mall-caps;">IT'S ONLY cript;">FOREVER, NOT LONG AT ALLFinding him was harder than finding Gabriel, but it didn't stop her from the search. Years without him had passed so easily, yet in the months they had been reunited, she found that a life without her brother was empty. Perhaps some other person could have left him to his own devices, since it was clear the two held opposite sides on a very important topic, but she could not. And so searching for him was a personal duty she just couldn't ignore — she needed to tell him that it would be okay. She would never feel bonded to the outsiders fathered by their strong Aquila, while Ezekiel found himself fond of them, but it would be okay. That's what she kept telling herself.
When her eyes finally spotted the golden man, he seemed to be thinking; it wasn't until he came several feet into her vicinity that he took notice of her, and how she saddened as she saw his body seize with caution. Did he really think she would do something to harm him? Her face turned away, fingers tightening against the smooth surface of her present as she tried to hide the displayed sorrow her eyes betrayed her with behind a curtain of dark curls. "Things are different now, aren't they. I ruined it. Again." And once more, she found herself wallowing in a depression that had since ceased, only this time she couldn't run. They had grown up, and they had grown apart, but she still worried that Ezekiel would chase if she tried to flee the life of expectation and strong family ties.
It didn't fade as she approached him, steps slow and careful as if he were a small animal who gazed in fear at what they believed to be a hunter. She didn't want him to run off, or yell, or grow angry. "I painted something for you." Her voice was a whisper on the air as she fumbled in showing him the piece, nearly dropping it before it was turned about to display the brilliant colors to the man's golden eyes. "I didn't know how else to apologize." Say sorry was not her forte. She had never been in a position that required it. Before that moment, she had never felt the guilt that was eating away at her.
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