fragile minds

In the far reaches of her mind, the whispers of Andruil were growing ever louder, telling her that she wasn't safe here. At first, she tried to block them out. Slowly but surely, though, she found herself leaning into the whispers. In the here and now, she would do her best to relax. By morning, she'd be nothing but a memory, washed away by the tide. She just had to wait a little while longer. After he showed her to her hut and they parted ways, she would make her exit.

He didn't need her to complicate his life any further and that's exactly what harboring a dangerous fugitive would do for him and the clan he'd worked so hard to build. She had to accept the truth. She wasn't part of his clan any longer and hadn't been in years. The day she'd been taken was the day she'd stopped being part of his life. They couldn't turn back the clock like nothing had happened. He couldn't erase what she'd done. Similarly, neither one of them could erase the past twenty years.

All she could do now was grant him a tender mercy by leaving. It was the least she could do in exchange for the few moments of peace and quiet he'd given her. Regardless of her future intentions, she allowed herself a chance to relax for however long she had left. Andruil's whisperings were counseling her to run now, but Shaerana knew better. Chip would only follow her and drag her back to his home. He'd effectively endanger the many for just one lost soul. She couldn't allow him to do that.

She had to be strategic about all of this. She couldn't allow room for error or for him (or anyone else) to follow her. Things would only get messier, and she couldn't guarantee anyone's safety, least of all if Andruil had Her way and took over. Shaerana was already hanging onto her willpower by the thinnest of fraying threads. When that thread finally disintegrated, she wanted to be far away from here, in a place where she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else. I look forward to meeting him. Even to her own ears, the words sounded hollow.