responsibilities

There's all these secrets I can't keep
Like in my heart there's a hotel suite

With the notion of her safety secured - though still in the dark of how, once, that had not been the case - Jude relaxes slightly. Mental and emotional dangers weren't necessarily less difficult or dangerous, but at least it was one less thing to have to worry about and helped narrow down what the problem truly was.

She never has stammered and vacillated so distinctly before, and Jude doesn't really know how to handle it. Whatever she hopes to find in his face Jude can't magically put there, but he wishes he could. Instead, he simply tries to project openness and patience, ready to listen.

And it's a good thing too, because she has a lot to share.

Jude isn't sure how so much could change in a single day, but it's immediately apparent why Sohalia is so overwhelmed. Jude himself feels overwhelmed, though he tries not to show it lest it upset her even more. They're eighteen. Flora's insanity aside, nobody their age should be running a region in Jude's opinion.

But also...nobody else was. Without a leader, where would Stormbreak end up in a season? In a year? As she slumps into his neck he gently holds her close with a hand at the back of her neck and sits in stunned silence for a bit as he tries to gather his thoughts.

"Well...I mean, uh..." Gods he wasn't prepared to think on his feet this fast. "Honestly if nobody else was going to step up, what was the alternative?" If Stormbreak is happy with a teenage Queen, surely that was their prerogative...? And anything (aside from like, a fascist or tyrannical ruler) was better than an empty government. "You might not know how to lead, but you want to help. You want to fix things. That's a good start - a baby step. You don't have to make big leaps." Jude believes that much, and he hopes his faith shines through.

And you lived there so long
It's kinda strange, now you're gone

Jude