EVIE
Even with words locked somewhere down in his chest, locked away with the emotions that are buried there where she can’t get her hands to heal and help, she can sense he doesn’t believe her. Not in the sense that always is a promise that can’t be made in Caido because of her cruelty, but something more. Something personal. But he nods all the same, and that’s all Evie can ask for; that he give her a chance to prove it, day but day, moment by moment. And her smile is small but conveys clearly how touched she is that he doesn’t brush the sentiment away entirely.
It blossoms into something cheekier as the conversation sways sideways, laughing through grinning teeth. The scars of his hand juxtapose the years of callouses and pinprick marks in her own, and she squeezes firmly on the shake as she seals the plan they’ve created on the fly. “I’ll take what I can get, I don’t doubt half of Halo would crumble if you were gone too long.” Despite the teasing lilt, she truly believes it - and it’s why she wants to free that weight from his shoulders, even if he’ll only allow it for a measly half a day.
It’s why she doesn’t offer to take him back to the desert to show him the caravans. Something might break if she offers too many (half-day) vacations. It goes into her mental notes regardless, intending to bring it up again in the future. Even if she’d wanted to press the topic, his impish grin and boyish wheedling needle a surge of amused embarrassment through her that distracts her from everything else. Cheeks two spots of brightening color as she averts her eyes, even as she laughs good-naturedly, only having brought up the secret because she was secure enough in it to be teased. “Under a loose floorboard actually, I didn’t want to crinkle the pages and make him suspicious,” she admits, muffling her huff of laughter into the warmth of her cookie. Once she swallows she aims a playful look his way, glad for the elevation the counter provides her. “Was that the origin of your sweet tooth then?” Evie can’t help but wonder what he’d looked like as a child, mischievous and sneaking around to filch a dessert before due time. Unaware of what the future held for him.
“Abstract things mostly. Never a subject in mind. Like you, I’ve had to sketch a lot of plants, so I mostly just enjoyed playing with the colors and shapes.” Biting her lip she shrugs self-consciously, tiny smile feeble on the corner of her lips. “But it felt like a waste of the pigments, so I didn’t do it often. Haven’t picked it back up since the barrier fell.” She could, she realizes now, but she wouldn’t even know where to start with collecting the materials again.
It blossoms into something cheekier as the conversation sways sideways, laughing through grinning teeth. The scars of his hand juxtapose the years of callouses and pinprick marks in her own, and she squeezes firmly on the shake as she seals the plan they’ve created on the fly. “I’ll take what I can get, I don’t doubt half of Halo would crumble if you were gone too long.” Despite the teasing lilt, she truly believes it - and it’s why she wants to free that weight from his shoulders, even if he’ll only allow it for a measly half a day.
It’s why she doesn’t offer to take him back to the desert to show him the caravans. Something might break if she offers too many (half-day) vacations. It goes into her mental notes regardless, intending to bring it up again in the future. Even if she’d wanted to press the topic, his impish grin and boyish wheedling needle a surge of amused embarrassment through her that distracts her from everything else. Cheeks two spots of brightening color as she averts her eyes, even as she laughs good-naturedly, only having brought up the secret because she was secure enough in it to be teased. “Under a loose floorboard actually, I didn’t want to crinkle the pages and make him suspicious,” she admits, muffling her huff of laughter into the warmth of her cookie. Once she swallows she aims a playful look his way, glad for the elevation the counter provides her. “Was that the origin of your sweet tooth then?” Evie can’t help but wonder what he’d looked like as a child, mischievous and sneaking around to filch a dessert before due time. Unaware of what the future held for him.
“Abstract things mostly. Never a subject in mind. Like you, I’ve had to sketch a lot of plants, so I mostly just enjoyed playing with the colors and shapes.” Biting her lip she shrugs self-consciously, tiny smile feeble on the corner of her lips. “But it felt like a waste of the pigments, so I didn’t do it often. Haven’t picked it back up since the barrier fell.” She could, she realizes now, but she wouldn’t even know where to start with collecting the materials again.
Don't look up, just let them think
There's no place else you'd rather be
There's no place else you'd rather be
