[The word feels like it's being crushed out of her lungs under the weight of Ritsuka's awful little laugh. The memory of Roman had been uncomfortable. The apology Mash hadn't expected to come out with here and now had burned her throat. But this is something else entirely. Every swallow feels like a herculean effort, and her eyes sting with the sudden threat of tears. . . . Mash can't dwell too hard on the details. It's as if, in her own mind, she's holding up that shield against the onslaught of emotion this time rather than the onslaught of the Beast, because if she doesn't . . .
Then what? It's just that the image is too much for her to carry: Ritsuka lifting her shield after she fell. Is that how it had happened? Ah, she's thinking about it, it's breaking through after all—
Mash trails off into a choked sound. And maybe this isn't what Ritsuka wants, but it's the only thing she knows how to do: she pulls her hand away so she can turn in and throw both arms around her instead, in a tight, clinging hug. All of the force of this rush of emotion goes into that instead of trying to say anything more meaningful.]
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2019-05-17 07:03 pm (UTC)[The word feels like it's being crushed out of her lungs under the weight of Ritsuka's awful little laugh. The memory of Roman had been uncomfortable. The apology Mash hadn't expected to come out with here and now had burned her throat. But this is something else entirely. Every swallow feels like a herculean effort, and her eyes sting with the sudden threat of tears. . . . Mash can't dwell too hard on the details. It's as if, in her own mind, she's holding up that shield against the onslaught of emotion this time rather than the onslaught of the Beast, because if she doesn't . . .
Then what? It's just that the image is too much for her to carry: Ritsuka lifting her shield after she fell. Is that how it had happened? Ah, she's thinking about it, it's breaking through after all—
Mash trails off into a choked sound. And maybe this isn't what Ritsuka wants, but it's the only thing she knows how to do: she pulls her hand away so she can turn in and throw both arms around her instead, in a tight, clinging hug. All of the force of this rush of emotion goes into that instead of trying to say anything more meaningful.]