Emberwood When our world was just the two of us

Tybault fell silent for several long moments, thrown into a contemplative sort of turmoil by the question. He wasn't quite sure how to answer. Of course his first thought was of Reverie; once Ophelia, once his sole confidant and the center of his world. But that girl, he'd realized far too late, had died the day she'd shed her name for something new.

That wasn't the question, though, was it?

He wasn't sure she'd ever realized just how much he'd loved her. Or maybe she had; maybe that was what drove her so far away — or maybe, maybe, maybe that was just what his fear had always told him. Tybault couldn't be sure. But he thought he could relate to Eti in some odd way.

So he nodded.

Sometimes people just aren't ready to be loved, He murmured, still thinking of Reverie. His gaze drifted toward the trees as he went on. Or they are, but not the way you love them. And there's nothing you can do. Nothing but walk away for your own sake.

Tybault's eyes found Etienne again after a moment. But you never know til you try, right? A little cynical, a little humorous, more than a little bitter; he made no effort to cover the skeletons that stood glaring from his closet. They would never see each other again anyway, right?