Zavien
Zavien gives her a bit of privacy from his gaze, letting it wander out to the open sky, still cautious despite the casual sweep of his head. His voice is still soft, gentle in her apology and the accompanying lack of favors between them. "It's true. I don't." Not accusing, just factual before he continues with a more distant tone, lofty in dreams that he knew few would share. "But I think we should all do what we can to stand against the Family. Whether it's for revenge or not shouldn't matter."
Pulled from his idealistic wishes, Zavien doesn't miss the fear that catches Flora's words, the fears he'd similarly voiced. When his eyes turn to her, he doesn't pretend to hide the pity or sugar-coat the truth of the matter. "I'm not sure. I don't know him well enough to guess at what he'd do, but I don't think such an offense would go unpunished." And she'd already learned one of the many ways he might choose to do so.
A rueful smile quirks at his lips, flattered she would compare his experience with hers. "I think my circumstances were a little different. I wasn't prepared, so it was as much my fault as the Void's." He hadn't been a target like she had, and the Family had shown no signs of caring whether he'd lived or died in the end. Shrugging his shoulders, Zavien tries to lighten the topic a little with a breathy chuckle. "I'm not sure I deserve revenge in quite the same way you do." Sympathy paints his words, his own self-pity looking weak compared to the struggles she must be dealing with. "After all, the thing that killed me is already dead. Pierce isn't." The monster in his nightmares couldn't come after him again. Hers could.
Pulled from his idealistic wishes, Zavien doesn't miss the fear that catches Flora's words, the fears he'd similarly voiced. When his eyes turn to her, he doesn't pretend to hide the pity or sugar-coat the truth of the matter. "I'm not sure. I don't know him well enough to guess at what he'd do, but I don't think such an offense would go unpunished." And she'd already learned one of the many ways he might choose to do so.
A rueful smile quirks at his lips, flattered she would compare his experience with hers. "I think my circumstances were a little different. I wasn't prepared, so it was as much my fault as the Void's." He hadn't been a target like she had, and the Family had shown no signs of caring whether he'd lived or died in the end. Shrugging his shoulders, Zavien tries to lighten the topic a little with a breathy chuckle. "I'm not sure I deserve revenge in quite the same way you do." Sympathy paints his words, his own self-pity looking weak compared to the struggles she must be dealing with. "After all, the thing that killed me is already dead. Pierce isn't." The monster in his nightmares couldn't come after him again. Hers could.
Stay focused on your mission,
remain steadfast in your pursuit of excellence,
and always do the right thing.
remain steadfast in your pursuit of excellence,
and always do the right thing.
