Tiphon would never - could never - forget Talulah. She has been one of the few constants in his life, one of the few smiles that he has always found solace in. While the outside of her is made of brawn and metal somehow Tiphon has slithered through the cracks to see the tenderness that lies within her. It's a place that he never wants to leave but it's also a place he doesn't want to stay. He adores her, cherishes her, but he is dangerous to any hearts. The wind lifts him away on days they least expect and it leaves them - Talulah and Elysteria - wondering if he will ever return. Seasons will pass and the heat of summer dissolves into frigid winter snow. He returns to them always but what if there is a day that he doesn't? The thought wracks through him uncomfortably. The gentleness of his molten eyes cast down to the ground as Talulah finds the curve of his shoulder and nestles herself into him. It seems so perfect, this moment, and yet his mind still tries to resist.
She isn't the problem, nor is Elysteria. It's him, always him. For decades Tiphon had eluded the promise of love. He didn't want to experience having anyone so dear and close to him because he knew life would take them from his side. One day everyone would be stripped from him and he would be alone and alive. The immortality that courses through his veins can't be injected into his counterparts. One by one they will die and he will still be here, young and thriving, but lonely.
Love wasn't in his agenda, but it found him. It found him in the form of his children, of his friends, of the Dale, and of Talulah and Elysteria. For years he didn't want to admit it and even now he still doesn't. Can he love two of them? Can they live comfortably with the idea that there is someone else? Reluctant to see their reactions Tiphon has simply held his tongue. He hasn't said he loves either of them no matter how powerfully the word throbs in his head and burns into his tongue. He just doesn't want to hurt them more than he already has.
"I've missed you so much," he whispers into her neck with his eyes closing. His breath is hot against her skin, fanning across her like a blanket. If only he could be as secure as one or as reliable. "Time and time again I fail you and disappear," it hurts to admit this, to accept that he is a disappointment, "And yet time and time again you forgive me and come back to me." His face buries into her mane and his cheek feels the cold of her metal. "You deserve so much better than me," he sighs dishearteningly, "but I can't let you go."
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