, like if she doesn't open her eyes it might not find her. It's a denial she momentarily allows herself, a luxury even as everything keels, her ship taking on dangerous amounts of water. Her jaw clenches against the pressure building in her chest, behind her eyes, in her head.
Then he pulls away, a silver lining breaking in the storm. "I -" The purple hue that has become her compass - the guidance she's come to rely on - gives no indication, the needle limp and useless in her mind, spinning lazily like the world isn't falling apart around her. She wants to scream, to cry, to smash it to pieces until it tells her how to fix this, but no matter how much she shakes the compass, it remains stubbornly silent, leaving the choice to her.
She loathes the autonomy and the burden it places on her. She hates that it doesn't hide every memory that surfaces. She detests that it doesn't dampen the aches and regrets that make her hesitate. She despises that it doesn't disguise the sea salt written on her skin and the magic simmering in her blood. And she flinches when it fails to cover the words and names still carved deep into her heart - right next to Pierce's.
Her mouth opens, more than just her voice breaking. "I -" can't. She can't say the words and she can't go with him.
Thal tightens her hold on Pierce, pain arcing through her, because that can be the only explanation for the tearing sensation in her lungs and the water lining her eyes, the screaming in her head and the way her body strains against the urge to collapse. As if he's the only remedy, she reaches up, pulling him to her in a desperate kiss. It's a wish and a plea on lips that tremble traitorously: Don't leave me.
The words hit in her chest, final and crushing despite how delicately he says them. "No." It's barely audible in the lull of the waves, a refusal, a command, a plea. She's too stunned to say more as he speaks, chewing at her cheek while her mind reels. Thal shakes her head, stubborn and determined. "No. No. You can still come back. Once Dahlia's strong again, you can come back." To Caido - to her. Her voice cracks in its insistence, trying to find purchase and reason and solutions - but then there's Pierce.
His head tilts forward to rest against her, silencing the thoughts to a single one that splinters her heart: He's leaving.
Her eyes squeeze tight, blocking out everything but Pierce, like she might keep out the truth, like if she doesn't open her eyes it might not find her. It's a denial she momentarily allows herself, a luxury even as everything keels, her ship taking on dangerous amounts of water. Her jaw clenches against the pressure building in her chest, behind her eyes, in her head.
Then he pulls away, a silver lining breaking in the storm. "I -" The purple hue that has become her compass - the guidance she's come to rely on - gives no indication, the needle limp and useless in her mind, spinning lazily like the world isn't falling apart around her. She wants to scream, to cry, to smash it to pieces until it tells her how to fix this, but no matter how much she shakes the compass, it remains stubbornly silent, leaving the choice to her.
She loathes the autonomy and the burden it places on her. She hates that it doesn't hide every memory that surfaces. She detests that it doesn't dampen the aches and regrets that make her hesitate. She despises that it doesn't disguise the sea salt written on her skin and the magic simmering in her blood. And she flinches when it fails to cover the words and names still carved deep into her heart - right next to Pierce's.
Her mouth opens, more than just her voice breaking. "I -" can't. She can't say the words and she can't go with him.
Thal tightens her hold on Pierce, pain arcing through her, because that can be the only explanation for the tearing sensation in her lungs and the water lining her eyes, the screaming in her head and the way her body strains against the urge to collapse. As if he's the only remedy, she reaches up, pulling him to her in a desperate kiss. It's a wish and a plea on lips that tremble traitorously: Don't leave me.
Thalassa
Honey, what's your hurry? Won't you stay inside?
