11-30-2021, 09:32 AM
Part of Sickle expected Malik to walk away when she closed her eyes. She does not have the watchful instincts of her mother, her entire focus is on her hurt and the only way she knows how to deal with it is to do exactly what she is doing - crying and curling into herself.
There was a time when she’d be comforted as she did this and that little thought only causes the sobs to increase.
And because she is not expecting it, she startles when Malik joins her. His presence comforts and hurts all at the same time. But she leans into him when he joins her, afraid that if she doesn’t take all the chances she can get to remind him that he’s real, she’ll regret it. She’d feel guilty if she was lying here crying when he was wrestling with his own tragedies - but shapeshifting was the talent that ran in their family, not mind-reading.
A small laugh escapes her at the response to her question, when she opens one bright eye to look at him and sees the smile. It wasn't a particularly funny answer, of course - her laugh is more out of relief than anything else. “That sounds like a good plan.”
There was a time when she’d be comforted as she did this and that little thought only causes the sobs to increase.
And because she is not expecting it, she startles when Malik joins her. His presence comforts and hurts all at the same time. But she leans into him when he joins her, afraid that if she doesn’t take all the chances she can get to remind him that he’s real, she’ll regret it. She’d feel guilty if she was lying here crying when he was wrestling with his own tragedies - but shapeshifting was the talent that ran in their family, not mind-reading.
A small laugh escapes her at the response to her question, when she opens one bright eye to look at him and sees the smile. It wasn't a particularly funny answer, of course - her laugh is more out of relief than anything else. “That sounds like a good plan.”
@Malik