Steve froze at her words and honestly he couldnât agree more, hell he wasnât even sure if he was processing any of this right. This surely wasnât his best friend, coated in someone elseâs blood standing in front of him, after god knows how long apart, with the months of searching and praying. Watching her hand reach out and then tap his shoulder, his eyes carefully followed her movements, blinking back tears that threatened to fall at any given moment.Â
âClaire⌠Waitâ He exclaimed, almost desperately as she quickly moved away from him, stepping forward slowly. âItâs me, itâs okayâ Steve asked quietly, his own hands shaking as he held them up in front of him, almost as if you would when approaching a wild animal. âCome back with me, I can get you cleaned up and we can talk yeah?â
-- â There's fear in the air from both of them and though everything in her is begging her to leave, to get as far away from Steve as she possibly can? She doesn't. "No." None of this was okay, how could it be? There's stilll a terrible ache deep inside of her to K I L L, an empty hole burrowed into her soul that she isn't sure she'll ever be able to fill. Vecna had seen to that, and fuck how does she even explain who -- what Vecna is to Steve? Does he have any idea what's actually going on just beneath their feet? Claire isn't sure but that's another added layer to her fear. But then again, wouldn't it make more sense for her to go with Steve? so she could warn him?
Silently she remains locked in place, battling the two sides to her decision, until finally one wins out and cautiously a step is taken towards Steve. "No one can know I'm back." Not yet. The words sound odd even to her, ultimately it's for the best. Claire's head is all kinds of scrambled right now and there's still too much she needs to figure out, too much that she has to explain to Steve alone. Gaze flickers between the street behind him and back to Steve, part of her still debating fleeing, mapping out an exit route if she needs one. "I ----" Her throat feels like it's going to close up despite the blood she can still taste, it's fear and emotions. "Okay."