𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓.

the glance back proved fruitful; pushing her to risk a longer stride backwards to dodge the outstretched hand reaching for her. pale eyes widened and the softest of sounds left her, all she could utter in light of the sudden flare of pain aching her calf. stumbling, emmeryn forced her stance to right itself, dragging her staff through the dirt to remain at her side, lest her legs give out beneath her.

"hey, hey, miss thing," pale sapphire met ember in a startlingly kind gaze; the man retracted his hand to rest behind his back, toothy grin not enough to quell the blatant confusion in her countenance, "no need to trip over yourself. we're not gonna hurt ya'. promise!"

but the catch of steel in the hands of a man behind him had not convinced her to halt her slow retreat. in fact, it merely strengthened the worry tugging at her heart, wary of her caretaker's safety in the happenstance of them having followed her only to distract him. "i. . ." a pause; she winced when a sudden backstep returned an old, aching burn in her ankle. "i. . . understand. but please re. . . refrain from touch━━━touching me. i do not. . . like it."

and despite his laughter and affirmative nod, emmeryn could not help but tether herself to the caution once asked of her. he took another step and she met his with one of her own. when sapphire eyes caught the sight of a shadow stretching beneath them both, the charming man crooned, "we just wanna talk, milady. that's all. nothing more, nothing less."

she offered a smile, one he had not matched. "yes, we may talk. . . but can we talk at. . . at a distance?"

"as to strain your legs any further," he said, and she nodded, pleasantly surprised that he recognized the subtle weight she shifted between one foot to another; done without a word, so he would have no reason to divert his attention from the conversation at hand. but since he offered it, moving locations could not hurt, especially when langston was nearby, checking a fruit stall for the in - stock, seasonal goods their cupboard was absent of.

within moments of seating herself at paris' side, though, had his intentions became evident.

"my sister, a handful of years younger than i, has been sick for a fortnight, and none of my mother's attempts have helped her. . ." he stopped, gaze flitting elsewhere for a brief moment until emmeryn's hand reached to gently rub his bicep. "there's a healer that can help, of course, but. . . his services cost more than i make as of now."

monetary services were little more than a prod of annoyance in light of the treasury she had been bestowed after the insistence of her people, a gift they saw fit for her despite her willingness to share such wealth with the world before pulling a single coin for herself. thus, came the barest hint of hesitation as she smiled, nodding to a question that had not yet been spoken between them, "yes, i see. . . do you. . . how much?"

and paris brightened at her words, "ah, you're too kind, ma'am. last i spoke to him, the cost of one medical session was. . . three thousand gold, i think. and━━━!"

"yeah, the little guy's right!" a brash voice interjected, supposedly one of the friends of paris', clapping his hand against emmeryn's shoulder, stubbornly persistent despite the soft grunt she made, and leaning into the conversation. "that's three thousand gold per person! for each of our dying siblings, ya know? war and all that jazz."

she bit back a wince, far too sensitive for the rough camaraderie these men seem to have for each other; obstinate, her shoulder ached beneath his hand, where he kept his hold on her. yet, her focus had not faltered entirely, for her gaze shifted from paris' glaring eyes to the curious face of a red - haired lady, awfully close to the bench they sat at.

she smiled, however gentle still, and beckoned her closer. "are you. . . with them? paris' friend. . .?"

"we're on schedule with everything, milady," langston nodded to his words, looking away briefly to write scrawl something on a loose page in ink, "the last items this week that we need are vegetables, only a handful, and then the rest of next week will require our attention on organizing."

when he stood from the kitchen table, it was to press the paper into her hands and say, sighing, "here, before you persuade me to let you go. take the list, pay for what you can find, and return so i can make dinner. be careful, milady."

and caution was naught a stranger of the former exalt's memory, so she nodded, dressed accordingly, and left all in a breath, before langston could worry himself more over her safety. shopping for groceries was hardly a task worth the risk, so despite her focus to adhere to the list, emmeryn could not help but wander from stall to stall, offering both a smile and her attention to each sales' pitch. to be stuck in a continent of wonders yet be constricted to the confinements of a house! how dull! the excitement, unmatched, dragging her gaze to and fro nearly reminded her of the first noon she had managed to pull herself from her bed in regna ferox and wander the village. nearly like━━━

a force of collision knocked the basket of vegetables from her hand, jerking it to a point where trembling began to rack through her fingers.

". . . oh!" emmeryn gasped, concern blatant in her frown as she regarded the dark - haired lady with an unspoken apology. her free hand clenched into a fist to quell the twitching and she hurried to press it against her chest, bowing her head alongside the whisper of, "sorry. . . i hadn't seh━━━seen where. . . where i looked."

but the lady herself seemed. . . no. the thought, as faint as it was miniscule, left emmeryn in a wisp of relevance. instead, she managed a smile and flexed her fingers into comfort before reaching for the stranger, "are you. . . okay? did i hurt y━━━you?"

breathe - muse a holds muse b closely to help them wind down after a stressful day/event

stop - muse a holds muse b back from walking back out into the fray

melt - muse a holds muse b’s face gently, drawing circles into their cheeks with their thumbs

acceptance - muse a kisses muse b’s forehead and lingers

redemption - muse a holds muse b’s face together and rests their forehead against them

home - muse a pulls muse b closer until muse b’s face rests in the crook of muse a’s neck

finale - muse a wraps themself around muse b to keep them from harm

classics - muse a tends to muse b’s wounds with more care than necessary

honesty - muse a wipes muse b’s tears away from under their eyes

recovery - muse a rubs muse b’s back repeatedly to help work tension out their body

anxiety - muse a intertwines their fingers with muse b’s to ground themself

repose - muse a languidly slips into muse b’s arms while muse b is lying somewhere

subtlety - muse a gently brushes their hand over folds and wrinkles on muse b’s clothing

intimacy - muse a braids/brushes/works knots out of muse b’s hair

domesticity - muse a rests chin on muse b’s shoulder to read/see what they’re holding

second-nature - muse a runs their hand through muse b’s hair who’s leaning into them from behind

casual - muse a slinks their arms around muse b’s to sit closer

wounded - muse a sways muse b and themself back and forth as a soothing mechanism

care-taking - muse a rubs muse b’s arms repeatedly to get some warm into them

excuses - muse a brushes their thumb lightly against muse b’s rub some dirt/dust/etc away

courting - muse a rests one hand on muse b’s back and holds out the other for muse b to hold to help them climb up/down something