Sunset Valley and leave you like they left me here

he stiffened as alarian touched him, but made no move to shy away, giving him the faintest of smiles instead. the corners of his mouth were tight, though, and his stomach in knots. it wasn't as if he didn't believe alarian--he just thought he hadn't done enough. not nearly enough, to prove how sorry he was. nothing would ever be enough.

"can you forgive me?" aditya asked--nay, pleaded. "and accept my word that no matter how much i am hurting, i will never use you to heal? because i promise, alarian. i promise you--i will never hurt you to help me. not again."

he was a fool, an idiot. he'd never felt so low in his life, and he had done some questionable things. mostly in his younger years. but he was a man of nearly twenty seasons--shouldn't he know better than this? to drag a friend down into the depths with him, to let emotions dictate his actions.

he had thought of himself as selfless, but dawn's selfish actions had, in turn, made him selfish as well. and that was unforgivable, in his opinion--but he hoped, desperately, that alarian might find it in his heart to forgive.