[ 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.
[Despite all his sadness, the dog instincts respond to the petting much more positively than his mind does. His tail slowly begins to wag back and forth.]
<It's all too much. My parents, Floki, my brothers...none have ever stayed.>
[Of course, the common factor there was Ivar, but he wasn't taking responsibility for his part in driving his brothers away. At least the other three had their reasons.]
[ Athelstan sighs softly, the sadness weighing on him more as he pets him. ]
Sometimes, people have to leave but often they come back. I left your father but I came back. You have to leave room to allow people to do what they need to do. Sometimes they don't really have a choice.
[ He rubs one of the dog's ears. ]
And sometimes, you might make it hard for them to stay.
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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.
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<It's all too much. My parents, Floki, my brothers...none have ever stayed.>
[Of course, the common factor there was Ivar, but he wasn't taking responsibility for his part in driving his brothers away. At least the other three had their reasons.]
no subject
Sometimes, people have to leave but often they come back. I left your father but I came back. You have to leave room to allow people to do what they need to do. Sometimes they don't really have a choice.
[ He rubs one of the dog's ears. ]
And sometimes, you might make it hard for them to stay.