I wonder what it's like to be loved by you

He was out of his depths.

Frankly, Tetradore had never known how to deal with tears. Too often in his life, he was forced to face them with stoicism and cruelty, leaving him at a loss when faced with wetness streaked down porcelain cheeks in what little personal life he had. His hand rubbed the back of his neck as he offered to call someone for her. The mumbled words that fell from her lips, however, were anything but a name. A sentence that made no real sense, unless she was maybe talking to herself? His brows furrowed as he watched her, his features betraying his confusion, those words failing to bring to the surface a memory that had been buried for far too long and paved over again with far too much suffering.

Her explanation was quiet and quick, as if she couldn't get the words out fast enough. He froze, staring at her, trying to match her fair features to the multitude of faces that had come and gone throughout his life. How many bathrooms had he bled in over the years? How many homes had he broken into? Particularly when he was younger, before the Ark had come into his possession. Her gaze lifted, her eyes glassy with the tears that showed so much...sadness.

Shit.

What had he done to her?

Why couldn't he remember her? Was he so far gone that the faces of his victims had blurred together? She had seemed familiar...but could he really not place those big green eyes? The gentleness of her fair features as she looked up at him?

"Um...I'm sorry...for..." He started, though really, what was he apologizing for? Not remembering her or whatever he had done during their first meeting? Then again, she hadn't run away at the sight of him so...it couldn't have been that bad. Wait..she was crying. It probably had been that bad.

The baritone rumble of his voice trailed off, an awkward silence falling briefly between them before the young woman insisted it was 'okay' that he clearly didn't remember her. She seemed almost...eager to reassure him, though her heartache was equally as obvious as she reached up to wipe her sleeve across her tear-stained waterline. Her apology was a mere whisper on her lips...though really, what was she apologizing for?

It was one single word that shattered his world, freezing the Were-King in place by the sound syllables he hadn't heard in years - ones he'd never thought he'd hear again.

"Madhavi."

The word was a whisper on his lips. How could he ever forget her. She had been the first woman he'd ever really been interested in - a feat in itself, according to his adoptive father. That had been...years ago. A practical lifetime for him. How...? A chuckled puff of air fell from his lips, a small simper tugging at the corners of them. Things between them had been...short lived and yet...decidedly meaningful for him. The pain of her disappearance was one he'd healed from ages ago, though admittedly Tetradore had largely been of the belief that she had been killed by a certain vampire rather than simply leaving of her own accord. To see her alive was a shock to say the least.

"Wow." He was at a loss for words, what did one say after reuniting after...nearly two decades? They'd been so damn young back then. "...your...back in town?" Tetradore finally inquired and yet there was no hint of malice in his voice. No anger or hurt, simply...surprised disbelief.