garbage in, garbage out

MAEA

For once, she didn't know what to say. She had no witty comebacks or well phrased excuses this time. Only a look of indecision and unease, that only flickered and shifted but didn't entirely fade, even with Amun's encouragement. Truth was, both women frightened her. For different reasons and in different contexts, and facing either or both would require decisions to be made that Maea wasn't ready for.

"I... wouldn't know what to say," she finally replied, when the silence became too much to bear. Such a tangled mess.

"I see. That's good. I guess I won't have to worry as much about you being stabbed again, then. If you can slip away like that." It felt like a perfectly reasonable thing, that someone might come after her brother with a knife. For the bad jokes and witticism, if nothing else. "Is there anything else you want to try? Or are we about done here?" She didn't mind lingering if he wanted to continue the conversation. But there were nicer locations for it - ones not full of rubble and dust to illustrate the price and folly of a distant past.

I'm bleeding out for you

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

my love affair with water runs deep into my soul,

the serenity as intense as the tides ebb and flow

"Well I've always found that 'hi, how are you,' is a good place to start." Smiling at Maea, Amun moved so he could rest his arm across her shoulders again. Squeezing them, he inclined his head to her. "I know you're worried. But letting fear guide you is no way to live, trust me. The sooner you see them, the sooner you'll realize just how misplaced that fear really is." He pressed a kiss to her temple before releasing her.

Nodding at her assessment of his ability to escape, he shifted into shaking his head when she asked if he had any more plans for his upgrade. "Not unless you can think of anything. I think I've got a good baseline." He scratched under his chin.

nothing is softer or more flexible than water,

yet nothing can resist it

AMUN

MAEA

Always with the simple solutions. That, and the easy affection he kept showering her with drew a faint smile back to her lips, and warmed the color of her eyes into something a little less distant. She leaned into the embrace, too grateful for the way he never quite tired of offering support to argue or drag up tired conversations again. She did trust him. If he said it would be fine, she would just have to believe it.

"I guess I can stick around and listen, if either of them show up. No promises I won't run screaming after a bit, though." And she could stop trying to avoid encounters too, she supposed. Much like she had agreed to do with Sunjata. It might take a while before she was ready to actively seek anyone out - but Amun had promised that she could take her time. So she would.

It was her turn to shake her head. No further challenges came to mind. "I've got nothing. We can always come back another day, if you feel like practicing some more." Tucking her hands away into deep pockets, she began to lead the way back towards more habitable parts of the Citadel. "Why don't you tell me about that snake you said you encountered... "

It was exhausting to keep the spirits up. But she kept trying, and perhaps in time it would get easier. As long as Amun was there, it gave her a reason to keep going. For now, it was enough.


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{FIN}

I'm bleeding out for you

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3