(SE) need some room to breathe

right by the entrance you broke, finally reality's taking its hold

The bundle of snapdragons are held in a tight lock of a gloved hand when the voice calls out – one that stills him, that reminds him of a mixture of emotions – of better days and worse days, one that hits in the bittersweet chambers of his heart. There’s a cloudy exhale, a closed off silence from his side of the Attuned bond, an empty shell.

Only this time it’s different, because while he harbors the few extra scars since they’d last met, she’s no longer pregnant and Sunjata bears far more scars than before. Puncture wounds that have ripped out the ink to his compass tattoos, tearing away the northern points that are visible above the collar of his shirt, as well as the brief edging of more scars that dance down to tuck under his shirt along his chest as he turns to her. “Hotaru.” He greets quietly, solemnly, exhausted. Nothing to add and nothing to take away, nothing to do about the things that happened, even as the memory of her letter flickers through his mind.

you're not who you were, but you can't let it go
you're not where you're from, but you're always alone

SUNJATA