He’s weak, isn’t he? In so many ways, but especially for her. @Fallon had been allowed to trample his boundaries, to do as she pleased. At first it had been tolerance because he owed her his life, a debt that cannot be repaid. But it had evolved over time, as his wounds healed and the little bits that remained of his heart stitched themselves together. What he has now is a rotten, broken thing in his chest, but it undoubtedly will always beat for her.

"You won’t lose me. We can be friends." If only it were that simple, if only Falki could switch off his feelings like he pretends to. Even as he speaks, he pulls further away, gently moving out of Fallon’s arms. A place he does not belong. "I’ll learn to love you like a sister, and you have him. You’ll be happy." Happier than you could ever be with me.

She feels hopeless, unsure what to say and unsure what to do. All she knows is that the delicate balance that had proved so fruitful for both of them was now a thing of the past. Fallon wants to console him, to make @Fálki feel better -- she wants to promise him everything that she can, to promise herself to him. But she can't. Not all of herself anyway.

He moves away and Fallon gingerly returns to standing, ankles in water as she watches him withdraw even further, speaking about moving away so that she may be with Violarum. Was that what she wanted? Did she want to reduce their relationship to one of siblings? The thought irks her beyond repair but she knows not what to say -- she knows that she is being selfish in wanting both of them all to herself.

"Stop," she demand of him, unable to compute, "I don't want to hear it."

table by ferus, art by argenticide

Somehow, this is his fault. He had opened his mouth, he had broken the unspoken rules. He had taken @Fallon for granted. And now he is breaking their hearts.

"Then what do you want to hear? What to you want me to say?" He pleads, begs, desperate for the words that would fix this. "Do you want me to say I’ll love you forever, while you love someone else, and while you’re with him I’ll be waiting when you come to me, smelling like him?" It’s not fair, not for either of them. It’s not with anger that he speaks, but confusion and pain.

Falki’s ears fold into his mane. "Does he know about me? Does he want to share you?" Is this nameless lion somehow better in every way? Is he able to accept Fallon’s heart, divided between them?

Could Falki not accept what little she offers him, if only because he’s desperate for even a slither of her love?

And as things begin to deescalate, tension returns as @Fálki begs of her for an outcome -- some clarity perhaps on where they stood and what it meant for them moving forward. He asks if she expects him to wait on her forever and though Fallon knows that it is completely unacceptable and selfish, she wishes that he could love her forever.

Shaking her head as he asks of Violarum and whether or not he knew about him, Fallon feels herself dreading that conversation with the Ecrosia male also. Would he respond in the very same way that the Sigrun had? Would he give up on her then and there? Panic turns into anger, the Salem woman knowing it was not fair to be cross but feeling it all the same.

"I didn't intend for any of this happen." It simply had. She is backtracking and she knows it but Fallon needs space -- room to breathe and think. "I need time."

table by ferus, art by argenticide

"Neither did I."

If Falki had a choice, he would never fall for anyone again. He would never love, because it’s a painful thing. A self-inflicted wound with no cure.

It’s clear that she no longer wants to be in his presence, and Falki can’t say the feeling isn’t mutual. He wants to be alone and lick his metaphorical wounds and mourn what peace and life he’d found before ruining it.

"I’ll… be around, if you want to find me."

He stands and turns, the stub of his tail tucked, and makes sure to collect the flowers he’d dropped before he leaves her in the water.

Exit.