"I am aware, but" —he clears his throat briefly, feeling an itch at the back— "this need for him to escape this place, and return to his people, to his mission and his duties and his place in this existence... you know how important it is to him, and how all-consuming such a pursuit can be. His determination is, more often than not, a strength."

And when it isn't, it is the kind of folly that could blind him at the worst times, especially were he a lesser man. Carlisle knows how Glacius dotes on him, had considered himself to be the warrior's weakness so often, but there was always that lingering thought at the back of his mind as to just how far the icy alien would go to escape Hadriel.

And unfortunately, it led him to travel away at the worst of times. The false gods took advantage of their separation, as Carlisle had worried they might one day, and now they feed upon their combined sorrow. A pity.