The world is quiet, here.

Here, away from the thought of cornering a mass of metal limbs through the vents of the ship. Here, away from the manic, razor-edged thoughts of the Biomancer.

Here, away from the susurrus and rustle of rumor gone Rampant. Have you heard? We sail a ship of madness, destined for death--and that, only if we stay, shrink back from the Lethe. Much worse by far to cross, to lose self, to set up against the very queen of life itself!

Here, in a too-small corner of a too-large kitchen. Here, one used portion among dozens that sit untouched, an island of a hearth in an island of disused shelves and stoves. A home in the only way that matters--home, safety, friendship, food.

She sags onto a chair so heavily that for a second she's sure the legs must buckle underneath her.

And for a few precious minutes, that is all there is. Thank you, Dolce. Thank you for being here. For being a listening ear, when you need one so desperately of your own. Thank you, and thank Hestia, for a moment of peace, a moment of quiet, a moment of taking refuge in each other--

Finally, the nerves in her tongue manage to pass along the message that she needs to breathe again, if for no other reason than so that she can take another bite. Dolce, Jil-- Dolce, this is-- Jil, take some more, there's more, you can see the pot, there's more, you don't need to hoard the one cup you've been given--and for a second, she half believes Jil won't let her have the cup to pour some more in. She doesn't blame her--poor thing is too used to nice things being taken away from her. It's gonna take a while for her to trust her new family.

Family. Alexa really has a family in them, doesn't she. In the whole ship, too, but here. With them. Small, a little broken, but holding together.

[i]Once they learn what is coming, they will abandon her.[/i]

[i]Her heart will break again.[/i]

That's the problem with quiet, isn't it. You can hear yourself think.

But she doesn't have to do it alone. There are people she can trust, people she can talk to, people she can rely on, much as she hates to do it now, here, in this.

The world is quiet here. It would be a shame to ruin it, to drag the world in here and let it spoil this.

Still.

"You… heard them, didn't you."