A moment later, Soren closed his eyes and slowly lifted his hands, resting them over Elias's palms on his face as he finally broke down that the sobs he'd been holding in spilled out all at once.
Seeing that, Elias leaned forward and pulled him into an embrace with one hand patting his back in a steady rhythm while Soren buried his wet face against him.
The truth was, Soren wanted to tell him so many things but with everything that had happened, the words just wouldn't come.
He wanted to say that it hurt, so much more than he ever admitted.
That his life in the north wasn't filled with pride or achievement, but with pain and cold indifference. That what he had gained there wasn't strength, but deeper wounds and quiet suffering.
He wanted to rant, to let it all spill out, but he couldn't.
He wanted to hate the people who hurt him, but he didn't know how.
