Imprints in Stone [AU]

[Bethany]

"Yeah," Beth echos in a thick voice. "We're a family. Troubled and... a bit odd, but family."

[Tethras Clan]

Carver is sitting out back the next morning when he hears a heavy tread coming out of the house behind him, one too heavy for any of the people that live with him, even the merikos dwarf Garret. He's been politely kicked out of the house so Beth could help Merrill get a proper bath after days of magical cleaning and given the task of making sure the outdoor furniture was clean and ready for use so they can have lunch outdoors afterwards. Unfortunately, they were still in good condition so that only took ten minutes, tops, to accomplish. So now he's go plenty of time to brood.

[Carver Amell]

Carver doesn't look up, recognizing the familiar clink of full plate. Am I being arrested? He wonders idly, but he knows it's not true. This will be painful but not likely so very detrimental. Best to just bear through. It will be over soon enough.

[Tethras Clan]

Moving around so she can look him face to face, Aveline takes a seat. "Heard you've had a rough few days," she says evenly. "How you holding up? Specifically, I mean. Obviously you're hurting."

[Carver Amell]

"Fine," he says, his voice totally flat.

[Tethras Clan]

"Carver." She waits, letting the silence grow painful and tense until he finally flicks his gaze towards her face. "Do not lie to me. I can tell and I'm not going to let you bullshit and lie about this."

[Carver Amell]

"I wish I managed to drink myself to death when I had the chance," he replies in much the same tone. "Does it matter?"

[Tethras Clan]

"Yes." Aveline leans forward. "I didn't take you for a coward, Carver. Why are you always running away at the first misstep?"

[Carver Amell]

"I told you I was a coward." His tone remains even, his face impassive. "I told everyone. Nobody believed me. So. Now it's too late, Merrill needs me, I can't run."

[Tethras Clan]

"So that's it? You're going to keep going like this? Sullen and spiteful about your failures? Are you even going to try and improve yourself?" Aveline asks cooly.

[Carver Amell]

"No." He says, quietly. "The rest of my life belongs to her. For however long she needs me. Then I can die. I don't... I don't matter anymore, not after what I did."

[Tethras Clan]

"That's not going to be enough. A craftsmen with no pride in himself, in his work, produces subpar goods. She deserves better from you. They all do. You deserve better from you. You fucked up. You make an assumption. You lacked faith and trust in your loved ones. You lost yourself to hurt and anger and took it out on the innocent. You came very close to driving a loved one to suicide. Merrill is alive despite your actions- Beth and luck are what saved her. Avoiding her or ignoring it aren't options. So what's your plan?" Despite her words, Aveline keeps her tone cool and even, not gentle or kind but lacking any accusation or disgust. 

[Carver Amell]

"I do whatever she needs," he says softly. "She remembers me, trusts me. I convince her to trust Beth. Shouldn't be hard. I keep reminding her I'm awful, that she deserves better. Eventually she believes it."

[Tethras Clan]

"That's the easy way," Aveline agrees. "For you anyway. Gods only know what it'd do to Merrill. Person she loves most in the word, the only person she remembers, breaks her heart? Be damn hard for her to get over that. Suppose she's young and an elf, might be able to trust again in fifty, sixty years."

[Carver Amell]

"But I did that. So it's too late not to."