Corridors of Time [Nayru / Elly]

[Elly]

"Oh, you were a farmer?" Elly giggled at the thought of Nayru tending a field; the image seemed oddly fitting, but her friend would end up giving speeches to the plants. "Y'know, I once met a boy, he was the friend of the son of the cousin of one of Papa's regulars at the pub?" She paused, trying to untangle her tongue. "I remember this one time he-" The teenager froze mid-sentence as she felt arms wrap tightly around her, pulling her close into a strong hug. For an instant, she wondered what had happened, disoriented.

She was being hugged by Nayru.

The thought filled her with warmth, and she allowed herself to relax into the older woman's embrace, returning the gesture herself. A strange kind happiness bubbled inside her, a feeling of comfort and safety she hadn't truly experienced ever since she left home. It reminded her of the time when her Papa read her stories, before he opened that horrible pub of his, the scent of winter in the air as they huddled together in their old stone cottage, the fireplace burning merrily. Her body shook once, twice, and she realized with a start she was crying happily. Oh, goodness, now she'd stain both Nayru's clothes and her dress. She sniffled, rubbing at her eyes, shaking her head before smiling widely.

"Y-yeah," she said, her voice shaking a little, sobs breaking her speech. "But, uh, y'know...we'll do it together, 'kay? We gotta save the world, too, but, uh..." The girl hesitated for a few moments, before continuing in a small voice. "My leave was just for a month. I oughtta be heading back already to get there in time." She breathed in deeply, her eyes welling up with tears once more. "I don't wanna go back to Ilia, y'know? And not just 'cause I wanna save the world and be a heroine, I..." She stopped to look at Nayru, her face uncharacteristically serious. "I just wanna keep traveling with you, y'know? You're my friend..." The young rider trailed off, averting her eyes.

[Nayru Al-Saiduq]

Nayru simply sat there, basking in the rays of the sun and Elly's closeness, her hair cascading down around them. She wasn't sure exactly what had possessed her to grab the girl like that, but realizing just how fleeting Elly's presence would be had made her suddenly mulishly stubborn to defy that fact. "...Don't leave me, Elly. Not yet." The contraction went unnoticed by her. "Time marches on, inexorable and uncaring, but that merely means we must make the most of what we have in that fleeting moment of shared existence."

She found her eyes curiously blurry, and was repulsed a moment later when she realized what that signified. Tears. She was on the verge of crying. It was pathetic. She had never been able to connect with anyone well enough to even consider how to react, but now that the damned human girl had wormed her way into her heart, Nayru knew that she was terrified of what little would be left if it part of her was taken away. This - all of this was why she shied away from people, kept them at arm's length. Not because she was inherently distrustful of people, or because she was a strong, independent loner. Far from it. The issue was quite simple; she was all too aware that what simulacrum of humanity she had cobbled together was artificial, horribly fragile, and all too easily brought tumbling down.

That made her hate herself a little more, that for all the strength in her facade she could still be so weak that letting even one person in was such an excruciating process - and all because she was scared of what would happen if they didn't like what they saw. It wasn't even that it was Elly in particular that made this hard, anyone who could have made their way in would have met a similar reaction, but the tenuous rapport the two had built so far made it all the worse. Nayru knew far better than Elly of her true nature, of how illusory the bonds that kept her in control of her body and emotions were, and didn't want the girl to realize what she truly was. "...Not yet."

Not ever.

[Elly]

The tears were flowing freely now, her concern for her dress or Nayru's garments washed away by the tears. Why was it that she couldn't seem to stop them from pouring out? An odd sound escaped her, half-giggle, half-sob. Why did she cry, when she felt so happy she could burst? She reached up to clear her eyes as Nayru spoke, realizing with surprise the older woman was also crying.

She hugged her once more, holding on to her tightly, and in that instant, her view of Nayru shifted. She realized with surprise that she had seen her as an idol, unreachable and aloof; just like the characters in her Papa's stories. A collection of traits, a legend to emulate, someone so far above her that she could only ever dream to take a step closer to her shadow, but never reach. And now...she saw a human, just like herself, so much more open than her regular self, it was hard to imagine that she had never seen past her emotional control before. They were both afraid. Afraid of losing each other; for Elly, perhaps her first true friend. Her voice came out softly, speckled with long, drawn out sobs.

Not yet. The older woman's words echoed in her mind."Not ever." She drew her head back, shaking away the hair from her eyes, smiling softly, a soft hiccup escaping her before she repeated herself. "Not ever. We're friends, y'know. You're-" She choked, a muffled squeak the only sound she could produce for a few moments. "You're my best friend, 'kay?" She buried herself against Nayru once more, sighing. "I'm never leavin'." She lost track of time as the blades of grass rustled, the Sacaean breeze causing both leaves and hair to come alive and dance vividly around the two friends as they sat together, basking in each other's company.

~~[Topic End]~~