On Broken Wings

It was still new and fragile to him, this idea that he could lean on the strength of others when his own wasn't enough. The seed had been planted only in recent seasons, after years of self-imposed solitude, but his friends had tended the tender shoots of it and its roots had slipped through the cracks of his defenses until he found himself turning into Amalia's comforting touch, her words of gentle encouragement, both surprised and not that she had stayed with him in spite of his misery. She loved him, as did Isuma, and though he had protested the Attuned bond for a long time, he could not deny the power and saving grace of it now, when the emotions that played through it left no room for misunderstanding.

Thank you, he sighed, and though the weariness and pain remained they were not the entirety of his world as they had been before she had arrived. Isuma peeped encouragingly, snuggling against both of them, and Jigano blinked up at Amalia before ducking his head to lick her hand apologetically. I'm sorry for worrying you... all of you, he amended, including the companions. How easy it would have been to fall back into self-deprecation and castigation, and a few such thoughts nudged their way forward, but he held onto his friend's words like a lifeline and picked his phrasing with care. I had wanted to protect you... and instead I have been the one in need of protecting.