flew me to places I've never been
Her question was reasonable—simple, even. It shouldn’t have been hard. A binary. Stay or go. Yes or no. Everest’s mouth opened, but nothing came out at first. He looked at her mug instead of her face, watching her fingers curl around it, and the steam rise in slow, spiralling whorls. "It would change the variables," he said after a moment. Not an answer. Not really. Just a fact stated plainly, like everything else. "The air pressure shifts depending on how many people are in a room. So do the sounds. The scent profile." His brow furrowed, faintly. "The emotional tenor." That last part was said like it was something he'd read in a book and was still unsure he believed.
He rubbed at his temple. The pressure helped, sometimes. "I think… it makes a difference. But I don’t know how to explain it."
And then—Torchline. Haulani. The barrier. It took him a full three seconds to process what she'd said, like the words had to filter through layers of cotton in his mind. His head tilted slightly. That familiar, old clockwork mind stirred. psay["A full barrier?" he echoed, eyes narrowing slightly in thought. It should have excited him. Amazed him. Instead, he simply nodded again, his hands folding tighter in his lap. "It’s good to know." A pause. "Thank you for telling me." He tried to offer a smile—tight, brief, barely a flicker. But it was something.
"Are you telling me because you think I would benefit from being behind it? That I have reason to fear the Family now that I am no longer under their influence?"
He rubbed at his temple. The pressure helped, sometimes. "I think… it makes a difference. But I don’t know how to explain it."
And then—Torchline. Haulani. The barrier. It took him a full three seconds to process what she'd said, like the words had to filter through layers of cotton in his mind. His head tilted slightly. That familiar, old clockwork mind stirred. psay["A full barrier?" he echoed, eyes narrowing slightly in thought. It should have excited him. Amazed him. Instead, he simply nodded again, his hands folding tighter in his lap. "It’s good to know." A pause. "Thank you for telling me." He tried to offer a smile—tight, brief, barely a flicker. But it was something.
"Are you telling me because you think I would benefit from being behind it? That I have reason to fear the Family now that I am no longer under their influence?"
but now I'm laying on the cold hard ground
