[Later... After, he means. Ryder gives a soft hum to acknowledge that, privately weighing if that's good or bad. Probably good... It looks painful as hell. She doesn't know how much a face bleeds, but it's probably a surprising amount. Definitely would have brought even more attention to him, and maybe he wouldn't be sitting here telling her about it. His slow, strange way of speaking gives her plenty of time to roll the words around her head, first remembering the shape and feel of them so she could commit them to paper later. Hearing them comes after. Slow breaths are pulled from her like maybe she's flaunting how easy it is for her when his own were a clumsy brush of a bow against violin strings.
Maybe it wasn't an epic, original tale, but who cares? It's important nonetheless. Going out with a shriek or a whimper didn't really matter to her, either. He'd saved her in different ways from the start, and she's sure that the stereotypical, ideal hero would have been the same in that situation. Feeling alone when you've got a regular sickness was bad enough. It must be extra lonely to be dying. Besides, hiding away wouldn't have done a lot for him, but it was ultimately safer for the other survivors in the area. Even when acting out of pure adrenaline and maybe unaware of the good he did, Teo was kind. Everything else he says keeps the bitter smile from forming.]
I'm sorry.
[Not that saying it does anything. Her hands fall back again, avoiding his arms out of respect for his mistake and settling them where the back of his ribs are, underneath the sheet, his clothes, and his sallow skin.]
You think you -- wasted your life...? I -- can't picture...
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Maybe it wasn't an epic, original tale, but who cares? It's important nonetheless. Going out with a shriek or a whimper didn't really matter to her, either. He'd saved her in different ways from the start, and she's sure that the stereotypical, ideal hero would have been the same in that situation. Feeling alone when you've got a regular sickness was bad enough. It must be extra lonely to be dying. Besides, hiding away wouldn't have done a lot for him, but it was ultimately safer for the other survivors in the area. Even when acting out of pure adrenaline and maybe unaware of the good he did, Teo was kind. Everything else he says keeps the bitter smile from forming.]
I'm sorry.
[Not that saying it does anything. Her hands fall back again, avoiding his arms out of respect for his mistake and settling them where the back of his ribs are, underneath the sheet, his clothes, and his sallow skin.]
You think you -- wasted your life...? I -- can't picture...