Neverwinter Forest I won't sleep tonight

Rian lapped at his cheek, tasting salt. He didn't sob openly and his grief was all but silent safe for the harsh exhales, and occasional sniffle. He leaned further into Ondine as she curved her neck around and touched the crown of his head with a gentle caress. For better or for worse, she was their leader now and Rian knew that his father would have supported her without question, regardless of the circumstances. The pain did wonders to cover up the void within him, and he hated how much he needed it to feel anything other than the all-consuming. 

He knew that he was likely making her uncomfortable with his outbursts and random changes of emotion, but he couldn't really stop it either. She handled it with more grace than he anticipated. Rian whined a single note, and rubbed the bridge of his nose into the roll of her shoulder. Her smell reminded him of his mother, and something deeper rooted—a sweet milk scent that brought him a strange sense of comfort, likely born of his instincts. "Thank you," He whispered only to twist his head to peer up at her noticing, for the first time, the oddly mismatched color of her eyes. "m'sorry for how I've been acting." She hadn't witnessed it firsthand, but he imagined Kjalarr likely warned her of the surly O'Malley boy.