Harper
I see what lies heavy on your heart
Spring means the garden needs to be weeded and replanted, and Harper - ever the sun lover, and incapable of ignoring any kind of task that requires physical labor - had set to working on it as soon as any risk of frost had passed. Gardening is one particular hobby he'd never anticipated enjoying when he was in his former homeland, but it has become something truly enjoyable since. It has been so many years he has been in Caido now that he can scarcely imagine any other place feeling like home. Even when theirs has been so very empty as of late - Maeve gone, Edmund missing, Jude quiet and isolated in his bedroom. Harper has been struggling to keep them all together, to make his arms long enough to hold them all, and every day he feels as if he's failing that little bit more.
He's not surprised to hear footsteps - many come to visit him when they see him outside, but he's not expecting the voice that follows the clearing of a throat. Jerking up, Harper swiftly stands and spins on his heel, taking in the new form of a face that remains stubbornly familiar. "Edmund?" he breathes. But even the shock can't delay him for long, ripping off and discarding his gloves immediately as he moves in long, earth-eating strides to the boy in front of him. Big arms coming to envelop the young Ancient and hold him tight against his chest, pressing a small kiss to the boy's temple. "Oh, Edmund. Welcome home, kiddo. I've missed you so much." Pulling back but keeping his hands on Edmund's shoulders - one gently holding the side of the boy's neck in a paternal embrace - the man smiles, full of love and understanding. "I'm so glad you're safe. How are you?" He doesn't doubt the boy had sought out his mother first, devoted as he is to her, and Harper can only imagine how hard that must have been.
He's not surprised to hear footsteps - many come to visit him when they see him outside, but he's not expecting the voice that follows the clearing of a throat. Jerking up, Harper swiftly stands and spins on his heel, taking in the new form of a face that remains stubbornly familiar. "Edmund?" he breathes. But even the shock can't delay him for long, ripping off and discarding his gloves immediately as he moves in long, earth-eating strides to the boy in front of him. Big arms coming to envelop the young Ancient and hold him tight against his chest, pressing a small kiss to the boy's temple. "Oh, Edmund. Welcome home, kiddo. I've missed you so much." Pulling back but keeping his hands on Edmund's shoulders - one gently holding the side of the boy's neck in a paternal embrace - the man smiles, full of love and understanding. "I'm so glad you're safe. How are you?" He doesn't doubt the boy had sought out his mother first, devoted as he is to her, and Harper can only imagine how hard that must have been.
and the strength you still keep inside
