"Everyone keeps saying that because it must be true." Still bitter, still rueful, Amalia shakes her head. The discomfort which had melted away is back, glittering ice between them- but the girl cannot help it, can do nothing except feel. "The gods reward the exceptional. You should accept it, and do your best to deserve your gift."
Pushing off from the counter top, she goes to investigate the cakes, peering into the oven as Ronin continues to speak. She is grateful that her back is to him, hiding the pain upon her face. Each word is a slap, an injury upon her injured soul, a reminder that somehow, in some way, she has failed. How many Naturals had been lost during LongNight? How many had ever been returned? Friends, and family, and her grandmother-
She swallows, her slender hands gripped to fist upon her apron.
"I am sorry for your loss," the girl says at last, not turning, unwilling to let him see her tears. "Aoife is fortunate, to have been given a second chance at family. Many... many cannot say the same."
Pushing off from the counter top, she goes to investigate the cakes, peering into the oven as Ronin continues to speak. She is grateful that her back is to him, hiding the pain upon her face. Each word is a slap, an injury upon her injured soul, a reminder that somehow, in some way, she has failed. How many Naturals had been lost during LongNight? How many had ever been returned? Friends, and family, and her grandmother-
She swallows, her slender hands gripped to fist upon her apron.
"I am sorry for your loss," the girl says at last, not turning, unwilling to let him see her tears. "Aoife is fortunate, to have been given a second chance at family. Many... many cannot say the same."
Amalia & Jyoti
born from dark water, daughters of the rain and snow
