And that choice... you know in your heart it was the right one, despite how hard it must be.
[ he had given of himself so that others might continue to live, and despite how easy Rand makes that choice seem... Abel is well aware there are many who would not have the strength nor resolve to commit to it. ]
...Because there is a little instinct inside of you, one that I think you've let grow buried since coming to Horos. Its edges have been softened by the fear and uncertainty that you feel, and that... is completely natural. Feeling a little lost... a lot lost-- it is something all of us are grappling with. Making mistakes, fumbling along, even falling flat on our faces here and there-- I think it's inevitable, right? You've been dropped into another world, been told your own is well and truly gone, that everything you had been prepared to sacrifice... and sacrifice it for has been rendered meaningless. You've been thrown into a war you did not sign up for, body altered and changed, and told to make sense of it all with little guidance at your back.
[ laying it out this way... it must make sense, surely. how any man, any person, would be struggling in these circumstances. how Rand is warranted in struggling, even the baggage from home set aside. ]
But that piece of you... the part of you that led you to make that choice back at home, makes it sound like it were easy-- it is alive and well, even if it's grown a bit weary. If it weren't, then... none of this would pain you as it does.
[ ...Rand. ]
As much as it might seem wrong, feeling that pain-- that's proof that you're going to be okay. It's proof that you can wield a sword, [ he lightly pushes the sword's hilt closer to the boy's side on the bed, ] ...and you can decide to continue fighting to protect what you treasure-- what you left behind, and what you very well might return to one day.
None of it will truly die, Rand... unless you let it. You are still the only one who can protect it, now. Unfair as it is... and much as I wish it weren't necessary... I know you can-- will-- do it.
no subject
[ he had given of himself so that others might continue to live, and despite how easy Rand makes that choice seem... Abel is well aware there are many who would not have the strength nor resolve to commit to it. ]
...Because there is a little instinct inside of you, one that I think you've let grow buried since coming to Horos. Its edges have been softened by the fear and uncertainty that you feel, and that... is completely natural. Feeling a little lost... a lot lost-- it is something all of us are grappling with. Making mistakes, fumbling along, even falling flat on our faces here and there-- I think it's inevitable, right? You've been dropped into another world, been told your own is well and truly gone, that everything you had been prepared to sacrifice... and sacrifice it for has been rendered meaningless. You've been thrown into a war you did not sign up for, body altered and changed, and told to make sense of it all with little guidance at your back.
[ laying it out this way... it must make sense, surely. how any man, any person, would be struggling in these circumstances. how Rand is warranted in struggling, even the baggage from home set aside. ]
But that piece of you... the part of you that led you to make that choice back at home, makes it sound like it were easy-- it is alive and well, even if it's grown a bit weary. If it weren't, then... none of this would pain you as it does.
[ ...Rand. ]
As much as it might seem wrong, feeling that pain-- that's proof that you're going to be okay. It's proof that you can wield a sword, [ he lightly pushes the sword's hilt closer to the boy's side on the bed, ] ...and you can decide to continue fighting to protect what you treasure-- what you left behind, and what you very well might return to one day.
None of it will truly die, Rand... unless you let it. You are still the only one who can protect it, now. Unfair as it is... and much as I wish it weren't necessary... I know you can-- will-- do it.