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Asavvi Kouris
I'll use you as a warning sign
She was ready to congratulate herself on a successful evasion. She was ready to step away and continue on and quite possibly never speak to this person again. That had been the goal, the established pattern: a gentle brush off, an easy let down and the weight of social interaction would roll off Asavvi’s shoulders. It was how she had insulated herself for years from the potential abrasion of other people It just...didn’t seem to be working. Asavvi was surprised to find that she was a little relieved. She hadn’t ever given too much thought to how easily people usually accepted her distancing herself like this. It was easy to guide people’s attention away, to divert attention with polite smiles and soft dismissals for the sake of avoiding conflict, avoiding drama, avoiding connection. And damned but that didn’t just hurt the tiniest bit. At the same time, "The right direction is called my front door." And maybe Asavvi’s compass had been magnetically scrambled along with her brain because in her old life, in her old world she never would have taken another step forward. Today she’d crossed worlds, this barrier in her mind didn’t seem such a hurdle. Besides, she reasoned, look at what happened the last time she had wandered off on her own: she’d nearly walked into a magical barrier that had almost killed her. After the day she’d had, the thought of being completely alone was daunting, cold. Her arms had been crossed and defensive when she’d stepped away, but the girl drew in a long, slow breath, letting herself unwind as she exhaled. “Um, alright then.” She smiled, and it was absent of the walls, the mask that she worked so hard to always keep in place. Shy. Sweet. Thankful. Asavvi moved back into step with Edrei and after hesitating only a moment more reached for her hand. Tomorrow, she promised herself. Tomorrow she’d face the fear, the uncertainty, the consequences. Tomorrow she’d come to terms with being alone in a new world. Tomorrow can wait. |
{And this has been: “Asavvi Takes Things WAY Too Seriously” tune in next week to see her spend 20 years second guessing this decision…}
