[ he is so set on this, just as Messmer was set on returning alone to sort out his thoughts, his feelings. Isn't this a familiar story? He remembers insisting to Rellana that they would not meet again, that he was undertaking a grueling mission for the Erdtree and that she absolutely could not come, only for her to appear in full regalia with her small cadre of loyal retainers on the day of their first march, her homeland abandoned. His resolve had buckled then. He feels it bending now, too, in the face of Verso's insistence and his painfully-vulnerable words.
Messmer was never truly cut out for war; his heart is too soft. His nails reach Verso's ear, tucking a lock of hair behind it before his hand drops back to his side. ]
Thy sword-hand would not.
[ Verso would be no burden to protect - that's not what Messmer's anxious about. Verso would be a burden on his heart - another complicated knot to untangle, unfamiliar and frightening and new, along with everything else. And, just like Rellana and Gaius and the others who had followed him, Verso would be committing his life to Messmer's, even if he doesn't realize it entirely. It's frighteningly permanent for a man he's only known little more than a fortnight (or, perhaps, a Fortnite.)
On the other hand, Verso has nowhere to go, and he's come to him. He can't turn him away. Verso is even more alone now than Messmer has ever been in his life. And he'd wait. Ma flamme. ]
... If thou wilt truly not be swayed... I cannot condemn thee to wander oblivion.
no subject
Messmer was never truly cut out for war; his heart is too soft. His nails reach Verso's ear, tucking a lock of hair behind it before his hand drops back to his side. ]
Thy sword-hand would not.
[ Verso would be no burden to protect - that's not what Messmer's anxious about. Verso would be a burden on his heart - another complicated knot to untangle, unfamiliar and frightening and new, along with everything else. And, just like Rellana and Gaius and the others who had followed him, Verso would be committing his life to Messmer's, even if he doesn't realize it entirely. It's frighteningly permanent for a man he's only known little more than a fortnight (or, perhaps, a Fortnite.)
On the other hand, Verso has nowhere to go, and he's come to him. He can't turn him away. Verso is even more alone now than Messmer has ever been in his life. And he'd wait. Ma flamme. ]
... If thou wilt truly not be swayed... I cannot condemn thee to wander oblivion.