Though her words brought him momentary relief, he was still very concerned about her. He hadn’t done anything wrong, sure-- but something had triggered her. He sat quietly beside her, waiting patiently for her to speak, if she wanted to.
Listening carefully to her words, he felt a pang of sadness-- she felt guilty for the death of her family. He could relate to that, having lost his as well. Though he still hoped that they were alive somewhere, he had no clue where they were, if they were alive. And yet he felt responsible for them.
Gently patting Kiki’s back, the angel spoke up. “B-being brave is not a clear-cut line. A brave person may sometimes do a cowardly act, a-and a coward may sometimes perform a brave act. It is... quite difficult to be brave all the time.” Kasumi paused a moment, choosing his next words wisely. “Many times... bravery and foolishness are mixed up, confused. Do you think staying in your town and putting yourself in danger would have been brave, or foolish? I-I personally believe what you did was the right thing...”
Was he being a little hypocritical right now? Perhaps. He too felt guilty for leaving his home, though he had less of a choice than Kiki. Still, he blamed himself for not being able to protect his parents, knowing full well that at the time, his child self would not have made any difference.
He fell silent at her next words. So there was something -- someone-- she feared. He could understand this, as well. “My friend... it is natural to have fear. This does not make you any less brave. Being brave isn’t the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear but finding a way through it. This is exactly what you have done, is it not?” He said, giving her a confident and reassuring smile as he shared his words of wisdom.
“Know that in this city, you have people who love you and would gladly fight for you. It is okay to lean on others.”
Feeling his hand rubbing against her back brought the wiccan comfort. Gnawing on her bottom lip she listened as her friend began to speak. He was right nobody could be brave all the time, as much as Kiki wished she could be. Bravery and foolishness? It is true staying in her town wouldn’t have fixed things. She knew eventually things would’ve gotten worse. Despite taking most of the heat she knew eventually her family would’ve been roped in, wether she left or stayed. “It would have been foolish to stay....then we would’ve all burned. They would’ve swept it under the rug...he’d get away with it....but I’m still here...I can get justice....”. A new way to look at the guilt she felt. She survived for a reason, so she could avenge her family. The dark thoughts that had been swirling in her mind since the fire. Ones she feared and had tried to push aside, thoughts she was ashamed of. Kiki didn’t exactly know if she wanted revenge yet, she didn’t know if she was even capable of it. Going back to her old town was something the poor girl could barely even stomach. But somehow she knew that in some way she wanted justice. The cops in that town likely wouldn’t be of much help sadly, they were all biased.
Snapping herself from her thoughts she offered a half smile at the angel. “You are right Kasumi, plus if I never came here I wouldn’t have met you. Garridan, Elidi, everyone, and I wouldn’t have found Stan....”. She was grateful for all the people in her life now. People who weren’t judgemental of her status as a wiccan. Within the city of Tabula she had found herself a family. “I think I need to learn to lean on people more....I’ve gotten so used to dealing with things independently....” she reaches over and rests her pale hand on top of the angels. “I’m such a mess, thank you for being such a great friend...you and Garridan. My best friends....” with her free hand she reached up and booped his nose with her finger. “Hmmm we need something to lighten the mood! Why don’t we go raid the food table? I could really go for something sweet!”
