A Little Knowledge [2430-1-4 Thur 2:00 pm]

[Skye Thompson]

She knew Titus was right. The fear was old, in fact she’d carried it with her almost all her life. And she had kept it hidden, though only out of necessity. Skye had always been afraid of fear, but she had never been ashamed of it. After all, fear had kept her alive for sixteen years. But what of now? The past didn’t matter if you couldn’t survive the present. And how could she survive, when she was going around with fear exploding out of her at unexpected moments?

Her hands were shaking as she took the cloth from Titus and blotted her eyes. Her cheeks felt sticky with dried tears. She looked down at her hands again, trying to make them stop trembling, but her entire body was shaking now, and it was an almost useless exertion of energy. Useless except that it kept her mind off other things she might have been thinking about, things that would make the tears return.

[Titus Vere]

Skye was a mess. And Titus knew full-well it would only get worse with time. Eventually she would learn to repress it and seal it inside as Titus had done. Though perhaps she wouldn't be able to manage that. It had helped that Titus to live with Digeo. The professional assassin had helped crush and mangle those unreasonable emotions until they disappeared.

Though... that wasn't quite right. They'd come out later, in new and interesting ways. Titus hadn't cried in years, and he certainly didn't throw fits in public. But dozens upon dozens of bodies found in the Below would protest that Titus certainly wasn't lacking in emotion. He'd simply channelled it elsewhere.

Perhaps Skye needed to do that as well. He doubted she would take to killing so easily, but maybe there was something else. Persephone could suggest some option. And, if not, Titus could figure out exactly what was bothering Skye. If it was her father, Titus could easily remove that problem. And if it would help her any, he'd let Skye help.

This wasn't the place to discuss that. Who knew where cameras were, or who was listening in. Titus waited until Sky had finished cleaning most of her face, and then carefully wiped away what she'd missed with his fingers. "There." He said, looking her over, "Do you feel ready to venture out again?"

[Skye Thompson]

Titus was thinking. Skye could see it in his face, and for the second time that day she wished she could read his mind. Perhaps then she would understand him. In the past week, she felt as if she had grown to know Titus as well as she had once known Adrian, and she felt almost the same about him. She loved him like a brother, trusted him, felt safe with him. But she didn’t understand him. She didn’t know if she ever would, or even wanted to. She’d have to understand another part of him that she didn’t yet know. A part she was afraid to meet.

He reached out and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks. At least she wasn’t shaking anymore. Skye nodded yes to his question, not yet trusting her voice. It might yet betray how uneasy she still felt, and she didn’t want to stay here any longer. Somehow she just didn’t feel safe in such an unfamiliar place.

[Titus Vere]

Titus carefully took her arm, guiding her out of the washrooms and down the empty halls. They would head home, and Titus would do his best to make sure she stayed calm. Perhaps medication would help. He could easily get his hands on pharmaceuticals of all sorts.

Skye could be helped. Titus was sure of it. It might take him a while to figure out exactly what sort of help she needed, but there was nothing that couldn't be fixed with enough money in the right directions. Or perhaps a knife in the right direction.

He helped her out of the building and down toward the train station, already planning his next move.