Witch's Marsh A Toad's Memory

it's been a month since indra's death ICly and i'm going to make an assumption that marten would now know about it. please kick me if anything should be changed! for @Ibis <3

the news of indra's death had abruptly flattened marten. though realistic to all degrees, a creature bound in logic even with his empathetic soul, had never really thought that indra would die. in fact, marten was convinced he would die before her, and that he would probably give his life to save hers. along with his mother, his purpose in life was suddenly pulled from beneath his feet. no longer did he care about laurel, who he thought to be cruel more often than not. nor did he care about valette, or arlette, or his half-siblings, or any of the millions of cousins he had. no one mattered. indra was the only light he'd dedicated his entire life to, and he had let her down. she had died because he hadn't been there to protect her. 

marten contemplated numerous courses of action, each one darker than the first. was there really a point living if she wasn't here with him? he doubted it. but all the same, marten knew indra would've been disappointed to see him throw away such a promising future. so, instead, after days of nothing, marten said one final prayer at the mother stone, and then left. 

through the valley he went, passing plenty of familiar places. no where worth stopping. he stopped only when a small toad crossed his path, sitting before him, croaking. marten stared quietly at the thing, remembering an easier time.