Duskfire Glacier deep down, you hide a reason for shame

blackfell is still for several seconds as time ticks past to the tune of both hearts beating. they do not dance like they once had—time wore on, and they were left behind. he draws himself shortly after, his paws upon the cool stone muted thuds.
his head sunk between thick shoulders as he comes close again. the sound of her breathing is constant, and burns against him; before, it had been the most comforting thing in the world. now, he dared not exist in the same space as her.
this distance was crippling. he didn't recognize himself in the eyes of her. periwinkle, endless, and beautiful. blackfell looks upon them, sees the swirling of emotion he stirs, and feels bile rise vicious in the back of his throat.
most daunting, the mangling of her throat. her voice is not the same as it had been before. it is raspier, now. it is altered. what gnaws the most is that he could have prevented it, had he never hesitated.
raven fur melds against onyx when he finally lets himself be near her. leaning to tuck his neck around hers, to find the fur at the back of her head and press his nose there, leaning his weight heavily upon her; feeling anchored as she does the same. chest to chest, shoulder to shoulder, an embrace that does not produce electricity but a solemn, haunting echo in his chest.
he sits in eternal silence as he breathes her in.