King Elk Forest -- we both know a break does exactly what it says on the tin

he takes her warning to heart.

he does!

it's only -- delight was never supposed to be the one mato fell for anyway. the silvery prince didn't exactly sweep him off his feet. delight's love is a quiet thing, meant to be hidden away, unexplored, and now that it's out in the light of day he has a hard time imagining mato will be able to do to him what he did to brienne. not because delight is so special as to not be cast away, no. but because delight expects it. there is a casual cruetly in mato he'd be a fool not to observe, and although he's willing to overlook his love's narcissism and ego, and although he does not mind being burned by mato's bright star, he is not blind to it.

there will come a time when he, too, is left behind for someone else or some other grand idea. and delight will do what he does best. he will fall back into the shadows and steel himself and learn to be okay with loving quietly from a distance again. just like he was always meant to do.

"bri," he says, anyway, his voice choking on the syllable. "thank you." it is more of a blessing than he expected from the battle-wounded girl, and he will guard the words jealously in his heart. "we should form a club," he jokes, or tries to, the words falling flat even to his ears. he sighs and shakes his head, quiet for a moment before he says, "i hope one day, things won't taste so bitter," and hopes she knows what he means.