Poppy & Altan; @moonglowmagic location: starlight bar
There was a strange irony in being back in the place he'd grown up, with so much changed, and yet some things had forever been altered. But perhaps the same could be said about him, and the fact that time never left anything as it had once been. Still, it was hard to look at the destruction that the Catalyst had left and not feel a sense of anxiety when Lunar Cove had stood as a sanctuary for so many years. By now the path to Poppy's back door was a familiar one, even despite the month that had passed since he'd last taken it, but the damage that clung to the building despite the obvious attempts at repair was not. It came with a stab of guilt -- guilt for not attending the ball and doing his best to keep the people he loved safe, guilt for being the one to place distance between them for once. Perhaps it was especially present because he knew that the council leaders were the main targets and there had been a fear in Poppy's eyes when he returned that had never been there in their youth despite all her attempts to hide it.
Maybe it was foolish to allow himself to hope for a future that they could never align on. He'd felt it that night, with Poppy clad in the sweatshirt that signified everything that he'd given up for her. But he wasn't eighteen anymore, and he knew that he hadn't been fair to her when he'd asked her to leave. The loss of his high school dreams; both of living up to everyone's expectations of him and the life he'd pictured with Poppy by his side shouldn't be her responsibility to bear, even if she'd been a part of the wreckage. And the sense of regret was acute, enough to wonder if this was what Poppy felt every time she'd left him behind, or if it didn't matter to her in the slightest. But after almost twenty years, he'd long ago stopped trying to erase what Poppy meant to him. While it had been easier to push to the back of his mind when he was out of state, it lingered now, enough that he didn't hesitate to knock and hope she'd let him back in.
Time had proven that there were some things he'd never be able to get over, and the way his heart still stuttered at the sight of her was one of them. It'd become a habit for his eyes to skim over every visible inch of skin for an injury or a mark, even when he was well aware he'd find nothing but unbroken skin. Now though, he could see some faint injuries and bruising, and his hands tensed to control the magic itching to heal her before even a word was said. "I just wanted to check up on you, I... heard about what happened with the bar and the ball. Is there anything I can do to help?"















