If that was the case, perhaps Tear would be surprised to find her partner quietly accepting the grim news. The tension that had accumulated in his body up until that point suddenly vanished, and the boy let his head rest against the back of the couch. Eyes remained open and watchful as ever, but their only target was some further unidentified point in the distance.
The silence lingered in the air for a while longer, only occasionally disrupted by soft cries of one, oblivious bird.
For some reason, she decided to specify the order, which brought the first question to his mind. If he had died second, who was the first? How had it all broken out, the melodist claimed not to know, but surely, she would have at least been able to recall something. While that alone raised another set of questions, a sudden realization overshadowed all of them combined, the impact of it pushing the cadet forward in his seat.
"... The moment we die, our worlds die with us." Somewhere deep in his mind, he knew it had never been merely a theoretical assumption, but a real threat. One that Tear's explanation made all the more tangible, effectively draining all the colour from his face. Imagining the land they had fought so hard to save being turned to dust as a result of his own failure, was something Ace could not bear.
Needless to say, it took him a moment to re-organize his thoughts, pushing the very one the melodist had placed such an emphasis for into the back of his mind. It all began to make sense in the given context. Awareness of one's mortality would have undoubtedly dealt a massive blow to the Heroes' spirits, introducing that element of uncertainty everyone feared. Even if they weren't meant to return, so much more was on the stake than their own, singular lives, and the small metal plate he kept close to his heart reminded him of that.
The boy lifted his eyes, feeling yet another chilling wave wash over him when they linked with hers, but he then found himself unable to look away. While aiming to calm down the thoughts racing through his head, he had completely disregarded her own feelings. To think he had almost felt relief, for a split second or so, given the reassurance he hadn't made the choice to push her away, like he'd feared.
There was no relief to be found behind that somber expression.
With an unsure motion, he reached out to push the stubborn strand of hair obscuring her eyes away from her face. Unexpectedly, his hand began to tremble upon making the contact, and as a consequence he pulled it away, silent. To be honest, he didn't really know what else to say.
no subject
The silence lingered in the air for a while longer, only occasionally disrupted by soft cries of one, oblivious bird.
For some reason, she decided to specify the order, which brought the first question to his mind. If he had died second, who was the first? How had it all broken out, the melodist claimed not to know, but surely, she would have at least been able to recall something. While that alone raised another set of questions, a sudden realization overshadowed all of them combined, the impact of it pushing the cadet forward in his seat.
"... The moment we die, our worlds die with us." Somewhere deep in his mind, he knew it had never been merely a theoretical assumption, but a real threat. One that Tear's explanation made all the more tangible, effectively draining all the colour from his face. Imagining the land they had fought so hard to save being turned to dust as a result of his own failure, was something Ace could not bear.
Needless to say, it took him a moment to re-organize his thoughts, pushing the very one the melodist had placed such an emphasis for into the back of his mind. It all began to make sense in the given context. Awareness of one's mortality would have undoubtedly dealt a massive blow to the Heroes' spirits, introducing that element of uncertainty everyone feared. Even if they weren't meant to return, so much more was on the stake than their own, singular lives, and the small metal plate he kept close to his heart reminded him of that.
The boy lifted his eyes, feeling yet another chilling wave wash over him when they linked with hers, but he then found himself unable to look away. While aiming to calm down the thoughts racing through his head, he had completely disregarded her own feelings. To think he had almost felt relief, for a split second or so, given the reassurance he hadn't made the choice to push her away, like he'd feared.
There was no relief to be found behind that somber expression.
With an unsure motion, he reached out to push the stubborn strand of hair obscuring her eyes away from her face. Unexpectedly, his hand began to tremble upon making the contact, and as a consequence he pulled it away, silent. To be honest, he didn't really know what else to say.