[ He sits kneeling before her, not as a subject or as brood, but as a tired man who has been exposed. His hands move from her waist, fingertips trailing downward to the ends ends of her knees and rest there, reassured by her presence and words. But still, even dressed in his heavy robes, he feels naked before her as he settles back down. ]
( I swear it is just that. The monster beyond the barrier is merely disconcerting by comparison to the fear you've revealed in me. )
[ Congratulations Lakshmi, for accidentally uncovering his worst nightmare. She reaches up again to run her fingers through his hair, and though her touch is gentle again, there's a tenseness in his neck and shoulders that wasn't there before. One he's fighting to let go of.
She asks for communication, and though the frayed nerves along the edges of his mind may be telling enough, he does as she says - he asks. ]
( Can it wait till morning? )
[ It isn't that he doesn't want her help. On the contrary, there's an underlying appreciation for her act of service that would brim over in joy if only his anxieties would allow it to. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to him, his hair is even worse now than when she started - sticking up in places she'd been working on and made wild from his sudden outburst. But he's tired and ready to try giving in to sleep, if his mind will quiet long enough to allow it. ]
no subject
( I swear it is just that. The monster beyond the barrier is merely disconcerting by comparison to the fear you've revealed in me. )
[ Congratulations Lakshmi, for accidentally uncovering his worst nightmare. She reaches up again to run her fingers through his hair, and though her touch is gentle again, there's a tenseness in his neck and shoulders that wasn't there before. One he's fighting to let go of.
She asks for communication, and though the frayed nerves along the edges of his mind may be telling enough, he does as she says - he asks. ]
( Can it wait till morning? )
[ It isn't that he doesn't want her help. On the contrary, there's an underlying appreciation for her act of service that would brim over in joy if only his anxieties would allow it to. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to him, his hair is even worse now than when she started - sticking up in places she'd been working on and made wild from his sudden outburst. But he's tired and ready to try giving in to sleep, if his mind will quiet long enough to allow it. ]