A/N: Set during Siege of the North. Title is Thomas Hardy's.
Crack.
There is no mistaking the feel of the ice giving way. The split-second decision I face now is clear in a flash, as is the logical answer.
Drop the Avatar.
Sprinting across the ice, wondering what I just did, I know that his being my shot at return isn't why I choose to save him –
It has more to do with the fact that I can feel his heartbeat –
I spare thought only for a desperate plea that if they will not save me, the spirits will at least preserve one of their own…