[@FlitterFaux]

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqorPfRapA8]...[/url]

She was crying.

I couldn't see the tears behind the mask, nor could I tell from any inelegant blubbering that Skye had failed to hold back, but she was definitely crying.

The hitch in her shoulders. The warble in her tone. I may miss a lot of things—

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/a6RYmyh.png[/img]
[h3]But even I don't miss when I've made someone cry.[/h3][/center]

[b]"Skye."[/b]

I turned my head back to her, looking over my shoulder to stare at the mask that had begun looking more and more like a shield. I regarded it coolly for a moment, trying to think of what to say—

And the words that came were undoubtedly incorrect. The correct, polite thing to do would have been placation, a gentle and patient thing that reassured her. But it also tiptoed around the issue. It would be a simple, pithy statement that ignored the roaring undercurrent to what she'd been telling me. If I were a better linguist or wordsmith, I maybe could have dropped in some subtle hints that would have addressed it—

But I'm not. In fact, subtleties are bluntly lost on me.

So instead of being polite and socially correct, which wasn't an option.

Instead of placating her.

Instead of holding back.

I went the opposite direction. I let her have it. I went whole-hog and decided I would force my way through that shield instead of pry it off.

Not an open hand. A closed fist.

Brandishing the plain truth— No, this was wielding it.

The undisguised truth. Whether it was my true feelings or the universal truth of the matter, I couldn't say that it mattered at all to me in this moment. For all I was concerned, the two were one and the same—

So I told her as much, straight to her face.

[b]"You've been saying a lot of stupid things ever since we've met."[/b] 

My words were, once again, harsh. But this time there was a meaning to them beyond a tired and played out comedy routine.

[b]"In fact, you've been saying them so much that it's been bugging the hell out of me. You can apologize all you want, but I'm not gonna let them slide any longer." [/b]

Harsh, but all true. They said the truth hurts— and it's easy to see why. Hurled at a girl who's practically in tears before you, it's a heartless, monstrous thing.

Even if it needs saying, it's certainly hurting me to play this role.

I'm not Gratia Mindaro. I'll never have her sangfroid composure. I don't now, and I certainly didn't then. She bowled straight through to those truths without worry for whatever she walked over to get there— I couldn't do that every single time like her.

But it didn't mean that I was entirely incapable of addressing the heart of an issue.

Especially not one that I couldn't stand any longer.

[b]"Every other word out of your mouth is you taking shots at yourself. That's [i]really stupid[/i]. Is your end goal to make me hate you, or something? You keep trying to convince me you're terrible, for some reason."[/b]

Harsh. Incorrect.

True, and what I thought was right.

What I wanted to do, regardless of any of these. 

[b]"And this goes way beyond not sleeping well, too, so you can't excuse it with that, either. Not a chance in hell you can. I'm dumb, not blind. Nobody's this depressive or self-defeating over a couple of hours tossing and turning, I can guarantee that it takes something way more. Something infinitely worse than a few bad nights and being a stranger in a strange place."[/b]

I know that for sure. 

Far more surely than anyone else you could have come across. 

Sorry, Skye. You got the worst matchup possible right out of the gate.

[b]"So, I'd really rather it if you just told me..."[/b]

'You can never be sure of how long you have.'

My eyes tightened.

[i][b]'Every moment is precious.'[/b][/i]

Yeah.

[i][b]'All it takes is one moment...'[/b][/i]

And then it's gone forever.

[b]"What happened?"[/b]

You failed someone, didn't you?

At least, you think you did.

Whether or not it's your fault— That's not the question, is it?

Even if it's not, you'll never shake the idea that it was.

That you could have done more and saved what you didn't.

[b]"Please, just tell me what's actually eating you alive, alright?"[/b] Even I could feel that there wasn't any humor or happiness in the smile I was showing her— But there didn't need to be. Just as what she was doing was plain as day to me, I bet that I could make it plain as day to her—

[b]"I'd really rather worry about that. Not about some dumb stroll or the millionth promise to my sisters I break. I'm a lousy older brother, that'll never change—"[/b]

—But I've only once broken a promise to myself. 

I get it.

I [i]really[/i] get it.

So save us all some trouble, and save yourself from the demon inside your head. Save yourself from eternally wallowing in misery and never letting yourself see the sun. Save yourself from being imprisoned by chains of your own making.

I know it's heavy.

I know that crushing feeling— Viscerally so.

Let me bear some of that weight for you. I can take it, you know? I've done this for four years. I'm more used to it than anyone has any right to be.

Than you should ever have to be.

Tanner likes to tell me that people get saved only by themselves, and that others can only help or lend their strength—

So I can't be the one to save you, but I'm here to help.

To lend the strength of experience with this kind of weight. It's not a bother at all, if I can help you as I was helped not even a year ago.

Nobody needs to be where I was, and nobody needs to be where you are.

You're a person in need, Skye. Let me help you a little.

I'm a Huntsman.

[b]"So you can tell me. It'll be the smartest thing you've said all day."[/b]

That's what we do.