I'm trying to pick myself up piece by piece, Leilan

[Briseis]

little do you know how I'm breaking while you fall asleep,
little do you know I'm still haunted by the memories,
little do you know I'm trying to pick myself up piece by piece

She doesn’t flinch from him, when he drapes his neck over hers. Her newfound fear is not rooted in him, but it certainly existed now when she looked at faces she didn’t know – she didn’t know what they were capable of, didn’t know what they had done in the past. She had always been cautious of strangers, but not entirely fearful. It was peculiar, and perhaps a little fascinating, how a single moment – a single stretch of time – can completely alter the rest of your life. With Leilan, it had given her Chryseis – perhaps the best thing that has ever happened to her, even though it had been by accident. With Ether, their single night had unfurled all the emotions she usually kept locked away, alighting her usually black and white world with color. But Tunnel...Tunnel had managed to strip it all away.

In a single moment, a single stretch of time.

There is no conscious reason for why she comes to Leilan. The still almost-feral girl had not learned how to develop relationships – not even friendships. The closest thing she had to that was Leilan, and even Breckin – who admittedly, would have likely understood the situation better. But she wasn’t here, and Briseis, still fumbling through her efforts of trying to be normal and trying to be like them, doesn’t know how to pick and choose her audience for her troubles.

He asks about Ether, and it makes her heart drop. The sound of his name rises her last memory of him, of him pulling the shadows around him until he disappeared. ”I...I wanted to. But he misunderstood.” When she laughs, it’s a short, strangled sound, watery from the tears that haven’t fallen but instead lay trapped in her throat. ”I do that a lot, though. It was my fault. He left before I could explain.”

She pauses, and even though it is a silent and heavy pause, her somber eyes lift to his as she admits quietly, ”I don’t know why I’m burdening you with all of this. I’m sorry.”

BRISEIS

underneath it all I'm held captive by the hole inside,
I've been holding back for the fear that you might change your mind

@[Leilan]