Bearclaw Valley as you promised me that I was more than all the miles combined

he wasn't prepared to hear athalia swear, for some reason; he felt the echo of it in the air and in himself, felt her fury burning the air's oxygen. like an angry kitten she spat and shouted and flashed and finally collapsed in on herself with the weight of her own emotions.
and boy if that wasn't relatable.
ancelin scooped athalia up in the next moment, unwilling to let her project this pain over a brother onto him; he cleaned whatever blood remained from her face and smoothed those auburn hackles before stepping back; "my brother abandoned me too," the man revealed with a grunt that might have concealed pain. "our dad did the same, and our mom — well. she did too. she came back, but she didn't stay, and that was worse."
"so listen. we make our own family. if my brother showed up today i'd tell him you come back, you die, you son of a bitch," he quoted, trying for something like humor in his daughter's expression. "and fuck the rest. he can go live his own story. so can you."