Amalia
A deeper conversation is all I want from you-
Her answer, while ardent, leaves something to be desired, and Amalia frowns as she watches her pant, listening to the words that flow like wounds. She knows what it is to make mistakes, to strive and push and reach for a sky which feels far away, to drown beneath a past that sits on her chest like a weight. Kiada is flawed, but she is trying, striving, and she has a chance for greatness: Amalia can see it in the ferocity with which she fights, the fervor with which she loves.Now, though, she does not see love. As she looks at the girl who stands before her, trembling and tremulous, blood on her face, Amalia does not see a guardian. She does not see someone ready to carry that title, that weight, that world- for oh, it is a weight to bear, heavy and pervasive, hungry and cold. Standing before her, the Shield sees a child, still raw and aching, blistering and defensive, the scars that stain her ivory skin nothing compared to the wounds beneath.
"I know how hard it has been for you, Kiada." Her tone is softer now, affectionate and empathetic as she eyes the knife in the girl's hand, stepping carefully to keep her in sight, her bare feet sure on the hard ground. "And I know how hard you work. And I'm proud." She lets that pride flood their bond, tries to make Kiada feel it, to press upon her the weight of her regard. "But being the guardian of something is about more than just you."
Again the harpy lunges, and again Amalia turns, pivoting her right side away from the charge in an attempt to evade the grasp at her staff while attempting to block the knife with her silver shield. For a moment she is still, staring into her friend's eyes, searching for something in those blue depths. "Do you understand, Kiada? Are you ready to bear that weight? Do you want to?"
Then she shoves abruptly back, dropping to a crouch and thrusting up toward the Harpy with her shield, a long sweeping kick aimed at Kiada's ankles, trying to knock the other off balance, to make her take a moment to sit on the ground and think.
Amalia tries to dodge as Kia reaches for the staff, while raising her shield to block the knife. Then she pushes against Kiada with her shield and tries to kick her feet out from under her, trying to make her stagger backwards and fall.
- I want the words you're afraid to say:
the lonely ones you keep hidden
between the folds of your heart
