{RQ} we all burn to the ground

sorry about the blood in your mouth, i wish it was mine

The whole point is not facing it. Nate's brows pinch and his lips curl and he tries to summon the anger to yell that back, but he can't quite manage it. Can't summon the energy for it. "If..." His voice falters, grows quieter. "If I face it, then that's it. It's real. It's all real, and I just have to deal with it! Being kidnapped, and Sunjata-" No, he can't finish that sentence, can't finish that thought.

He'll have to, sooner rather than later. But he can be hopeful until then. Or... whatever this is, until then.

The mood shifts again as Aurelia hurts herself, drawing out his worst sides, sides that he tries (too little, too late) to smother. "You can make at least one.” He points out unhelpfully, tripped up by her anger, by his own awkward shame. Aurelia's next broken-up words have him digging his toes into the sand uncomfortably, anything to keep from examining her pain or his too closely. A noncommittal hum is offered in response, words failing him.

It takes a long moment before he drops down again, too close this time, his back pressing against hers in something that he would say is supposed to be a comfort for her, when it's him who needs the connection. "I... don’t really want to feel better yet anyway.” Nate offers heavily, leaning back against her in a pressure that has to be an annoyance. Compared to the rest of the conversation, the rest of his angry, painful outburst though? It's small potatoes.

Even more time passes before he sighs, chin dipping down to brush against his chest. "Do you... want me to help?"

i couldn't get the boy to kill me

but i wore his jacket for the longest time

NATE

you're falling further down

Aurelia can't say much to it being real. It is real, he knows that, and there wouldn't be much use in saying so. Which is exactly what draws her away, what pulls her back to the anchor, and ultimately what causes her to hurt her hand. It's nothing, it's fine; an inconvenience, if anything.

She scoffs, rolling her eyes - more at herself than him, though. "We have to make more than that," she replies, somewhat matter-of-fact. He knows this, too. But his foot is injured and she doesn't have to look at it to know, so she's trying to do it herself. Failing, too, as it stands.

She doesn't know how to help him and he doesn't want help. So her hands drop into the sand defeatedly, right as he slumps down and pushes his back against hers. At first, she doesn't know what to make of it, whether he's trying to be annoying as he leans way more into it than he needs to, or if it's his only way of letting her in. Perhaps a mix of both. She pushes back, because at least she's here, letting out a ragged breath.

"With that foot?" She asks, turning her head to look at him from the side. "Fine. But you're not getting up for anything, not until we're done," she decides, "just help me with the bolts, and whatever..." she's too drained to get much more specific than that, but surely he can figure it out with her.

At that, she moves to turn and face him, dragging the metal and tools through the sand so that they can keep working at it. "If you don't want to feel better, then... that's okay," she says quietly after a while. Maybe she's talking to herself just as much as him.

but I've got you by a thread

Aurelia

code credits go to Skylark!<3

sorry about the blood in your mouth, i wish it was mine

Aurelia has no time for his nonsense apparently, pushes back agaisnt him as he slumps, and that, more than anything, eases something in Nate. His shoulders loosen, and he turns just in time to catch Aurelia’s peripheral, a single brow rising. ”I don’t even feel it Aurelia, honestly.” The words have all the cadence of a complaint, but none of the heart. Nate doesn’t protest the actual deal at least, nodding along to her words.

Not expecting her to shift so quickly, Nate wobbles in the sand, fighting for a moment to keep his balance. If he goes down, he’s not getting up again. Once he’s caught himself, he can focus on the task of connecting the metal pieces together, his hands careful now that they have an injury each.

The silence is broken after Nate slips into an almost trancelike state, his head lifting to look at Aurelia immediately, but her actual words taking far longer to actually reach him. Even when they do, he has to go through the effort of deciding how to respond. Deciding if he’s supposed to. ”It’ll come. It’ll be, uh,” not better, he can’t say better without choking on it, “different, than it is now.” If Aurelia is talking to herself, then so is he, a thought that eases his voice somewhat.

He still refuses to use it past that though, letting their task fall into a busy silence, time whiling away. Without their bickering, the anchors are done in what feels like no time. They don’t leave as soon as they’re done, at least Nate doesn’t, wanting to spend just a little more time in the company of someone who understands. It’s a different kind of reaching out. One that’s easier again for him.

Fin~

i couldn't get the boy to kill me

but i wore his jacket for the longest time

NATE