one day you'll blow us all away

as I hold my soul all the music pours out

“This?” he asks (probably rhetorically), spreading his hands over the books and then dismissing them with waves of their hands. “It’ll always be here. People are a hundred times more important than books.” So with that declaration, he stands up and offers his hand over the table to her again, speaking in a firm, but soft voice.

“Amalia, do you see Jyoti? She loves you. Do you hear her croon? She seems very worried.” Not to mention the Attuned display, the tears, the question - a blind man could see that she isn’t alright, but that’s not the focus of his urgings. “She feels what you feel.”

Do it for her, he insinuates.

Pausing a moment to let that sink in, Falke lightens a bit and offers her an encouraging smile while Ophelia comes to chitter on the Archangel’s side that’s closest to the door.. “So why not come outside and talk to me a bit? Let me bear the weight of your troubles for a bit. I can take it, I promise. I’ve had a lot of practice.”

THE 'FIXER'

the greatest fear I've ever kept is dying with regrets

and all this devotion was rushing over me

The hand extended, the warm smile, the offer of aid- it feels too much like something Amalia wants and needs, but doesn't dare let herself deserve. Her sins are hers, after all, and as kind as Falke's expression may be the Angel cannot help but remember every other reaction to her confessions about the Ascended.

So she draws back in on herself, away from the Fixer's hand, already shaking her head. "No, I... that's okay," the girl murmurs, rising up and collecting her books. "I need to go, anyway- I have more research to do, and training this afternoon...." Weak excuses, but she's simply not ready to open up, not like this.

But gods, she needs it.

She takes a step away from the table, hesitates, and glances back. "Maybe another time," the girl says softly, before ducking out of the Collegium and back towards her own rooms.

{fin}

Amalia