i can't save the world if i'm not happy anymore.

He felt her withdraw, but it wasn’t like she was much more than a ghost of herself at that moment. Feeling her withdraw from him was nothing new. He had felt it before and would likely feel it again at some point. She listened. Underneath the disdain that she so clearly displayed, she listened. Thank the fucking gods. She could have run. She could have taken off and disappeared to the night with ease, but she didn’t. Part of him was wondering why she didn’t. Running was her survival mechanism. When she felt cornered or scared, she ran. Hells, she managed to run to another world to escape her past. She was good at running, at shoving those agonizing emotions deep down until she didn’t have to pay attention to them anymore, didn’t have to acknowledge them. In the Guild, that might have worked if he didn’t pry them out of her whenever he felt something off. Now? Now, she hadn’t had anyone dig into her past because everyone tiptoed around it. Was it painful? Damn fucking straight it was painful, but so was life. Life without pain is life wasted. You can only get as much joy as pain experienced, and he held onto that thought every time things started getting really hard. Kalt listened to her practically crying her denial of his claims. He didn’t expect her to take it well. In his dreams, she would have collapsed into his arms... They would have crumbled for each other, felt their magic mingling. They would have shed the armor they built for themselves in a matter of seconds just to fucking hold each other again. But this wasn’t a dream, a fantasy. This was reality, where life wasn’t as simple as being able to cast aside their doubts when the truth was presented. It wasn’t simple, and he knew he couldn’t make it simple, no matter how hard he tried. Crystalline eyes watched softly as she trembled, as her magic trailed over her skin and danced around her. He fought the urge to hold her, to keep her from shaking. Instead, Kalt stood fast where he was, watching her gently, carefully, once again memorizing every single movement and reaction. ”You shut me out completely!” He said. ”By the time I found out what happened to your father, you wouldn’t so much as look in my direction. If I had known...” His voice trailed, wavering slightly. ”If I had known, do you really think I would have done less than tear hells and creation apart to set things right?” He would have in an instant, without hesitation. He would have slain the gods themselves if it meant she knew the truth before any of this happened. He shook his head. ”You aren’t mad,” he said finally, his voice quiet compared to her shouting. ”You’re terrified.” Kalt took another step forward, brows drawing together just briefly. ”You’re terrified to believe that I’m telling you the truth right now. Why? What’s scaring you, Ashe?” He knew, but she had to say it, had to accept it. Ashetta kalt give into the night.