[She had not considered Amos much of a threat, before. Not out of any sense of looking down on him- he was obviously a strong man, and against fellow humans, she imagined he would be fearsome on the battlefield. She was simply not used to viewing non-jinba, no matter how physically gifted or battle-honed, as true opponents. But with the new knowledge of his control over gravity... It would complicate things. She isn't as sure anymore. Her eyes linger on his face, on his body... sizing him up again in this new light, taking into account his injuries, and on alert for any signs of muscles bunching to lunge.
Yet they are... not moving. Not attacking. Not breaking the shaky peace between them. And the longer the moment goes on... the less Hayame wants to. She can get [TIME] from someone else, if she needs it. With this one, she would rather... (What a shame.) Until the moment came when it was unavoidable... the idea of breaking one of the only connections she had felt with someone who shared a part of her past she guarded so viciously...
And now, she has seen something of his. Surely, she thinks, he must be like her, keeping that part of his life secret out of distaste for the looks, the useless reactions, the changes in how one was viewed that made one's skin crawl, but she... it is too late now to pretend she hadn't heard it. Her reaction had been too feral, too immediate and hands-on, to pretend now that she herself didn't know of what sorts of things happened to children who were owned. For her, it had been a threat, a constant waiting in the wings to be used if she slipped up, failed, or disappointed, but she had seen it all around her, and-
It is understanding in her eyes. Not pity, scorn, disgust, or sympathy. Just understanding.]
I think we can.
[She can maintain that lie. She only met her own doppelganger. The injuries came from that. It's easy enough. What isn't easy... is wanting to say something about what she has learned, and not knowing how.]
Amos...
[How did one speak of it, when there was no pollen in the air- ? Should she reassure him that his secret was safe with her? Should she offer another deal, that neither should speak of what they had learned here? Her, that he had things to be grateful for, and he, that she was capable of being the beast that humans condemned her kind as?
She doesn't know, and his name lingers in the cold air between them as a puff of icy breath.]
no subject
Yet they are... not moving. Not attacking. Not breaking the shaky peace between them. And the longer the moment goes on... the less Hayame wants to. She can get [TIME] from someone else, if she needs it. With this one, she would rather... (What a shame.) Until the moment came when it was unavoidable... the idea of breaking one of the only connections she had felt with someone who shared a part of her past she guarded so viciously...
And now, she has seen something of his. Surely, she thinks, he must be like her, keeping that part of his life secret out of distaste for the looks, the useless reactions, the changes in how one was viewed that made one's skin crawl, but she... it is too late now to pretend she hadn't heard it. Her reaction had been too feral, too immediate and hands-on, to pretend now that she herself didn't know of what sorts of things happened to children who were owned. For her, it had been a threat, a constant waiting in the wings to be used if she slipped up, failed, or disappointed, but she had seen it all around her, and-
It is understanding in her eyes. Not pity, scorn, disgust, or sympathy. Just understanding.]
I think we can.
[She can maintain that lie. She only met her own doppelganger. The injuries came from that. It's easy enough. What isn't easy... is wanting to say something about what she has learned, and not knowing how.]
Amos...
[How did one speak of it, when there was no pollen in the air- ? Should she reassure him that his secret was safe with her? Should she offer another deal, that neither should speak of what they had learned here? Her, that he had things to be grateful for, and he, that she was capable of being the beast that humans condemned her kind as?
She doesn't know, and his name lingers in the cold air between them as a puff of icy breath.]