The Bracken Woods don't look at me

forward-dated to the 20th, set just outside the borders of bracken sanctuary. tags for reference

He'd slipped away from @Zamael and @Eris at some point, knowing full well he ought not be outside the borders in his condition, especially with Runion so near. He just needed a break. That was all— he'd just take a walk and come back. He'd come back. Swallowing hard, he weaved through the trees with searching eyes, guilt written freely across his face for none to see.
Lately he couldn't get the color grey out of his head— no, not grey. Silver. The color was far less common than he'd ever realized; he caught every flash of it now, and for some reason this was important. Other colors overwhelmed him, each spelling out some terrible feeling he wished he never had to revisit. But there was one on his mind now, one that wasn't grey or silver.
Purple caught his eye now. A dull sort of purple; the plant was flowering, not yet possessing of the dark, shiny berries he had come to associate with it. It would work the same, he figured— hoped. He ripped the plant from the ground without a second thought, knowing he needed the roots for this. All he could do was stare at it, then, and remind himself that he'd promised to come back— but some nagging voice touted the fact that he'd never promised that to anyone but himself.