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[bloodandblunder]

"H... hello? Um, this is me-- ah, Noire! I'm Noire, and I'm very sorry for missing you somehow... I promise I'm not avoiding you, unless you're scary or you're Mo-- trying to curse me. U-um, so when I can figure out how to-- ( beeps ensue, followed by a shriek of fright ) O-oh, no! What did I push, how do I-- make it-- oh gods, did I break it?! W-why can't we just talk in person?!"

[ BEEP. ]

voicemail; action ; video

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[bloodandblunder]

I wasn't really-- [ and it's safe to begin like that, to reassure him as always, but this time, Noire stops. And thinks, before she speaks again. ]

No, it... actually really hurt to hear that. [ and she can admit that now, glancing down at the can she holds before she looks up at him once more. ] But I'm not angry about it. So... I forgive you, Eugeo.

[willbreak]

[ and that gets the first genuine smile out of him in a long time. not the teasing grin he shows her every so often — no, this one comes "from the heart", for want of a better description. ]

Thank you.

[ but he's not done ruining the moment. ]

Honestly, I don't know how I feel when it comes to... liking someone as «more than a friend». You were already more than a friend to me a long time ago, but... at the moment, I'm not sure if what you mean and if what I mean are the same.

Though I am sure that... I really do love you. People tell me I shouldn't say that so easily, and they're probably right in a lot of respects — but to me, loving someone doesn't mean you have to marry them... and I still can't imagine marrying anyone anytime soon, if at all —

[ contrary to her phone call, he's been speeding up since he started talking — but he slows back down now. ]

That said... for as long as you want to stay with me, I'll stay with you, too. Because I want to.

... Is that okay with you?

[bloodandblunder]

[ Eugeo is probably the only boy she knows who can say he loves somebody without turning red or stammering; even Owain wasn't brave enough to discuss it without dropping his phone and running off. And of course there's different kinds of love: the kind between friends, the one shared with family. There was no need to even think about marriage, especially in a place like this. Noire had already known that he cared. He'd talked about love once before, but when she can actually get past the flustered part and listen, she thinks she might be able to understand.

Love is a heavy word to her. Her parents loved her, of course, though she'd only had that recently confirmed from her mother of the past. Some of the other kids loved her, likely in the way they'd love a sister who caused her fair share of trouble. They'd all had years to know and accept her.

The people here hadn't had that opportunity. Eugeo didn't have years on his side, or a childhood with her. So to hear him now, and to remember the boy who had trained alone in the tunnels, and who had run away from her while he was turning into a monster, who had tried to push her away for her own sake-- to hear him say that he loved her and wanted to stay with her isn't something she can disregard or take lightly. It's a deep form of acceptance she hadn't actually expected to encounter here.

She has to duck her head as her answering smile warms her face. ]

Yes. That's more than enough.

[willbreak]

[ Yeah, seeing her smile like that makes her happier than he's been in longer than he can remember, and for now — just for now — things seem like they'll be okay. ]

I'm glad.

[ He means it.

... Even though his expression suddenly turns sheepish. ]

Um... are you afraid of heights?

[bloodandblunder]

... I'm afraid of a lot of things. I guess as long as I'm not about to fall from it...

[willbreak]

..........

[ at least she's honest!!

insert throat clearing and fidgeting, you know the drill. ]

I... can make wings now, so once I get better at flying — not soon or anything, but eventually — do you want to, er...

[bloodandblunder]

[ ... he can make wings now.

he can make wings now?!?!?!?! ]

You can make wings now??

[ hold on let her get past that first. ]

[willbreak]

[ nodding... ]

[bloodandblunder]

You're this amazing and you still want to stay beside someone like me...

[ HE CAN MAKE WINGS.... ]

[willbreak]

[ NOIRE WHAT DID THEY JUST TALK ABOUT ]

I only started making them by accident!

[ because that changes everything... ]

A-and they don't work all the time, they fade if I lose concentration and a lot of people can fly much better and faster — I'm really slow, you know...

[bloodandblunder]

... Still, that's amazing, Eugeo. [ and she'll smile tentatively, even if she doesn't like the idea of him suddenly dropping from the sky if something distracts him. ]

Um... but you're asking if I'd go up there, then?

[willbreak]

Only if you want to! —And like I said, not before I get a lot better...

[bloodandblunder]

M-maybe if it's not too high...

[willbreak]

Don't let me force you, really...

[bloodandblunder]

You're not forcing me. I have to get braver, too.

[willbreak]

You're already—

[ ... ]

Okay.

[ A grin. ]

Things are pretty different from the sky, you know.

[ Can you tell he loves flying yet? ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ she can vaguely detect it, yes. ]

I can imagine... everyone must look so tiny from up there.

[willbreak]

Mm... though I still recognize a lot of people — I mean, I can't go very high at the moment. Not high enough to hit the barrier.

[bloodandblunder]

That's a relief... [ okay, so being up that high is still scary to her. ]

[willbreak]

I wouldn't take you as high as the barrier, don't worry.

[bloodandblunder]

I-I'll be ready! When you're ready, I mean...

[ right she can't possibly be a pansy by then ]

[willbreak]

[ so his headtilt here may be a sliiightly amused one. ]

I can't promise it'll be as comfortable as riding a «pegasus»... or a dragon, but I'll do my best.

[bloodandblunder]

I don't think we'll be fighting up there, so there's already an advantage.

[willbreak]

[ ... before today, he'd just nod and carry on.

But he said he'd be honest with her. So he will. ]

Maybe we'll have to fight from the air one day. Hopefully you'd have a better way of flying at that time, but if it came to it, I'd — I wouldn't leave you on the ground if it was safer in the air.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't why I offered to take you flying —

[ Because it really isn't. Fighting just sucks. ]

[bloodandblunder]

... No, I think I get it. I'll be prepared, just in case.

Thank you for looking out for me.