it takes a fool to remain sane

tell me Atlas what is heavier?
the world or its peoples hearts?

The darkness doesn’t scare him. It saddens him immeasurably. To see the hopelessness that masquerades as apathy. It’s like staring into a mirror to the past, to the boy he’d once been, hands covered in blood and heart and mind locked away where the reality of his actions couldn’t touch them. “I do. I know exactly what damage can be done by your own hand when you feel like all is lost.” If Maea is looking to scare him away, she will be disappointed to discover Harper does not scare easily. Giving up on his friends is equally unlikely. “I’ve killed innocent people. Hurt many more. You can tell me - if you want. I promise I won’t think differently of you.” At least he would endeavor to try. Still, Harper is firm in his belief that whatever Maea has done, it is not a sin he cannot forgive. Though she may be changed, some things resist even the worst of corrosion, and Harper doubts she would ever do something heinous enough that it would cause him to abandon her.

Her flinch makes him hesitate, the grief evident even when her words suggest acceptance. “Okay,” he concedes, backing off the topic for her sake. “Just think about it. Please. Even if you can’t be changed, it doesn’t mean you’re useless to them. Sometimes a purpose is better than nothing.” Harper hates to entertain the idea, but he wouldn’t put it past Ludo to turn Maea into a spy of some sort. It’s not a role he wants for the woman, but anything seems better than this shadow of a second life she’s living.

Harper