King Elk Forest -- we can't say we didn't try

it's fine! ♥

She agrees to say and Mato accepts her decision with a small nod. Her re-acceptance is as easy as that, though, Mato thinks with a terse tug of his lips into a contemplative frown, he wishes everything could be that easy. That thing they both appeared to be rather forcefully avoiding would not be so easy. Procrastinating it, he feels, would only lead to making this all worse between them. He’d rather not sit upon it, not dwell upon it. He’s done enough dwelling and knows himself well enough to know that if he does not move this obstacle out of his way that it will foster resentment within him. It’s not something they can ignore. They have changed, they have changed towards each other — that is easy enough to see. Umbra dipped ears twitch and slick back to rest at half mast atop his skull as she shares very vaguely what had become of her during her absence. Captured. It is not an easy word for Mato to process and he is sympathetic that it happened to her — it shouldn’t have. It is relieving to know that she did not abandon them, not as the others before her had. Yet, he is not apologetic for not knowing. It had happened outside of Tindómë and none of them had been any the wiser.

In a moment of self reflection Mato thinks that perhaps he really is like the stars he loves so much: he burns so bright but his core is as cold as dry ice. Maybe, the druid thinks, he’s always been this way. Or perhaps it is a recent development. He doesn’t know and does not spend a lot of time investigating it. “I’m sorry that happened to you,” His words are genuine and he thinks that he should warn the others of Tindómë lest these assailants dare to lurk near his kingdom again. “I will warn the others to be cautious when they leave our Forest.” He assures her. Perhaps, even, he will instate a buddy system: no one leaves Tindómë without a partner until they are sure that Brienne’s captors will not return. It is too late to be the knight in shining armor that she deserves: he’s long past that. He’s more of the beast of the fairy-tale at this point.

He inhales deeply and lets it out in a heavy exhale that slumps his shoulders ever so slightly. If she will not face the elephant in the room then he realizes he must be the first to address it. “I’m not sure where this leaves us,” He begins, slowly. She does not have to talk about them if she did not want to but she was going to listen to him because he was going to. He wanted …no he needed this to be settled, to come to an understanding with her. “We are different, we are cold to one another.” He has noticed it to: not just from himself but from her ( even if he is the catalyst for it ). The chill that hangs in the air between them is all he needs to know. “Given how we are to one another currently, despite that the circumstances of what happened were terrible and out of both of our control . We don’t have to talk about it at length but given that we are acting more like strangers then husband and wife it would seem wise to take a break.” Mato suggests. He does not mean to sound so cool about it but he's trying to be pragmatic about it and to not let guilt for what was, as he'd said, out of his ...out of their control change the fact that he thinks this is a necessary development.

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