a winter labyrinth

[townmusician]

断ち切るしかないんだろ
注いだ冬は心のラビリンス
後戻りなんて出来ないから
やりきるしかないんだろ
黒い気持ちと手を繋いだって構わない
抱きしめたっていいh

I have to break free
This pouring winter is my heart's labyrinth
I can't go back anymore, so
I have to finish this
I don't care if you took my hand with dark motives
I want you to hold me close

Comments

[cleansewithfire]

[ Sunrise's squeezes Richard's hand back gently, as if to reassure him she's there. Then, she tiptoes and reaches up to brush her free hand against the top of his head.

...She wishes she could do more to help. ]

[ledbythewind]

[Honestly, this is helping far more than she knows. The gentle contact grounds him, helps pull him back to reality, and when that hand brushes his hair, he starts for a moment before a faint whisper escapes his lips:]

... Sunrise?

[cleansewithfire]

It is me. ...Welcome back, Richard.

[ledbythewind]

Thank you.

[The squeeze now is stronger, more deliberate, though still a far cry from his usual solid grip.]

... thank you.

[cleansewithfire]

[ She wonders what it was that Richard saw that even now he is still making his way back to earth.

And...perhaps she has been spoiled lately, with how this is the most she's ever been hugged, but she wants Richard to understand, too. ]

...Can I hug you, Richard?

[ Though she also would not be surprised if he said no. ]

[ledbythewind]

[There's a quiet, surprised intake of breath at the question. No one has ever asked him that before-- no one has hugged him ever since his mother died years ago, and it's almost as though he's forgotten that it's even a thing that people do.

He realizes suddenly just how much he wants to be hugged again, even as the mistrusting part of his mind screams at him to say "no."]

... please.

1/2

[cleansewithfire]

[ ...Oh. For some reason, she had expected for Richard to decline the offer, even now, but... ]

[cleansewithfire]

[ After a moment, she tiptoes to reach up and gently pull Richard into a hug.

There's no body warmth from Sunrise, so it's more like hugging something cold. But she hugs him close, like how Mafuyu and Rutile have done for her. ]

[ledbythewind]

[The way Richard wraps his arms around her slowly is awkward, but not because he doesn't want the hug. Rather, it's the action of someone who doesn't really seem to remember just how hugs work, who is trying to go through the motions that he does remember in the hopes of jogging his memory.

He holds her gently, almost as though he's afraid that she'll break if he squeezes too tightly, or perhaps that she'll vanish and this will all turn out to be little more than a dream.]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Sunrise isn't bothered by this, considering she reacted the same as Richard just recently. She gently strokes the back of Richard's head with one hand, willing to keep this hug up for as long as Richard wants. ]