Two | video (locked to Hanna's CR)

[adapt_or_die]

[Right after Marissa's message:]

Please-

[Her voice is soft, almost desperate, and for once she looks like a vulnerable teenage girl.]

Please don't listen to her.

[She just wanted some peace on the ship and now this.]

(ooc: even if you've only talked to her once, if it was friendly, you count.)

Comments

[adapt_or_die]

How can it not be? Just knowing me has gotten people hurt. She's not going to stop.

[summerlord]

That is not your fault. The guilt should settle on her shoulders and hers alone. [But he knows full well how guilt can encircle and entrap a heart.] The risk is ours to weigh, Hanna. Not yours.

[adapt_or_die]

[Hanna opens her mouth to argue and then promptly shuts it. He's right but at the same time-] I can't ask anybody to put themselves at risk.

[summerlord]

You need not.

[adapt_or_die]

[You elves are going to drive Hanna insane. She's not even sure what to say. Not 'thank you' because that would message and she's not even sure how she feels about this.]

[summerlord]

[He lets the silence fill the conversation for a moment before speaking.] What are you afraid of, Hanna?

[adapt_or_die]

I'm not supposed to be afraid.

[But she is.] I'm afraid of being the monster Marissa says I am. And of people being hurt.

[summerlord]

[He nods, expression softening. This child... His heart hurts for her.] And what do you value most?

[adapt_or_die]

[All the wants is to live a normal life.

His question confuses her at first though. It's not something she ever thought about before.] I don't know. Friends I've made, I guess.

[summerlord]

What would you do to protect them?

[adapt_or_die]

[That one is easy:] Anything. Including give myself to Marissa.

[summerlord]

[Without hesitation:] Then you are not a monster.

[A beat.] I would rather that you refrain from such action. For now, you have shelter and you have allies. You have friends who would do the same for you.

[adapt_or_die]

[That's surprisingly effective. It's hard not to still think it a little but at least for now, she feels a bit better.]

I'll try to. Thank you for listening. [And helping.]

[summerlord]

I will always listen.

[adapt_or_die]

Thank you. [She's repeating herself but it feels necessary now.]

If you ever need help- [Just ask her.]

[summerlord]

Thank you, Hanna. The same applies for you.

[adapt_or_die]

[She bites her lip and nods before ending the line and moving on to another hiding place.]