[ a non-committal sound churns in her throat — none too keen to hold onto that same hope, it seems. no point in denying anything by insisting she'll be fine, after all, when the orb has strictly forbidden her from coming up with convenient lies.
but the truth, she finds, can be given sparingly. creatively.
beneath the crystalline surface of the lake, alina's submerged calves propel themselves in tiny kicks, sending a beaded curtain of water misting down onto her. ]
And?
[ she prompts, her confusion teetering on impatience. she's always disliked this — aleksander's way of phrasing that makes his questions resemble an interrogation, like he's leading her into a confession she doesn't want to give, a secret she hasn't openly flaunted. it's a snare she always steps into, left to be irritated with herself in the aftermath, once she realizes what she's done. ]
What's your point? [ her solitude hasn't escaped her notice. clara's absence gnaws worry into her, and wherever rhys and mal have run off to ... that's its own set of complications she isn't eager to consider. but if aleksander is going to point out his glaring observations to her, then — alina stubbornly resigns herself to doing the same when she provides, a little emphatic with defensiveness, ] It's peaceful here.
[ well. it might be an excuse rather than an explanation, but it's not a lie. ]
no subject
but the truth, she finds, can be given sparingly. creatively.
beneath the crystalline surface of the lake, alina's submerged calves propel themselves in tiny kicks, sending a beaded curtain of water misting down onto her. ]
And?
[ she prompts, her confusion teetering on impatience. she's always disliked this — aleksander's way of phrasing that makes his questions resemble an interrogation, like he's leading her into a confession she doesn't want to give, a secret she hasn't openly flaunted. it's a snare she always steps into, left to be irritated with herself in the aftermath, once she realizes what she's done. ]
What's your point? [ her solitude hasn't escaped her notice. clara's absence gnaws worry into her, and wherever rhys and mal have run off to ... that's its own set of complications she isn't eager to consider. but if aleksander is going to point out his glaring observations to her, then — alina stubbornly resigns herself to doing the same when she provides, a little emphatic with defensiveness, ] It's peaceful here.
[ well. it might be an excuse rather than an explanation, but it's not a lie. ]