|| Location: Sol System
|| Time: Unknown

The clang of metal hitting the floor was jarring enough to shock Kir’ion back to reality just in time to hear Harrison. Her eyes snapped up, finding and holding him in her gaze. She took a deep, shaking breath as she tried to digest the gentle way he reminded her that he was there, that she wasn’t alone, a captive…that she didn’t even have to [i]touch[/i] the bands.


“Thank you,” she whispered, scrubbing her hands over her face and trying to shake the anxious feeling of pins and needles across her skin. 

“I didn’t think…” Kir’s voice trailed off, and she wrapped her arms around herself in a comfort-seeking gesture.

What didn’t she think? That seeing them would send her reeling back? That she would freeze up over something so simple? They were pieces of metal, jewelry really. And yet they weighed more than anything in the universe simply because of their symbolism. She was wringing her hands looking for something more substantial to add.

“Thank you, Harrison,” she repeated, unable to come up with anything else. 

Kir sat there feeling utterly stupid and frankly a bit embarrassed for a long moment before slipping off the edge of the bed and floating slowly back down to the ground. She glanced at the glimmer of metal just peeking out from where they’d landed under the blanket when Harrison tossed them to the ground. 


Swallowing hard, she managed to find her words and courage again, “I don’t think I can handle those again. It might be better if you did it.”