you can run but you can't hide
breath on your skin, I've arrived
It surprises her to find acceptance rather than questioning. Perhaps it shouldn’t have, given their connection. But it is a selfless act, and that is something Heartfire is not so familiar with. She had long ago grown used to exploiting the selfishness inherent in all of them that to feel it’s opposite is almost a novel experience.
She returns the warmth of Aela’s love with her own. It’s rare for her to show such affection, but this young mare had spent too much time in her mind. She knows by now that the cold and callous facade she wears is just that - a facade. Beneath it she feels deeply, and in that moment, she allows Aela to feel how much.
She does not wish her to believe she would abandon her. She had already done that far too many times in her life. Enough that nearly everyone she loves most believes her to be cold and cruel, incapable of genuine love. It is not something she ever cares to dwell on, but it is perhaps one of her greatest regrets. At this point however, she understands there is no fixing it. It would be far easier to become what they thought her to be.
But not for Aela. She might easily become one of those casualties had she not somehow bonded with her as she had. Instead she had become the only other creature to see her true self. (Her twin had once been that close to her, but life had torn them apart again and again, leaving Heartfire to fear they might be strangers the next time they met.)
Aela’s quip draws a smile to her lips however. Her granddaughter has far more faith in her than she deserves. “I wouldn’t miss the opportunity.”
She is more subdued now, unexpectedly uncertain. A rarity for her. But she has never had to say goodbye like this before (even if it is not forever). Finally though, in typical Heartfire fashion, she says it without actually saying it. “If you ever need me, you know how to find me.”
She smiles then because it’s true. Because Aela is perhaps the only one who would know how to find her.
heartfire
@[Aela]