❝ since when did i even care what anybody thinks of me? ❞ ❝ a few true friends are better than a thousand friendly-feigning faces. ❞ ❝ curse these old wounds of mine…i once was stronger than this. ❞ ❝ look at yourself, you are too calm. suppressing your anger for the illusion of control. ❞ ❝ in spite of everything, i don’t hate you. not entirely. ❞ ❝ forgiveness is like a special healing ointment, to be applied sparingly. ❞ ❝ better to be modest than a braggart, i suppose. but you might aspire to be somewhere in between. ❞ ❝ there is a stir of something different in the air tonight…you feel it too, yes? ❞ ❝ when tears well up, let them spill forth; they’re not so precious that they need to be contained. ❞ ❝ i have outsmarted you…and i shall overpower you as well. ❞ ❝ my pain i can handle fine, who cares? yours, i don’t think i could live with. ❞ ❝ you really do care about me, huh. for the longest time i just wouldn’t let myself believe it. ❞ ❝ tell me you killed the bastard? drove your staff into his wretched skull, slid a dagger in his gut? ❞ ❝ you’ve a defiant streak in you. one you’d be wise to hold in check. ❞ ❝ you gods never forgive; why then should i? ❞ ❝ you cannot break me; that i know. ❞ ❝ if suffering brings about a better tomorrow, so be it. ❞ ❝ loyalty is either earned or bought, and it makes little difference either way. ❞ ❝ we are most powerful when we remain obscure; when we are underestimated. ❞ ❝ as you begin your next attempt at the seemingly impossible, know that i shall be with you to the bitter end. ❞ ❝ good thing i can drown my sorrows here, and guess what? so can you! ❞ ❝ if my safety is now your concern…you can begin by showing yourself out. with all due respect. ❞ ❝ if you undermine my authority, you shall suffer the consequences. simple. ❞ ❝ let’s not talk about the past, all right? i much prefer the present. ❞ ❝ even in a place of sorrow such as this, there’s beauty…gentleness. ❞ ❝ power always contains the secrets of its own undoing. ❞ ❝ for you? i shall not hesitate to pierce the heavens and the earth alike. ❞ ❝ i feel sorry for you. really do. we always want what we can never have. ❞ ❝ that was one of the worst sentences i think i’ve ever heard. ❞ ❝ gods do not go quietly, and history repeats. ❞ ❝ you got into my head. i want you out. ❞ ❝ sounds like you’ve had quite an eventful night. ❞ ❝ i don’t know, this sounds a little treasonous. ❞ ❝ we get to know each other, you’ll live to regret it. happens all the time. ❞ ❝ what are you fighting for? what do you hope to prove? ❞ ❝ my pain i can handle fine, who cares? yours, i don’t think i could live with. ❞ ❝ if there is some bad blood between us, i would like to know the cause. ❞ ❝ in this world, you can’t rely on anybody but yourself. ❞ ❝ spilled half my blood back there… ❞ ❝ quickly now, tell me but this: have you been…are you well? ❞ ❝ why do the gods do anything at all? simply because they can. ❞ ❝ spare not a single wretch that dares to stand against you. ❞ ❝ look at you, it’s like, just…wow. don’t even have the words. ❞ ❝ love and hate! the most powerful emotions, and the underlying causes of war. ❞ ❝ i am no stranger to the punishment of gods. ❞ ❝ you know who i am, and you know why i’m here. ❞ ❝ get up. you get off that stolen throne. ❞ ❝ must we always have to take a blasted side in everything? ❞ ❝ stand tall and show no weakness. ❞ ❝ the bigger they are…the harder they fall. ❞ ❝ come on, we all have fantasies. ❞ ❝ if i can’t see into the shadows, i’ll cut through. ❞ ❝ come to think of it, i’ve never seen you angry. ❞ ❝ things were quite recently much worse, and we’ve weathered worse storms. ❞ ❝ it’s commonplace to fear what we don’t understand. ❞ ❝ truths are only truths if they’re believed. ❞ ❝ oh, i don’t get offended…i get even. ❞ ❝ the more we wander, the wiser we get, hey? ❞ ❝ if you insist on siding against me, then i insist on making you regret it. ❞ ❝ appreciate the silence. we will have company any moment now. ❞ ❝ for all the dread and despair everywhere i turn, you’ve come to be a welcome sight. ❞

If this place seemed dangerous, she can defend herself but for now, she needed to keep herself low profile and investigate something. Asteria remained silent at the question, trying to think of a good excuse as she didn't have any permanent home.

Zerena gave a small smile as she stepped to the space next to the stranger. If she were being honest with herself, she isn't exactly sure how she's managing to seem coherent right now, considering the bar she had stepped out of only minutes ago.

"I live a few blocks away from here, as well. Can I at least walk with you part of the way?" she asked, gesturing her head in the general direction. "I'm Zerena, by the way. I don't usually do this, but this is a really bad part of town."

i thought i told you to stay back.

i love you too much to let you get hurt like this.

this affects me, too, you know.

every time you leave, i sit up all night waiting, praying you'll come back alive.

you keep pulling stunts like this and something bad will happen.

do you have a death wish or something?

this isn't fair to me.

i deserve better than this.

i didn't get any sleep last night because i was so worried about you.

you promised me you'd stop going out at night.

i don't like hearing this.

you've been risking your life, and for what? so you can feel like a goddamn hero?

i said i would handle it.

what the fuck are you doing here?

you told me you'd stay put.

so much for laying low.

you remember how bad it was last time.

seems like you haven't learned anything.

i believe you promised me you'd lay low.

i can't keep doing this.

don't give me that look.

we'll discuss this later.

this stops now.

i'm tired of picking up the pieces once you've left.

you keep throwing yourself into danger.

you don't give a shit about yourself, do you?

i'm sitting here, worried out of my mind, while you're out doing god knows what.

that was really stupid of you, and you know it.

i thought you knew better than this.

what's your excuse this time?

you do realize what this does to me, right? seeing you get hurt like this? you know it hurts me, too?

you really don't give a shit how this affects me, huh.

that was the dumbest possible thing you could have done.

i need you to stop throwing yourself into harm's way.

that was completely unnecessary.

they had it handled.

you didn't need to step in like that.

why do you think you're invincible?

the last time you pulled a stunt like this, it nearly got you killed.

i can't just sit here and watch you get hurt.

what are you trying to prove?

you just like fucking with my heart, don't you.

this shit hurts me, too, you know.

you're not the only one affected by this shit.

you've got a lot of people counting on you to come home every night.

what happens if you don't come back?

you think we can just carry on without you?

you think i can handle things if you end up dead?

i'm not sticking around to watch you get hurt.

you're not even slick.

you think you're invincible, don't you.

quit pretending you've got everything under control.

let someone else do it for a change.

you can't keep putting yourself through shit like this and expect me to just sit back and watch.

i'm done with this.

next time you do this, i'm not coming back.

promise me this is the end.

look me in the eyes and tell me you'll stop doing this.

let the authorities deal with it.

you're making a big mistake.

is it worth dying for?