HARPER
Kindness lies within her silence, for it would surely hurt Harper to know that she would lump him in with the likes of Sunjata. Instead there is only the sound of the wind whistling below the bridge, their respective breaths and the sound of his blood in his own ears. Hoping she will hang on for one more day, another beyond that, until she finds joy and happiness again. Sometimes the best answer is to just keep moving forward, one foot in front of the other. Dogged and relentless. Demanding the world acquiesce in the face of their stubbornness. This is the turning point for Phoebe. This is the moment where her fate is decided, where she picks a path, and he can only try to be the compass she needs in that moment.
Pim moves his head into her lab as Phoebe goes to reach for him, and Harper gives him a soft look. He shouldn't feel grateful, but he does. Pim may be tied to Phoebe for better or worse, but he's glad the dragon is helping Harper try. "I care about you," he corrects quietly, far from offended. If she needs to hear it to be sure, he'll say it. "And Frey, and Rexanna." A name he only knows from her vote into power, but he remembers seeing her comforting Phoebe as he had arrived. "I can't promise what their priorities are. Everyone's life is filled with different responsibilities and concerns. But sometimes all it takes is reaching out to realize they'll be there as soon as you need them. It's hard to read someone's mind and know they need your help." An unfortunate downfall to communication. Whether or not she has tried that he doesn't know. It isn't easy to put into words, to say so plainly that you need help, or a hug, or a comforting word. Harper has trained himself into it so well it's hard to remember the early days of struggling to ask for the slightest thing.
Her question is unexpected, and he tries to respect her emotions by mulling over the answer properly before replying. "Everyone that day was telling you to do one thing or the other. You had already railed against me calling you young the day we first met. No matter how I felt about the matter...it was important to me that you made the decision on your own, because you're an adult." She had wanted so badly to be heard, to have her choices matter and be listened to. Harper wasn't going to be the one to take that way, even if it killed him to keep quiet. "We all make hard decisions, and sometimes we make the wrong ones. I just wanted to support you in that moment, not sway you one way or the other and imply I knew your heart best. Even if it meant I had to watch you make a decision I thought would hurt you in the end."
Pim moves his head into her lab as Phoebe goes to reach for him, and Harper gives him a soft look. He shouldn't feel grateful, but he does. Pim may be tied to Phoebe for better or worse, but he's glad the dragon is helping Harper try. "I care about you," he corrects quietly, far from offended. If she needs to hear it to be sure, he'll say it. "And Frey, and Rexanna." A name he only knows from her vote into power, but he remembers seeing her comforting Phoebe as he had arrived. "I can't promise what their priorities are. Everyone's life is filled with different responsibilities and concerns. But sometimes all it takes is reaching out to realize they'll be there as soon as you need them. It's hard to read someone's mind and know they need your help." An unfortunate downfall to communication. Whether or not she has tried that he doesn't know. It isn't easy to put into words, to say so plainly that you need help, or a hug, or a comforting word. Harper has trained himself into it so well it's hard to remember the early days of struggling to ask for the slightest thing.
Her question is unexpected, and he tries to respect her emotions by mulling over the answer properly before replying. "Everyone that day was telling you to do one thing or the other. You had already railed against me calling you young the day we first met. No matter how I felt about the matter...it was important to me that you made the decision on your own, because you're an adult." She had wanted so badly to be heard, to have her choices matter and be listened to. Harper wasn't going to be the one to take that way, even if it killed him to keep quiet. "We all make hard decisions, and sometimes we make the wrong ones. I just wanted to support you in that moment, not sway you one way or the other and imply I knew your heart best. Even if it meant I had to watch you make a decision I thought would hurt you in the end."
lord don't let me break this, let me hold you lightly
give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly
give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly
