[ If he wants to run, he's going to have to do it when Larus decides to let him go. Even then, the obvious choice is to chase him, to follow him for answers that just don't make sense on their own. It's an equation that fits nowhere in his life, curling his fingers around Dorian's as soon as he releases him. He knows this tactic all too well, and while he'd usually prefer the distance, everything that's happened to him in the last several hours craves the exact opposite of that.

His expression evens out along with his voice. ]

I know. [ One way or another, he will. It's just going to be his choice. ] But I died once already. It's not death that I'm afraid of.

[ Perhaps that's why he shakes it off so easily, how he can pretend it never happened when he's come so close to that edge so many times before. This place is no different when it comes to that; the only distinction are the people in his life, the ones that slip through and tangle themselves around his heart. ]

There are things I need to do, and people I want to see. The pain just makes existing bearable enough to see that through.