[He's not the waif of a man Riley had once wrapped her arms around too many times to count. He's not slender, nigh-bony with a lack of appetite, despite how often and how grand the meals a man named Erin used to make. When Riley crashes into him, he barely moves. He's solid except for his stomach, soft beneath the suit he wears that's heady with the scent of iron. There's another scent there, tooโthe smell of flowers, not from the ones he carries, but nostalgic like the garden set on the stage of their fake life together. The one Riley would always play in.]
Rileyโ [His voice had been even before but now it's a croak in his throat as whatever he had been holding is forgotten in favor of his daughterher. His arms are strong when they wrap around her, supportive, the way a father's arms should be.
He hugs her close, stoops down even, and pulls her off the ground. Never mind that she's bloodied. Never mind that he might squeeze a little too tight in his own desperation. Emotions overflowsโhis or Erin's, he doesn't knowโfrom his eyes as he drags gentle claws through her feathered hair.]
I'm here, I'm here... you don't have to worry anymore.
[Does he know how much she's been through the last few days? No, but he can certainly imagine the pain. The pain of finding your loved one dead, the pain of having to bury or cremate them. He doesn't know how far Erin's body went in that other realm, but he's relieved that his own has carried him here.]
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Rileyโ [His voice had been even before but now it's a croak in his throat as whatever he had been holding is forgotten in favor of
his daughterher. His arms are strong when they wrap around her, supportive, the way a father's arms should be.He hugs her close, stoops down even, and pulls her off the ground. Never mind that she's bloodied. Never mind that he might squeeze a little too tight in his own desperation. Emotions overflowsโhis or Erin's, he doesn't knowโfrom his eyes as he drags gentle claws through her feathered hair.]
I'm here, I'm here... you don't have to worry anymore.
[Does he know how much she's been through the last few days? No, but he can certainly imagine the pain. The pain of finding your loved one dead, the pain of having to bury or cremate them. He doesn't know how far Erin's body went in that other realm, but he's relieved that his own has carried him here.]