Thalion had managed to escape from the crew not because he didn't want them, but because he knew it was for the best.
He had left while they slept, his bare feet silent against the grass, his silver hair hidden beneath a hood he had scavenged from a abandoned cart. He didn't look back. If he looked back, he would falter. If he faltered, he would return. And if he returned, Tauriel would find Jason through his eyes.
"I cannot be the reason he dies."
Thalion walked through the night, putting distance between himself and the only people who had shown him kindness in centuries. The moon was high, casting pale light across the rolling hills. His body ached. His mind screamed at him to turn around. But he kept walking.
