look at everything you've overcome - don't give up now
Vai has frozen, which means that it's just as likely that Zeph will bump into her as anything else, and she's staring, wide eyed at the child who peers up at them. She knows the smile, the eyes, the framing of the face, but she's never seen them, truly, at that age. She's seen the beginnings of them, and she's seen the result in a grown and scarred young woman, but this? This belongs in dreams and half imagined memories. When she speaks her voice is thick, throat tight, and her eyes have blurred with unexpected tears.
"This isn't real, Zeph," she says softly, clearing her throat and trying very hard not to look at the girl, because if she starts then gods she won't be able to stop. An arm moves about her waist, as if Vai can hold onto herself, and she shakes her head sadly. "I don't know what kind of trick it is, but that's not a real child." Her free hand comes up to shade her eyes from the sight of it, to wish the spectre away before it can get a grip on her.
"This isn't real, Zeph," she says softly, clearing her throat and trying very hard not to look at the girl, because if she starts then gods she won't be able to stop. An arm moves about her waist, as if Vai can hold onto herself, and she shakes her head sadly. "I don't know what kind of trick it is, but that's not a real child." Her free hand comes up to shade her eyes from the sight of it, to wish the spectre away before it can get a grip on her.
Vervain
