whatever comes, let it come
what stays, let it stay
Sighing, Loren rubbed his temples. "Well, by your logic this is all my fault. And if I have to, I will take full responsibility to absolve you of your guilt." Lowering his hands, he almost glared at Amalia."Because if I had acted differently at Fiat Lux, done better, made different choices, Aoife would still be alive, Ronin wouldn't have gone mad with grief, the Temple wouldn't have fallen, and there would've been no need to seek out the heart of a rare creature to begin with." Voice sharp, yet filled with equal parts grief and despair, both of which spilled through their bond as well, he spread his arms almost helplessly.
Then his voice grew as soothing as he could manage, which wasn't very. "Or this was just a terrible tragedy, like that was, and there is no blame to be laid at either of our feet. Either way, it wasn't your actions that led to their deaths, Amalia."
He reached out to pull her hands from her arms almost harshly. "This is not your fault." Expression soft, despite the almost harsh words, he tried to send what little comfort he could muster from a soul scraped bare of it. However, he was insistent that she was not to blame for this.
"And punishing yourself for mistakes that aren't yours to begin with is not how they'd want you to honor their memory." It was a rebuke, albeit a gentle one. Astra pressed herself against the baker's legs, trying to support both Amalia and Loren in this moment.
what goes, let go
LOREN
