her words reassure him, though he has seen for himself seabreeze's progress, though it's a line. his fickle underbelly whispers to him curse; confronted by olive's face, silvered as the moon, delight tries to hold onto their last conversation. concern overtakes his momentary self-pity as olive chokes up, her words ringing hard in his ears. instinctively he steps forward and reaches out, offering an embrace if she desires, and says, "she is --she's the strongest of all of us." he's just a fool boy with a bag full of tragedy -- seabreeze is unshakeable faith in the goodness of things. she'll be fine. she'll be fine.
but -- poor olive, of course! her wife is suffering. feeling idiotic for not thinking of trying to check in with her sooner, delight pulls away a little, just to try and read her expression. "it's okay," he says softly, "but it's -- hard, huh?" he doesn't know how to say it's okay if you cry in front of me about it, but he hopes that she'll understand, anyway.
olive is small -- like him, like seabreeze -- his body beats against hers nervously: it's been a little while since he held someone like this. it doesn't hurt like he thought it might. in fact, breathing in the pleasantly earthy smell that the shakti carries soothes him, grounding him back in the here and now. he can understand how seabreeze came to love her so.
he thinks of the metaphor he's always carried, thoughts absently turning it over while olive composes herself. if mato was the sun -- beautiful but harsh, unable to be looked at, burned to touch; and if alarian was the moon -- so close but always so far away, always turning away, retreating at the sign of light, brilliant and wounded; and seabreeze -- she is the sea, no -- no, that's too obvious, she is the earth itself, steady and solid and carrying both great beauty and tragic devastation within her; what, then, could olive be? the stars seems so cliché (though the silver sheen of her coat beckons comparison, he thinks).
to know, he'll have to get to know her better, he decides.
her apology brings a tired smile to his mouth, a gentle shake of the head. "it isn't easy," delight agrees, sound rather world-weary himself, "but you were right, too. we have to find a way through it or we'll be... trapped by it, forever." (and who is he to make that point, considering--)
"maybe we can help keep each other in check," he suggests, interrupting his thoughts, "er, if -- that'd help, you think. or check in on each other, at least." he moves slightly so that his eyes might find hers, searching for what pain he can find, that he might try to reassure her.
where she was leaning against him feels chilled, now, and strangely he finds himself missing her weight. he doesn't remark on this -- even if he wanted to he doesn't get a chance, for her next comment flusters him, a blush hiding under his dark fur. obviously it's just -- it's just a nice friendly thing to say and he shouldn't read into it so much. but -- !
"that, that sounds nice," he agrees, fumbling only slightly. "we'll do it, then." his mouth turns in a shy smile, cheered by this new prospect -- it'll be good for both of them.