nahida quickly pats her cheeks to try and collect herself and wipe away any tears that might be lingering there before she faces her. it's probably fine. maybe she can't see what her face looks like in the dark.]
[when ylfa shrinks back, she waits - not wanting to rush her. but when she does give her a hug, nahida returns it. she's not uncertain, but she is gentle, not wanting to make ylfa uncomfortable.]
...I always knew it was going to be someone, but I didn't think...
You and Kaveh are both so kind. And this isn't a place that makes it easy to be kind and protect yourself. [...] I know that Shenhe was, um, considering whether she needed to be more proactive. But I thought, since Kaveh knew that too, maybe he'd win out and all of you would be safe.
something terrible occurs to her, then. what if shenhe had been considering being more proactive - and the two of them had talked her out of it? what if she'd laid aside her plans, and in so doing, had become prey for someone else who decided to act...?
nahida's stomach churns at the thought.]
I hoped that, too. And it seemed like... it seemed like we were going to be.
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[she's so startled she drops her popcorn all over the ground.]
Sorry, I didn't know you were in here.
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nahida quickly pats her cheeks to try and collect herself and wipe away any tears that might be lingering there before she faces her. it's probably fine. maybe she can't see what her face looks like in the dark.]
...it's okay. I was... just thinking.
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she nods.]
...yes. I'm never happy about it when anyone is erased, but... this hits especially hard.
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she holds her arms out to ylfa for a hug]
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...I always knew it was going to be someone, but I didn't think...
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[...it doesn't feel right to talk about her in past tense. so she won't.]
She said that... she would take care of herself. She made Kaveh and I promise that we would, too.
[flurry death flagging the HELL out of us.]
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[she hunches a little.]
You and Kaveh are both so kind. And this isn't a place that makes it easy to be kind and protect yourself. [...] I know that Shenhe was, um, considering whether she needed to be more proactive. But I thought, since Kaveh knew that too, maybe he'd win out and all of you would be safe.
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something terrible occurs to her, then. what if shenhe had been considering being more proactive - and the two of them had talked her out of it? what if she'd laid aside her plans, and in so doing, had become prey for someone else who decided to act...?
nahida's stomach churns at the thought.]
I hoped that, too. And it seemed like... it seemed like we were going to be.
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[she swallows, closing her eyes, unsure how to comfort her or what even to say.]
I still want to hope it's going to turn out alright somehow. I still want to.
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[her voice is small.]
...I'm sad, but I'm not ready to give up on the possibility that we might still be able to fix this, somehow.