Jade Fern Grove lift back and see the darkness hid

it was telling that the old pride in mahler had died, and it was just as well. emptied of the potential he had felt for a second's time, mahler drew a soft sigh, one that echoed the one that hummed in iana's throat. 
he thought of laurel, how she had slowly unwrapped herself as they spoke, as they went to the grotto, as she shared with him the horrible pain of a life she had not deserved. and now the earnest little medic, still so close to him, offering kinship even in the face of his reticence.
mahler was not sure he was so worthwhile.
yet "i vould like that, very much, iana," came from him all the same. if his heart and body were bound to wylla, he would put his energies into cultivating a companionship, one deep and as of yet unexperienced.
the cough, raking his throat again. 
"i should —" return. rule. remove himself to the recesses of rivenwood. but he did none of these things, only remained quiet and malleable as he was.