Bitterroot Valley There was somewhere else you wanted to be.

sega does not interrupt.

he stands with his head slightly lowered, gold eyes steady on etienne, listening the way one listens to wind in the trees or waves before a storm. not fixing. not correcting. just hearing.

when etienne finishes, sega breathes out slow.

i hear you, he says quietly, broken common gentle in his mouth. some wounds… no close easy. some never close at all.

a pause. then, softer—

great sky no ask you be whole. only ask you be here.

his gaze lifts, steady and sincere.

for now… healer is enough. as long as it is for you.