deep into that darkness peering

He was enjoying himself. Oddly, awkwardly, and for the first time in a very long while. The offer to keep the lute had Korbin's eyes go wide in surprise - for a moment, his hands tightened possessively around the instrument. Then the clause came, and it was like a door slamming shut within him. His expression turned blank, the look in his eyes gone weary, suspicious. A wild creature smelling a trap. "I... can't stay," he mumbled. Looking away at the fire, long digits pried off one by one, until the lute was gently placed down onto the table. It looked physically painful for him to part with it. "Can't make promises." He always broke them. K O R B I N It's a lie for a lie and I'm getting tired An old lullabye, drifting through the sky