despitethenora | Sneck IC inbox

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[Out of habit, her greeting starts with a sigh. Hey, for a long time the only person who called her was Sylens, and it really set a tone for phone conversations. Be glad it's just a sigh.]

What do you need?

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[She nods.]

I know you lashed out in your room on the Odyssey. Do you think I didn't have nights at my campfire, boiling, before I got my fight with him?

Definitely not. How couldn't you?

But it all had to get back to him. Even Olin didn't deserve it, in the end. Helis was the focus.

Do you get it?

I think so. Keep it down until we can take the fight to the cult itself. Then let it out.

The mansion isn't what you're really mad at. It's what Tilda did. And it's the cultist who's rubbing salt in the wound.

[ she nods, uncurling a little ]

It's just a house. But all of those memories... They hurt now. And when I think about them, instead of being sad like I used to be, I'm so mad it feels like I could burst into flames by myself.

I think - handling those moments takes practice. Just like handling a bow.

But they never saw a reason to give you the chance. They could just make you dissociate.

[ after a long day of enduring the anger and criticism of people's teammates, there are no words for the reassurance Aloy's understanding brings. the tightness in her chest eases and Airi slowly unwinds from the tiny gloom ball she's turned herself into. ]

...That makes sense. I'm....underdeveloped in certain areas.

[ welcome to being a teenager Airi ]

But that means it's a skill I can build. Like being more comfortable talking to people.

[It’s good to see Airi shift. Aloy nods.]

Elisabet had to grow, too. She told GAIA a story once, about accidentally burning a tree. We can’t go back and fix it, but we can learn from it.

I want to, and I'm trying to. It's...hard. Some people were so angry at me. It felt awful. And I kept messing up when talking to others and just upset them after.

[ she moves to sit criss-cross, playing with her hands in her lap. ]

I thought I was doing better.

Some people won't want to work it out.

One of them definitely just wanted to rile me up.

What did they do?

They decided they were going to blame Salamander as a whole for their teammate getting hurt, even though I was the only one there. When I tried to argue against it, they just kept pushing it and saying it didn't matter if I was alone because my team should have helped me not to react like that. I tried to argue it.

It didn't matter what I said, they just seemed happy to make me upset.

Sounds like they were looking for an excuse.

That's what everyone else said. That they had a grudge against us. I wish people would say just that, sometimes. Instead of pretending to be pleasant while saying rude things. I have a hard time telling the difference sometimes.

[ hard to read passive-aggression when you assume the best of everyone ]

I guess you’ll have to be a little more cautious of that team, now. Look a little more carefully at them.

And with most of the others, too. Things feel like they've been changing since we saw Qhyone.

Maybe. I'm surprised by the people committing to join some of these...gods.

So am I. Maybe they didn't want to keep waiting to go home.

We'll keep our eye on the target. Sooner or later, we're getting the snake.

...Thank you, Aloy. I think I'm feeling better now.

[A nod.]

Good.

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