[ Alina tenses before he touches her, but she does not step away. She can't not know. Her skin prickles with anticipation, equally feverish with the desire that his touch would be able to awaken the light, help shake it from whatever dormancy it's been lulled into by whatever strange rules this place holds over them, and horrified that their connection could be the key to unlocking it, another reminder of their connection as if the collar choking her isn't enough. She holds herself and her breath, tightly wound.
But there is nothing. Nothing sparks across her skin or rushes to the surface. No bright and shining light breaks through the cracks. It's hard to say what she hates more: the fact that she feels so powerless or the fact that she was willing to risk an awakening of his in search of a reprieve from a return to a life lived only in halves. She can tell herself that she could keep the others in these cells safe if her power returned, but it's a superficial justification. It is an ugly and unbridled greed in her, hungry to grasp for a thing that made her be wanted and accepted for her uniqueness rather than cast out for it. It's an ugly quality, totally unbecoming of a saint.
She steps back, needing more distance between them. ]
You certainly seem powerless if you let yourself get captured in a Shu camp.
[ Sorry, was he actually expecting a helpful response? ]
I imagine you know as much as I do.
[ Which is not much, but at least she's used to having things hidden from her. She can't imagine he is having a very good time being at someone else's mercy. It is a minor and edging on immature win over him, but she will take what she can get. ]
(ง •̀_•́)ง
But there is nothing. Nothing sparks across her skin or rushes to the surface. No bright and shining light breaks through the cracks. It's hard to say what she hates more: the fact that she feels so powerless or the fact that she was willing to risk an awakening of his in search of a reprieve from a return to a life lived only in halves. She can tell herself that she could keep the others in these cells safe if her power returned, but it's a superficial justification. It is an ugly and unbridled greed in her, hungry to grasp for a thing that made her be wanted and accepted for her uniqueness rather than cast out for it. It's an ugly quality, totally unbecoming of a saint.
She steps back, needing more distance between them. ]
You certainly seem powerless if you let yourself get captured in a Shu camp.
[ Sorry, was he actually expecting a helpful response? ]
I imagine you know as much as I do.
[ Which is not much, but at least she's used to having things hidden from her. She can't imagine he is having a very good time being at someone else's mercy. It is a minor and edging on immature win over him, but she will take what she can get. ]