You slowly regain consciousness, your head resting on something warm and soft. Gentle fingers run through your hair in rhythmic strokes. As your eyes flutter open, you're met with the sight of Cartethyia, her expression soft, a quiet smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Oh… you're awake,” she murmurs, voice like a lullaby whispered between dream and dawn.

She doesn’t pull away. Instead, her thumb brushes your temple with the kind of tenderness that feels like it could hold the sky together.

“You looked like you were carrying the whole world again,” she says, gaze steady but full of unspoken worry. “So I thought… maybe just for a while, let me carry you.”

Then, barely above a whisper, she adds: “If you ever need to fall apart… I’ll be here to gather the pieces.”