[Is there anything more undoing, so profoundly demoralizing, as losing someone for nothing. As giving up, willingly, a person one could’ve lived with, for a cause so damningly worthwhile, necessary—for nothing. It’s a blow to the gut, sharp; sharp enough, maybe, to bring miserable quiet to its knees, prone for the trampling.
[And in the end, for whom? Does anyone mourn?
[Whelk is dead. Caitlyn steps forward and hugs him, tight.
[Condolences, words, can burn. If he pulls back at all, the hold may not last; but while it does, it speaks for her, or so she has to hope. You tried, it says, and I understand, and You matter.]
no subject
[The number rolls again. It hardly registers.
[Is there anything more undoing, so profoundly demoralizing, as losing someone for nothing. As giving up, willingly, a person one could’ve lived with, for a cause so damningly worthwhile, necessary—for nothing. It’s a blow to the gut, sharp; sharp enough, maybe, to bring miserable quiet to its knees, prone for the trampling.
[And in the end, for whom? Does anyone mourn?
[Whelk is dead. Caitlyn steps forward and hugs him, tight.
[Condolences, words, can burn. If he pulls back at all, the hold may not last; but while it does, it speaks for her, or so she has to hope. You tried, it says, and I understand, and You matter.]