Phantom Hollow Bridges burn, and so do I

She repeats the name but as Atli watches it is evident that there is no recognition. He can’t see it in her eyes or her body language. She says the name in the way a young child learning to speak repeats a word: it is mimicry with no real knowledge of the word or what it means. The northman is not bothered that she has forgotten him but the fact that she has forgotten their son feels like the lingering sting of a whip across his heart. He thinks that despite how Odinn’s Cove would have torn the boy apart that he should have went to Neverwinter Forest and taken Arrille with him. Atli has been gone a long time and he is not aware how long Ondine has been …Cattail as she calls herself — but he thinks that Arrille’s chances of survival cannot be terribly high. The ásabragr says nothing when she explains that the sea swallowed her and subtly informing him that such a incident was likely where she had lost her memory. He avoids her eyes when she seeks to make contact with him, not wanting to look in her eyes, empty of recognition of their son. Arrille had been the only thing to matter and now he was gone, or worse yet ( because Atli was pragmatic and did not candy coat the world ) deceased.

If it were true then that meant that Vaati was all he had left. A son who barely knew him, who possibly didn't know ( or perhaps didn't care Atli has yet to ask ) that they were father and son, too. She repeats his name and then asks, with evident frustration why can’t she remember. Atli has no answer for her. He got swept out to sea once, nearly drowned as a small child but he’d never lost his memories. “I do not know,” Atli speaks, finally breaking his stretching silence. “Do not worry about it.” He closes his eyes for a moment, a twitch of his muzzle given though the flickering, ghosting smile is mirthless and far from touching his eyes. He finds that he cannot tell her that it isn’t her fault because though she does not remember Atli does and he blames her for it. He takes his share of the blame for what went wrong in Neverwinter Forest, in their mateship but he blames her more ( even if it is unfair of him to do ).

He does not want to linger anymore. His thoughts flicker to Potema and the dark woods that await to welcome the berserker back into their shadows. “I should go.” Should? No. Wanted to go? Yes. There was nothing for them to converse about now that she could not remember and truth be told the cruel northmen has no interest in helping her remember. What had been between them had been lost a very long time ago and she has nothing to offer him about Arrille besides Atli's assumption that his son was likely little more than bones and corpse long since picked clean by greedy vultures and scavengers.