[ From someone else he might not trust it because it's such a correct response—because all but one of the entanglements he's regretted have started with a promise they wouldn't be entanglements at all—but he thinks he believes her.
That or he's being lulled into complacent trust by her whole thing.
Either way, he finds himself nodding a little, closer to agreement than before, and saying— ]
Do you know Benevenuta Thevenet? [ Whether she does or not: ] We were—something, we were teenagers. I told her I didn't love her and she threw a Mortalitasi skull at me. A possessed one. And some other things. Fire.
[ No, Derrica hasn’t met Benevenuta, but that’s not really the point of the story, she thinks. She’s quiet for a moment, weighing up the shared memory before— ]
I had to leave a good crew once, because the man who wanted us to be something thought he could convince me to be his wife, even though we were hardly something at all. I didn’t want it. I’d said it would never like that between us, but...
[ A brief, rueful pause, trailing into a shrug. Kostos can guess at the rebuttal she’d received. Instead, softened by a smile, she offers: ]
I’ve never thrown any fire. And I don’t own any skulls.
[ In her pause, his usual frown deepens, for her sake. The beginning of a thought about what a ship filled mostly with men might be like for a woman. But it doesn’t have time to fully form before she moves on, and he moves on with her, and very nearly smiles. ]
And if I ever try to marry anyone, it is blood magic and I need rescue.
So.
[ So he thinks about it for one more second, and then holds out his hand. ]
The extension of his hand delights her. Derrica is obvious about it, smile brightening her face at the acquiescence. Rather than take a step forward, she laces her fingers into his and gives a little tug, the curve of her smile saying: Come here. ]
I'll promise to rescue you, if you promise the same for me.
[ Surely this is the kind of pact all successful friendships must be based on. ]
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That or he's being lulled into complacent trust by her whole thing.
Either way, he finds himself nodding a little, closer to agreement than before, and saying— ]
Do you know Benevenuta Thevenet? [ Whether she does or not: ] We were—something, we were teenagers. I told her I didn't love her and she threw a Mortalitasi skull at me. A possessed one. And some other things. Fire.
no subject
I had to leave a good crew once, because the man who wanted us to be something thought he could convince me to be his wife, even though we were hardly something at all. I didn’t want it. I’d said it would never like that between us, but...
[ A brief, rueful pause, trailing into a shrug. Kostos can guess at the rebuttal she’d received. Instead, softened by a smile, she offers: ]
I’ve never thrown any fire. And I don’t own any skulls.
no subject
And if I ever try to marry anyone, it is blood magic and I need rescue.
So.
[ So he thinks about it for one more second, and then holds out his hand. ]
pls to put a bow on this
The extension of his hand delights her. Derrica is obvious about it, smile brightening her face at the acquiescence. Rather than take a step forward, she laces her fingers into his and gives a little tug, the curve of her smile saying: Come here. ]
I'll promise to rescue you, if you promise the same for me.
[ Surely this is the kind of pact all successful friendships must be based on. ]
🎀
[ comes after a pause, because an earnest promise over held hands would be a little much for him.
It's what he means, though. Yes.
And he steps forward. ]