[ Given the choice, she would have wanted a few minutes to quiet her breathing, so that it didn't sound so broken. She would have waited until she was sure she could look at his face with composure.
But Morgan's words abruptly throw all of those plans and wishes into ruin. She remembers her best friend, talking about tactics, understanding that lives would be lost. Pragmatic. And she remembers what she had done.
Noire's head shoots up, and even with tears streaking trails down too-pale cheeks, she stares at Morgan-- and then reaches out to place one gloved hand flat against his chest. ]
Don't you... [ she exhales, unsteadily. ] Don't you dare say that. Stop thinking that one thing is more important than the other, when that's not the case. When-- when Mother died-- [ and it's pathetic, how much the memory still slams against her throat, forcing her words to emerge thinly. ] I honestly wished it had been me. If it hadn't been for the others, I would have been lost.
... My friends mean the world to me-- and-- [ she drops her head, forcing the words out as fiercely as she can. ] So do you, Morgan! I need you, to be there for my best friend in a way that I can't! I need you to keep learning archery and to make me smile, because it's always been so easy to do around you! I need you to give us a stronger chance against Grima so your mother had more of a reason to come back to us! And I need you, because if you're not here, how am I supposed to tell you not to give up without trying everything and that-- that you're not alone??
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But Morgan's words abruptly throw all of those plans and wishes into ruin. She remembers her best friend, talking about tactics, understanding that lives would be lost. Pragmatic. And she remembers what she had done.
Noire's head shoots up, and even with tears streaking trails down too-pale cheeks, she stares at Morgan-- and then reaches out to place one gloved hand flat against his chest. ]
Don't you... [ she exhales, unsteadily. ] Don't you dare say that. Stop thinking that one thing is more important than the other, when that's not the case. When-- when Mother died-- [ and it's pathetic, how much the memory still slams against her throat, forcing her words to emerge thinly. ] I honestly wished it had been me. If it hadn't been for the others, I would have been lost.
... My friends mean the world to me-- and-- [ she drops her head, forcing the words out as fiercely as she can. ] So do you, Morgan! I need you, to be there for my best friend in a way that I can't! I need you to keep learning archery and to make me smile, because it's always been so easy to do around you! I need you to give us a stronger chance against Grima so your mother had more of a reason to come back to us! And I need you, because if you're not here, how am I supposed to tell you not to give up without trying everything and that-- that you're not alone??