[ Ivar's comment makes Athelstan's heart twist for him again. He wants to promise that he never will but that's not one he could know he could keep. He cannot tell the future though he knows he will never want to leave Ivar behind. He continues to pet him, it's a little easier to offer him comfort this way, beyond mere words. ]

Some people are only meant to be in our lives for a season but you can bear it and you will find those who never leave. And sometimes people come back and we accept that paths sometimes criss-cross.