For a time the only sound between them is the crisp snow beneath their boots.
Finally she says, "He hit me. And then..." She huffs, and a self-conscious laugh comes out as a puff of warm breath. "I've thought about it so much that I don't think I can even remember it all straight. But I remember that he hit me. He knocked me down and he shook me."
She watches where she's walking and takes a moment to focus on her breathing as she recalls what she can.
"I remember he had a horrible look in his eyes. Empty. Like if I asked him to stop, he wouldn't have listened. But I couldn't ask him to stop, because –"
Just thinking about that bastard's name makes her grip her gun a little tighter.
"Reynard –" she forces, and even then can't help looking around. She only hopes that uttering his name doesn't summon him. Who's to say he doesn't have that power? After all, he's got power enough to appear in her mind a thousand times since that day.
"... Had me under a spell. He took over my mind and made me say things that I..."
She watches Runa as they walk, and her features sink into guilt. "That I told a lot of people I'd never say under any other circumstances. But that was a lie. I said things to him that I knew would hurt him, and I said them meaner than I'd ever said them before."
Anna adjusts her hat, tugs it down over her ears again, distracts herself for a moment before she looks back at Runa searchingly. "Have you ever asked yourself why he is what he is?"
no subject
Finally she says, "He hit me. And then..." She huffs, and a self-conscious laugh comes out as a puff of warm breath. "I've thought about it so much that I don't think I can even remember it all straight. But I remember that he hit me. He knocked me down and he shook me."
She watches where she's walking and takes a moment to focus on her breathing as she recalls what she can.
"I remember he had a horrible look in his eyes. Empty. Like if I asked him to stop, he wouldn't have listened. But I couldn't ask him to stop, because –"
Just thinking about that bastard's name makes her grip her gun a little tighter.
"Reynard –" she forces, and even then can't help looking around. She only hopes that uttering his name doesn't summon him. Who's to say he doesn't have that power? After all, he's got power enough to appear in her mind a thousand times since that day.
"... Had me under a spell. He took over my mind and made me say things that I..."
She watches Runa as they walk, and her features sink into guilt. "That I told a lot of people I'd never say under any other circumstances. But that was a lie. I said things to him that I knew would hurt him, and I said them meaner than I'd ever said them before."
Anna adjusts her hat, tugs it down over her ears again, distracts herself for a moment before she looks back at Runa searchingly. "Have you ever asked yourself why he is what he is?"