#they both failed to keep nathan and eloise safe... ]

[farwaytree]

I can just be here, Sara says, like it's easy to do. It almost reminds him of Eloise, and that alone quells the noise pounding in his head, even if it isn't by much.

Victor whimpers. There'd been an attempt at talking there, but talking is hard. When his head gets noisy, and when the Town starts speaking (or maybe it's the memories, or the nightmares, but sometimes the nightmares are the memories and you can't really be sure), all Victor can do is curl into himself. That's what he does now: sinking from the standing position he'd been in, one hand clutches at his hair, and the other tries to keep him from toppling by setting itself on the floor.

Victor sits, back curved and head bowed.

"I don't like to remember," he whispers. (The whispers in his head are louder.) "I'm-- But I'm trying to be brave. I know my m-mother would want me to--"

Suddenly, he lets out a sharp cry. The Town never likes when he remembers, and it likes even less that he's started to tell Sara more stories since that night in the basement.

"N-No! I'm sorry!"

@farwaytree said, "you don’t need to stick around just for me."

he's wrong; she does need to. maybe it's a debt she owes to herself, or maybe it's because there's something about his brutal honesty that she finds refreshing. maybe it's just the fact that he doesn't seem to be afraid of her the same way the others do. for so long now, she's longed for anyone to do the same for her, to see her as a person rather than just a burden or one-step away from what waits for them at night, and while she hasn't spent much of her time here talking to him, there's something about him that feels familiar to her, like he's easier to talk to than most, and not just because he's one of the few people willing to give her the chance.

sara shakes her head, a small frown tugging at her lips, almost as if the rebuttal is obvious. ❝  i want to, ❞ she says instead. whatever it is, she tells herself she can handle it. if she's already spent countless nights in the forest, she can handle anything. ❝  i'm not leaving you alone, victor. i want to help. ❞ it's all she's ever wanted to do; she's just still trying to figure out how. helping him at least feels like a start. ❝  you don't even have to talk. i can just be here. ❞