Hushed Willows tomorrow never comes until it's too late

She saw how it hurt him; it was impossible to miss. For a moment Reverie was reminded of her own parents, if only because she wished that they had cared so much. They'd been so angry with her when they'd realized how broken she was.

And maybe it was stupid, but she was struck with the urge to offer some comfort to him then. Akavir, who had said such cruel things to her, who might scoff even now at her attempts at kindness. But his pain spoke to the mother in her; she couldn't help it.

It'll be okay, Reverie said softly. You're here now, and that matters. It counts. Sometimes - sometimes we can't protect them, but we can keep trying. And we can be there to help them heal. If there was anything she'd learned in raising Blossom, it was this. The world was a cruel place; it made no exceptions. It was a truth no parent wanted to accept, she felt, but there was no avoiding it.