Blacktail Deer Plateau He said "Peter Pan, that's what they call me,"

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"Make it go away, Kieran, I don't-I don't want to feel this anymore. I just want someone to have my back, someone who's going to be there for me no matter what,"

"I'll have your back, okay? I'm here for you."

"Will you actually? ...Thank you. I'll have your back too."

On a night such as this, so quiet and still, with the stars and the moon lighting the darkness that swallowed the world, he could not help but reminisce. Elongated shadows crept from around the trees but he paid no mind to their stalking, for they reminded him sorrowfully of someone. A quiet, haunted boy. That boy, with his glittering smile and charming eyes, lay claim to very special place in Kieran's heart, a place that perhaps would never be filled by another. 

A brother, he had been. A best friend, perhaps something more.

He was a lost boy, that boy, the one who had hurt so much inside. That boy that Kieran had wanted so desperately to save. From the moment he saw him balancing on the edge, ready to fall and be consumed by the silence of death, something had hurt inside himself - like a wall crumbling after a moment of panic. Maybe that was why he had charged forward, risking himself to push that boy away from the danger, pushing him away from the option of suicide. Because a soul so broken should have the chance to live a better life, not give theirs away so soon when they had not even passed the age of a year. That boy should not have suffered so much internal hate, so much internal pain, a boy abandonded by the only parents he'd had. That boy, oh, that boy...

"I envy your optimism... I wished I had it. Still, as long as my remaining family is still here, and you're here, I guess things can't be that bad. I mean, you have my back, yeah? And I have yours."

"I will always have your back, Haw." He spoke to the stars as they shimmered and sparkled so far away, painting the dark canvas with sparks of light. Hawthorn, despite his darkness, was the light - of this, Kieran was certain. He thought back on the memories, not just of that day when they had made the promise, but of all the days they had spent side-by-side. "I'll be up there with you, one day, I promise." Another promise, another promise and one he would keep. His mind drifted, switching from the sad times to the happy in a blink of an eye, though it did not cure the sting that poked and prodded at his chest. 

"Wanna have a snowball fight?"

"A snowball fight?"

A sad smile graced his features, and for a moment his eyes closed just to savour the memory, the laugh that rumbled from that boy's chest as he attempted to throw a ball of snow at Kieran's head, only to give up and chase him instead. He remembered distinctly the rush of excitement as his paws raced along the ground, and the sudden shock of being pinned to the ground by Hawthorn. He remembered, so clearly, the boyish glimmer in his eyes and the smirk that adorned his face. The careless wink and the lick of his lip. And then the brilliant smile that followed as they spoke of growing older. "We were supposed to grow together. I wish I could have seen who you grew to be." 

"You don't have to say you're fine to me, if you're not fine. Pretend all you want with everyone else, but with me, you can be honest, all right? I'm here for you, remember?"

A tear rolled down his cheek, a tear shed for the loss of such a loved boy, whether he knew it or not. Despite what everyone else thought of Hawthorn, Kieran had seen him for who he really was and loved him endlessly for not giving up. Maybe he had, in the end, but at least he would be at peace finally. That was all the Streiter could ask for. And now, as he sat alone on the rise of the land where the view of the sky was clear, he spoke the truest words he could ever speak.

"I miss you."