CHULANE
He knew she had been through more than he could ever imagine, he knew she had fought battles, had been dragged by more powerful, mystical forces through more worlds than he could fathom existed, knew that there was so much to her still unknown to him that it was possibly insane that he should feel the way he does about - but this knowledge, or lack thereof, didn't stop those feelings. He hoped she would come to trust him, would come to seek him out, to rely on him and open up to him more and more, to help carry her emotional burden, but he also didn't want to push her into it, to coerce or force her. He didn't know the full extent of the doubt that she was filled with, the sheer disbelief that she herself deserved this simple kindness he offered, but he would continue to act this way anyway, unless she asked him directly to stop and take a step back.
So far, she had accepted all that he had to offer, and so he had continued onwards, gently demonstrated his true feelings for her through these small gestures, sweet whisperings and feather-light kisses. She was fully entitled to push him away, or to turn away from him, and yet she didn't - it gave him hope, that despite whatever was holding them both back that made them take this journey one crawling, inching step at a time, they would take those steps together and one day, eventually, find themselves with a beautiful gift in each other.
Perhaps he was just an old romantic, determined to believe that love could and would win out against all other odds.
She might fear that his attentions would not last, that he would find someone else to comfort, to console, to train with, and the honest truth was: He didn't know what the future held. But, while he might spend a lot of time in his books, learning lore and medicine, practising medicine and otherwise coming up with great farming endeavours that would revolutionise the small region of Halo, there was only one spot within his heart reserved for the sort of attachment he knew was growing for the woman sitting across from him. He smiled as she agreed with him, lifting her hand to his lips to press a kiss to her knuckles with a soft "Good," breathing out between his lips, before he released her hand once more.
He notices her gaze, her thoughts drifting away on various things outside of this moment, and he does of course wonder at what it could mean, what it could stand for, that she does not want to speak of it, to bring it up, to give a reason for her doubt, for her feeling like she owed him for this little bit of kindness. And again, she gives thanks for a thing that seemed so normal to Chuy - surely anyone would have done the same to her had they seen her standing in the cold after a literal disaster, and had a blanket available to give her? But he holds his tongue, he accepts her thanks with a nod, and then a broader smile as she follows it up with that damn attunnedness. It was as if she was giving him a warm, soothing hug but in a way far more intimate and close than just words or gestures alone could ever achieve.
"I was just relieved to find you not in the same condition as the palace; -" destroyed, demolished, broken, torn open and no longer supporting life "- I was so scared that night." He shook his head at the memory, goosebumps rising along his forearms as the memory of dread echoed within him. He looked back into her eyes, as if checking again that she was indeed there, alive, whole, and with him.
"Could hardly let you perish from the cold after you survived the attack. And to think, you and the other Grounders came here to escape such terrors." He spoke with a somewhat guarded tone, popping some more meat into his mouth afterwards. He wasn't really a fan of this topic of conversation - it reminded him too much that she was only here temporarily, and it frustrated him that she had come here to protect her people and this region proved to have its own spectacular kinds of dangers as well. Though… "Was there really a child sacrifice involved in this.. Shitshow?" he asked hesitantly, his tone clearly reluctant, but determined to gleam more details, to gain more of an understanding than the one he had pieced together.
So far, she had accepted all that he had to offer, and so he had continued onwards, gently demonstrated his true feelings for her through these small gestures, sweet whisperings and feather-light kisses. She was fully entitled to push him away, or to turn away from him, and yet she didn't - it gave him hope, that despite whatever was holding them both back that made them take this journey one crawling, inching step at a time, they would take those steps together and one day, eventually, find themselves with a beautiful gift in each other.
Perhaps he was just an old romantic, determined to believe that love could and would win out against all other odds.
She might fear that his attentions would not last, that he would find someone else to comfort, to console, to train with, and the honest truth was: He didn't know what the future held. But, while he might spend a lot of time in his books, learning lore and medicine, practising medicine and otherwise coming up with great farming endeavours that would revolutionise the small region of Halo, there was only one spot within his heart reserved for the sort of attachment he knew was growing for the woman sitting across from him. He smiled as she agreed with him, lifting her hand to his lips to press a kiss to her knuckles with a soft "Good," breathing out between his lips, before he released her hand once more.
He notices her gaze, her thoughts drifting away on various things outside of this moment, and he does of course wonder at what it could mean, what it could stand for, that she does not want to speak of it, to bring it up, to give a reason for her doubt, for her feeling like she owed him for this little bit of kindness. And again, she gives thanks for a thing that seemed so normal to Chuy - surely anyone would have done the same to her had they seen her standing in the cold after a literal disaster, and had a blanket available to give her? But he holds his tongue, he accepts her thanks with a nod, and then a broader smile as she follows it up with that damn attunnedness. It was as if she was giving him a warm, soothing hug but in a way far more intimate and close than just words or gestures alone could ever achieve.
"I was just relieved to find you not in the same condition as the palace; -" destroyed, demolished, broken, torn open and no longer supporting life "- I was so scared that night." He shook his head at the memory, goosebumps rising along his forearms as the memory of dread echoed within him. He looked back into her eyes, as if checking again that she was indeed there, alive, whole, and with him.
"Could hardly let you perish from the cold after you survived the attack. And to think, you and the other Grounders came here to escape such terrors." He spoke with a somewhat guarded tone, popping some more meat into his mouth afterwards. He wasn't really a fan of this topic of conversation - it reminded him too much that she was only here temporarily, and it frustrated him that she had come here to protect her people and this region proved to have its own spectacular kinds of dangers as well. Though… "Was there really a child sacrifice involved in this.. Shitshow?" he asked hesitantly, his tone clearly reluctant, but determined to gleam more details, to gain more of an understanding than the one he had pieced together.
it is better to know some of the questions
than all of the answers
than all of the answers
