02-09-2019, 10:36 PM
She was good at compartmentalising.
Most people found her reactions apathetic, but scrutinise a little deeper and beneath that was a sharpness equally discomforting. Judgement rarely coloured her expression, but the process of it was clear enough in the cold shield of her eyes. The request surprised her, if not the orchestration of a moment to speak it privately. Natalie watched him quietly, aware of the trickling seconds passing before Cayli would burst breathless to the surface. She doubted the preacher had asked recompense for the favour of sanctuary. Even if pride urged Jay to offer something in return, it hardly warranted the urgency. He hadn’t even showered.
A few days ago trust might have flown on blind wings, but if doubt tempered her now it paled against the promises she had made. Whatever the intentions lurking behind deals he’d made assuming her ignorance, Natalie’s help came without strings. No bleeding heart obfuscated that steadfastness; it wasn’t sacrifice. Stubbornness, maybe. So she didn’t baulk; she barely blinked. If he knew her at all by now, he’d know her aid was assured, but if he thought to press her into an answer quickly he misjudged her belligerence at being caged so.
The corner of her lips lifted, a sharp edge of wryness at whatever amusement she plucked from the situation. The gravity was enough to swallow them whole. Whatever reasons he had for needing such a large sum, it was hardly going to amount to sunshine and roses. “Urgent, I take it.” Dry humour cracked the words. Her toes swirled in the water as she leaned in to brush a tease of fingers against the stubble darkening his jaw. She hummed laughter. “You couldn’t even find a moment to shave before the next drama?”
Intuition and logic crashed infuriating waves when it came to him, and the storm of it caught her time and again.
The search of her expression had little to do with his request, then. Nothing vulnerable hinted behind that mask, except perhaps that she asked the next question at all. Guided by necessity rather than a desire to truly hear the answer. “If I told you I was going back to the Custody, would you let me go?”
Most people found her reactions apathetic, but scrutinise a little deeper and beneath that was a sharpness equally discomforting. Judgement rarely coloured her expression, but the process of it was clear enough in the cold shield of her eyes. The request surprised her, if not the orchestration of a moment to speak it privately. Natalie watched him quietly, aware of the trickling seconds passing before Cayli would burst breathless to the surface. She doubted the preacher had asked recompense for the favour of sanctuary. Even if pride urged Jay to offer something in return, it hardly warranted the urgency. He hadn’t even showered.
A few days ago trust might have flown on blind wings, but if doubt tempered her now it paled against the promises she had made. Whatever the intentions lurking behind deals he’d made assuming her ignorance, Natalie’s help came without strings. No bleeding heart obfuscated that steadfastness; it wasn’t sacrifice. Stubbornness, maybe. So she didn’t baulk; she barely blinked. If he knew her at all by now, he’d know her aid was assured, but if he thought to press her into an answer quickly he misjudged her belligerence at being caged so.
The corner of her lips lifted, a sharp edge of wryness at whatever amusement she plucked from the situation. The gravity was enough to swallow them whole. Whatever reasons he had for needing such a large sum, it was hardly going to amount to sunshine and roses. “Urgent, I take it.” Dry humour cracked the words. Her toes swirled in the water as she leaned in to brush a tease of fingers against the stubble darkening his jaw. She hummed laughter. “You couldn’t even find a moment to shave before the next drama?”
Intuition and logic crashed infuriating waves when it came to him, and the storm of it caught her time and again.
The search of her expression had little to do with his request, then. Nothing vulnerable hinted behind that mask, except perhaps that she asked the next question at all. Guided by necessity rather than a desire to truly hear the answer. “If I told you I was going back to the Custody, would you let me go?”