KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Lodestar 80 (Keefe POV)

Keefe had never known terror like what he felt when he watched Lumenaria fall.

Sophie was in there.

He'd gone running all over the island screaming her name, searching for her, hoping against hope that this incredible girl had made it out alive.

And then...there she was. She and Edaline were lying unconscious on the ground. He rushed to her side, checking first Sophie and then Edaline. Thankfully, they were both breathing steadily. He sat down beside Sophie, a hand on her arm—afraid to let go of her for a second—and tried to calm himself. She was alive. Everything would be okay.

But he shed a few tears anyway.

Maybe more than a few.

It was taking some time for that gut-wrenching terror to subside. Finally, once he thought he had control of himself, he gently shook her.

"There you are," he said, trying to keep his voice steady as he managed to bring Sophie back to consciousness. He watched as her eyes fluttered open and he felt her warm contentment at seeing him.

He tried to smile as he reached out and stroked her cheek.

Probably shouldn't have done something so tender, but he just couldn't help himself.

"When you and Edaline weren't with the survivors..." he began in a whisper. But he found he couldn't continue.

Before she could panic, he assured her that Edaline appeared to be okay, and began explaining everything he knew so far.

And when a coughing fit racked her body, he scooted closer and patted her back, waiting for it to pass.

This poor girl.

She could have died—again—and it would have been all his fault.

Again.

Just like the day he'd left to join the Neverseen and she'd gone with him.

He fervently hoped he'd never be responsible for another catastrophe in her life. What if she didn't survive the next one?

The one small mercy would be that he wouldn't have to deal with the grief for long, because the guilt would absolutely shatter his sanity.

Oof. Dark thoughts. Don't go there. She's okay. Everything is okay. You're home, she's alive. The terror is over.

She leaned against him then and oh how he loved that.

"How bad do I look?"

Bad? She looked fierce and brave and beautiful.

"You could never look bad. But, um..." He brushed a finger across her forehead and showed her the red. She was bleeding. "Want me to take you to Elwin?"

Of course, she said no. She wanted Elwin to treat the more urgent cases first.

She was so selfless.

He didn't mind, too much, that she didn't want to go see Elwin yet. He didn't want to lose this one-on-one time with her so soon.

She asked him how everyone else was doing, and he explained that most of the people seemed to have gotten out—though Terik might have lost his leg. He also told her that the entire island was on lockdown, so no one was there to look for her. Of course, Biana had briefly snuck over to look—being a Vanisher had its perks—and had unfortunately seen Keefe and tackled him in her rage. Foster clearly hadn't had time to tell anyone he was coming back, and Biana wasn't about to let him off the hook as easily as Foster had.