Étoile is trembling. There is so little of Marianne's fire left in her, and what's there feels like it's only there to burn her hollow. Chains melt off of her coat as she clings to Canada. Her mask cracks and her gloves crumble to dust on her hands; her disguise is falling apart even faster than her plans. 

But even still, she doesn't let go. She's got sniffles instead of comforting words, but she doesn't let go. She's got a ratty hood and a tangled and matted nest of golden blond hair to keep herself hidden under, nothing more than that to see herself home tonight, but she doesn't let go or run while she's still got the chance. 

Go on, Étoile. You have to fix this. You have to advance the plan and the cause, or what was it all for? You have to do more than just feel the warmth of another human body on your own. Do more than notice where your hero feels as firm and strong as steel and where she's so soft it makes it seem impossible she could handle anything so rough as a pillow fight. So go on. Make it better.

"...Dumbass." she winces, and pulls away so she can turn to hide her face.

"If, if that's what... if that's what, that's what you really think, then..." It should be impossible for a place so full of horrible and noisy devices to feel so oppressively quiet. But the space between her words is worse than drowning, "Th-then you're dead, ok?! You're dead and I killed you! So just... just [i]stop[/i] for a while and, and... wait for the signal. You really, you... you don't get it, do you? What you mean t-to people and... who cares and, and!"

When she wrenches herself free, her every motion is jarring and ungraceful. She moves like she took every hit that happened in the arena, no matter who threw it. She throws an arm in front of her face to keep it covered, though it does nothing at all to hide how upset she is. She has to stomp her foot three times to get it to slide in between the corners, and only at the last second remembers to reach out her hand to pull Canada with her to some softer and more hospitable place to be "dead".