Bramble Falls I feel like I'm screamin' but a moan is all I'm leavin'

Archer

Archer's eyes narrowed slightly at Eros's hesitation. He was tempted to ask exactly what Viorel had said, but in the end decided against it. It mattered, but... there was enough right now. It could wait, especially with how quickly Eros jumped to defense again. Viorel had said home. He'd called it Archer's home, and that did mean something on its own.

Eros's next words had his ears falling back in dismay for a moment. He knew what his brother meant, but it didn't stop his mind from flashing to going back in time, changing his decisions, maybe talking Kateri into having their children at the Backwater... but Eros was quickly correcting himself, and he had said he would support him. Archer mulled it over, looking at the ground somewhere to his left. He wanted Ally to be safe. He wanted her to be happy. He wanted her not to turn into him, not to continue this apparent cycle of bitterness and loss that plagued his family.

He couldn't do that on his own.

Archer looked back up at his brother. "I... I'll talk to Viorel. But I'll need some time first. I have a lot to think about."

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Eros waited patiently for Archer to respond, and was rewarded with an affirmative answer. He would talk to Dad. He couldn't help but let out a breath of relief, a good teal of tension briefly leaving his shoulders. It didn't mean things would go well, but at least it made it possible that they could. They just... waves of sadness rose up like the tide. It didn't do jackshit for Andy, the nephew he would never meet. For Archer's son. Thank the gods they had Ally, that they could still do right by one of his children.

"I get it," he answered in regard to his brother's needing time.

"I'll go get us a meal, okay?"

He could visit with Ally, make sure the two were fed and safely sheltered for at least this moment. Maybe they could tell her some ocean stories together. Then he would make the trip back to the Backwater alone, hoping dearly he would be able to see the duo again, and soon.