receive a soft poke on his forehead. Enough to cause a small flinch maybe, but definitely not enough for anything more. Her expression isn't just mildly reproachful anymore either, it's downright scolding with an open scowl (and... a pout?). Someone's taking her words in the wrong way again, and she lacks the means to clarify. Gosh stop mercilessly beating yourself for one second and look back at her, dummy!! Emotional and mental support here is priceless partially for the very reason because death is meaningless. The latter is a sad truth, but in order to stay whole while continuing to struggle on in such a tenuous environment, conceding and compromising some of one's own values has to be done - even at the cost of belittling the true worth of a life. Not an easy change to make by far, but if one is to stay firm and strong...
That he's got his head lowered and is holding a generally poor posture means she doesn't need to get on tip-toes to reach his eye level, but she will stand up straighter anyway to be in his face better- he does have a full foot over her. ...Geez. It's not the end of the line, and he's misunderstanding or underestimating just how important the act of 'picking up the pieces' can be. It's a hard and draining task, but that's just it: in standing back up and straightening out what remains, that's how people will then be able to move forward once more. Hnng. She can't explain this to him now, but she definitely doesn't want to keep seeing him so dejected and anguished. It blows just as hard to know that she might not be able to do anything about it, but...
He'll follow her out, right? So pull his focus back on the present and what's directly in front of him, if he would please! --Oh, we are totally going to revisit the subject again later, but once this chaos is behind us and everyone rests up to be in better shape. So will he able to snap out of it for even just a little bit, at least long enough for them to leave this place?]
no subject
receive a soft poke on his forehead. Enough to cause a small flinch maybe, but definitely not enough for anything more. Her expression isn't just mildly reproachful anymore either, it's downright scolding with an open scowl (and... a pout?). Someone's taking her words in the wrong way again, and she lacks the means to clarify. Gosh stop mercilessly beating yourself for one second and look back at her, dummy!! Emotional and mental support here is priceless partially for the very reason because death is meaningless. The latter is a sad truth, but in order to stay whole while continuing to struggle on in such a tenuous environment, conceding and compromising some of one's own values has to be done - even at the cost of belittling the true worth of a life. Not an easy change to make by far, but if one is to stay firm and strong...
That he's got his head lowered and is holding a generally poor posture means she doesn't need to get on tip-toes to reach his eye level, but she will stand up straighter anyway to be in his face better- he does have a full foot over her. ...Geez. It's not the end of the line, and he's misunderstanding or underestimating just how important the act of 'picking up the pieces' can be. It's a hard and draining task, but that's just it: in standing back up and straightening out what remains, that's how people will then be able to move forward once more. Hnng. She can't explain this to him now, but she definitely doesn't want to keep seeing him so dejected and anguished. It blows just as hard to know that she might not be able to do anything about it, but...
He'll follow her out, right? So pull his focus back on the present and what's directly in front of him, if he would please! --Oh, we are totally going to revisit the subject again later, but once this chaos is behind us and everyone rests up to be in better shape. So will he able to snap out of it for even just a little bit, at least long enough for them to leave this place?]