[ Should she feel appeased by his hesitation? The uncertain way he speaks after, as if her question has unsettled him as much as this, this entire situation, pulls the rug from under her feet. But this is different. Grief was confusing, she finds, but it carried none of the sickening anxiety she feels now, like a cold weight in the pit of her stomach. Like sitting on a rollercoaster without knowing when the fall will come or if it ever will, knowing only that she won't be prepared for it when it does. If it does. There's no way she would ever be ready for it and there's nothing to be done.
Nothing to be done. Moving was a matter of forgetting. She doesn't want to forget.
Amber lowers her eyes, movement slow and deliberate when she turns back to the task at hand. First, setting her black glass on the ground, then pulling out a knife from her boot to begin harvesting the correctly colored truffles. It's only a moment later that she turns over her shoulder to speak to him. ]
[not an answer. not even a joke of an answer, or a re-direct, or anything close to Amber's normal. Hinata kept his grip light in the chocobo's feathers, but he couldn't help staring. she caught him at that -- her comment turned his head down, away, part embarrassed and part discontent. there's no satisfying conclusion to reach in their exchange.]
[not while Hei recovered alone and far away. an assured recovery, sure, and yet--- that hardly helped.]
No, no. We're here to collect.
[more certain, but also quieter. he turned with his legs; fortunately, Solveig was a good chocobo, and figured out what he wanted - trotted slow through the underbrush, stopping a ways away. he'd dismount without another word, crouching the same as her to harvest what he found. the bird, for her part, held still.]
[could've pried deeper. but - ironically, given Amber - maybe time would pay them a favor.]
[ Her eyes follow him and the chocobo as they approach, gaze steady but wary, too. As if Hinata would somehow turn this instance into a surprise ambush, though that's through no fault of his.
Her nerves are frayed. The latest turn of event is a reminder that she isn't working for an organization bent on keeping her and hers safe. It isn't time to come in from the cold. Everyone remains an enemy she keeps close for reasons more practical. Even a boy with untamable hair and his giant bird, his bold questions and that brand of audacity that keeps him coming back to her. What a silly boy.
Only when he begins to help her harvest the truffles does she return to her work, still quiet, almost mechanical. But she hesitates, fingers gripping the hilt of her knife tightly, then loosening, before she looks up at him with an expression less grateful and more, much more, uncertain. ]
[bit by slow ticking time bit, he relaxed enough to turn his attention toward their actual physical task. a cut here, a slice there, and it was the purple ones they wanted, not the blue, right...? oh, he should double check. turned to place the more obvious bundle into the Chocobo's saddle, and give her a light push away with a quiet go on! - Solveig would come when called, and he'd told Hope he'd take her exercising, not have her stand around somewhere new. okay. blackglass. which nox truffles...]
[...]
[it doesn't take much time to remember to glance up at her words, but there is a small pause in which he sees her out of the corner of his eyes and pauses himself.]
[only say what you want to say comes to mind with how uncertain she looks, but (as far as he knew) she'd never failed to do that before. so. did she know what she was thanking him for? did she just not know what else to say? did it mean anything? did it---- oh, no, he couldn't speculate, couldn't stand and stare. simply, abruptly, honestly:]
Anytime.
[followed by a quick nod and determined turn back to the truffles, blackglass clutched to his chest. crouched again over the truffles, willing the word to speak loud enough for what this was. whatever this was.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Nothing to be done. Moving was a matter of forgetting. She doesn't want to forget.
Amber lowers her eyes, movement slow and deliberate when she turns back to the task at hand. First, setting her black glass on the ground, then pulling out a knife from her boot to begin harvesting the correctly colored truffles. It's only a moment later that she turns over her shoulder to speak to him. ]
Are you just going to watch me?
no subject
[not while Hei recovered alone and far away. an assured recovery, sure, and yet--- that hardly helped.]
No, no. We're here to collect.
[more certain, but also quieter. he turned with his legs; fortunately, Solveig was a good chocobo, and figured out what he wanted - trotted slow through the underbrush, stopping a ways away. he'd dismount without another word, crouching the same as her to harvest what he found. the bird, for her part, held still.]
[could've pried deeper. but - ironically, given Amber - maybe time would pay them a favor.]
no subject
Her nerves are frayed. The latest turn of event is a reminder that she isn't working for an organization bent on keeping her and hers safe. It isn't time to come in from the cold. Everyone remains an enemy she keeps close for reasons more practical. Even a boy with untamable hair and his giant bird, his bold questions and that brand of audacity that keeps him coming back to her. What a silly boy.
Only when he begins to help her harvest the truffles does she return to her work, still quiet, almost mechanical. But she hesitates, fingers gripping the hilt of her knife tightly, then loosening, before she looks up at him with an expression less grateful and more, much more, uncertain. ]
Thank you, Hinata.
no subject
[...]
[it doesn't take much time to remember to glance up at her words, but there is a small pause in which he sees her out of the corner of his eyes and pauses himself.]
[only say what you want to say comes to mind with how uncertain she looks, but (as far as he knew) she'd never failed to do that before. so. did she know what she was thanking him for? did she just not know what else to say? did it mean anything? did it---- oh, no, he couldn't speculate, couldn't stand and stare. simply, abruptly, honestly:]
Anytime.
[followed by a quick nod and determined turn back to the truffles, blackglass clutched to his chest. crouched again over the truffles, willing the word to speak loud enough for what this was. whatever this was.]