Redhawk Caldera All the walls would fall around me

She made it seem as though it should be easier to move on from the guilt. She was probably right- but even knowing that, and feeling that, didn't make those guilty feelings go away, not immediately. He knew enough about negative emotions to know that sometimes, it just took time. He was not cut out for tending to the injured and sick; not when it was too easy for him to worry. Fortunately, there were wolves like Bridget, who had the strength to be able to push through those concerns and focus on what really mattered- the journey after a death. The life that continued- and the lives that had needs. 

He felt his emotions sink, hearing that his emotions weren't important. It was why he'd gone to speak to her, and he felt a little put off by her answer. He knew that Sorana's needs came first, and that was why he had never shown any amount of regret when Teya chose to spend time, or nights, with her daughter. He also felt uncomfortable with being saddled with parenting a child who wanted nothing to do with him. Especially after having just lost her father. "She needs her Mom, not me. So we've been spending less time together, so she can be with Sorana. I think...That's really all I can do, is just let them be together." 

What you want and what you feel doesn't matter right now.

The statement stuck with him, like a stubborn thorn. It burrowed deep into his subconscious- drawn out of context, and made into something Bridget had likely never intended it to be. There, it lay, dormant. Waiting. 

He could harden the shell around his heart a little bit. He'd have to. Bridget suggested some day Sorana might benefit from knowing that they had something in common, but he shook his head. "I don't know. Whenever I learn someone else's been through the same thing...I don't feel closer to them. I just feel bad, knowing they know what it feels like."