I don't want to steal your freedom
you don't have to change your mind
He’s a little too inebriated to have seen the way she reached for him, though he blinks at her hands dumbly, knowing he missed something but unsure what. When he takes it back, he unwittingly does the same, hoping to touch her forearm and wrap his fingers around her skin with gentle strength to squeeze and comfort.
“There’s still some good though, isn’t there? There’s you. There’s me. It ain’t much, but there’s always something worth staying around for.” He may be a hypocrite, but there’s a reason he keeps trudging onward. Love may have failed him, but what few friends he has left have not, so he can’t say the world is worthless. Not yet. “And you can have magic again someday. I know you can - I’ve seen it in other Ancients.” Edmund, of course, and only ever Edmund, but perhaps it will be some small comfort, though he’s hesitant to tell her that it had manifested as fire - the exact opposite of the magic she misses most.
It’s darkly humorous that she tries to comfort him in the same way, offering solutions to otherwise hopeless situations. He offers her a smile, though much like hers it’s sad and tired. They’re a pitiful pair. “I could try. I don’t think Caido is quite interested in such small theatrics and entertainment though. The Artists Guild is gone, most of our singers…the world is just too dark, I think.” Normally he would think it could thusly use a little light, but after the attack during Fiat Lux, even small gatherings often lead to shifty eyes and nervous dispositions. Not to mention Harper would be incapable of running an entire circus by himself, no matter how talented he is at each individual act.
While intentionally forgetting those years as an Ascended may be frowned upon by a therapist, Harper is not a therapist, and any sign of Maea looking toward the future is a positive thing in his eyes. “I think that’s a good idea. Starting over as much as you can.” And the offer to accompany her will always be there, whether it’s now or years from today, with Dygra or with Ludo. He thinks that maybe they have to look out for each other after everything they’ve gone through.
“There’s still some good though, isn’t there? There’s you. There’s me. It ain’t much, but there’s always something worth staying around for.” He may be a hypocrite, but there’s a reason he keeps trudging onward. Love may have failed him, but what few friends he has left have not, so he can’t say the world is worthless. Not yet. “And you can have magic again someday. I know you can - I’ve seen it in other Ancients.” Edmund, of course, and only ever Edmund, but perhaps it will be some small comfort, though he’s hesitant to tell her that it had manifested as fire - the exact opposite of the magic she misses most.
It’s darkly humorous that she tries to comfort him in the same way, offering solutions to otherwise hopeless situations. He offers her a smile, though much like hers it’s sad and tired. They’re a pitiful pair. “I could try. I don’t think Caido is quite interested in such small theatrics and entertainment though. The Artists Guild is gone, most of our singers…the world is just too dark, I think.” Normally he would think it could thusly use a little light, but after the attack during Fiat Lux, even small gatherings often lead to shifty eyes and nervous dispositions. Not to mention Harper would be incapable of running an entire circus by himself, no matter how talented he is at each individual act.
While intentionally forgetting those years as an Ascended may be frowned upon by a therapist, Harper is not a therapist, and any sign of Maea looking toward the future is a positive thing in his eyes. “I think that’s a good idea. Starting over as much as you can.” And the offer to accompany her will always be there, whether it’s now or years from today, with Dygra or with Ludo. He thinks that maybe they have to look out for each other after everything they’ve gone through.
I just want to make you love me
so please let me take my time
HARPER
