Barrow Fields where weird and grim the standing stones

we can fade whenever you're ready.

she felt a sudden urge to be near him as their eyes met— this would be the farewell that she had denied most of her other siblings, and the farewell that her father had denied all of them. there was a quiet understanding held between emaleth and her older brother; like so many times before, they could sit in simple silence and that was enough. there was a raw honesty to their bond that the dark child appreciated, for it was lacking in many others. she drew near him to sit at his shoulder, leaning against him. it was almost like when life had been perfect— all of them together in the den. those memories were fading, becoming less real as she aged, but there were moments that she would remember in a flash of brilliance and for a heartbeat that happiness was with her again.

"thank you," she told him. for not treating her like a child. for not holding her decisions against her. for forgiving her frequent departures from donnelaith. "you can talk to me, too," she offered, fixing her mismatched and discerning eyes upon him. "about everything. i will help you if i can."