when hope and peace begin to fray
Know that daybreak is not far away
Evie leans into the kiss he bestows upon her, letting her smile come small and bittersweet. Though she is glad to know him so well and is proud of how staunch he is in his dedication to the idea, she will never stop wishing that the pain he experienced hadn't happened. Even if it meant an alternate ending where the two of them never came to be, his pain is hers, and she wishes she could take it from his chest and crush it in her hands like brittle twigs. Know that daybreak is not far away
Still, she can't help a small chuckle at his petulant admission, squeezing his hand. "You are entirely allowed your hatred of him. I think Hotaru knows that too." The Valkyrie could have come to Evie to discuss lifting Sunjata's ban if she had desired to try and fight against Deimos' iron fist. Yet even with her inherently sneaky ways, Hotaru had never even shown a hint of frustration or desire to manipulate the situation despite the way it surely must have impacted her relationship with the man. "But think of it this way - what if this second chance they are trying at really does work? She will have been right to chance her heart. And while your hatred would still be valid, it would be a barrier to you being happy for her." Evie knows that relationship matters more to him than any impossible notion of forgiveness or acceptance of change on Sunjata's behalf. "Perhaps just try to pretend he doesn't exist for a while until the stability of their relationship becomes clear," she laughs, only really half-joking.
Her expression only melts further at Deimos' sheepish glance. Though it precedes a sadder inquiry, she's glad to see him working through what is without a doubt a difficult situation for him to be part of. "I don't think that at all," she assures firmly, hoping her certainty will inspire some measure of it in himself. "Hotaru was very solitary when I first met her in the Grounds, and I didn't see much difference when I met her again here in Halo. Now, I see her with Alys, Talyson, Sah, Noah, you..." she trails off, the list ever-expanding these days, and all the more meaningful for it. "Like I said, I'm not close with her. We mostly interact as teacher and student. But even I can see that she is much happier than I remember her being." And while happiness borne of shared company is not the be-all-end-all of happiness, Evie can't discount the way the Valkyrie shines amidst her Halovian fellows - and the way that glow stays with her now even when she is apart from them, when in previous years it would have faded quickly away like a solitary candle in a storm.
Evergreen
