09-12-2016, 06:46 AM
Asha recoiled as Elias yanked the woman closer, reluctant to remain too close to either of the two strangers. Fear cast an uncertain cloud over her expression, and she folded her arms around herself, wrapping them close over her stomach. Her eyes narrowed as the woman's emotions washed through her. "No harm? You were dragging his body away!"
She was wormy and wriggly, this woman, with sticky feelers searching out the best way to adapt herself to the situation. Self-preservation outdistanced all other sentiment, even the sickly coil of fear shuddering the woman's skin. Elias accepted the offer without hesitation, but Asha sensed a trap. It tightened in her gut uneasily. Who was 'him'?
"He can't move, El. We can't just leave him here. And you're not going anywhere with her on your own. I don't trust her."
He looked out for her when he didn't have to, more than once. Asha was accustom to vigilante justice, and it did not cross her mind to suggest calling the police. But Elias was not her uncle. He might move bookcases with a flick of his mind, and twist people like marionettes jerking on string, but he was still just a boy no older than she was. She wouldn't let him go alone, but she wouldn't leave a man paralysed in the street either.
She was wormy and wriggly, this woman, with sticky feelers searching out the best way to adapt herself to the situation. Self-preservation outdistanced all other sentiment, even the sickly coil of fear shuddering the woman's skin. Elias accepted the offer without hesitation, but Asha sensed a trap. It tightened in her gut uneasily. Who was 'him'?
"He can't move, El. We can't just leave him here. And you're not going anywhere with her on your own. I don't trust her."
He looked out for her when he didn't have to, more than once. Asha was accustom to vigilante justice, and it did not cross her mind to suggest calling the police. But Elias was not her uncle. He might move bookcases with a flick of his mind, and twist people like marionettes jerking on string, but he was still just a boy no older than she was. She wouldn't let him go alone, but she wouldn't leave a man paralysed in the street either.