Lunamor

(Remain silent) TPBM hates popping balloons.

Jenny was confused. She knew that Edgar didn’t lie, so he had meant what he said to her. Why was he acting like this? Was he still feeling guilty about something? He wasn’t in pain, the gorgon blood had taken care of that. She wanted to help him, but nothing seemed to be working. Normally she would’ve tried hugging him, but he didn’t seem to want that. ”Edgar, what’s wrong?”

Hey, what village are you from, horse thief?

Jenny blushed too. She really liked what he was saying, but had no idea how to react. This was new for her. Well, most of what she’d done in the past few days had been new, but this especially. So she just moved a little bit closer.

*hysterical laughter* TPBM uses italics too much.

I don’t know where we’re going, but Sovngarde awaits.

“What is it?” Jenny didn’t know if she was supposed to ask about it, but she was too curious to care. Why was he blushing, was he embarrassed about something?

Edgar didn’t know that. He was just guessing. But it sounded like he genuinely believed it. He didn’t seem to care that she could snap and lash out, that she’d already done it before. He should’ve run from her. Edgar was smart, though. Maybe he was right. Maybe Jenny was worrying too much… No, she had every right to be this scared. But she didn’t want to be. She wanted to believe what Edgar said. Wanted to be the person that he saw. Maybe she could be. Jenny nodded. ”Thank you.”

Watch your tongue! You’re speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King.

Shut up back there!

“It’s getting harder to ignore it. Edgar, at the end of the fight, I didn’t care if I hit you or not.” Why wasn’t he listening to her? He never listens to you, Jenny. “I care now, definitely. But I didn’t when I was blinded and holding a weapon.” She finally met his eyes. ”If I’m acting weird during a fight or starting to scare you, don’t be afraid to run. Please tell me if I’m being frightening, at least.”

“It hates you. It hates me. It tells me to kill. It tells me to leave.” Jenny couldn’t look Edgar in the eyes. ”It won’t stop telling me to leave or hurt you.” She shuddered, sounding ashamed. “Sometimes I listen to it a little. You saw the cracks I made yesterday.” Her voice was now barely even a whisper. “I don’t want to hurt you too.” Edgar was probably going to leave her now, but it was worth it if that meant he was kept safe from her. @RoyalBeeMage

Jenny squeezed her eyes shut. ”It won’t quit talking, yelling, screaming…” You need me. She winced again. ”The voice, it won’t leave my head…” Jenny tensed. “I’m think I’m going insane, Edgar.” I’m the only thing keeping you from insanity, Jenny.

Jenny sat down and rubbed her forehead. For some reason, she had a headache. She swore she could hear yelling, or maybe screaming, inside of her mind somewhere. She focused on it, curious. Suddenly it became ear piercingly loud. Why won’t you listen? He’s weighing you down. Drowning you. Let him leave. Make him leave if you have to! He’s destroying you, Jenny. HE’S DESTROYING YOU. She winced and covered her ears instinctively, although she knew that wouldn’t help. “Shut up.” You cannot silence me. ”Be quiet.” You do not control me. ”Just leave me alone!”

Jenny nodded, immediately searching for a good burying spot. Finding a softer patch of dirt close by, she dug a hole and began stuffing her clothes into it. She made it big enough to fit Edgar’s clothes too, once he changed. Normally she would’ve taken a break, but they were actively being pursued by both men and monsters. They needed to move quickly.

Jenny smiled. Edgar seemed okay. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand out of his. The deadly poison covering her was a bit more pressing of a matter. “I’ll be back in a sec.” She ran off and found a particularly dense cluster of trees for privacy. She changed into a clean outfit, then stared at her blood-stained clothing. It would be irresponsible to leave something so dangerous lying around. Jenny delicately picked her dirty clothes up, avoiding touching any blood, then returned to Edgar. ”What do you think, bury or burn this?”

Jenny held on for a few moments more. Then, glancing downwards, she realized that her hands were covered in gorgon blood. She had no idea which side it was from. Some of it was now on Edgar’s hand as well as his back. She released Edgar. ”I’ve got gorgon blood on my hands and now it’s on you too, I’m so sorry! There’s some on your hand and back. Don’t touch your face! We need to rinse this off.” She ran over to what had once been the kitchen. Locating the sink in a grove of trees, she turned it on and rinsed her hands. That got the blood off, although her clothing was still covered in it.

Jenny hugged Edgar tightly. She didn’t know if he had listened to her, but he wasn’t arguing. That was a good sign, right? She wasn’t sure what else to say. Edgar still was scaring her. Jenny worried that if she let go of him he’d leave forever. She hugged him even tighter. ”Please don’t leave.” Her voice was quiet and shaking.

[lowly] always cracked me up in Yumi. Can you play an instrument?

You there. You and me — we shouldn’t be here. It’s these Stormcloaks the Empire wants.

Jenny looked like she was trying to freeze Roy in a solid block of ice with her stare. She came closer than one would expect. The air surrounding her lowered a few degrees. Roy was feeding Edgar’s guilt. Edgar was beginning to shatter, and Roy was widening the cracks. ”Edgar, I need you to please listen to me.” She managed to keep her voice devoid of negative emotions. Hearing any would likely just make Edgar hate himself more. ”You aren’t the best fighter, that’s true. But you aren’t supposed to be the best fighter, either. You create wonderful things. You build blow guns, construct chariots. Even simple earplugs that made everything easier to handle. You build people up, too. I thought that I would be alone forever. I had accepted it. I hadn’t realized what that had done to me.” Her voice began to crack. ”Worthless. I thought I was worthless. A failure to my mother, a failure to my father, a failure to everyone. I didn’t blame anyone for the cruelty they showed me. I thought that I deserved it.” Tears started to pool in her eyes. ”But you were kind to me. You. No one else. You saw me as a person and you liked that person. I’m happy now, truly happy. I’d forgotten what that felt like.” She stared into his amber eyes. ”I need you, Edgar. I need my mirror.” @Weaver of Lights

Why wasn’t he crying? He normally cried when he was like this. ”We’ll say it canceled out, then. And there’s a pretty big difference between accidentally tackling me while blind and causing no damage versus literally saving my live. I needed you. I still do.”

Jenny sighed. Edgar was so cruel to himself. He’d only made a mistake that was completely understandable. He’d been blinded. ”Edgar, you’re the only reason I’m alive right now. Had you not tackled me when Medusa lifted her veil, I’d be a garden statue.