Mudminnow River If I ever were to lose you, I'd surely lose myself.

At last, he moved to embrace her. Ciri pressed her smooth brow beneath the charcoal of his chin, buried her narrow muzzle among the thick furs of his throat. She dragged herself closer to him, so desperate to tuck herself snug to his chest in the same manner she would've done as a child. The swallow was grown now, significantly so since their last encounter, but it didn't matter.

Her heart beat wildly and her body trembled. She stifled sobs with gritted fangs, and clawed her way forward as Mahler withdrew to look at her. Her gaze found the glimmer of tears in his and believed them to be true, until he spoke - 

"I have not been a good father."

Ciri blinked, surprised to hear him admit that when she had only ever thought the world of him. The swallow breathed a whine, but maintained her silence as Mahler carried on.

She could see clearly how guilt plagued him, but didn't wish to dive deep into the intricacies of it. "Ich liebe dich trotzdem," Ciri answered finally, simply, shakily in the language unpracticed on her tongue, because she felt as though she'd waited forever to say it.

I never stopped.