Sea Lion Shores our iron coffin

his gaze cooled as she rose, her gaze scathing as it had not been before, and merrick knew he must not overstep. it was the right of a child to believe they would not be abandoned by their mother, their father, their sister, but the little devil was none of these things. how then could he hold her to the same standards?
and so his ears fell back against his bright-streaked nape; he approached her contritely. her presence meant all the world to him, for now, for as long as she would grant it; he would strive to release her  in his clutching heart.
and if she would have him, he reached out to her again as he had done before their playbows, seeking the line of her jaw with trembling lips as he sought to assure himself that astara was indeed here.