For her the cool-tongued, her the tranquil-hearted,
Whom evermore I follow wistfully
Whom evermore I follow wistfully
His gawking is only noticed the second time around though she merely lifts a curious brow at it. Snorting a laugh at his weak humor, Anju wipes her blade off perfunctorily on her thigh before sheathing it smoothly. Except when she turns to him, he is pale and withdrawn, head tilted towards Pip in a way she has seen from many young Dragoons as they face their supervisor's wrath.
Anju may be a stoic and overly-honest woman, but she is no monster. Those old days of The Needle are beyond them, and she seeks to keep them there. Still, she is not the type for flowery words or hollow comforts. Koa had done the right thing in ceding the field to her as the more experienced swordsman but it would do little to make him feel better for perceived cowardice or lack of usefulness. Instead of surely failing at comforting him, Anju hopes her silence on the matter will speak for him as no hammer falls where he expects it to.
Riya, meanwhile, fills the gap as she always does and croons quietly at Pip in clear concern. Anju lets her do as she wishes and merely comes abreast of Koa at the bone pile, picking through the outskirts this time. "Here - a femur. Tell me what you think of it." Plucking it, she extends it towards him like a brandished blade, dark eyes hard to read. She is intentionally providing him a chance to examine and provide feedback on it, something for him to succeed at and impress her with so as to outweigh the darkness she can see coiling around his shoulders.
Anju may be a stoic and overly-honest woman, but she is no monster. Those old days of The Needle are beyond them, and she seeks to keep them there. Still, she is not the type for flowery words or hollow comforts. Koa had done the right thing in ceding the field to her as the more experienced swordsman but it would do little to make him feel better for perceived cowardice or lack of usefulness. Instead of surely failing at comforting him, Anju hopes her silence on the matter will speak for him as no hammer falls where he expects it to.
Riya, meanwhile, fills the gap as she always does and croons quietly at Pip in clear concern. Anju lets her do as she wishes and merely comes abreast of Koa at the bone pile, picking through the outskirts this time. "Here - a femur. Tell me what you think of it." Plucking it, she extends it towards him like a brandished blade, dark eyes hard to read. She is intentionally providing him a chance to examine and provide feedback on it, something for him to succeed at and impress her with so as to outweigh the darkness she can see coiling around his shoulders.
through waters yet uncharted
ANJU
