Macklyn listened to Eric speak and a sadness filled his heart. He had known that the time apart would be hard for both of them, but had not - quite honestly - fully considered the impact on his mate. Macklyn himself had known separation from his loved ones, and he had also known it when it came to his own maker. Though the latter had been of his own doing and the pain that had come from it had been much different.
He'd never had a soulmate before, and had never had a progeny. These were two things that were quite important to the heart and mind.
So while it had hurt Macklyn to be apart, he knew it must have been worse for Eric, who did not have the experience that hundreds of years of being alive brought. Eric didn't know quite how to compartmentalize occurrences like loss and pain. Though he'd done a fairly good job at it, the fairy thought. He'd been keeping himself alive, kept doing what he needed to do, but he wasn't really living.
Macklyn supposed that he, too, had been just getting by.
"I don't want you to think that I was off having a grand time without you." He said quietly. "I was miserable as well. Life without you isn't... well, it isn't worth much of anything. If I hadn't had Mara to take care of, I might have gone to ground to sleep."