Snippet #2816490

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Alex had gotten over the need to fill every silence between himself and Phoenix years before he’d felt any inkling of romantic attraction towards him, but the silence on the walk to Zada’s was far from comfortable to him. He knew it was because he felt guilty, as he often did. He really had been trying to do better, to not fuck everything in his life up yet again. He tried not to dwell on it- he didn’t want to spiral down into self-loathing just yet, that would be far from helpful.

He was relieved to see that Triss had only been burned on the hand- he knew it hurt like hell, but it would heal fairly quickly. That was good for the both of them, really. Something about seeing the way Zada didn’t shy away from Triss made the sadness and dread in the pit of his stomach more intense than it had been before before, so he went about finding a space to set down the box he’d packed his things in. He could get it loaded up with the candles then, and everything would hopefully be manageable. He could get through this if he just stayed busy.

He was half-listening to Phoenix talk about the tea as he started to carefully pack the candles up, and when Triss asked about the attacks he said, “Hunters. The attacks were,” He paused for a second, considering his words, “Intense when they first started.” He hadn’t turned away from his task, but when Triss spoke up saying she didn’t need any extra protection, he turned to look at her, “I know it seems like a waste of time, but you really can’t be too careful with things like this. I promise we’ll make the altar soon- I want this over with as badly as you do- but you never know. One thing could go wrong, and you’ll be cursed or something. Besides, it’ll probably help keep the spirits off your back.” He paused and, less flippantly, added, “I know it can be a little overwhelming.” He remembered when he’d first started to actively see and hear spirits in his everyday life, and not just catch glimpses of them out of the corner of his eye. It was a lot to deal with, even when you’d spent your entire life knowing that day would come. He couldn’t imagine if it came out of the blue.

Phoenix explained the paste to Triss, but Zada listened intently. She wanted to do whatever she could to ease this for Trisstana. This situation was intense- it was hell. Zada couldn’t think of something she’d enjoy much less, but they just needed to get through it. If they could just get through it, it would be fine. Zada felt better when Triss was at her side- wrong body or not, it was easier to make sure Triss was okay when she was beside her. Maybe she was too protective, but Zada had lost everyone she’d ever loved before, and she wasn’t ready to start losing the people she cared for again. When Triss started trying to apply the paste to the burn, Zada thought that it seemed difficult, having to apply a paste to your own hand. Zada gently took the paste from her and smoothed it over the burn, trying not to irritate it any. It was a strangely intimate thing, helping someone with an injury.

As the paste was being applied, Phoenix went on to talk about a tea with some sort of protective properties. It made some sense to Zada- even if she didn’t want to waste any extra time, there was no telling what they might encounter out there. They were dealing with magic and demons, not humans who had the strange idea that everyone different than them was evil.

Triss was insisting that she didn’t need any protection. Zada understood; she was impatient, wanted to get back to normal. It made sense, felt natural, and Zada found herself resting a hand on Triss’ shoulder, almost instinctively, “He’s trying to help,” Zada reminded her. Then Alex was speaking of curses and spirits, and that made Zada uncomfortable, maybe even afraid, “If it’ll help, it might be worth it.” She spoke softly, so only Trisstana would hear. She wanted this to go smoothly, and she didn’t know overly much about things that were more magical. Mermaids had their own sort of magic, but Zada had the inkling that it worked very differently from this.

Zada normally wouldn’t concede to any point Alex made, but he had a point. She was sure he and Phoenix knew more about this sort of thing than they did, so she offered, ”Obviously, we don’t want to spend more time than absolutely necessary,” Zada sighed, and looked at Phoenix. She knew she felt very helpless, and wished there was more that she could do. She understood that. She glanced at Triss, ”But I don’t think any of us know exactly what to expect.”